Iron 9 
101 
It is uncertain from what reasons, but Mr. Sturtevant 
failed in the execution of his discoveries upon a large 
scale, and was obliged next year to render up his letters of 
monopoly. 
The second adventurer in this line we find to have been 
John Ravenson, Esq. who, like Sturtevant, was success- 
ful in obtaining a patent for the new manufacture, but, 
like him also, was inadequate to the completion of it upon 
an extensive scale. Ravenson was also enjoined to pub- 
lish his discoveries under the title of his Metallica , 
printed for Thomas Thorp, anno 1613. Several other 
adventurers stepped forth, all of whom had the mortifica- 
tion of resigning their patents without having contributed 
to the success of the arduous undertaking. 
In 1619 Dudley obtained his patent, and declared, 
that although he made only at the rate of three tons of 
pig-iron weekly, he made it with profit. The discovery 
was perfected at his father’s works at Pensent in Wor- 
cestershire. This gentleman’s success in the various 
manufactures of iron with pit- coal had united not only 
all the proprietors of the charcoal iron trade, but many new 
adventurers, who wished to share in the emoluments of the 
new discovery. Their interest was so powerful as to 
limit Dudley’s patent from 31 to 14 years. During the 
most of this period he continued to manufacture pig and 
bar-iron, and various castings, all of which he sold 
much lower than the charcoal manufacturers. In the ar- 
ticle of castings alone, he must have had greatly the start 
of the charcoal foundries, as the quality of carbonated 
eoak pig-iron is far superior to that of the charcoal iron of 
this country for the general purposes of casting. 
The superior genius of Dudley was not always an ob- 
ject of passive indifference in the narrow estimation of the 
long established manufacturers. The envy occasioned 
by his uncommon success, produced at last a spirit of 
