The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1873-01-09
PUDDLING.

Inc process VI putlu1lns5 WIS 1lN0utSu
by Henry Cort, an Englishman, and
patented by him in 1888 and 1874 as a
new process for +" shingling, welding,
and manufacturing iron and steel into
bars, plates, and rods of purer quality
and in a larger quantity than heretofore,
by more effectual application of fire
and machinery" For this invention
Cort has been called I" the father of the
iron-trade of the British nation. And
it is estimated that his invention has,
during this century, given employment
to six millions of persons, and increased
the wealth of Great Britain by three
thousand millions of dollars. In his
experiments for perfecting his process
Mr.. Cort spent his fortune, and though
it proved so valuable he died poor, hav-
ing been involved by the Government in
in a lawsuit concerning his patent.
Six years before his death, the govern
ment, as an acknowledgement of their
wrong, granted him a yearly pension of
thousand dollars, and at his death this
misery recompense was reduced to his
widow to six hundred and twenty-five
dollars.
When iron is simply melted and run
into any mould its texture is granular,
and it is so brittle as to be quite unre-
reliable for any use requiring much
tensile strength. The process of pud-
ding consisted III stirring the molten
iron run out iii puddle, and had the
effect of so changing it's atomic ar
rangement as to render the progress of
rolling it more efficacious. The process
of boiling is considered an improve
ment upon this The boiling furnace is
an oven heated to an intense heat by a
fire urged with a blast The cast-irOn
sides are doubled, and constant circu-
! lation of water is kept passing
( through the chamber thus made, in
/ order to preserve the structure from
fusion by the heat. The inside is lined
with friedrich covered with metallic
ore and Stag 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
with molten iron. The spuddler con
stantly stirs this mass with bar let
through a hole in the door, until the
iron boils up, or fsrments, as it is
called. This fermentation is caused by
the combustion of portion of the car
bon in the iron, and as soon as the ex-
cess of this is consumed, the cinders
and Stag sink to the bottom of the oven,
leaving the semi-fuid mass on the top.
Stirring this about, the puddler forms
it into balls of such a size as he can
conveniently handle, which are taken
out and carried ON little cars, made to
receive them, to % the squeezer."
To carry On this process properly re-
quire great skill and judgement in the
puddler The heat necessarily gen
Grated by the operation is so great
that very few persons have the physical
endurance to stand it. So great it is
that the clothes upon the person fire.
quently catch fire. Such a strain upon
the physical powers naturally leads
those subjected to it to indulge in ex-
cesses. The perspiration which flows
from the puddlers in streams while en-
gagged in their work is caused by the
natural effort of their bodies to preserve
themselves from injury by keeping their
normal temperature. Such a consump-
ton of the fluids of the body causes
great thirst, and the exhaustion of the
labor, both bodily and mental, leads
often to the excessive use of stimulants.
In fact, the work is too laboriOus. It's
conditions are such that no one should
be subjected to them. The necessity,
however, for Judgment. experience and
skill on the part Of the operator has up
to this time prevented the introduction
of machinery to take the place OF
human labor IN this process. The sue
cessful substitution In modern times of
machines for performing various opera
tions which formerly seemed to require
the intelligence and dexterity of living
being for their execution. justifies the
expectation that the study now being
given to the organization of industry
4 Will lead to the invention of machines
which viii obviate the necessity foI
human suffering in the process of pud-
ding. Such a consummation would be an
advantage TO all classes concerned. The
attempts which have been made in this
direction have not as yet proved entirely
successful
Az English writer has recently as
serted that an undue proportion OF
lime in the system is the cause of pre-
mature gray hair, and advises to avoid