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THE

CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

THE CREATORS

OF

THE AGE OF STEEL.

BY

W. T. JEANS.

** Our n/ealth, commerce, and manujactures grow out of the skilled
labour of men working in metals" — Cobden.

LONDON : CHAPMAN AND HALL,

Limited.
1884.

-f.)' , e . ^

LONDON :

R. Clay, Sons, and Taylor,

BREAD STREET HILL, E.C.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

The Age of Steel — Industrial progress since 1850 — Use of biographies of great
inventors — Rewards of inventors Pages 1—9

SIR HENR Y BESSEMER,

CHAPTER I.

Distinguishing features of his great invention — Parentage and early life —
Invention of new kind of Government stamp — His bronze powder-making
machinery and other inventions — ^Artillery experiments — Reception by
Emperor Napoleon Pages 10 — 29

CHAPTER II.

Bessemer's reason for stud)dng metallurgy — Account of early steel-making
processes — His first experiments — Conception and trial of his new
process — Public announcement of it — Public trials of it — Success
followed by failure /'fl^w 30— 48

CHAPTER III.

Usual fate of metallurgical inventions — Bessemer investigates the cause of his
failure — Success with iron free from phosphorus — Use of manganese in
steel making — Robert Mushet's claims — Bessemer process perfected —
Introduction of Bessemer steel — Efforts to make it a commercial success.

Pages 49 — 78

vi CONTENTS,

CHAPTER IV.

Evidences of Bessemer's success — History of his process abroad — He produces
steel without blowholes — Pioneer of steel for structural purposes —
Bessemer advocates steel for ordnance, rails, boilers, and shipbuilding.

Pages 79—102

CHAPTER V.

Bessemer's patents — His high-pressure furnace — Inventions for removing blow-
holes from steel — His great telescope — His illustration of a billion, and
account of coal production of United Kingdom — Honours and rewards.

Pages 103— 131

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS.

CHAPTER VI.

German characteristics — His early impressions and training — Determining
incident of his life — ^Mechanical theory of heat — Experiments with re-
generative engine — His regenerative furnace — Its economic results and
future applications — Direct processes of steel and iron making — Martin's
claims disproved — Siemens's steel used for shipbuilding. Pages 132 — 172

CHAPTER VII.

Application of electricity to industrial purposes — Faraday's great discovery —
Siemens's applications of it — ^The dynamo machine — Electro-horticulture
— Electric railways — Indo-European telegraph — ^The steamer Faraday
— Unpatented inventions — Lecture on fuel — Action of sun heat — Trans-
mission of power — Honours — Death , Pages I'J'^ — 213

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH.
CHAPTER VIII.

Mechanical genius — Early labours of Whitworth — His machine tools —
Other inventions — Construction of his rifle — Its superiority and reception
— Achievements of his guns and projectiles — Improvements in steel —
Application of hydraulic pressure — Whitworth compressed steel — The
English Government ignore and then adopt his principles — Technical
education — Whitworth Scholarships founded — Letter from Carlyle.

Pages 214 — 268

CONTENTS. vii

SIR JOHN BROWN,

CHAPTER IX.

Lesson of his life — Scene of his labours — Early life — First experiences in
business — His success and energy — Starts iron manufacture and Bessemer
process — Invention of rolled armour plates — Production of monster plates
— Punch's description — Extent and business of the Atlas Works — Public
services and honours Pages 269 — 298

MR. S. G. THOMAS.

CHAPTER X.

The problem he solved — ^Early studies — Experiments in dephosphorisation
— ^Early history of basic process by Mr. Richards — Success and progress
of the process /b^« 299 — 316

MR. G. y. SNELUS.
CHAPTER XI.

Attainments in metallurgy — Discovery of principle of dephosphorisation —
Investigations' of metallurgical processes — Proofs of his originality — His
remodelling of West Cumberland Steel Works — Acceptance of Bessemer
medal P^g^ Z^I^ZZS

THE

CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

, 4 THE CUE A tons OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

This country has not only been the birthplace of all the great
inventions which have increased or cheapened the production of
iron and steel ; but of all the great industries carried on in this
country the manufacture of iron and steel has made the greatest
progress. Between 1851 and t88i our cotton trade increased
twofold, our coal trade threefold, our crude iron trade fourfold,
and our steel trade thirtyfold. The production of sleel in 1882
was as great as the production of crude iron in 1850,

Other industries have reflected this progress not only in their
increasing magnitude, but in the greater use of mechanical appli-
ances instead of manual labour. Just look at the cotton trade.
England has long been the world's greatest cotton factory; and
although it is dependent on other countries for its raw material,
this is the industry in which it has on the whole made the most
uniform, though not always the most rapid progress. Thus, in
1847 we exported in round numbers one thousand million yards
of cotton goods; in 1857 two thousand million yards; in 1867
three thousand million ; and in 1877 four thousand million. In
other words, our exports of cotton goods have increased at the
rate of one thousand million yards every ten years ; and to such
an extent has machinery superseded manual labour in this industry,
that on the average only one person is now employed to do the
work that required two in 1850 ; while at the same time the hours
of labour have been reduced, wages have been doubled, and the
cost of manufacturing cotton goods has become cheaper. Similar
results have been effected in other textile industries.

In like manner in our shipping trade, where iron or steel has
almost entirely superseded wood, in 1881 only one man was em-
ployed where three were needed in 1850; while the number of
hands only increased 36 per cent the tonnage carried increased
360 per cent.

INTRODUCTION. 5

If this examination were extended to other leading industries
in which machinery is largely used, it would be found that if this
country were as much dependent on manual labour now as it was
in 1850, our artizan population would have to be increased by two
millions. In other words, if the additional work now done by
machinery were done in the same way as in 1850, the additional
number of artizans that would be required would have equalled
in 1 88 1 the total population of Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester,
and Birmingham.

About one half of the whole of the world's coal trade, iron
trade, cotton trade, and shipping trade is carried on in this country.

These few facts are calculated to show in a general way the
part which iron and steel play in our industrial life. It is surely
not too much to say that the iron and steel trade is the back-
bone of our mechanical industries. Yet the nature of this
" leading industry '* is still little known to the masses of people
who have never been in an iron or steel works. Although simple
and inexpensive accounts of the processes employed in these works
have been published of late years, they appear to have no fasci-
nation for the popular mind. Be they ever so lucid, being colour-
less and uneventful, they are not popular reading. It has therefore
appeared to us that the most striking facts in connection with this
industry could be presented in their most attractive light in short
biographies of the creators of the age of steel. The career of
men who with no birthright but their talents, and no other secret
of success than " the magic of patience," have attained positions
of world-wide renown, should always have an intrinsic interest ;
and biographies of such men, while affording scope for a narrative
sufficiently varied by incident to sustain attention, may become
the means of disseminating some knowledge of the great industry
thev have created.

6 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

In support of this view the high authority of Lord Bacon can
be quoted. In order that " the industry of others may be
quickened, and their courage aroused and inflamed," he remarked
that " the introduction of great inventions appears to hold by far
the first place among human actions, and it was considered so in
former ages ; for to the authors of inventions they awarded divine
honours, but only heroic honours to those who did good service in
the state (such as the founders of cities and empires, legislators,
deliverers of their country from long endured misfortunes, quellers
of tyrannies, and the like). And certainly, if any one rightly com-
pare the two, he will find that this judgment of antiquity was
just ; for the benefits of inventions may extend to the whole race
of man, but civil benefits only to particular places ; the latter,
moreover, last not beyond a few ages, the former for ever. The
reformation of the state in civil matters is seldom brought about
without violence and confusion, while inventions carry blessings
with them, and confer benefits without causing harm or sorrow to
any."

Subservient to this, there are other purposes which such a
narrative is calculated to promote. The industrial revolution
described in the following pages has been brought about by one
of those constellations of genius which the world has only seen
at distant intervals, and which make their generation an epoch in
the annals of science. But history teaches us that this sort of
radiance has been ofttimes succeeded by an almost moonless
night. It has been well observed, for instance, that the publica-
tion of the Principia^ the crowning work of the creator of
philosophical science, seemed to check the tide of invention in
England, and that perhaps the splendour of Newton's fame
had some influence for a season in over-dazzling the lustre of
native talent. As a parallel instance, it has been remarked that

INTRODUCTION. 7

nothing pre-eminent in science was produced by the French for
half a century after Descartes. But this over-dazzling splendour
has too often in the past had to pierce through the deepest shades
of penury and neglect, which gave little encouragement to others
to follow in the same path. Might not the next generation be
spared from a similar eclipse by an account of the unprecedented
success of the creators of the age- of steel ?

The rewards and honours of political life lead many men to
seek after them ; but there is a time-honoured tradition that great
inventors and scientists, like poets and philosophers of old,
are allowed to go unrewarded. The records of the past tell
us, with a truthfulness that appears stranger than fiction, that
many of the men who did most by their inventive faculties
and life-long labours to ameliorate the condition of their fellow-
men or to promote the industrial progress of their country,
have ended their days in obscurity and poverty. The iron
trade is not without its benefactors of this description. The
two first and greatest inventors in the trade died in unenviable
circumstances. Dud Dudley, who in 16 18 discovered the way
to smelt iron with co^l, and thereby laid the foundation of many
fortunes, concludes his record of his long and costly experiments
by stating that " the author hath had no benefit thereby," and
history tells us that he lived a life of hardship and died in
obscurity. Henry Cort, who a hundred years ago invented the
puddling process, which is still used for refining iron, was in
his latter days a ruined man, and was only saved from absolute
penury by a pension of ;;^200 a year, granted by Mr. Pitt as
a provision for himself, then aged fifty-four years, and his
destitute family of twelve children. In a work written by the
greatest authorities on the leading industries in 1851, we read:
" The lot of the scientific man has hitherto been most frequently

THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

to expend years of study, experience, and research — his means,
possibly his health ; for what return ? To find himself un-
recognised, unheeded, and each year a poorer man than he
was the year before." It is n«edless to multiply illustrations or
quotations. Suffice it to say that the creators of the age of
steel have been the pioneers of a happier era for the devotees
of applied science ; their success shows that the age which their
labours inaugurated has been the da^vn of more fortunate times
for successful inventors ; and the rewards and honours which
they have received form not the least interesting portion of
contemporary history.

During the last few years a good many inducements and
facilities have been held out to young men with the view of
attracting their attention to those departments of applied science
or mechanical skill which have hitherto been less fashionable than
professional life ; and eminent authorities are daily pointing
out the vast field there is for the study of science and its
applications to industry. In this respect the iron and steel
trade is no exception, notwithstanding the great achievements
of the present generation. Sir Henry Bessemer stated at
Sheffield in 1880 that to the young aspirant who would devote
himself to the improvement of his art, it was above all things
important that he should realise the fact that there lay before
him a wide and open path for study and improvement, that
its avenues were not in any way closed by what had already
been done, and that in all things pertaining to the arts and
manufactures we were as far removed from finality as the half-
civilised Asiatic was slill behind the European.

Next to the illimitable nature of the field there is for the
exercise of genius, what is more likely to stimulate exertion in
this direction than a knowledge of the rewards and honours

INTRODUCTION. 9

gained by those who, although the foremost men of our day,
still say that they have only gathered a few pebbles from the
vast ocean that lay before them ? Admonitions to pursue science
for the love of it have a celestial flavour about them; but
in matters terrestrial perhaps Diogenes showed as much know-
ledge of human nature as caustic wit, when in reply to the
question " How it was that the philosophers followed the rich,
instead of the rich following the philosophers,'* he answered —
" Because the philosophers know what they want, and the rich
do not"

The main object of biography, said Goethe, is to exhibit man
in relation to the features of his time ; and this has been the
guiding principle in the compilation of this volume. While it
is not consistent with its purpose to give the full personal details
that compose a life^ it gives such facts and incidents as the public
have a right to know, and such as the subjects themselves have
thought proper to make public.

SIR HENRY BESSEMER.

CHAPTER I.

** The respect which in all ages and countries has been paid to inventors
seems indeed to rest on something more profound than mere gratitude for the
benefits which they have been the means of conferring on mankind, and to
imply, if it does not express, a consciousness that by the grand, original con-
ceptions of their minds they approach somewhat more nearly than their fellows
to the qualiiies and pre-eminence of a higher order of being." — Muirhead.

In the commercial history of the last hundred years there are
three events that have had a revolutionary effect in accelerating
our industrial development. The first was the construction of
the steam-engine by James Watt, the second was the introduction
of the penny post by Sir Rowland Hill, and the third was the
invention of means of producing cheap steel by Sir Henry
Bessemer and Sir Wm. Siemens. It is a remarkable feature of
each of these great improvements that they came perfect from the
hands of their authors. Of the steam-engine Sir Wm. Siemens
has well remarked that if any proof were wanting of the great
genius of Watt, it would be sufficient to observe that the steam-
engine of the present day is in point of principle still the same
as it left his hands three-quarters of a century ago, and that
our age of material progress could only affect its form. Sir
William Armstrong has likewise said that by a succession of
brilliant inventions, comprising, amongst others, his parallel

5//? HENR Y BESSEMER. 1 1

motion and his ball governor, Watt advanced to the final con-
ception of the double-acting rotative engine, which became
applicable to every purpose requiring motive power, and continues
to this day, in nearly its original form, to be the chief moving
agent employed by man. The two other inventions we have
named might be described in similar terms. It is well known
that Sir Rowland Hill not only conceived but perfected the
organisation of the penny post; and the first announcement of
the Bessemer converter, made in 1856, is still read with interest
on account of its complete description of both the principle and
details of that process. Each of these inventions had one other
feature in common : they were brought into extensive use during
the lifetime of their authors. In some respects, however, the
Bessemer converter differed from the two other inventions. The
improvement of the steam-engine was the only great invention
of James Watt, and Sir Rowland Hill will be remembered for
nothing but the penny post Whether these inventions were
accidental suggestions, happy thoughts, or flashes of genius,
certain it is they were the only ideas of their authors that brought
forth much fruit. Pope says : —

** One science only will one genius fit,
So vast is art, so narrow human wit."

But this cannot be said of our inventors in the steel trade.
Their minds being of a more fertile stamp, have worked out
many inventions, while at the same time they have realised the
truth of Lord Bacon's axiom that knowledge to be profitable
to its cultivators must also be fruitful to mankind. More
especially has this been the case with the Bessemer converter,
which has had the twofold effect of rewarding him who gave
it and those to whom it was given. Sir Henry Bessemer was
not cnlv the architect of his own fortune but the benefactor of

ij THE CREATORS OE THE AGE OF STEEL.

his race. The steam-engine and the penny post have in many
respects been greater blessings to mankind ; yet special Acts of
Parliament were required to reward their authors for their labours.
James Watt wrote to the partner whose assistance saved him
from ruin that " of all things in life there is nothing more foolish
(unprofitable) than inventing." Sir Rowland Hill's first substan-
tial reward was a public subscription, for the penny post was in
operation sixteen years before it paid its own expenses. Nor can
their life's work be described as inventions in every sense of
the word. James Watt has been correctly described by Lord
Jeffrey, his panegyrist, as the great improver of the steam-engine ;
and Sir Rowland Hill's great work was rather one of organisa-
tion than invention. But no such limitations have to be applied
to the work of Sir Henry Bessemer. Biographers of inventors
have often had great difficulty in vindicating the originality of
their subjects from the claims of others to a previous knowledge
or discovery of the same thing. James Watt, for mstance, spent
his life in improving the steam-engine and conducting law-suits
to protect his patent rights; but the mvention of Sir Henry
Bessemer has in this country, the home of metallurgical inven-
tions, been allowed to go unchallenged It is related m Grecian
history that after the battle of Salamis the generals, while each
claiming the first honour for his own generalship, unanimously
admitted that Themistocles deserved the second ; and the world
ever since, says Adam Smith, has accepted this as a proof that
Themistocles vras, beyond all question, the first. But no one in
the steel trade has ever assigned to Sir Henry Bessemer a second
place. His priority is undisputed. His inventive faculties were
of such a high order that he boldly entered upon untrodden
paths, and imparted features of originality to most things that
engaged his attention.

In the year 1S13, M, de Sismondi published his greatest work,
in which he said that the Fiench certainly possess, above c^&t'j

SIR HENR Y BESSEMER. 1 3

other nation of modem times, an inventive spirit. Such a
remark, published two years before the battle of Waterloo,
Englishmen would probably laugh at nowadays as the offspring
of national vanity. Yet in that same year one of the most
inventive spirits of his age first saw the light in circumstances
that stand associated with one of the most eventful epochs in
French history. At the time of the great revolution of 1792
there was employed in the French Mint a man of great ingenuity,
who had become a member of the French Academy of Sciences
at the age of twenty-five. When Robespierre became Dictator
of France this scientific academician was transferred from the
Mint to the management of a public bakery, established for the
purpose of supplying the populace of Paris with bread. In that
position he soon became the object of revolutionary frenzy.
One day a rumour was set afloat that the loaves supplied were
light in weight; and spreading like wildfire it was made the
occasion of a fearful tumult. The manager of the bakery was
instantly seized and cast into prison. He succeeded in escaping,
but it was at j:he risk of his life. Knowing the peril he was in,
he lost no time in making his way to England, and he only
succeeded in doing so by adroitly using some documents he
possessed bearing the signature of the Dictator. Landing in
England a ruined man, his talents soon proved a passport to
success. He was appointed to a situation in the English Mint ;
and by the exercise of his ingenuity in other directions, he ere
long acquired suflScient means to buy a small estate at Charlton
in Hertfordshire. Such, in brief, were the circumstances that led
to the settlement there of Anthony Bessemer, the father of
Sir Henry Bessemer. The latter may be said to have been bom
an inventor. His father was an inventor before him. After
settling in England, his inventive ingenuity was displayed in
making improvements in microscopes and in typefounding, and
in the discovery of what his son has happily described as the

14 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

Irue alchemy. The latter discovery, which he made about the
beginning of the present century, was a source of considerable
profit to him. It is generally known that when gold articles are
made by the jewellers, there are various dlscolorations left on
their stjrface by the process of manufacture; and in order to
clear their surface, they are put into a solution of alum, salt,
and saltpetre, which dissolves a large quantity of the copper that
is used as an alloy. Anthony Bessemer discovered that this
powerful acid not only dissolved the copper, but also dissolved
a quantity of gold. He accordingly began to buy up this liquor,
and as he was the only one who knew that it contained gold in
solution, he bad no difficulty in arranging for the purchase of it
from all the manufacturers in London. From that liquor he
succeeded in extracting gold in considerable quantities for many
years. By some means that he kept secret (and the secret died
with him), he deposited the particles of gold on the shavings of
another metal, which being afterwards melted, left the pure gold
in small quantities. Thirty years afterward the Messrs. Eikington
invented the electrotype process, which had the same effect.
Anthony Bessemer was also eminently successful as a typefounder.
When in France, before the revolution of 1792, he cut a great
many founts of type for Messrs. Firmin Didot, the celebrated
French typefounders ; and after his return to England, he betook
himself, as a diversion, to typecuiting for Mr. Henry Caslon, the
celebrated English typefounder. He engraved an entire series,
from pica to diamond, a work which occupied several years. The
success of these types led to the establishment of the firm of
Bessemer and Catherwood as typefounders, carrying on business
at Charlton, The great improvement which Anthony Bessemer
introduced into the art of typemaking was not so much in the
engraving as in the composition of the metal. He discovered
that an alloy of copper, tin, and bismuth was the most durable
metal for type : and the working of this discovery was

I

Slli HENRY BESSEMER, 15

successful in his hands. The secret of his success, however, he
kept unknown to the trade. He knew that if it were suspected
that the superiority of his type consisted in the composition of
the metal, analysis would reveal it, and others would then be
able to compete with him. So to divert attention from the real
cause, he pointed out to the trade that the shape of his type was
diflferent, as the angle at which all the lines were produced
from the surface was more obtuse in his type than in those
of other manufacturers, at the same time contending that his
type would wear longer. Other manufacturers ridiculed this
account of Bessemer's type, but experiende showed that it lasted
nearly twice as long as other type.. The business flourished for a
dozen years under his direction, and during that period the
real cause of its success was kept a secret. The process has
since been rediscovered and patented. Such were some of the
inventive efforts of the father of one of the greatest inventors
of the present age.

The youngest son of Anthony Bessemer, Henry, was bom at
Charlton, in Hertfordshire, in 1813. His boyhood was spent in
his native village, and while receiving the rudiments of an ordinary
education in the neighbouring town of Hitchin, the leisure and
retirement of rural life afforded ample time, though perhaps
little inducement, for the display of the natural bent of his
mind. Notwithstanding his scanty and imperfect mechanical
appliances, his early years were devoted to the cultivation of his
inventive faculties. His parents encouraged him in his youthful
efforts. It is a pious wish, says Goethe, of all fathers to see
what they have themselves failed to attain realised in their sons ;
as if in this way they could live their lives over again and at
least make a proper use of their early experience. Be this
as it may, Henry's father perceived the superior powers of his
mind while he was yet a boy ; and on the occasion of one of his
visits to London purchased for him ''one of those beautiful

little five-inch foot-lathes made by Holtzapffel," and with this
Instrument the youth began to study the art of turning. Aided
by a book, published by the sarae firm, that showed by many
excellent illustration3 the process of eccentric turning, he devoted
himself to the study of the art with all the enthusiasm of genius
and youth. At that lime Jacob Perkins caused some sensation
by his achievements in eccentric turning applied to the engraving
of bank-notes ; and Henry Bessemer so much admired this man's
work that he took the only Httle bit of turning he had to do
to Perkins in order that, notwithstanding its unusually high price,
he might have the privilege, as he esteemed it, of examining
workmanship which he considered so beautiful and difficult.
" I examined," says Sir Henry, " a. vast number of beautiful
specimens, and could not conceive how by any combination
of mechanical appliances they could be produced until I came
across a pattern where there was a false division. Sorne accident
to the machine had produced the deflection of a single line
among many thousands, and I was thus enabled to learn in a
moment the whole secret In three months from that time I
produced all those patterns by the simplest possible means."

At the age of eighteen he came to London, " knowing no
one," he says, "and myself unknown, ^a mere cipher in a vast
sea of human enterprise." Here he worked as a modeller and
designer with encouraging success. He engraved a large number
of elegant and original designs on steel with a diamond point for
patent medicine labels. He got plenty of this sort of work to
do, and was well paid for it. In his boyhood his favourite
amusement was the modelling of objects in clay; and even in
this primitive school of genius he worked with so much success
that at the age of nineteen he exhibited one of his beautiful
models at the Royal Academy, then held at Somerset House.
Thus be soon began to make his way in the Metropolis, and
in the course of the following year he was maturing some plans

i

SIR HENR Y BESSEMER, 1 7

in connection with the production of stamps which he sanguinely
hoped would lead him on to fortune. At that time the old form
of stamps were in use that had been employed since the days
of Queen Anrte ; and as they were easily transferred from old
deeds to new ones, the Government lost a large amount annually
by this surreptitious use of old stamps instead of new ones. The
ordinary impressed or embossed stamps such as are now employed
on bills of exchange, or impressed directly on skins of parch-
ment, were liable to be entirely obliterated if exposed for some
months to a damp atmosphere. A deed so exposed would at
last appear as if unstamped, and would therefore become invalid.
Special precautions were therefore observed in order to prevent
this occurrence. It was the practice to gum small pieces of
blue paper on the parchment, and to render it still more secure
a strip of metal foil was passed through it, and another small
piece of paper with the printed initials of the sovereign was
gummed over the loose end of the foil at the back. The stamp
was then impressed on the blue paper, which, unhke parchment,
is incapable of losing the impression by exposure to a damp
atmosphere. Experience showed, however, that by placing a
little piece of moistened blotting-paper for a few hours over the
paper the gum became so softened that the two pieces of paper
and the slip of foil could be easily removed from an old deed,
and then used for a new one. In this way stamps could be used
a second and third time; and by thus utilising the expensive
stamps on old deeds of partnerships that were dissolved, or leases
that had expired, the public revenue lost thousands of pounds
every year. Sir Charles Persley, of the Stamp Office, told Sir
Henry Bessemer that the Government were probably defrauded
of ;^i 00,000 per annum in that way. The young inventor at
once set to work for the express purpose of devising a stamp
that could not be used twice. His first discovery was a mode by
which he could have reproduced easily and cheaply thousands of

C

stamps of any pattern. "The facility," he says, "with which
I could make a permanent die from a thin paper original, capable
of producing a thousand copies, would have opened a wide door
for successful frauds if my process had been known to un-
scrupulous persons, for there is not a government stamp or a
paper seal of a corporate body that every common office clerk
could not forge in a few minutes at the office of his employer
or at his own home. The production of such a die from a
common paper stamp is a work of only ten minutes; the
materials cost less than one penny ; no sort of technical skill
is necessary, and a common copying press or a letter stamp
yields most successful copies." To this day a successful forger
has to employ a skilful die-sinker to make a good imitation in
steel of the document he wishes to forge; but if such a method
as that discovered and described by Sir Henry Bessemer were
known, what a prospect it would open up I Appalled at the
effect which the communication of such a process would have
had upon the business of the Stamp Office, he carefully kept
the knowledge of it to himself, and to this day it remains a
profound secret.

More than ever impressed with the necessity for an improved
form of stamp, and conscious of his own capability to produce it,
he laboured for some months to accomplish his object, feeling
sure that, if successful, he would be amply rewarded by the
Government To ensure the secrecy of his experiments, he
worked at them during the night after his ordinary business of
the day was over. He succeeded at last in making a stamp which
obviated the great objection to the then existing form, inasmuch
as it would be impossible to transfer it from one deed to another,
to obliterate it by moisture, or to take an impression from it
capable of producing a duplicate. Flushed with success and
confident of the reward of his labours, he waited upon Sir Charles
Persley at Somerset House, and showed him by numerous proof

•0^^^

57J? HENRY BESSEMER, 19

how easily all the then existing stamps could be forged, and his
new invention to prevent forgery. Sir Charles, who was mucht
astonished at the one invention and pleased with the other, asked
Sir Henry to call again in a few days. At the second interview
Sir Charles asked him to work out the principle of the new
stamping invention more fully. Accordingly Sir Henry devoted
five or six weeks' more labour in perfecting his stamp, with which
the Stamp Office authorities were now well pleased. The design,
as described by the inventor, was circular, about 2\ in. in
diameter, and consisted of a garter with a motto in capital letters,
surmounted by a crown. Within the garter was a shield with the
v/ords " Five pounds." The space between the shield and the
garter was filled with network in imitation of lace. The die was
executed in steel, which pierced the parchment with more than
400 holes, and these holes formed the stamp. It is by a similar
process that valentine makers have since then learned to make
the perforated paper used in their trade. Such a stamp removed
all the objections to the old one. So pleased was Sir Charles
with it that he recommended it to Lord Althorp, and it was soon
adopted by the Stamp Office. At the same time Sir Henry
was asked whether he would be satisfied with the position of
Superintendent of Stamps with ;^5oo or ;^6oo per annum as
compensation for his invention instead of a sum of money from
the Treasury. This appointment he gladly agreed to accept, for
being engaged to be married at the time, he thought his future
position in life was settled. Shortly afterwards he called on the
young lady to whom he was engaged and communicated the glad
tidings to her, at the same time showing her the design of his new.
stamp. On explaining to her that its chief virtue was that the new
stamps thus produced could not, like the old ones, be fraudulently
used twice or thrice, she instantly suggested that if all stamps had
a date put upon them they could not be used at a future time
without detection. This idea was new to him, and impressed

c 2

20 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

with its practical character he at once conceived a plan for the
^insertion of movable dates in the die of his stamp. The method
by which this is now done is too well known to require description
here; but in 1833 it was anew invention. Having worked out
the details of a stamp with movable dates, he saw that it was
more simple and more easily worked than his elaborate die for
perforating stamps ; but he also saw that if he disclosed his
latest invention it might interfere with his settled prospects in
connection with the carrying out of his first one. It was not
without regret, too, that he saw the results of many months of
toil and the experiments of many lonely nights at once super-
seded ; but his conviction of the superiority of his latest design
was so strong, and his own sense of honour and his confidence
in that of the Government so unsuspecting, that he boldly went
and placed the whole 'matter before Sir Charles Persley. Of
course the new design was preferred. Sir Charles truly observed
that with this new plan all the old dies, old presses, and old
workmen could be employed. Among the other advantages it
presented to the Government, it did not fail to strike Sir Charles
that no superintendent of stamps would now be necessary — a
recommendation which the perforating die did not possess. The
Stamp Office therefore abandoned the first invention of Sir Henry
Bessemer in favour of his latest one, which is still in use. At the
same time the Government abandoned the ingenuous and in-
genious inventor. The old stamps were called in and the new
ones issued in a few weeks ; the revenue from stamps grew
enormously, and forged or feloniously used stamps are now almost
unheard of The Stamp Office reaped a benefit which it is
scarcely possible to estimate fully, while Sir Henry did not receive
a farthing. Shortly after the new stamp was adopted by Act
of Parliament Lord Althorp resigned, and his successors dis-
claimed all liability. When the disappointed inventor pressed his
claim, he was met by all sorts of half-promises and excuses,

SIR HENR V BESSEMER, 2 1

which ended in nothing. The disappointment was all the more
galling, because if Sir Henry had stuck to his first adopted-
plan his services would have been indispensable to its execution ;
and it was therefore through his putting a better and more easily
worked plan before them that his services were coolly ignored.
" I had no patent to fall back upon," he says, in describing the
incident afterward ; ** I could not go to law even if I wished to
do so, for I was reminded when pressing for mere money out of
pocket that I had done all the work voluntarily and of my own
accord. Wearied and disgusted, I at last ceased to waste time
in calling at the Stamp Office — for time was precious to me in
those days — and I felt that nothing but increased exertions could
make up for the loss of some nine months of toil and expenditure
Thus, sad and dispirited, and with a burning sense of injustice
overpowering all other feelings, T went my way from the Stamp
Office too proud to ask as a favour that which was indubitably
my right."

Experience, says Carlyle, is the best schoolmaster, only the
school fees are rather heavy. Sir Henry Bessemer had now learned
this lesson. Success or failure in first efforts often mould the
course of after life. From a pecuniary point of view his experience
so far only appeared to confirm the old tradition that inventors are
doomed to disappointment ; but as it is one of the tests of genius
that it looks upon difficulties as things to be overcome, it is
scarcely wonderful that disappointments do not daunt it. On the
contrary adversity often acts as a stimulant. Necessity is the mother
of invention. Fortunately this was the case with Sir Henry
Bessemer. While smarting from the injustice of the English
government, he was encouraged by the mechanical success of the
invention they had appropriated. He therefore continued to work
out new inventions, but took care in future to turn them to more
profitable account and to protect them from piracy.

About the time that he was busily but unprofitably engaged in

22 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

frustrating the fraudulant use of government stamps, his attention
was called to the difficulty of obtaining good patterns of figured
Utrecht velvet ; and he soon invented a machine that overcame
this difficulty. It was so successful in operation that some of the
velvet it produced was used in furnishing certain state apartments
in Windsor Castle. Several of the designs in figured velvet still
in use were produced by our young inventor.

The next matter that seriously engaged his attention was the
process of typecasting, improvements in which formed the subject
of his first patent. In his youth he had made himself acquainted
with the details of typefounding in his father's foundry at Charlton ;
and he now designed new apparatus for casting type that contained
many of the elements of the present typecasting machines. His
machine, which was patented on the 8th of March, 1838, produced
the most accurate type ever cast up to that date, and by exhaust-
ing the air from the mould gave perfectly solid bodies ; but the
little valve through which the metal was injected into the mould
used to fail after casting some six or eight thousand types, and
owing to this defect the machine was eventually abandoned. Some
years afterwards he constructed what was known as Young's
composing machine, with which the Family Herald was
" composed " for about two years by a young lady, who with it
could set from six to seven thousand types per hour for ten
consecutive hours ; but ultimately the great opposition of the
compositors led to its abandonment.

Shortly after he had taken out his first patent for his improve-
ment in tyi^efounding his attention was accidentally turned to
the manufacture of bronze powder which is used in gold work,
japanning, gold printing, and similar operations. While engaged in
ornamenting a vignette in his sister^s album, he had to purchase a
small quantity of this bronze and was struck with the great
difference between the price of the raw material and that of the
manufactured article. The latter sold for 1 1 2j. a pound, while the

SIR BENRY BESSEMER. 23

raw material only cost iid, a pound. He concluded that the
difference was caused by the process of manufacture, and made in-
quiries with the view of learning the nature of the process. He
found, however, that this manufacture was hardly known in England.
The article was supplied to English dealers from Nuremburg and
other towns in Germany. He did not succeed, therefore, in
finding any one who could tell him how it was produced. In these
circumstances he determined to try to make it himself, and worked
for a year and a half at the solution of this task. Other men had
tried it and failed, and he was on the point of failing too. After
eighteen months of fruitless labour he came to the conclusion that
he could not make it, and gave it up. But it is the highest
attribute of genius to succeed where others fail, and impelled by
this instinct he resumed his investigations after six months* repose.
At last success crowned his efforts. The profits of his previous
inventions now supplied him with funds sufficient to provide the
mechanical appliances he had designed.

Knowing very little of the patent law and considering it so
insecure that the safest way to reap the full benefit of his new
invention was to keep it to himself, he determined to work his
process of bronze making in strict secrecy ; and every precaution
was therefore adopted for this purpose. He first put up a small
apparatus with his own hands, and worked it entirely himself. By
this means he produced the required article at 4J. a pound. He
then sent out a traveller with samples of it, and the first order he
got was at 8oy. a pound. Being thus fully assured of success, he
communicated his plans to a friend who agreed to put 10,000/. into
the business, as a sleeping partner, in order to work the new
manufacture on a larger scale. The entire working of the concern
was left in the hands of Sir Henry, who accordingly proceeded to
enlarge his means of production. To ensure secrecy he made
plans of all the machinery required, and then divided them into
sections. He next sent th^se sectional drawings to different

24 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

engineering works in order to get his machinery made piecemeal
in different parts of England. This done, he collected the various
pieces, and fitted them up himself — a work that occupied him
nine months. Finding everything at last in perfect working order,
he engaged four or five assistants in whom he had confidence, and
paid them very high wages on condition that they kept everything
in the strictest secrecy. Bronze powder was now produced in
large quantities by means of five different self-acting machines,
which not only superseded hand labour almost entirely, but were
capable of producing as much daily as sixty skilled operatives
could do by the old hand system.

To this day the mechanical means by which his famous gold
paint is produced remains a secret. The machinery is driven by a
steam-engine in an adjoining room ; and into the room where the
automatic manufactory is at work none but the inventor and his
assistants have ever entered. When a sufficient quantity of work
is done a bell is rung to give notice to the engineman to stop the
engine, and in this way the machinery has been in constant use for
over forty years without having been either patented or pirated.
Its profit was as great as its success. At first he made i,ooo per
cent, profit ; and though there are other products that now compete
with this bronze, it still yields 300 per cent, profit. "All this
time," says the successful inventor thirty years afterward, " I have
been afraid to improve the machinery, or to introduce other
engineers into the works to improve them. Strange to say we have
thus among us a manufacture wholly unimproved for thirty years.
I do not believe there is another instance of such a thing in the
kingdom. I believe that if I had patented it the fourteen years
would not have run out without other people making improve-
ments in the manufacture. Of the five machines I use, three are
applicable to other processes, one to colour making especially ; so
much so that notwithstanding the very excellent income which I
derive from the manufacture, I had once nearly made up my mind

SIR HENR Y BESSEMER. 2 5

to throw it open, and make it public for the purpose of using part
of my invention for the manufacture of colours. Three out of my
five assistants have died, and if the other two were to die and
myself too, no one would know what the invention is." Since this
was said, in 187 1, Sir Henry has rewarded the faithfulness of his
two surviving assistants by handing over to them the business
and factory.

Among the other matters that engaged his attention between
1844 and 1854 were the manufacture of paints, oils, and varnishes;
the manufacture of sugar, which formed the subject of several
patents ; the construction of railway carriages, centrifugal pumps,
projectiles, and ordnance. Most of these inventions were so purely
mechanical as scarcely to admit of description in a way that
would be of popular interest now ; and on the other hand some
which were then recognised as valuable improvements have since
been improved out of existence. In reading accounts of their
introduction and use in contemporary publications, it is worthy of
remark that their author is generally designated as " the ingenious
Mr. Bessemer *' — a tribute which his inventions had already earned
for him in popular estimation. Some incidents connected with
these inventions ought to be recorded.

In 1847 when he patented some improvements in railway
carriages he wrote a pamphlet on the resistance of the atmosphere
to railway trains. At that time it was the practice of railway com-
panies to heap up luggage on the roofs of their carriages ; and Sir
Henry's pamphlet demonstrated the folly of this arrangement.
He showed that a portmanteau measuring three feet by one on
the top of a railway carriage going at the rate of thirty miles an
hour presented a resistance of 13*5 lbs.; and assuming that
10 lbs. would draw a ton there was a resistance caused by the
portmanteau equal to a weight of 2,880 lbs. inside the carriage :
while if this rule were applied to express trains moving at sixty
miles per hour, the resistance increasing as the square of the

a« THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

velocity, it would be equal to a load of five tons inside the
carriage. At that time not only was luggage piled up on the top of
carriages, but the carriages themselves were placed wider apart
from each other — two practices which were subsequently
abandoned.

In 1849 a committee of the House of Comoions was appointed
to inquire into the causes of explosions in coal mines. Sir. Henry
thought this a favourable opportunity for bringing forward a plan
for ventilating mines which he had patented five years previously.
Accordingly he instantly had a working model of it constructed on
his premises. Two shafts were made and connected with each
other by an underground tunnel, each being ^i feet in diameter
and lined with brick and cement. One shaft was left open and was
intended to represent the down shaft of a mine, while to the other,
or upcast shaft, was affixed the new ventilating apparatus which
was capable of drawing out r 5,000 cubic feet of air per minute,
and was driven by an engine of about four-horse power. This
subterranean structure and its ventilator, which were completed
in a fortnight, answered its purpose, and being thus ready to
demonstrate its success, Sir Henry offered to Lord Wiiarnciiffe,
the chairman of the select committee, to give evidence on the
subject ; but his oRer was refused on the pretext that his invention
had not been actually applied in any coal mine.

