WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? By R. H. CHENEY. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1862. c oaJ S T Ai 79,0 C r/ I g^2 LONDON : PRINTED BT W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. * WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? What is good iron, and how is it to be got ? The con¬ viction is daily gaining ground that by the penny-wise and improvident use of inferior qualities of iron much capital has of late years been wasted and much risk incurred. And in such a case it might be thought that to discover the error was all that is needed to amend it. If a brown loaf will not serve the purpose, let those who have money buy a white one, and there is an end of the difficulty. But the analogy does not hold. There is some obstacle in the background which is the more formidable for not being clearly seen or understood. The newspapers tell us of works retarded at the dock¬ yards because the Admiralty cannot get the iron they require, and of “ angle bars 55 rejected and returned on the hands of respectable firms who cannot have wanted the will to satisfy their critical customers. Great railway companies have begun to make their own rails, because they despair of obtaining in any other way the requisite quality. And all this at a time when for four years the price of iron, good as well as bad, has been falling, or in other words the supply has constantly exceeded the de¬ mand ! How comes it that the prodigious development of the iron trade has led to a state of confusion in which, b 2 4 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? as it would seem, good iron can neither be bought nor sold ? It is the object of the following pages to offer an explanation of this paradox. From the very first the progress of the iron manu¬ facture has shown itself only in the increased facility and diminished cost of production. In the quality of the produce there has been no improvement since, in days anterior to history, a small quantity of iron was extracted from the best ores, which alone were then available, by the rudest and most laborious process. The great discovery of smelting iron by means of pit-coal effected a change in the manufacture which has assured to England the command of the markets of the world, but has lowered the quality of the iron. There are purposes which iron thus smelted will not serve, and accordingly a small quantity of iron, smelted, as of old, with charcoal, is still made in this country, and further supplies are imported from Sweden. In our own days the introduction of the “ hot blast ” has brought about a second revolution in the manufac¬ ture hardly less important than the first in its results, but unfortunately qualified with a larger alloy of evil. Between thirty and forty years ago it was discovered that by heating to a very high temperature the “ blast ” which maintains the combustion of the smelting furnace, a great saving in the quantity of the fuel might be effected. This led to the further discovery that not only might the coal be used in its raw state, by which the expense and the loss of coking were saved, but that coal which had hitherto been rejected for its noxious qualities might now be sent to the furnace ; and subsequently by the same means even the intractable anthracite was WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 5 pressed into the iron-master’s service. Hitherto only the superior argillaceous ores of the midland districts could he profitably converted into iron; hut by the application of the hot-blast the metal was extracted from every substance that contained it. The “ black band,” which had resisted all attempts to make it productive, became a mine of wealth to its possessors; and as the minerals of the Cleveland, Northamptonshire, and other districts were successively discovered, they were converted into cheap and serviceable although inferior iron. ' It was also found (and of all the benefits of the hot-blast this is the most questionable) that the cinder or refuse of the puddling forge, hitherto of no value, would, when added to the materials of the hot-blast furnace, yield a large percentage of iron (though of very inferior quality), and thus increase the hulk though it damaged the character of the produce. The pig-iron thus made is always designated in the trade as “ cinder-iron.” Pig-iron, as most readers are aware, is the name given to the thick coarse-looking bars into which the molten metal is formed in moulds of sand as it runs from the furnace. It is the raw material of all the subsequent operations of the manufacture, and on its quality the quality of all that is made from it depends. The changes which the metal undergoes in the various pro¬ cesses to which it is subjected are so important that the three forms in which it is best known to the public— pig-iron, wrought iron, and steel—are virtually distinct metals: yet the two first are both indiscriminately called “ iron,” when the context is supposed to make it clear which is meant; and this loose nomen¬ clature is apt to occasion some confusion to those 6 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? who are applying themselves to the subject for the first time. The annually increasing quantity of cheap pig-iron thus thrown into the market compelled the iron-masters who possessed the best minerals and the best fuel to reduce by every expedient their own cost of production; and gradually the pressure of competition induced them to employ the hot-blast to a considerable extent.* Where they have done this without unduly lowering the quality of the materials, the “ hot-blast iron ” so produced bears a very high character; but, unfortunately, many of them have availed themselves of the hot-blast to bring into use any materials which would enable them to compete in price with the makers of the cheapest iron, and thus the name of the district has ceased to be of itself a sufficient guarantee for the quality of its produce. The application of this new agency to so many new materials had the effect of sending into the market, not only an increased quantity of iron, but a variety of quality such as hitherto had been unknown. At the head of the list stands the grey cold-blast iron. By untoward accident, or by want of care or skill, the pro¬ duce of the cold-blast furnace may turn out mottled or white, and is then of inferior value. But the grey cold-blast iron by its name gives a guarantee for the quality of its materials, and is therefore divided by a strong line of demarcation from all “hot-blast” what¬ ever ; nevertheless, the difference between the cold-blast and the best “ hot-blast ” made from the clay ironstones without any admixture of cinder is small in comparison * In many instances the exhaustion of the best materials has made this necessary. WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 7 with that which separates the best* hot-blast from the worst. It might fill a volume to describe the various properties and uses of the various kinds of iron. It is sufficient to note that only two kinds, the cold-blast and the best hot-blast, will bear repeated “working” without losing their fibrous texture. These are not matters of opinion, or bare assertions to he received with caution. It is manifest that if the cheaper kinds of iron were not inferior in quality to the more costly, the cheapest would long ago have driven all others out of the market. The “ price-lists ” published from time to time show pretty accurately the estimation in which the produce of the different materials and modes of manufac¬ ture is held by the trade; and undoubtedly this variety of quality in pig-iron and latitude of choice would he an unmixed benefit, if all manufacturers were perfectly honest and all their customers absolutelv wise.* «/ The increased supply of cheaper iron was in fact needed for the development of modern civilization, and in the first instance produced unqualified good. Tor many purposes inferior iron was found to answer as well as the best. A kitchen poker need not have the strength of a battering-ram, and iron was now applied to uses for which formerly it would have been thought as reasonable to employ the precious metals. At this time it requires an effort of memory to recollect how very recent is the application of iron to fencing and various other agricultural and domestic purposes, for which it is now used as a matter of course. But throughout the history of the iron manufacture, * * Quarterly Review,’ No. 217; vide an article on the Iron Manufacture, which contains a compendious account of its progress. 