Effects of' Hot Air in Smelting- of Iron. 205 



The author first gives a general account of the process of manu- 

 facture of cast-iron previous to the recent improvements, stating 

 the quantities of tlie various materials put into the furnace, namely, 

 of the Ore, the Fuel, and tlie Flux. He next states the method 

 suggested first by Mr Neilson of Glasgow, and tried at the Clyde 

 Iron-\yorks, for increasing the product of the furnaces with the 

 same expense of materials, which consists in previously heating the 

 air thrown into tlie furnace, in order to accelerate combustion. 

 The method is found to produce a vast saving both in the fuel and 

 the flux, although a certain portion of fuel has, of course, to be sepa- 

 rately consumed for the purpose of heating the air, which is done 

 by causing it to traverse a recurved pipe placed within a suitable 

 furnace. During the first experiments, in 1830, the air was heated 

 to 300= Fahrenheit. In 1831, Mr Dixon of the Calder Iron-Works 

 thought of substituting raw coal for the coke which had hitherto 

 been employed for fuel, at the same time that the air was still far- 

 ther heated to 600° Fahrenheit, and with complete success. The 

 result is, that t/iree times as much hon is noiv made by the use of a 

 given weight of coal as formerly. The following are the results of 

 the experiments made at the Clyde Iron-Works. 



In 182!), Ill tons of iron were produced from 403 of coke, or 888 of coal. 



1830, 162 376 . 886 



1831, 245 .554 



Dr Clark endeavours to point out the source of advantage thus 

 obtained, from the enormous quantity of air which is thrown into a 

 furnace in full action, which is not less than six tons weight in a 

 minute, and which, therefore, must exercise the most important 

 influence upon the mean temperature of the furnace. 



Qth April. — Sir Thomas M. Brisbane, President, in the 

 Chair. No paper read on account of extraordinary busi- 

 ness. 



9,(ith April. — Sir Thomas Brisbane, President, in the Chair. 

 The following Communications were read : — 



1. The conclusion of Dr Traill's paper on the Ruins of 

 Babylon. 



The author, after noticing the ancient writers who have left us 

 any description of Babylon, mentioned the short accounts of Ben- 

 jamin of Tudehi, of Baiiwolf Pietro clella Valle, Pere Emmanuel, 

 NiHbuhr, and Detuchamp, from which little information is to be de- 

 rived, compared to what may be gathered from a succession of 

 British travellers ; among whom, first in point of time and import- 

 ance, is Claudius James Rich, late British consul at Bagdad, whose 

 steps have been successively followed by Kinneir Ker, Porter, 

 Buckingham, Keppel, and Mignan. 