At the Great Exhibition of 1851 he exhibited four different
kinds of machines which were considered ingenious combinations
of simplicity and power. One was a pump for land and sewer
drainage, described as capable of discharging twenty tons of water
per minute, and of draining in an hour one acre of land one foot
deep in water. Another machine, for separating molasses from
crystal sugar, was represented as capable of doing as much work
with one man as could be done by two men and two of the
machines previously in use. It was the only machine of its kind that
received a prize medal. A novel machine for grinding and polish!

hu^^—

S//^ HENR V BESSEMER, 2 7

plate-glass was much admired. In it a slate table, on which the
plate-glass was laid, had a series of grooves, and by extracting the air
from these grooves by means of an air-pump a vacuum was formed,
so that the pressure of the atmosphere on the upper side of the
glass held it ■ firmly on the table while it was being ground and
polished. By turning a cock which admitted the air again, the
plate of glass could be instantly removed. The plan in general
use then for holding down sheets of glass was to imbed them in
plaster-of-Paris — an operation which had to be performed four times
for each plate, and in which no less than forty tons of plaster per
week were consumed in some establishments. ' In the " Lectures
on the Results of the Great Exhibition," delivered before the
Society of Arts, Mr. Henry Hensman, in dealing with the depart-
ment of civil engineering and machinery, makes prominent mention
of this "valuable apparatus" as one of the most conspicuous
improvements among the machines for working in mineral sub-
stances. Thatlecture was delivered in February, 1852. Sir Henry
Bessemer was then a stranger to mineralogy ; he had not yet
entered upon the field of discovery in which he was destined to
attain a colossal fortune and universal fame. Towards this consum-
mation the events of the next three years unconsciously led
him on.

In 1853, when the public mind was much exercised by the
prospects of the impending war with Russia, Sir Henry Bessemer
enthusiastically devoted his attention to the improvement of the
projectiles and ordnance then in use. He soon constructed
elongated projectiles to which a rotatory motion was imparted
during their passage through the air without the aid of the rifled
grooves which still continue to be made in our ordnance, and
without any deviation from the true cylindrical bore of the gun.
To effect this he made small passages lengthwise through the
projectile, and open at the end nearest the breech of the gun.
Through these passages a part of the exploded powder found its

28 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

way, and being emitted from the opposite sides of the projectile,
the reactive force of the exploded gunpowder produced the rotatory
motion required. Among other peculiarities of this gun was an
enlarged powder chamber — an improvement that was made the
subject of experiment by other inventors a quarter of a century
afterwards — and he consequently insisted on increasing the strength
of his gun and the metal near the breech. To prevent incon-
venience from this increased weight he constructed his guns in
parts, which were bolted together. " By this mode of forming
guns in various parts I am enabled," he said, " to use iron and
steel in some cases, and thus form a gun of great strength, the
parts of which are of comparatively little weight, while it also
admits of the various parts being made of the metals most
suitable to resist the peculiar strain and wear to which they are
severely subjected when in use.'*

Seeing that the English government had no good artillery
suitable for firing elongated projectiles, and considering the
system of rifling grooves as dangerous, he made a series of experi-
ments in his own grounds with six- pounder shots, with which he
got what he considered more than ample rotation in a smooth-bore
gun. He then submitted his plan to the government authorities
at Woolwich Arsenal, but it was simply pooh-poohed. They
never tried it.

Shortly after this, while Sir Henry was on a visit to Paris with
Lord John Hay, he attended a dinner given to General Hamlin
and other distinguished French officers before their departure for
the Crimea. At that dinner Sir Henry met Prince Napoleon, to
whom he took occasion to mention his plan of firing elongated
projectiles. So favourably was the prince impressed with the
invention that he asked Sir Henry to explain it to the Emperor,
and with this view arranged an interview. The Emperor was also
pleased with the account Sir Henry was able to give of his success,
and invited him to continue his experiments at Vincennes. But

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 29

other business soon recalling Sir Henry to London, he went and
asked the Emperor's permission to make his experiments in
London and to bring the projectiles to Paris for trial. His Majesty
not only consented, but at the close of the audience said : " In
this case you will be put to some expense, but I will have that
seen to." Sir Henry returned to London, and a few days after-
wards received a letter from the Due de Bassano, together with
an autograph note from the Emperor, authorising him to draw on
Baring Brothers, of London, for the cost of manufacturing
projectiles, but leaving him to fill in any amount.

The experiments were accordingly continued in London. A
good many projectiles were made and sent to the Polygon at
Vincennes for trial. Two days before Christmas, when the ground
was covered with six inches of snow, several thirty-pounder pro-
jectiles were fired through ten boarded targets standing in a straight
line, each target being about 100 yards distant from the other.
In this way it was shown by the circular holes made in these
targets that the plan of the inventor imparted sufficient rotation
to his elongated projectiles, which generally passed through seven
of the targets. A mechanical device was also affixed to the
mouth of the gun to show the precise amount of rotation by
marking the projectiles; and several shots recovered from the
snow indicated from one and a half to two and a quarter rotations
in passing through the length of the gun, being a greater twist
than that produced by the ordinary system of rifling. These
promising results were considered very satisfactory by the French
authorities, and they fully justified the anticipations of their
designer; but just at the moment when success appeared to be
on the point of crowning his labours an incident occurred that
changed the whole course of his future life, that materially affected
the industrial progress of the world, and afforded another illustration
of the saying — What great events from little causes spring 1

CHAPTER 11.

** It was a just answer of Solon to Croesus, who showed him all hia treasures
— * Yes, sir, but if another should come with better iron than you, he would
be master of all this gold.' " — Bacon.

It is but rarely, says Professor John Playfair, that we can lay
hold with certainty of the thread by which genius has been guided
in its first discoveries. This desideratum, however, is not wanting
in the case of the great invention that rievolutionised the steel
trade. When Sir Henry Bessemer had shown to the French
military authorities at Vincennes the results of his system of
firing elongated projectiles from a light cast-iron smooth-bore gun,
Commander Minie, who superintended the trials, remarked to
him : " The shots rotate properly, but if you cannot get stronger
metal for your guns, such heavy projectiles will be of little use."
It was this observation that first led Sir Henry to think of the
possibility of improving the manufacture of iron. It suggested
to him a new field of invention, and he instantly determined

To brave the perils that environ
The man who dabbles in cast iron.

In reporting the results of his artillery experiments to the Emperor
Napoleon he intimated his intention of extending his researches
to the kinds of metal most suitable for artillery purposes. His
Majesty gave every encouragement to this new project, and

SIR HENRY BESSEMER, 31

requested that the results might be communicated to him. With
this intention Sir Henry left Paris for London.

" What I admire in Christopher Columbus," said Turgot, ** is
not that he discovered the new world, but that he went to look
for it on the faith of an idea." But when Sir Henry Bessemer
determined to make improvements in the manufacture of iron and
steel he had not the least idea of how he was going to do it.
Both the rudiments and the history of metallurgy were unknown
to him, and at first sight no subject could appear less inviting.
The process then in use for making steel had been practised for
nearly a century without any improvement, and the history of its
invention was by no means encouraging. An honest and skilful
clockmaker named Huntsman, who lived at Doncaster in 1738,
was so annoyed at the defective nature of the watch- springs then
used in his trade that he began at an early age to make experi-
ments with the view of producing a better quality of steel. In
1740 he removed to the little village of Handsworth, a few miles
from Sheffield, where he carried on his experiments night and day
for some years. Little is known of the character of these experi-
ments except that they were laborious, for he kept them strictly
secret ; but the fact that they were long continued before they
were successful bespeaks many failures. Eventually, however, he
did succeed in his aim, and the process which he then invented
was the only one in use for the next hundred years. Till then
the finest steel used in this country was made by the Hindoos,
and the price of it, previous to Huntsman's invention, is said to
have been about ;£ 10,000 a ton. The process of Huntsman
produced equally good steel at prices ranging from ;^ioo to ;^5q
a ton.

Huntsman determined to keep his valuable invention a secret,
and to work it exclusively for his own benefit. In 1770 he
established a manufactory at Attercliffe, near Sheffield, and the
men who worked in it were sworn to secrecy. At first his steel

32 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

was defamed by the Sheffield manufacturers, but foreign consumers,
who were less prejudiced, soon recognised its excellence. Ere
long its fame became world-wide. The Sheffield manufacturers
then began to wonder how ever it was made ; and as the demand
for it became great, they multiplied their efforts to fathom the
secret which had been so well kept. At last it got out, and the
stratagem by which it was obtained became anything but a secret.
There are Sheffield manufacturers still living who have preserved
the tradition of its disclosure. In the dismal darkness and bitter
cold of a winter's night a pitiable-looking beggar knocked at the
entrance to Huntsman's works, while snow was falling heavily
and all outside was enveloped in repulsive gloom. The shivering
beggar abjectly asked for warm shelter. . The workmen ijiistantly
assented, and assigned him a corner of the building where he
could rest and be warmed He appeared drowsy with fatigue,
and soon fell asleep. But it was a cat's sleep. While the un-
suspecting workmen busily proceeded with their work, the sleeping
beggar was " eying " them all the time ; and, as the process lasted
several hours, he continued his feigned sleep for several hours too.
It afterwards transpired that the begging impostor was an iron-
founder who resided at Greenside, near Sheffield, and the success
of his stratagem was soon attested by the erection in a few months
of rival steel works similar to those of Huntsman.

It was this system of manufacture that was exclusively employed
when Sir Henry's attention was directed to metallurgy. The iron
then used for making steel was mostly imported from Sweden,
Russia, and Madras, and small quantities of similar quality were
manufactured near Ulverston, in North Lancashire. The bars of
ordinary-looking iron were first subjected to a process of cemen-
tation in a furnace constructed for the purpose. In the centre of
the furnace were placed two chests or troughs, which were heated
all round by holes in the flues. What was technically called
cement was simply the dust of charcoal made from hard woods.

SIR HENR Y BESSEMER. 33

Sometimes, however, soot was employed. The cement was sifted
into the troughs to the depth of two inches ; the bars were put in
upon their narrow edges, with a space of about half an inch between
each ; powdered charcoal was next sifted in to the depth of an
inch, and then a second set of bars were made to fit in between
the first In this way the chests or troughs, capable of holding
from eight to twelve tons of bar iron, were filled to within six inches
of the top. Above the iron was placed a covering of cement-
powder and damp sand, in order thoroughly to exclude the air. The
trough being then closed, the fire was applied for a few days until
the iron had absorbed sufficient carbon to produce the kind of steel
required. To produce certain qualities the bars were exposed to
two or three successive cementations. Through a small hole made
for the purpose a bar could at any time be drawn out to show the
progress of the cementation, which was considered complete when
the surface of the bars was covered with blisters. Hence this is
known as blistered steel. Blisters, however, do not form its only
new feature. The metal thus produced has different properties
from those of the iron bar ; its texture, instead of being fibrous,
is granular or crystalline ; the colour of the fracture is white, like
frosted silver, and the crystals are large in proportion to the
amount of carbon absorbed. In this condition it is generally
unfit for forging. For this purpose it has to be condensed and
made uniform by what is known as the process of shearing, so
called from having been first used for the manufacture of shears
for cutting the wool off sheep. In this process the bar of blistered
steel was broken into lengths of about eighteen inches. Four or
more of these lengths were bound into a bundle or faggot by
means of a ring, to which a long handle was attached. This
faggot was raised to a welding heat, and in that state subjected to
he action of a large hammer, called a tilting hammer, which
worked at the rate of from 150 to 360 strokes per minute. The
different pieces then became united, and although the solid rod

D

34 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

thus formed soon ceased to be red-hot, the rapid blows of the
hammer revived the redness, not the least wonderful feature of
the process being to see the metal ignite under the action of the
strokes. This treatment made the steel fit to be forged with the
hammer into shears, edge tools, and cutting instruments. It is
called shear steel.

This was the process by which the steel was manufactured that
Huntsman succeeded in improving. His process produced cast
steel, which is still described by Sheffield manufacturers as the
finest of all makes. In this process the bars of blistered steel
were broken into fragments, melted in crucibles, and cast into
ingots. The crucibles were made of special kinds of clay, a
small quantity of coke dust, and fragments of old pots. These
materials being mixed with water and worked up, were then
kneaded on the floor for five or six hours by the naked feet
of men, who kept incessantly trampling it, folding it over, and
treading it again and again. Of this composition small crucibles
or jars, two feet high, were made in a mould of cast iron, dried
in a heated vault, and afterwards annealed at a red heat. They
were lined with ganister, then considered the most refractory
material that could be used for resisting intense heat. These
crucibles were placed in a furnace, and then each one was filled
with about thirty pounds of steel in fragments, together with
a small quantity of powdered charcoal. Thus charged, they
were well covered in, and the furnace was well supplied with
fuel. Four hours of this intense heat generally made the steel
sufficiently fluid for casting. Moulds being prepared for this
purpose, each crucible was in due course picked out of the
furnace with a pair of tongs. The cover was then removed,
and the fluid metal poured or cast into the mould. It flowed
like water, its colour being a white heat, tinged with blue ; and as
the stream fell from the crucible to the mould the action of
the air on minute portions caused them to bum with brilliant

SIR HENR Y BESSEMER. 35

scintillations. This process of making steel was considered the
most perfect during the period of nearly a hundred years that
elapsed between the time that it was invented by Huntsman
and the time it was studied by Sir Henry Bessemer.

At that time Sir Henry had no connection with the iron or
steel trade, and knew little or nothing of metallurgy. But this
fact he has always represented as being rather an advantage than
a drawback. " I find," he says, " in my experience with regard
to inventions, that the most intelligent manufacturers invent many
small improvements in various departments of their manufactures,
but generally speaking these are only small ameliorations based
on the nature of the operation they are daily pursuing, while, on
the contrary, persons wholly unconnected with particular businesses,
are the men who make all the great inventions of the age.
I find that persons wholly unconnected with any particular
business have their minds so free and untrammelled to view
things as they are, and as they would present themselves to
an independent observer, that they are the men who eventually
produce the greatest changes." It was in this spirit that he
began his investigations in metallurgy. His first business was
to make himself acquainted with the information contained in the
best works then published on the subject He also endeavoured
to add some practical knowledge to what he had learned from
books. With this view he visited the iron-making districts in the
Qorth, and there obtained an insight into the working merits and
defects of the processes then in use. On his return to London he
arranged for the use of an old factory in St. Pancras where he
began his own series of experiments. He converted the factory
into a small experimental ironworks, in which his first object was
to improve the quality of iron. For this purpose he made many
costly experiments without the desired measure of success, but
not without making some progress in the right direction. After
twelve months spent in these experiments he produced an

D 2

30 THE CREATORS OF TtfE AGE OF STEEL.

improved quality of cast iron, which was almost as white as
steel, and was both tougher and stronger than the best cast
iron then used for ordnance. Of this metal he cast a small
model gun, which was turned and bored. This gun he took
to Paris and presented it personally to the Emperor as the
result of his labours thus far. His Majesty encouraged him to
continue his experiments, and desired to be further imformed
of the results.

As Sir Henry conlinued his labours he extended their scope
from the production of refined iron to that of steel ; and in order
to protect hitnself he took out a patent for each successive
improvement One idea after another was put to the test of
experiment ; one furnace after another was pulled down, and
numerous mechanical appliances were designed and tried in
practice. During these experiments he specified a multitude
of improvements in the crucible process of making steel ; but he
still felt that much remained to be done. At the end of eighteen
months, he says, "the idea struck me" of rendering cast iron
malleable by the introduction of atmospheric air into the fluid
metal. His first experiment to test this idea was made in a
crucible in the laboratory. He there found that by blowing air
into the molten metal in the crucible by means of a movable blow-
pipe he could convert ten pounds or twelve pounds of crude iron
into the softest malleable iron. The samples thus produced were
so satisfactory in all their mechanical tests that he brought them
under the notice of Colonel Eardley Wllmot, the then Super-
intendent of the Royal Gun Factories, who expressed himself
delighted and astonished at the result, and who offered him
faclKties for experimenting in Woolwich Arsenal These facilities
were extended to him in the laboratory by Professor Abel, who
made numberless analyses of the material as he progressed with
his experiments. The testing department was also put at his
disposal for testing the tensile strength and elasticity of different

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 37

samples of soft malleable iron and steel The first piece that
was rolled at Woolwich was preserved by Sir Henry as a memento.
It was a small bar of metal about a foot long and an inch wide ;
and was converted from a state of pig iron into malleable iron
in a crucible of only ten pounds. That small piece of bar after
being rolled was tried to see how far it was capable of welding ;
and he was surprised to see how easily it answered the severest
tests. After that he commenced experiments on a larger scale.
He had proved in the laboratory that the principle of puri-
fying pig iron by atmospheric air was possible; but he feared,
from what he knew of iron metallurgy, that as he approached
the condition of pure, soft malleable iron he must of neces-
sity require a temperature that he could not hope to attain
under these conditions. In order to produce larger quantities
of metal in this way, one of his first ideas was to apply the air
to the molten iron in crucibles, and accordingly in October, 1855,
he took out a patent embodying this idea. He proposed to erect
a large circular furnace with openings for the reception of
melting pots containing fluid iron, and pipes were made to
conduct air into the centre of each pot and to force it among
the particles of metal Having thus tested the purifying effect
of cold air introduced into the molten iron in pots, he laboured
for three months in trying to overcome the mechanical difficulties
experienced in this complicated arrangement He wondered
whether it would not be possible to dispense with the pipes
and pots, and perform the whole operation in one large circular
or egg-shaped vessel The chief difficulty in doing so was how
to force the air all through the mass of liquid metal While this
difficulty was revolving in his mind, the labour and anxiety
entailed by previous experiments brought on a short but severe
illness; and while he was lying in bed pondering for hours
upon the prospects of succeeding in another experiment with
the pipes and pots, it occurred to him that the difficulty might

THE CREATORS QF THE AGE OF STEEL.

be got over by introducing air into a large vessel from below
into the molten mass within.

Though he entertained grave doubts as to the practicability
of carrying out this idea, chiefly owing to the high temperature
required to maintain the iron in a state of fluidity while the
impurities were being burned out, he determined to put it to
a working test, and on recovering health he immediately began
to design apparatus for this purpose. He constructed a circular
vessel measuring three feet in diameter and five feet in height, and
capable of holding 7 cwL of iron ; and he next ordered a small
powerful air-engine and a quantity of crude iron to be put down
on the premises in St. Pancras that he bad hired for carrying on
his experiments. The name of these premises was Baxter House
— formerly the residence of old Richard Baxter ; and the simple
experiment we are now going to describe has made that house
for ever famous. The primitive apparatus being ready, the engine
was made to force streams of air under high-pressure through
the bottom of the vessel, which was lined with fire-clay, and the
stoker was told to pour the metal when it was sutnciently melled
in at the top of it A cast iron plate— one of those lids which
commonly cover the coal-holes in the pavement — was hung over
the converter; and all being got ready, the stoker in some
bewilderment poured in the metal. Instantly out came a volcanic
eruption of such dazzling coruscations as had never been seen
before. The danghng pot-lid dissolved in the gleaming volume
of flame, and the chain by which it hung grew red and then
white as the various stages of the process were unfolded to the
gaze of the wondering spectators. The air-cock to regulate
the blast was beside the converting vessel, and no one dared
to go near it, much less to deliberately shut it. In this dilemma,
however, they were soon relieved by finding that the process
of decarburisation or combustion had expended all its fury;
and, most wonderful of alt, the result was sleel 1 The ne!

I

SIR HENR V BESSEMER, 39

metal was tried. Its quality was good. The problem was
solved. The new process appeared successful The inventor
was elated.

Astonished at his own success, he went to the Patent Office
and examined all the patents to see whether anybody had done
the same thing before. He could find no trace of such an
operation, but observed that steam had been used in that way.^
On seeing that, he also tried steam, but found that it did not
answer like air. Nevertheless he specified both air and steam
in his patent lest the patentees of the steam process might
afterwards claim that their apparatus was sufficient for working
the new process.

" The result of my first experiment," he says, '* showed me that
the highest temperature ever known in the arts could be produced
by the simple introduction of atmospheric air into cast iron.

^ From the autobiography of Mr. James Nasmytb, published in 1883, one
might gather the impression that Mr. Nasmyth was sure to have discovered the
Bessemer process, and that Sir Henry only anticipated him by a few days or
weeks. But Mr. Nasmyth gave a very different account of the matter in 1871,
when he said : " It is a very curious fact that Mr. Bessemer, on his first pro-
duction of a specimen of the result of his process at Cheltenham, selected me
out at the meeting of the British Association, in the reception room, where he
said, * Now, Nasmytb, you are the first man who should see the result of this,
because I have founded it on an idea of your own ; your patent for steam
puddling led me to this process.' Now my patent for steam puddling was a
system of oxidising the carbon in cast iron by introducing steam beneath the
surface of the molten metal so as to convert it into malleable iron." It was
that system of introducing an oxidising agent beneath the surface of the molten
metal that he said led him to think of this mode of carrying out his invention.
The patent of Mr. Nasmyth for the use of steam applied from below was dated
May 4, 1854 ; but previous patents for the use of steam from above were
taken out by A. M. Perkins in 1843, and by R. Plant in 1849. All of thein
were unsuccessful. The first patent of Sir H. Bessemer in which air is men-
tioned as the oxidising agent is dated lyih October, 1855, and other three
months were spent in experimenting before the idea of introducing the air
from the bottom of a large converter struck him. The patent embodying
the latter idea is dated February nth, 1856.

40 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

fl

That temperature was much more than sufficient to keep the
malleable iron in a fluid state. After the experiments had been
going on for six or seven months, and after having, in conjunction
with my partner, Mr. Robert Longsden, spent ;^3,ooo or ;^4,ooo
in experiments, and diverted my attention from business pursuits
for about two years and a half, I was anxious to get some other
opinion on the process, and I invited the late Mr. George Rennie
to inspect it at my works."

On seeing the result of " a blow " in the converter, Mr. George
Rennie said : ** Whatever your difficulties are in working details,
the moment a practical ironmaster sees this wonderful invention
he will at once supply all those details, and the thing will be
done. This must not be hid under a bushel. The British
Association meets next week at Cheltenham ; if you have patented
your invention draw up an account of it in a paper, and have
it read in Section G." Acting on this suggestion. Sir Henry
wrote out a description of his new invention, entitling it **'The
Manufacture of malleable Iron and Steel without Fuel." (About
four tons of hard coke, equal to eight tons of coal, were then
required to make a ton of cast steel.) He accordingly went down
to Cheltenham, and was breakfasting next morning in the coffee-
room of the Queen's Hotel with Mr. Clay, of the Mersey Steel
Works, when a gentleman who did not know Sir Henry said :
"Clay, I want you to go with me this morning. There is a
fellow who has come down from London to read a paper on
making steel from cast-iron without fuel I Ha ! ha ! ha i " Mr.
Clay consented to go, and in an hour or so the three were at
the place of meeting. In the reception room Sir Henry met
Mr. J. Nasmyth, of steam hammer celebrity, and showed him a
specimjen of the metal which his process produced. Mr. Nasmyth
was delighted to see it and said : " You will reap a rich reward
for this, and you thoroughly deserve it." In reference to the
specimen of metal shown him, Mr. Nasmyth said : " That is a real

SJjR HENRY BESSEMER, 41

British nugget '* — he was so struck with its excellence. Sir Henry's
paper was taken first that morning in the Mechanical Section,
of which Mr. G. Rennie was the president. After some pre-
liminary remarks on the extent and objects of his experiments,
he said : * ** On this new field of inquiry I set out with the
assumption that crude iron contains about five per cent, of car-
bon; that carbon cannot exist at a white heat in the presence
of oxygen without uniting therewith and producing combustion ;
that such combustion would proceed with a rapidity dependent
on the amount of surface of carbon exposed ; and, lastly, that
the temperature which the metal would require would be also
dependent on the rapidity with which the oxygen and carbon
were made to combine; and, consequently, that it was only
necessary to bring the oxygen and carbon together in such a
manner that a vast surface should be exposed to their mutual
action in order to produce a temperature hitherto unattainable
in our largest furnaces." He then proceeded to give a lengthy
account of the way in which this was carried out in the converter ;
adding a good many details in the process that he had worked
out between making the first experiment we have described and
the reading of this paper. He next described the properties
of the metal thus produced, and the most important purposes
for which it could be used; and in conclusion stated that its
cost would not be much different from that of ordinary iron.

Such was the first public announcement of the Bessemer
process made at Cheltenham on August nth, 1856. As soon
as the paper was read Mr. James Nasmyth rose and expressed
his approval of the principles of the invention. Next rose the
gentleman who had that morning ridiculed the idea in the
inventor's presence at the breakfast table. He now stated that
he was already so impressed with the prospects of the invention
that he would place the whole resources of his large iron making
establishment at the inventor's disposal at once in order to work

42 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

the process on a large scale. To others in the trade it appeared
too good to be true. "It is difficult," observed Mr. Isaac
Lowthian Bell nearly twenty years afterwards, "to say whether
science or art was more perplexed at the announcement of the
Bessemer process. The former appears to have thought it
prudent to remain silent, at all events in the Transactions of
the British Association — for all the notice there bestowed on
the discovery is the bare mention of the title of his com-
munication. Art was less reticent, for I remember the ridicule
with which the proposal was received."

The paper of Sir Henry Bessemer was read on Monday
morning, and on the Thursday following it was published in
the Times, At the Dowlais iron works, then the largest in
the world, it excited so much scepticism and curiosity that the
heads of departments there determined instantly to test its —
uselessness ! A vessel, answering . the purposes of a converter,
was fitted up next day, and filled with fluid metal, while
cold air at high pressure was injected in the manner described
in the paper. Their doubts were soon dispelled. It worked
amazingly well, and before that week had ended two bars,
twenty-five feet long, were rolled in the mills.

Baxter House, St Pancras, was visited by many inquirers
anxious to see this wonderful invention in operation. Eight days
after the report of Sir Henry's paper appeared in the Times the
process was again tested in the experimental converter in the
presence of several leading iron-masters, practical engineers,
and scientific men. Nearly 7 cwt. of molten iron having been
poured into the converter, it soon began to boil, while air — the
food of fire — was blown through it. The object, according
to the account given at the time, was to produce a mass of cast
steel rather than to continue the process to the extent necessary
for making pure iron free from carbon; and, therefore, "the
blow " was only continued for twenty-four minutes. Two small

SIR HENR Y BESSEMER, 43

sp>ecimen ingots were first drawn off, and then the remaining
mass of metal was run into a mould in the floor, foiming an
ingot of nearly 6 cwt The trial was pronounced a great success ;
yet some of the spectators thought Sir Henry was too enthusiastic
when he told them that the semi-steel produced by his process
would probably in time supersede malleable iron for railway
purposes, and that the process of forging and welding, which, in
ordinary practice, was necessary whenever a piece of iron work
of a larger size than 80 lbs. or 100 lbs. was required, would
be dispensed with. However, everything for the present looked
promising. The Emperor Napoleon, who had been his greatest
patron at the outset, on hearing of the marvellous success of the
process intimated his intention of bringing it into practical
operation in the arsenal at Roulle ; and at Woolwich, where the
authorities at the first mention of it cynically alleged that Mr.
Nasmyth had previously made the same discovery, a disclaimer
firom that gentleman was accepted, and Sir Henry's originality
was undisputed.

On the I St of September another trial of the process took place
at Baxter House, when the following incident, narrated by one
who was present, occurred: One amongst the gazers from the
iron districts — a stout, wealthy-looking, growling individual, with
a spice of St Thomas in him — thought the casting too hot
to try with his fingers ; but expressed his belief that it was not
malleable but simply cast iron. On this Sir Henry Bessemer
spoke not, but entering the shed returned with a large axe,
thick on the edge, wherewith he " laid on load." Two cuts at
the edge of the ingot left an impression in indents analogous to
those produced in chopping a wooden post. " That's not cast
iron," growled some one, "such as thou wisheth it had
been ; " and the Staffordshire chieftain, Mr. Blackwell, possessing
himself of a piece, subjected it to cold hammering on the anvil,
and subsequently to filing in a vice — the file hanging to it as

44 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

to tough copper. " We must change our proceedings," were the
words that followed ; " whether by this process or some other not
yet known, it is clear that we cannot go on as we have done."

Experiments tried elsewhere had very different results, and
gave rise to very damaging reports. For instance, in the first
week in September some experiments made by Mr. Clay at the
Mersey Steel and Iron Works were an undoubted failure. Mr.
Clay reported that the iron produced was rotten hot and rotten
cold — in other words, useless. Detractors and unbelievers of
course made the most of these failures.

In the conflict of opinions that was raging as to the success
or failure of the new process one eye-witness of its success gave
an account of it so prescient and pregnant that it has now a
historic interest. Dr. R. H. Collyer, writing on September loth
(1856) from Park Road, Regent's Park, said: —

"I availed myself last Friday of the public invitation of
Messrs. Bessemer and Longsden to visit Baxter House and
inspect their new process in operation. I found there assembled
some seventy or eighty of the most eminent persons connected
with the manufacture of iron — that metal which, in point of
importance to the wants of civilised men, causes all other metals
to sink into comparative insignificance ; the great onward progress
of the age— our railroads, our steam-engines, and a thousand
appliances of human ingenuity — would all have been in a state of
inertion had not the use of iron been so plentifully vouchsafed for
man's necessities. Any improvement, therefore, must be held
as a triumph of human progress, a step towards that period when
the toil, the wear and tear of muscle will cease. Thousands of
the race who now are rendered decrepit in their youth will, by the
employment of this metal, in countless and inconceivable forms,
increase the longevity of the species. Man's life now is con-
centrated, as it were, into centuries — time is merely conven-
tional ; that which only a quarter of a centur}' since took us

SIR HENR V BESSEMER. 45

weeks to effect is now the work of days. The extended use of this,
the most important of all the metals on the earth's surface — iron —
will cause a man of 50 to have actually lived to the age of
150 in comparison with the standard of his ancestors. Mr.
Bessemer has undoubtedly achieved, by the application of a
known, simple, and beautiful idea, one of the greatest triumphs of
the age. All metals, according to their purity, become ductile
and malleable," &c. After describing the details of the operation,
he goes on to say that after a • twenty-four minutes' blow in
the converter, " the blast was turned off, and the purified metal
run into an ingot The whole experiment was conducted with
a degree of precision and neatness which would have done honour
to a Faraday, a Turner, or a Dalton. I must not forget to mention
that a bar of malleable iron was exhibited. It was about twelve
feet long, half an inch thick by two inches wide. This was bent
and showed great ductility, though, on fracture, as the ironmasters
said, the grain exhibited was not such as would lead one to expect
such ductility. It seemed to them a paradox. The fact is the great
secret is getting metallic purity. The particles don't require to
be interlaced or fibrous to the same extent as when iron contains
even a small proportion of phosphorus or sulphur. The former
I consider the most pernicious of all. I would suggest, with due
deference, that a stream of finely pulverised anhydrate of lime
(dry lime) be forced at a given time with the compressed air
into the incandescent mass of iron. The lime having a great
aflSnity for silica (sand) and phosphorus would form a phosphate
and silicate of lime, and be thrown off with the slag. By this
contrivance I cannot conceive but that the phosphorus would
entirely be got rid of ... I do not believe the process is com-
plete, but chemically no one can doubt the great move made in
the right direction. In conclusion allow me to state that I cannot
but pity the host of petty detractions, jealous rivalries, and
difficulties which suggest themselves to that class of men who

46 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

never see anything till every one else laughs at their intellectual
blindness/'

Dr. CoUyer's gratuitous suggestion for perfecting the chemical
purity of the Bessemer process lay dormant for nearly a quarter
of a century ; and its practical application then by one who, in
1856, was a child six years old was considered an achievement
only surpassed by the parent invention of Sir Henry Bessemer.
It added millions sterling to the world's wealth.

To resume, on September 14th one of the bars made at
Woolwich from Bessemer iron was heated and rolled out into
a thin sheet at one of the Wolverhampton mills. It was then
taken to the workshop of a tobacco-box maker, who punched it
cold into the required shape for a tobacco-box. To the surprise
of the operator it worked perfectly. The box was completed, and
on applying the polishing tool a polish was produced that the
operator described as equal to that of steel. " A better bit of
iron," he said, " I never worked."

Meanwhile numerous overtures were being made to the success-
ful inventor for permission to work the process in this country.
The managers of the Ebbw Vale Iron Works, who were on the
point of starting new works for the production of steel by another
process, offered ;^5 0,000 for the patent, but this was declined.
Sir Henry determined to work the process in another way. He
divided Great Britain into five principal iron districts, and
announced that he wanted one ironmaster in each district to
have so great an interest in the successful result of his invention
that he would always act for him instead of against him. He
proposed that any ironmaster who was the first to apply in his
district for a license should, by paying one year's royalty on a
quantity to be decided by himself, pay no other royalty during
the fourteen years of the patent ; so that he would be interested
very strongly in maintaining the patent, improving it, and making
it a nucleus of operation in his district. This proposal was

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 47

accepted by five different ironmasters ; two of them paid ;^i 0,000
each ; and the licenses sold within three weeks of the reading of
his paper at Cheltenham amounted to ;^2 5,000.

The Dowlais Iron Company were the first to take a license ;
and it was arranged that Sir Henry should advise them as to the
details of working the process. Mr. Menelaus, then the manager
of the works, in his first interview on the subject said to the
inventor : " We have seventeen furnaces in blast, and I will tell
you the burden of each of them. You select your furnace, and
if it is possible to put up your apparatus before it we shall do
so." Sir Henry replied : *' It does not matter where you put up
my apparatus ; it will work any kind of iron.'* At that time there
happened to be the remains of a cast house standing before one
of the furnaces, and as it was easy to roof over the space in front
of that furnace cheaply and quickly it was agreed to put up the
converter there. The furnace was at the time making iron for
common rails. This iron, in its fluid state, was then run direct
from the furnace into the converter, where it blazed, sparkled,
bubbled, and showed all the beautiful phenomena of the process.
The whole operation looked very satisfactory ; but when they
came to work the metal produced they were surprised to find
that it was utterly useless for any purpose. This appeared in-
explicable, so the experiments were repeated, and, although a
good deal of money was spent in this way, the success of the first
rude experiment, made a day or two after the announcement of
the process, was never equalled. Sir Henry consequently left
Dowlais with serious apprehensions as to the success of his
invention.

The bright prospect which the first announcement of the
process raised was now overcast, and was eventually followed by
a general gloom. An invention which was at first received
with a shout of triumph was, two months afterwards, declared to
be impracticable. One journal after another ran it down, and so

48 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

general became the chorus of denunciation that the inventor
himself filled a portfolio with cuttings from scientific and industrial
papers written to demonstrate that his process was the work
of a visionary. Worst of all was the mysterious failure of the
process under his own direction. Within a few weeks after the
first account of it was given at the British Association, experiments
were made by several ironmasters who turned a low pressure blast
into a basin roughly adapted for the purpose. Singularly enough
every such attempt failed. No one knew why. The experimenters
thought they followed the directions of the inventor ; but they did
not succeed. Their high-flown expectations were disappointed,
and a revulsion of feeling naturally followed. Exactly six weeks
after the first description of it appeared in the Times a meeting
of the ironmasters of South Staffordshire and East Worcestershire
held at Dudley — then the centre of the iron trade — condemned
the new process as a practical failure.

CHAPTER III.

** If geometry contained the rule of life, there would be men found to
dbpute its axioms." — Leibnitz.-

"It is a truly strange coincidence," said David Mushet, then
considered an authority on questions connected with iron and
steel, "that this magnificent invention (the Bessemer process)
should be brought before the world at the very moment that we
have been urging the nation to present some grateful recompense
to the family of the father of the founder of the British iron
trade. I do not hesitate to express my conviction that Mr.
Bessemer has produced the grandest operation ever devised in
metallurgy. I trust the discoverer will reap his due reward. . . .
It is a painful reproach to this country, that most of its great
inventors in iron and steel have been recompensed with ruin.
Envy and rivalry have been aided by the labyrinthical decisions of
our courts of law in patent cases. After struggling for fourteen
years through all their tortuosities, patentees have arrived at last
in the supreme court of appeal merely to see their hopes finally
extinguished, and in the face of a majority of judges aiding the
deliberations the decisions of four previous courts reversed, in
order that one peer might reassert the opinion he had maintained
as a commoner some dozen years before. As late as 1854 such a
case occurred. I sincerely trust the flowing sail of Mr. Bessemer's
success will drift him upon no such rocks and quicksands."