8 WIIAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? ’ good and ill are as - inseparably interwoven as the black and white threads in Meg Merrilies’ mystic cord of life. The efforts to discover the cheapest iron that would just serve the purpose, often degenerated into the use of iron that would just not serve the purpose—that served it to the eye, but not to the hope—ending in such impru¬ dent applications of it as cannot be made without the most serious risk to human - life. The subject is too familiar to most readers to need much illustration. The following instances present in strong contrast the differ¬ ent results of true and false economy. In a conversation which took place in the House of Commons in the last session on the recall of Sir Baldwin Walker, Lord Clarence Paget is reported to have stated that the cylinders of the ‘ Himalaya ’ were defective ; and a few days subsequently the papers informed us that they “ were to be renewed.” The ‘ Himalaya ’ has been afloat at most but a few years. On the other.hand there is to be seen in an old iron-work in the midland district (and this is only one of many similar instances) a 94-inch blowing cylinder made in the days of good iron (it is marked “Bersham, 1801”), which has been in constant use night and day for fifty-five years, and is still perfectly sound and fit for service. When rails were first manufactured for the newly pro¬ jected lines, they were made of a quality which might in some degree be expected to bear the friction and the momentum of the prodigious masses which were to be whirled over them. But the cost of such rails was considerable; their merit was not discernible by the eye. Directors were ignorant, engineers inexperi¬ enced. The present was all important, and competi- WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT ? 9 tion was hot. Inferior iron, and, worst of all, cinder-iron (the nature of which has been already explained) was employed almost of necessity, and all hut universally. The consequence is, that the greater part of the lines need relaying, years before such an expenditure ought to be required. Nor does the mischief stop here. What is to become of the prodigious mass of old rails ? If the railway Boards work them up again (and the temptation to do so is all but irresistible), they only repeat the error ; or if a portion of these rails is sold as “ scrap-iron,” who is sanguine enough to hope that it will he purchased only for those purposes to which inferior iron can fitly he applied? There is no escaping from the conse¬ quences of the first fault, and these cinder-rails will long be bandied about to burden the market and infect the manufacture of the country. It is to the credit of the railway companies and the mechanical engineers that they have from the first seen the importance of making the boilers for the locomotive engines as strong as the best material could make them; and accordingly scarcely an accident is recorded which can he attributed to a failure in the quality of the boiler-plates. In the same spirit when iron merchant-vessels first came into use, their plates were made of the tough fibrous iron used for ordinary boiler-plates, and the result corresponded with the prudence of the design. The ‘ Great Britain,’ stranded in Dundrum Bay, withstood for months the beating of a surf such as no floating work of man’s hands had ever stood before, or ever will stand again, till shipbuilders change their present short-sighted policy. The success of the first iron 10 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? boats was complete. Their cost was amply repaid by their durability and the cheapness of their repairs. “ But could they not be made for less?” asked the Spirit of Gain. “No doubt they could,” answered Competition. Other plates of inferior construction, to which the distinguishing name of “ boat-plate ” was given, were forthwith manufactured. A “ boat-plate ” may be had for from 20s. to 30s. per ton less than a “ boiler-plate.” The saving thus effected in so large an expenditure is trifling, the difference in security and durability is very great. Six Baltic steamers belonging to the port of Hull have been lost in scarcely more than a twelvemonth. How many more of these cheap iron vessels have left our shores and have never since been heard of? and how often must these mysterious disappearances be multiplied, before our shipowners are convinced of their mistake ? It is understood the under¬ writers have taken up the subject. The increased rate of insurance on cheaply-built iron boats will give some measure of the additional risk occasioned by this illjudged parsimony, and may perhaps weigh with those, if any such there be, to whom higher motives appeal in vain. But although in this and similar cases it is natural to inveigh against the avarice and inhumanity which incur such risks, it is more just to attribute the error to igno¬ rance and divided responsibility, and to the whirl of com¬ petition which does not leave the time for thought, and scarcely even—as conscience would fain persuade herself —the liberty of choice. The ship-owner has no notion how much the reduction of the price diminishes the strength of the plates ; the manufacturer knows nothing of the forces which the plates should be calculated to WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 11 resist. Both may be humane and sensible men, but between the two the ship, the cargo, and the crew are lost. Competition is the vital principle of progress in the arts and manufactures, but, like all other strong incentives to human action, it produces evil in large proportion to the good. Cheapness is a most legitimate object of pursuit, but it is rightly pursued so long only as there is a distinct understanding between the buyer and the seller as to the effects of cheapness upon quality. Practically, such an understanding rarely exists. The public insists upon cheapness, and chooses to ignore the conditions on which alone cheapness can be obtained. The manufacturer is tempted or obliged to follow the impulsion given by the public, and in furnish¬ ing a bad article pacifies his conscience by the reflection that “it is good enough for the moneyand further, when the public carries its exigency to the point of demanding impossibilities, impossibilities are promptly and unscrupulously performed. In all trades and in all countries it is the same. “ Old Hock ” may be bought in London at a lower price than the new wine com¬ mands at Hockheim; more French wine is sold in foreign markets than all France could possibly produce; English woollens (mixed, as foreigners complain, with cotton) and English goods of all kinds may be procured in the various marts of Europe at prices which ought to deter rather than attract a prudent customer. Baker’s bread and brewer’s beer are become terms of reproach; 'because it is an admitted fact, that brewers and bakers, like all other manufacturers, have been obliged to lower the quality of their produce by excessive compe¬ tition. Under the pressure of competition, not very long 12 WHAT IS GOOD IKON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? ago, a shoemaker had contracted with Government to make some thousand pairs of shoes at an unreasonably low price. When the shoes were delivered it was notified to him that they would he returned on his hands, because the soles were found to be stuffed with shavings. The man thought himself ruined, but was saved by discovering that the maker of the model shoe had been driven to the same expedient. It, too, was filled with shavings, and Government was obliged to stand by the contract. The detriment which over- eager competition causes to the commerce of the world and to its morality is incalculable, but in all this the short-sighted public plays the part of the tempter, and must be content to take its share of the blame. And there is yet worse behind. The public, having en¬ couraged the production of a cheap and worthless article, has no security for obtaining a good one even when willing to pay its price. There are tricks in all trades; and assuredly the iron-trade forms no exception. The iron-master, who requites confidence and a