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Observations on Iron and Steel. 115 
now taken to the fire called the chafery, made of 
common coal; after which the two ends are drawn 
out into the form of the middle, and the operation is 
finished. 
There is also a third method of rendering crude 
iron malleable, which, I think, promises to be abun- 
dantly more advantageous than either @f,the two 
former, as it will dispense both with the refinery..and 
chafery ; and nothing more will be necessary than a> 
reverberating furnace, and a furnace to give the me- 
tal a malleable heat, about the middle of the opera- 
tion. The large forge hammer will also fall into 
disrepute, but in its place must be substituted metal 
rollers of different capacities, which, like the forge 
hammer, must be worked either by a water wheel 
or a steam engine. 
It is by the operation of the forge hammer or 
metal rollers, that the iron is deprived of the re- 
maining portion of impurity, and acquires a fibrous 
texture. 
The iron made by the three foregoing processes 
is equally valuable, for by any of them the metal 
is rendered pure; but after those different opera- 
tions are finished, it is the opinion of many of the 
most judicious workers in iron, that laying it in a 
damp place, for some time, improves its quality ; 
and to this alone, some attribute the superiority of 
foreign iron, more time elapsing between making 
and using the metal, To the latter part of this opi- 