E

50 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

These words were first published on the 22nd of August, 1856.
Let us look at this strange coincidence. At that time a series of
letters and articles were appearing in the Times, describing the
miserable condition of the family of "the author of those
improvements in the manufacture of iron to which Great Britain
owes her position among the nations." It was the inventions of
Henry Cort, for refining and rolling iron, that made this country
independent of Russia and Sweden for supplies of iron. In the
contemporary literature of that day it was stated, by one who
spoke with authority, that the year 1785 brought before the world
the Times and Henry Cort's inventions, and that they had acted
together for seventy-one years as the two greatest engines of
modern civilisation ; while Mr. G. R. Porter stated that since
1790, when Cort*s improvements were completely established, the
value of the landed property of England had doubled. Now, in
1856, the public and Parliament were urgently entreated to
consider the fate of this national benefactor, who had received no
direct benefit from his inventions, ^ight days after the first
announcement of the Bessemer process, David Mushet, in calling
attention to the case of Cort*s family, said the obligations under
which the British iron trade lay to Henry Cort were notorious.
** Forty-one firms, in 181 1, subscribed to a resolution thanking the
deceased for his two great inventions, and contributed a sum in
relief of the distress of his widow and nine orphan children. It
is true, the contribution amounted to only one-twentieth part of a
farthing in the pound upon the profits these inventions had then
realised to them ; but it was at least a fair and open acknowledg-
ment of the obligation and the debt. The profits which these
manufacturers have since that . date realised by puddling and
rolling have been ten times greater than in the previous twenty-five
years, and cannot fall much short of 30,000,000/. sterling. A
second contribution of one-twentieth part of a farthing in the
pound on these profits would realise an ample sum for the family

5//? HENR V BESSEMER. 5 1

of their benefactor ; but a subscription of only the same sum as
that of 181 1, which would be at the rate of one two-hundredth
part of a farthing in the pound on the whole profits would
alleviate the immediate distress of the inventor's aged and only
surviving son, and give him time and ease to bring properly before
the legislature in the next session his unparalleled claims upon
the credit of the nation at large." One ironmaster, to whom an
appeal was made, replied that " It is truly a sad case \ but it
would happen every day in the year were there as many Corts
as days."

Such was the account given of the recompense accorded to the
labours of the man whose inventions were the mainspring of the
malleable iron trade at the time when Sir Henry Bessemer was
trying to perfect an invention that would enable steel to supersede
malleable iron. For the present the prospects of the one seemed
as dismal as those of the other had ever been ; and the way in
which the fate of Cort was now being paraded before the world
was anything but encouraging to an inventor who was seeking to
lead his country a great step further forward. Nor was this all ;
during the six weeks that followed the announcement of the
Bessemer process one inventor after another called attention to
the neglect with which an ungrateful public had treated his
meritorious invention for the improvement of the steel trade.
These claims came from America, France, and Austria, as well as
England. Public opinion, which professes to be so superior to any
taint of partiality that it generally represents its image of justice
as born blind, now added the Bessemer process to the list of
visionary schemes whose proper end was oblivion. Against this
verdict one man dissented— the undaunted inventor. He saw
that there was a difficulty in the working of his process, and
could not find out the cause of it. Still he had faith in it ; and
instead of answering the attacks made upon it in the press, he
determined to investigate the cause of this failure. Adequate

£ 2

52 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

knowledge, says George Eliot, will show every anomaly to be a
natural sequence. Acting on this principle Sir Henry, aided by
the additional capital he had obtained through the sale of licenses,
quietly set to work to investigate the problem upon the solution of
which not only his hopes but his fortune were staked, and he did

so not by mere laboratory experiments, but by the actual working

«

of from half a ton to two tons at a time.

Mfeanwhile the patient inventor was not the only one who
studied the question. Before the year 1856 had closed, a writer
in a Birmingham journal said, with reference to the new process :
" It is specially important that accurate chemical analysis should be
resorted to in order to show the composition of this iron, and to
show that the new process will truly purge it of sulphur and
phosphorus — elements the presence of one per cent, of which is
fatal to the quality of the iron. So far as we are aware, this
important information has not been communicated to the public ;
and so long a time has now elapsed that we despair of receiving
it from the quarter it was most naturally expected from. In the
hope of contributing to the settlement of a question which has
already so long disturbed the public mind, we have imposed upon
ourselves a task which we think should have been spared us, and
present to our readers such an analysis of Mr. Bessemer's iron as
we have been daily hoping to see published by that gentleman
himself. The specimens we have experimented upon possess
those physical properties which, from repeated descriptions, the
public are sufficiently familiar with. The iron consists of an
agglutinated mass of large brilliant crystalline grains, possessed of
a very imperfect malleability, flattening under the blow of a
hammer, but almost invariably cracking at the edges. It is
wholly destitute of a fibrous structure, and only after having been
repeatedly heated and drawn out in a smith's forge, exhibits the
properties of an inferior wrought iron. In contrasting the change
effected by Mr. Bessemer's treatment with that of the refinery,

S7jR HENR V BESSEMER. 53

the following particulars force themselves strongly upon our
notice. Mr. Bessemer's method removes most effectually the
carbon and silicon, while in the refinery these are but little
diminished. The carbon is eliminated with a perfection that we
should scarcely have thought possible, but we are without infor-
mation as to the sacrifice at which it has been effected; the
amount of iron oxidised by the vivid combustion which* Mr.
Bessemer induces we are unable to ascertain. The point which
most prominently strikes the chemist in Mr. Bessemer's iron is
the large amount of phosphorus which it contains — an amount
utterly fatal, we fear, to the value of Mr. Bessemer's method.
His treatment, we suspect, does not sensibly diminish the
amount of this element ; but this, too, is a point on which we
must be dependent on Mr. Bessemer. It is by the puddling
process that the phosphorus and sulphur are mainly removed. As
yet, so far as we can learn, Mr. Bessemer has done nothing
towards the removal of this pernicious element — phosphorus ; and in
this important respect his process must be regarded as a failure."

These observations were in the main correct ; but in the shoals
of condemnation then poured upon the process one might be said
to wade through '* a continent of mud " before coming to this
little bit of solid ground. Moreover, this criticism, however
correct, concluded in a way that was scarcely likely to commend it
to the attention of Sir Henry Bessemer. " In taking leave of this
subject," said the critic, " we think we may safely predict that the
iron manufacture will remain unaffected in any essential respect by
anything which Mr. Bessemer has done. No one will more
sincerely rejoice at any real improvement in the iron manufacture
than we shall, although we admit a preference for such improve-
ments as are not heralded by announcements of * revolution,' but
are modestly propounded and left to demonstrate their import-
ance by that quiet and cautious induction into practice which
generally characterises really meritorious inventions. We fear,

54 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

however, that Mr. Bessemer has lost his opportunity. The
interest he has wasted cannot readily be reawakened, and less
readily by him than by any other. Like the shepherd in the fable
who cried * wolf, wolf,' when there was no wolf, and whose cries
for help were unheeded when the marauder indeed came, Mr.
Bessemer will find that any real improvement he may hereafter
make will suffer a neglect for which his own hastiness and want
of caution will be alone to blame."

Sir Henry, while inundated with candid advice of this sort,
continued to investigate everything for himself regardless of all
suggestions. The two extracts that we have given show that some
ideas of permanent value were freely offered to him but were set at
naught. It was not till another series of independent experiments
were made that he himself discovered the secret of failure. It then
appeared that by mere chance the iron used in his first experiments
was Blsenavon pig,^ which was exceptionally free from phosphorus ;
and consequendy when other sorts of iron were thrown at random
into the converter the phosphorus manifested its refractory nature
in the unworkable character of the metal produced. Analyses made
by Professor Abel for Sir Henry showed that this was the real cause
of failure. Once convinced of this fact, Sir Henry set to work
for the purpose of removing this hostile element. He saw how
phosphorus was removed in the puddling furnace, and he now
tried to do the same thing in his converter. Another series of
costly and laborious experiments were conducted ; and first one
patent and then another were taken out, tried, and abandoned.
His last idea was to make a vessel in which the converting process
did not take place, but into which he could put the pig iron
directly it was melted, along with the same kind of materials that

^ In the process of smelting, the principal channel along which the metal
in a state of fusion runs when let out of the furnace is called the sow, and the
lateral channels or moulds are denominated //^j; whence the iron in this stale
is called /i^-ifvif or cast-iron.

S/J^ HENR V BESSEMER. 5 5

were used in the puddling furnace. He was then of opinion that
he must come as near to puddling as possible, in order to get the
phosphorus out of the iron. Just as he was preparing to put this
plan into operation there arrived in England some pig iron which
he had ordered from Sweden some months previously. When
this iron, which was free from phosphorus, was put into the con-
verter, it yielded in the very first experiment a metal of so high a
quality that he at once abandoned his efforts to dephosphorise
ordinary iron. The Sheffield manufacturers were then selling
steel at 60/. a ton, and he thought that as he could buy Swedish
pig iron at 7/. a ton, and by blowing it a few minutes in the con-
verter could make it into what was being sold at such a high
price, the problem was solved.

Sir Henry Bessemer has preserved a remarkable proof of the
success which he now attained. It is a small cannon ; and though
only weighing two and a half hundredweight, it was the first gim
ever made of malleable iron without weld or joint. Nor is this
its only distinction. An analysis of it made by an eminent
metallurgical chemist showed that it contained 99.84 per cent, of
pure iron. This is almost perfection. According to analyses
given by Dr. Percy, the famous Dannemora Swedish iron, which
had the reputation of being the finest quality in the world, con-
tained only 99.312 per cent, of pure iron. In other words, the six
impurities that impregnate iron only constituted one part in 625
of this specimen of Bessemer iron, while in the Dannemora iron
they constituted one in 145 parts.

But there was yet one thing wanting. He had now succeeded
in producing the purest malleable iron ever made, and that, too,
by a quicker and less expensive process than was ever known
before. But what he wanted was to make steel. The former is
iron in its greatest possible purity ; the latter is pure iron con-
taining a small percentage of carbon to harden it. There has
been an almost endless controversy in trying to make a definition

56 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

that will fix the dividing line that separates the one metal from
the other.

Sir Henry Bessemer has w«ll ohserved that from a chemical
point of view the line of demarcation which separates these
substances is as little marked as the rainbow's hues, which melt
imperceptibly into each other, leaving no part at which it may be
said here one ceases and there the other begins. Thus it is with
iron and steel, which passes by almost imperceptible gradations
from grey iron, through every stage of mottled and white, to hard
steel, and from this to steel in its mildest form, which passes into
malleable iron almost unmarked.

For our present purpose suffice it to quote the account given
in a popular treatise on metallurgy published at the time when
Sir Henry was in the midst of his experiments. " Wrought iron," it
says, " or soft iron may contain no carbon ; and, if perfectly pure,
would contain none, nor indeed any other impurity ; this is a state
to be desired and aimed at, but it has never yet been perfectly
attained in practice. The best, as well as the commonest foreign
irons always contain more or less carbon. . . . Carbon may exist
in iron in the ratio of 65 parts to 10,000 without assuming the
properties of steel. If the proportion be greater than that, and
anywhere between the limits of 65 parts of carbon to 10,000
parts of iron and z parts of carbon to loo of iron, the alloy
assumes the properties of steel. In cast iron the carbon exceeds
2 per cent, but in appearance and properties it differs widely from
the hardest steel. These properties, although we quote them, are
somewhat doubtful ; and the chemical constitution of these three
substances may, perhaps, be regarded as still undetermined." Now
in the Bessemer converter, the carbon was almost entirely con-
sumed. In the small gun just described there were only 14
parts of carbon for 1,000,000 parts of iron. Sir Henry's next
difficulty was to carburise his pure iron, and thus make it into
steel. " The wrought iron," says Mr. I. L. Bell, " as well as the

5//? HENRY BESSEMER. 57

steel made according to Sir Henry Bessemer's original plan,
though a purer specimen of metal never was heard of except in
the laboratory, were simply worthless. In this difficulty a ray of
scientific truth, brought to light one hundred years before, came to
the rescue. Bergmann was one of the earliest philosophers who
discarded all theory, and introduced into chemistry that process
of analysis which is the indispensable antecedent of scientific
system. This Swedish experimenter had ascertained the existence
of manganese in the iron of that country, and connected its
presence with suitability for steel purposes." Manganese is a kind
of iron exceptionally rich in carbon, and also exceptionally free
fi-om other impurities. Berzelius, Rinman, Karsten, Berthier, and
other metallurgists had before now discussed its effect when com-
bined with ordinary iron ; and the French were so well aware that
ferro-manganese ores were superior for steel-making purposes that
they gave them the name of mines deader.

In 1830 a patent was taken out for the application of manganese
in steel making by Mr. Josiah Marshall Heath, whose adventures
in connection with this subject are worthy of record here. He
was a talented man in the service of the East India Company,
and when he went to his post in India he was so well versed in
Oriental literature that a Sanscrit professorship was offered to him
before he had attained the age of twenty-one. A friend having
requested him to procure some steel heads for boar spears, he
was thus led to visit the steel works in India, and was so much
struck with the clumsiness of the process of steel making that he
determined to study the subject. In traversing the Malabar coast
he discovered great masses of iron ore, which he thought could
be converted into the cheapest steel for the supply of Europe.
But, on inquiry, he found that experienced metallurgists pro-
nounced them unmanageable, it being said that these ores could
not be converted into steel or iron. Heath thought otherwise ;
and not only resigned his appointment, but devoted his private

58 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

fortune and pension to the investigation-' of this matter. He
visited all the great iron and steel works in the world, and thus
acquired a practical knowledge of the trade. As the result of his
experiments and researches he took out his patent, which he
described as an invention for the use of carburet of manganese in
any process for the conversion of iron into cast steeL His fortune
was now spent, and though his resources were exhausted, his
invention did not make any progress between 1830 and 1840.
In the latter year he visited Sheffield, where he succeeded in
introducing it, and where it was soon reported to have made a
valuable improvement in the quality of the steel produced. He,
however, confided the secret of his success to his agent, telling
him that a small percentage of oxide of manganese with a little
coal tar put into the crucible in which the steel was to be fused
would have the same effect as his patent carburet of manganese.
Not long after this disclosure he discovered that his agent had
established steel works, and was making steel by the application
of the information confidentially communicated to him. All
claims for remuneration on account of infringement of patent
rights were ruthlessly disregarded. The case was carried into the
law courts by the luckless patentee, who in the first trial of 1843
was non-suited. It was again tried in 1844, when the Court of
Exchequer gave a verdict for Heath on all the issues. But this
verdict, after three years' consideration, was set aside, and a new
action raised in the Court of Common Pleas, which was not tried
till 1850. When at last the day of judgment came in the Common
Pleas, Mr. Justice Cresswell, " mindful," says Mr. Dickens, "of
the etiquette of the bench, declared that he could not, sitting
singly, confirm or reverse the judgment of the Court of Exchequer ;
but that he would direct the jury to find for the defendant, and
the plaintiff would then be at liberty to bring the whole matter
again before a competent tribunal. Mr. Heath procured a stall at
the Great Exhibition of 1851, and arranged with his own hands

SIjR henry BESSEMER. 59

his rare metallurgic specimens ; but before the Exhibition opened,
and before his case came again to be argued, his weary heart
ceased beating. He died ! leaving his successors to prosecute the
claims they derive from him."

The use of manganese in steel making then ceased to be a
" burning question " until the announcement of the Bessemer
process in 1856 revived it in another form. Sir Henry Bessemer
discovered that by introducing a small quantity of ferro-manganese
into his converter, sufficient carbon was imparted to the metal to
give it the properties of steel of a mild quality. The cir-
cumstances that led up to this discovery, as narrated by himself,
form not the least interesting episode in the history of his
invention. In acquainting himself, in the early stages of his
experiments, with the methods then in use for manufacturing iron
and steel, he read an account of Heath's method of using man-
ganese and its introduction into England. He learned that after
many experiments Heath had succeeded in producing metallic
manganese on a commercial scale, but at that time the properties
of that valuable metal were little understood except by Heath.
The metal in a granular state (a sort of physic, as it was called)
was sold in packages by Heath, who instructed the steel makers
of Sheffield to put a certain weight of it wrapped in a little piece
of paper into each crucible during the operation of melting the
steel. It was found that very inferior biands of iron, compared
with those generally used in England for making cast steel, could
be made into excellent steel by the use of this metallic manganese.
It cheapened the production, while it did not injure the quality of
the material produced ; on the contrary, it conferred on it the
property of welding, and increased the malleability of the metal.
Heath sold the metallic manganese which he produced in his own
establishment at a price which was very much greater than it
cost when made in the steel crucible itself; and when, therefore,
the Sheffield manufacturers were informed that the same result

6o THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

could be produced in the way Heath told his perfidious agent,
they said this simpler method of using it was not included in his
patent, and they consequently ceased to pay him any royalty.
Having become acquainted with these facts, Sir Henry Bessemer
says he suspected — though he did not know it thoroughly in the early
stages of his process — that manganese was a material that would
materially help him also, because, like Heath, he was endeavour-
ing to introduce an inferior brand of iron and make it into cast
steel of a mild and malleable quality. Seeing that he could not
introduce manganese and carbon separately into his converting
process, he commenced some experiments on the reduction of
ordinary manganese to the metallic state. In doing so he
found considerable difficulty, which chiefly arose from the fact
that he had powdered the charcoal and mixed it with the powdered
hematite iron ore and the manganese. These substances, being
in the condition of powder, did not allow the minute particles as
they were reduced to the metallic stace to fuse and run into the
mass, but he subsequently found that by putting in the materials
in moderate sized lumps — the size of peas or larger — excluding
all the dust, and adding little lumps of charcoal, he could
gradually reduce the hematite ore and manganese in the crucible
to the metallic state. They ran readily through the lumps of
charcoal to the bottom of the crucible ; and thus was produced
ferro-manganese. ** Just about that period," says Sir Henry, "a
patent was taken out by Mr. Robert Mushet, for the introduction
of manganese into my process, precisely the same as that which
was in daily use in Sheffield — that is, he mechanically mixed the
powdered manganese with pitch, and then stamped the mixed
material to a powder, which, he proposed, should be blown in at
the bottom of my converting vessel through the tuyeres- or air
pipes. In these conditions no reduction of the manganese would
take place ; and such a mode of proceeding was utterly valueless."
However, a further patent was taken out by Mr. Mushet for what

SIJ^ HENRY BESSEMER. 6i

he called a triple compound ; it was for uniting carbon, iron, and
manganese. This patent barred the way to further experiment
for a time ; but on investigation Sir Henry discovered that a triple
compound of iron, carbon, and manganese had existed for many
years in almost innumerable samples of pig-iron, and in various
proportions, especially in the metal called spiegeleisen, used so
largely for steel making in Prussia, where the manganese amounted
to something like seven or eight per cent, with four per cent of
carbon and eighty-eight of iron.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mushet took out several patents that were
intended to cover every possible mode of putting that metal into
steel made in the Bessemer converter ; and shortly after Sir
Henry began to use manganese, Mr. Mushet*s partner requested
him to take out a license for its use. " In reply," says Sir Henry,
" I read to him Heath*s patent and part of my own specification,
in which I mentioned the use not only of manganese, but of
many other substances ; and I informed him at the same time
that I did not believe his claim could be sustained. I also offered,
if he would come to Sheffield with his solicitor, and would bring
two witnesses, that I would make the steel by my process with
the assistance of manganese in their presence, that I wouM cast
it into ingots, that I would take it into the town, sell it in the
open market, and give him the invoice, so that there could be no
question as to my having infringed his patent if it was a valid one.
That offer, however, was not accepted, and I was never afterwards
warned or even desired not to use Mushet's patent" By the
time the Bessemer process had got into practical operation its
prospects had sunk so low in pubUc estimation that it was not
thought worth while paying the ;^5o stamp due at the expiration
of three years on Mr. Mushet' s batch of manganese patents,
which were consequently allowed to lapse.

Mr. Mushet's account of the manganese incident is, of course,
different from that of Sir Henry Bessemer. It is, however,

62 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

interesting. He says : " When Bessemer read his celebrated
paper at the Meeting of the British Association at Cheltenham,
in 1856, I saw clearly where his difficulties would arise, and that
he could not by his process produce either iron or steel of com-
mercial value. A few days after the reading of the paper I
received specimens of Bessemer metal. Some of these were
cold short (brittle when cold), and some were cold tough, but all
were alike red short (brittle, or breaking short when red hot) at
any heat under the welding heat. They were ductile enough when
worked at a high welding heat ; but as soon as the temperature
was lower the bars broke off or crumbled like heated cast-iron.
I at once saw that by melting them again with manganesic pig-
iron or spiegeleisen they would form good steel or iron, according
to the dose of manganesic pig added to them. Late that night
it occurred to me that by mixing the already melted Bessemer
metal with melted spiegeleisen the process could at once and
simply be rendered successful.

" I immediately lighted a fire in a small steel melting furnace,
and placed in the furnace two crucibles, one containing eight
ounces of Bessemer metal, and the other one ounce of spiegeleisen.
When the contents of the crucibles were melted I withdrew the
crucibles, and poured the melted spiegeleisen into the melted
Bessemer metal ; I then emptied the mixture into a small ingot
mould. The ingot was piped, and had all the characteristics of
an ingot of excellent cast steel. I next heated the ingot to a
fair cast-steel heat. Mrs. Mushet held it in a pair of tongs, and
I drew it out with a sledge hammer into a flat bar. I heated
this bar, and then twisted it in a vice, at a white heat, red heat,
and black-red heat ; and it remained perfectly clear and sound in
the edges, without a trace of red shortness. I now doubled and
welded the bar, and forged it into a chisel, which I tempered
and tried severely, for a flat chisel and diamond point, upon hard
cast-iron. The chisel stood the test well, and was in fact welding

S/J^ HENRY BESSEMER. 63

cast-steel worth at the least 42J. per cwt. I saw now that I had
made a discovery even more valuable than that of the Bessemer
process ; for, although the Bessemer process was not of any
value apart from my invention, on the other hand my invention
could be applied extensively in the manufacture of pot-melted steel.
Less conversant with the world than with matters relating to iron
and steel, I confided in certain parties of great wealth and in-
fluence in the iron trade, believing that I had to deal with men
of honour and integrity, incapable of a mean and base action.
On this score I gained experience, which cost me my patents, and
taught me a lesson not easily forgotten. I placed my patents in
the hands of parties who promised to carry them out, and see
justice done to me. I now proceeded to extend the scale of
operations as follows :

" I charged sixteen melting-pots with 44 lbs. each of Bessemer
metal, and when this was melted I poured into each pot 3 lbs.
of melted spiegeleisen. I then poured the contents of the
sixteen melting-pots into a large ingot-mould, and the ingot thus
made was sent to the Ebbw Vale Ironworks, and then rolled at
one heat into a double-headed rail. The rail was sent to me for
inspection and to be by me forwarded to Mr. Ellis at Derby
station, to be laid down there at a place where iron rails had to
be changed once in three months. When the rail, which was
very perfect, came to me, it was so thickly studded with the
words, ' Ebbw Vale Iron Company,' that no space remained to
squeeze in the words, * Robert Mushet.' I sent the rail to Derby,
and I have read a public statement made by Mr. Adams of the
Ebbw Vale Ironworks to the effect that this rail remained as
perfect as ever after six years' wear and tear from the passage
over it of 700 trains daily. That was the first Bessemer rail.

"I next charged twenty melting-pots with 46 lbs. each of
Bessemer metal, and when melted I poured into each pot 2 lbs.
of melted spiegeleisen, and then emptied the contents of all

64 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

the melting-pots into one ingot mould. The ingot was rolled at
two heats at the Ebbw Vale Ironworks into a bridge rail, which
would have been about 30 feet long ; but the engine was over-
powered when the rail was in the last groove, and stopped, so that
the rail had to be cut in two. One piece, 16 feet long, was
exhibited in the office of an influential iron company in London
as the produce of the Uchatius or atomic process of steel melting.
Let us charitably suppose that the gentlemen who exhibited the
rail were at the time labouring under some mental hallucination.
To enable me to specify my patent, I was very generously fur-
nished by Mr. S. H. Blackwell, of Dudley, with a blowing machine
capable of sustaining a pillar of blast of 10 lbs. per square inch.
With this blowing apparatus and some small furnaces operating
upon from 60 lbs. to 600 lbs. of melted cast-iron, I experimented
for six months, and satisfied myself that the whole affair was as
simple, and indeed far more simple, than the ordinary foundry
process for melting and casting iron."

As to Heath's use of manganese, Mr. Mushet says : " Mr.
Heath was one of my father's most intimate friends, and always
consulted the latter on metallurgical points, though he seldom
followed his advice, being somewhat opinionated. I have Mr.
Heath's correspondence with my father, and with myself latterly,
and Mr. Heath states in his letters that he took the idea of his
manganese patent from the experiments on oxide of manganese
and iron made by my father, the details of which experiments
appeared first in the Philosophical Magazine^ and subsequently in
my father's papers on * Iron and Steel.' Mr. Heath laid his
patent process before my father, and asked his advice. That
advice was to patent the use of oxide of manganese, but, un-
fortunately for himself, Mr. Heath did not adopt this advice, and
his patent was lost in consequence."

Never, perhaps, were two rival inventors more confident in the
justice of their respective "rights." Mr. Robert Mushet never

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 65

ceased to proclaim that he was the first to apply manganese to
Bessemer metal ; and Sir Henry Bessemer was never proved to
have infringed any patent right by the free use of manganese.
But the one inventor reaped a rich reward for his labours, while
the other earned nought The opinion of metallurgists in later
years was that both had worked successfully at the same problem ;
and as some compensation for the disparity of fortune that attended
the labours of the disappointed chemist, Sir Henry Bessemer
generously presented him with an annuity of jQz^o a year :

" Gentler Knight there never drew a lance."

The history of inventions in relation to the use of manganese
did not end with its application in the Bessemer converter. It
might rather be said to have only begun there. When an in-
terval of some time had elapsed after Sir Henry Bessemer dis-
covered the use and manufacture of ferro-manganese, he began to
see the necessity of manufacturing that material on a large scale
for his process, because, as he said, it would enable him to make
a very mild steel, and because the use of spiegeleisen would not
do so owing to the large quantity of carbon in it. At that time
he heard that large quantities of manganese were being used in
Glasgow in the St. Rollox Chemical Works ; and he went to
Glasgow to ascertain whether the proprietors of those works
would undertake to manufacture ferro-manganese for him with
their waste manganese. A friend whom he called upon with the
view of obtaining an introduction to the proprietors in question
brought the subject under the notice of an able chemist — Mr.
Henderson — to whom Sir Henry Bessemer explained what he
required. Mr. Henderson undertook to produce the material
wanted, and Sir Henry accordingly left the matter in his hands.
Mr. Henderson did not at first agree with Sir Henry's view of
the problem — that if he got manganese, or ferro-manganese rich
in manganese, the carbon would be less. He therefore first

F

66 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

investigated this point, because unless they got the carbon reduced
it would be of no great use in making soft steel. A few crucible
experiments confimied him as to the correctness of Sir Henry
IJessemer's view. He found that as the manganese increased
the carbon decreased ; but when be attempted to manufacture
ferro- manganese on a large scale he found that it was extremely
difficult. The intense heat required and the excessive affinity of
oxide of manganese for bricks were so great that for a long time
the problem baffled him. He first tried one refractory substance
and then another for the bottom of his furnace, but they were all
melted away. Repeated failures brought him to the verge of
despair. In this dilemma he happened one day to mention his
difficulties to another chemical manufacturer, who suggested that
he should use bricks made of carbon. He at once determined
to test that idea. Accordingly, he took some hard coke and
ground it very fine ; he then mixed it with just enough of tar to
cement the particles together; and having put il in an iron mould
he heated it to a red heat, and thus obtained fine solid carbon
blocks. These were built into a furnace, with which he had
henceforth no difficulty. The first bottom of that description
was worked for three years, and even then on removal it was
found to be scarcely worn an inch. No sooner, however, had he
succeeded in the manufacture than the works in which the furnace
was built came to grief The Tharsis Company bought the
patent from him, but as they did nothing with it, he afterwards
explained his plan at the Terre Noire works in France, where tlie
manufacture of ferro -manganese was for some years exclusively
carried on by a more perfect process, which raised the yield of
manganese fi"om 25 'o 75 P^r cent., and reduced the price 50 per
cent. It is now manufactured at several large English iron
works.

To show the superior properties of the mild or soft steel pro-
duced by the introduction of a small quantity of manganese

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 67

when the liquid metal had been purified by the intense com-
bustion caused by the cold blast, Mons. Gautier, of Paris, gives
the following comparative statement of the average resistance
of steel manufactured in the Bessemer converter from the same
quality of pig-iron, but with spiegel (the German metal) added in
the first case, and ferro-manganese — iron, carbon, and manganese
— in the second :

With Spiegel. With Ferro-Manganese.

Limit of elasticity . 22 tons per sq. inch. i6 tons per sq. inch.
Breaking strain . , 32 „ ,,28 „ „

Elongation p.c. mea- 1
sured over 8 m. J

"This decrease of the breaking strain, with the increased
elongation," he says, " is a decided advantage where hardness of
the material is not specially required. The metal which withstands
a heavy breakage load with a small final elongation has a special
elasticity in the shape of resistance to change of form, which is
apparent even when it is worked hot. It is necessary, when
steel is to be used for plates, forgings, machinery, and such like
purposes, that it should be very soft. From a constructive point
of view, the exact value of a material is the product obtained by
multiplying the breakage strain by the final stretching, and not
the breakage strains alone." Applying this principle to the two
kinds of steel named above, and also to common iron, he gets
the following result : —

Hard ordinary steel ...... = 305

Soft steel = 700

Common iron = 105

It was this soft steel which the Bessemer process was now
capable of producing. The process, when described by Sir
Henry Bessemer at Cheltenham, in 1856, was so nearly complete

F 2

68 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

that only two important additions were made afterwards. One
was the introduction of the ferro-manganese, just described, for
the purpose of imparting to his pure liquid iron the properties of
mild steel. The other was an improvement in the mechanical
apparatus. He found that when the air had been blown into the
iron till all the carbon was expelled, the continuance of " the
blow " afterward consumed the iron at a very rapid rate, and a
great loss of iron thus took place. It was therefore necessary
to cease blowing at a particular moment. At first he saw no
practical way by which he could prevent ihe metal going into Ihc
air-holes in the bottom of the vessel below the level of the hquid
mass, so as to stop them up immediately on ceasing to force the
air through ihera ; for if he withdrew the pressure of air the
whole apparatus would be destroyed for a time. Here, again, his
inventive genius found a remedy. He had the converter holding
the molten iron mounted on an axis, which enabled him at any
moment he liked to turn it round and to bring the holes above
the level of the metal; whenever this was done the process of
conversion or combustion ceased of itself, and the apparatus had
only to be turned back again in order to resume the operation.
This turning on an axis of a furnace weighing eleven tons, and
containing five tons of liquid metal at a temperature scarcely
approachable, was a system entirely different from anything that
had preceded it j for it he took out what he considered one of
his most important patents ; " and," he says, " I am vain enough
to believe that so long as my process lasts, the motion of the
vessel (containing the fluid) on its asis will be retained as an
absolute necessity for any form which the process may take at
any future time." The patent for this invention was taken out
about four years after his original patent for the converter

The Bessemer process was now perfect. Nearly four years had
elapsed since its conception and first application ; and in addition
to the necessary labour and anxiety he had experienced, no less

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 69

than ;;^20,ooo had been expended in making experiments that
were necessary to complete its success. It only remained to
bring the process into general use, and this was the work that
next engaged his attention.

His first step was to get an adequate supply of iron suitable for
the converter. In order, therefore, to ascertain whether iron low
in phosphorus could be made in England as well as in Sweden, he
got analyses of all the different kinds of iron ore raised in the
United Kingdom, and finding that the purest and lowest in phos-
phorus was the hematite of Cumberland, he ordered some pig-
iron fi:om Workington and tried it in the converter. Again he
was disappointed, for it was as bad as the inferior qualities which
he had previously discarded. Anal)rsis showed, to his surprise,
that the reason of this failure was the presence of more phosphorus
in the iron than there was in the ore. This led him to suspect that
there was something wrong in the manufacture of the crude iron.
He therefore wrote to the manager and directors of the ironworks
at Workington, asking permission to examine their whole system
of iron-making, and holding out a prospect of thereby being able
to find out something that might benefit both him and them.
The directors invited him to dinner, and after discussing the
object of their meeting the manager showed him all over the
works and explained every detail of their operations. But the
keen eye of Sir Henry could detect nothing wrong— nothing that
would account for the presence of more phosphorous in the iron
than was in the ore. He therefore gave up the search as hope-
less, and in company with the manager was crossing the yard from
the works on his way back to the dining-room where the directors
were still sitting, when he observed a heap of matter in a comer
and asked the manager what it was. " Oh, it's nothing worth
noticing," was the reply ; ** it*s only mill cinder that we get from
Staffordshire and use as a flux." Sir Henry insisted on looking
at it| and on examination exclaimed, " Oh, here it is ; this is what

His next task was to
which for two or three ye;

70 THE CREATORS OF Tim

gives the additional phosphorus to the iron." Satisfied that he
was right, he entered the directors' room and with an air of
triumph said, " We've caught the villain j the secret's out now ;
it's that mill cinder that does the mischief to your iron." He
then advised them to abandon that material as a flux, and asked
them to make for him 100 tons of iron without using that flux.
The order was duly executed, and when the iron so made was
put into the converter Sir Henry was delighted to find that it
worked admirably. This iron was marked B, and was the first of
that quality which is now universally known as Bessemer pig.

evince the public that an invention
had been entombed in the oblivion
of demonstrated failure was now a complete success. To do
this required the exercise of more than ordinary skill and courage.
The incredulity with which great discoveries and inventions have
almost invariably been received by the public, when viewed
through the perspective of subsequent events, forms one of the
most remarkable chapters of human history. The execrations of
ages have been poured upon those who became the enemies of
Gahleo because he propounded the diurnal rotation of the earth j
nevertheless succeeding generations have rarely failed to exhibit a
like spirit of incredulity, though in a less violent fonn. "When
one considers the splendour of Newton's discoveries," observes
one of the greatest admirers of the prince of science, "the beauty,
the simplicity, and grandeur of the system they unfolded, and
the demonstrative evidence by which that system was supported,
one could hardly doubt that to be received it required only to
be made known, and that the establishment of the Newtonian
philosophy all over Europe would very quickly have followed the
publication of it." Yet, incredible fact I it was not till thirty years
after the publication of the Principia, which eventually eflfected
an entire revolution in mechanics, that its discoveries could be
into Cambridge University. To the succeeding gcnera«

d

Slli HENRY BESSEMER.

Ition Dr. Samuel Clarke issued a new translation of the French
R book which was then recognised as the authoritative expounder
I of the old philosophy ; and to it he appended -notes which ex-
I plained the views of Newlon, and which, wh
appearance of controversy, refuted the text. This stratagem com-
pletely succeeded. The truth supplanted error without alarming
prejudice or awakening from its lethargy the dread of innovation.
In every age there are people who think themselves interested in
maintaining the existing state of things. Sir Henry Bessemer
knew this only too well. In the present case his difficulty was
aggravated by the recollection of previous failure. However, he
could not afford to wait till the obliterating hand of lime had
disarmed prejudice. To recoup himself for the thousands of
pounds and years of labour he had spent in working out his
invention, its immediate adoption was necessary ; and accordingly

I he confidently but cautiously proceeded to put it into practical
Operation.
Having converted the hematite iron, henceforth to be called
Bessemer iron, into steel by his process, he wished to demonstrate
u properties by actual use. With this view he asked his friend,
Wb. Galloway, of Manchester, to distribute the new metal among
nis workmen when they asked for steel to make tools with, but
not to let them know that it was in any way different from what
they had been accustomed to use. This was done. TJie steel
was distributed in the usual way to make tools with, and in six
weeks Sir Henry Bessemer returned to Manchester to hear what
was the result "What do the workmen say about the new
steel?" inquired the anxious inventor concerning the first pro-
duct of his infant industry. " They have said nothing at all
about it," replied Mr. Galloway. " Nothing at all ! Oh, then, it
will be all right ; if they have no fault to find with it that is the_
best report of any." Not content, however, with this silent
commendation. Sir Henry went round among a few of the work-

I
I

72

men, and in course of conversa.tion asked what they thought of
the steel they had got last The first reply to his question was,
"There's no difference between it and other steel; it's no better
than we used to get." Such a recommendation was sufficient.
The steel formerly used cost 60/. a ton ; this new steel cost 6/.
or 8/. a ton.

More than ever confident in his success, Sir Henry Bessemer
brought the merits of his process before the Institution of Civil
Engineers in a paper which he read on the 34lh of May, 1S59.
He then explained that in the three years that had elapsed since
he brought the subject before the British Association he had
pursued one undeviating course, having determined to remain
silent for years under the expressed doubts of those who pre-
dicted the failure of his process, rather than again bring forward
the invention until it had been practically and commercially
worked, and until there had been produced by it both iron and
steel of a quality which could not be surpassed by any iron or
steel made by the tedious and expensive process previously in
general use. Having explained the difficulties that he had in the
interval surmounted, he described the improved process in lan-
guage which is still considered to give the most graphic account
of it. He said : " The converting vessel is mounted on an axis,
at or near its centre of gravity. It is constructed of boiler plates,
and is lined either with fire-brick, road drift, or ganister (a local
name in Sheffield for a peculiar kind of powdertd stone) which
resists the heat better than any other material yet tried, and
has also the advantage of cheapness. The vessel having been
heated is brought into the requisite position to receive its
charge of melted metal, without either of the tuyeres (or air holes)
being below the surface. No action can therefore take place
until the vessel is turned up (so thai the blast can enter through
the tuyeres). The process is thus in an instant brought into full
activity, and small, though powerful, jets of air spring upward

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 73

through the fluid mass. The air expanding in volume divides itself
into globules, or bursts violently upwards, carrying with it some
hundredweight of fluid metal which again falls into the boiling
mass below. Every part of the apparatus trembles under the
violent agitation thus produced ; a roaring flame rushes from the
mouth of the vessel, and as the process advances it changes its
violet colour to orange, and finally to a voluminous pure white
flame. The sparks, which at first were large like those of ordinary
foundry iron, change into small hissing points, and these gradually
give way to soft floating specks of bluish light, as the state of
malleable iron is approached. There is no eruption of cinder
as in the early experiments, although it is formed during the
process ; the improved shape of the converter causes it to be
retained, and it not only acts beneficially on the metal, but it
helps to confine the heat, which during the process has rapidly
risen from the comparatively low temperature of melted pig-
iron to one vastly gi eater than the highest known welding
heats, by which malleable iron only becomes sufficiently soft to
be shaped by the blows of the hammer ; but here it becomes
perfectly fluid, and even rises so much above the melting-point
as to admit of its being poured from the converter into a
founder's Udle, and from thence to be transferred to several
successive moulds."