liberal order with fraud and a bad article, commits a folly which must in the first instance recoil on himself, but which in its consequences affects the innocent. Such instances, it is to be hoped, are rare, but a very few will do irreparable mischief. Hence arises the general distrust which is a prominent cause of the present confusion in the iron- trade ; and hence it is that, among those who are igno¬ rant of the facts, there gets abroad a vague and confused notion, compounded of indolence and disappointment, that either good iron is no longer to be had, or that good iron after all differs little from bad. And what is the condition of the market and manu- WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 13 facture of iron which has resulted from the introduction of this new and powerful agency, the liot-blast ? It is obvious that the steadily increasing supply of an article for which the demand fluctuates with every vicissitude by which the general commerce of the country is affected, must occasion great variations in the price. The periods of depression which for many years past have recurred at uncertain intervals are often spoken of as “ capricious ” and “unintelligible:” that is to say, their causes are so complicated and obscure, that nothing relating to them can be predicted nor explained with certainty even by those most interested in observing closely. But the one cause, which is as necessary to their existence as solar heat to the malignancy of the malaria, is over-production. Through all these fluctuations, as might be anticipated, there is to he traced a steady decline of price. In 1806, according to tables lately published at Liverpool, “ mer¬ chant bars ” (finished iron) made from cold-blast pig-iron (for none other was then known) were quoted at 111. 10s. per ton. In 1861 the best make of Staffordshire had sunk to 71. 10,S'., and Welsh bars might have been bought for even less than 5 1. 15s. It is true the pre¬ sent is a time of unusual depression, but if we take the average price which finished Iron must maintain, if it is to remain a staple manufacture of the country (about SI. per ton), even thus the reduction is prodigious; and if cheapness were the only measure of progress, the advance would he great indeed. With regard to the manufacture, printed returns give us the following facts :— In the year 1840 the total make of Great Britain is stated at what was then thought the marvellous amount 14 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? of 1,396,000 tons. In 1860 it had risen to 4,156,000 tons, and to such an extent has the productive power of the country increased that to this prodigious total another million might on any sudden demand be added without any additional expenditure on buildings and machinery, or “ plant,” as such previous preparations are technically termed. It must also be noted that great skill has been acquired in the art of correcting the defects of the inferior kinds of iron by.judicious mixtures, and thus giving them the highest quality of which they are susceptible. But these brilliant re¬ sults are qualified by a fearful drawback. In the year 1840 the cold-blast iron amounted to 771,000 tons, or considerably more than half of the whole make. In 1860 it is a significant fact that the distinction between hot and cold blast is no longer noted in the returns; but of the aggregate make of 4,156,000 tons it is not possible to estimate the portion of cold-blast at more than the odd 156,000 tons. Those best acquainted with the trade agree that in the year 1860 there could scarcely have been more than thirty furnaces blown with cold-blast, and that the annual production of each of these cannot be rated at so high an average as 5000 tons. Perfect accu¬ racy cannot be attained, as perpetual changes are taking place in the ironmasters’ arrangements, and little is known of the production of those pig-iron manufacturers who consume at their own forges the produce of their furnaces. But this calculation is sufficiently near the truth to justify the assertion that, while in twenty years the total make of the country has been trebled, the cold-blast has dwindled down to one-fifth of its former amount; and whereas in 1840 it constituted considerably more than one-half of the aggregate produce of the iron- WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 15 manufacture, in 1860 it has sunk down to about one twenty-ninth ! Assuredly, if there was not a great redundancy of cold-blast pig-iron in the year 1840, there must have been a great deficiency of it in the year I860! But every ironmaster knows that in the year 1840 there was no wasteful employment of cold-blast iron. Even then complaints of its scarcity were to be heard, and since that time the need for the best iron has increased, and many new uses for it have been invented. Let any man practically acquainted with the requirements of the various branches of the iron-manufacture make his estimate of the probable demand for first-class pig-iron, and then compare it with the supply; or let us suppose some commission of ironmasters possessed of the de¬ spotic power with which the captain of a ship, in time of scarcity, regulates the short allowance, and empowered to dole out to each manufacture the supply of cold-blast iron supposed to be indispensable for its operations ; such a tribunal would find that the disproportion be¬ tween the estimated demand and the possible supply was enormous: nor would the difference between the esti¬ mated and the actual demand be less striking; and the divergency of practice from theory thus indicated is a subject of very grave anxiety. For some time past a vague dissatisfaction with the state of the iron-trade—an uneasy consciousness of some¬ thing wrong—has perplexed the public mind; and now, when, by the employment of iron as the principal means of warlike defence, the iron manufacture has been invested with a political and national interest, a desire is generally felt to bring it back to a sounder state. But it is easier to lose the right way than to find it 16 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? again. It is the opinion of men best acquainted with the trade, that neither the present make of cold- blast iron, nor even that of the best hot-blast, could be very suddenly or very greatly increased. It is fortunate that among the numerous works which the pressure of the times has closed, very few of those making superior qualities of iron are included. If a large and steady demand for good iron were to arise, the manu¬ facturers of pig-iron would have a motive for retracing their steps as far as is still possible; and in the dis¬ tricts where the best materials are to be found, quality rather than cheapness would again be their aim. Where the materials are partially exhausted, the deficiency might, to some extent (thanks to the increased facilities of traffic), he supplied from other districts. And though no great and strongly-marked change is possible, it may be hoped that the aggregate of many small augmenta¬ tions to the quantity of first-class iron might swell to a larger total than is generally supposed pos¬ sible. But till the demand for the best pig-iron occurs, the ironmaster cannot be expected to stir, and as yet there are many causes to prevent its occurrence. The old traditions of the iron-trade are lost. Thirty years wear out more than one generation of working-men. The great maxim—that the best article can be made only from the best materials—that is to say, the best pig-iron from the best minerals, and the best wrought iron from the best pig-iron—might, indeed, seem too simple and too important to be forgotten, and too obvious to need much argument for its re-establishment. But practically it has fallen into disuse, and powerful interests are arrayed against it. Whole districts have for years been WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 17 actively engaged in the struggle to make inferior iron supply the place of good, and motives of interest and self-love combine to induce the belief that it really will serve as well. We are not referring to recent ingenious inventions for removing impurities from inferior kinds of iron, by special processes and at an increase of ex¬ pense, but simply to the substitution of iron that will indifferently answer the purpose for iron that will answer it effectually. Men of great