EXPERIMENTS ON W0OTZ. 287 



highly fo by mixture ot" calcareous earth along with 51 por. liaf ore fufed, 

 tion of carbongceous matter. That this is pertormed in a clay l^f/l'^^^^^^ 

 or other veflTul or crucible, is equally prefumable, in which the vcflelj 

 feparated metal is allowed to cool; hence the cT}ftallization 

 that occupies the pits and cells found in and upon the under 

 pr rounded fur face of the wootz cakes. 



The want of homogenity, and of real foh'dity in almofl ^X^n heat "ot 



*>-' i-r^r fufficient for 



every cake of wootz, appears to pie to be a direct conlequence gggd fu^on , 

 of the want of heat fufficiently powerful to cffeft a perfeft 

 reduction ; what ftrengthens this fuppofition much is, that 

 ihofe cakes that are the hardeft, i. e. that contain the greateft 

 quantity of carbonaceous matter, and of courfe form the moft 

 fufjble fteel, are always the moft folid and homogenious. On 

 the contrary, thofe cakes, into which the cutting chitfel moft. 

 eafily finds its way, are in general cellular, replete with 

 laminae, and abound in veins of malleable iron. 



It is probable, had the native Hindoftan the means of ren- w^''<^^ '^ *^*= 



1 . .• 001 n -x •, i> L , reafon why it 



dermg his call fteel as fluid as water, it would have occurred ^as not caft in 

 to him to have run it into moulds, and by this means have moulds. 

 acquired an r,ftlcle uniform in its quality, and convenient for 

 thofe purpofes to which it is applied. 



\ Tbe hammering, which is evident around the feeder and 

 npon the upper furface in general, may thus be accounted for. 

 When the cake is taken iroin the pot or crucible, the feeder 

 will moft probably be fliglitly elevated, and the top of the 

 cake partially covered with fmall mafles of ore and fteel iron, 

 which the paucity of the heat had left cither iniperi'edly fepa- 

 rated or unfufed. Thefe moft probably, to make the produ6l 

 more marketable, are cut oft' at a (econd heating, and the 

 whole furface hammered fmooth, v 



I have obferved the fame fafls and fimilar appearances in 

 operations of a like nature, and can account fatisfadlorily for 

 it as follows.. 



The firft portions of metal, that are feparated in experi- 

 ments of this nature, contain the largeft fliare of the whole 

 carbon introduced into the mixture. It follows of courfe, that 

 an inferior degree of heat will maintain this portion of metal 

 'in a ftate of fluidity, but that a much higher temperature is 

 requifite to reduce the particles of metal, thus for a feafon 

 robbed of their carbon, and bring them into contact with the 



portion 