He next exhibited specimens of the metal produced and ex-
plained the severe tests which they had stood. Its extreme
toughness and extensibility were proved by the bending of cold
bars of iron, 3 inches square under the hammer to a close fold,
without the smallest perceptible rupture of the metal at any part,
though the bar was extended on the outside of the bend from 12
to i6j inches, and compressed on the inside from 12 to 7 J inches,
making a difference in length of 9^ inches between what before
bending were the two parallel sides of a bar 3 inches square.
He also explained that this metal could be made for 6/. a ton.

Notwithstanding numerous proofs of this sort, some of the
speakers who addressed the meeting after hearing the paper
read, expressed grave doubts as to the regular or practical work-
ing of the process. On the whole, however, the paper produced
such a favourable impression as to the ingenuity of the process
that the Institution resolved to present to its author the Telford
gold medal.

The process had yet to be made a commercial success.
" After," he says, " I had succeeded in making steel of so good a
quality that it was not recognised as being anything different from
the ordinary high Sheffield article, I then brought the subject
again before the public, and was surprised to find that no one
believed in it ; no one seemed to have the smallest confidence in
it ; every one said : ' Oh, this is the thing which made such a blaze
;-wo or three years ago, and which was a failure.' Had I not
been furnished with capital by the sale of licenses ray experiments
could never have been carried on. I had acquired five powerful
friends^men who would have an advantage of 10,000/. a year
each over their fellow ironmasters, because they would have no
royalty to pay — yet not one of them made the smallest attempt
to get over the first difficulties of the process; they simply
treated it (to use an expression common at that time) as a meteor
that had passed through the metallurgical world, but that had
gone out with all its sparks. I had immense difficulty in per-
suading any one to touch it ; indeed, neither the steel makers nor the
iron makers would take it up after the lapse of two years. I then
saw that the thing was hopeless ; so I and my partner, Mr.
Robert Longsden, joined with the Messrs. Galloway, of
Manchester, for the purpose of erecting works for the production
of the ne-.!- steel. We bought land at Sheffield, and erected
works there, with the determination of convincing people that
the process was really good, or else, failing in the attempt, to
gii'e the thing up. Of tlie five parlies to whom I had originally

SII^ HENR V BESSEMER. 7 5

given licenses, two of them, who paid me 10,000/. each for one
year's royalty, spent about 100/. or 150/. each in trying the
process; the other three spent nothing. Now, when I was
successful in making steel (the first invention was for iron only), I
found that my having sold them this privilege would, if it applied
to steel, have given them an advantage of 2/. a ton, or altogether
40,000/. over other manufacturers. I saw that others could not
fairly compete under these conditions, so I then applied myself to
repurchase those licenses. I gave one firm 10,000/., and another
20,000/., for the privilege which they had purchased but left
unused for five or six years, and for which they had only given
me 10,000/. originally. I swept the market clear of all those
licenses. In due time our works were erected, and we commenced
to sell. We sent out one traveller with samples of engineers*
tool steel, quoting 42/. per ton, a price which we maintained for
the whole two years during which this branch of the trade was
carried on. So little confidence was there in it then, that at first
our orders were for 28 lb. or 56 lb. of steel at a time — most
paltry orders. These were, however, all duly executed ; they
soon became larger, and afterwards very much larger. Then the
manufacturers in SheflSeld began to say ; * Why, these people are
underselling us by 20/. a ton.' Sir John Brown, my next door
neighbour, was the first man to look into it. He was about to
erect most expensive works for producing steel by puddling,
intending to remelt the puddled steel in a crucible on Krupp's
plan. As soon as he saw the inside of our works he abandoned
that idea, and proposed to take a license, which was granted, but
not at the original 10s, royalty, for I had raised my royalty to
2/. a ton on all articles, except rails, and i/. a ton on rails,
taking in that case only a small portion of the saving on those
articles."

The cheapness of the new steel was not the only quality that
recommended it. Shortly after the erection of the Bessemer

76 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

Steel Works at Sheffield, the inventor was visited by Mr. Parks of
Birmingham, who had invented a system of making copper tubes
by pressing a round disc through a hole with a plunger, thus
producino; a kind of cup, which was subsequently extended by
drawing in dies to a tube with a closed end. Mr. Parks said he
believed that the steel produced by the Bessemer process would
act in the same way as the best copper, which he was obliged
to use for that purpose. Sir Henry Bessemer said : " I don't
believe anything of the kind ; it seems to me utterly impossible
that so rigid a material as steel could safely undergo such a pro-
cess." But Mr. Parks was so sanguine that it could be done
that he induced Sir Henry to go with him by train to Birmingham
that night, taking a disc of steel to try if this could really be done.
The disc in question measured 23 inches in diameter and f of an
inch thick, and was cut from the end of a locomotive tube plate
of mild steel, which the Bessemer firm was then manufacturing
to the order of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company.
Mr. Parks placed this steel disc on the top of a cast-iron die, with
a hole in it 1 1 inches in diameter. The mouth of the die was in
shape like that of a French horn. When he had forced the cold
steel disc half way through the die, Mr. Parks said : " We will do
with this what we always have to do with our copper." It was
then taken out of the die, put into the annealing furnace, and left
to get cold again. On being put into the press a second time,
the steel was entirely pushed through the die. Thus a steel plate-
I of an inch thick was formed into a deep cup without the
smallest injury to the metal. Rigid as it was, says Sir Henry,
this plate of 23 inches in diameter had by some magic movement
of its particles been reduced to 11 inches in diameter, and its
flat surface changed to a cup of 10 inches in depth. He himself
was so astounded at this proof of the quality of his steel that he
has preserved that cup as a memorial of the event.

Thus the new process began to make progress. Its superiority.

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 77

in respect of rapidity and cheapness over the old process, was
spreading consternation in the steel trade. One manufacturer
after another applied for a license to use it. Others endeavoured
to secure its advantages by other means. " One day," says Sir
Henry, ** I found in London a gentleman occupied in his office
with a packet of papers a foot high before him, getting out all
the cases he could against me for repealing by scire fascias the
whole of my patents. He was employed by a company of
ironmasters to do so, and he told me candidly enough afterwards :
* When I had gone through the whole of your patents, and about
seventy patents which they said more or less anticipated yours, I
found that they had not a leg to stand upon, and I advised them
to come to you for a license.' As there had been a great deal of
scurrilous writing against me by one of the parties connected with
the firm, I said, when they applied for a license, * I know you
only come now for a license because you cannot upset the whole
of my patents ; however, I shall not refuse on that ground, but I
refuse it until I have a letter of apology from one of your people,
such a letter of apology as will show that the statements made
against me were without foundation. The moment I get such an
apology as one gentleman should give to another I will give you
a license to manufacture ; but I will never deal with a man who
has written against me in that way.' I received an entire re-
tractation, a most perfect and gentlemanly apology, and I
then granted a license to that company, but they have never
used it."

The process being now in operation at Sheffield, Sir Henry
Bessemer gave an account of its results to the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers when they met in that town in August,
1861. In conclusion he used these memorable words : " For the
practical engineer enough has already been said to show how
important is the application of cast steel to constructive purposes,
and how this valuable material may be both cast and forged with

78 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

such facility, and at a cost so moderate, as to produce by its
superior durability and extreme lightness an economy in its uise
as compared with iron. The construction of cast steel girders
and bridges, and of marine engine shafts, cranks, screw propellers,
anchors, and railway wheels, are all deserving of careful attention.
The manufacturer of cast steel has only to produce at a moderate
cost the various qualities of steel required for constructive
purposes to ensure its rapid introduction ; for as certainly as the
age of iron superseded that of bronze^ so will the age of steel succeed
that of ironJ*

CHAPTER IV.

** A great man is one who affects his generation." — Beaconsfield.

In the history of inventions there are many instances in which
the discoverers of principles, that formed the germ of revolutions
in science and art, allowed their great ideas to lie dormant till
some more enterprising spirit appropriated them, and boldly
commanded public attention to their merits in order that they
might reap the reward of their application. This was not the
case with the Bessemer process. As yet, however, the age of
steel was only a potentiality, not a reality. The inventor was now
reaping handsome profits from his invention ; but it had not yet
become a benefit to the community at large. Its success was
practically established, but its usefulness was not generally ap-
preciated. The application of the new steel to industrial
purposes had yet to be accomplished, and Sir Henry Bessemer
found that this was not the least formidable part of the work set
before him. The manufacturers of iron and steel henceforth
showed increasing eagerness to appropriate such a profitable
invention ; but the consumers of iron and steel had yet to be
convinced that a new metal so easily produced was the best
adapted for industrial purposes.

In a leading technical journal^ of the period (1862), we find it
stated that "To produce a metal possessing such superior

^ The Engineer,

8o THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

qualities from English pig-iron in twenty minutes is an achieve-
ment which, in 185 1, would have been thought miraculous. Now
it is an everyday performance at some of the greatest steel works
in this country and on the Continent Those who believe that
every great invention is, like the steam-engine, the result of
accumulated improvements, all in the same direction, may well
regard the Bessemer process with interest. Mechanically, although
not commercially, it has already effected a complete revolution in
the manufacture of iron and steel, so much so, that those who
have adopted it are receiving 4c/. and 50/. a ton for steel
which costs them less than 10/., and which would successfully
• compete, even at the same price, with steel quoted at 60/. or
70/. Yet the process of converting crude melted iron into
steel by simply blowing air through it for a quarter of an hour
or twenty minutes, and without any fuel other than that first
required to melt iron, was, as far as the past six years have
shown, the sole conception of one man. It is wonderful that,
with such a great accomplished fact, his right to the whole
process has never been disproved and never disputed."

At the Great Exhibition of 1862 he was an exhibitor of
numerous specimens of his steel, manufactured into a variety of
articles, ranging from heavy steel ordnance to steel wire the two
hundred and fiftieth part of an inch in diameter. Specimens
made by the same process were also shown that had been sent
by companies in India, Sweden, France, Germany, and Austria,
where Bessemer steel was then being produced.

The history of the process was as eventful abroad as at home.
A fortnight after the first announcement of the process in England
it was reported that its inventor had realised 80,000/. by the sale
of his patent rights abroad, so great was the first sensation
caused by it. Speculators even negotiated the purchase of the
patent rights for Spain — the least industrial country in Europe.
On September 26, 1856, a trial of the process was made at

5//? HENR V BESSEMER, 8 1

Baxter House for the express purpose of satisfying the gentlemen
who wished to purchase the Spanish patent. The price was
;£'5,ooo, and the trial was successful. But the discredit into
which it fell immediately afterwards soon spread abroad ; and the
disappointments experienced by Sir Henry in consequence turned
out to be more irremediable abroad than at home.

Amid these disappointments and failures Sweden was the one
bright spot where it failed not. That country was the first to
adopt the Bessemer process, and it did so soon after the first
announcement of its success. The exceptional purity of the iron
made in that country rendered it specially suitable for the
converter. Accordingly, a leading manufacturer there applied
to the inventor for a license to use it ; and the original form of
converter, without the later improvements, was used not only at
first but for years afterwards. So great was the interest excited
by the introduction of the process there, that the Crown Prince,
who was President of the Iron Board of Sweden, inspected the
first operation of making steel, and he was so satisfied with it
that he made the inventor an honorary member of the Iron
Board. The first Bessemer steel ingot ever rolled in England
came from Sweden. It was rolled into a circular saw plate of
five feet diameter, and was preserved by Sir Henry Bessemer as the
first steel article produced by precisely the same apparatus, and
the same method of treatment, that he described at Cheltenham
in 1856.

In Germany the greatest steel maker was Herr Krupp of
Essen. Before Sir Henry Bessemer had taken the preliminary
steps to obtain a patent there, Krupp entered into negotiations
with him and agreed to pay ;^5,ooo for the use of his invention.
This license was for the whole of Prussia, and practically gave
him the rights of the inventor in that country, so that Elrupp
could either have made the process a monopoly at his own works,
or could have leased it to others. The inventor, accordingly,

G

8a THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

sent all his papers to Krupp, who, in due course, applied to the
Prussian Government for a patent. The Prussian Government
told Knipp that the invention was not a new one. He pressed
them to show who had done it before, and they named Mr.
Nasmyth as having made the invention previously. Mr. Nasmyth
denied having done so, and when this was represented to the
Prussian Commissioners of Patents, they said then that some one
else had done it, and they would find out who it was in a few
days. A few days passed, and the Prussian comroissioners being
still unable to find their " somebody else," promised to do it in
another few days. Thus, they said, they continued their search,
always maintaining thai it was an old invention which would be
very soon found out. Sis weeks passed without it being found
out, and they then began to promise the importunate Krupp to
find it day by day. At last they said: "If we do not find it
to-morrow, we will give it you." So this inquiry went on from
one to-morrow to another, until, as Sir Henry puts it, there was a
week of to-morrows. On the last occasion of his calling they
presented Krupp with an English blue book, containing the
publication of the English patent, and said : " Now, seeing it is a
publication in Prussia, we cannot grant you a patent by the law
of Prussia," It is scarcely necessary to add that the process was
worked in Germany without payment of any royalty to Ibe
inventor.

This failure to secure the profit of his invention in Germany
led to a similar result in Belgium. Sir Henry obtained a patent
in Belgium, but when Krupp of Essen sent his Bessemer steel
into that country, the Belgian manufacturers, who had agreed to
pay the inventor for licenses, represented to him that they could
not continue the payment, because, while doing so, they were
unable to compete with the same description of raanufaclures
that came from Essen. The directors of the Seraing Company
determined to ascertain whether the steel in question was made

S/I^ HENR V BESSEMER. %z

by the Bessemer process at Essen, and for this purpose directed
two of their workmen who were well informed in the details of
the process to represent themselves at the Essen works as skilled
Bessemer steel makers in search of employment, and as prepared
to impart a knowledge of some special features of the process
peculiar to Belgium. , Their services were accepted, and they had
thus an opportunity of witnessing the working of the Bessemer
process in the Essen Works. On their return with this informa-
tion the directors of Seraing refused to pay the royalty on the
process any longer, and the Belgian patent of the inventor was
henceforth of no value.

The story of the working of the Bessemer process in the
largest works in France affords another striking illustration of the
genius of its inventor, and of the ingenuity of foreign manufac-
turers in appropriating it. At the meeting of the Iron and Steel
Institute in London, in 1877, Mons. Gautier, of Paris, read a
paper on "Solid Steel Castings.*' He explained that "when
steel is cast in an iron ingot mould, or a mould of any kind,
usually the metal after cooling is not entirely sound. Cavities of
a more or less rounded shape are seen inside, apparently caused
by a gas escaping from the mass. Sir Henry Bessemer, the first
among metallurgists, has demonstrated that these blow-holes
were filled with oxide of carbon (carbon combined with oxygen),
and this view has since been entirely confirmed. When these
blow-holes are altogether inside, and do not burst through the
crust, they remain silvery white, and to get rid of them it is
sufficient to weld the metallic parts by re-heating, and the use of
the hammer or rolls. When the blow-holes communicate with
the outside, and the sides of the ingots are pierced with small
holes, well known to the steel manufacturers, the colour is no
longer a silvery white ; they assume more or less the colours of the
rainbow, and even become black. ... It is an easy matter to
remove blow-holes when the steel has to undergo mechanical

G 2

84 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

elaboration, but it is not so with castings, and it is very important
to prevent the formation of these blow-holes when sound pieces
are wanted, and pieces the resistance of which can be relied on.
.... The German manufacturers have produced ingots without
blow-holes, beginning with two tons weight and finally reaching
45 tons. The Krupp ingots and the cast wheels and bells of
Bochum certainly astonished the metallurgical world for some
time. The process of manufacture was kept a most profound
secret, and has not yet been published. More than six years ago
the Terra Noire Steel Works found out, by reasoning rather than
by practice, the process of the German works, and the improve-
ments they have made have radically transformed the result. It
seems well proved now that the German products without blow-
holes are obtained by the addition of a very silicious iron just
before casting." Mons. Gautier related some facts to show that
this cast metal was superior to forged steel both in strength and
regularity, and concluded by saying that the industrial applications
of this metal would naturally present themselves to ever)' mind,
and would push themselves forward, bearing with them these
two great advantages, solidity and economy.

In the discussion that followed the reading of this paper, Sir
Henry Bessemer said he observed in the process just described
an old friend come back to head-quarters; and he proceeded
to explain that in the Exhibition of 1862 he exhibited a number
of castings, chiefly railway crossings, among them being an ingot
of about 17 cwt., one half of which was turned down in the
lathe, and the end of it " faced," to show that not a single blow-
hole existed in it. That ingot and those castings were produced
by the use of silicon (firom silex — flint) and manganese. He knew
well that one of the defects of his process was that occluded
gases constantly produced air bubbles in the ingots and castings,
and it was the discovery of a mode of getting rid of them that
induced him to make those samples and show them at the

5/J? HENR Y BESSEMER. 85

International Exhibition of 1862. He then gave an account of
the circumstances that led to that discovery. When he first went
down to Sheffield, about 1856, he was a stranger to the ordinary
mode of producing cast steel. He heard steel makers say that
some of their ingots worked successfully and were perfectly sound,
while others were full of air bubbles and worked very badly.
The terms used in the trade to distinguish these two characters
of steel were ** well melted " and *' not well melted." He
observed that these manufacturers usually put their best Swedish
iron, or blistered steel, into the crucible with a little manganese
and carbon in the form of charcoal. If they allowed it to remain
only a sufficient time to fuse the metal, the result was a bubbly
ingot that went to pieces under the hammer ; but if they allowed
it to remain an hour or more after being melted, and increased the
the temperature of the crucible, it became what was called " well
melted steel," and worked perfectly well. He determined to
*know what was the chemical difference between these metals, and
an examination made, with the assistance of some able chemists,
of six or seven samples of each kind of steel produced from the
same iron, showed him that the " well melted " steel contained a
small quantity of silicon, which was entirely absent in the iron
from which these ingots were made. He thought, therefore, that
the silicon must produce the superior quality of steel, but was at
a loss to know how the manufacturers got this appreciable quantity
of silicon into the first class Swedish bar iron of which the steel
was made» Further observation gave him a key to this question.
He found that in making the clay crucibles a plug was formed
at the bottom of the core used in the moulds in order to make
the core go into its right place. The plug necessarily made a
hole of about an inch in diameter in the bottom of the crucible.
If they were to attempt to patch up or stop this opening with
moist clay, the shrinkage of the clay plug in drying would make
the crucible very leaky, and to prevent this they placed the

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86 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

crucible on a small fire-lump and threw a handful of sand into it
in order to atop up the hole and to prevent oxidation of the
metal. They also put into the crucible a lump or two of charcoal
It followed that when they allowed the metal to be merely melted
in the crucible, and then poured it out at once without allowing it
to acquire a very high lempeiature, probably none of the silica
(sand) was converted into silicon, and in that case they obtained
a bubbly ingot ; but when they allowed it an hour or two more
and increased the temperature, a quantity of the silica and
manganese was reduced and formed silicon, producing " well
melted " steel which was free from air bubbles, and which worked
well. Though no steel-makei in Sheffield appeared to know
why it was that he made good steel one day and bad another,
Sir Henry satisfied himself that he had found the true explanation.
When, therefore, his own process was put into practical operation,
he searched among the various pig-irons of this country to find
those that would give him manganese and silicon together. For
this purpose he went to Tow Law, in Durham, and tried the pig-
iron made from spathose ore in use there. On analysis he found
that it contained 4| and sometimes 5 per cent, of silicon, and
about 3 or 4 per cent, of manganese. He began at once to
employ that material. Having, by blowing in the converter,
reduced this grey hematite pig-iron to the state of soft malleable
iron, he used this aUoy of silicon in addition to spiegeleisen, and
by so doing he at once obtained " well melted " steel, which
ceased to boil and bubble in the mould, and from whicli perfectly
sound castings were produced at his works. "It is a remarkable
fact," said Sir Henry, "that that which a French metallurgist
brought before the Iron and Steel Insdtute in 1877 as a new
discovery, had been practised for fifteen years in the Bessemer
Steel Works at Sheffield."

But this was not the only remarkable feature of the case.
Among the persons who visited the Bessemer Steel Works shortly

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lifter this d.'scovery was made, for the purpose of learning ail the
'details of the Bessemer process, were the Messrs. Schneider of
Creusot, the owners of the largest works in France, There was
a good deal of doubt among French metallurgists as to whether
tlie process was capable of converting French iron into steel. In
1863, however, Mr. Schneider's son came to Sheffield, and
arranged with Sir Henry Bessemer for a license to make steel
at Creusot by the new process. Terms were seltled — he signed
the deed of license — and Sir Henry gave him eleven sheets of
detailed drawings for the erection of works, the construcnon of
converters, and so on. Their manager also passed a monlh at
the Sheffield works for the purpose of being thoroughly initiated
into all the details of the process. To make sure that the pig-
iron made at Creusot was suitable for the Bessemer converter,
four tons of it were sent over to Sheffield, and were converted
into steel ingots in the presence of Mr. Schneider, his son, and his
manager. The steel thus made was worked and hammered into
bars, which they took back with them to France. They were,
they said, perfectly satisfied that they could make steel from their
own iron by the Bessemer process. They were afterwards
occupied for about two years in making a huge workshop full
of machinery on the plans and drawings that Sir Henry had
supplied. Nothing was charged by him for those plans or the
right to manufacture his patent machinery, as the remunera-
tion was to be paid entirely on the tonnage of steel produced.
From these plans ihe largest steel works in France were set up
at Creusot, and were finished just a few weeks before the expira-
tion of the inventor's French patent They were not, however,
set to work during these few weeks, but immediately the patent
had expired tJie works commenced to make steel in large
quantities. Not only did they refuse to pay the inventor a penny
of royalty for the use of the new process or for the special
itiuctions and drawings received from him, but the small

i

88 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

royalty for the improved apparatus for turning the converter up
and down, the patent for which had not yet expired, was re-
pudiated. Following the example of the Messrs. Schneider,
the Terre Noire Company also refused to pay any royalty.
** And now," said Sir Henry, in 1877, "these French gentlemen
are kind enough to tell us in England how to make solid steel
castings."

While the inventor thus saw one foreign steel manufacturer
after another adopting his process and eluding payment of his
royalty, he had the satisfaction of seeing its steady progress in
England, as well as on the Continent and in the United States.

In 1865 he stated that there were then "seventeen extensive
Bessemer steel works in Great Britain. At the works of the
Barrow Steel Company 1,200 tons per week of finished steel
can easily be turned out, and when their new converting house,
containing twelve more five-ton converters, is completed, these
magnificent works will be capable of producing weekly from
2,000 to 2,400 tons of cast steel. There are at present erected
and in course of erection in England no less than sixty con-
verting vessels, each capable of producing from three to ten tons
at a single charge. When in regular operation these vessels are
capable of producing fully 6,000 tons of steel weekly, or equal to
fifteen times the entire production of cast steel in Great Britain
before the introduction of the Bessemer process. The average
selling price of this steel is at least 20/. per ton below the
average price at which cast steel was sold at the period mentioned.
With the present means of production, therefore, a saving of
no less than 6,240,000/. per annum may be effected in Great
Britain alone, even in this infant state of the Bessemer steel
manufacture."

Sir W. Siemens has called Sir Henry Bessemer " the pioneer of
steel for structural purposes.'* But his title to that distinction was
not easily earned. For years he had to wage continual warfare

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 89

against time-honoured prejudices, trade interests, and stubborn
ignorance. The Government of the country which has the honour
of being the birthplace of the process, and which has been most
benefited by it, was the first and the last to resist its adoption.

It will be remembered that the original intention of Sir Henry
Bessemer was to produce a better metal than ordinary iron for
ordnance. Having succeeded in this, he first brought his new
metal under the notice of the authorities at Woolwich Arsenal.
He not only informed Colonel Wilmot, who was then super-
intendent at Woolwich, of the successive steps he had made in
the progress of his process, but invited him to visit his new
works at Sheffield in order to see it in practical operation.
Colonel Wilmot readily availed himself of the opportunity. He
went to the Bessemer Steel Works at Sheffield, and there studied
the process and its products, and thus satisfied his mind that
steel was the material for the future guns of the country. Shortly
after that Sir Henry read his paper before the Institution of Civil
Engineers — that paper which was rewarded with the Telford gold
medal — in the course of which he said, with reference to the
production of ordnance from his new metal, that "in order to
show the extreme toughness of such iron, and to what a strain
it may be subjected without bursting, several cast and hammered
cylinders were placed cold under the steam-hammer, and were
crushed down without the least appearance of tearing the metal.
Now, these cylinders were drawn down from a round cast ingot,
only two inches larger in diameter than the finished cylinder, and in
the precise manner in which a gun would be treated. They may,
therefore, be considered as short sections of an ordinary 30-
pounder field-gun. Iron so made requires very little forging,
indeed the mere closing of the pores of the metal seems all that
is necessary. The tensile strength of the samples, as tested at
the Royal Arsenal, was 64,566 lbs., or nearly thirty tons, per
square inch, while the tensile strength of pieces cut from the

50 THE CRMATORS 0-F THE AGS OF STEEL.

Mersey gun gave a mean of 50,624 lbs. longitudinally and
43,339 lbs. across the grain, thus showing a mean of 17,550 lbs.
per square inch in favour of the Bessemer iron. If it be desired
to produce ordnance by merely founding the metal, then the
ordinary casting process may be employed with the simple
difference that the iron, instead of running direct from the melting
furnace into the mould, must first be run into the converting
vessel, where in from ten to twenty minutes it will become steel,
or malleable iron if desired, and the casting may then take place
in the ordinary way. The small piece of ordnance exhibited will
serve to illustrate this important manufacture, and is interesting in
consequence of its being the first gun that was ever made of
malleable iron without a weld or joint. The importance of this
fact will be much enhanced when it is known that conical masses
of this pure, tough metal, of from five to ten tons in weight, can
be produced at Woolwich at a cost not exceeding 6^ 12s. per ton,
inclusive of the cost of pig-iron, carriage, re-melting, waste in the
process, labour, and engine-power. These facts have been laid
before the Government, and their advantages are fully appreciated
by Colonel Eardley Wilmot, the superintendent of the Royal Gun
Factories, who has evinced a great interest in the progress of the
invention from its earliest date, and to whose kindness the
author is indebted for the many valuable trials of the tensile
strength of the various samples of metal that have been sub-
mitted for investigation."

In the discussion that followed Colonel Wilmot said he had
from the commencement of these inquiries taken a great interest
in them, and had mechanically tested the products originally
produced. As regarded the difficulties of the process as well
as the results of it, he thought lliat the best thing for a member of
a practical society to do was to follow his example, and go and
see it for himself. Nothing could be more simple or more per-
fectly under control, and having by a few trials ascertained the

5/i? HENR V BESSEMER, 91

particular kind of treatment required with the samples of iron to
be dealt with, it was operated upon with certainty. After giving
some evidences of the superiority of Bessemer steel, he mentioned
that he had been using it for turning the outside of iron guns,
cutting off large shavings several inches in length, and he found
none superior to it, although much that was more costly. It was
only necessary to witness the operation of the Bessemer process
to be satisfied that the expense of converting the pig-iron into
any of its products involved scarcely any cost beyond the labour,
and that but for a very short period of time.

Prof. Abel, the director of the chemical department at Wool-
wich, who had always taken a lively interest in the new metal,
likewise said, in i860, that there appeared no reason why the
Bessemer process, " which has recently been applied with great
success to the conversion of iron of good chemical quality into
excellent cast steel, upon a very considerable scale, should not
be resorted to for the production, at a moderate cost, of masses
of cast steel, or a material of a similar character, of sufficient size
for conversion into cannon of all sizes but those of the heaviest
calibre, which it will always be found most advantageous to
construct of several pieces.*'

Colonel Eardley AVilmot being naturally anxious to put the new
process in operation at Woolwich, invited Sir Henry Bessemer
to go there with him to inspect the foundry department with the
view of adapting it for the process. Sir Henry went, and as
the result of their deliberations, it was decided to remove
two large furnaces to make room for his apparatus. All the
preliminary arrangements being made. Sir Henry was asked
to prepare plans and an estimate, and these having been
duly lodged at Woolwich, he was in daily expectation of their
passing through the necessary red-tape ordeal so that he could
commence to put in his apparatus. Having no answer for a
week or ten days, he was surprised, because he had been told

92 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

that the matter would be put through instantly. He therefore
went down to Woolwich, but only to find that in the interim
Colonel Wilmot had been superseded Proceeding to inquire what
was to be done next, he saw Mr. Sidney Herbert on the subject,
and explained the matter to him at very great length, endeavouring
** to coach " him upon the merits and utility of his steel. Mr. Sidney
Herbert listened to him attentively, and said in reply that it was
a technical question which he did not understand, but he would
investigate the matter. Sir Henry said : " Then you have only to
see Colonel Wilmot, who has for the last three years given great
attention to the subject ; he has seen the process over and over
again, and has tested it in every way that he could test it.
Besides Colonel Wilmot, there is the Laboratory Department,
where the chemical analyses can be obtained, and the testing
machines will show you what it is ; there is also the rolling-mill to
show how the material behaves under the rolls and under the
hammer ; and then, in addition to that, there are some dozen or
two of officials at Woolwich who have witnessed these experiments,
and can give you every possible detail." He arranged to see
Mr. Sidney Herbert a week later, and went with all the confidence
of one who was to have the contract put into his hands. But his
hopes were soon dispelled. Mr. Sidney Herbert told him that he
had consulted Sir William Armstrong, and understood from him
that the new material was wholly unsuited to the manufacture of
ordnance. Sir Henry was amazed. Of course he remonstrated.
He said : " Why go to my rival ? Why go to the gentleman who
has a scheme of his own to carry out instead of mine ? " Mr.
Sidney Herbert replied that he had taken the best advice and
had come to the conclusion that he was not to have the contract,
and was not to put up his process at Woolwich — they would in
future make the guns of iron.

" I left," said Sir Henry, a quarter of a century afterwards, " I
left, like many other men who had been at Woolwich, in great

S/jR HENR V BESSEMER. 93

and . deep disgust. I had, however, too good a business at that
time in the introduction of my process to make it worth while to
pursue it through all the tortuous paths that one must go through
to oppose the Government, so I let them alone. But see what
the upshot has been. In the coils to make the bore of the iron
gun there were numberless little cracks, so what did they do?
They put a steel tube in, and when they got it into the heart and
soul of the machine, they tied this steel with a piece of iron. Why
not \Vith a piece of steel ? Why not a cylinder made of steel
in preference to that iron coil ? For the making of steel cylinders
was then an accomplished fact, but the making of those iron
coils was not an accomplished fact. The iron coil system has
been thoroughly shown up, but at an enormous expense to this
, country. This incident was the turning point which made us
have iron guns, while every other country in the world has got
steel guns."

In 1882, the year after Sir Henry made these remarks, the
British Government determined that the manufacture of wrought
iron guns should be discontinued, and that all guns in future
should be made wholly of steel.

After the rejection of his offer by the British Government, Sir
Henry turned his attention more energetically than ever to the
use of steel for industrial purposes. While the production of high
class steel from foreign iron was going on at the Sheffield works,
no efforts, he says, were spared to introduce steel made from
Cumberland hematite Bessemer pig for railway and general
engineering purposes. Its homogeneous character and great
toughness marked it out as the material for the rails of the future
— an article hitherto largely made from the lowest of all grades of
iron. This fact was eagerly seized upon by those who wished to
disparage the new steel. " Oh, yes,*' they said, " it may do for
rails — anything will make a rail." Nor was science or art less
sceptical In 1861 he proposed to an eminent practical engineer,

94 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

Mr. John RarasboUom, of the London and North Western
Railway, to try the use of steel instead of iron rails. At the very
mention of steel rails, Mr. Rarosbottom, looking at him with
astonishment, exclaimed : " Mr, Bessemer, do you wish to see me
tried for manslaughter ! " Undismayed, the sanguine inventor
showed the amazed engineer some samples of the rails he had
made ; and after hearing their mode of production and superior
properties explained, Mr. Ramshotlom said : " Well, let rae have ten
tons of this material that I may torture it to my heart's content."
The order was excuted, Mr, Ramsbottom had the steel severely
tested, and rolled some of it into rails. These rails were exhibited
at the Great Exhibition of 1862; and they were afterwards put
down at Crewe on the day the Prince of Wales was married.
Speaking of these same rails in 1881, Mr. Webb, chief of the
locomotive and rail works of the London and North Western
Railway Company, stated that they had remained th.ere ever since
with the exception of ten months when he borrowed them to send
to South Kensington; and the bulk of the "up" traffic through
Crewe Station passed over them. In 18S1 the second head was
fairly worn down, but Ihey were still in use. Formerly they had
to turn iron rails there about every nine months.

At the Birmingham meeting of the British Association in 1865,
Sir Henry Bessemer explained that at Chalk Farm steel rails were
laid down on one side of the line and iron rails on the other, so
that every engine and carriage tliere had to pass over both steel
and iron rails at the same time. When the first face was worn off
an iron rail it was turned the other way upwards, and when the
second face was worn out it was replaced by a new iron rail.
When Sir Henry exhibited one of these steel rails at Birmingham
only one face of it was nearly worn out, while on the opposite side
of the line eleven iron rails had in the same time been worn out
on both faces. It thus appeared that one steel rail was capable
of doing the work of twenty-three iron ones.

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 95

Perhaps in no department of industry has the application of the
Bessemer process caused a greater or more permanent improve-
ment. The superiority of steel to iron rails is not now questioned.
It is believed that on the average a steel rail lasts nine times as
long as an iron one, and the difference in cost between the two is
now trifling. In 1880 about 16,000 miles of railway in Great
Britain had been laid with steel ; and it is estimated that when the
whole railway system of this country, 25,000 miles, is relaid with,
steel, there will be a saving of nearly 3,000,000/. a year in the cost
of renewals of rails. Were this economy extended to the whole
railway system of the world, the annual saving would be over
20,000,000/.

In 1863 Mr. Ramsbottom had the first locomotive boiler made
of Bessemer steel plates. The makers found it difficult to get all
the materials they required from one firm, so they got part from
one maker and part from another. This locomotive boiler lasted
till 1879 — a much longer time than the average life of an iron
boiler.

Mr. Webb, of Crewe, claims for the London and North Western
Company the credit of having been the first great railway that
recognised the importance of the Bessemer process. Steel, he
said, has been substituted in nearly every portion of the locomotive
which formerly was made of iron. In 1882 the Company had
1,679 engines with steel boilers, and they had every reason to be
satisfied with the result. The Company was also the first to use
Bessemer steel plates for its passenger vessels. They had the
misfortune in 1881 to get one of their steel vessels on a sunken rock
at the entrance to Carlingford Loch ; and he felt certain that if it
had been built of iron it would have become a total wreck. As it
was, ninety feet of her keel passed over the sunken rock, which
bulged it in some places to the extent of five or six inches, but
there was not a single crack in the plates, and no water got into
the vessel. Notwithstanding improvements in material, the

96 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

qaantity of rails annually required for repairs and renewals on the
London and North Western Railway was 20,000 tons in 1882,
when there were 1,770 miles open. For every mile run, the actual
loss of rails was about one third of a pound of steel, so that on
the London and North Western 15 cwt. of steel disappeared from
the rails every hour of the day.

The use of Bessemer steel for the construction of boilers was
first adopted in i860 by Mr. Daniel Adamson of Hyde — one of
the largest and most successful boiler makers in England. He
visited the Bessemer Steel Works at Sheffield, and was so convinced
as to the superiority of the new metal in comparison with the best
qualities of iron that he made some boilers of it for Messrs. Piatt,
of Oldham. These boilers were subjected to severe tests, and
were worked at very high pressure. They answered their purpose
admirably. They not only showed superior strength, but they
effected a saving of fuel, because the steel plates, being made
thinner than iron ones, transmitted the heat more rapidly.
The suitable nature of steel for boilers, however, continued to be
a disputed question, notwithstanding that it had such early and
able advocates as Sir Henry and Mr. Adamson. As showing the
conflict between opinion and experience, it is worth mentioning
that in 1881 a paper was read before the Institution of Naval
Architects on the peculiarities in the behaviour of steel ■ plates,
and it presented a rather alarming view of the subject Among
those who heard it was Sir Henry Bessemer, who immediately
took the trouble to work out some of the results that were to be
inferred from the statements and figures given in that paper.
According to the rate of corrosion therein attributed to steel plates.
Sir Henry found that a boiler made of f -inch plate would lose so
many grains per, inch per week that at the end of eight years and
a half there would remain only the coat of paint on the outside, not
one single grain of metal being left after that period. So alarm-
ing a result led him to inquire whether there was any evidence

r

tending to prove such a statement. He remembered that Mr.
Richardson, the manager for Plait Brothers, of Oldham, had been ■
so well satisfied with the first trials made with steel for boilers that
he ordered fifty tons of Bessemer steel in order to make six
boilers each 30 feet in length by 6 feet 6 inches in diameter, with
flues of 3 feet 10 inches running through them, and with a thick-
ness of metal not exceeding ^ of an inch. Fully twenty-ope years
having elapsed since that experiment was made, he thought it
might afford a pracrical proof of the duration of steel for boilers.
He accordingly telegraphed to Mr. Richardson asking what state
these six boilers were in, if they stili existed. The reply was that
all the six boilers were at work, and were still in a most
satisfactory condition, showing no signs of corrosion.