practical skill have been reared up in the business, who nevertheless have had little experience of-the best iron, and are indisposed to admit its necessity. As the iron manufacture extends, and its operations become more varied, the knowledge required by the manufacturer is at once more extensive and more minute, and more difficult of attainment. The reader unacquainted with the iron-trade must be told that pig-iron is classified accordingly as it is more or less grey, and consequently better adapted for the foundry or for the forge. But in no two districts does the classi¬ fication exactly agree, and in no two works even is the iron of precisely the same character and quality. More¬ over, by the exhaustion of the materials, or a change of operations, changes in the quality of the produce are constantly occurring which are not indicated by any corresponding change of name; and often under the same names are classed things of very different value. Thus, for instance, the hard and the unctuous haematite ores differ from each other materially in quality; yet the iron made from each is comprehended under the common name of “ haematite and numberless similar facts might be added to show how exact is the knowledge that is needed of the market and its changes. But while c 18 WHAT IS GOOD IKON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? the craft of the wrought-iron manufacturer is daily becom¬ ing more difficult, it more frequently happens that men are drawn into the iron-trade who had no previous know¬ ledge of its details, and are obliged to trust to a manager for the general conduct of the business, and a broker for a supply of the proper pig-iron. The manager is often biassed by local prejudices, the broker is imperfectly acquainted with his principal’s requirements. "When the broker turns iron-merchant, there is no doubt his specu¬ lations in a time of depression lighten its severity to the producers of iron, but his interest is no longer in exact accordance with those of his employer, or, as he now becomes, his customer. When prices are low there is no room for the profits of a middleman, and his efforts to make one cause an additional complication in the con¬ fusion of the market. In the midst of all this perplexity one object only— price — is clearly discerned by the manufacturer. As to the qualities of iron and its uses, he is puzzled by the most conflicting opinions and the most contradictory statements. Truth flies from him, even if he is quite sincere in seeking it. But the saving of so much per ton in the pig-iron, which is his raw material, is a pal¬ pable fact, about which there can be no mistake. The very skill which has been attained in making the most of the inferior kinds of iron- by mixing and manipulation contributes to mislead him. He trusts to it for more than it can effect, and not unfrequently spends more in the vain effort to turn bad iron into good than it would have cost him to purchase the right material at first. In a time of depressed trade the wrought-iron manu¬ facturer has an opportunity—which it might be thought WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 19 he would not miss—of buying the best pig-iron at a cheap rate. But he himself is the first to feel the pressure. It is the demand for wrought iron that slackens in the first instance; and, whatever be the evils which excessive competition occasions by holding out temptations to economise in quality, they are greatly exasperated by the struggles of a declining trade. Such a time of depression is the present. It com¬ menced with the American failures and the monetary crisis of 1857, and continued with increasing severity till the beginning of 1859, when the market showed symptoms of recovery. But the French Emperor’s declaration of war against Austria destroyed confidence and paralyzed commercial enterprise throughout Europe ; and subsequently the American tariff deprived the English manufacturer of the chief foreign outlet that was left. It is to be hoped the depression has reached its lowest point. Prices can hardly be lower, but it is only too possible that more furnaces may be blown out, and more firms forced out of the trade. The large orders of Government for armour-plates, and other articles for which a superior quality of iron is con¬ fessedly required, ought to have given an impulse to the market, so far at least as to increase the demand for the best iron, of which the supply is so very small; but this is not the case, and the inference is irresistible, that the manufacturers do not employ the best iron. It might, indeed, be supposed that the mere anticipation of a general recognition of the need for first-class iron would produce some effect on the market; but the discourage¬ ments of long continued depression deaden all commer- c 2 20 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? cial energy. At such a time speculators fear being too soon rather than too late in the field. Each man hopes not to be last in a race in which as yet no man has started, and he hesitates to make the first move. All as yet remains motionless. Thus, then, the year 1862 opens with the paradoxical condition of the iron-trade, which we have endeavoured, to explain by tracing the steps by which it has been reached. No blame is imputed to the manufacturers as a body, who have only obeyed the laws which regu¬ late all commercial transactions. It would be foreign to the purpose to note the struggles of individuals who have held a course in opposition to the current of the times: we have to deal only with general results. On the one hand we see a rapid declension in the use, and therefore in the production, of first-class iron ; involving a complete change, material and moral, in the iron-trade. On the other hand, we find a reaction in favour of the best iron, which, though real, has hardly yet advanced beyond words. The public have discovered that, for certain purposes of great importance, the sub¬ stitution of cheap iron for good is a failure, hut the pres¬ sure on the manufacturers is not yet sufficiently strong to divert them from the policy and practice of years ; and hence it is that, amidst all the talk about first-class iron, the demand for it has not increased. This circumstance is favourable at least to those who desire to be purchasers. But it is scarcely possible that Government should avail itself of the opportunity. No Government can act with the energy and decision of an individual trader. It lacks central motive power. It is a huge giant, rendered WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 21 helpless by the feeble and defective action of the heart. The question is not only What ought Government to do ? but, How much can it do of what it ought ? Its first active step was highly judicious. More than a year ago it appointed a Commission composed of men well known to the world for their scientific attainments, their practical acquaintance with the manufacture of iron, or their knowledge of the requirements of the naval and military services, for the purpose of collecting such in¬ formation as it will need for its guidance as one of the greatest consumers—or it may he one of the greatest manufacturers—of iron in the country. No measure could he better devised to restore confidence to the manufacturers —with whom, for reasons to he referred to presently, Government had become unpopular as a customer—and to give in some degree to Government itself the know¬ ledge and the confidence necessary to act with decision. But, however valuable may he the labours of the Commission in investigating the points to which their attention is specially directed, no more important service can he expected from them than the revival of those elementary truths the neglect of which has caused, and still threatens, so much mischief. Nothing short of such an authority is needed to re-establish the funda¬ mental axiom already mentioned, that, “ in every stage of the iron manufacture, from good materials alone can first-rate quality he produced.” Nor less important is its corollary, that “ The quality of the materials is a neces¬ sary guarantee for the quality of the produce.” The best materials, indeed, avail little without the skill to work them, but nothing good can be made from bad materials, however skilfully combined and worked. 