

tion c -.some of very largo 



diameter, :iiid of loci. motive axles ami other 



artic! ibo show a large spur- wheel 



. ea*t \\ itli teeth and nnns 



I. Messrs. Webster and 



il. of I'.irmingliain, show n coil of steel 



rolled t<> a thickness corresponding to 

 iiingham wire gauge, and then 

 reduced to the si/.e No. 1 1, at olio simple oper- 

 ation, by drawing without being annealed after 

 rolling. The draw plate is, shown with tlie 

 of which a part is coiled up after having 

 through the draw plate, as wire No. 11, 

 while 'chind the plate has the thick- 



t No. ;>, to which it was rolled, both coils 

 being in one continuous length. There is also 

 galvani/ed steel wire for ships' rigging, and 

 there are samples of the Atlantic cables of 1865 

 and 1800, for which this firm supplied steel 

 wire. 



The Round Oaks Ironworks give speci- 

 of the materials in tho different stages of 

 the process of manufacture, with such tests of 

 quality in each stage as are most suitable for 

 showing oil' their quality. Tho puddled burs 

 have the usual distinction of the numbers of 

 " in their brand, showing the number of 

 reworking* which tho material has undergone, 

 but to this is added a further mark of iron 

 called "crystalline," a material obtained by 

 -s of steel puddling. There are tested 

 i' " on>talline" iron which broke under 

 a tensile strain of 28$ tons to the square inch, 

 and other specimens of the same quality are 

 bent and doubled up in the way in which iron 

 and steel makers are now accustomed to ex- 

 hibit the ductility of their products. There is 

 another specimen of "crystalline" iron, which 

 ha> been tested after having undergone a pro- 

 cess of cold rolling, and broke at a tensile 

 .-train of :>2 tons per square inch. TheLowinoor 

 Ironworks exhibit boilerplates rolled thicker at 

 their edges, in proportion to the loss of strength 

 caused by punching, and tires rolled in the solid 

 \\ithout weld. The iron manufactures of the 

 north of England ("Cleveland district") are 

 represented by rails twisted cold, in the manner 

 of tho Bessemer rails, exhibited by other 

 maker* ; a large piece of boiler-plate bent 

 and doubled up four times, so as to have eight 

 thicknesses of plates. This plate is marked 

 to stand a strain of 22 tons to the square inch, 

 without fracture, and its price is 10 per ton. 

 The patent Nut and Bolt Company, of Bir- 

 mingham, show a great quantity of their varied 

 productions, and state that the annual produc- 

 tion of nuts, bolts, and spikes in their establish- 

 ment amounts to 20,000 tons. 



The Compagnie Anonyme des Forges do 

 Cliatillon et Commentry are the owners of 

 one of tho most extensive and important iron 

 and steel works in Franco. The total annual 

 production of this company, taking the average 

 of the last lour years, is from 65,000 to 72,000 

 t<>ns of iron, and comes up to about one-twelfth 

 of the total production of iron in France. Tho 



articles of iron manufacture, exhibited an 

 taimd in a special building, of wrought iron. 

 covered with corrugated iron maun 

 the exhibitors. The collections ill-, 

 great variety of the production-, i-p. i.-dly of 

 nan hrge -':/-. Two beams of I-sccti": 

 74- in. high and 11$ in. wide; one of u length 

 of 12 ft. I in., the other 1:! ft. :i in. lonj 

 bent, after having h-l't the rolls, to a curve of 

 105 ft. radius, the curve being in the plane of 

 the web. There are two other beams of l-in n ; 

 one 95 ft. long, 8f in. deep; and the other 110 

 ft. and 84 in. There is another I-iron, 20 in. 

 high and 82 ft. 10 in. long, weighing 3,175 

 pounds, and an angle-iron 3 in. by :; in., ! 

 9 in. long, and weighing 944 pounds. There 

 are also two armor-plates : one 15 ft., 3 ft. 8 

 in.; the other 6 ft. 7 in., 2 ft. 7-J in.,. 6 in.; an- 

 other iron plate, 9 ft. 10 in., 3 ft. 3 in. less than 

 tho ig'jjth in. A model of one of their modern 

 rolling-mills, called a "differential" mill, and 

 allowing of rolling varying widths of plate 

 with the same pair of rolls, is also exhibited. 

 Messrs. Petin, Gaudet and Co. also occupy a 

 special building. The best qualities of iron ore 

 employed in their blast furnaces is obtained 

 from the Isle of Sardinia, where this firm has 

 an extensive mining property. A specimen of 

 the magnetic ore is exhibited a large solid 

 block, containing 62 per cent, of iron, covered 

 with iron filings, nails, screws, and other arti- 

 cles, which remain attached to it by magnetic 

 force. The production of Bessemer steel is 

 represented by an ingot of 25 tons broken in 

 two, and showing the fracture of each half, 

 which is covered with glass, and has a mirror 

 placed over it at an angle. This saves visitors 

 tho trouble of mounting some scaffolding in 

 order to inspect the fractured surface, I 

 whole is clearly visible in tho inclined mirror 

 from below. Of hammered and rolled articles 

 of Bessemer steel, there are rail? of different 

 sections and length, wcldlcss tires, locomotive 

 crank-axles, besides a large marine crank-shaft 

 about 88 in. in diameter and 7i tons weight. 

 Some very fine samples of tool steel are shown 

 in fractures, as the products of the steel-melt- 

 ing crucible; also some steel castings. One of 

 the largest steel guns made in France has been 

 produced by Messrs. Petic, Gaudet and Co., 

 for the imperial navy, and forms part of their 

 interesting collection. It has a bore of 9 in., 

 and weighs 16 tons. It is apparently formed 

 of a central tube, with three superposed rings 

 of steel, and is constructed as a breech-loader. 

 A collection of woldless steel barrels is exhib- 

 ited, some after having withstood a test nearly 

 three times as great as that prescribed by the 

 French Government for the military rifle-bar- 

 rels. Of wrought iron I-girders, we find there 

 is one 3 ft. 3$ in., 31 ft. 10J in., and of a total 

 weight of 5,512 pounds; another of 104 ft. in 

 length. 11 in. high, and weighing -V-'TT 

 pounds. Of iron plate there is a plate 14 ft. 

 10 in. long by 4 ft, wide, of a thickness of 1 

 in., weight nearly 10 tons. A rolled engine- 



