Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1861-04-05
The production and Uses of Iron.

The Production and Uses Of iron'
The employment of iron in all the useful as well as IN
m,nv Of the ornamental arts from the manufacture oil
TOYS to the construction Of ships, has become so
sal that the production and skiful manipulation oil tbs
indispensable have become matters oil genera
est The greatest manufacturer aud employer OF iron Is
Eugand. In the production and application oi "o" ~
the thousand-andone purposes to which II mas oee Ut
voted she has been the pioneer and eaener Vi haNo"S
Some facts touching the manufacture oil iron IN 'ua'
country which we derive from recent number oil the
London Quarterly Review will therefore we think De
read with interest The first great step IN the produc
ton Of iron from the primitive method OF smehng oy
means OF charcoal was the Of anthracite coal the
second was the construction Of the steamengne the
third the invention of the "eod blast and the iourth
the discovery Of the shot blast" The results OF these
successive discoveries and innovations are truly aston
i,hiug The make Of iron which, on the introduction
Of steam had suddenly risen nearly $4,000 tons per
aanum, in 1896 reached l2j 900; in 1906 1t had ad-
vluced TO nearly 26OOoO In lS25 the make was nearly
100000 tons in 1910 it amounted to 10000 TONS IN
1854 to 100000 and last year probably to not much
short Of 1000, 600 tons.
While the aforementioned discoveries increased the
supply and diminished the price Of iron Improvement
Of quality has resulted. In the earliest times small
Quantity of iron was extracted from the very best mate
rails By rude and expensive processes, but the iron thus
manufactured was equal in the most valuable qualities OF
the metal TO any that modern times produce. Eng
h iron manufactured two centuries ago cannot be sur
ssd at the present day The best iroDs produced by
10, cold blast which can act ell -ieuy oay on the best
materials TIE hot blast is employed where materials OF
au Inferior quality are introduced. Hence, in modern
vs iron is divided into classes, bearing different
D,e in the market and applicable different purposes
The cold blast comprises all the first rate iron The hot
hast includes all the second varieties from very
celept down 20 the worst possible iron The cold blast
iron is 10. al Of the best quality, but divided into eight
Grades known BY their numbers each possessing some
nscuilr properties While there is much difference
between the two classes Of rOn yet requires the eye
Of an adept TO distinguish No cold blast iron from Ne
hot blast cinder irou which is worth less by so per
TON. In the manufacture OF iron, whether cold or hot
blast great skill and requisite, from the same
furnace and from the same materials different kinds Of
iron are often produced The best material if pro-
perIv manipulated, may yield only inferior iron.
There is one kind Of iron produced in England which
a ough exceedingly limited in quantity, is highly valu
able few Of the old charcoal furnaces are still kept
up in some districts and produce variety available for
purposes to which other iron be applied 1t pos
sesses qualities which no other British iron equal
and bears the highest price in the market The supply
c.nno: be increased however, owing to the scarcity Of
charcoal
Ia regard to the important matter Of increase in
production Of first class iron in Great Britain is the
opinion Of practical that il is capable Of any
considerable augmentation because the supply of mate
rias is limited That Of inferior quality admits of in
definite extension The day will therefore probably soon
come when England instead of being exporter of the
best qualities OF iron viii have send abroad for por
ton of what she will require for her own use
For great many purposes inferior IRON is just good
s the best but when used in the construction Of rail
aazs bridges ships, steam engines firearms &c, the
best qualities are required For such purposes cheap iron
is neither economical nor safe. So convinced Of this
fac. have English railway managers become, that one Of
The creates, railway companies has established works TO
manufacture It's own iron, and another company Is
about TO follow the example On this subjec. the Quart
ery says:
The railway companies have felt as they ought, how
vastly important 70 the safety OF life and property 1t Is
that the boilers OF the locomotive engines should be as
-l-IUr make lteiis dl4 dC-OI+.l-1 tuI AZ
riaus arising from explosion are extremely rare Wheu
plates were frs employed in the construction OF mer-
chant ships boerpae only we're used for the purpose
1u- astae orders for iron ships multiplied, the spirit OF
competition was aroused. Contractors made every ei
.ol Co eiuce cost ard each invention was an ex
p,-neut how lay security might be tempered with. Mills
- Iii down Co ro. plates of large -iz', by which the
S5r OF the shigbuuier was saved less rIvetug was
-sreiret but the strength which was impaired by the
oyrI. ming OF the plates was lost. new branch Of
the Trade ha, sprung up; aud the term boatplae, IL
co1tradstrcou 70 boilypaCs, has been invented, TO
se-uae quality and texture which arc VIGOROUSLY IN
&c 10 resist the tquable pressure Of steam, but which
s1ort.sirhted avsrice chooses 10 risk in collic
q storm az sea. Thus rasbly will men act when
che danger is contingent and the scene remote
How many of the vessels now built would stand the
mil which one or-he earliest Of them, the Great Britain
sustained a Duudrun Bay stranded on the beach, and
a.aed for weeks by tremendous surf! such as no wood
en- vessel had ever been known % resist And OF the
iron vessels now missing who shall say how many have
oludred 10 consequence Of the inferior quality of their
p.a,es'
So various are the qualities and properties IF iron, and
so strong are the inducements for manufacturers, under
severe competition, cheaper and thereby deteriorate
he quality Of the metal that select the best kinds for
railways ships and other important purposes requires an
intimate practical knowledge Of the whole subject ofiron
manufacture which possessed by few among those who
arc usually empoyed by corporations and governments
90 make contracts for iron. Hence many of the disasters
and failures which mark the railway history of this cOun-
try, as well as the experience of our navy yards.