Iron . 
combination, which terminated in a hostile attack upon his 
devoted works. His improved bellows, furnace, forge, 
&x. all fell a prey to a lawless banditti, betwixt whom and 
its furious leaders, no shades of distinction were visible, but 
those of avarice, ignorance, and the most contemptible 
prejudice. 
To evade the mode of operation discovered by Dudley, 
or to introduce the making of pig-iron with pit-coal to 
greater advantage, a new plan was adopted by Captain 
Buck, Major Wildman, and others, in the forest of Dean, 
where they erected large air-furnaces, into which they in- 
troduced large clay pots, resembling those used at glass- 
houses, filled with various portions of the necessary mix- 
ture of ores and charcoal. The furnaces were heated bv 
J 
the flame of pit-coal, and it was expected that, by tapping 
the pots below, the separated materials would flow out. 
This rude process was found entirely impracticable ; the 
beat was inadequate to perfect separation, the pots cracked, 
and in a short time the process was abandoned altoge- 
ther. 
The misfortunes which successively befel the un- 
fortunate Dudley, arising from rivalship in the iron busi- 
ness, and his attachment to the royal cause during the civil 
wars, prevented his improvements from being closely fol- 
lowed up. The refusal of a new patent after the restora- 
tion prevented him from again entering into the business 
with his usual enterprise. From that period till about 
the year 1740, nothing of importance was done in the 
manufacture of coak pig-iron. The application of the 
steam engine for raising and compressing air, no longer 
confined the manufacturer to local situations. Larger 
furnaces, with a proportionate quantity of blast, were in- 
troduced. Among the first effects, from 8 to 10 tons 
of pig-iron were produced weekly. Ever since, the week , 
Jy quantity has in general been increasing. The produce 
