New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-09-19

Won zee now and then me nesvy IVVAnB 49, Nia -.
,hoot by brighter than rows Of pearls OF iaIng W.
drops The blows of the forge hammer shake tne
and the whnrng Of the wheels makes you gicoy. Wns.
Ia all tbisi IL pudding; the conversion VI '"'
into wrought iron -. n.;.,,,,
The metal 20 obtained IL not pure, bnt rs sumcenty
40 for commercial purposes. II contains CARBON, sn-
con and other impurities, put IN quan sss :" 7,
i. A curious fact worth here noting, that some OF nose
impurities which have most perncious effect upon
iron do not inure in direct proportion TO their guam
titv but preserve their injurious action down 10 Ger
Tain nout only. and below that proportion appear to
The elimination of carbon, and the other impurities
contained in cast iron and its consequent CONVERSE"
into wrought iron, takes place by virtue OF tna' oeae
tiiu chemical process called cemenaton-a process
which chemical changeis propagaed through so.,o
or nearly solid body, from the exterior inwara or ue
revere. This process is beautifully illustrated Uy uie
anne aliup of cast ron or the production OF maeaoe
iron articles largely practiced in Birmingham anu
its neghborhood Small articles made OF cast iron are
imbedded in powdered peroxide OF iron, ana neatea
for day. ahs S ron and
withdraws it, in short, burns the carbon. This re-
moval of the carbon, commencing at the surface, grad
NV proceeds inward until the whole substance of the
svSse has been decarbonzed and the cast iron
Void into soft wrought iron, without the article hay
ing changed its form. The converse takes place in
tbe manufacture of steel. In this case the wrought
;ron il heated with carbon and the combination of the
latter with the former, commencing at the surface,
slowly penetrates the mass.
Tn nreciselv the same way are the carbon and other
impurities removed from cast IRON IN lie conversion
into wrought iron; the Flag containing oxide OF iron
playpg q most important part The air can only act
sure fciay on large mass OF fused iron, even when
II s kept in motion; but the oxide formed supernciaiy
is mixed with the mass OF the metal, ana ylelas
oxygen to the carbon and other matters IN Its inter-
Tor The silicon becomes convereS int0 slca whlch
dissolves more oxide and the carbon into caroonic
oxide. which bubbles and burns as described during
4 shin ynO
of ne iron the Stag is first thoroughly Incorporated
with and having effected its work, squeezed from the
mass Of iron ..,..,.,x
Can these impurities be removed without this labor
time and fuel The production of wrought iron direct
from the ore can unquestionably be effected, and,
where wood charcoal can be employed in the place OF
mineral fuel, perhaps economically IL Is commonly
done in the boomey orges OF America, anu sne U".
alan FORCES of the Pyrenees and these processes are
but ameorations of the earliest and rudes inehods Oh
making iron. Mr. Bessemer proposes to effect the same
object by the of air alone He forces AR n.o Tue
fused cast iron in large quantity; the temperature
rises very high and the iron is said to be converted
into wrought iron The heat produced is thought to
arise from the combustion of the carbon the whole OF
which, together with the other impurities IL removed
1t is surprising that the carbon the maximum quahuy
of which is five per cent should burn 80 rapidly as TO
produce the great heat described; and we wait anx-
ously for such accurate experiments as sha'l prove
that The iron itself is not largely oxidzed wi'i also
be most interesting both to the manufacturer ana inc
chemist TO learn that the Stag can be perfectly re-
moved from the of the iron without resortng 10
the mechanical treatment we have described we can
readily imagine that Mr. Bessemer may reduce the per-
centaee of carbon low by his process as TO make
the iron approximate in composition to steel. lhis
has been done three quarters Of century ~, ago.
| and the patent lists show that from II 10
the present day scores, probably, OF patents PATENTS
| have been taken out for making steel direet
| from the ORE To effect this, however Is 70 40
but ttle what wanted is not steel OF an INDIFFERENT
ouatv but iron from which the carbon has been 80
6r moved as to leave the metal malleable. We can
readily believe that Mr.. Bessemers process VIII exPe
de the manufacture of wrought iron; Dut ex1endeu
experments are required to show that he can dispense
with the mechanical methods at present in use Eepe
| cisly important too, is it that accurate chemical
ANALYSIS should be resOred to, to show the compostcm
of this ron and to prove that the new process WIZ
truly purge of sulphur and phosphorus as we under
stand Mr. Bessemer to say will; elements, the pre-
sence of one per cent of which is fatal to the quality
of the iron. 1t would be scarcely possible by written
description merely to make the mechanical contri-
yapces ineligible which Mr.. Bessemcr describes IN
the specification Of his patent. 1t will suffice to say
hat hey consist of contrvances for eecting rapid
and complete action of air the irontO do in short,
more efectualy that which is already done In the re-
| fnery furnace.
We cannot close our remarks without in justice in
forming our readers that there are at least !. TWO
of Mr. Bessem process Mr.. Martlen OF NewJersey,
in the United States Of America, has pointed out
prior patent of his the essential feature Of which the
forcing of Jets of air steam through molten cast IRON
for the purpose of decarbonzing it. Other claimants
| of minor Importance have likewise presented them
selves Into the discussion Of the question OF relative
merit between there gentlemen we shall not enter We
may in future number give such extracts from the
specifications of their several patents will enable our
readers to Judge for themselves. Meantime, however,
we believe it is public duty to state that although
we hope and believe that Mr. Bessemers experiments
will result in great Improvement in the manufacture
of wrought iron nothing is more likely to check the
realization of so important object than the extrava
CANT excite which at present obtains In the hope
of alayng the fears which many entertain that some
thing like revolution" in the iron manufacture Is
impendng-a notion which may not only lead to unfor
tunate commercial results but is to be followed by
corresponding disappointment and neglect--we assure
readers that in principle nothing is proposed
by Mr.. Bessemer. The refining of iron by air is the
only method of refining that has ever been pracced.
Mr.. Bessemer, however, proposes a more direct and
| rapid method of supplying the air, which appears
| to be more successful than could have been anti
cpated. This, have several times already said
| We believe will prove to be great improvement but
at present much remains to be done before these exper
iments expand into manufacturing processes. In
with his present operations and, unless much
| mistaken everything which he now possesses will be
found Of use when Mr. Besseners process has attained
its highest perfection for think the invention under
discussion will result in facilitating the manufacture of
iron, by adding process substituting improved
apparatus for the refinery. That the pudding Of Iron
will bk rendered unnecessary we very much doubt. In
method, should also bear in mind that they differ
from another only in the details of the process;
they all effect their object more less directly, by
air. Iron, repeat has never been purified by any
other means and through long succession of ages
though may trace gradually improved method OF
varied. The Egyptian smith, whose finished
before ontiouify began made his iron by calling into