2°80 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION B. 
This digression, if it can be so called, is rather long, but it is 
well to have plainly understood some of the difticulties which had 
to be overcome before in reality a pound of ore could be smelted. 
THE BLAST FURNACE PLANT. 
The furnaces belonging to the Proprietary were 16 in all, 
divided into two sheds, called the north and the south smelters. 
The firstnamed contained 9 brick-shaft furnaces 60 inches by 112 
inches inside measurement. The 9 furnaces were supplied with air 
from a common main, the blast being supplied from 6 No. ‘3, il 
No. 5, and 3 No. 44 Baker Positive Blowers, driven by a pair of 
horizontal compound surface- condensing engines, 164 inches and 26 
inches cylinders by 40-in. stroke. A ‘stand- by engine was of the 
marine type, and was styled a tandem compound condensing engine, 
cylinders 14 inches and 24 inches, with a 30-in. stroke. Steam was 
supplied from 2 Lancashire boilers, 7 feet diameter and 23 feet long, 
and 2 Cornish boilers 6 feet sfmnaiee and 25 feet long, fitted with 
1 5-in. by 4-in. by 8-in. Knowles and 1 5-in. by 6-in. by 8-in. 
Tangye boiler feed pumps. 
All the 9 furnaces delivered their smoke, by means of downcast 
flues, into a common culvert delivering into a wrought-iron stack 
196 ft. high and 11 ft. in the clear at the top. 
The slag was hauled away from the furnaces in two-wheeled 
slag-pots by manual labour; later on it was handled with large 
pots, two on a carriage, pach pot holding about 1 ton of slag, 
horses doing the haulage. 
On the feed floor the charge wheelers were elevated from the 
ore bins 2 the level of the feed floor by 8 hydraulic automatic 
lifts with 7-in. rams. All slag, matte, flue dust, dross, &ec., that 
had to be Era: through the furnaces were lifted by a double- 
friction hoist, 7-in. diameter cylinder and 10-in. stroke. 
The south smelters consisted of 6 brick-shaft furnaces, 60 inches 
by 112 inches, and 1 small matte furnace. The products of com- 
bustion were drawn off into a common flue and distributed into the 
air through an iron stack about 150 feet high and 10 ft. 6 in. in 
the clear at the top. As with the first set described, the furnaces 
were supphed with air from a common blast pipe. The air was 
supphed from 5 No. 7; Baker Positive Blowers, actuated by a 
pair of horizontal engines, cylinders 164 inches and 38 inches 
stroke, and 1 Westinghouse standard engine, 154 inches cylinders 
and 14 inches stroke, as a relieving engine. 
Steam was supplied from a nest of 5 Lancashire boilers, each 
7 feet diameter by 23 feet long, fitted with | No. 4 Knowles’ and 
1 No. 5 Blake boiler feed-pumps. In addition to supplying the 
south smelters with steam, this installation of boilers supplied the 
pumping plant, which handled the cooling water of both nests of 
furnaces. 
