64 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



Europe and America. According to the Mechanics' Maga- 

 zine, a rival to this method is to be found in the system of 

 Berard, as adopted at the steel-works in Givors, in France. 

 The principal features of this are, first, the employment of 

 gas, acting at once as a heating and reacting agent in im- 

 proving the quality of the iron by a partial purification, be- 

 fore throwing off such injurious bodies as sulphur, phospho- 

 rus, arsenic, etc. ; second, the ability to employ iron of a sec- 

 ondary quality to obtain steel for certain special purposes, 

 as rails, tires, etc. ; third, by the combined action of air and 

 gas, in being able to act alternately by means of oxidation 

 and reduction in keeping the waste at a minimum, and by 

 decarbonizing and recarbonizing, to regulate at will, and with 

 certainty, the nature of the product to be obtained. 



The details of the method are too technical to be given 

 here, although the results are recommended by their excel- 

 lence and the economy in cost in obtaining them. The op- 

 eration requires from an hour to an hour and a half, and the 

 process is so conducted that the manipulation can be arrested 

 at any moment, and any desired quality of steel obtained. 

 3 A, IBll, April 1, 233. 



THEORY OF BESSEMER AND HE AXON STEEL PROCESSES. 



In the course of certain remarks respecting the production 

 of artificial charcoal iron, Mr. Berthault observes that both 

 Bessemer and Heaton base their systems upon the purifica- 

 tion of the pigs by oxidizing reaction, either of nitrate of 

 soda or of nitrate of potash ; but, referring to the quantities 

 of alkaline salts contained in various fuels, Mr. Berthault re- 

 marks that the results appear to prove that soda or potash 

 salts, thrown into the blast-furnace at the same time as the 

 ore and fuel, would give with coke or other mineral fuel a 

 metal closely resembling charcoal iron, and even a steely pig. 

 Every thing will depend upon the quantity of soda or of pot- 

 ash added, and he contends that the best salt to employ is 

 the neutral carbonate of potash, such as is obtained from 

 vegetable sources, and commonly known as pearlash. To 

 obtain iron of uniform quality in the blast-furnace, it is de- 

 si rable to mix the salt with some glutinous liquids, such as 

 blood and water, and dampen the coke with it. 8 A, April 

 1,65. 



