SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY. 
215 
METALLURGY, MINERALOGY, AND MINING. 
Iron Direct from the Ore. — M. C. Duprey proposes to adopt a new method 
of manufacturing iron direct from the ore. He takes the ore — which has 
been freed as far as possible from earthy matter— and, having crushed it, he 
places it along with pulverised charcoal in thin sheet-iron canisters ; the 
quantities employed being just sufficient when reduced to form a mass of 
iron of the usual weight of a puddle ball. An ordinary sand-bottom iron- 
heating furnace is brought up to a reducing heat, and with a thick clear fire 
the canisters are introduced. The furnace is carefully maintained at a re- 
ducing heat in the usual manner ; in fact the process is continued much in 
the same manner as when sheet-iron is being annealed. Soon after intro- 
duction the canister is annealed and toughened, so as to assume a polished 
appearance. It should be the aim to keep the heat in this condition until 
the metal is thoroughly reduced : should it be increased the canisters may 
be prematurely destroyed. Deoxidation commences immediately on the 
introduction of the ore, as proved by the blazing of carbonic oxide from 
vents made for the purpose, and, by occasionally rolling, and at the proper 
time compressing the canister, the oxidation is caused to continue without 
intermission, until reduction is completed. The heat should then be raised 
to weld or paste together the particles of iron, and then canister and con- 
tents, being withdrawn, are welded, in any of the ways puddle ball is 
usually treated. The saving by this method is estimated at something like 
30 per cent, on the present method. — Vide the Artizan , January. 
What our Coal-measures yield . — At a late meeting of the Manchester 
Philosophical Society, Professor Page read a paper entitled “ What we owe 
to our Coal-measures.” In the course of this he gave the returns of the 
yield of coal in the years 1857 and 1865 respectively, and as the contrast of 
the figures show the enormous increase in the quantity of coal removed 
from our mines, we give the statistics for the benefit of those of our readers 
interested in the subject : — 
Durham and Northumberland . 
1857. 
tons. 
15,896,525 
1865. 
tons. 
25,032,694 
Cumberland ..... 
942,048 
1,431,637 
Yorkshire ...... 
8,875,440 
10,846,000 
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 
3,687,442 
4,200,350 
Warwickshire ..... 
398,000 
859,000 
Leicestershire 
698,750 
965,500 
Staffordshire and Worcestershire 
7,164,625 
12,200,000 
Lancashire ...... 
8,565,500 
11,962,000 
Cheshire ...... 
750,500 
850,000 
Shropshire 
750,000 
1,135,000 
Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Devon- 
shire ...... 
1,225,000 
1,875,000 
North Wales ..... 
1,046,050 
1,983,000 
South Wales and Monmouth 
7,132,304 
12,036,587 
Scotland ...... 
8,211,743 
12,650,000 
Ireland 
120,630 
123,500 
65,395,707 
98,150,587 
YOL. VI. NO. XXIII. R 