22 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? The reader knows already what are the best kinds of pig-iron; the operation of manufacturing them into the best wrought iron may he made intelligible in a few sentences. The second process in the iron-manufacture, which is the most delicate and difficult of the whole, is called “ puddling,” because the operator, or “ puddler,” mani¬ pulates the liquid metal in a small furnace, much as the labourer kneads the clay and water to form an imper¬ vious substance. In the first place, a judicious selection of the best pig-iron must be made. But, before pro¬ ceeding, it is desirable to clear up an ambiguity which clings to the word “ best ” as applied to iron. So many are the uses of iron, that no iron is the best in the sense of being the best for all purposes; but, in common par¬ lance, “ best,” used generally, denotes the first-class iron— the grey cold-blast, including all its various denomina¬ tions applicable to different uses, and bearing different • prices : “ best ” used with reference to a special purpose, means that denomination of first-class iron most suited to that purpose. In the present case it does not imply the more expensive denominations of the cold-blast pig-iron, which are reserved for the manufacture of the highest class of machinery, but the “ grey-forge ” and the “ strong- forge,” which are specially adapted for the operations of the puddler. It is not desirable that the iron selected should be all of the same make—for the best makes are in most cases improved by intermixture—nor even that it should be exclusively of “ cold-blast.” Small quan¬ tities of certain kinds of “ hot-blast ” may be combined, so as to improve the quality of the compound; and in the knowledge of these mixtures lie the art and the secret WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT ? 23 of the forge-manager. When the pig-iron thus selected is put into the furnace, it is “boiled;”* and in the course of this process (which it is unnecessary to describe in detail) it casts off its impurities, in the “ cinder hence it is obvious why this cinder if thrown again into the smelting furnace must damage the quality of the produce. If any part of the “ charge ” remains unmelted when the hulk of it is ready for working, the “ hall,” or conglomerated mass of white-hot iron into which the labour of the puddler works the molten metal, is unfit to be subsequently manipulated into the highest class of wrought iron. Care also must be taken that the fuel employed should be the freest from sulphur that can he procured; and the “ fettling ” of the furnace, as it is called—that is to say, the arrangements made to protect it from the action of the liquid metal—should be of the best kind.f The white-hot ball just mentioned is then taken out and subjected to the action of an enormous hammer, and while still red-hot is drawn out by means of “ rolls,” into bars or billets. It is now called “ puddled iron,” and is considered to he in a half- manufactured state ; but when made of the materials and with the precautions just mentioned, it is already more advanced than is generally believed. We have seen a wire of the size of a thread which had been drawn from a rod produced direct from a puddled billet * This process was introduced by Mr. Joseph Hall, of Bloomfield Works, Tipton, a partner in the firm of Barrows and Hall. t No positive rule can be laid down as to the best kind of “ fettling.” Each district has its own method, which is probably the best suited for its materials. The point is one of great importance, as it seriously affects the quality of the iron. 24 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? in the mill, and to such iron as this any degree of quality that is desired may he given by further manipulation. But it is only to the best iron that fresh virtue is imparted by repeated working*, and there is at last a limit beyond which even the best can endure it no longer. The prevailing notion that all iron alike is improved by manipulation is doubtless derived from the traditions of the old time, when all iron was produced by the cold-blast; and it has survived the state of things which once made it true. In the present condition of the manufacture it has led to ruinous mistakes. Inferior iron very soon attains the point after which it loses by being again subjected to the action of the fire; and by the time it has reached the stage of “ merchant bar ” it cannot be worked further with advantage. Here, then, is an easy practical rule for the manufacturer’s guidance. When he needs iron for any purpose that implies repeated workings of the metal, he only prepares disappointment for himself or his customers if he is induced to employ any but the best quality. For the present purposes of Government it will be universally admitted (in words at least, if not in prac¬ tice) that none but the best iron can safely be used. But there is another point of great practical importance, on which there seems to be a want of clear under- i standing between the Government and the contrac¬ tors. The best iron may be so manufactured as to be endued with the different properties of either hardness or toughness as its distinguishing characteristic. The greatest degree of hardness of which iron is susceptible cannot coexist with the greatest degree of toughness WHAT IS GOOD IKON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 25 which, by a different mode of manipulation, might be given to the same piece of metal. Hard iron, even the very best, must to a certain extent be brittle. Tough iron gives up a portion of its hardness to retain its tenacity. If to samples of hard iron there is applied a test to prove their toughness, they will probably be found defective. But it by no means follows that the iron thus rejected is necessarily of an inferior quality. In the first instance, then, to save time, money, and disappointment, it should be made clear whether tough¬ ness or hardness is the quality required. If, for ex¬ ample, it is in tended to replace the cinder rails, which are splitting, anil crumbling away on many of our principal lines, it is plain that in constructing the new rail the surface part of it cannot be made too hard ; but the lower part should be tough in order to bear the prodigious strain to which, both laterally and ver¬ tically, it is subjected. It is accordingly proposed to make the “head,” as it is called, of “steely” iron, but the lower part of the rail of tough iron of good quality.* The same device has already been * adopted for the best tires. The outside of the tire is made of a quality approaching to steel, but the inner portion nearest the wheel is of the best tough iron. In the iron for armour-plates it is understood that the highest authorities, both practical and scientific, concur in opinion that toughness is the quality to be * It would weary the reader to go into the details of the manufacture of this compound rail. It has been much disputed whether the two qualities of iron can be satisfactorily welded together, but the difficulty has been overcome, and there is no doubt but that an efficient and durable rail might be thus manu¬ factured at a reasonable cost. 26 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? aimed at, and in that case the best ne puddled bars ” are the only proper material. If, indeed, it is desired to make a hard plate, scrap-iron, which is cheaper than puddled bars, is well adapted for the purpose. But it is a point of the greatest importance—the misapprehen¬ sion of which would cause serious mischief—that only the best scrap-iron should be employed. The term “scrap” has reference to form only, and it must not be assumed that fragments of good iron and fragments of bad are equalized in quality because they are identi¬ fied in name. The best scrap-iron consists of the frag¬ ments collected from the workshops of the smiths and the boiler-makers, who do not use the inferior qualities of iron. It is cheaper than the puddled bars, because it is the remnant of a manufacture which has already made its profit, and because it is applicable to only a limited number of purposes. Between the best scrap- iron and the best puddled iron the difference is not in the original quality, but in that which has been imparted by further manipulation; the scrap-iron, having already been so frequently worked, becomes hard, and to a certain extent brittle, by the complicated process of the armour-plate