326 
Dr. Pearson's Experiments 
§ 3- Effects of Fire. 
Until the substance was made red hot I could not scarcely 
make any impression with a hammer ; nor could it be cut 
through by a chizzel, or wedge, till it was ignited to be of a pale 
red colour. It had then the peculiar smell of iron : it was 
then malleable, but was much more liable to be cracked and 
fractured by the hammer than common steel ; or than, I 
think, even cast steel. Small and thin pieces are perhaps mal- 
leable at lower degrees of fire, but very slowly, *and not 
without great care and management. That ingenious artist, 
Mr. Stodart, forged a piece of wootz, at the desire of the 
President, for a penknife, at the temperature of ignition in the 
dark. It received the requisite temper* The edge was as fine, 
and cut as well as the best steel knife. Notwithstanding the 
difficulty and labour in forging, Mr. Stodart from this trial 
was of opinion, that wootz is superior for many purposes to 
any steel used in this country. He thought it would carry 
a finer, stronger, and more durable edge, and point. Hence 
it might be particularly valuable for lancets, and other chirur- 
gical instruments. 
Mr. More got a piece of wootz beat into a thin plate : in 
this state the texture did not seem to be uniform, but appeared 
to be of different degrees of hardness or kinds. A large piece 
also was forged into a thick bar for Sir Thomas Frankland. 
( а ) The pieces which had been cut in the ignited state 
abovementioned had smooth surfaces, with a few small cavities. 
(б) The substance made white hot, by the forge, had the 
glassy smooth surface of iron, in what is termed the weld- 
* “ At the temperature of 450 0 of Fahrenheit’s scale.” — Mr. Stodart’s letter 
to the President. 
