On the Manufacture of Bar Iron in India. 109 



tical men, who know nothing of the principles of the opera- 

 tion, it would not be easy to establish such furnaces in 

 India : although Mushet states, that they are used in Ame- 

 rica, expending 10 tons of charcoal to make a ton of bar 

 iron. 



16. Of the true principles of the action of bloomery fur- 

 naces, nothing whatever seems to be known in Europe; 

 Mushet appearing to think, that the primary produce is 

 cast iron, which becomes refined afterwards by the blast. 

 Dr. Ure seems to entertain the same opinion, but under the 

 article ores in his Dictionary of Manufactures, he has record- 

 ed a suggestion, pointing to the correct theory. Berthier 

 (Traite Desessairs par le voie seche,) has also alluded to the 

 correct theory, but has been misled by a fallacious experi- 

 ment there stated. Thenard (Traite de Chimie) remarks 

 with the acuteness of a philosopher, " on sait que ioxide 

 de fer se reduit au degre du rouge maissant par le gas hydro- 

 gene * carbone et par le carbone ; on sait egalement que la 

 fonte ne se forme dans les hauts fourmeaux qua un tres haut 

 degre de chaleur : il suit de la quelon doit pouvoir extraire 

 le fer de certain minerals, sans etre oblige de le transformer 

 on founte ;" and as he correctly remarks, this is the principle 

 upon which the Catalan forges, and in fact all bloomery 

 furnaces, work. Hardly half the quantity of charcoal is re- 

 quired which is necessary for making cast iron, and a bloom- 

 ery furnace properly managed, will even bear a charge of 

 ore of double the weight of the charcoal; which is a larger 

 charge than has ever been used in a high blast furnace, 

 either with cold or hot blast. Mushet has published a paper 

 upon the " Manufacture of malleable iron directly from the 

 ore," but it does not appear, that he knew the principle 

 of his method was that upon which bloomery furnaces act, 

 and he was therefore unable to make the blooms cheaper 

 than cast iron. He states, that although the iron produced 

 was of the finest quality, yet that he found from 24 cwt. to 



