FORESTRY IN HUNGARY. 57 



well as with the furnaces at Bogsdn, had to be effected over hilly 

 roads by means of bullock-carts ; as many as twenty pairs of 

 bullocks being sometimes required to move the heavier loads. 

 The gauge of the line is 3 ft. 3 in., and the rails weigh llf lbs. 

 per running foot. They are laid on wooden sleepers 2 ft. 3 in. 

 apart, and measuring 5 ft. 5 in. by 5 9 in. by 3*9 in. About one- 

 third of the total length of the line consists of numerous sharp 

 curves of from 160 to 320 feet radius, by which it winds along 

 the bottom of the valley up an incline of about 2 in 100. There 

 is one tunnel, which is 260 feet long. 



We returned from our excursion through the park, which was 

 laid out by the Company for the benefit of its workmen, on the 

 occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the opening of the 

 works"; and we then paid a visit to the Bessemer Steel Factory. 

 The molten iron, brought from the high furnaces, is poured into a 

 huge vessel, previously brought to a very high temperature, and 

 through which a powerful blast of compressed air is then passed. 

 This carries off the carbon in the form o£ carbon dioxyde, and at 

 the same time drives off other impurities. The metal is then 

 poured, by means of hydraulic machinery, into moulds, lined with 

 a paste of crushed quartz ; and the blocks of steel thus formed 

 are afterwards heated and rolled into rails. The heat in the 

 factory was terrific ; but we were told that the health of the 

 workmen does not suffer from it. 



The only fuel used in the high furnaces is wood charcoal ; and 

 the ore is almost entirely magnetic iron of excellent quality. 

 From 140 to 175 cubic feet of charcoal are required for the 

 manufacture of a ton of iron, of which about 15,000 tons are 

 turned out annually. Iron is also brought from Bogsd,n ; but the 

 total quantity available for the Bessemer and Martin factories is 

 insufiicient to enable them to be worked at full power. They do 

 not make more than from 20,000 to 25,000 tons of steel per 

 annum, but are capable of turning out double that quantity. 



In the evening we attended a Soiree, given in a building 

 provided for such entertainments by the Company. The bands- 

 men were all workmen from the factories. 



The Forests of the Domain. 



The total area of the forests in the Domain, is 213,905 acres, 

 covering two extensive tracts, the most important of which lies 



