THE AGE OF STEEL 



for licenses. Bessemer, therefore, with the aid of 

 friends, erected extensive steel works of his own at 

 Sheffield, and began manufacturing steel in open com- 

 petition with the other steel operators. The price 

 at which he was able to sell his product and realize a 

 profit was so much below the actual cost of manufac- 

 ture by the older process, that there was soon conster- 

 nation in the ranks of his rivals. For when it became 

 known that the firm of Henry Bessemer & Co. was 

 selling steel at a price something like one hundred 

 dollars a ton less than the ordinary market price, 

 there was but one thing left for the ironmasters to do 

 surrender, and apply for licenses to be allowed to 

 use the new process. 



By this means, and through the profits of his own 

 establishment, Bessemer eventually amassed a well- 

 earned fortune. Moreover, he was honored in due 

 course by a fellowship in the Royal Society, and 

 knighted by his government. 



One other name is usually associated with that of 

 Bessemer in the practical development of the inven- 

 tor's original idea. That is the name of Robert Mushet, 

 and the " Bessemer- Mushet " process is still in use. 

 Mushet's improvement over Bessemer' s original process 

 was that of adding a certain quantity of spiegel- 

 eisen, or iron containing manganese, which, for 

 some reason not well understood, simplifies the 

 process of steel making. Mushet, therefore, must 

 be considered as the discoverer of a useful, though 

 not an absolutely essential, accessory to the Bessemer 

 process. 



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