The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-01-20
The Padding Of ifUti,


This process OF pudding was invented
by Henry Ccyt, an Englishman, and
patented by him in 1873 and 1884 us q
new process for shingling, trclaing,
and manufacturing iron and steel into
bars, plates, and rods OF purer quality
aud IA larger quantities than hereto.
fore, by q more eiIcCtnnl duplication OF
fire machinery" For this invention
Cort has been called I" the father Of the
iron.trddc OF the British nation" and 1t
is estimated that his iuventionhas, dur.
ing this century, giving employment to
5000, 600 Of persons, and increased the
wealth of Great Britain by 33, 900, ,00O,-
600. In his experiments for perfecting
his process, Mr.. Cort spent his fortune,
and though 1t proved 30 valuable, he
died poor, having been involved by the
Government in lawsuit concerning
his patent which beggerel him. Six
years before his death, the Govern
ment, as an acknowledgement of their
wrong, granted him q yearly pension Of
$1,000, and at his death this miserlF
recompouse was reduced to his widow
to S635. When iron is simply melted
and run into any mold. its texture is
granular, and II Is 30 brittle as to he
quite unreliable for any use requiring
much tensile strength. The process OF
pudding consisted In stirring the mol
ten iron run out in o puddle, and had
the effect Of 30 changing its antonio
arrangement us to render the process
OF rolling It more efficacious. The pro-
cess Of boilingis considered IN improve
ment upon this. The boiling furnace is
an oven heated to an intense heat by o
Are urged with "a blast. The cast-iron
sides are double, aud n constant eircula-
ton Of water is kept passing through
the chamber thus made, In order to pre-
serve the structure from fusion by the
heat. The inside is lined with fire.
brick covered with metallic ore and slag
over the bottom and sides, and then,
the oven being charged with the pigs Of
iron, the heat is let on. The pigs melt,
and the oven is filed wih molten iron.
The puddler constantly stirs this mass
with a bar let through q hole in the
door, until the iron rolls up, or 'tfer-
mentg, Ms 1t is called. The fermenta-
ton is caused by the combustion of a
portion Of the carbon IN the iron, and as
soon MS the excess OF this Is consumed,
the cinders and sing sink TO the bottom
Of the oven, leaving the semi.luid mass
on the top. Stirring this about, the
puddler forms II into balls Of such n
size as he can conveniently handle,
which arc taken out and carried on little
cars, made to receive them, to !" the
s1ueezer. 10 carry on this process
properly requires great skill and judg-
ment in the puddler. The heat neces-
sarily generated by the operation is SO
great that very few persons have the
physical endurance to stand 1t. So
great Is II that the clothes upon the
person frequently catch fire. Such o
strain upon the physical powers natur-
ally leads those subjected to II to
indulge in excesses. The perspiration
which flows from the puddlers in
streams while engaged IN their work Is
caused by the natural effort of their
bodies 10 preserve themselves from in
Jury by keeping their normal tempepa-
ture, Such consumption Of the fluids
Of the body causes great thirst, and the
exhaustion Of the labor, both bodily and
mental, leads often 10 the excessive use
Of stimulants. In fact, the work is too
laborious. It's conditions are such that
no one should he subjected to them.
The necessity, however, for judgment,
experience, md skill on the part OF the
operator has up to this time prevented
tile introduction OF mnchinery.t to take
the place OF human labor in this pro-
coss. The successful substitution in
modern times Of machines for perform
ing various operations which formerly
seemed to require the intelligence nnd
dexterity Of q living being for their ex.
ecution, justifies the expectation that
the study now being given to the organ
ization Of industry will lead to the in
yention Of machines which will obyiate
the necessity for human suffering in the
process OF pudding. Such consum:
nation would be an advantage to all
classes concerned. The attempts which
have been made in this direction have
not as yet proved entirely successful,