INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1874. clxxiii 



it is said, contemplating the formation of a treaty to regu- 

 late the season, period, and amount of the hunt for these ani- 

 mals. 



TECHNOLOGY. 



In connection with the technology of the preceding di- 

 vision, we record the fact that an organized effort is about 

 beinsr made to utilize the waste or slack coal for fuel, upon 

 the process devised by Mr. Loiseau, whose invention was re- 

 ferred to in our last yearly Record. The " Loiseau Pressed 

 Fuel Company" has lately been formally organized, with a 

 number of prominent coal operators in the management. 

 The erection of the works is at present progressing at Port 

 Richmond. 



The annual meeting of the British Iron and Steel Institute 

 afforded, among other matters of value to the metallurgist, 

 an admirable opportunity for a full discussion of the expe- 

 rience gained in and the prospects of mechanical puddling. 



The gist of this discussion indicated that thus far, upon 

 the scale on which it has been introduced, machine-puddling 

 has met with but questionable success ; and American ex- 

 perience will probably coincide with this opinion. In the 

 most influential quarters, however, the sentiment is strongly 

 expressed that the ultimate triumph of the system in some 

 form is certain. The difficulties of the process are various, 

 and reside in the cost of the plant, which is considerable; 

 and in the fact that rolls of exceptionally large size and great 

 power are required to manipulate the large blooms produced 

 in the rotary furnace, any accident to which would be a 

 serious matter. But the most obstinate difficulty that is 

 encountered is the rapid destruction of the lining of the 

 furnace by the large masses of metal thrown into it. 



To offset these disadvantages, its advocates advance the 

 following points: It is possible to operate with much larger 

 masses of metal, and to produce iron of far more uniform 

 quality, than by the old method of puddling by hand, while 

 the substitution of machinery relieves the laborer of the 

 most exhausting manual work; involving the incidental ad- 

 vantage that the manufacturer is placed in a position of in- 

 dependence as regards skilled labor. The machine-puddling, 

 again, it is claimed, can be performed more economically 



8* 