Next to railways, shipbuilding is the industry which is the
largest consumer of iron. The history of the introduction of iron
instead of wood for shipbuilding has often been written, but a full
account of the introduction 0/ steel instead of iron has yet to be
written. There are not a few claimants for the honour of having
induced the latter change ; but in this matter also Sir Henry
Bessemer's claims are incontestable, though often ignored. Prior
to the advent of Bessemer steel, several small vessels intended for
river navigation were made of steel, which being a light material
enabled them to steer about in shallow water; but the great cost
of the steel then used precluded its application to ocean-going
vessels. In 1862-3 Sir Henry endeavoured to draw the attentioti
of shipbuilders to the superiority of his metal to the common iron
then used in ships. He succeeded in 1863 in inducing one
shipbuilder to order enough of steel to make a stern-wheel barge,
which was followed by another of the same description. So
salistied was tlie shipbuilder with the new material that he
persuaded the Humber Steam Packet Company to have a paddle
of 377 tons built of Bessemer steel. This vessel was
:d the Cuxhaven, and was built in 1864. The next vessel

built of the same material was the Clytemnestra, a clipper ship of
1251 tons, which might fairly be described as the first ocean-going
ship worthy of the name that was built of steel. Her first voyage
was a memorable one, but was too soon forgotten. She
narrowly escaped destruction in the fearfLil cyclone tliat swept
over Calcutta in October, 1864. ; and the foliowing account of the
perils she went through was taken from her log on her return
to the Mersey : —

"The morning of October 5th, 1864, commenced with strong
winds and thick drizzling rain. At 8 a.m. , had gale and
trenaendous squalls, with thick constant rain. From 8 a.m. until
noon gale rapidly increasing, and barometer falling fast, with very
threatening appearance. At 3 a.m., tremendous gale and most
terrific squalls, with thick rain and dismal appearance. The ships
attached to the same moorings below us began to break adrift,
with sails blown from the yards and topgallant masts gone. At
3.30 P.M., hurricane at its height, blbwing so terrifically hard that
it was impossible to stand on deck without holding on. At this
time our inshore bower chain parted, our sails were all blown from
the yards, and the top-gallant mast went with the foretopmasL
When the bower chain parted we swung out stem on to the gale,
and held on for a few minutes, when in a tremendous burst of
wind our stern chain parted, and away we drove across the river
before wind and tide, at a frightful rate, smashing into several
ships on our way. Finally, we were brought to a standstill on the
opposite ride of the river, and became a target for one half of the
ships in Calcutta. One wooden ship driving up struck upon our
starboard quarter, walking right through the upper part of our
Stem, and raising the poop deck. Three or four ships were
constantly pitching into our main rigging, being all fast together,
and smashing and tearing away at everything thenceforward. At
4.30 P.M. two iron ships and one wooden one drove right into us
abaft the forerigging, carrying away chain plates and rails. One

SIR HENRY BESSEMER.

99

f their bowsprits struck the foremast, and, with a fearful crash,
the foremast fell over the port side, almost burying a small vessel
that was fast to us. The rigging of the foremast was totally gone.
Some time before the mast went it broke 'tween-decks, tearing
up the main deck, and breaking two beams. g.30 p.m., wind
abating very fast, and barometer rising, with fine weather. Ship
lying almost a helpless wreck.

" Hard usage enough for |-inch steel plates," says another
contemporary account,' "endured, nevertheless, in a way sufficient
to place steel in the foremost position as a material for shipbuild-
ing. At one point near the forerigging the Clytemnestra was
struck fairly end on by the Glenroy, a ship of r.ooo tons burden.
The plates were beaten in, but not fractured. Forward, the
continual hammering of several large vessels beat the bulwarks
level with the deck ; the plates forming them were, nevertheless,
so tenacious that they were prized back to their original position,
and made to do duty again without (he aid of the riveter. In
another part of the bulwarks a plate had been partially knocked
out, and, catching against the side of the other vessel, was rolled
up as perfectly as a sheet of paper could be. In the stern between
the upper deck and the poop several plates were driven in by
repeated blows from a heavy wooden ship. These and the angle
irons were twisted into a hundred fantastic forms, in some cases
doubled and redoubled, and in no case was there a crack or
fracture that indicated any brittleness in the metal Notwithstand-
ing all the hard usage she received, the Clylemtustra did not make
one drop of water, and afterwards made a voyage to the Mauritius,
back to Calcutta, and thence home, with no further repairs to her
hull than the ship's carpenter was able to effect." The account we
^^auote concludes by stating that the vessel was then (October,
^^■£65) lying in the Liverpool docks, " bearing her honourable

too THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

1

scars as so many awards of merit and testimonies to the accuracy
of aH that can be said in favour of Bessemer plates."

But all these severe trials made little or no impression on in-
credulous shipbuilders. True, the Altcar, a similar vessel in size
to the Clytemfteslra, was also built of steel in 1864 ; and in the
following year six large ships were built of Bessemer steel, having
an aggregate tonnage of 5,342 tons. In his paper read before the
British Association at Birmingham in 1865, Sir Henry Bessemer
stated that the firm in question had up to then constructed no
less than 31,51° tons of shipping, wholly or partly of steel; of
these, thirty-eight vessels were propelled by steam, and, besides
that, the principal masts and sjjars of eighteen sailing ships had
been made by them wholly of steel He also showed that steel
vessels could carry 25 per cent, more of cargo than iron ones, on
account of the less weight required of the superior metal — a result
now generally admitted. Unfortunately the enterprising firm
that Sir Henry Bessemer induced to build these ships suddenly
got into financial difficulties at the time when two fine steel
vessels, each of 1,622 tons, were lying unfinished in the yard.
Sir Henry was appealed to for money to finish them on the
ground that it was of immense importance to the future of steel
shipbuilding that these vessels should be finished. In response
to this appeal he put down ;£ro,ooo for their completion ; but
soon after their completion the firm went into liquidation, and for
the next ten years steel shipbuilding was almost unheard of. Its
revival will be recorded in a subsequent page.

Meanwhile Sir Henry's fertile brain and irrepressible ardour
were busily employed in devising other uses for his steel. About
the middle of January, 1864, there appeared in the Times an
account of some experiments made with Bessemer steel spherical
shots fired from a smoolh-bore gun against a 5^ inch armour-
plate; and Sir Henry, while remarking that their destructive
effects as compared with projectiles made of cast or wrought iron

i

S/S HENRY BESSEMER. loi

entirely confirmed the views he had so iong advocated in vain,
gave the following interesting particulars : —

" It is now just three years since I obtained a patent for pro-
ducing cast steel spherical shot by a peculiar arrangement of the
roiling mill, by means of which spherical steel shots maybe made
with rapidity and correctness. I also exhibited a spherical steel
cannon ball at the Internationa! Exhibition of 1862 for the purpose
of giving further publicity to my views on this important question;
but it is only after this lapse of time that a trial is made of them
in England, although a delay of ten or twelve days, and an
expenditure of 50/,, would have given as full a proof of their
efficiency three years ago as we have to day. Meanwhile, how-
ever, many hundred thousand pounds have been expended in
building iron-plated ships, which these long -neglected steel pro-
jectiles will riddle as easily as the cast-iron shot found its way
through the wooden walls of our old men-of-war. It is mar-
vellous how the advantages of using such a material for projectiles
did not force itself on the attention of every practical artillerist,
irrespective of any efforts on roy part, for there is scarcely a
schoolboy to be found who does not know that a snowball flung
with great force is perfectly harmless, while a stone or other solid
substance of equal weight would inflict a severe injury, simply
because the snowball will fall to pieces on striking the object,
while the stone will remain entire, and consequently administer
the whole force with which it is thrown. Now, the way in which
a cast-iron shot is broken, and scattered in a shower of small
fragments on striking an armour-plate, bears a very strong analogy
to the snowball in the case supposed.

" It is not lessremarkable that while our firm have manufactured
at Sheflield some 150 pieces of Bessemer steel ordnance for
foreign service, guns made of this material are still untried by
government, although it is well known that the strength
lis mclal is double that of ordinary iron, while such is the

»oa THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

facility of production that a solid steel gun block of twenty tons
in weight can be produced from cast fluid iron in the short space
of iwenly minutes, the homogeneous mass being entire and free
from weld or joint.

" Our armour-plate system has certainly received a severe
shock, and it behoves us now to see how far it is possible to
Increase the resisting power of ships so as to keep pace with
the advances made by steel shot. On the 12th of December,
the fine ship Minotaur was launched from the yard of her builders
at Blackwall. She was all that excellent workmanship and the
best iron could make her, but still she was only iron.

" It has been stated that the hull of the vessel weighs 6,000
tons, and her 4j-inch armour 1850 tons. Now, had the hull of
this vessel been built of a material possessing double the strength of
ordinary iron her weight might have been reduced lo 3,000 tons ;
but suppose that, while we admit a double strength of material,
we only reduce the weight by one third, this would give 4,000
tons of steel for the hull. Now with this reduction in the weight
of the hull, we may employ g-inch armour plates in lieu of the
4^inch armour plates now employed. It must be borne in mind
that the resistance offered by the armour plate is equal to the
square of its thickness : hence a vessel constructed in the manner
proposed would bear a blow of four times the force that the
present structure is calculated to withstand.

" Thousands of Bessemer steel projectiles are now being made
for Russia, and from undoubted sources I learn that other orders
for steel shots have been given to the extent of 120,000/. in
value. Have we a single ship afloat that can keep out these
simple round steel shots fired from a common smooth-bore gun,
if ever directed against us ? This is a grave question, and
demands a speedy answer."

The practical answer to this grave question was given by the
British Government twelve years afterwards I

i

CHAPTER V.

" When great inventions or discoveries in the arts and sciences either
abridge or supersede labour — when they create new products, or interfere with
those already existing — ^the advance which is thus made involves not only a
grand and irrevocable fact in the progress of truth, but it is a step in the
social march which can never be retraced." — Brewster.

The year 1866 may be said to mark a turning point in the
inventive work of Sir Henry Bessemer. In each of the previous
thirty years he had designed at least one invention, and in some
years as many as ten. 1866 was the first year since 1838 in
which no new patent was taken out by him ; his greatest inven-
tion — the Bessemer process — ^was now bringing him in an income
of 100,000/. a year; and when 1866 showed a blank in his
record of inventions, it might reasonably be assumed that hence-
forth he would rest from his labours. But next year his name
again appeared in the list of new patentees, and he continued to
take out patents for new inventions without interruption for the
next ten years. Yet the period of his greatest activity was the
eventful years which he devoted to perfecting his process of steel
making. Having satisfied himself that the principle of that
process was sound and practicable, he took out a fresh patent for
each new improvement or substantial alteration, in order to secure
his rights intact Thus he took out fourteen patents in 1855, ten
in 1856, and six in 1857, making thirty patents within three years,
not to mention his numerous foreign ones. As showing how

104 THE CHEATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

necessary it was to patent every important alteration or improve-
ment, he has himself explained that when great excitement was
caused by the reading of his first description of the Bessemer
process at Cheltenham in 1856, many persons seemed to covet a
share in an invention that seemed to promise so much. Conse-
quently there was a general rush to the patent office, each one intent
on securing his supposed improvement. It was thought scarcely
possible that the original inventor should at the very outset have
secured in his patents all that was necessary to the success of so
entirely novel a system ; he must surely have overlooked or
forgotten something ; perhaps even left out all mention of some
ordinary appliance too well understood to really need mention-
ing; so in the jostle and hurry to secure something, any point
on which a future claim could be reared was at once patented.
Some of these claimants even repatented porrions of his own
patents, while others patented things in daily use in the hope
that they might be considered new when added to the products
of the new process. But all in vain !

The Commissioners of the Great Exhibition of 1862 stated
that during the previous eleven years, from May, 1851, to May
1862, no less than 177 applications for patents had been made
for improvements in the manufacture of steel, and 127 of these
had been actually sealed. Vet out of these 127 patents, they
add, there is only one which has brought about any striking
change in the mode of the production of steel, or which has
been attended with any really practical or commercial results,
namely, the Resseraer process.

It need scarcely be said that Sir Henry Bessemer is a believer
in patents; but to his varied experience in the introduction of
new inventions, another singular fact has to be added. " I do
not know," he says, " a single instance of an invention having
been published and given freely to the world, and being taken
up by any manufacturer at all, I have myself proposed to

Sm HENRY BESSEMER. 105 J

manufacturers many things which I was convinced were of use, but
did not feel disposed to manufacture or even to patent. I do not
know of one instance in which my suggestions have heen tried ;
but had 1 patented and spent a sum over a certain intention, and
saw no means of recouping myself except by forcing, as it were,
some manufacturer to take it up, I should have gone from one to
the other and represented its advantages, and I should have
found some one who would have taken it up on the offer of some
advantage from me, and who would have seen his capita! re-
couped, by the fact that no other manufacturer could have .
quite on the same terms for the next year or two. Then the |
invention becomes at once introduced, and the public admits I
.its value; and other manufacturers, like a flock of sheep, come
But the difficulty is to get the first man to move. The first
might say; 'Oh, my machinery cost me a great deal of |
money; I have my regular trade, and this new scheme is sure to
be more trouble to me in the first instance ; and when everybody
asks for it, every other manufacturer will be in a condition to
supply it; so it is not worth my while.' I believe inventions
which are at first free gifts are apt to come to nothing."

Altogether Sir Henry has taken out izo patents for inventions,
and it is calculated that he has paid to the Patent Office 10,000/,
The specifications of these patents fill two bulky volumes, and
the drawings illustrating them, every one of which was executed
by himself, fill seven large volumes.

Always eager to design something new, he applied himself ii
later years chiefly to the solution of problems which were more J
likely to benefit the public than to increase his own princely ^
fortune. He continued therefore to make new inventions and ]
to demonstrate their practicability by numerous and costly ex-
periments, but he did not push their application with the energy
and perseverance which were necessary to bring such a self-
evident boon as his converter into general use.

io6 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

The success of his converter naturally increased his interest in
metallurgy, which ever after had a foremost place in his mind.
Accordingly in 1868 he patented another invention which he had
constructed with great labour, and which he expected would be a
benefit to the iron and steel trades. In principle it was another
ingenious application of the oxygen of the air to increase com-
bustion so as to give excessively high temperature applicable on a
large scale to industrial purposes. The electric light and the
Oxy-hydrogen blow-pipe were then used in laboratories to give
extreme heat, but they were not applicable to great manufactures.
Our ordinary source of heat, coal, gave a maximum temperature
which was insufficient to fuse many substances, however long
they were exposed to it. Sir Henry determined to supply this
deficiency. It is a known law of nature that all gaseous bodies
increase in volume with increase of temperature. An addition
of 480 degrees Fahrenheit so expands one cubic foot of gaseous
matter that it occupies two cubic feet, and so on. It appeared to
Sir Henry that if the same amount of heat that existed in a
certain space were condensed into a smaller space of one
half the size, the temperature would be doubled. Accordingly
he designed a furnace inclosed in a strong iron case, like a
steam boiler. Into this furnace air was forced at a pressure
of 20 lb. to the square inch ; and as its only means of escape
was a small hole \\ inch in diameter, the internal pressure
was kept at 15 or 16 lbs, above that of the external air. In
other words, the air inside the furnace was twice as dense
as that of the atmosphere. By this means all the heated
gaseous products of combustion were compressed into one half
the space they would have occupied in an ordinary furnace, and
there was a corresponding increase of temperature. In this
fiimace a piece of cold bar iron i foot long and 2 inches square,
weighing 13^ lb., was melted in 5i minutes to the fluidity of
water. Any other furnace would have taken 2 or 3 hours to

SIJi HENSY BESSEAfER.

effect this change. In another experiment 3 cwt. of malleable
iron put in cold were fused in 15 minutes. With these results
before him the inventor stated his conviction that nearly every
sabstance known to nian might be fused on this system. But
would not the furnace itself be the first to be fused ? This was
the great difficulty that he had to meet ; and after much con-
sideration and many experiments, he succeeded in making a
furnace lining which, at this high temperature, was less rapidly
destroyed than the linings of ordinary furnaces. This new lining
was of ganister, considered the most refractory materia! for such
purposes. It was 3 inches in thickness, and was rammed close
to the iron casing. Outside of this iron casing was placed
another, and between the two cold water was rnade to circulate so
freely that it kept the inner iron casing always cook By this
arrangement the part of the inner ganister lining in contact with
the first iron case was kept black cold, the part mid-way between
the cool iron and the internal fire was blood-red, while the face
of the lining in contact with the fire was as white and brilliant as
the sun. The inventor stated that at first the increase of heat
caused some of the face of the ganister lining to melt off, but it
would always come to a point where the cooling influence of the
externa! wall of water would prevent further melting away, and
here the fining would become permanent

It was at the time that Sir Henry Bessemer was thus employed
that a Royal Commission was inquiring into the probable duration
of England's coal supplies ; and one of the questions that came
before it was the depth at which coal could be worked. The
question is still a perplexing one, and is likely to be so for many
years to come. The Royal Commission reported that the rate of
increase of the temperature of the strata in the coal districts of
England is in general about one degree of Fahrenheit for every
sixty feet of depth ; that the temperature of the strata operates as
Ban impediment to deep working by heating the air circulating

io8 THE CREATORS OJ? THE AGE OF STEEL.

through the passages of the mine ; and that the depth at which
the temperature of the earth would amount to blood heat, or 98
degrees, is about 3,400 feet, or two-thirds of a mile. Writing in
1869 with reference to coal-mining. Sir Henry saiJ ; "I am at
the present time busily engaged in investigating the action of
combustion under an excessive pressure in furnaces where the
flame is botded up (so to speak) like steam in a steam boiler, by
which means the heat is intensified in the ratio of the pressure
employed, so that the most refractory substances known to man
may be fused or dissipated in vapour with the same quickness and
facility with which our most easily fusible substances arc melted.
In one modification of this furnace the workmen operate in a
large room where the pressure of the atmosphere is greater than
it would be at a depth of ten miles below the surface of the
earth and where the temperature under ordinary circumstances
would be such that no attendant of a Turkish bath could endure
it for a single hour. Yet these men and the furnace they attend
may by a simple arrangement of the apparatus be supplied with
thousands of cubic feet of air per minute as cool, or, if necessary,
much cooler, than the surrounding atmosphere. The coal miner
inclosed all day between black masses of coal above and
around him requires a powerful light to see what he is doing
— a light that never fails, never goes out, never requires
trimming, and, above all, a light that effectually prevents the
mixture of air and gas that ever pervades all coal mines
from encountering the flanne and becoming ignited. Now
these are precisely the conditions obtained by combustion
under pressure, which offers to the miner a source of brilliant
light, while insensible to the inflammable air of the mine. As a
simple illustration of the fact, let us suppose a simple box, a
little larger than a policeman's lantern, having a thin plate glass
or a bull's eye on one side of it j in the lower part is a common
gas burner supplied by a pipe from a gasometer above ground.

. SIR HENRY BESSEMER, 109

The supply of air to support combustion is arranged in a similar
manner, and supplied under pressure above ground. A small
aperture is made in the top of the lantern for the escape of the
products of combustion. Now if air and gas are supplied to this
light under a pressure of, say, one pound per square inch, the light
would be brilliant, and the escape from the orifice at this pressure
(or even far less) would prevent the possibility of any external gases
entering and becoming ignited. In this way every gallery
in a mine may be lighted like a workshop, to the great comfort
and cheerfulness of those whose whole lives are spent in the
cheerless gloom of those dangerous workings."

His high pressure furnace has never been put into practical
operation in the iron trade ; but the ingenious means by which
he preserved its lining from fusing was experimentally applied in
1 88 1, in a modified form, to preserve the lining of some blast
furnaces in Germany, with satisfactory results.

At the same time that Sir Henry was experimenting with his
model high pressure furnace he was directing his attention to
the invention of a direct method of converting iron ore into steel
— ^an operation that had never been successfully done before on a
large scale. He constructed a novel apparatus for this purpose,
but had only made three or four imperfect experiments with it
when his health failed. He had become so absorbed in his
experiments for perfecting his high pressure furnace, and was
in such haste to get in his patents, that the prolonged strain
undermined his health; his medical adviser forbade any further
experiments with his new apparatus, and he found it necessary to
adhere to that advice. The completion of his new process for
the conversion of iron ore into steel was thus abandoned for a
time, and ere the subject was resumed his most distinguished con-
temporary announced an efficient process which he had invented
with the same object.

Another invention met with a different fate. Its history aflfoi'ds

another illustration of the saying that it is one thing to make a
good invention and another thing to hring it into general use.

In iSyi Sir Henry Bessemer was selected to succeed the Duke
of Devonshire as president of the Iron and Steel Institute ; and in
the course of his inaugural address he made the following state-
ment: "Among the most important improvements lately effected
in the manufacture of steel is the development, by Sir Joseph
Whitworth, of the system of casting under hydraulic pressure.
The casting of large masses of steel free frora air bubbles has
long been a source of difficulty, owing chiefly to the fact that at
the extremely high temperature of molten steel a certain quantity
of oxygen is absorbed and retained by the metal, so long as this
high temperature is kept up, but it cannot keep this oxygen in
combination when the metal is cooled down to the point at which
it commences to solidify ; hence, when the fluid metal is received
in a cold mould, large volumes of gas are given off, some of
which becomes entangled in the solidif)dng mass, and is there
retained, forming numerous cells or honeycombs. A similar
result is met with in finery iron, when it is ' overblown ; '
carbonic oxide gas is liberated in abundance during the solidifi-
cation of the plate metal and gives rise to the peculiar cellular
structure so well known. Another defect inherent in steel castings
owes its origin lo the crystalline structure assumed by the metal
in the act of solidification. So long as the metal retains un-
disturbed the original crystals formed by casting, the mass is only
feebly coherent, its tensile strength is less than half that to which
it rises when hammered or rolled. It will bend only a few degrees
trom the straight line without fracture, while its power of elonga-
tion is also extremely limited ; but if considerable pressure be
applied while the steel is passing from the liquid to the solid state,
the crystals, which would otherwise become almost independent
structures, are united or welded together so perfectly at this high tem-
perature and in their almost plastic state as to develop the most

S/Jl HENRY BESSEMER.

;ct cohesion of all the parts of the mass, probably more perfect
than any subsequent operation of hfLmmering could effect. In a
patent which I obtained in 1856 I described a method of casting
steel under hydraulic pressure in iron moulds — a cold wrought
iron plunger being forced into the semi-fluid steel at one end of
the mould through the agency of the hydraulic pressure applied
to its opposite end. About the same period I had observed that
in those cases where fluids gave off gaseous matters under
ordinary atmospheric pressure they were prevented from doing
so by increasing the pressure on their surfaces. A familiar
example of this action is seen the instant we release the gaseous
pressure by the removal of the cork from a bottle of champj^e,
and it occurred to me that if I subjected the fluid steel to
additional atmospheric pressure, the boiling of the metal in
the mould would be prevented. Thus arose the first idea of
casting imder the pressure of air or gases pumped into a close
chamber of great strength, in which the mould and casting were
inclosed; but owing to numerous engagements these inventions
were left in abeyance until attention was again called to the
subject a few years since by Sir Joseph Whitworth, who finding
great difficulty in making steel castings free from air bubbles and
of sufficient cohesive strength for the manufacture of his guns
and projectiles, hit upon the idea of subjecting the metal, while
slilt fluid, to the action of a hydraulic plunger forced into the
mould. His experiments in connection with this system of
casting have been most successful Indeed, I can bear witness
to the cKtreme soundness of several large cylindrical masses,
turned and bored, which were shown to me at his works, in neither
of which the most minute flaw or bubble hole was visible. In
justice to Sir Joseph Whitworth I fee! bound to say that I have no
doubt whatever but that he was wholly unaware of the existence
of my previous invention at the time he brought forward his
;tem of casting under hydraulic pressure, by which the material

i

now known as 'Whitworth steel' is produced. Certain it is
that we owe to him the development and first practical application
of this system of casting steel."

Sir Henry's patent is on record as evidence of his origin-
ality, but when he delivered the above address he had
evidently forgotten that he was the inventor of another and a
simpler process which has since been proved to exclude or
occlude the gases from steel nearly as effectually as the costly
process of compression, In 1863 he patented a mechanical
agitator or stirrer intended to stir the molten steel in the ladle,
as a painter stirs paint in a. pot, in order to miK Ihe various
ingredients of which it is composed; but somehow or other this
plan was allowed to lie dormant. It was never worked during
the lifd time of the patent, but after the latter had expired, Mr.
W, D. Allen, in 1878, tried the use of this mechanical agitator
at the Sheffield works of the Henry Bessemer Company. It
turned out to be a great improvement. As the operation is
described by Mr. Allen, the mixing or stirring takes place in
the ladle immediately before casting. The agitator is simply
an iron rod about i^-inch diameter, one end of which has a
long aperture made in it, through which is inserted the blade
or plate of iron, about a feet long, 4 inches to 5 inches wide,
and about |- inch thick. The blade thus inserted, is twisted
at each end, so as to give it somewhat the form of a screw
propeller blade. The rod and blade are coated over with loam
or ganister, which has to be thoroughly dried, blacked, and
carefully prepared. The other end of the rod is attached to the
apparatus which drives it. The ladle of steel, immediately it is
turned out of the vessel, is brought beneath the agitator, and
raised by a hydraulic crane, immersing the blade and a portion of
the rod in the steel. Rotatory motion of about 100 turns per
minute is then given to it, the ladle being lowered and raised
again during the operation to ensure all portions of the steel

SIR HEI7RY SESSEMER.

^^^ being operated upon. When the stirring is deemed sufficient, the
ladle is lowered clear of the agitator, and the casting is proceeded
with in the usvial way. The evolution of gas is very manifest

t during the stirring process, particularly at its commencement, when
ga.s is seen to force its way through the s!ag covering in large
iftuantities, frequendy with a considerable roar, and the ebullition
of the steel is sometimes so violent as to cause the metal to rise
over the sides of the ladle, and the stirring to be moderated.
**The simple fact is," says Mr. Allen, " that the violent frothing
lo frequently seen in the moulds whilst casting is got rid of in
the ladle by the aid of the agitator, and sound castings free of
all honeycombing and uniform throughout are now made with
perfect regularity and certainty by the Bessemer process. Every
ingot formed from the largest charges is now found by analysis to
be perfectly uniform in temper and quality, while the thoroughly
homogeneous quality of every part of the same ingot is evinced
by its behaviour under the hammer or in the rolls, as well as in
hardening and tempering. The stirring operation is found to be
very simple in practice, causing no delay or inconvenience of any
kind, and costing almost nil."

It thus appears that of the three methods now in use for the

■production of steel without blow-holes Sir Henry was the first
pivenfor, and none of them ever yielded him any direct benefit
The application of silica (sand), the origin of which is narrated
in the previous chapter, has been nnost successfully used in France
and Sweden.

Sir Henry Bessemer in 1869 entered upon a new field of

tvention. Knowing the inexpressible discomfort of sea-sickness,

■ determined to construct a saloon for a passenger vessel, in

"which the vibrating tnotion that is supposed to cause sickness y

should, if possible, be prevented or minimised. For this purpose

he designed a new application of the hydraulic principle that he

l_bad successfully utilised in other inventions. Previous success

^mbad

114 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

inspired confidence in the use of this power. During the Crimean
war, steel cannon balls were made in London by being turned in
a lathe, and the time required to finish a single shot in this way
was two days. By the application of hydraulic power, for the
production of three eighty-four pound shot at one time, Sir Henry
made the rough mass of steel into perfect spheres, eight inches in
diameter, in four minutes. The same powerful agent was also
successfully applied by him to the production of endless steel
railway wheel tires ; but his greatest success was in its application
to the movement of the large converters used in the manufacture
of steel. By hydraulic power the movement of these vessels,
weighing from ten to twenty tons, was placed under the absolute
control of a boy standing sixty feet away from them. By turning
a handle th*e boy could so manipulate and regulate the motion of
a converter that at will he could pour out a fine stream, or let fall
a seething flood of incandescent metal into the receiver. This
apparatus was capable of altering the position of the vessel to the
fractional part of an inch, or to move it round a circle, although
the fluid contents, weighing five tons, were constantly altering their
balance. It was by a similar application of the same power that
he hoped to counteract the wave motion of a vessel at sea, that
was supposed to be the cause of sea sickness. He proposed to place
in the centre of a large passenger steamer a swinging saloon, which
v/ould be so governed by powerful hydraulic apparatus connected
with the under side of the flooring, that, as the vessel rolled on
either side, the pressure or resistance aflbrded by water would be
instantly brought into play and utilised in checking the rolling
motion. A model of the novel apparatus was erected on his
estate at Denmark Hill, and it was found to realise his expectations.
A small saloon ten feet long was controlled by a pair of sensitive
equilibrium valves connected by a hand lever. By means of this
hand lever a steersman, who watched the slightest indication of
rolling by observations on a spirit level, instantly suppressed the

S/J^ HENR V BESSEMER. 1 1 5

slightest tendency of the saloon to follow the motion of the ship.
The working of this model was inspected by the most eminent
engineers in England. Distinguished foreigners also visited
Denmark Hill to see it. All admired it A company was soon
formed to work it in a sea-going vessel; and by order of this
company Sir E. J. Reed designed a vessel, 350 feet long, specially
adapted for the reception of a swinging saloon 70 feet long by 30
feet wide, and 10 feet high The vessel was launched on September
24, 1874, and was named the Bessemer, The swinging saloon,
which was then described as the greatest wonder of its kind since
the hanging gardens of Babylon, weighed 180 tons. The trial trip
of this unique steamer, intended for the Channel service, took place
in May, 1875. The result of the trial was awaited with eager
curiosity, for since the first announcement of its construction the
question had been keenly debated in the public press, whether
sea sickness could be averted by the most successful mechanism.
Not a few eminent medical men maintained that it could not;
but only the test of experience could settle the point The trial
trips of the vessel between Dover and Calais disappointed
expectation. The weather was fine and the working of the saloon
was little needed ; but the tmpression gained ground that however
nicely the swinging saloon could work, it would not have the
desired effect of averting that dreaded malady which is as
inexplicable in its nature as it is capricious in the choice of its
victims. It was found, too, that Calais harbour was too small
for such a vessel In two out of three voyages serious damage
was done to the pier, and these accidents involved the company
in heavy expenses. In these circumstances the costly experi-
ment, towards which Sir Henry had contributed 25,000/., was
abandoned.

An invention of a very different kind next occupied his attention.
It was the construction of a novel telescope at a cost exceeding
20,000/. Hitherto in large telescopes a metal speculum had to

I 2

ii6 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

be used, becanse it had been found impracticable lo grind glass
to the required curvature. The first thing he did, therefore, was
to invent a machine for supplying this desideratum. This was no
easy task, on the contrary it was enough to appal any ordinary
mind ; but its success promised great results. Like all the great
inventions in the manufacture of steel, the reflecting telescope
was a British invention, and up to the present time all the most
important improvements in its construction have been made in
the United Kingdom, As in the steel trade, too, the greatest
inventions have not been made by professional metallurgists, so
the scientific world has been more indebted to amateurs than to
regular opticians for improvements in the telescope. A few
particulars as to the labours of his greatest predecessors in the
construction of gigantic telescopes will best indicate the magnitude
of the work which Sir Henry Bessemer commenced in his sixty-
fifth year. Just a century had elapsed since Sir William Herschel,
then an organist, had made his first reflecting telescope with his
own hands at Che age of thirty-six, and his labours were considered
for many years afterwards lo have brought the invention to per-
fectioa Apropos, one of his biographers says that " lo construct
good telescopes is itself no easy art, especially if they are to be
carried to a size and perfection previously unaltained. To ascertain
the best composition, whether of glass or metal, to melt and to
cast it in the right way, is one branch of the art which may be
called the chemical part. To fashion Ihe lens or mirror correctly
by grinding, and to fit it for optical use by giving it an exquisite
polish, is a second step requiring a peculiar mechanical skill and
perseverance. To mount the telescope effectively is another and
entirely different problem in mechanics; and all these the amateur
astronomer must be prepared to accomplish with his own hands,
unless he command the services of practical opticians to an extent
rarely to be bought." Sir William Heischel has stated that at
Bath he constructed aoo specula of seven feet focus, 150 of

»jj

5//? HENRY BESSEMER. 1 1 7

feet, and about 80 o( twenty feet ; so that from this great number
he could select those having the most perfect figure. Afterwards
he contrived a method of obtaining accurately the parabolic form,
but he kept his method a secret The Earl of Rosse, who
subsequently carried the construction of the speculum a step
further, has given an account of his method of casting and grinding.
He not only constructed in 1844 a telescope larger than any that
had been made before, but adapted machinery, driven by steam,
to the grinding and polishing of the mirror, and by this invention
the largest speculum could be made nearly as quickly and accu-
rately as the smallest. Lord Rosse began his labours which ended
in this achievement in 1828, and they were continued for sixteen
years with an enthusiastic perseverance and mechanical skill rarely
displayed in one of his rank and wealth. He had to instruct his
assistants in his own workshops, and had to design and manufacture
the steam engine which worked his own polisher. He made many
experiments before he could overcome the extreme difficulty of
procuring large castings of so excessively brittle a material as
speculum metal ; but at last he succeeded in making at a single
casting immense mirrors, which, when ground and polished, were
truly parabolic. The speculum of his largest telescope was polished
in six hours ; it weighed four tons, and its surface measured twice
that of the largest ever made by Sir William Herschel. Apart
from the speculum, the construction of these great telescopes
entailed many difficulties in detail, which would occupy too much
space even to mention here.

Undaunted by the great labours in which the construction of
an improved telescope had involved these men, Sir Henry Bessemer
determined to spend the closing years of his life in effecting a
revolution in the art of telescopic construction. In 1875 he
invented a lathe capable of giving to large pieces of rough or
plain glass the general form or curvature required for telescopes
and other optical instruments and. reflectors. The lathe designed

u8 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

for this purpose had two " face plates," each larger than the largest
lenses, and on the perfeclly flat surface of these plates concentric
annular channels were indented ; so that when a circular piece
of glass was placed against one of the plates, a vacuum could
be formed in the annular channels by an air-pump, and the
atmospheric pressure on the exterior surface of ihe glass caused
the latter to adhere firmly to the face of the plate. Thus fixed,
the inventor says the glass does not become bent or distorted as
it would be by the old process of beating it on a soft adhesive or
yielding material; it is so truly supported as not to be easily
fractured even by repeated heavy blows. Attached to this is an
apparatus which guides a tool with a diamond set in it ; and this
diamond, applied to the glass firmly fixed on one " face-plate,"
cuts a concave lense; and, applied to the glass set against the
other " face-plate," it cuts a convex tense.

Having thus invented a machine for culling a larger glass
speculum than had ever been made before. Sir Henry commenced
in 1877 the construction of a telescope designed to magnify 5,000
times, and possessing many novel features. For several years he
had cherished the desire to construct such an instrument as would
be at least equal in power to any previously constructed ; and it
was his special wish that this instrument, notwithstanding its great
miignitude, should be placed in a commodious and comfortable ob-
servatory, instead of standing in the open air exposed to all changes
of weather He further desired that the instrument should be
capable of being directed to any part of the heavens at will, without
either waiting for the earth's motion — as in (he case of Lord Rosse's
great telescope at Parsonslown — or for the assistance of any one
but himself, so that at any time of the night he could use it without
climbing up long ladders, or lying on his back in an uncomfortable
and constrained position. With this view he designed a new form
of telescope, at which the observer could sit or stand in an upright
position at the centre of the floor of the observatory, looking straight

5//? HENR Y BESSEMER. 1 1 9

before him into the eye- piece, which he placed five and a half feet
above the floor.

The construction of such a powerful telescope, possessing this
great advantage, marks an epoch in the history of the instrument,
the effectiveness of a large telescope being enormously increased
when the observer is thus enabled to pursue his work in comfort
The device for securing this result is worked by hydraulic power.
The observing room, with its floor, windows, and dome, revolve
and keep pace automatically with every motion of the telescope,
notwithstanding that the latter is wholly detached from the moving
parts of the building, and stands firmly in the centre on a massive
masonry and concrete foundation, from which the upper end of
the telescope reaches an altitude of forty- five feet when the tube
is vertical.

In order to make its range of vision as great as its mechanical
arrangements are comfortable, Sir Henry devoted himself to
the study of Herschers works on optics, and brought into use
some principles that had lain dormant there for many years ;
while, in order to complete his instrument, he constructed special
machinery for the purpose of finishing a four-feet mirror made of
silvered glass, instead of the metal used in previous great telescopes,
such a mirror possessing far greater power of gathering light, as wel
as being far more manageable. Novel and ingenious as the design
appeared, eminent authorities did not hesitate to say of it, before
completion, that not only would this telescope be more effective
than any yet made, but it would be the forerunner of others yet
more powerful, while of the mechanism which he invented to give
the true parabolic form to the reflector with a degree of mathematical
precision never yet attained in large specula, it was anticipated
that after his success in this as in the turning of the glass to shape
with a diamond, "a perfect glass reflector would in future not
cost as many shillings as it previously cost pounds ; and what is
of still greater importance, his system of mounting comparatively

120 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEf.

thin plate-glass on a marble backing holds out the prospect of our
future telescopes being made at least four times as large as his
own one."

The Bessemer telescope stands on the Bessemer estate at Den-
mark Hill, London. That estate, as described by an appreciative
writer,-^ is some 30 or 40 acres in extent, and is on the slope of a
hill looking towards the Crystal Palace. " From the terrace of
Sir Henry Bessemer's house the distant view is singularly pleasing
and essentially English in its unhidden sylvan character. The
foreground of the picture is almost entirely manufactured. Its
natural slope towards the valley is perhaps generally maintained,
but hills have grown where there were depressions, rocks have
sprouted forth where there was nothing but gravel, and a lake with
its feeder and outlet forms part of the purely artificial river system.
Beyond the superbly terraced lawn is a sweet bit of real nature, a
meadow in which the tall rye grass, buttercups and ox-eyed daisies
wave at every puff of wind, making the rich carpet red, yellow,
and white by turns. At the lower side of this flat meadow is a
bowling green, level as a billiard table, and separated from it by a
rim of ground ivy, next to which comes a triumph of landscape
gardening — a great clump of rhododendrons on the rocky shore
of the picturesque lake, * Nowhere,' Sir Henry Bessemer tells
his guests, 'more than 18 inches deep, an excellent depth for
summer boating and winter skating, and most convenient if a
child falls out of the boat or the ice gives way.' Around the
lake are thick shrubberies, in which hawthorn, jasmine, and
honeysuckle contend with the lilac, laburnum, laurel, and in-
numerable rhododendrons. Presently the host vanishes in a bush
as if by pantomimic trick, and in a moment reappears and leads
the way into a cavern filled with a magnificent collection of ferns,
heated to the precise temperature, and lighted by a skilful com-
bination of toplights and mirrors. At one extremity of this cave,

1 The World.

SIR HENRY BESSEMER. 121

lined with rocks made of brick and cement, is a waterfall pouring
over a glass wall ; at the other a snug little smoking-room looking
over the lake, with all necessary refreshments hidden behind a
rock apparently as massive as a cheesewring, and of nearly the
same outline."

