320 THE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS OF 



France and in this country, and the results were very satisfactory. 

 Years ago the use of rich ferro-manganese had been found to 

 afford great assistance, but manufacturers had not succeeded in 

 producing a soft and tough metal containing so large a proportion 

 of phosphorus as had been produced latterly, more particularly at 

 Terrenoire, in France, in using the Siemens-Martin process. He 

 had very few observations to offer with regard to the working of 

 steel. In solidifying from the melted state it had a natural 

 tendency to become honeycombed, either through the generation 

 of gases, or through mere contraction of the semi-fluid mass, and 

 it was necessary to close these cavities as thoroughly as possible, 

 because steel, unlike iron, did not weld ; and if a hollow space 

 existed in an ingot, that hollow space would remain a break of 

 continuity, no matter through what process it was put afterwards. 

 Probably hammering was the most efficacious of those contrivances 

 which had hitherto been adopted for closing those bubbles ; but 

 Sir Joseph Whitworth had elaborated a plan for remedying the 

 evil at the proper moment. He compressed the steel while it was 

 still in a fluid or semi-fluid condition ; Dr. Siemens expected 

 great results from that system. He was not prepared to say 

 whether it would ever supersede hammering and rolling, for 

 ordinary rail-making, but for such purposes as gun-making, he 

 considered that Sir Joseph Whitworth's plan commended itself as 

 one of great importance. 



In the discussion of the Paper 



"ON FLUID COMPRESSED STEEL AND GUNS," 

 By SIR JOSEPH WHITWOETH, BART., D.C.L., F.E.S., 



MR. C. W. SIEMENS * observed that the paper now read was 

 remarkable on account of the very striking results which had 



* Excerpt Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 

 1875, pp. 285-288. 



