USE OF CHARCOAL IN IRON MANUFACTURE. 127 



average, abont 30 bnshels from a cord. Woodlands may be cut over in 25 years, but 

 are not specially reserved. 



17. Chestnut,' oak, and pine, yielding 500 to 600 bushels to the acre. The land wiU 

 grow up for cutting again in from 30 to 35 years. 



18. Use yellow pine and rock -oak, making very little difference. They yield abont 

 900 bushels to the acre (30 cords at 30 bushels each). About 2,500 acres required to 

 keep the works supplied permanently. Perhaps 5,000 acres reserved for wood growth. 

 It is fit for cutting in 20 years, if not injured by mountain fires when young. 



19. All kinds of oak, pine, chestnut, poplar, and beech used ; the hard woods making 

 the best coal. Land yields about 1,600 bushels to the acre. Forests abundant for sup- 

 plies many years. 



20. Oak, chestnut, hickory, and poplar used for charcoal. Great damage is done by 

 fires running through young timber, and but little of the woodlands grow up again. 



21. White and black oak, the latter being much the best. Average yield about 40 

 cords to the acre ; yields 30 bushels to a cord. Timber is fit for a second cutting in 30 

 to 35 years. Timber abundant without seeding. 



22. Chestnut-oak, pine, white oak, chestnut, hickory, maple, &c., used for coal, and 

 about 1,500 bushels got from an acre ; 5,000 to 6,000 acres might supply a furnace, the 

 new growth being cut once in abont 20 years. 



23. Red and white oak and a little maple. No bass or white woods used. This is a 

 new enterprise, and cannot state results of experience. 



A statistical summary of iron manufacture at charcoal-furnaces in 

 New England and New York, prepared by William G. Neilson, for the 

 American Iron and Steel Association, shows the following result at 

 charcoal blast furnaces in 1864 : 



New England : 16 furnaces used 71,569 tons of ore and 3,747,489 

 bushels of charcoal, and made 28,909 tons of iron ; average, 52^ bushels 

 to a ton of ore, or about 129 bushels to a ton of iron. 



New York : 16 furnaces used 44,635 tons of ore and 2,911,832 bushels 

 of charcoal, and made 20,218 tons of iron ; average, 65^ bushels to a 

 ton of ore, or a little over 144 bushels to a ton of iron. 



It will be seen from the foregoing, that while difterences of opinion 

 are expressed with reference to the mode of manufacture, much the 

 greatest number prefer charcoal made in a coal-pit (called by the French 

 meule, and by the Germans meiler), and that scarcely a thought has 

 been had as to the saving of the volatile products of carbonization. 

 The chief argument in favor of making charcoal in the woods, is the 

 economy in transportation, it being cheaper to bring it than cordwood 

 from the forests, especially from distant points and over broken ground. 



It may not be improper in this connection to notice some facts in the 

 production of charcoal that may have practical application. 



The timber should be well seasoned. Coniferous wood will dry soonest 

 if left after felling with branches on, until the needles dry up and fall 

 off, as they appear to evaporate moisture for a time. The peeling off of 

 strips of the bark hastens the process of seasoning, and splitting still 

 more so. Trees felled toward the north expose the butts to the sun, 

 and this hastens drying. Timber cut during the suspension of active 

 vegetation makes better charcoal and more of it than when cut in the 

 growing season. Floated wood does not make coal of as good quality 

 as that which has not been soaked in water. Wood that has lain too 

 long in the woods, so as to begin to decay, makes poor charcoal. The 

 hearth should be perfectly dry, solid, level, and free from draught,^ and is 

 found to improve by use, making it an object to continue it where pos- 

 sible, in preference to making a new one. They are sometimes made of 

 stone or tiles, covered with a mixture of sand and clay, packed hard. 

 The best season for coaling is the end of summer or early in autumn, 

 the wood having been cut the winter previous and piled for drying 

 through the summer. The expense of watching a small meiler is about 



1 In a loose, gravelly soil the air might be drawn in at the bottom, beyond the con- 

 trol of those in charge, and to the great injury of the result. 



