Manchester Memoirs, Vol. Ivii. (1913), A'^. 17. 5 



A chance remark by Commandant Minie — the in- 

 ventor of the rifle of that name— who attended one of the 

 experiments — that the new projectile would require a 

 better gun than one of cast-iron, led Bessemer on to the 

 path of experiment, which culminated in his process of 

 forcing air through molten pig-iron, and, by thus removing 

 the silicon, manganese, and carbon, to convert the same 

 into steel. 



Bessemer first began by fusing pig-iron in a reverba- 

 tory furnace and then adding broken bars of blister steel.*' 

 This furnace was specially constructed to give a high 

 temperature, and, in order to obtain a better combustion 

 of the gases, a hollow bridge, with numerous perforations, 

 was employed to admit of hot air being introduced. This 

 hot air was found to produce decarburization of the metal, 

 and an accidental occurrence of almost complete decarburi- 

 zation of the exterior of some pieces of pig-iron in this 

 way, led Bessemer to the idea of trying to decarburize 

 molten iron by a stream of airl To try this, he brought 

 a perforated pipe into a crucible containing molten iron, 

 but without removing the crucible from the furnace. In 

 half an hour the blowing was found to have converted the 

 grey pig-iron into soft malleable iron. Following upon this, 

 Bessemer conceived the idea of trying the effect of blowing 

 air through liquid cast iron without external heat, and, to 

 do this, he fitted up a simple form of cylindrical converter 

 about 4ft. in height and fitted with six horizontal tuyeres 

 round the bottom of same. This converter, in a somewhat 

 later and more elaborate form, is shown in PL I. A blast of 



* It is probable tbat Bessemer knew of Fairbairn's experiments of melt- 

 ing scrap-iron with pig-iron. Fairbairn, however, did this in a cupola, and 

 the resultant product therefore contained too much sulphur. 



■^ Bessemer was aware of Nasmyth's patent, May 6th, 1854, for blowing 

 steam through iron in a puddling furnace. 



