and is very hot, it is brought opposite to or above the tuyere, but so far off as not to be touched by the blast. The principal difference in making iron and steel is, that iron is to be worked diligently, and is never worked too much; while in making steel, the work must be regulated by a practised judgment. Steel must be protected against the blast; still, the fire and iron are to be very hot, and uniformly hot. It is never broken up by a bar; but the cake of iron retain the form it receives on melting and flowing into the hearth; the blast being so directed as to heat it uniformly.

The practice of making steel is somewhat different if the pig-iron should be No. 2, or white iron. We have little or no ore which will make a good white iron for steel. The only useful ore which we know of is the Missouri iron mountain ore-a particularly good quality of per-oxyde- or the specular ore of Lake Superior, of which we know but little. There are other good ores in New Jersey, viz., the Andover specular ore; but this is not used at present, although in the last century steel was made from it. Such white iron—that is, No. 2 iron, or that made by a heavy burden in the blast-furnace-is melted entirely above the tuyere, in the strongest heat and a strong blast. By the time such iron arrives at the bottom

of the hearth, it is almost converted into steel. A low heat and weak blast will make iron instead of steel. In this instance, the pig-iron is selected with particular reference to steel. Open or mottled No. 2 is reserved for wrought iron; and only the close, compact, crystallized, clean pigs are selected for steel. The pigs or plates for steel are not to be cast in chills, nor in damp sand; they are cast in heavy pigs, either in dry sand, or, what is better, in charcoaldust. If, during the melting-in of this pig-iron, some of it is converted into fibrous iron, it does not matter; it may be reconverted into steel by giving a strong blast, and keeping such blast off the iron; it will then once more dissolve and unite with the crude iron, or steel.

FLUXES.

In all cases, the addition of fluxes to the melted iron, such as hammer-slag or scales, cinders of former heats, iron-ore, and similar matter, is to be avoided. Though such fluxes may be good in making iron, they are worse than useless in manufacturing steel. A fluid cinder should always be around the cake of iron, or steel; if the fire works too dry, it is better

to throw some fine fire-clay, or fine white sand, on the cake, to make cinder. Anything else, no matter what its name may be, is injurious to the steel, and should be most carefully avoided.

PIG-IRON,

No. 3, or white iron with much carbon, of a quality suited to the manufacture of steel, is not made in this country. We have no ore for making such iron. White iron highly carbonized, as it is frequently made in blast-furnaces when the operations are disordered, is the least useful for steel. We know of but the black magnetic and specular ores, in this country, which are of any use for the manufacture of natural steel. These ores are to be smelted by charcoal and cold-blast, and the blast-furnace should not be overburdened, or the product will be cold-short wrought-iron, and not steel.

The method of working Nos. 1 and 2 pig-iron differs essentially from that pursued in working No. 3. The dimensions of the fire-hearth and arrangement of the blast are also very different; so that Nos. 1 and 2 cannot be worked in a hearth intended for No. 3. As, however, we have no No. 3 pig-iron which is suitable for the manufacture of steel, we shall confine our remarks to Nos. 1 and 2.

THE MAKING

Of steel requires great heat. For this reason, the fire is made more flat; the bottom is raised, and the tuyere not dipped so much as in making iron. Grey iron admits of more dip of the blast than mottled or white pig. When working the latter, the wind is to be kept off the bottom, or the steel cakes altogether too fast. Grey pig requires less blast than mottled; white iron should have a strong blast, and the highest possible degree of heat. Grey iron made from the same ore as the white, will make a better steel than the latter; but it requires more labour and attention than to work white iron.

Under all conditions, a high heat is desirable; but as grey pig works rather slowly, the heat is diminished; this often arises from the quality of the product. The heat and blast should be uniform, as well during the melting, as after the metal has caked in the bottom. The tuyere or nozzles are sometimes shifted; but this is an imperfect way of mending matters, and the necessity for it should be avoided. Two nozzles, and a broad half-round or oval tuyere, will be found of great advantage. A round tuyere, with one round nozzle, is not adapted to the purpose,

and should not be admitted into a forge for the manufacture of steel.

The more the iron is inclined to give up its carbon, which is always the case with the best and purest kinds of iron, the more should the work be hurried, and the higher should be the heat. The bottom of the fire is to be clean and dry, every drop of cinder tapped off, and every particle of scoria removed, before the iron is melted down. This is a standing rule, which must be rigorously adhered to in all cases; but more particularly with white and good pig than with grey or bad iron.

Pig-iron which is grey, or which works too slowly, may be improved by melting it down, and gradually introducing small quantities of good, pure scrap-iron, cut up finely, and freed from rust or scales. These scraps are to be of old iron, or old steel; fresh scraps are not of much use. The scraps dissolve in the fluid iron, and are put into it quite hot, almost at a welding heat, to prevent the cooling of the mass. Impure or rusty scrap-iron, and cold water, are to be avoided; they make the iron boil, and give it a fibrous quality. By avoiding what we have designated, the heat may be increased without any fear that the iron will boil; it will assume a pasty, thick appearance, and soon become strong enough to be