(10 



with the euld blast, and the coal is used in its natural state. The coal of this dis- 

 trict is said to be the best in Wales, and the iron reduced by it is of a good quali- 

 ty^ It is now generally admitted that the character ot the metal is deteriorated by 

 the hot blast, whether for malleable or cast iron ; but there are so many recom- 

 mendations in its favor, and as it produces metal sufficiently good, when the fuel 

 and ore are not inferior, for the most of purposes, it is pretty generally used. 



After dinner went to the Dowlas works, under the superintendence of Sir John 

 .Guest, who is also the principal proprietor. These are said to be the larges 

 works in the world. They are most wonderful, not only for their extent, but 

 also for the admirable system with which they are conducted. The local or native 

 ores (or the mine as it is here universally called) are the argillaceous carbonates or 

 the clay iron stones of the coal measures. They are first roasted, and generally 

 mixed with a small proportion of coast-borne, or "foreign ores," as they are term- 

 ed, from Cornwall, Devon, Lancashire, and Bristol. They are carried to the fur- 

 naces, where they are mixed with a proper charge of coal or coke and lime. The 

 proportion of these substances depends on so many circumstances, as well as the 

 quality of the metal it is proposed to make, and the nature of the blast, th»t no 

 precise rules would apply ; and the exact quantities can only be obtained from ex- 

 perience and a knowledge of the character of the ores. In a general way, it may 

 be said to require, with the cold blast, nearly 3 tons of coal to produce one of iron ; 

 and the lime stone vvith the local ores is mixed in the proportion of 3 to 5^. So 

 far as this is concerned, the hot blast is not much of an improvement, and it is not 

 therefore as much used in Wales as in other parts of the kingdom. 



The stack and cupola furnaces are indifferently used, there seeming to be no 

 preference given to either form, and they are built according to circumstances ; and 

 vou will sometimes see them combined in the same establishment. 



The furnaces are usually tapped twice in 24 hours. The melted metal is drawn 

 directly into the refinery, where it runs through burning coke, or still better char 

 coal, producing the most brilliant scintillations. From this it is run out into a 

 large form, and cold water thrown on it while yet in a molten stale. This causes 

 it to boil or bubble, owing to the escape of the steam, which brings with it the cin- 

 ders to the surface. As soon as it cools, it is broken up and taken to the pud- 

 dling furnaces, from whence it is removed in large white hot balls, on a truck, to 

 a ponderous trip hammer, to which it is subjected till beaten into the form of a 

 rude bar. It is then carried to the rollers, and passed through them from 5 to 8 

 times, each time becoming more dense, and approximating to the required form, 

 which it at last attains. The above is the process through which I saw it carried 

 fiom the ore. To convey some idea of the nicety with which the rollers are made, 

 I will state that, when ordering iron for a railway, I have had the patterns made 

 in wood to certain dimensions : then calculated the weight per linear yard, which 

 was embodied in the specifications for the rails ; and they have been lolled with »o 

 much precision os scarcely to vary in any appreciable amount from that specified- 

 The difficulty in producing this nice result you can readily imagine. 



At thi« establishment the lap is never run into pigs when intended for malleable 



