MILD STEEL. 47 



comparatively short space of time. It is scarcely to be 

 wondered at that this should be so, when it is remembered 

 that as long as the material previously used was called iron, 

 the test of nomenclature was about all the testing it 

 received, and I have no hesitation in saying that an immense 

 quantity of very inferior and unreliable material has been 

 worked up into so-called iron structures, such as roofs, 

 bridges, boilers, and ships, in consequence. But, as regards 

 mild steel, matters are very different, for every charge is 

 thoroughly and scientifically tested and analysed, and the 

 results recorded, so that the mechanical and chemical pro- 

 perties of practically every plate and bar is known, and the 

 engineer can, if he likes, get the exact quality of material 

 which in his judgment is the most suitable for the purpose 

 he has in view. No doubt the large amount of attention 

 given to the quality of this material is in a great measure 

 the secret of its success ; and as the qualities of mild steel 

 are now so accurately determined, it is universally adopted 

 and preferred for those special purposes for which only the 

 best Yorkshire iron could formerly be used. 



In contradistinction to the rough-and-ready way in 

 which merchant iron was and still is manufactured and 

 branded, generally without any testing or analysing, all 

 the manufacturers of mild steel find it necessary, as almost 

 the first step in the process, to provide a very efficient and 

 complete laboratory and mechanical testing house, with a 

 large staff of highly qualified chemists and testing sur- 

 veyors, specially devoted to the careful selection of the raw 

 materials, and for testing the steel during the process of 

 manufacture. 



I am informed that all steel manufactured is subject to 

 the most minute analysis and testing by the manufacturer's 

 staff as a commercial every-day precaution, whether it may 



