Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1866-10-27
MISCELLANEOUS
Important TO the Iron Interests of
the United SIntcs.

thc Shlttu StiteS.
The United States Consul at Sheffield,
England, under date of August 27th, in
communication to the Secretary of the Trea-
sury, states that he was not present in Not
tingham on the reading of a paper before
the British Mechanical Association on the
conversion Of melted cast iron into steel by
the pneumatic process A discussion fol-
lowed, which was participated in by Mr..
bessemer and other gentlemen. Consul Alb
oOt further says that he called the attention
OF Mr. Bessemer to what has been stated by
MS opponents to be a defect in his mode of
converting iron into steel, namely, that when
large masses OF melted iron, amounting to
from three to twelve tors. are converted into
steel, it does not become HOMOGENEOUS Mr.
Bessemcr partly admitted the force of tbe
objection, but stated that in the works near
London an improvement had been made bv
which, after the introduction of the Soieccl
Eisen, the whole is stirred up by arms fitted
to revolving cylinder. He also stated that
the iron of the United States which he had
seen was peculiarly adapted to the manufac-
ture of steel by his process. In England
! only the very best of iron can be used for
this purpose, and that which is most free
from foreign substances, such as sulphur and
! phosphorus. The iron which is chiefly used
hemitaite, the best of which is found on
Morecambe bay, near Furness Abbey. Con-
sui Abbot closes by saying, "Valuable as is
this invention of Mr.. Bessemer, cannot
recommend it to American manufacturers
unless they make use, in the process, of the
very best pig iron, and that which is COM
paratively free from phosphorus, sulphur
and other impurities"
The following is an abstract of the re-
marks of Mr.. Bessemer, alluded to in the
communication of Consul Abbot: "Before
the introduction of his process the entire
| production of steel in Great Britain was one
| thousand tons per week, and now there is
machinery for the production, by his process
alone, of five thousand tons in the same pc
Rod One of the most valuable purposes to
which his steel has been applied is the con-
struction of locomotive engines and rails.
| Where iron had been worn out IN a few
months steel had been in constant use for
four years, at the end of which time the first
side was still in use. At Camden Town
there is portion of railway over which an
immense traffic passed. An iron rail and q
Bessemer steel rail were placed opposite
each other, and when the iron rail had been
changed seventeen times, the steel rail was
still not worn"
manufacture of tires, the construction OF
ordnance, shafts for marine engines, cranSs
and notably for The cranks OF locomotives
indeed, there is scarcely any purpose lol
which malleable iron was formerly used that
steel cannot now be employed. A yard OF
the Camden Town rail to which he referred
was sent to Sheffield to be made into round
bars, and came out of the rolling mill in
beautiful black bars, three,eights, five.
eighths, and three .fOurths Of an inch in di
ametcr, and were worth not less than SIS
per ton, the cost of conversion being les!
than CO per ton In regard to the price o
steel Mr.. Bcsseme. said that firms that hac
expended large sums in plans and machin
cry, desired at first as large return as pos
sblc from their outlay, but when manutac
turers had been remunerated for their frs
, large outlay, they would be more REASONABLE
in their demands.
, The price OF cast steel in Sheffield, for til
) lowest purposes, such as making shovels
l Mr.. b. said, was from e36 to e40 per tor
t and the better kinds cost from $50 to csc
, according to the reputation of the maker
, but ut this time thousands of tons were sol,
at fl3 per ton.