In literature Sir Henry Bessemer has done very little except to
write an occasional paper explaining his own inventions ; but his
few contributions on subjects of more general interest are of
permanent value. Some discussion having taken place in the
public journals in 1878 on the question. What is a billion? Sir
Henry gave the following exposition of it:

" It would be curious to know how many have brought fully
home to their consciousness the significance of that little word
billion. Its arithmetical symbol is simple and without much
pretension. There are no large figures, just a modest i, followed
by a dozen ciphers, and that is all. Let us briefly take a glance
at it as a measure of time, distance, and weight. As a measure of
time I would take one second as the unit, and carry myself in
thought through the lapse of ages back to the first day of the year
one of our era, remembering that in all these years we have 365
days, and in every day just 86,400 seconds of time. Hence in
returning in thought back again to this year of grace 1878, one
might have supposed that a billion of seconds had long since
elapsed. But this is not so. We have not even passed one
sixteenth of that number in all these eventful years, for it takes
just 31,687 years, 17 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes, and 5 seconds
to constitute a billion seconds of time.

"It is no easy matter to bring under the cognisance of the
human eye a billion of objects of any kind. Let us try in
imagination to arrange this number for inspection ; and for this
purpose I would select a sovereign as a familiar object. Let us
put one on the ground and pile upon it as many as will reach 20
feet in height Then let us place numbers of similar columns in

122 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

close contact, forming a straight line and making a sort of wall 20
feet high, showing only the thin edges of the coin. Imagine two
such walls running parallel to each other, and forming, as it were,
a long street. We must then keep on extending these walls for
miles, nay, hundreds of miles, and still we shall be far short of
the required number. It is not till we have extended our
imaginary street to a distance of 2,386^ miles that we shall have
presented for inspection our billion of coins. In lieu of this
arrangement we may place them flat upon the ground, forming
one continuous line like a golden chain, with every link in close
contact. But to do this we must pass over land and sea, mountain
and vaUey, desert and plain, crossing the equator and returning
round the southern hemisphere, through the trackless ocean,
retrace our way again across the equator, then still on and on till
we again arrive at our starting-point; and when we have thus
passed a golden chain round the whole bulk of the earth we shall
be but at the beginning of our task. We must drag this imaginary
chain no less than 763 times round the globe. If, however, we
can imagine all these rows of links laid closely side by side, and
every one in contact with its neighbour, we shall have formed a
golden band round the globe 56 feet 6 inches wide ; and this will
represent our one billion of coins. Such a chain, if laid in a
straight line, would reach a fraction over 18,328, 445 miles. The
weight of it, if estimated at a ^ oz. each sovereign, would be
6,975,447 tons, which would require for their transport no less
than 2,325 ships, each with a full cargo of 3,000 tons. Even then
there would be a residue of 447 tons, representing 64,081,920
sovereigns.

" For a measure of height, let us take a much smaller unit as our
measuring rod. The thin sheets of paper on which the Times is
printed, if laid out flat and firmly pressed together as in a well-
bound book, would represent a measure of about ^^rd of an
inch in thickness. Let us see how high a dense pile, formed by a

5//? HENR V BESSEMER. 1 2 3

billion of these thin paper leaves, Would reach. We must in
imagination pile them vertically upward, by degrees reaching to the
height of our tallest spires ; and passing this the pile must grow
higher, topping the Alps and Andes, and the highest peaks of the
Himalayas ; and shooting up from thence through the clear clouds,
pass beyond the confines of our attenuated atmosphere, and leap
up into the blue ether with which the universe is filled, standing
proudly up far beyond the reach of all terrestrial things. Still pile
on your thousands and millions of thin leaves, for we are only
beginning to reach the mighty mass. Add millions on millions
of sheets, and thousands of millions on these, and still the
number will lack its due amount. Let us pause to look at the
neat ploughed edges of the book before us. See how closely lie
those thin flakes of paper ; how many there are in the mere width
of a spanj and then turn our eyes in imagination upwards to see
the mighty column of accumulated sheets. It now contains its
appointed number, and our one billion sheets of the Times super-
imposed upon each other and pressed into a compact mass has
reached an altitude of 47,348 miles."

Another specimen is -still more interesting and beautiful. In
the form of a letter to the Times he wrote the following in the
spring of 1882 :

" The Easter holidays have come round once more, and our
boys, with their bright, beaming faces, full of mirth and cheerful-
ness, have been flocking home from school to dear old smoky
London, all unmindful of its murky atmosphere, and intent only
on the many wondrous sights they hope to see. I had just filled
some loose sheets with calculations which I had been making,
with a view to afford some amusement to my grandsons on their
return, when, looking up from my task, I noticed a stream of
small, bright objects flitting by. The sharp east wind was breaking
up the large seed pods on the great Occidental plane tree near my
study window, and its taper seeds, with their beautiful little gold-

124 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

coloured parachutes, were being wafted far away, falling into little
chinks and unknown out-of-the-way places. Some resting on the
bare earth may perchance be seized by some blind worm, and
made to close the door of its lowly habitation, and, germinating
there, may, in after years, when all who now live have passed
away, spread its huge arms, and afford a grateful shelter to those
who are to come after us. Just so the broad sheet you daily
publish conveys to every civilised part of the world the thoughts
and sentiments of those who lead and form public opinion, while
it never fails to give the latest expression of science, literature, and
art. Much of all this may, like the flying plane tree seeds, fall on
unproductive soil ; yet who shall say in that ceaseless stream of
intelligence how many a sympathetic chord of the human heart
may be touched, or how many thoughts and sentiments so imbibed
may germinate, and, gaining strength with years, may change the
whole current of a life, and form the statesman, the scientist, or
the man of letters? Thus musing it occurred to me that the
statistical results I had arrived at might, perhaps, interest some
other boys than those for whom they were intended, and if thought
worthy of a place in The Times might inspire a more than passing,
interest in an otherwise most uninviting subject.

"The statistics of the coal trade show that during the year 1881
the quantity of coal raised in Great Britain was no less than
154,184,300 tons. When the eye passes over these nine figures
it does not leave on the mind a very vivid picture of the reality —
it does not say much for the twelve months of incessant toil of
the 495,000 men who are employed in this vast industry ; hence
I have endeavoured in a pictorial form to convey to the mind's
eye of my young friends something like the true meaning of those
figures ; for mere magnitude to thp youthful mind has always an
absorbing interest, and the gigantic works of the ancients fortu-
nately supply us with a ready means of comparison with our own.
Let us take as an example the great pyramid of Geeza, a work of

I

S/J! BENS Y BESSEMER. 1 25

human labour which has excited the admiration of the world for
thousands of years. Thoughin itself inaccessible to myyoungfriends,
we fortunately have its base clearly marked out in the metropolis.

" When Inigo Jones laid out the plan of Lincoln's-inn-fields he
placed the houses on opposite sides of the square just as far from
each other as to inclose a space between them of precisely the
same dimensions as the base of the great pyramid. Measuring ^
up to the front walls of the houses this space is just equal to
I r acres and 4 poles. Now, if my young friends will imagine St.
Paul's Cathedral to be placed in the centre of this square space,
and having a fiagstaff of 95 ft. in height standing up above the
top of the cross, we shall have attained an altitude of 499 ft.
which is precisely equal to that of the great pyramid. Further
let us imagine that four ropes are made to extend from the top of
this flagstaff, each one terminating at one of the four comers of
the square and touching the front walls of the houses. We shall
then have a perfect outline of the pyramid of exactly the same size
as the original. The whole space inclosed within these diagonal
ropes is equal to 79,881,417 cubic feet, and if occupied by one
solid mass of coal it would weigh 2,781,581 tons^a mass less than
-jjlh part of the coal raised last year in Great Britain. In fact, the
coal trade could supply such a mass as this every week, and at the
end of the year have more than nine millions of tons to spare.

"Higher up the Nile, Thebes presents us with another example
of what may be accomplished by human labour. The great
temple of Rameses at Carnac, with its hundred columns of iz ft.
in diameter, and over too ft. in height, cannot fail to deeply
impress the imagination of all who, in their mind's eye, can realise
this magnificent colonnade. It may be interesting to ascertain
what size of column and what extent of colonnade we could
consfruct with the coal we laboriously sculpture from its solid
bed in every year.

" Let us imagine a plain cylindrical column of 50 ft- in diameter,

and of 500 ft. in height, our or
suffice (o make no less than .
which, if placed only at their o
colonnade which would extend

; year's production of coal would
,511 of these gigantic columns,
m diameter apart, would form a
n a straight line to a distance of

no less than 85
working day throughout t
form fourteen of these tall
upon each other, would re.

id 750 yards — in fact, we dig in every
tjie year a little more than enough to

id massive columns, which, if placed

1 an altitude of 7,000 ft.

" But there is yet another great work of antiquity which our boys
will not fail to remember as offering itself for comparison ; they
have all heard of the Great Wall of China, which was erected
more than 2,000 years ago to exclude the Tartars from the Chinese
Empire, This great wall extends to a distance of 1,400 miles,
and is zo ft. in height, and 24 ft. in thickness, and hence contains
no less than 3,548,160,000 cubic feet of solid matter. Now, our
last year's production of coal was 4,427,586,820 cubic feet, and
is sufficient in bulk to build a wall round London of 200 miles in
length, 100 ft. high, and 41 ft. 11 ia in thickness — a mass not
only equal to the whole cubic contents of the Great Wall of
China, but sufficient to add another 346 miles to its length.

"These imaginary coal structures can scarcely fail to impress the
mind of youth with the enormous consumption of coal ; and when
they are told that in many of its applications the useful effect
obtained is not one-fifth of its theoretic capabilities, they will be
enabled to form some idea of the vast importance of the economic
problem which calls so loudly for solution. They must not, how-
ever, fall into the too common error of supposing that the electric
light by superseding gas is to do away with the use of coal in the
production of light, or that dynamo-electric machines will largely
replace the steam-engine and boiler.

" Although coal is still our great agent in the production of motive
power, it must not be forgotten that Sir William Thomson has
clearly shown that by the use of dynamo-electric machines, worket

£1^^

S/J^ HENR V BESSEMEE. t 2 7

by the falls of Niagara, motive power could be generated to an
almost unlimited extent, and that no less than 26,250 horse-power
so obtained could be conveyed to a distance of 300 miles by
means of a single copper-wire of half-an-inch in diameter, with a
loss in transmission of not more than 20 per cent., and hence
delivering at the opposite end of the wire 21,000 horse-power.

"What a magnificent vista of legitimate mercantile enterprise
this simple fact opens up for our own country. Why should we
not at once connect London with one of our nearest coalfields by
means of a copper rod of one inch in diameter and capable of
transmitting 84,000 horse-power to London, and thus practically
bring up the coal by wire instead of by rail.

" Let us now see what is the equivalent in coal of this amount of
motive power. Assuming that each horse-power can be generated
by the consumption of 3 lbs. of coal per hour, and that the engines
work six and a half days per week, we should require an annual
consumption of coal equal to 1,012,600 tons to produce such a
result.

" Now all this coal would in the case assumed be burned at the
pit's mouth at a cost of 6s, per ton for large and 2s, per ton for
small coal — that is, at less than one-fourth the cost of coal in
London. This would immensely reduce the cost of the electric
light, and of the motive power now used in London for such a
vast variety of purposes, and at the same time save us from the
enormous volumes of smoke and foul gas which this million of
tons of coal would make if burned in our midst. A one-inch
diameter copper rod would cost about 533/. per mile, and if laid
to a colliery 120 miles away, the interest at 5 per cent, on its first
cost would be less than id, per ton on the coal practically con-
veyed by it direct into the house of the consumer."

It would require nearly as fine an exercise of imagination as is
displayed in the above extracts to adequately represent the
service which the Bessemer process has rendered to the industrial

138 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

world. According to the best information extant it appears that in
the twenty-one years that elapsed after the process was tirst suc-
cessfully worked, the production of stee! by it, notwithstanding its
slow progress at first, amounted to no less than 25,000,000 tons ;
and if we were to estimate the saving, as compared with the old
process which it sujjcrseded, at 40/. a ton, the total would be
about 1,000,000,000/. In iS3z the world's production was
over 4,000,000 tons. Over 100 works had adopted it, and over
3,300 converters had been erected.

Such a nnan needs no honours ; but no industrial nation could
afford to let him go unhonoured. Hence honours and distinctions
have been showered upon him from all quarters. In recognition
of the value of his process he was presented with the freedom of
the city of Hamburg. The King of Wurtemburg presented him
with a gold medal accompanied by a complimentary letter of
acknowledgmenL The Emperor of Austria, who took a great
interest in the progress of the Bessemer process, conferred on him
the honour of Knight Commander of the Order of Francis Joseph,
accompanj^ng the jewelled cross and circular collar of the Order by
a complimentary letter. In 1867 a scientific commission in Paris,
in reporting to the Emperor Napoleon III. upon the progress
and importance of the Bessemer process, suggested that his
Majesty should confer upon its inventor the Grand Cross of
the Legion of Honour. The Emperor assented on condition
that the English minister in Paris would permit Sir Henry to
wear it The English Government refused this permission ; but
on the occasion of the next Paris Exhibition the Emperor
presented him personally with a magnificent gold medal, weighing
twelve ounces, in recognition of the value of his inventions^a
recognition which appears all the more spontaneous because Sir
Henry was not an exhibitor. The Society of Arts and Manu-
factures at Berlin also presented him with a gold medal, and
made him an honorary member. Nor were these all his foreign

SIR HENR Y BESSEMER. 1 2 9

honours. In the United States, where the Bessemer process is
about as extensively worked as in the United Kingdom, titles,
ribbons, and decorations are unknown, but in the State of
Indiana, in a district rich in anthracite coal and pure iron ore,
a new scene of industry is springing into existence. Furnaces
are in full blast, houses and factories are being built, and the
nucleus of a great town already exists, to be known in future
by the name of Bessemer.

While he was without honour at home he was not without
emolument. When his patent expired in 1870 he found that
he had received in royalties over a million sterling, or, to use his
own expression, 1,057,748 "of the beautiful little gold medals which
are issued by the Royal Mint, with the benign features of her
most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria stamped upon them."
His Sheffield works were a source of unexampled profit. When
the partnership expired it was found that the firm had divided in
profits, during their fourteen years' working, fifty-seven times
the amount of the subscribed capital, and after that the works,
which had been considerably extended at the expense of revenue,
were sold for twenty-four times the amount of the whole sub-
scribed capital. They thus received altogether eighty-one times
their original capital in fourteen years. In other words, their
profits for every two months amounted to as much as the capital
originally invested in the business.

In later years he received honours even in his own country.
In 1872 the Albert gold medal was presented to him by the
Prince of Wales for his eminent services to arts, manufactures,
and commerce in developing the manufacture of steel. The
presentation was made personally at Marlborough House ; and it
is remarkable that this was the first national recognition of his
services. The previous recipients of the Albert medal were
Sir Rowland Hill, the Emperor Napoleon III., Professor Faraday,
Sir Charles Wheatstone, Sir Joseph Whitworth, Baron Liebig,

M. de Lesseps, and Sir Henry Cole. In the following year (1873)
Sir Henry established a gold medal under the auspices of the
Iron and Steel Institute, to be awarded annually by that body to
persons distinguished by their inventions or services in promoting
the manufacture of iron or steeL In 1S78 the Institution of Civil
Engineers conferred on him the honorary title of C.E., and
awarded him the Howard Quinquennial Prize, Ihe highest they
could bestow. In 1879 he. was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society. In 1879, too, the honour of knighthood was con-
ferred on him by the Queen, ji propos of this honour, the
President of the Iron and Steel Institute remarked that the name
of Bessemer was one that ought not to be exchanged for the
greatest title ever given to man.

In 1880 the freedom of the city of London was presented to
him. The gold casket in which it was inclosed illustrated the
process of steel-making from the conversion of the raw material
to the application of the steeL It was of solid English design,
surmounted by a finely modelled figure of Commerce standing
between a stack of pig iron and the converter, and thus commend-
ing the invention on account of the impetus given by cheap steel
to commercial enterprise. Overflowing cornucopite at the base
signified this success. On either side of the rounded covet were
vignettes (in repousse work) of a London and North-Westem
Railway locomotive (entirely constructed of steel and standing on
steel rails) and of a steel ciad ship. The two curved ends
contained the enamelled arms of the city, with the dragons
modelled in high relief. Or the centre panel was the medal
given annually by Sir Henry Bessemer to the Iron and Steel
Instimte. The inscription was on the reverse, shields for the
Bessemer arms and monograms completing the whole, which
tested on a plateau of Bessemer steel.

In making the presentation, the City Chamberlain said to Sir
Henry; "I find that with the exceptions of Dr. Jenner, who

SIJ^ HENR Y BESSEMER. 1 3 x

introduced the practice of vaccination, and of the late Sir
Rowland Hill, the originator of the uniform prepaid penny postal
system, you are the only great discoverer who has received this
honorary freedom. The annals of human progress in the arts
furnish few parallels to the revolution which has been effected
by the invention with which your name will be ever associated.
It has secured that the *iron age' shall not return again, for
that metal has already succumbed to its competitor and inevitable
successor. Our guns, large and small, in order to perform the
work of penetration required of them, must be constructed hence-
forth of steel ; our ships of war must be steel-ribbed and steel-
clad ; and the contest between iron and iron, waged hitherto in
the attempt to solve that which appears to be insoluble, will
have to be waged in future between steel shot and steel armour
plates. But it is in the arts of commerce and of peaceful life
that the revolution which you have eflfected will be more and
more felt. The world now runs upon wheels, and with greater
speed, safety, and more comfort than heretofore, by reason
of steel-tyred wheels without a weld, and polished steel rails,
produced at one-sixth of the cost of that metal prior to your
discovery. Our locomotives are now built of homogeneous
steel, while viaducts, bridges, merchant vessels, anchors, boilers,
and other parts of moto-machinery, as well as the thousand
appliances and conveniences of civilised life, are now to a
great extent constructed of the modified iron which you first
introduced"

K 2

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS.

CHAPTER VI.

** What cannot art and industry perform

When science plans the progress of their toil ! "

Beattie.

Sir Charles William Siemens, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., is a
member of a family eminent for their scientific knowledge and
practical skill. The possession of such unusual talents by a whole
family is a rare occurrence in the intellectual life of England ; but
it has not been so exceptional in Germany. At present, however,
the Brothers Siemens are the most conspicuous examples of this
sort of constellation of genius ; and, although natives of Germany,
they have so distributed their talents that England, Russia, and
the Fatherland have been made the scene of their labours, and
have been able to claim the distinction of being the birthplace of
their respective discoveries. It is a common impression in England
that if Nature bestows her gifts in more than ordinary profusion
upon one individual she withholds them from others of the same
family. Germany is the country which has been most fruitful in
examples to the contrary ; and in applied science her latest con-
tribution of a family of scientists has imparted lustre and celerity
to the scientific and industrial progress of three of the greatest
nations in the world. The steel trade claims one of them among
her greatest inventors.

SIM WILLIAM SIEMENS.

«33

I

respect the labours of this inventor present an instructive
contrast to those of most English inventors. " All is race " was
the favourite saying of an English statesman in reference to the
pecuharities of national character, and it is not difficult to discern
some prominent characteristics of their race in the scientific career
of the Brothers Siemens. Guizot says that, "When under some broad
point of view, orunder some essential relation, any principle appears
to the Germans good and beautiful, tbey conceive for it an exclusive
admiration and sympathy. They are generally inclined to admire
and be overcome with passion ; the imperfections, the interruptions
of a bad state of things strike them but little. Singular contrast !
In the purely intellectual sphere, in the research for and combination
of ideas, no nation has more extension of mind, more philosophic
impartiality." "The French," says Hegel, "call the Germans
entiert — ' entire '- — i.e. stubborn ; they are also strangers to the
whimsical originality of the Engbsh. The Englishman attaches
his idea of liberty to ihe special [as opposed to the general] ; he
does not trouble himself about theoretic conclusions ; but, on the
contrary, feels himself so much the more at liberty the more his
course of action or his license to act contravenes, or runs counter
to, theoretic conclusions or general principles." The sympathy of
the German mind for general principles, and the tenacity with
which it clings to them, are amply illustrated in the hfe of Sir
William Siemens. His inventions are the embodiment or practical
application of scientific principles ; and the devotion with which
he worked for years at the self-imposed task of utilising one after
another the sort of ideas which Englishmen are apt to stigmatise
as theories, is perhaps unsurpassed in the history of English
inventions. There are instances in which an Englishman may
have laboured as persistently, and even more exclusively, for the
attainment of one definite end by any or all sorts of means ; but
it would be difficult to find in English history an instance in which
inventor has been so confident of the possible utility of a few

I

134 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

general principles that he has worked out from them several
great inventions.

In order to compare the different stand-points from which two
great electricians trace their inventive inspirations, it is only
necessary to read the two following sentences. The secret of
Mr. Edison's success in the invention of electrical apparatus,
according to an English literary journal,^ may be thus summed up
in his own words : '* Whenever by theory, analogy, and calculation
I have satisfied myself that the result I desire is impossible, I am
then sure that I am on the verge of a discovery." On the other
hand. Sir William Siemens says : ** The further we advance, the
more thoroughly we approach the indications of pure science in
our practical results." No man in England has done more than
himself towards this end.

Hence he is more than a mere inventor. Professor Forbes,
writing at the very time when Sir William Siemens was enter-
ing upon the series of experiments that initiated his greatest
works, said : " Watt's parallel motion, perhaps the most
ingenious of his inventions, would not have made a great
reputation; nor does the endless variety of machines used
in the arts, as in spinning, printing, and paper-making, stand
higher. It is when the inventor places matter in new relations to
force, or derives power from new sources, or teaches heat and
electricity to act under new conditions, that he becomes really a
Mechanical Philosopher." Sir William Siemens is indeed a
Mechanical Philosopher.

Born at Lenthe in Hanover, on April 4, 1823, his early education
was acquired at Liibeck, where the German guild system appears to
have attracted his attention, for he repeatedly referred to it in after
life. " When a boy at school," he says, " I was living under the
full vigour of the old Guild system. In going through the streets
of Liibeck I saw Carpenters' Arms, Tailors' Arms, Goldsmiths'

^ The AthmcBum,

STJ! W/LLTAAT SIEMEl^S, 135 1

FArms, and Blacksmiths' Arms. These were lodging houses where '
every journeyman belonging to that trade or craft had to slop if
he came into the town. In commencing his career, he had to be
bound as an apprentice for three or four years; and the master, on
taking an apprentice, had to enter into an engagement to teach him
the art and mystery, which meant the science of his trade. Before
the young man could leave his state of apprenticeship he had t
pass a certain examination ; he had to produce his Gesdlen-stiick
or journeyman piece of work, and if that was found satisfactory,
he was pronounced a journeyman. He had then to travel for
four years from place to place, not being allowed Jo remain for
longer than four months under any one master ; be had to \
from city to city, and thus pick up knowledge in the best way that
could have been devised in those days. Then, after he had cc
pleted his time of travel, on coming back to his native city, he
could not settle as a master in his trade until he had produced his
MeisUr-siuch, or master-piece. These master-pieces in the trade
were frequently works of art in every sense of the word. They
were, in blacksmithy, for instance, the most splendid pieces of
armoury; in every trade, and in clocks above all others, great
skill was displayed in their production. These were examined by
the Guild Masters' Committee, and upon approval were exposed
at the Arms of the Trade for a certain time, after which the
journeyman was pronounced a master; he was then allowed to
marry, provided he had made cboice of a young woman of
unimpeachable character. These rules would hardly suit the taste
of the present day, but still there was a great deal of good in those
old Guild practices." This system was abolished in Germany
in i86g, but the stimulus it afforded to excellence of workman-

iship appeared to have made an early and lasting impression on
Us mind.
I Leaving Lubeck, he proceeded to the Polytechnical school at
Magdeburg, with the view of acquiring a knowledge of physical

136 THE' CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

science. It is natural to ask what were the facilities afforded in
early life to one who has since become one of the most liberal
advocates of technical education, for acquiring his own knowledge
of science and mechanics ; the more so as he maintains that every
school ought to possess a laboratory, not necessarily involving a
large expenditure for apparatus, because the most instructive
apparatus is that which is built up in the simplest possible manner
by means of pulleys, cords, wires, and glass tubes, and which, there-
fore, calls into requisition the constructive ingenuity of the student
himself. In point of fact, his own facilities for acquiring such
knowledge were so scanty, compared with those generally provided
in laboratories now, that, as he has himself stated, on carrying his
thoughts back to the physical laboratory connected with the school
where he received his scientific instruction it would almost seem
impossible that anything efficient could have been taught there.
For example, the appliances then at his command for acquiring
the rudiments of that science — electricity — in which he was after-
wards to become so great a master, were of a very primitive kind.
They consisted of a battery composed of flannel and some pieces
of copper piled up to a certain height, so as to produce a spark ;
then there was a long scale with a pulley to show the acceleration
of a body by gravitation, and also an electrical friction-machine
such as may now be seen in an advanced nursery. These were
the only scientific apparatus then to be seen at the school which
produced one of the first and greatest inventors of electrical
appliances.

From that school he went to Gottingen University ; and while
studying there an event occurred which had an important bearing
on his subsequent career, and which he has himself described as
the determining incident of his life. Here is his own account of
it: "At that time (1841) that form of energy known as the
electric current was nothing more than the philosopher's delight.
Its first practical application might be traced to the town of

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS.

137

Birmingham, where Mr. George Elkington, utilising the discoveries
of Davy, Faraday, and Jacobi, established a practical process of
electroplating in 1B42. It affords me great satisfaction to be able
to stale that I had something to do with that first practical
application of electricity, forin March of the following year{i843)
I presented myself before Mr. Elkington with an improvement
of his process, which he adopted, and in so doing gave me my first
start in practical life. When the electro-type process first became
known it excited a very general interest ; and although I was only
a young student at Gottingen, under twenty years of age, who had
just entered upon his practical career as a mechanical engineer,
I joined my brother, Werner Siemens, then a young lieutenant of
artillery in the Prussian service, in his endeavours to accomplish
electro-gild tng, the first impulse in this direction having been
given by Professor C- Hiraley, then of Gottingen. After attaining
some promising results, a spirit of enterprise came over me so
strong that I tore myself away from the narrow circumstances
surrounding me, and landed at the East-end of London with only
a few pounds in my pocket, and without friends, but with an ardent
confidence of ultimate success within ray breast I expected
to find some office in which inventions were examined, and
rewarded if found meritorious ; but no one could direct me to
such a place. In walking along Finsbury Pavement, I saw written
up in large letters so and so {I forget the name) 'undertaker'
and the thought struck me that this must be the place I was in
quest of. At any rate, I thought that a person advertising himself
as an undertaker would not refuse to look into ray invention, with
a view of obtaining for me the sougbt-for recognition or reward.
On entering the place I soon convinced myself, however, that
I had come decidedly too soon for the kind of enterprise there
contemplated, and finding myself confronted with the proprietor
of the establishment, I covered my retreat by what he raust have
lught a very inadequate e>:cuse. By dint of perseverance I

^^u

138 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

found my way to the patent office of Messrs. Poole and Carpmael,
who received me kindly, and provided me with a letter of intro-
duction to Mr. Elkington. Armed with this letter, I proceeded
to Birmingham to plead my cause with him. In thinking back
to that time, I wonder at the patience with which Mr. Elkington
listened to what I had to say,, being very young, and scarcely able
to find English words to convey my meaning. After showing
me what he was doing already in the way of electro -plating, Mr.
Elkington sent me back to London in order to read some patents
of his own, asking me to return if, after perusal, I still thought
I could teach him anything. To my great disappointment I
found that the chemical solutions I had been using were actually
mentioned in one of his patents, although in a manner that would
hardly have sufficed to enable a third person to obtain practical
results. On my return to Birmingham I frankly stated what
I had found, and with this frankness I evidently gained the
favour of Mr, Josiah Mason, who had just joined Mr. Elkington
in business, and whose name as Sir Josiah Mason will ever be
remembered for his munificent endowment of education. It
was agreed that I should not be judged by the novelty of my
invention, but by (he results which I promised— namely, of being
able to deposit with a smooth surface 3dwt. of silver upon a
dish-cover, the crystalline structure of the deposit having thereto-
fore been a source of difficulty. In this I succeeded, and I
was able to return to my native country and my mechanical
engineering a comparative Crcesus. Notwithstanding the leaps
of time," he said nearly forty years afterwards, " my heart still
beats quick each time I come back to the scene of this, the
determining incident of my life."

In 1843 he became a pupil in the engine works of Count
Stolberg, where he intended to acquire the workshop knowledge
necessary to a mechanical engineer. While thus employed
he worked out another invention. This was a steam engii

ril^y

S/Ji WILLIAM SIEMENS.

'39

governor, an invention which was to some extent suggested by
his elder brother, but which was perfected by himself. It was
a decided advance upon Watt's centrifugal governor. In Watt's
the rotation of the pendulum varied with every change in the
relative condition of the power and load of the engine ; and
in consequence of this dependence and defects of construction
it was, correctly speaking, only a moderator. To avoid these
imperfections the Brothers Siemens made their governor with
the pendulum independent in its action of change in its rota-
tion ; and it was provided always with a store of power ready
to overcome the resistance of the valve at the first moment
when the balance between the power and load of the engine was
disturbed. Between the pendulum and a wheel driven by the
engine there was a differential motion which acted instantly
upon the supply valve whenever a sudden disturbance of
balance took place, and it possessed the power of main-
taining the regularity of the machinery at the same speed
when the load reached its maximum as well as when it was
at its minimum.

With this invention he returned to England in 1844, and soon
determined to slay here. His object in doing so was to enjoy
the security which the English patent law affords to inventors.
In his own country there were then no such laws: privileges were
sometimes granted by the Government to applicants for a very
short period; but even this limited protection had been so often
refused to great inventions and granted lo inventors of small
mechanical improvements, that he determined to prosecute bis
labours in England, where the law granted at least fourteen years'
exclusive protection to all sorts of inventions. The chronometric
governor, though less successful, commercially speaking, than the
first invention, was the means of bringing him into contact with
the engineering world. In course of time it was applied by Sir
George Airy, then the Astronomer Royal, for regulating the

I40 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

motion of the great transit and touch-recording instruments at
the Royal Observatory, where it still continues to be employed.

Another early invention of the two brothers was the art of
"Anastatic printing," which in 1845 was made the subject of
a lecture by Professor Faraday before the Royal Institution.
By this process old or new printed matter could be reproduced.
The method of treatment consisted in first applying caustic
baryta or strontia to the printed matter, in order to convert the
resinous ingredients of the printing ink into a non-soluble soap,
and next applying sulphurous acid to precipitate the stearine.
By this means the printed matter, on being subjected to pressure,
could be transferred to zinc. Both these inventions, although
very ingenious, did not come largely into use, and hence were
not very profitable to the inventors.

In 1846 Sir William Siemens constructed an air-pump which
was well received, and in 1851 a water meter which has since
been in general use. The latter, with subsequent modifications,
was found to suit all circumstances of varying pressure and to
give early intimation of leakage. It has been largely manufactured
and used both in England and on the Continent.

Meanwhile he had entered upon a field of study more extensive
in its range and more fruitful in its results. In 1846 he began
to study the economy of fuel in the light of recent investigations
respecting the true nature of heat. Three or four years pre-
viously some scientists, working far apart, had independently
developed the theory that heat is a manifestation of motion
between the different particles of matter, and that it can be
expressed in equivalent values of palpable motion. This was
called the mechanical equivalent of heat. The first complete
experimental demonstration of this immateriality of heat was
made by Davy, who melted two pieces of ice by rubbing them
together in an atmosphere below the freezing point. Several
other experiments having a similar effect led Mayer in 1842 and

^^n

141

843 to assert that heat is the equivalent for work spent
agitating a fluid; and the subsequent experiments of Joule
were then considered by many eminent scientific men to have
established this principle beyond doubt. In 1849 Joule arrived
at the determination, since then universally adopted, of the
numerical relation between the units of heat and units of work,
and thus expressed the mechanical value of heat. , He established
the rule, now in general use, that 772 foot pounds of work (that
is, 772 times the amount of work req^uired to raise a, weight of lib.
through a space of iff.) is required to generate as much heat as
will raise ihe temperature of a pound of water by one degree.

This subject was one that early engaged the attention of the
Brothers Siemens ; and at the age of twenty-three Sir William
adopted the new theory. He read the treatises of Joule, Caraot,
and Mayer, and having thus mastered the available knowledge
of the greatea authorities on the subject, he proceeded to
experiment on the principles then brought to light. On com-
paring the theoretic power of heat with the mechanical power
given off by the heat applied to steam engines and caloric engines
generally, he saw that there was a large margin for improvement.
He at once determined to try to save or utilise some of this
wasted heat ; and conceived the idea of making a regenerator
or accumulator for the purpose of retaining a limited quantity
of heat and capable of yielding it up again when required for
the performance of any work. Accordingly in 1847 he con-
structed in the factory of Mr. John Hick, of Bolton, an engine
of four horse-power which had a condenser provided vrith re-
generators, and which attained partial success by the use of
superheated steam. The economy of fuel was considerable ; but
this saving was attended with mechanical difficulties which at that
time he was unable to solve. He did not, however, abandon the
subject. Continuing his examination of wasted heat in steam
;ines, he wrote a paper for fhe Institution of Civil Engineers

141 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

in 1852 "On the Conversion of Heat into Mechanical Effect."
At that time very little effort had been made to apply the new-
principle. Both Stirling in Scotland and Ericsson in America
invented air engines for the application of the mechanical theory ;
but in practical working both inventions failed. In his paper
before the Civil Engineers Sir William endeavoured to set forth
the probable causes of the failure of Ericsson's experiment in
America, and to guard against a sweeping condemnation on that
account of some of the means that Ericsson had employed.
He also suggested that by carrying the principle of the expansion
of heat to a much further extent than had been done up to that
time a very considerable proportion of the theoretical duty could
be realised from coal, and tliat future progress would probably
be in the direction of this extended application of expansive
working. To overcome the mechanical difficulties that attended
his own first attempts to utilise some of this wasted heat, he,
along with his younger brother Frederick, turned his attention
to furnace-heat, and entered upon a costly and prolonged secies
of experiments with the view of utilising in a practical way this
theoretic power. The mechanical theory continued to advance
in principle but not in practical application. To illustrate the
theory Sir William Thompson, applying it to the mechanical
actions of living creatures, said it appeared certain, from the most
careful physiological researches, that a living animal had not the
power of originating mechanical energy ; and that all the work
done by a living animal in the course of its life, and all the heat
that had been emitted from it, together with the heat that would
be obtained by burning the combustible matter which had been
lost from its body during its life, and by burning its body after
death, made up together an exact equivalent to the heat that
would be obtained by burning as much food as it had used during
its life, and an amount of fuel that would generate as much heat
as its body if burnt immediately after death.

Sm WTLLTAM^mMENS. I43

To prove "the imperishable nature of physical forces and
their mutual convertibility," Sir William Siemens used the fol-
lowing simple illustration. He said that a weight falling over
a pulley, to which it was attached by a string, would impart
rotatory motion to a fly-wheel fixed upon the same axis with the
pulley, and the velocity imparted to the wheel would cause the
string to wind itself upon the pulley till the weight had reached
nearly its original elevation. If the friction of the spindle and
the resistance of the atmosphere could be dispensed with, the
weight would be lifted to precisely the same point from whence
it fell before the motion of the wheel was arrested. In descend-
ing again, it would impart motion to the wheel as before, and
this operation of the weight, of alternately falling and rising, could
continue ad infinilwn. If the string were cut at the instant wheti
the weight had descended, the rotation of the wheel would
continue uniformly, but it might soon be brought to a stop by
immersing it in a basin filled with water. In this case the water
was the recipient of the force due lo the falling weight residing
in the wheel, and by repeating the same experiment a sufficient
number of times we should find an increase of temperature in
the water. If the weight falling over a pulley were one pound,
and the distance through which it fell one foot, then each impulse
given lo the wheel would represent one foot pound, our commonly
adopted unit of force ; and if the water contained in the basin
weighed also one pound, it would req-jire 770 repetitions of
the experiment of arresting the wheel in the water before
the temperature of that water was increased by one degree
Fahrenheit.

Sir William Siemens' experiments in the practical application

of this new theory resulted in the construction of a regenerative

steam engine, which effected such a saving of fuel that several

of them were soon put into practical operation in England, France,

^^Ud Germany. These, varying from five to forty horse-power,

144 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

were regarded as having proved the practicability of the principle
involved, although their inventor admitted they were still capable
of improvement. In 1856 he explained his engine to the Royal
Institution. He stated that it was the result of ten years*
• experimental researches, and it was, he thought, the first practical
application of the mechanical theory of heat, of which he was
proud to call himself an early disciple. Others, he ssiid, more
able than himself, might probably have arrived sooner at a
practically useful result, but he claimed for himself at least that
strong conviction, approaching enthusiasm, which alone could
have given him strength to combat successfully the general
discouragement and the serious disappointments he had met
with. One of his steam engines of twenty horse-power was placed
in the Paris Exhibition of 1857; it did not fully answer the
inventor's expectations ; but another of seven horse-power being
substituted, it was found to work with good economical results.