manufacture, throughout which the puddled iron retains its fibrous texture and its toughness. But if under the name of scrap-iron are swept off the miscellaneous contents of the marine-stores, of un¬ known quality, varying from the best to the very worst, of unequal sizes, and coming to the welding-point at different temperatures ; and, above all, if “ old rails ” are smuggled in under a new name, the question between WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 27 scrap-iron and puddled bars is no longer one of manipu¬ lation only, but also of quality. If scrap-iron is employed to any extent, it is hard to say what precautions would suffice to prevent the use of the improper kinds. The supply of best scrap-iron is altogether insufficient to meet a large demand. Old rails—which are almost universally made of cinder-iron — may be had at 205. less than the best scrap-iron, and 405. or 455. less than puddled bars. Cinder-iron is an element of weakness wherever it is introduced. It is not turned into good iron by being broken small, and it is only made worse by further working. It would be as hopeful to find the philosopher’s stone and turn cinder- iron into gold as to work it into an efficient and trust¬ worthy armour-plate. Among the many experiments which it is understood have been tried at the arsenals, there remains untried one which well deserves consideration, and may lead to important results. It is most desirable to ascertain the effect of armour-plates made entirely of puddled bars; and the experiment involves no preliminary expense. At Portsmouth and elsewhere there are the hammers and machinery necessary for forging the plates: it only remains to secure puddled bars of the best quality, and on this point there is no fear of being deceived ; for, however difficult it may be to make the best puddled bars, the process by which they are tried is simple and intelligible. It is merely necessary to strike them with a heavy hammer so as to bend the extremities, both when red-hot and when cold; for iron destined to make plates should stand both these opposite tests: not, indeed, because an 28 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? armour-plate is ever to be made red-hot, but because the iron, if not of a quality to be pliable when heated, will not retain its toughness throughout the workings which it must undergo before it is formed into a plate. By the course proposed, the Government also would secure the advantage of comparing the expense and efficiency of its own hammered plates with the plates, both hammered and rolled, of its contractors: and moreover it would be much assisted in deciding the great practical question whether the State should turn manufacturer on its own account; that is to say, whether it should buy the pig-iron, and then carry on all subsequent operations at its own works. The security as to the quality of the iron, the very great economy of saving the contractor’s profit, and the inde¬ pendence of action which would be obtained by such a plan if it were ably carried out, are advantages of the utmost importance. But, on the other hand, the heavy preliminary expense, the long delay of preparation, the possible loss and discredit of failure, are formidable objections. The one great difficulty, however, is to find, at first and for every part of the operations, competent management and competent superintendence of that management. It is said that the foundry at Woolwich was constructed on the most approved plan, and was con¬ ducted by managers of zeal and ability; but in one point there was a deficiency—there was a want of knowledge of the pig-iron manufacture and of the trade. The managers bought ordinary iron, such as is sent into the market for ordinary purposes, and they analyzed and tested, they broke and they twisted, and, finding none WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 29 that came up to their standard, they jumped to the hasty conclusion that cast iron is unfit for ordnance.* Had they called in the aid of competition, and invited iron-masters to send specimens of iron specially manu¬ factured for ordnance purposes, they would, it is believed in the “trade,” have procured a material approaching nearer in toughness to wrought iron than would at present be thought possible, and at a cost which (what¬ ever price might be put on the specially manufactured iron) would have been trifling in comparison with the expense of the wrought-iron ordnance. The failure of this experiment—which seemed so hope¬ ful, and which so nearly succeeded—naturally raises fears for another experiment of the same kind, but on a much larger scale, and of much greater difficulty and greater risk. The proposed plan offers a middle course. By hammering their own plates with such machinery as they have now at their disposal, the naval and military Boards will incur no loss if they afterwards abandon the design of manufacturing; and if, on the other hand, they persevere in it, they will gain by this previous essay the knowledge and the confidence to proceed. If a plan so vast as the establishment of Government Manu¬ factories of iron for all naval and military purposes is ever to be successfully executed, it can only be by expanding it gradually, and making sure of one step before another is hazarded. Time is needed to find, and experience to form, the men who are to carry it out. If the experi¬ ment of hammering plates is . attended with success, the Admiralty may be tempted to lay down mills for * The American method of casting ordnance hollow is said to be well worth onr own consideration. 30 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT ? rolling them and for other operations. But till its managers become very dexterous and expert as iron¬ masters, it would do well to avoid the operation of “ puddling,” and to continue to purchase puddled bars. In times of prosperity there is little of puddled iron in the market, as the manufacturer needs for his own use all that he makes, hut at present the Government would have no trouble in procuring it; and, if the demand were likely to he permanent, forges would soon be constructed for the express purpose of providing the supply required. Till the State turns manufacturer, there remains to he solved the great problem how to secure from contractors an article of the best quality in exchange for the best price. It is found by experience that the presence of a Govern¬ ment Inspector at the works is utterly insufficient for the purpose. A paragon of integrity and ability, pos¬ sessing all the knowledge of the most accomplished iron-master, and gifted with the eyes of Argus and the vigilance of Cerberus, without his taste for a sop, would he unequal to the task, unless he were endowed with powers of ubiquity; and, if at last the execution of the contract is unsatisfactory, the Government is de¬ barred from remonstrance or redress, as each step in the process has been sanctioned by its own inspectors. It would be better to substitute for the continuous inspec¬ tion of a resident agent the occasional visits of a person higher in station and authority, whose business it should be to come at irregular intervals and without notice, to inspect the work and the materials, and to transmit specimens of both to be subjected to the appropriate tests, both chemical and mechanical, and also to look over WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT ? 