Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-04-03
IRON AND STEEL.
Valuable Facts From the American Iron and
Steel Association.

Steel Association.
Through the courtesy of DR.. w. b.
Phillips a reporter for the State Herald
was shown a copy of the Directory of the
Iron and Steel Works of the United
States, a book just issued by the Amer
lean Iron and Steel association. The
preface states that in the past two years
a large number of new iron and steel
enterprises have been undertaken. A
surprising large number of sheet mills
and tin plate works have been recently
started. In the present edition 469 blast
furnaces are enumerated, or just 100 less
than in 1892, and just so less than in 1894.
Yet with this great reduction in the
number of active furnaces the annual
capacity has increased to 1873, 637 tons
in 1895, or 2,S22,92 tons more than In 1892
and 1,102, 610 tons more than in 1894. In
1876 the average annual capacity of all
the furnaces was 6S11 gross tons; in 1896
1904. With 244 fewer furnaces than in
1876 we now have more than three and
half times the furnace capacity of that
year. These figures indicate very great
change in furnace construction and man.
agement in the last twenty years. Mer-
CHESS competition, better methods of
manufacture, better ores and better fuel
constant tendency to lower prices and
the crushing effects of the panic of 1893
have combined to place the manufacture
of pig iron in few and strong hands.
When the directory for 1894 appeared
not one new-farnace in the United
States was being built. The present edi-
ton enumerates ten new furnaces in
construction and fourteen projected.
Fifty-four furnaces have been aban-
.doned since 1894 OF these q are in Penn
sylvania, 5 in New York, In Michigan,
in Virginia, in Wisconsin, 3 in Ohio
2 each in New Jersey, Maryland, Ten
nessee and Illinois, and each in Massa-
chusetts Connecticut, Alabama and Mis-
souri,. OF the IA partly erected and pro-
jected furnaces is in New York, 3 in
Pennsylvania, in Virginia, 3 in Tonnes
see and in Alabama.
OF the 469 furnaces in the present ed-
ton 95 use charcoal, against lis in the
edition for 1894, and 1913 use anthracite
and bituminous coal and coke, against
401 in 1894.
The present directory enumerates sos
completed rolling mills and steel works
as against 4S7 in 1894
The number of pudding furnaces con-
nected with rolling mills in January 1885,
each double furnace being considered as
the equivalent of two single furnaces,
was 4408, against Ais early in 1894,
decrease of 307 furnaces.
Five new standard Bessemer steel
plants have been built since 1894 The
annual capacity of all the standard Bes
semer steel plants in January, 1896, was
9,472, $50 gross tons of ingots and direct
castings, against 100000 tons in Janua-
-ry, 1894. This is very great increase.
We have built eleven new open hearth
steel plants since 1894, making total of
eighty-eight and four new plants are
being built. The annual capacity in in
gots and direct castings of the open
hearth steel plants in January, 1896, was
2430,450 gross tons, against 1,740,0O0 tons
in January, 1894, surprisingly large in
crease. During the past two years rapid
progress has been made in the manufac-
ture of basic steel in open hearth fur
naces.
The manufacture of steel castings has
grown SO rapidly in late years that 1t has
wrought a-great change In our general
foundry practice.
About one-half of the open hearth steel
works of the country which produce in
gots now make basic steel.
In the present edition forty-one rolling
mills are named as making black plates
for timing. There are sixty-nine tin
plate works, as against three in 1890.
Practically all the works now erected
have been built since the passage of the
tariff of 1890.
In the directory for 1894 was enumer-
ated twenty-five FORCES and bloomaries,
and now there are twenty-three, most
of which are pig and scrap FORCES. In
the whole south where formerly there
were literally hundreds of catalan FORCES,
making small quantities of wrought iron
directly from the ore, there Is now only
one, which is located in Asbe county,
North Carolina. In 1876 there were TWEEN
ty-seven FORCES in New York that made
iron directly from the ore; now there are
seven.
Canada has eight blast furnaces and
fifteen rolling mills and steel works,
while Mexico is credited with fourteen
blast furnaces and six rolling mills and
steel works.
Alabama has thirty-nine bituminous
and twelve charcoal furnaces, total fifty
one, with an annual capacity in gross
tons of ], 1872, 500. Pennsylvania heads the
list in number of furnaces, then Ohio and
then Alabama.
Alabama has nine rolling mills and
Pennsylvania 1923. Six states exceed Ala
bama in number of rolling mills.
Alabama has seyenty-seven cut-nail
machines and Pennsylvania 1401.
Alabama is credited with two open
hearth steel works and Pennsylvania
forty-six.
Pennsylvania has forty-eight abandon
ed furnaces.
The total number of locomotive works
in the United States is twenty-five.
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