necessary to smelt the ores, and to carbonate their iron s 
!! its loss must be felt, and the quality of iron impaired. 
When cokes of any quality are exposed to a moist at- 
j mospheric, so as to absorb water, their effects in the blast- 
furnace become much reduced, and the presence of the 
water is productive of the most hurtful consequences in 
the production of carbonated crude iron. I have found, 
by repeated experiment, that 1 lb. of well prepared cokes 
will, when laid in water, take up H ounces in the space of 
half an hour ; at this rate, a basket of cokes weighing 
80 lb. saturated with water, will contain 140 ounces of wa- 
ter, or 8 3-4ths lb. If the charge contains six baskets, 
then we see that upwards of 50 lb. of water is introduced 
regularly along with the charge, furnishing an additional 
quantity of oxygen equal to 42 1-2 lb., and of hydrogen 
equal to 7 1-2 lb. : it frequently happens that the cokes 
contain a larger portion of water than is here stated,. 
When cokes thus surcharged are Introduced in quantity 
into the blast-furnace, the quality of the metal is not always 
instantaneously changed, and frequently the colour and 
form of the cinder remain long without any great altera- 
tion. The contact of wetted cokes with the ore is first 
seen by the great discharge of pale- blue gas, with the 
whiter flame at the top of the furnace ; next, the accumu- 
lating oxyde upon the surface of the pig when consolida- 
ting indicates their presence. Iron thus oxygenated, fre- 
quently exhibits while fluid, that agitation and delicate 
partings peculiar to carbonated metal : the remelting of 
this iron is never attended with advantage, and is always 
unprofitable to the founder. 
From the properties assigned to pit-coal in this and in 
former papers, the following facts may be deduced 
That charcoal is the basis of the manufacture of crude 
kon ; that its proper application produces the most valua- 
ble qualities of pig-iron ; that, by diminishing its relative 
