Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-11-10
Iron Making I'm India.

In the Kuman district there are four sew
eral localities where blast furnaces have
been erected These, in the order of their
distance from Morsdatsj, which is nearest
railway station, are Kaladungi, Dechauri,
Khurpatal and Ramgarh. At kaladungi
there are four furnaces of about fourteen
hundred cubic feet capacity each. The
situation is unhealthy, and the furnaces
and the blowing machinery of primitive
sort. With water as the motive power for
the blast-and water is the power intended
to be utilized in the four loeali,ies-three
of these furnaces have worked, in all, only
two half years. The last went out in May,
1868, when the aggregate yield had been
five hundred and forty-five tons of pig iron
of a very inferior quality. At Dechauri
there is one furnace, also of about fourteen
hundred cubic feet capacity, which was
erected and first put in blast by the govern
ment officers in 1860, and after six weeks
work, during which time it produced
tifty-nine tons OF iron, came to stand by
the breaking of the water wheel. In
January, 1862, the Human Iron Company
restarted this furnace, but it only worked
till May of the same year. 1t was again
put in blast in January, 1863, and blown
out on the 9TH of June. During these two
blows four hundred and twenty-four tons
in all of iron of medium quality were
obtained. At Khurpatal there are two fur
naces of about seven hundred and eight
hundred feet capacity respectively. Both
are very much after the style of the kala-
dungi furnaces. They are of the rudest
construction imaginable, being mere cairns;
moreover, they are in the most unsuitable
position for obtaining either iron or fuel
that could well be imagined. No wonder,
therefore, that the larger only appears to
have been at any time in blast, and that Its
total output is set down as "a few tons of
IRON of some kind" At Ramgarh there
are the outbmldlngs of a blast furnace
which were erected in 1859, but the fur
mace was never finished. In connection
with this there are also the remains of a
German forge, erected, apparently, for the
conversion of cast into wrought iron.
That such appliances should have been
erected in India, most of them at so modern
a date, will strike the British ironmaster
with astonishment. Yet the facts as here
stated. appear in q printed report, dated
Allahabad, February, this year, 10y MIR.
Ness to the secretary of government, North
west provinces and Oudh. Mr. Ness had
been called to the district to report in detail
upon the more recent attempts of the gov
ernment TO work the Dechauri furnaces.
These, between the opening of 1877 and the
18th of September last year made after
seven breakdowns-preceded by twelve
months spurt in putting the furnace into
what was believed to be working order
about six hundred tons. The breakdowns
related sometimes to the action OF the fur
mace, and sometimes to the water power.
The comparatively better results of these
most recent trials are shown to have been
in much part due to the admixture of Ram
garh ore, containing 1886 per cent. of
metallic iron, aud over SO per cent. of silica
and alumnia, with the Dechauri ore, which
yields SO. % per cent. Of metallic iron aud
"a parts of silicious matter; but the better
ore has to be brought so miles on the backs
of sheep and goats, over uneven ground
and heavy gradients. Mr.. Ness seems to
have well explored the district for better
ones, as also TO have conducted trials with
a temporary reducing furnace; bat in the
end his advice to the government is to be
content with their present loss, andnot throw
good money after bad, certainly in the
attempt to carry on iron manufacture in
the Northwest provinces by the aid of the
blast furnace. Ii is manifest that the Brit
/ ish lronmaster has little cause to fear thai
India will soon be in position to supply
| herself with the home made article.