The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-10-18
MAKING PIG IRON.
Roanoke and Its Furnaces.
For The Timos.i

TO one who forms his ideas of pi- iron /
furnace from the old style specimens o. ue /
seen i'm the VALLEY. "a -i-it 90 tln furnaces 40 T
Roanoke il revelation as DO WAS o. mn. /
There are two furnace, hrro-bnih alike .
one i'm operation and thn other very nNI
completion. ON approaching tne works BIB. /
first thin- attracting attention Hr ine lofts .
smoke stacks which seem iIr Iunl-NNi- f
ton Of dignity and repo-s as they emit DOB 3D. +
constant and steady stream tlin. smoky .
breath now Drifting il ihr north and nIN Iu /
the south now o. The east ana npN iY ihO +
west. according a. the wind blows. Dr. l.i- J.
hans. i'm the calm of morning. ascending 300 /
"A PERPENDICULAR column. NOW -liIeru- Iihc /
Trusted silver or black and -uileu. acrIfdin- +
a. the sun shine, 0r hides his face. k.lri- I
ing the ground the first things demanding
notice are Two pundnnu- engines. whose /
iabor.d efforts recall ihc fable % Atlas. a-
he pants and staZger- under his mundane /
burden. I'm their pre- -ence ono feels a- help /
less "A. be- imagine- the Eu-li-hmau dd
when he heard the giant pro'laimn- that DO. /
smelt his blood. or as pi-nler ml-Ai i'ri Odd
the presence Of malignant -cnii.
But these engines are the life 10 thn iur-
mace: for without them the magnificent
works would bee as useless as the unmndDd
ore. The engines furnish the blast and
without the blast there could hc no pruilta-
necessary for the production 81 pi9 IRON. I
Tin. engines do not directly supply blast o.
the furnace. but to two cnOrnuu. stoves. I
These stove, are immense cylinders twenty
or TWENTY-FIVE feet i'm diameter and about
forty feet high. and into these are miro
duccd the noNiou- but highly nilammahlc
Eases. generated in producing the iron. II
is into these ovens that the hlI~f PUSHES.
and coming into contact Win These gases
IGNITION results and thence what scaled the
hot blast and which 81 reduces the cost Ofiue'.
> supplied 10 the furnace itself. Nchu-
cladnclzar evidently took great delight iu
his furnace. and when Boz had heated 10
seven times hotter than usual there D. nu
doubt that his heart sweiied with greater
pridc in hchOldng IL than in dwelling upon
bi. own Golden statue. But that furnace.
,uperhcated H. IL WAS. WAS scarcely more
than cold storage. aS the event proved to
these ovens: but n hc could have impaired
Ia his furnace only u 1.-THE of the glowing
ter,or of these ovens the llehre" children
would neyermorc have been heard Of and
a very prrttv story would have been spoilt.
Huf perhapS. for Nebuch1dne/Iar fhr fail
urr of his furnace 90 act Was fortunate
circumstance. because Otherwise hi~ culcl
claim Ia Immortality. or at least tO nOto-
rietv. would have been eXineuished. and
both he and >hadrack. Me~rack and Abod-
nego would have remained unknown. un-
honored or un-ung.
Leaving the engines and ovens. one de-
.ceuds under a shed where are great piles
Of coke. limestone, and iron ore dumped d.-
rectly from the ears. out If which the iron
l. made. Here a dozen ur moro cheerful
Africans are found loading huge iron ~ heel
harrow-. which. after being weighed. are
run two at time on an elevator. and every
minute or 80 they are lifted 10 platform on
a level with the top OF the furnace. seventy
i've feet or more IN the air. The top j. sup
piled with trap-dOOr. which act, auiumat-
| ically. lpOn this the various materials
are dumped. bat they remain only for no
ment or Two. for the constant iusing Of the
material within soon causes the trap-dOOr
10 fall. when IL, load disappears. and the
door. ready for another load, resumes ill.,
position. When the trap-door sink, a dense
Whirling mass of angry smoke -urgc~ up.
reminding one Of the cheerful sketch given
in Hoiy Writ If the unmeniionable abode
which i, 10 be- the final resting 90 place ~
about nincty-nine one hundrrdih> OF u-
poor morial-. If the visitor did NOT know
what was coming. he would start back
alriehied al the iuriOu, Whirl 81 suilOrli-
ing smoke. would imagine that the evil one
was just about TO seize him aud carry him
| below. hut the fright II mere fancy. and
lust "A, "A great many Othcrt things are that in
many instances make liz. wrefched.
Descending. which We are glad 10 do.
from the mouth. We now approach the vent
of the furnace. Just ia time 10 witness a
blast, which occurs from four 10 six times
| in the twenty-four hours.
Upon the flising of the material. which
stops not day or night. sundays or HOLIDAYS.
| the iron Of course sinks 10 the bottom and
the refuse. called ''slag" rests like "a molten
sea upon IT, hut the irst thing upon maxi
| ing blast II ~ get rid 81 this STAG. and
| ihereupon a vent in the side il opened. when
a liquid stream flows violently out. b. be-
conducted 10 m0uld> "A couple Of feet deep
an four feet broad. whence, after Cooling.
| the cakes are carted away. After the How
OF siag ceases an attack il made upon the
| vent for the iron, and "A vigorous one il must
be; for II II Il twcnty-minutes' labor with q
heavy pointed croMbar To- lcacl the glow
lug lnetai within: but when that il done,
the metallic stream comes forth with a rush
| and bound, and woe he 10 anything or
gahic that comes in lis path. The current.
however frightful and appalling. is under
easy control, and Is 1t once guided into the
mould In the SOW, whence, after cooling, it
comes out in the familiar form Of pig-iron.
The whole process Of making pig iron is
very interesting, and every intelligent per-
son should avail himself Of seeing the fur