80 
Records of the Geological Survey oj India. 
[vol. VI. 
and Dewalgaon (52+ 114 seers for 4a. 6p). The yield of iron also shows great disagree¬ 
ment. At Ddwalgaon 52 seers of ore produced only 12 seers of iron, whereas at Chihli 49 
seers produced 17f. It may be that a poorer class of ore was used in the one instance 
than in the other, hut I scarcely think this can be the case, for I have always observed that 
the natives invariably used ore having the same average composition. And an analysis of 
the Dewalgaon ore shows that it contains 70 per cent, of metallic iron. 
If we calculate the proportion of the amount of charcoal used to iron ore, and the 
proportion of the amount of ore employed to the iron produced, we find: 
Village. 
Proportion of ore to charcoal. 
Proportion of ore to iron. 
Ore. Charcoal. 
Ore. Iron. 
Chikli 
1 to 1-7 
3 to 1 
Giilab-bhuj 
1 „ 1-4 
5 „ 1 
Met^gaon ... 
1 „ 12 
3'5 „ 1 
SrakmdpuH 
Armori 
1 „ 1*8 
3 „ 1 
Dewalgaon 
1 „ 2'2 
4-3 „ 1 
Injh6wara 
1 „ 20 
3o „ 1 
The iron referred to above, which is called hit by the Maharattas, is a mere mass of 
spongy iron, slag and charcoal, and has to undergo two refinings before being sold as 
malleable iron. In the first operation it is manipulated by the men who reduce it from its 
ore. They heat it in a refinery, and then hammer it, whereby the slag is more or less 
completely extruded and the iron consolidated into a compact bloom. It loses considerably 
in weight during this process, and the mass formerly weighing, say 14 seers, is diminished to 
10 seers. The amount of charcoal consumed is stated to be 20 seers, or perhaps a little less. 
The bloom is then cut partially in half and is called Chul, and is sold to the regular metal¬ 
workers (lohars), These men clean it again, by which its weight becomes still further 
reduced, fully one-third and sometimes one-half of it being lost; and it is by them worked 
up into various household and agricultural implements. 
Applying the foregoing observations (by taking the mean of the Muhl figures) to 
arrive at the average proportions of iron-ore and charcoal used in producing iron ready for 
being actually worked up, it appears that— 
(a.) Seventeen and a half seers of iron are produced from 63 seers of ore and 
87 seers of charcoal. 
(b.) In the first refining operation, 20 seers of charcoal are used, and the iron loses 
5 seers in weight, reducing it to 12j seers. 
(c.) In the final refining operation about 10 seers of charcoal are consumed, and 
clean workable iron, weighing 7 to 8 seers, is obtained. 
Thus, 63 seers of ore and 117 of charcoal are required by the native method of 
smelting as carried on in Chanda to produce 8 seers of metal. Or, stating it in current 
English terms— 
8 Tons of ore 
and 
14JTons of charcoal 
Are used in the manufacture of 1 Ton 
of wrought-iron. 