31 contracts and invoices, and satisfy himself that the materials are in accordance with the spirit of the con¬ tract. In this there can be nothing offensive to the manufacturer. This mode of inspection exacts from him nothing more than the presence of a resident agent was intended to secure. Inspection of any kind implies want of confidence: there is no additional offence in making the inspection an efficient one. Truth has no aversion to daylight. Government, in this instance, has not shown itself one of those unreasonable customers who haggle for price, and expect impossibilities. It has ascertained that for its present purposes the best materials are re¬ quired. It has agreed to a price which amply covers the cost of the best materials ; and assuredly it may claim the right—or rather it is bound to acknowledge the duty— of ascertaining that the best materials are actually em¬ ployed. If the present preparations for national defence are carried on, it is manifest that, either as manufacturer or as consumer, and more probably both, Government will for some time to come have very extensive dealings with the iron-trade. But unfortunately the regulations of the public offices are ill suited to such a conjuncture. Strict rules are undoubtedly necessary to prevent public business being hindered by the caprice or dishonesty of contractors, and the endless intricacies of form and routine have been introduced as the best safeguards against corruption; but they impede the intercourse with the manufacturer, and they paralyse the action of official Boards to the most mischievous extent. A very few months ago an advertisement appeared in the Times inviting tenders for supplying the Admiralty with 32 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT?' “ melting ” iron. On application at the office it was found that tenders were wanted only for the supply of the iron of two specially-named firms! Probably no one is to blame for this absurdity. The Board could not throw the matter open to real competition, for there was no one to undertake the responsibility of deciding between the competitors ; they could not send an order direct to the firms in question, as any private company would have done, for there was no one to take on himself the settlement of the price. The forms of specification for tenders were settled many years ago, when the circumstances of the trade were very different. The subject has not been of sufficient importance to engage the attention of the heads of departments till lately, and it cannot be expected that reforms of this kind should he suggested and carried out by the working staff of a public office. Not to incur responsibility must of necessity be the limit of every subaltern’s ambition. If he steps beyond this, if he attempts to benefit the public service beyond what is written, he has to encounter ridicule and obloquy from his equals, and is not always rewarded by encou¬ ragement from his superiors; he has no resource but to shelter himself behind precedent, and take refuge in unchangeable routine. The regulations which insist that samples for trial shall be paid for by the manu¬ facturer, and many other galling pretensions which could be set up by no other customer, save in reality nothing to the public, and place the Government in a position of great disadvantage. Manufacturers complain that their work is in many cases submitted to incom¬ petent judges, who decide without appeal; and delusive competition, established merely to avoid official responsi- WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT ? 33 bility, deprives the Government of all the advantages which a real competition would secure. The object to he attained is to confer on Government powers as nearly as possible approaching to the freedom of action possessed by a private firm, without unduly relaxing the restrictions which must be imposed on a public Office; and to place its relations with the market as far as possible on the same easy footing as those of every other trader. All schemes which have been devised for this purpose resolve themselves into the ap¬ pointment of an officer or a Board, with varying devices for securing the honesty and the capacity of these new officials. The objections to such a plan are many and weighty, and the time is not yet come when the Govern¬ ment could be induced to adopt it, or indeed would be able to carry it through Parliament. But at least pallia¬ tives may be applied. Heads of departments might do much by examining into details which are not usually brought before their notice, and by revising the rules of their respective offices with reference to purchases and contracts for iron. Without forgetting that they are Ministers of the Crown, let them consider what should be their course if they were the chairmen of great trading companies. Great companies, it is true, are often encumbered with many of the difficulties of routine which beset the offices of the State; but to a very differ¬ ent degree, or their business would come to a standstill. Government may be assured that the impediments with which it has surrounded itself are very repulsive—never else could so much unpopularity have attached to a customer whose credit is so good and payments so regular. D 34 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT ? Above all, the Government wants agents who possess the information which every individual similarly situated would require for the protection of his interests. As a mode of providing such for the future, it might be advantageous to encourage some of the many intelli¬ gent officers in the service of the various departments to acquire a practical knowledge of the iron-trade, to the extent of learning the products of the different districts, the properties and qualities of the various makes of iron, the theory of intermixing them with the best effect—in short, to gain a general acquaintance with the nature and the management of the various processes of the manufacture. To this might easily be added the study of chemistry and mineralogy, so far as they bear on the production and working of iron. All this would be but superficial information, if they were to turn manu¬ facturers on so slender a stock; but thus instructed they would be intelligent negociators .in all dealings with the iron-trade, and they would relieve their respective Boards of the helplessness and distrust—the necessary consequences of ignorance—which have so much impeded the transactions of Government with its contractors. It is easy to point out the evils of the present state of the iron trade, and the inconveniences of its present relations with the Government. But the writer who ventures to hint at the possible remedies must feel that he is groping his way in the dark. To treat the subject properly he should possess such a knowledge of the iron trade on the one hand, and such a familiarity with the machinery of Government on the other, as can scarcely be united in the same person. Nor would it be possible to compress within a moderate space the consideration of WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 35 such an infinite variety of details. No one specific can be prescribed for tbe various mischiefs which arise from such a multitude of independent causes. As the practical conclusion, however, from the preceding statements and observations, we venture to propose for consideration the following suggestions:— 1. To revise the “specifications” under which the contractors for the ordinary supply of iron to the Admiralty make their tenders, and to reconsider gene¬ rally the rules and regulations affecting the dealings of the Government with the members of the iron-trade. 2. To revise the tests applied to the various articles of iron furnished to the Government. When it is con¬ sidered how different are the qualities of iron required for the various purposes of dockyards and arsenals, these tests appear to be of too uniform a character. The test applied to armour-plates is conclusive. They are fired at. In this case all that is needed is to devise some means of ascertaining that the plates actually employed shall be identical in quality with the trial-plates. 