744 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



as that which is known world-wide as the " Bessemer process " of 

 manufacturing steel. In general terms the " Bessemer process " 

 may be described as the art of decarburizing molten cast iron by 

 blowing streams of atmospheric air into and through it. 



For over three quarters of a century the germ of this wonder- 

 ful process lay dormant in the " refinery fire," * awaiting the time 

 when the needs of man should call it forth. It will be remem- 

 bered that the decarburization of the molten iron in the hearth 

 of the "refinery fire" was accomplished slowly and imperfectly 

 by blowing air upon its surface beneath a large mass of fuel 

 whose presence was believed to be absolutely necessary in order 

 to maintain the heat of the metal under treatment. Had those 

 early refiners blown the air into the metal, they would have been 

 astonished to find that its temperature increased rather than 

 diminished ; that the refining operation was very much shortened ; 

 and that, if the blowing was continued for a short time longer 

 than was necessary to make refined cast iron, the metal would 

 become malleable in short, they would have discovered what is 

 now called the " Bessemer process." 



Success is always perilously near to failure. All great inven- 

 tions and discoveries have usually more than one claimant, and 

 this revolutionary process is no exception to the rule a rule 

 which is so universal that it almost justifies the belief that when 

 in the fullness of time the world is prepared for a decisive ad- 

 vance in the sciences or the arts, an overruling power indicates 

 simultaneously to minds separated oftentimes by continents and 

 oceans some way to satisfy the growing needs of the world, and 

 all to whom such revelations are given, who contribute to their 

 promulgation and success, are entitled to an honorable recogni- 

 tion and reward commensurate with the value of their services to 

 mankind. The first mention of an attempt to improve the refin- 

 ing of molten cast iron by the action of air introduced below its 

 surface is in an English patent granted September 15, 1855, to 

 Joseph G. Martien, of Newark. N. J., then residing in London. f 

 The general nature of Martien's process is thus stated in the 

 specifications of his patent. " In carrying out my invention, in 

 place of allowing the melted iron from a blast-furnace simply to 

 flow in the ordinary gutter or channel to the bed or molds, or to 

 refinery or puddling furnaces in the ordinary manner, I employ 

 channels or gutters so arranged that numerous streams of air, or 

 of steam, or vapor of water may be passed through and among 

 the melted metal as it flows from a blast-furnace." 



iron as a porous, spongy mass which can be put directly into the bath of an open-hearth 

 furnace, or be balled up in a reverberatory furnace and rolled into " muck-bar." 



* Illustrated on page 328 of vol. xxxviii. 



f This patent was purchased by the Ebbw Vale Iron Company soon after it was issued. 



