SJX WILLIAM SIEMENS, l-.R.S. 341 



fire, metallic iron is formed, which, on being heated to the welding 

 p lint, on the same smith's hearth, may be forged into a horseshoe 

 i.t' cxirllcnt quality. The admixture with the ore of some fluxing 

 materials, such as lime or clay, will, in most cases, be of advantage 

 to rid the iron of adherent slag. 



The simplicity of this process is such that it naturally preceded 

 the elaborate processes now in use for the production of iron and 

 suvl upon a gigantic scale, nor can it surprise us to find that 

 attempts have been made from time to time, down to the present 

 day, to revert to the ancient and more simple method. It can be 

 shown that iron produced by direct process is almost chemically 

 j.uiv, although the ores and reducing agent employed may have 

 contained a considerable percentage of phosphorus, sulphur, and 

 silicon, and that, if freed from its adherent slag, it furnishes a 

 material superior in quality and commercial value to the ordinary 

 iron of commerce. 



The practical objections to the direct process, as practised in 

 former days, and as still used, to a limited extent, in the United 

 States of America and in some European countries, are that 



1. Very rich ores only are applicable, of which about one-half is 

 converted into iron, the remainder being lost in forming slag. 



2. The fuel used is charcoal, of which between three and four 

 bons are used in producing one ton of hammered blooms. 



3. Expenditure of labour is great, being at the rate of 33 men, 

 working twelve hours, in producing one ton of metal (see Percy). 

 Iron produced by direct process in the Catalan forge is therefore 

 expensive iron, and could not compete with iron produced by 

 modern processes except for special purposes, such as furnishing 

 melting material for the tool steel maker. 



But, it may be asked, could not the advantages of the direct 

 process be combined with those of modern appliances for the pro- 

 duction of pure and intense heats, and for dealing with materials 

 in large masses, without expenditure o.f manual labour, and cannot 

 chemistry help us to obtain larger yields and facilitate the using 

 of comparatively poor and impure ores ? 



A careful consideration of these questions led me to the con- 

 clusion, some years ago, that here was a promising field for the 

 experimental metallurgist, and that I possessed some advantage 

 over others in the use of the regenerative gas furnace as a means 