Viewed in the light of the new theory, he explained that the
heat given out in the condenser of a steam engine represented
a loss of mechanical effect amounting to yf of the total heat
imparted to the boiler, the remaining ^^ part being all the heat
really converted into mechanical effect. The greater portion
of the heat lost might be utilised by a perfect engine. A vast
field for practical discovery was thus opened out ; but if it were
asked whether it was worth while to leave the tried and approved
forms of engines then in use to seek for economy, however great,
in a new direction, considering the vast extent of our coalfields,
he replied that the coal in its transit from the pit to the furnace
acquired a considerable value, which in this country might be
estimated at 8/. per horse-power per annum (taking a con-
sumption of 13^ tons of coal at an average expenditure of
12s. a ton). Estimating the total force of the stationary and
locomotive engines then employed in this country at one million
nominal horse-power, it followed that the total expenditure for

S/H WILLIAM SIEMENS.

US

steam coal amounted to eight million pounds sterling per annum, '
of wliich at least two-thirds might be saved. In other countries,
where coal was scarce, ihe importance of economy was slill more
apparent ; but it was of the highest importance for marine engines,
the coals for which had to !)e purchased at transatlantic stations
at a cost of several pounds per Ion, not to mention the indirect
cost of its carriage by the steamer itself in place of merchandise.
Such were the economic considerations which led him to persevere
with his experiments.

The engine he made for this purpose had three cylinders
so constructed that the steam took up heat and gave it out
as it passed from one to the others. Two, called working
cylinders, had plungers, and the other had a piston. The steam
was heated to a high temperature in the working cylinders, under j
each of which there was a fire ; and after being partly consumed
doing the mechanical work of lifting the plungers, it passed
into the regenerator or respirator. The regenerator was an
invention of Dr. Stirling's, who discovered that if heat be passed
through a compartment filled with sieves of wire gau/.e, or even

linutely divided passages, it will leave a lai^e amount behind.

'hen, therefore, the sleam in the new engine reached the
regenerator, it had to traverse a. mass of metallic wire gauze
or plates, called the respirator, where its temperature was
thus raised from 150° to 600" or 700" Fahr. In conse-
quence of the addition of temperature that the steam received
in its passage through the respiralor, its elastic force was
doubled. It then returned to the plunger cylinders, where it
received additional temperature and commenced its round again.
the same sleam was continually employed in going round
and round again, depositing on its regress through the respirator '
the heal it had received on its egress through the same, leas only
the quantity which had been lost in its expansion below the
working piston, and which was converted into mechanical effect

' or engine power. The expansion and simultaneous reduction of
the temperature of the steam caused a diminution of its pressure
from four to nearly one atmosphere ; so that, while one working
plunger could effect its return stroke without opposing pressure,
the second plunger made its effective or outward stroke impelled
by a pressure of four atmospheres. These plungers were connected
with the working crank of the engine in the usual way. The
quantity of fresh steam admitted from the boilers into the
, regenerative cylinder at each stroke did not exceed one-tenth
I ' of the steam contained in the working cylinders of the engine.

The respirator, according to Sir William Siemens, fuliiUed
jits office with surprising rapidity and perfection, if it were made
F of suitable proportions. It had teen applied without success to
' hot-air engines by Stirling and Ericsson, but failed for want of
proper application ; for it had been assumed (in accordance with
the mechanical theory of heat), that it was capable of recovering
all the heat imparted to the air ; and in consequence no sufficient
provision of heating apparatus had been made. It having been
found impossible to produce what in effect would have been a
perpetual motion, the respirator had then been discarded entirely,
1 in 1856 it was looked upon with great suspicion by
engmeers and men of science. Sir William Siemens was still
confident, however, that its real merits to recover heat that could
t practically be converted by one single operation into mechani-
cal effect would be better appreciated. The rapidity with which
the temperature of a volume of steam was raised from 250° to
650° Fahr. by means of a respirator was shown by the fact that he

I had obtained with his engines a velocity of 150 revolutions per
minute. The single action of healing the steam occupied only a
quarter of the time of the entire revolution of the engine and it
followed that it was accomplished in one tenth part of a second.
In explanation of this phenomenon, it was contended that the
transmission of a given amount of heat from a hotter to a cooler

I

S/J^ WILLIAM SIEMENS. 147

body was proportionate to the heating surface multiplied by the
time occupied, and that the latter factor might be reduced
ad libitum by increasing the former proportionately. The air
engines of Stirling and Ericsson had also failed because their
heated cylinders had been rapidly destroyed by the fire ; but the
cause of this was that an insufficient extent of heating surface
had been provided. Sir William Siemens* experience led him to
believe that his heating vessels would last from three to five years ;
and being only a piece of rough casting that could be replaced in
a few hours, at a cost below that of a slight boiler repair, he
thought he had practically solved the difficulty arising from high
temperature.

But practical working dispelled these hopes. His engine is
still admired as an ingenious application of the mechanical theory
of heat, and is admitted to be capable of economising fuel ; but the
wear and tear of the heating vessels were found to be too great
for ordinary working. Hence the invention soon fell into
disuse, but the faith of the inventor in its principle remained
steadfast.

In his presidential address to the Institute of Naval Architects
in 1882, the Earl of Ravensworth stated that during the nine years
up to 1872 the improvements in marine engineering were so vast
that the consumption of fuel was reduced by one-half. Since that
time by the use of combined engines a saving of 13 per cent, was
effected, and subsequently by the introduction of the triple engine
a further saving had been made of 12 per cent., making altogether
a total saving of 75 per cent. Notwithstanding these facts, Sir
William Siemens told the British Association in August, 1882,
that "the best steam-engine yet constructed does not yield in
mechanical effect more than one-seventh part of the heat energy
residing in the fuel consumed. To obtain more advantageous
primary conditions we have to turn to the caloric or gas engine,
in which we have also to make reductions from the theoretical

L 2

148 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

efficiency, on account of the rather serious loss of heat by
absorption into the working cylinder, which has to be cooled
artificially in order to keep its temperature down to a point
at which lubrication is possible ; this, together with frictional loss,
cannot be taken at less than one-half, and reduces the factor
of efficiency of the engine to one-fourth. But the gas or caloric
engine combines the conditions most favourable to the attainment
of maximum results, and it may reasonably be supposed that the
difficulties still in the way of their application on a large scale
will gradually be removed. Before many years have elapsed we
may find in our factories and oh board our ships engines with a
fuel consumption not exceeding one pound of coal per effective
horse power per hour, in which the gas producer takes the place
of the somewhat complex and dangerous steam boiler. The
advent of such an engine and of the dynamo machine must mark
a new era of material progress at least equal to that produced by
the introduction of steam power in the early part of our century."
While the regenerative engine was for the time apparently
abandoned, the inventor's eflforts to apply the mechanical theory
of heat to industrial purposes were not. In 1857 his brother
Frederick suggested to him the employment of regenerators for
the purpose of getting up a high degree of heat in furnaces, and
he thenceforth laboured to attain this result. In the course of the
next four or five years he constructed several different forms of
furnaces, each successive design embodying the improvements that
experience suggested. His first furnaces were used for heating bars
of steel, and they performed this operation with encouraging suc-
cess. But in attempting to apply the principle to larger furnaces
serious practical difficulties arose, which for a time appeared
insurmountable. Eventually he tried the plan of volatilising the
solid fuel, and in this way he succeeded. By first converting coal
kito gas and then using it in the gaseous form in regenerators, he
obtained practical results surpassing even his own most sangume

[

S/Jl WJLLfAM SIEMENS 149

expectaEions. His first furnaces, which were erected at Sheffield
and Manchester, were imperfect both in principle and construction,
and to overcome their defects the design was elaborated till the
mechanism became too intricate to be intrusted to ordinary work-
men. After the conversion of the fuel into gas, he discovered that
another essential improvement in the construction of the new
furnace was the complete separation of the fire-place or gas pro-
ducer from the heating chambers or furnace. A regenerative
furnace with this improvement was constructed at a glass works
near Birmingham in i86[, and it was found to be simple in its
operation and economical in its results. Several others were
erected shortly afterwards on the same principles, the designs in
each case being furnished by Sir William Siemens.

In the year 1862 events occurred that had the effect of
prominently directing public attention to the success which then
crowned his labours in the practical application of the mechanical
theory of heat. In June of that year two of the most popular
authorities in England gave lectures at the Royal Institution on
the results of ihe labours of the two German scientists who had
done most for the development of that theory ; and the careers of
these two Germans, as narrated by these two lecturers, presented
an instructive, if not a tragic, contrast. In concluding a graphic
exposition of the mechanical theory of heal. Professor Tyndall
said : " To whom are we indebted for the striking generalisations
of this evening's discourse ? All that I have laid before you is the
ivork of a man of whom you have scarcely ever heard. All that I
have brought before you has been taken from the labours of a
German physician, named Mayer. Without external stimulus,
and pursuing his profession as towTi physician in Heilbronn, this
man was the first to raise the conception of the interaction of
natural forces to clearness in his own mind. And yet he ia
scarcely ever heard of in scien[i6c lectures, and even lo scientific
his merits are but partially known. Led by his own beautiful

ISO THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

researches, and quite independent of Majer, Mr. Joule published
his first paper on the * Mechanical Value of Heat' in 1843;
but in 1842 Mayer had actually calculated the mechanical
equivalent of heat from data which a man of rare originality alone
could turn to account. From the velocity of sound in air Mayer
determined the mechanical equivalent of heat. In 1845 ^^
published his memoir on 'Organic Motion,' and applied the
mechanical theory of heat in the most fearless and precise manner
to vital processes. He also embraced the other natural agents in
his chain of conservation. When we consider the circumstances
of Mayer's life and the period at which he wrote, we cannot fail to
be struck with astonishment at what he has accomplished. Here
was a man of genius working in silence, animated solely by a
love of his subject, and arriving at the most important results,
some time in advance of those whose lives were entirely devoted
to natural philosophy. It was the accident of bleeding a feverish
patient at Java in 1840 that led Mayer to speculate on these
subjects. He noticed that the venous blood in the tropics was of
a much brighter red than in colder latitudes, and his reasoning on
this fact led him into the laboratory of natural forces, where he
has worked with such signal ability and success. Well, you will
desire to know what has become of this man. His mind gave
way ; he became insane, and he was sent to a lunatic asylum. In
a biographical dictionary of his country it is stated that he died
there ; but this is incorrect. He recovered ; and I believe is at
this moment a cultivator of vineyards at Heilbronn."

A fortnight later an account was given at the same institution
of Sir William Siemens' regenerative gas furnace, the greatest
triumph in the practical application of the principles enunciated
by Mayer and others. That lecture was delivered by Michael
Faraday, the prince of pure experimentalists ; and it has the
historic interest of being the last lecture he was able to deliver.
The circumstances in which it was delivered were memorable.

I

5Zff WILLIAM SIEMENS. igr '

Some weeks previously Sir William Siemens received the following
letter from Faraday : " I have just returned from Birmingham,
where I saw at Chance's works the application of your furnaces to
glass making. I was very much struck vfith the whole matter. As
our managers want me to end the Friday evenings at the Royal
Institution after Easter, I have looked about for a thought, for I
have none in myself I think I should like to speak of the facts
1 saw at Chance's, if you have no objectioa If you assent, can
you help me with any drawings, or models, or illustrations, either
in the way of thoughts or experiments ? Do not say much about
it out of doors as yet, for my mind is not settled in what way, if
you assent, I shall present the subject."

Sir William Siemens readily assented, and spent two days at
Birmingham in showing Faraday over the works where his
furnaces were in operation. On the appointed Friday evening,
June zo, the venerable savant appeared before the Royal Institu-
tion for the last time to explain the wonderful simplicity, power,
and economy of the regenerative gas furnace. In the course of
his lecture, which lasted about an hour, and which he concluded
by bidding his audience a pathetic farewell, he accidentally
burned his notes ; and he was only able afterwards to give the
abstract of it that is published in the "Proceedings."

The Siemens regenerative furnace, which was thus brought
prominently before the public, consists of three essential parts.
The first is the gas producer, which converts the solid fuel inlo
gaseous fuel A number of these are generally placed outside
the works, and the gas produced by them is conducted into the
works through underground channels or overhead tubes. Next,
there are the regenerators or sunk chambers, which are filled with
fire-bricks piled in such a way that a current of air or gas passing
through them is broken into a great number of parts, and is
checked at every step by the interruption of an additional surface
of fire-brick. Four of these ciiambers arc placed below the

IS2 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

furnace, and the currents of gas and air can be directed by
suitable reversing valves either upwards or downwards through
these chambers. Then, thirdly, there is the heated chamber or
furnace proper, in which the work of combustion is accomplished.
This chamber communicates at each extremity with two of the
regenerative chambers : and, on directing currents of gas and air
upwards through them, the two gaseous streams meet on entering
the heated chamber, where they are ignited. The current then
descends through the other two regenerators, and heats them in
such a way that while the uppermost chequerwork is heated to
nearly the temperature of the furnace, the lower parts are heated
to a less and less degree, till at last the products of combustion
escape into the chimney comparatively cool. In the course of,
say, one hour, the currents are reversed, and the cold air and gas
ascending through the two chambers, which have been previously
heated, take up the heat there' deposited, and again enter into
combustion at the entrance into the heated chamber or furnace at
nearly the same temperature at which the products of combustion
left the furnace, say 500°. By the combustion of these heated
gases the heat in the furnace is raised to, say, 1,000°; and after
that combustion the remaining products again return through the
other two regenerators, heating them as they pass along, and
finally escape at the chimney end comparatively cool. By this
process of accumulation the most intense temperature can be
attained in the furnace chamber without having recourse to gas
of high quality or to intensified draught. Practically the limit is
reached at the point where the materials of the chamber begin to
melt; theoretically the limit exists at the point where combustion
ceases, called by Sainte-Claire Deville " the point of dissociation,*'
because at that point (4,500° F.) the two gases — hydrogen and
oxygen, which necessarily combine in combustion — become dis-
sociated, showing that combustion only takes place between the
limits of about 600° and 4,5°°* ^« ^^ ^^ ht^n found that in a

SII^ WILLIAM SIEMENS, 153

steel melting furnace while the temperature of the melting
chamber exceeded 4,000° F., the waste products of combustion
escaped into the chimney at 240° F., showing that nearly the
whole of the heat generated was absorbed in the furnace in doing
its work. This furnace, moreover, has the advantage of preventing
smoke, and of using inferior qualities of coal, or such inferior
kinds of fuel as peat and lignite.

Faraday especially pointed out the great facility with which
these furnaces could be managed. If, he said, while glass is in
course of manufacture, an intense heat is required, an abundant
supply of gas and air is given ; when the glass is made and the
condition has to be reduced to working temperature, the quantity
of fuel and air is reduced ; if the combustion in the furnace is
required to be gradual from end to end, the inlets of air and gas
are placed more or less apart the one from the other. The gas is
lighter than the air ; and if a rapid evolution of heat is required,
as in a short puddling furnace, the mouth of the gas inlet is
placed below that of the air inlet ; if the reverse is required, as
in the long tube-welding furnace, the contrary arrangement is
used. Not merely can the supply of gas and air to the furnace
be governed by valves in the passages, but the very manufacture
of the gas fuel itself can be diminished, or even stopped, by
cutting off the supply of air to the grate of the gas producer ;
and this is important, as there is no gasometer to receive and
preserve the aeriform fuel, for it proceeds at once to the furnace.
Some of the furnaces have their contents open to the fuel and
combustion, as in the puddling and metal-melting arrangements ;
others are closed, as in the muffle furnaces and flint-glass furnaces.
Because of the great cleanliness of the fuel, some of the glass
furnaces, which before had closed pots, now have them open, with
great advantage to the working and no detriment to the colour.

Age and experience have not diminished the high estimation
in which the regenerative gas furnace is held. After nearly twenty

IS4 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

years of continuous working and extended application, Sir Henry
Bessemer, in 1880, described it as a beautiful invention which was
at once the most philosophic in principle, the most powerful in
action, and the most economic of all the contrivances for pro-
ducing heat by the combustion of coal.

When Sir William Siemens was describing his object in ex-
perimenting with his regenerative engine, he said it was impossible
to overestimate the benefits that mankind would derive from a
motive force at one-third or one-fourth part the cost and incum-
brance of the means then in use. But his regenerative gas
furnace has been proved capable of making a ton of crucible
steel with one-sixth of the fuel required without it. It has been
extensively employed in the United Kingdom, on the Continent,
and in the industrial centres of the United States. In Russia
and Austria, where coal is scarce, peat fuel has been used in the
regenerative furnace, and has thus been utilised in the manufac-
ture of steel. In i8d8 Sir William Siemens stated that his
drawing office could not keep pace with the demand for working
drawings of furnaces for iron, steel, zinc, glass, and other works.
During that year he was instructed by the Government to re-
construct- the furnace department of the Calcutta Mint upon a
comprehensive scale ; and among other works which underwent
a complete transformation in 1868 in accordance with his plans
were the Monkbridge Steel and Iron Works, the Hayange and
Associated Works, the Llansamlet Zinc Works near Swansea,
and the four large plate-glass works of the Marie d'Oignies,
Floreffe, Aniche, and Jeumont, involving the construction of 100
puddling furnaces, of steel-melting furnaces (of eighteen and
twenty-four pots each), of forge furnaces, and of glass houses of
unprecedented dimensions, the practical success of which was

complete.

Great, however, as its economic results have been, its inventor
looked forward to more remarkable applications of it than any

5//? WILLIAM SIEMENS. 155

that have ever yet taken place. "It is a favourite project of
mine," he says, "which I have not had an opportunity yet of
carrying practically into effect, — to place these gas producers at
the bottom of coal-pits. A gas shaft would have to be provided
to conduct the gas to the surface ; the lifting of coal would be
saved, and the gas in its ascent would accumulate such an
amount of forward pressure that it might be conducted for a
distance of several miles to the works or places of consumption.
This plan, so far from being dangerous, would insure a very
perfect ventilation of the mine, and would enable us to utilise
those waste deposits of small coal (amounting on the average to
twenty per cent.) which are now left unutilised within the pit.
Another plan of the future which has occupied my attention is
the supply of towns with heating gas for -domestic and manu-
facturing purposes. In the year 1863 a company was formed,
with the concurrence of the Corporation of Birmingham, to
provide such a supply in that town at the rate of sixpence per
1,000 cubic feet, but the bill necessary for that purpose was
thrown out in Committee of the House of Lords, because their
lordships thought that, if this was as good a plan as it was
represented to be, the existing gas companies would be sure to
carry it into effect. It need hardly be said that the existing
companies have not carried it into effect, having been constituted
for another object." The realisation of this plan was thus
indefinitely postponed ; but so far from having lost faith in it,
Sir William Siemens told the people of -Glasgow in the beginning
of 1 88 1 that that town with its adjoining coal-field appeared to
be a particularly favourable locality for putting such a plan to a
practical trial, and added that when thus supplied with gaseous
fuel, the town would not only be able to boast of a clear atmo-
sphere, but the streets would be relieved of the most objectionable
portion of their daily traffic.

Again, in August, 1882, he told the British Association that

iS6 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

he thought " the time is not far distant when both rich and poor
will largely resort to gas as the most convenient, the cleanest,
and the cheapest of heating agents, and when raw coal will be
seen only at the colliery or the gasworks. In all cases where the
town to be supplied is within, say, thirty miles of the colliery, the
gasworks may with advantage be planted at the mouth, or still
better at the bottom, of the pit, whereby all haulage of fuel would
be avoided, and the gas, in its ascent from the bottom of the
colliery, would acquire an onward pressure sufficient probably to
impel it to its destination. The possibility of transporting com-
bustible gas through pipes for such a distance has been proved at
Pittsburg, where natural gas from the oil district is used in large
quantities/*

To give some idea of the vast importance of such a change
Prof. W. Chandler Roberts, in a lecture at South Kensington in
1882, while expressing his belief that for domestic purposes we
should ultimately adopt Sir William Siemens' plan of converting
fuel into gas and burning it in a furnace quite separate from that
in which the gas was produced, calculated that the soot that hung
in a pall over London in a single day would be equivalent to at
least fifty tons of coal, and added that there was good reason to
fear that the carbon in the half-burned form of carbonic oxide
gas was at least five times as much. He maintained that the
presence of soot was always an indication of imperfect com-
bustion, and therefore of waste.

The experiments of Sir William Siemens that ended in the
perfection of the regenerative gas furnace, still considered capable
of yielding such marvellous results, extended over a period of
fourteen years ; and during the next fourteen years he directed
his inventive faculties to the production of steel by means of this
furnace. His object was to make steel direct from the raw ores,
without the intermediate use of huge blast furnaces and laborious
refining processes. Other metallurgists had laboured to attain

f

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS. 157

the same end, but had failed, partly on account of the want of
such a furnace as he haji now brought into successful operation.

When, in 186 r, he took out his patent for that furnace, he
stated that it was specially applicable to the melting of steel on
the open hearth ; and in the same year he suggested to Mr.
Abraham Darby, of Ebbw Vale, that it should be used for the
production of steel upon an open hearth ; but no attempt was
then made to put the idea to the test of practical experiment
He designed an open-hearth furnace in 1862 for a Durham iron-
maker who was trying to make steel by melting a mixture of
wrought iron and spiegeleisen ; but it was found to be imperfect
Next year a furnace was made from his designs at Montlugon, in.
France, and a long series of experiments were made there. Good
steel was produced; but unfortunately the heat of the furnace
was inadvertently carried so high that the roof was melted, and
the proprietors becoming unnerved, the process was abandoned.
Two of his first licensees — a large Durham ironmaster and the
then Inspector-General of Mines in France — succeeded in 1865
and 1866 in producing steel upon the open hearth ; but they
did not persevere sufficiently to make the process a commercial
success. In 1866 he designed a furnace for a Glasgow firm, but
it was also abandoned after a few days' trial In the following
year the Barrow Steel Company tried to make steel by his open-
hearth process, and good steel was produced ; but it was not
sufficiently profitable to be continued. He now perceived that it
was necessary for himself to solve the various difficulties which
others regarded as practically insuperable. Having, he says, been
^o often disappointed by the indifference of manufacturers and
the antagonism of their workmen, "I determined, in 1865, to
erect experimental or * sample steel works ' of my own at Birm-
ingham, for the purpose of maturing the details of these processes
before inviting manufacturers to adopt them. The first furnace
erected at these works was one for melting the higher qualities of

iS8 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

steel in closed pots, and contained sixteen pots of the usual
capacity. The second, erected in 1867, was an open-hearth
furnace, capable of melting a charge of twenty-four cwt. of steel
every six hours. Although these works have been carried on
under every disadvantage, inasmuch as I had to educate a set of
men capable of managing steel furnaces, the result has been
most beneficial in affording me an opportunity of working out
the details of processes for producing east steel from scrap iron
of ordinary quality, and also directly from the ore, and in proving
these results to others."

His labours were now attended with more encouraging results.
In 1867 he sent several samples of steel produced by his own
process to the Universal Exhibition at Paris, and was there
awarded a grand prize for his regenerative furnace and steel
process. Mr. Ramsbottom, the engineer of the London and North
Western Railway, examined the process in operation at Birmingham
in a more advanced stage of development than had hitherto been
reached ; and early in 1 868 he adopted it at Crewe, where it was
accordingly first worked on a manufacturing scale. About the
same time, the directors of the Great Western Railway, having
heard that by this process old iron rails could be converted into
steel, in May of 1867 sent a truck load of old iron rails, which
had originally been made at Dowlais, to the Sample Steel Works
at Birmingham to be remanufactured into steel. Sir William
Siemens, not without some unsuccessful experiments, eventually
succeeded in converting some of them into steel, which was rolled
into rails by Sir John Brown and Company of Sheffield. These rails,
which the railway directors laid down at Paddington in the same
year, though subjected to more than ordinary wear, were not taken
up till 1878, and then they were not worn out, but were removed
because the flanges of the carriage wheels had struck the bolts.
So satisfied were the directors with the success of that experiment
that the Landore Siemens Steel Company — the largest of its kind —

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS. 159

was immediately formed under the direction of Mr. L. L. Dillwyn,
M.P. About the same time Messrs. Martin, of Sireuil, having
obtained a license from Sir William Siemens, succeeded in making
steel in the regenerative gas furnace by melting wrought iron and
steel scrap in a bath of pig metal. The Siemens process pro-
duced steel from pig metal and iron ores. The former became
known as the scrap process, and the latter as the direct process.

In 1869 these new processes were being carried out upon a
large scale in England at the works of the Landore Siemens Steel
Company, where seventy-five tons of steel per week were then
being produced, at the works of the Yorkshire Steel and Iron
Company, the Bolton Steel and Iron Company, the London and
North Western Railway Company ; and on the Continent at the
works of Messrs. Verdie and Cie., Messrs. De Wendle and Cie., the
Sireuil Steel Company, Messrs. F. Krupp and Company of Essen,
Chevalier Stummer of Vienna, and others. Some thousands of
tons of first-class steel manufactured by these processes were sold
in the market in 1869.

The Siemens process, which has since then been more largely
used every year, is thus described by the experienced manager of
one of the largest works established for working it — Mr. J. Riley,
manager for the Steel Company of Scotland : " The charge consists
mainly or entirely of pig-iron, which is placed on the bottom and
round the sides of the furnace. Melting requires four or five
hours ; then ore of pure character is charged cold into the bath,
at first in quantities of four to five cwt. at a time. Immediately
this is done a violent ebullition takes place ; and when this has
abated, a new supply of ore is thrown in — the object being to
keep up uniform ebullition. Care is taken that the temperature
of the furnace is maintained so as to keep the bath of metal and
slag sufficiently fluid ; but after the lapse of some time, when the
ore is thoroughly heated, and reduction is taking place rapidly,
the gas may be in part shut off the furnace, the combustion of

i6o THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

the carbon in the bath itself keeping up the temperature. In the
course of the operation, the quantity of ore charged is gradually
reduced, and samples are taken from time to time of both slag
and metal; when these are satisfactory, spiegeleisen or ferro-
manganese are added, and the charge is cast. This mode of
working has this advantage, that there is greater certainty as to
the result, because of the known composition of the materials
charged, which cannot be the case in dealing with large quantities
of scrap, obtained, it may be, from a thousand sources."

Not content with the great success of this process. Sir William
Siemens continued his experiments in the hope of inventing a still
more direct process. Speaking on this subject in 1873, he said :
** However satisfactory the results may appear that were obtained
at the Landore and other works where the process just described
is carried out upon a large scale in the production of steel for a
great variety of purposes, I have never considered them in the
light of final achievements. On the contrary, I have always
looked upon the direct conversion of iron and steel from the
ore without the intervention of blast furnaces and the refinery
as the great object to be attaliied, and have in designing works
made such provisions that the existing plant could be easily
extended for the carrying out of a more perfect process. In
proposing to produce iron and steel direct from the ore without
the intervention of the blast furnace, I am aware that I shall be
met by the objection that the direct process was practised by the
ancient Indians and Romans, and had to give way to the blast
furnace as the apparatus above all others well calculated to deal
with ores in large masses, and which has in recent times been
brought up to a degree of practical efficiency. Notwithstanding
these facts, I do not despair of being able to prove that upon
theoretical as well as practical grounds the blast furnace leaves
much to be desired, and that the direct process, if dealt with
according to our present state of chemical knowledge and

SfR WILLIAM SIEMENS.

mechanical resources, may be carried into effect wilh great '
practical advantages as regards economy of fuel, saving of labour,
and quantity of material produced."

His first experiments worth mentioning, for this purpose, were
made in a rotatory furnace which he erected at Landore in 1869,
and which he described as consisting of a long cyhndrical tube of
iron, of about eight feet diameter, mounted upon anti-friction
rollers, and provided with longitudinal passages in its brick lining 1
for heating currents of air and gas prior to their combustion at |
the one extremity of the rotating chamber. The flame produced
passed thence to the opposite or chimney end, where a mixture
of crushed ore and carbonaceous nnaterial was introduced. By the
slow rotation of this furnace the nnixture advanced continually to
the hotter end of the chamber, and was gradually reduced to
spongy iron. This dropped through a passage constructed of
sfractory material on to the hearth of a steel melting furnace
'here a bath of fluid pig melal had been provided. The supply
reduced ore was so long continued that the carbon in the
mixture was reduced to the minimum point. The rotation was
then arrested to prevent further descent of the reduced ore;
Spiegel was added, and the contents of the melting furnace tapped
into a ladle, and thence into ingots of sleel The reduction of the
ore to the metallic slate in this furnace was accomplished in
a comparatively short time ; and in that respect the process was
successful. But the metal produced in it was found to contain an
unusual percentage of sulphur, which it had absorbed from the
healing gases, and which rendered ii unfit for conversion into
steel. The apparatus was consequently abandoned.

He next tried to accomplish his object in a reverberatory

I gas furnace, which he designed and put in operation; but its
Mccessful working depended, to a certain extent, on manual
labour and skill. It then became evident, he says, that if iron
Imd steel were to be produced largely by direct process, that

i62 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

process must be a self-acting or mechanical one; and in 1870-71
his attention again reverted to the rotating furnace. He felt
confident that if he could succeed in furnishing it with a lining
capable of resisting the high degree of heat requisite for the
precipitation of iron, and at the same time capable of resisting
the chemical action, this mode of conducting the process must
succeed. After many experiments he found that bauxite (from
Baux in France) was the most suitable material for such a lining,
for when exposed to intense heat it was converted into a solid
mass of emery, of such extreme hardness that it could hardly be
touched by steel tools.

With this lining and other improvements, the new rotatory
furnace consisted of four regenerators of the ordinary kind with
reversing valves and gas producers. It was so mounted that it
could be made to rotate very slowly, or at the rate of one revolution
per minute. At the one end of this rotating cylinder, on the same
side as the regenerators, was an opening for the admission of the
heated gases and air, as well as an outlet for the products of
combustion, these two passages being separated by a vertical
partition. At the other end of the cylindrical furnace was a door
hung in the usual manner, and there was also a taphole on the
working side for discharging the slag. The working chamber was
heated very perfectly by the gases, which, entering with a certain
velocity, traversed it to and fro, and then escaped by the exit
passage. In this heated chamber while slowly revolving was
placed ore broken up into small pieces, with the requisite lime or
other material for fluxing. In about forty minutes this charge was
heated to bright redness, and then small coal, in the proportion
of about one-fourth of the charge of ore, was added. The
rotative velocity being at the same time increased in order to
accelerate the mixture of the coal and ore, a rapid reaction
followed ; metallic iron was precipitated by each piece of carbon j
while the fluxing material formed a slag with the refuse from the

S/I^ WILLIAM SIEMENS. 163

ore. Thereafter the rotation was made slower, so that the mass
inside might be turned over and over, presenting continually
new surfaces to the heated lining and to the volume of flame,
while only heated air, not gas from the gas producers, was
admitted. When in this way the reduction of the ore was nearly
completed, the fluid cinder was tapped off and the quick speed
again resumed in order thereby to collect the loose masses of
iron into two or three balls, which, being taken out, were either
shingled or rolled in the usual way of consolidating puddled
balls, or transferred to the bath of a steel-melting furnace, where
they could be at once converted into cast steel.

Encouraged by the results of this process worked on a small
scale at Birmingham in 1873, he ventured along with others
upon some larger applications of it, principally at Towcester in
Northamptonshire. There he soon discovered that the ore, so
abundant in that country, although capable of yielding iron of
good quality, was too poor and irregular to aflbrd satisfactory
commercial results, unless it was mixed with an equal weight of rich
ore, which, as well as fuel, was expensive at Towcester owing to the
high rates of carriage. However, three rotating furnaces were
built there, and bars of iron produced in them were sold
in Stafibrdshire and SheflSeld at exceptionally high prices, being
deemed equal to Swedish bar in toughness and purity. Iron and
steel of very high quality were thus produced by direct process
from the poorest ores, but at a cost which was found unremunerative.
From a commercial point of view, therefore, it was unsuccessful, but
so far from abandoning his purpose he renewed his experiments
at Landore in 1880 with the rotating furnace, in which he had
succeeded in making some further improvements.

While these experiments were going on, several attempts were
being made by other metallurgists to invent or discover a profit-
able and effectual means of extracting pure iron from ironsand,
which was found in large quantities in countries hitherto considered

M 2

i64 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

poor in minerals. Attention was being called to large beds of
iron sand in New Zealand ard in Canada, near the shores of
the St Lawrence River, containing 50 per cent, of metallic iron-
Large sums of money had been spent in trying to free the iron from
its impurities, but without success. In 1883 it was demonstrated
that the work could be done successfully and rapidly by the direct
process of Sir William Siemens. In his rotating furnace magnetic
ironsand from Canada was easily reduced in less than four hours
to iron balls, which were taken straight to the open-hearth furnace
and converted into mild steel. The results were excellent. About
the same time the process was successfully used at Pittsburg — the
chief seat of the American iron trade ; and, according to an
account of its working given before the American Institute of
Mining Engineers, it appeared capable of becoming a commercial
success.

The invention of these two furnaces gives Sir William Siemens
a unique position in the history of iron metallurgy. No other
metallurgist has given the world new and easier processes for the
complete conversion of raw ore into iron, and then into steel. The
experiments which ended in this realisation of his views extended
over a period of twenty-five years, and the rapid extension of the
one process no doubt encouraged him to persevere with the other
in the face of no ordinary difficulties and detraction.

The name of Emil Martin has often been associated with that of
Sir William Siemens as an improver or contemporaneous inventor
of the open-hearth process of steel making. Indeed the process
is not unfrequently called the Siemens-Martin process. The way
in which the name of Martin came to be connected with the
process is not the least interesting episode in its history. At the
Paris Exhibition of 1878 the Society for the Production of Martin
Steel — the successors of Emil and Peter Martin — published a
pamphlet in which they claimed that the credit of having invented
and perfected the open-hearth process belonged to Martin alone.

SfX W/LLTAM STEMESS.

i6s«

Sir William Siemens of course demanded a retraclation, and issued
a statement of his claims to priority. The Company declined to
letract, whereupon Sir William published the entire correspond-
j«nce in a jjamphlet illustrated with drawings. In one of these
kllers he stated (hat he had worked at the solution of the problem
;Of melting sleel on an open hearth since 1856, and that in 1861
le took out a patent which was put into practical ojieralion by
Atwood in Durham, and by Messrs. Boignes, Rambourg, and
lompany of Montlu^on in France. He called the attention of
[Messrs. Martin to the fact that on the occasion of his first negotia-
is wilhihcm, in a letter dated May 26, 1863, he informed Ihem of
experiments at Monllu^on. The correspondence showed that
"the question of the apphcation of the Siemens regenerative
system by the Martins referred only to the crucible steel furnace ;
and that Sir William's idea of applying the open-hearth furnace
to steel making was a novelty to the Martins, who, in accordance
ith his original request, agreed to the condition that the furnace
to be a reheating one, which might at a small expense be
iltered to an open-hearth steel furnace. The iirst furnace at
iireuil was begun, according to Sir William Siemens' plan, on
April 17, 1863, and put in operation by his engineers. He
acknowledged that after 1864 (he Martins followed up ihe pro-
cess with great perseverance, and that it was especially the proper
mixture of the materials which they studied. It was only in
,1867, after having concluded their experiments and begun
Igular work, that the Martins took out a new patent, in which
iny points of the open-hearth steel process were embodied, as
tbey were also in the patent granted in the same year to
Sir William Siemens. The Martin patent contained recipes for
the production of cast sleel capable of being hardened, of a
homogeneous metal which would not harden, and of a " mixed
metal" — a mixture of cast iron and Steel. These recipes are now
I of no practical value.

and
^^Vto s

^Krith

^^K«Uei
^^BSirei

^f Apr!

i66 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

If there were really any question as to the originality or priority
of invention in this case, the opinion of English, German, and
French metallurgists might be regarded as liable to bias ; but
the question has been discussed by a body of metallurgists that
cannot be charged with national prejudice or partiality. The
Mining and Metallurgical Association of Styria and Carinthia
debated the point with more than ordinary information ; and in
the course of the debate Professor Kupelwieser stated that
in his opinion neither Sir William Siemens nor the Martins
" originated " the open-hearth process ; and he called attention
to the fact that Professor Gruner, in a paper published in the
Annales des Mines in 1868, mentioned a description in an article
in Hassenfratz*s Siderotechnik for 1812 of a process used in an
English ironworks of melting cast and wrought iron in a reverbera-
tory furnace, sampling, then ladling, and casting. This process
was taken up again, and in the years succeeding 1850 similar
experiments were made by Colonel Alexander at Brest, but
without result, owing to the poor quality of pig iron used.
The process was not new, therefore, in France or in England ;
but there can be no doubt that it could not be successful at such
temperatures as were produced by furnaces before Sir William
Siemens' invention. Both Professor Kupelwieser and Director
Sprung maintained that no royalties need be paid in Austria on
the so-called Martin process; and the following resolutions
were proposed by the chairman, Professor Tunner, and were
passed unanimously : —

I St. The principle of the production of cast steel in a rever-
beratory furnace was known in England before the year 1812 ;
and in i860 Sudre, under orders from Napoleon III., carried it
out successfully on an open hearth in the Montolaire works.

2nd. The idea of melting steel in the Siemens furnace originated
with Sir William Siemens in the year 1862, and Martin built
an open-hearth furnace which might be cheaply, according to

SII^ WILLIAM SIEMENS. 167

Sir William Siemens* directions, altered into a steel furnace. In
April, 1863, Sir William Siemens* engineers built the first
Siemens-Martin steel furnace at Martin's works at SireuiL

3rd. In the year 1864 Martin discovered the proper additions
for the various grades of steel, and received a patent for them on
August 15, 1865. The farnace shown in the drawing of this
patent was identical with Sir William Siemens* invention, and
Sir William Siemens' drawing was also added to the subsequent
patent of August 21, 1867.

