Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-02-23
IRON AND STEEL.
A Practical Talk ON the Metals by
the Hon. Eustace G. Fltz Before the
Young Mems Christian Union.

A Practical Talk ON the Metals by
the Hon. Eustace G. FItz Before the
Young Mems Christian Onion.
Iron and Steel" was the subject dis
cussed by the Hon. Eustace c. Fitz in
the practical talk" on Saturday night
before the Young Mems Christian Union,
Boston. There was large attendance. Mr..
Fiiz began by saying that iron is the most
abundant, the most useful, and the
cheapest of all metals. 1t is found in all
parts of the earth; Its use is constantly
increasing, and it has become a necessity
to civilization. AS to cheapness, some
kinds of pig iron are sold as low as half
cent per pound in England. Reference
was made to the tale in the Arabian
Nights" concerning the Prince whose
ship, approaching too near a magnetic
island, instantly went to pieces from
the loss of its iron bolts
and fastenings; and a picture was
drawn of the probable results to this
earth If some magnetic planet should
approach near enough to attract all our
iron and steel to itself, and remand the
inhabitants to the condition which ex-
listed in the bronze and stone ages The
history of the iron industry was traced
back to its earliest sources, showing that
the metal was known to the Asiatics and
the Egyptians in ancient times, also to
the Greeks and Romans centuries before
the time of Christ. Homer alluded to
it as "rare and valuable" metal and
obtained with much labor" Steel
axes were contended for as prizes in the
Grecian games. In Sparta, iron bars
and iron rings were used as money His
tory is nearly silent about the manufac-
ture of iron IN Britain for the first few
centuries of the present era. In the
fourteenth century iron merchants were
punished by law for charging too high
a price; but in these modern times, the
lecturer thought, they deserved pun
ishment for not charging enough
Iron cannon were first used in England
in 1916. The first successful use of coal
in the blast furnace was in 1875, and
from that time great advances have been
made in the iron industry all over the
world, especially in Great Britain and the
United States. The production of iron
ore In all countries for 1879 was over
thirty-seven million tons; of manufac-
tured iron eighteen million tons, Great
Britain heading the list and the United
States coming next. The manufacture
of iron was treated of under three heads
viz: Cast iron, wrought iron and steel.
The speaker exhibited specimens of the
principal iron ores, also of coal, lime
stone and manganese, and described the
processes of roasting and smelling ores
in the production of pig or cast iron.
Pig iron, when refined, puddled or boil
ed, hammered and rolled, becomes
wrought iron, and is capable Of being
worked into bars, rods, hoops,
sheets, and into almost any de-
sired shape. The object of all
this heating and working is to re-
move the foreign substances, such as
carbon, silicon, sulphur, phosphorus.
manganese, etc. Good wrought iron is
almost free of carbon, and is malleable,
fibrous, strong and tenacious Under
this head came the famous polished sheet
iron of Russia, which, however, is fast
being superseded in this country by the
American planished iron, an excellent
substitute; also galvanized sheet iron,
tin plates, terne plates, wire, etc, the
manufacture of which was briefly de-
scribed. Cast iron is USED fOf the
heavy parts of machinery for building
fronts, beams, Orders, gas and water
pipes, hollow ware, heating apparatus,
ornamental work, such as fences, foun-
tains and vases. Some beautiful speci-
mems of art work In cast iron were tx
Inhibited, consisting of reproductions of
ancient subjects, the production of the
art department of the Magee Furnace
Company of Chelsea. Wrought iron is
adapted to a great variety of uses. 1t
can be rolled as thin as paper, drawn into
finest wire, worked into all sorts of hard
ware, and is used to an enormous extent
for railway and telegraph purposes and
the construction of steamships, sailing
vessels, roofs, bridges, and armor plates
for war ships and forts.
The manufacture of steel was next
considered. Steel is produced by de-
priving iron of its carbon aud other for
eign substances and then supplying the
proper amount of carbon necessary for
the quality required The old methods
of making steel by the concentration pro-
cess were described. The product is
known as blister STEEL and this, On
reheating, hammering and welding, be-
comes shear steel, the article so long
used by the cutters of Sheffield. Cast
steel was first made in England by Hunts
man, a clOckmaker, who desired supt-
rior article for his pendulums and springs,
and has been extensively used for toOs
and great variety of other purposes.
Previous to the discovery of the method
of making cast steel the finest steel came
from India, and cost $25 per pound.
But the great invention of the age
in this line was the Bessemer process,
which consists Of forcing minute
streams of cold air upwards through
melted pig iron for fifteen to twenty
minutes, blowing out the carbon. Spie-
geleisen is then added to give the proper
proportion of carbon to make steel.
This was followed by the Siemens- Mar
tin process, and what is known as the
Thomas Gilchrist process. The result
has been a revolutionizing of the entire
iron industry and the introduction of
steel fer many purposes to which iron
was formerly applied, such as railways,
tires and sxles, shipbuilding, boilers,
bridges, guns aud projectiles, ETC., etc.
1t is considered probable that ere long
steel will supersede iron for most uses,
on account of it's strength and durabill-
ty and the cheapening of its cost by the
new processes. After abiding to the
use of iron in therapeutics, and its ex-
istence in the blood, the speaker con-
Guided by suggesting the importance of
having the qualities of iron and steel in
human character, of an iron will to sur
mount obstacles, of being iron clad to
resist temptation, and of possessing fine
ness, strength and elasticity in order to
be "true as steel"