3. In the case of the new demands for iron, created by the new wants of the Admiralty, to lay down more distinct rules for the guidance of the Boards who receive and decide on tenders. It is obvious that great per¬ plexity must be occasioned to such Boards by the difficulty of deciding between quality and price, aggra¬ vated by the doubt whether price can be relied on as an index of quality. It seems more than probable that the Board must accept the lowest tenders which are made by respectable firms. And in deciding for cheap¬ ness they doubtless derive security from the reflection that every article which falls short of the appointed test d 2 36 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT ? will be rejected without payment. But this is a miscal¬ culation. A serious loss of time is occasioned by repeated rejections; and it is certain that an article which is manufactured with such anxiety to discover the minimum of sufficiency will answer but indifferently the purposes of the Government. Moreover, the public does vir¬ tually pay for the rejected samples. The fallacy lies in omitting to consider the difference in value between the accepted and the rejected articles: the former bears a high price; the latter sinks to the denomination and the value of scrap-iron. The manufacturer must put such a price on his produce as will cover the loss of rejection. No doubt he would make a greater and an honester profit if he used such materials as would secure him against the risk of rejection. In fact, the loss on the rejected iron is so much thrown away. It is subtracted from the quality of the article supplied to Government, and it is not gained by the contractor. The Board in the first instance require an amount of technical knowledge which no Government Board can. be expected to possess. But in default of a previous stock of knowledge they might collect information for the special occasion. The first object is to form a clear, dis¬ tinct notion of the quality and nature of the iron which is needed for the purpose in hand. On this point the labour of the Commission will be most useful, and will carry the Board through the first stage of their inquiry. The next point would be to ascertain in what districts the quality required may be looked for; what is the reputation of the various firms who have sent tenders; and what is the quality of the materials of their district, and the mode of manufacture they employ. However WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? 37 respectable the manufacturer may be, it is useless to give a contract for tough iron to one whose materials will make only hard iron; or to apply for cold-blast iron to works where only the hot-blast is used. Moreover, the Board should form some general notions as to the cost of production. It is merely an approximation that is required, for which a few leading facts would suffice. The average price of pig-iron of the quality required is easily ascertained and remembered. A certain additional sum will advance it to the stage of puddled-bar; so much more to that of merchant-bar; and a further addi¬ tion to the superlative rank of “ best best.” The expenses of further manipulation may easily be ascertained; and thus might be learned the limit of cheapness below which in prudence a tender ought to be rejected, and the maximum of expense beyond which no tender should be accepted without inquiring what advantage was offered in return for the increased cost. Above all, to enable the Board to come to an intelligent decision, it seems to be necessary that the manufacturer should in his tender explain generally the quality and nature of the materials he designs to use, and at least he should give a guarantee he does not employ old rails. Considerable additional trouble, no doubt, in the first instance would thus be occasioned to some of the Government departments. But great advantage would accrue to the public service, and much trouble would be saved in the end to the members of the Board themselves, as the information acquired by them for each special occasion gradually consolidated itself into knowledge. The present position of the Government with relation to the iron-trade is this: If it does not (to some extent 38 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? at least) turn manufacturer, it remains a purchaser of wrought-iron exclusively, and the maker of the best, that is to say, the cold-blast pig-iron, has no direct means of introducing his produce into the Government dockyards or making it available for the manufacture of armour- plates. The wrought-iron manufacturers, who ought to be the connecting-link between the makers of the best pig-iron and the Government, have not become so as yet to any considerable extent. But supposing that the Government is advised that its orders do require the use of the best pig-iron; by what persuasion or coercion can it enforce the employment of the materials it approves ? That is the problem to be solved. It is not to be supposed that the foregoing pages are addressed to the iron-master, for whom they possess no novelty or interest. The object of the writer is to draw the attention of the public to a subject which has hitherto been little studied, but which now is invested with extraordinary interest. Never before did there occur an instance in history where a matter of commercial and manufacturing policy assumed such gigantic importance as belongs to the iron question at the present moment. If, a quarter of a century ago, a political economist had been asked to name the conditions most favourable to the security and prosperity of the country, he could have devised nothing more promising than that supremacy in commerce and in war should be made dependent on superiority in the manufacture of iron ; that iron should be the armour of our navy, and the material of our commercial marine— perhaps, too, the coating of our fortifications. Such con¬ ditions have been realised; but instead of the energy im- WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT ? 39 parted by knowledge and experience, instead of the alacrity of anticipated triumph, they find among us error and bewilderment. Instead of pouring into our docks and arsenals a steady supply of impenetrable ship and armour plates, we are disputing about what is good iron, and are struggling to use what is not. Nevertheless, the impulsion is given—ill or well, the movement will go on —our wooden walls are rapidly transforming themselves into iron. The cost will be enormous. It depends on the direction for good or for ill now given to the iron- manufacture whether the expenditure be not made in vain. NOTE. The following passages on the subject of scrap-iron are extracted from a valuable work ‘ On the Useful Metals and their Alloys,’ pub¬ lished in the year 1857. The subject is so important at this moment, and the authority of the writer so great, that they cannot fail to he read with interest. In the XYIth chapter Mr. William Clay, of the Mersey Steel and IronWorks, affirms that scrap-iron is the “very worst description of iron for the manufacture of wrought iron in large masses : ”— “ Let us,” he says, “ first endeavour to see how this almost uni¬ versal belief in the superiority of scrap-iron has arisen. At the time when small forgings were first attempted to he made as an article of commerce, the manufacture of English iron was in such an imperfect state, and the quality so indifferent, that large quantities of the best iron had to be imported from Sweden and Russia ; and for a long time the scrap-iron was of a quality that could not be approached by the English iron of the period. Since that time the use of Swedish and Russian iron has been almost entirely discontinued, except for the manufacture of steel. The greater part of the scrap-iron now pro¬ duced, therefore, is of a very different quality from that previously known as best scrap-iron. This material was deservedly considered as the most proper material for the manufacture of forgings that could then be procured ; but it must be borne in mind that, at the date we 40 WHAT IS GOOD IRON, AND HOW IS IT TO BE GOT? speak of, the forgings were so limited in size that the practical evils resulting from the use of scrap-iron were not so perceptible.” Then follows an important passage, too long for transcription, in which the limits are fixed, beyond which good iron cannot he worked to advantage. It was ascertained by experiment that “ ordinary fibrous puddled iron ” deteriorated after the sixth time of working. “ From these experiments it appears that scrap-iron, or any other iron highly refined, is the very worst material for the construction of large forgings which can be used; and that, if we take in the first instance a strong, fresh, fibrous puddled-iron, the ordinary workings required in the process of forging will be sufficient to improve it to the average maximum of strength required. Whereas highly-refined iron, such as Lowmoor or Bowling, although the very best description for many purposes, has already reached the highest point in its strength, from which it is more likely to be deteriorated by additional workings.”— (p. 317.) The same high authority declares himself in favour of wrought-iron ordnance. The reader who desires more accurate information is particularly recommended to consult the XYIth chapter, from which the foregoing extracts are taken; and also the XIXth, by Mr. Fairbairn, on the application of cast-iron to ordnance and other purposes. LONDON! PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET, AND CnARING CROSS.