AMERICAN INDUSTRIES SINCE COLUMBUS. 147 



result, and, as fuel and ore were abundant, it is not likely that 

 economy would be much studied in their use. 



The simplest process known for obtaining iron from its ore 

 can be carried out in an ordinary blacksmith's fire by throwing 

 crushed ore upon the ignited fuel, covering it with coal, and, after 

 urging the fire with bellows for a considerable time, there will be 

 found in the bottom of the fire an irregular mass of forgeable 

 metal. Some form of this process is still employed by many sav- 

 age and semi-civilized people ; and this was doubtless the method 

 used by the "mineral man*' in testing the ores of iron discov- 

 ered by the Roanoke colonists in 1585. 



In Fig. 1 is shown a modification of this process, practiced by 

 the iron-workers of Persia and adjacent countries, who have 



Fig. 1. Persian Method of Smelting Ikon. 



manufactured both iron and steel by this simple and inexpen- 

 sive method (as measured by their standards of the value of 

 time, labor, and material), from the days of Tubal-Cain to the 

 present time, and have fabricated therefrom cutting tools and 

 weapons of unsurpassed excellence. The keenness of edge, won- 

 derful temper, and marvelous elasticity of the swords of Damas- 

 cus have had a world-wide fame for thousands of years. George 

 Thompson, the distinguished English orator and philanthropist, 

 stated that " when in Calcutta, he saw a man throw in the air a 

 handful of floss silk, which a Hindoo cut in pieces with his saber. 

 Many of the swords and daggers made in central and western 

 Asia two thousand years ago were as remarkable for their elabo- 

 rate finish and exquisite ornamentation as for their more practi- 

 cal qualities. 



The process, illustrated by Fig. 1, was substantially as follows : 

 A basin-shaped hole, six to twelve inches in depth and twelve to 

 twenty-four inches in diameter, was first made in the earth ; this 

 cavity was then lined with moistened charcoal dust, which was 

 well rammed to make it as dense as possible ; the hearth thus 

 formed was then filled with charcoal, on which Avas placed a layer 

 of crushed ore, and over this alternate layers of fuel and ore until 



