410 ANNUAL RECORD OE SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



The Bessemer-steel industry consumed during 1S7G one 

 fourth of the pig-iron product of that year; and the propor- 

 tions to "which it lias attained entitle it to rank as a leading; 

 branch of the iron industry of the country. The use of Bes- 

 semer metal as a substitute for wrought iron and other kinds 

 of steel is steadily increasing. 



The accompanying table, showing the production of Bes- 

 semer rails for a series of years, completes our annual review 

 of this industry as far as January, 1877, viz. : 



Showing a total production since 1S67 of 1,1G3,028 net tons. 



STEEL PRODUCTION OTHER THAN BESSEMER. 



From the elaborate statistics of Mr. Swank we are enabled 

 to glean that during the year 1876 the production of crucible, 

 puddled, blister, and open-hearth steel, in the forty-seven es- 

 tablishments at work in the country, was 71,178 net tons, 

 against 61,058 tons in 1875 and 49,681 tons in 1874. Of the 

 product of 1876, 39,382 tons were crucible steel, 21,490 were 

 open-hearth, and 10,309 puddled and blister steel. The fol- 

 lowing table shows the production by states and districts: 



PRODUCTION OF IRON AND STEEL BY THE OPEN-HEARTH 

 PROCESS (on the authority of Messrs. Richmond and Potts). 



Steel or homogeneous iron made by the Siemens open-hearth fur- 

 naces during the year 1 870 (net tons) 24,009 



Total number of Siemens's furnaces in the iron and steel works of the 



United States to date 141 



