The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-09-03
England the relative increase was at least

England the relative increase was at least
equal and In Germany IL was far greater.
Since, however, tho aggregate oonsump-
ton Of the two metals has by no means
expanded in the same proportions, 1t fol-
lows that iron must have been largely dis
placed by it's formidable competitor. The
fact is patent in more than one direction.
The larger and more complicated articles
OF foundry work, where the opera
ton was always dtfnoult and delicate,
are now commonly cast in Bessemer
steel. II is likewise employed In the
manufacture of steam engines for almost
all parts of the mechanism, and rail-
way companies are everywhere supply
ing with steel rails the more frequentod
lines. In all these cases the gain Ia obvious,
because, in spite OF slight difference in
price, the new metal, being more tenaciou,
and more durable, permits the use of
lighter bars and less clumsy rails, of finer
screws and narrower wheels. without pref
udioe to permanence or solidity.
Now, II we suppose that an iron rail
weighing about seventy pounds per yard,
and which would last, on an average, from
three to seven years, is replaced by a steel
rail weighing sixty-two pounds, and four
times rs durable, and that the substitution
is made general in given country. il Is
obvious that tho amount of metal de-
manded for entirely new roads would be
one-niuth less, while the quantity required
for annual repairs on existing lines would
be diminished seventy Eve per cent. Under
these circumstances II is estimated that the
falling off IN the annual consumption of
metals by railways in France alone would
exceed sixty thousand tons
We must infer that the results of the
Dessemer process are already adequate to
more than counterbalanoe the normal
annual expansion OF the aggregate de-
mand for iron and steel, and TO fru-trato
the efforts now making TO supply foun-
dries with work. As time goes on the in-
fluence OF this discovery must press more
heavily, for the preference given TO the
new metal Is well grounded, and cannot
fail to insure progressive employment. At
present, moreover, the ingenuity of in
ventors is concentrated upon steel, as II
they saw in IL the future OF metallurRy.
Thus we owe to very recent labors some
| signal improvements OF the BeSsemer APP
| paratus, as well rs the so-called Siemens
process, and n curious application of ferro-
manganese. which promises almost limit
less development to the Bessemer inven-
ton by permitting the treatment Of nearly
all the ores of iron, instead of exacting, rs
hitherto, few high-priced minerals Of a
specific character.
We fear IT must be accounted certain
that this metlllurgical revolution has by
no means reached its climax, and that the
depression of the iron interest is destiue I'd
TO be considerably prolonged. II the
present crisis had resulted merely from II
disproportion between production and de
mand it would already have been sensibly
mitigated by the tendency TO readjust
ment of those conditions. But the natural
causes which work toward equilibrium
are outwoighed by counter agency. the
Intervention OF Dessemer steel, which
allows us to satisfy our necessities witt
| quantities OF metal which, during Ger
tain period, must continue TO Diminish
| wear by wear