Steel. 
275 
afterwards taken to the forge-hammer, and beaten first 
gently, till it has obtained a little tenacity ; then the mid- 
dle part of the piece is drawn into a bar about half an inch 
thick, three inches broad, and four feet long, leaving at each 
end a thick square lump of imperfect iron. In this iorm 
it is called Ancony. It is now taken to the tire called the 
chafery, made of common coal ; after which the two ends 
are drawn out into the form of the middle, and the opera- 
tion is finished. 
There is also a third method of rendering crude iron 
malleable, which, I think, promises to be abundantly more 
advantageous than either of the two former, as it will dis- 
! pense both with the refinery and chafery ; and nothing 
; more will be necessary than a reverberating furnace, and a 
furnace to give the metal a malleable heat, about the m Ad- 
dle of the operation. The large forge-hammer will also 
fall into disrepute, but in its place must be substituted 
j metal rollers of different capacities, which like the forge- 
hammer, must be worked either by a water-wheel or a 
steam-engme. 
It is by the operation of the forge-hammer or metal 
rollers, that the iron is deprived of the remaining portion 
of impurity, and acquires a fibrous texture. 
The iron made by the three foregoing processes is equab 
ly valuable, for by any of them the metal is rendered pure ; 
but after those different operations are finished, it is 
the opinion of many of the most judicious workers 
in iron, that laying it in a damp place for some time 
improves its quality ; and to this alone some attribute 
the superiority of foreign iron, more time elapsing be- 
tween making and using the metal. T o the latter pai t 
of this opinion I can by no means accede, as it is well 
known that the Swedish^ ores contain much less hciero- 
* Steel is commonly made of Swedish iron. Qregrund iion 
as it is called, but that is only the mart : the ore is from Danne- 
mgra. 
