MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 27 



will best suit his convenience or the requirements of his busi- 

 ness. 



"The melted iron may be run directly out of the tap-hole of 

 the blast furnace, or may be first poured out into a pot. It is 

 then allowed to run from an elevation of 30 feet, more or less, 

 to the ground, and by this means the iron is brought into intimate 

 contact with the air, so that the carbon is rapidly ignited, increas- 

 ing the temperature of the metal and its fluidity, and, at the same 

 time, carrying off in a great measure the other impurities, such as 

 silicon, sulphur, and phosphorus, which also ignite with the carbon, 

 and are thus elimina,ted. If it is desired to prevent the metal 

 becoming spattered around as it falls, when it reaches the ground, 

 it may be poured through a pipe, cvlinder, or tube, open at both 

 ends, so as to permit the free passage of the air upwards through 

 the cylinder. This plan has the advantage of securing a more 

 uniform current of air, which will flow upwards through the 

 cylinder, in consequence of the rarefaction caused by the lieat of 

 the metal. A stream or current of atmospheric air, either hot or 

 cold, or of ozone, or steam, or a mixture of any of the gases or 

 vapors, singly or combined, may be introduced into the cylinder, 

 pipe, or tube, through which the metal is poured ; and, if desiretl, 

 pressure may be applied so as to create a stronger current or blast 

 up through the cylinder. If it is desired to add any fluxes to the 

 iron (or ph^'sic it, as the iron- workers term it), this ma}' be done 

 before the iron is poured out. The height from which the metal 

 is caused to fall may be varied according to the quality of the 

 metal, and also somewhat according to its quantity ; as the more 

 impure the iron, the greater the height from which it should fall, 

 the consequent distance through which it should be exposed to the 

 action of the air or other oxygen-bearing gas or vapcn*; and the 

 larger the quantity, the greater the height siiould be, so as to secure 

 the more complete action on the particles of iron. A more com- 

 plete separation of the particles of metal may be secured by pour- 

 ing it through holes or perforations in a plate or otherwise. In- 

 stead of pouring the metal downwards, the same result would be 

 produced by an upward jet; but the plan above indicated, it is 

 believed, will be found the best and simplest in practice. 



*'By the means above described, of pouring molten pig metal 

 through a cylinder 30 feet high, I have produced iron which, 

 when heated and parsed through the squeezers, gave out no cin- 

 der, thus showing that the silica had been nearly if not entirely 

 removed, and from which, in the condition in which it passed from 

 the muck-bar rolls, it was ready to be worked for any desired 

 purpose. So that by my process, wrought iron ready for the rolls 

 is produced directly from pig iron by a process requiring little or 

 no machinery or apparatus, and scarcely any time, and dispensing 

 with the ordinary troublesome and tedious processes. 



"I also apply the above mode of purifying iron to the man- 

 ufacture of semi-steel and steel, the process being the same, 

 though a more perfect and longer-continued admixture of air or 

 other oxygen-bearing gas may be required therefor." 