4th. Martin can claim priority for his additions only.

5th. As these additions have been entirely superseded by the
manipulations based upon more recent experience, Martin's
patent is now of no value.

6th. Martin's claim has been rejected in France also, nobody
there paying patent royalties.

Such, in short, is the way in which the name of the Martins
became affiliated with the Siemens process ; and as Sir William
Siemens has handsomely expressed his appreciation of the labour
and skill that they applied to the carrying out of the process in
the early days of its existence, they have been amply rewarded
for their pains. To speak of them as the inventors of the pro-
cess would be playing with words. The account which we have
given of Sir William Siemens' experiments in perfecting the direct
process during a quarter of a century amply vindicates his claims ;
but it is proper to add that he has always shown a chivalrous
sense of honour in giving others credit for any suggestion that
may have been of use to him.

Sir William told the Parliamentary Committee on Patents that
he would not have continued his long and costly experiments
with the gas regenerator and open-hearth process if the English
patent law had not insured such a period of protection as would
repay him for his labour. As an illustration of the wisdom of his
choice in thus coming to England to dispose of his inventions

i68 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

and of the reward which inventors meet with in their own
country, it may be mentioned that he and his brother applied
to the German Government for a patent for the regenerative
furnace, and it was refused on the ground that in the Middle
Ages stones were heated and thrown into cellars of town halls or
other pi^blic buildings in order to warm them ; and that, forsooth,
was considered a valid reason by the Fatherland for refusing a
patent for one of the greatest inventions ever made by a German.
In the House of Commons in 1883 the President of the Board
of Trade mentioned the regenerative furnace as one of the most
valuable inventions that had ever been produced under the pro-
tection of the English patent law, and stated that it was used by
nearly every industry in the kingdom. In the hearing of an
action in the superior courts of the United States in 1883 as to
^rte duration of the patent in that country, it was stated that the
inventor had received a million dollars in royalties. The Siemens
steel furnace has also been a great success. Although it has had
to compete with the Bessemer converter, it has made wonderful
progress. Notwithstanding the commercial depression then pre-
vailing in the iron trade, the production of open-hearth steel in the
United Kingdom increased from 77,500 tons in 1873 to 436,000
in 1882. At the end of that year there were over 150 open-hearth
furnaces in this country and more new ones were in course of
construction. As in the Bessemer process, the ores then used in
the open-hearth furnace were low in phosphorus; but in 1880 it
was found in the working of new furnaces at the Parkhead
Works, Glasgow, that by employing an excessively high tempera-
ture phosphorus could be almost entirely eliminated in the open-
hearth process. In the first charges of metal at these works
the phosphorus stood at '07, and in the first samples was re-
duced to '008 — or a reduction of 90 per cent. — a result which
surprised Sir William Siemens, who stated that he had never
before known such a reduction of phosphorus take place in

5//? WILLIAM SIEMENS. 169

the open hearth. The process has also rapidly extended on the
Continent.

This process is considered best adapted for the production of
large and heavy pieces of steel ; and, being slower in its operation,
the metal can be more easily tested and its quality more accurately
regulated than in any other process. It is also exceptionally
useful for converting old iron rails into steel.

In rolling steel armour-plates for the Admiralty the Landore
Steel Company made the experiment of casting the ingot in a
special mould, and after it had been hammered into a slab weighing
three tons, it was rolled into a plate 3 in. thick and then planed
to a size of 8 ft. by 3 ft. 6 in. The plate was next planed through
the middle to test its soundness. The experiment was considered
so satisfactory that the Admiralty in 1876 gave the I^ndore Steel
Company orders to make all the plates required in the construc-
tion of Her Majesty's despatch vessels Iris and Mercury^ of
3,735 tons displacement, which, with the exception of the rivets,
were made entirely of Siemens steel. Thereafter the Admiralty
determined to procure all their steel plates from the Landore
works ; and so satisfactory were the results that no other material
is now used in the Royal dockyards in the constructioa of the
boilers and hulls of vessels. The decks of armour-plated ships
are now also made of 2 in. plates of mild steel made by the
open-hearth process.

It was also the special adaptability of this kind of steel for
shipbuilding that reconciled shipbuilders to its use in mercantile
vessels. Notwithstanding that, in this instance, the British
Admiralty led the way, mercantile owners were very slow to
patronise the ** new metal." The manager of the works of the
Steel Company of Scotland, Mr. J. Riley, who was in advance of
his contemporaries in this matter, says he well remembers the
anxiety he experienced in 1877 to obtain a contract for the supply
of steel for a merchant vessel This was at last accomplished at

170 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

Newcastle. The ice was thus broken, but progress was disap-
pointingly slow. The Admiralty followed up their first venture by
contracting for six corvettes to be built of steel by Messrs. Elder
and Co. The owner of the merchant vessel, which Mr. J. Riley's
energy and foresight initiated, had such satisfactory returns from
her, that he contracted for a second vessel. Meanwhile, the use
of steel had been engrossing more and more of the consideration
of shipowners and builders. Many small ventures were made,
until at length the great companies determined to try steel instead
of iron. Messrs. Allan led the way with the Buenos Ayrean, and
were quickly followed by the Pacific Steam Navigation Company,
Sir Donald Currie, the Peninsular and Oriental Company, the
British Indian Company, the White Star Company, the Cunard
Company, the Orient Company, and many others. One of the
grandest of the early vessels built of steel was the Senna, which
was lauched on the Clyde in March, 1881. This was then the
largest addition to the Cunard line, and was considered one of
the finest specimens of marine architecture. Besides the special
attention paid in her construction to insure the comfort and
safety of ordinary passengers, her arrangements complied with the
Admiralty requirements that qualify her for purposes of war. It
has been found by experiment that eight feet of coal will stop a
shot from a sixty-four pounder, and that a shell will explode harm-
lessly in far less. The engines and boilers of the Servia are
surrounded by watertight compartments, available for the recep-
tion of coal ten feet in thickness. This would give complete
protection to the vital parts of the ship. Besides this, the whole
length of the vessel is divided by nine watertight bulkheads,
each of which is to all intents and purposes a separate ship, pro-
vided the doors, which can be closed by a lever on the main
deck, are shut in time of danger. The ship is not only built of
steel, but has a double skin, so that, were the outer plates broken,
the ship would still be safe. The upper, main, and lower decks

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS. 171

are also of steel, covered with pine on the upper deck and teak
below. The Servia has capacity for storing sufficient coal to
enable her to cruise for two or three months at a fair speed
without entering a port, and she can go at the remarkable rate of
twenty and a half statute miles an hour with an almost total
absence of vibration.

Increasing experience proved incontestably that vessels built of
mild steel are much safer than those built of iron ; there is less
risk of loss with them ; and, being lighter than iron ones, their
earning power is so much increased that they make very hand-
some returns for the additional first cost of steel. In the case of
the steel vessels already referred to, the increase of income, as
compared with iron vessels, was 25 per cent

Instances of the superior power of steel vessels to withstand
shocks were not uncommon. The steel plates of the G,M.B,^ a
vessel belonging to Messrs. James Watson and Co., of Glasgow,
after she had been in collision at sea, were bent and crumpled
up in a fearful style, yet not one was cracked. It was the
opinion of experts who saw her after the collision that had she
been built of iron she must have inevitably sunk. Another in-
stance was related by Mr. William Denny, of Dumbarton, to the
Institute of Naval Architects : — " The Eoiomahana had a very
narrow escape from total loss. She was engaged in an excursion
from Auckland to Great Barrier Island, a distance of fifty miles,
and was leaving the harbour of Fitzroy (in Great Barrier Island)
by a somewhat difficult passage, when she struck on a sunken
rock with considerable force. She made some water on the way
back to Auckland, as it afterwards turned out, through some
rivet-holes ; these were plugged, and she was enabled to return to
Dunedin to be docked. The worst damaged plate was taken out,
re-rolled, and replaced. Several frames were set back, and a good
job made of the repairs within seventy-two hours. This experi-
ence has shown clearly the immense superiority of steel over iron.

172 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

There is little doubt that, had the Rotomahana been of iron, such
a rent would have been made in her that she would have filled in
a few minutes. A number of frames were set back by the force
of the blow ; the bulkhead was bulged, and the plate was corru*
gated, and yet there did not appear one crack anywhere."

In these circumstance the use of steel for shipbuilding increased
with unexampled rapidity. In 1879, only about 20,000 tons of
steel vessels were built, while in 1883 over 260,000 tons were
built, being one-fourth of the total tonnage of new shipbuilding
for that year.

CHAPTER VII.

" The inheritance of great men is their invention : their heirs are the human
race." — Lamartine,

The names of the Brothers Siemens will for ever be associated
with the application of electricity to industrial purposes. We have
already recorded the first notable incident in connection with Sir
William Siemens* discoveries in electrical science at a time when
he was in his minority and electricity was in its infancy. At that
time Faraday was the high priest of that science, and his mantle
may be said to have fallen on Sir William Siemens. In 1821
Faraday thought he would be rendering a service to himself and
others by writing a history of electro-magnetism ; and the final issue
of his studies was the discovery in 1831 of a new domain of
electricity, called by him magneto-electricity.

To illustrate this principle, which Sir William Siemens was the
first in this country to utilise on a large scale, Professor Tyndall
says : Take two flat coils, and conceive one of them to have its
two ends united together, so as to form a complete circuit;
conceive no current to be flowing through one coil ; imagine then
a current from an electric battery sent through the other coiL If
you suppose one coil to be held above the other, with a current
flowing through the former and none through the latter, and you
cause one coil to approach the other, simply by that approach you
evoke in the coil which is not at all connected with the battery an

174 TUE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

electric current That electric current is only generated during the
motion of one coil towards the other, and the moment that motion
ceases the current ceases. If, having produced this current by the
approach of the two coils, you afterwards separate them, you get
another current opposite in direction to the first. Thus by
approach and retreat you get currents in opposite directions ; and
to these particular currents Faraday gave the name of " induced
currents.*' Again, Faraday laid one coil upon the other, a current
flowing through neither ; then he started a current through one
coil, and instantly, by a kind of reaction or kick, a momentary
current was evoked in the other coil not connected with the
battery. Interrupting the battery current, the subsidence of the
current in the one coil caused a current in the other, opposite in
direction to the first. Then Faraday passed on to examine the
part played by magnetism in the production of these currents.
Supposing that you have a piece of iron in a coil, you cannot alter
the magnetic condition of that piece of iron to the slightest extent
without evoking in the surrounding coil one of Faraday's induced
currents. In illustrating that point Faraday brought a magnet up
to the end of such a bar of soft iron, and instantly he saw his
needle start aside through the production of the induced current,
due to the magnetisation of the piece of iron. When he withdrew
his magnet, the magnetism of the iron subsided. The law is that
the current produced by the exaltation of the magnetism is always
opposed in direction to the current evoked by the subsidence of
the magnetism.

Those who have seen the noble statue of Faraday by Foley will
have observed something that looks like a garland in Faraday's
hand. It is not a garland ; it is a representation of an iron ring
which was constructed by Faraday himself That iron ring he
covered by two distinct coils entirely separate from each other.
By sending a current from a voltaic battery through one of these
coils, Faraday magnetised the ring; and by the magnetisation he

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS. 175

obtained his induced current in the other coil. That ring
remained in the possession of Sir James South for a great many
years, and soon after his death it came into the possession of the
Royal Institution, being the very first ring used by Faraday himself
in illustration of this subject.

Though Faraday showed that permanent magnetism might be
made to produce electric currents, and that electric currents also
generate electric currents, he did not apply his discoveries to the
practical purposes of producing electric heat, or electric light, upon
an economical scale ; but, with the prescience of a true man
of science, he predicted that his results, which were exceedingly
feeble in the first instance, would receive their full development
hereafter.

In lecturing on this subject before the Institution of Civil
Engineers in 1883, Sir William Siemens exhibited in operation
the original instrument by which Faraday had elicited the first
electric spark before the members of the Royal Institution in 1831,
explaining that, although the individual current produced by
magneto-induction was exceedingly small and momentary in
action, it was capable of unlimited multiplication by mechanical
arrangements of a simple kind, and that by such multiplication the
powerful effects of the dynamo-machine of the present day were
built up. One of the means for accomplishing such multiplication
was the Siemens armature of 1856. It consisted of a piece of iron
with wire wound round it longitudinally, not transversely ; and was
the most powerful and perfect apparatus of its kind.

Ten years afterwards Sir William Siemens in London and Dr.
Werner Siemens in Berlin were the first to announce an application
of this armature that may eventually prove of as great practical
importance in the development of electricity as Watt's engine was
in the appHcation of steam. On the 4th of February, 1867, Sir
William Siemens sent to the Royal Society a paper " On the
Conversion of Dynamic into Electrical Force without the Use

176 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

of Permanent Magnetism." Ten days afterwards the Royal Society
received a paper from Sir Charles Wheatstone bearing the title.
** On the Augmentation of the Power of a Magnet by the Reaction
thereon of Currents induced by the Magnet itself." Both papers
announced the same discovery, and were illustrated by experi-
ments. Both were read upon the same night — the 14th of
February. " It would be difficult," says Professor Tyndall, " to
find in the whole field of science a more beautiful example of the
interaction of natural forces than that set forth in these two papers.
You can hardly find a bit of iron — you can hardly pick up an old
horse-shoe, for example — that does not possess a trace of
permanent magnetism ; and from such beginnings Siemens and
Wheatstone have taught us to rise by a series of interactions
between magnet and armature to a magnetic intensity previously
unapproached." In its simplest form the mechanism consists of
a plate of iron bent into a horse-shoe form and coiled round with
insulated copper wire; and between the ends of it rotates a
Siemens armature. The wire from the armature is connected
with the wire passing round the bent piece of sheet iron, which is
called the electro-magnet When the handles are turned, in the
first instance there are induced currents of infinitesimal strength
produced in the armature which rotates between the poles of the
electro-magnet " Instead of trying to utilise these infinitesimal
currents, they are carried round the magnet, and the magnet's
power is thereby exalted. The exalted power is brought im-
mediately to bear upon the armature, producing in it also currents
of exalted strength. Those currents are again sent round the
electro-magnet, which has its power enhanced by them. The
electro-magnet, with its power thus enhanced, reacts again upon
the armature ; and thus, by a play of mutual give and take between
the armature and the magnet, that magnet is raised from infinit-
esimal strength to a state of magnetic saturation. Although no
part of the rotating armature touches the bars which are excited by

^^_ CO

k

>77J

the current produced, yet the power accumulates, or the resistance
increases, with the velocity to an extent limited only by the
ultimate power of the iron to become magnetic"

A suggestion, contained in Sir Charles Wheatstone's paper, that
"a very remarkable increase of all the effects, accompanied by a
diminution in the resistance of the machine, is observed when a
cross wire is placed so as to divert a great portion of the current
from the electro- magnet," led Sir William Siemens to an investiga-
tion which was described before the Royal Society on March 4th,
1880, and in which it was shown that by augmenting the resistance
upon the electro-magnels a hundredfold, valuable effects could be
realised. The most important of these results consisted in this,
that the electro- motive force produced in a " shunt-wound machine,"
as it was called, increased with the external resistancCj whereby the
great fluctuations formerly inseparable from electric-arc lighting
could be obviated, and that, by the double means of exciting the

lectro-magnets, still greater uniformity of current was attainable,
the invention of the dynamo machine that made
practicable the application of electricity to industrial purposes.
Experiments have shown that it is capable of transforming into
electrical work go per cent, of the mechanical energy employed as
motive power. Sir William Siemens has himself described it as
perhaps the most beautiful illustration of the convertibility of one
form of energy into another. To attempt a description of its use-
fulness would be like trying to answer Franklin's question, "What
is the use of a new-born child ? " Its practical application is still
in its infancy. It was in r7Ss that Watt finished his " improve-
ments " in the steam-engine ; and the century that has since
elapsed has not sufficed to demonstrate the full extent of its
utility. The next hundred years ■will probably witness a similar
extension of the dynamo machine to practical purposes. It is
yearly giving fresh evidences of its utility.

It was the absence of sufficient electrical power that delayed the

178 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

use of the electric light for seventy years. Davy produced an
electric light in 1808 ; but its cost was so great that some members
of the Royal Institution had to subscribe liberally to defray the
expense of the experiment Strength of current was what was
wanted. Given a sufficient electrical current, it was known,
according to Professor Tyndall, that the next condition to be
fulfilled in the development of light and heat was that it should
encounter and overcome resistance. " A rod of unresisting copper
carries away uninjured and unwarmed an atmospheric discharge
competent to shiver to splinters a resisting oak. Send the self
same current through a wire composed of alternate lengths of
silver and platinum ; the silver offers little resistance, the platinum
offers much. The consequence is that the platinum is raised to a
white-heat, while the silver is not visibly warmed. The same
holds good with regard to the carbon terminals employed for the
production of the electric light. The interval between the
terminals offers a powerful resistance to the passage of the current,
and it is by the gathering of the force necessary to burst across
this interval, that the electric current is able to throw the carbon
into that state of violent intestine comilaotion which we call heat,
and to which its effulgence is due."

In the development of the appliances for the production of this
light Sir William Siemens has taken a leading part. But while
ever zealous to promote its progress, he has never taken a partisan
view of its utility. He candidly admits that gas will continue to
be the poor man's friend. In 1882 he told the Society of Arts
that " electricity must win the day as the light of luxury ^ but gas
will find an ever-increasing application for the more humble
purposes of diffusing light." He estimated the cost of lighting the
whole of London by electricity at ;^i 4,000,000, exclusive of lamps
and internal fittings, and the cost of extending the same to the towns
of Great Britain and Ireland was calculated at ;^8o,ooo,ooo.

But the electric light is only one of several useful purposes for

S/J^ WILLIAM SIEMENS, 179

which the dynamo machine has been utilised by Sir William
Siemens. In June, 1880, he electrified the Society of Telegraph
Engineers by exhibiting the power of an electrical furnace designed
by him to melt considerable quantities of such excessively
refractory metals as platinum, iridium, and steel. He. explained
that he was l^d to undertake experiments with this end in view, by
the consideration that a good steam-engine converts 15 per cent
of the energy residing in coal into mechanical effect, while a good
dynamo-electric machine is capable of converting 80 per cent, of
the mechanical energy into electric energy. If the latter could be
expended without loss within an electric furnace, it would doubt-
less far exceed in economy that of the air-furnaces still largely
used in Sheffield. In the small furnace which he exhibited before
the telegraph engineers, the positive electrode, made of iron,
entered from below the crucible containing the metal to be melted,
while the negative electrode — a rod of carbon — ^was attached by
means of a lever to a solenoid regulator. The crucible was sur-
rounded by charcoal contained in a copper vessel to prevent loss
of heat, and so intense was the heat accumulated that in about
twenty minutes two pounds of broken files were completely
melted. He showed that the apparatus was one that could be
easily applied on a large scale.

He may also be fairly described as the creator of electro-
horticulture. Some experiments that he made early in 1880 led
him to the conclusion that the electric light could produce the
colouring matter in the leaves of plants, and promote the ripening
of fruit at all seasons of the year and at all hours of the day or
night. He found that plants do not require a period of rest during
the twenty -four hours, but make increased and vigorous progress
if subjected during the day to sunlight and to electric light at
night. These observations on combined sun and electric light
agreed with those made by Dr. Schiibeler, of Christiania, who
found as the result of continued experiment in the north of Europe

N 2

i8o THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

I

^^^M during an Arctic summer that plants, when thus continuously
^^H growing, develop more brilliant flowers and latter and more
^^H aromatic fruit than when under the ahernating influence of light
^^^B and darkness.

^^H In the winter of 1880 he put the conclusions he had thus
^^H arrived at to the test of experience on a large scale at his country
^^H residence near Tunbridge Wells ; and the resuhs obtained were
^^1 communicated to the British Association at York in 1881. The
^^H use of the electric light in a variety of ways proved that it most
^^^ effectually promoted vegetation -when it was surrounded by a clear
I glass lantern. Underthese conditions he stated that " Peas, which

had been sown at the end of October, produced a harvest of ripe
fruit on the i6th of February, under the influence, with the excep-
tion of Sunday nights, of continuous light Raspberry stalks put
into the house on the i6th of December produced ripe fruit on the

Iist of March, and strawberry plants put in about the same time
produced ripe fruit of excellent flavour and colour on the 14th of
February. Vines which broke on the 26th of December produced
ripe grapes of stronger flavour than usual on the roth of March.
Wheat, barley, and oats shot up with extraordinary rapidity under
the influence of continuous light, but did not arrive at maturity;
their growth, having been too rapid for their strength, caused them
to fall to tlie ground after having attained the height of about
twelve inches. However, seeds of wheat, barley, and oats planted
in the open air and grown under the influence of the external
electric light produced more satisfactory results; having been
sown in rows on the 6th of January, they germinated with difficulty
on account of frost and snow on the ground, but developed rapidly
when milder weather set in, and showed ripe grain by the end of
June, having been aided in their growth by the electric light until
the beginning of May. Doubts have been expressed by some
botanists whether plants grown and brought to maturity under the
influence of continuous light would produce fruit capable of

the

^^ infl

t

S/Ji WILUA^f SIEMENS. i8t

reproduction ; and in order to test this question, the peas gathered
on the r6th of February, from the plants which had been grown
tinder almost continuous light action, were replanted on the i8th of
February. They vegetated in a few days, showing every appear-
ance of healthy growth." Mr, Darwin and other authorities were
previously of opinion that many plants, if not all of them, required
diurnal rest for their normal development; hut these experiments
in electro-horticulture led Sir William Siemens to the conclusion
that, although periodic darkness evidently favours growth in the
sense of elongating the stalks of plants, the continuous stimulus of
light was favourable to healthydevelopment at a greatly accelerated
pace, through all the stages of the annual life of the plant, from the
early leaf to the ripened fruit. The latter was superior in size, in
aroma, and in colour to that produced by alternating light. The
beneficial influence of the electric light was very manifest upon a.
banana palm, which at two periods of its existence — viz., during
its early growth and at the lime of the fruit development,^was
placed (in February and March of 1880 and 188 1) under the night
action of the electric light, set behind glass at a distance not ex-
ceedirg two yards from the plant. The result was a bunch of fruit
weighing 75 lbs., each banana being of unusual size, and pronounced
by competent judges to be unsurpassed in (lavour. Melons also
remarkable for size and aromatic (lavour were produced under the
influence of continuous light in the early spring of r83o and 18S1.
conclusion, he expressed his belief that the time is not far

lislanl when the electric light will te found a valuable adjunct to
at the disposal of the horticuliurist in making him really
independent of climate and season, and furnishing him with a
power of producing new varieties, while the electric transmission
of power may eventually be applied to thrashing, reaping, and

loughing.
Sir William Siemens has also been a pioneer in the introduction

ito this country of the electric railway, which was originally

I

i82 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL

invented by his brother, Dr. Werner Siemens. Like most
novelties, it was not brought into useful operation without
encountering opposition.

The first electric railway was shown at the German Industrial
Exhibition in 1879. It was from 400 to 500 yards in length.
The electric locomotive was one of four and a half horse power,
and it drew a train of miniature cars for eighteen or twenty
persons. While this was being shown Dr. Werner Siemens
proposed to erect an elevated electric railway at the expense of
his firm in the fashionable Frederic Street in Berlin; but the
inhabitants being opposed to it, the Emperor vetoed it before he
was asked to sanction it. He next proposed to erect elevated
electrical railways in some of the busiest parts of the city, in
order to relieve the streets of a great deal of their crowded traffic.
The police authorities opposed this project, but indicated that
it might be convenient to construct such a railway in some other
quarter. A fresh plan for a general network of railways for the
city was submitted to the authorities, who were asked to select the
quarter which they thought the most convenient. Two months
afterward the authorities replied that Berlin was not in want of
electrical railways. The resolute inventor next proposed to have
a railway in the suburbs of Berlin to connect the Lichterfelde
Station of the Anhalt Railway with the Central Military School, a
distance of nearly two miles; and after some legal difficulties
were got over the local authorities approved of the execution of
this scheme. The work of construction was soon finished. The
inventor wished to make it an elevated railway, but he was deterred
from doing so by the expense ; it was therefore put upon the
ground, though an elevated railway was always advocated by
him as the most economical. The electrical locomotive not
being heavy, like a steam-engine, the permanent way can be made
lighter than usual ; and the elevated line affords the requisite means
of insulation. In the Lichterfelde line nothing was done to effect

I

SIX WILLIAM SIEMENS. 183

insulation from the earth, and cortsequently a great loss of the
electrical current was expected. Nevertheless it worked very
successfully. When opened in May, r88i, the train consisted of
a carriage, constructed to carry twenty persons, and the four and a
half horse electro- motive engine, which was considered capable of
running from twenty to twenty-two miles an hour. The maximum
speed permissible, however, was under twelve miles an hour.
This was accomplished with ease even over a part of the hne
where the gradient was one in a hundred. Fifteen journeys were
made daily in connection with the train service of the Anhalt
Railway ; but the afternoon traffic being considerable, additional
journeys were made (o cany the excess of passengers to the
main hne station, to which the electrical railway formed a tribu-
tary. The only accident that occurred during the first six months'
working was the startling of two horses that received a shock
from the electric current on the rails at one of the street crossings.
At this the local authorities tools alarm, but this source of
apprehension was removed by the easy and perfect expedient
of insulating the portion of the line forming the crossing and
allowing the train to run over it by its own impetus, the electrical
current being carried by a copper wire under the rails, and picked
up again by the electrical locomotive after the crossing had been
effected. This railway, which was made at the sole cost of
the Messrs. Siemens and worked by them, carried sufBcient
freight to fully cover its working expenses.

Dr. Werner Siemens next determined to work by his electric
system an existing line of ordinary tramway a. mile long between
Charlottenburg, his own estate, and the Spandauer Bock, As it
was impossible there to insulale the rails, he made experimaits in
the use of overhead wires in order to keep the electrical current
clear of the line. Overhead wires were mounted on telegraph
poles placed at the side of a line of tramway in the Berlin works ;
and the ordinary tram-cars were run upon that line by means of

I

conductors attached to pulleys Tunning upon the overhead
This experiment proving successful, the Messrs. Siemens were
preparing the designs for its application to ihe Chariot ten burg
tramway, when they were asked to exhibit their locomotive railway
at the Paris Exhibition of Electricity ; and they readily consented
to do so upon their new principle. Accordingly, a tramway was
specially constructed by them from the Place de la Concorde to
a station within tbe Palace de I'lndustrie, a distance of half a mile.
It was opened on the 31st of August, 1881, and the King of the
Sandwich Islands was a passenger on one of ihe trial trips. The
tram-car was of the same pattern and dimensions as that in use
on the ordinary tramways in Paris. It carried forty-six passengers,
and the speed varied from eight to fifteen miles an hour. The
driving power came from a fixed engine in the Exhibition turning
a Siemens' generator, the current from which was conveyed to two
metal rods, carried on posts parallel to the tramway, about 10 feet
from the ground. Little rollers running on these were connected
by wires with a second electric machine in the base of the tram-
car and geared to its wheels. Tlic energy of the stationary
sleam-engine was conveyed along the wire in the form of an
electric current, and, being reconverted into mechanical energy
in the second machine, turned the wheels of the tram-car and
propelled it. The little rollers were drawn along the wire as the
car moved, and kept up a corninuous electrical connection. It
was a great success. During the first month it was in operation
it made zi.ooo journeys, and carried 50,000 passengers. The
total distance travelled in that time was equal to the distance
between Paris and Berlin, and although the ground over which it
travelled was crowded with the ordinary traffic of the town, it was
worked without any accident.

The first practical application of electricity for tramway or
railway propulsion in the United Kingdom was on a new line of
tramway between the Giant's Causeway and Portrush, a distant

nt^^^J

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS. 185

of about six miles, where the motive power could be obtained
from a neighbouring waterfall, hitherto unutilised. At the com-
mencement of this undertaking, in the last week of September,
1 88 1, the chairman of the company, Dr. Traill, informed the
directors and a large gathering of local gentry that they had
assembled not merely to inaugurate an obscure or local work, but
to introduce into Ireland for the first time one of those scientific
discoveries in which the last quarter of a century had been so
fruitful This tramway would be worked by electricity, and under
the direct auspices of Sir William Siemens, who was a member of
the Board and a large contributor to the funds. It had always
been remarkable, he said, that the most brilliant scientific
discoveries appeared, when known, to be the simplest Most of
the properties of magnets and electric currents had now been
known for a long time, but it was only quite recently that elec-
tricity and magnetism had come to be applied to locomotive
purposes, and, so far, with such success as to justify the prediction
that they were to find in them the great motive power of the
ftiture. Not many years would elapse before this dynamo- electric
power would be supplied, not alone to tramways suitably situated
for it, as this one undoubtedly was, but also to railways. Share-
holders in a company such as this could easily see what an im-
portant thing such a revolution in locomotive power would repre-
sent. The working expenses for haulage on a tramway such as
theirs with horses would be about iid, per mile, and by steam
power about 7//. per mile, but there was every reason to suppose
that the working expenses of their motive power need not reach
id, a mile. Further, as each car would carry its own locomotive
power, they would save the expense of engine-drivers and stokers,
and all that class of persons, as well as effect an immense saving
in fuel ; and, what was more important, as they required no
heavy engines to increase the friction and to take a grip of the
rails for hauling purposes, their rails would not suffer great wear

i86 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

and tear, but would only have to bear the weight of the traffic
in light cars. The Provost of Dublin University, the Rev.
Dr. Jellett, said that as a scientific man, and as the head of
a great scientific institution, he took much more than a merely
local view of the enterprise just commenced. It was the
inauguration of a new era of locomotive power in these
islands. Most scientific men knew that the most difficult
thing they had to encounter was to correct or economise
force ; and in this scheme they were about to utilise in a new
way the large forces of nature, which were at present going
to waste.

The new line was opened by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
(Earl Spencer), on September 28, 1883.

Respecting the future development and use of this system,
Sir William Siemens has repeatedly stated that though the ex-
perience gained in the working of the first electric railway at
Lichterfelde left no reasonable doubt regarding the economy
and certainty of this mode of propulsion, he did not anticipate
that it would supersede locomotive power upon our main trunk
railways. "It will have plenty of scope in relieving the toiling
horses on our tramways, in use on elevated railways in populous
districts, and in .such cases as the Metropolitan Railway, where
the emission of the products of combustion causes not only the
propulsion, but the suffocation of passengers."

According to the Revue IndustritUe of July 19, 1882, theie were
then about loo miles of electric railways working, authorised, or in
course of construction ; and grants for their construction were be-
coming more numerous. Lines were being projected in Germany,
Austria, Holland, Italy, and the United States.

Though the novelty of the latest applications of electricity appears
to have almost put the telegraph in the shade, yet the services of the
Brothers Siemens in bringing it to perfection have been not less
original and useful. The University at which Sir William Siemens

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS. 187

finished his education was the cradle, if not the birthplace, of the
electric telegraph. According to Sir William's own account of it,
the celebrated astronomers and physicists of Gottingen — Gauss
and Weber — established in 1833 a line wire reaching from the
observatory of that University to the steeple of the public library,
and thence to the magnetic observatory — a distance of about a mile
— 2i return circuit being also provided. Through this circuit they
communicated with each other by means of magneto-electric
currents and a Weber's reflecting magnetometer, and notwith-
standing the large proportions of this receiving instrument, a
needle weighing nearly one hundredweight, they succeeded in
obtaining very clearly defined signals. Being themselves engaged
in scientific pursuits, they called upon Steinheil, of Munich, to
construct a practical and useful electric telegraph. Steinheil
applied himself vigorously to the task, and produced a telegraphic
system which would have been nearly perfect if it had not been
too refined for the means then at his disposal. Sir C. Wheatstone,
of London, and Mr. Morse, of the United States, were simul-
taneously working at the same problem, and each claimed the
honour of having solved it. The telegraph, however, was still in
an infantine state when the Brothers Siemens began to study it,
and their series of inventions largely aided in bringing it to
perfection. A description of all the various mechanical appliances
which they produced would be out of place here ; but some of
their greater achievements, which form epochs in the history of
telegraphy, are of permanent interest.

When they began to study the application of electricity to
telegraphic purposes, one of the difficulties experienced was the
tendency of the electric current to become weak as the length of
the line and imperfect insulation increased. The currents wei'e
liable at comparatively short distances to become so weak as to be
unable to produce intelligible signals. To remedy this defect
the Brothers Siemens invented the relay— an electro-magnet so

188 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

delicate that it will move with the weakest current. This simple
apparatus is an adapLalion to the telegraph wire of the principle
by which a weak current can be converted into a strong one in the
dynamo- machine. Although it simply looks like a small coil of
wire, its power is such that it makes the current, however weak
at first, increase in geometrical proportion. The Siemens polarised
relay is the most perfect and powerful instrument of this descrip-
tion. By the use of five of them, each of which retransmits the
original signals from a fresh battery, a message can be sent on the
Indo-European Telegraph from London to Teheran, a distance of
3,800 miles, without any retransmission by hand.

Sir William Siemens, in company with his brother, Werner, and
Herr Halske, established in r8s8 the telegraphic works near
London which are now known by the name of Siemens. A
whole progeny of electrical apparatus invented by them are
manufactured at these works, which sometimes employ 1,000
men. Some of the largest works in telegraphic engineering have
also been produced there.

The construction of the Indo-European Telegraph— the first
great undertaking of the kind — was undertaken by them. In
May, 1867, the Messrs. Siemens obtained concessions for twenty-
five years from the Prussian, Russian, and Persian governments, for
an overland double line from England to India through Prussia,
Southern Russia, and Persia. At that time very short messages
cost 5/. ; they were sometimes a week in course of transmission,
and were often unintelligible when transmitted. To provide
better means of communication the Indo-European Telegraph
Company was formed in 1868, with a Board of Directors that
fairly represented the countries through which the lines would
pass. To this Company the Messrs. Siemens transferred their
concessions on condition that they should receive certain payments
after the completed line paid a iz per cent, dividend on the paid
iiji capital. The Prussian government agreed to build the line

I

'S/ff WILLIAM SIEMENS.

n expense through North Germany, and the Messrs. Siemens
1 build the whole of the line from Alexandrowo,
near the Prussian frontier, to Teheran, for 400,000^., and to
1 further

maintain it for t
of this overland line w
complete it in eighteen mi
27lh of April, 1868; it wa
were corapleied, though i

sum of 34,000/. a year. The length
; 2,700 miles; and they agreed to
iths. The lender was sent in on the
accepted early in June ; and the lines
t opened, on the loth of December,
1869. The work of construction was nevertheless of no or-
dinary difficulty. The line goes from London via Lowestoft,
Em den, iJerlin, Warsaw, Jitomir, Odessa, Kertch, Sukhum,
Tiflis, Tabriz, and Teheran, where it joins the Indian govern-
ment lines to Bushire and Kunachee. The materials for the
line in Persia, consisting of 11,000 iron posts, 33,400 insulators,
and 900 miles of wire of large section, were shipped to St.
Petersburg, whence they were tiansported on the Neva and the
Volga to Astrakhan, where they were again shipped'
Caspian for Lenkoran, Astara, and Resht, the northern pons of
Persia. At these ports it was found difficult to get beasts of
burden to distribute the materials in the interior of the country
within the prescribed time. Nevertheless, all the difficulties
encountered in an unsettled and tincommercial country were
overcome, and the lines were completed in due time. But they
were not opened till the 31st of January, 1S71, and even then the
wires were not in good working order. The chapter of accidents
that caused these interruptions was well explained by the
contractors in their reports to the directors. In these reports
the Messrs, Siemens stated that "With the opening of the line
winter weather of extraordinary severity set in in Persia and the
south of Russia, commencing with sleet and heavy falls of .
followed by intense cold, indicated by a fall of the thermometer of
from io° to 30° Reaumur below zero. The wires being weighted
a thick coating of sleet were drawn tight by the cold, and

^by a

i

190 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

broke in hard places or at defective joints. Considering that the
length of line wire exposed to these causes exceeds 5,000 miles,
the number of these casualties has been extremely small, and
would not have caused any sensible interruption of the service,
notwithstanding the intense cold and the circumstance that the
ground was deeply covered with snow, had not another disturbing
cause presented itself. The interruptions have been entirely
confined to Eastern Russia, whereas the Persian lines, though
similarly circumstanced, have continued to be in good working
condition, and this striking difference of results can only be
attributed to the different construction of insulators used by us in
Russia and in Persia, The Persian insulators are of a construction
peculiar to ourselves, with cast-iron protecting caps inclosing an
inverted porcelain bell, from the centre of which the line wire is
suspended, whereas the insulator which we were obliged to use in
Russia supports the line wire upon a bell of porcelain, mounted
upon a metal stalk, held by an iron bracket. The latter description
of insulators was insisted upon because they are the form more
usually employed on European lines, and insulate well under
ordinary circumstances, but they have two disadvantages in rough
climates and uncivilised countries ; namely, that they can be
easily broken by stones, and further that snow rests upon the bell
and bracket supporting the wire, and forms a conductive con-
nection, or leak, between the line wire and the post — which
disadvantages do not apply to our special insulator, where the
insulating bell is protected under a strong iron cap, and where
the line wire is suspended from the bell and presents no surface
for the settlement of snow. These insulators are used also on
the government lines in Persia, and have been adopted lately
also upon the Turkish lines, with great advantage to the working
of those hnes ; and considering the additional proof of their
superiority, we hope we shall obtain permission to substitute them
on your lines in Eastern Russia for at least one line wire — being

I

SIR WILLIAM SIEMET^S. 191

willing to etftct the change at our own expense — in the course of
next summer, rather than run the risk of similar interruptions
next winter.

"The maintenance of a considerable hne of telegraphic com-
munication during the first twelve months of its existence is always
a task of some difficulty and disappointment. The wires com-
posing the lines, however carefully prepared, will show hidden
defects and occasional breakage, the posts will yield where the
ground is treacherous or where the staying has been insufficient,
and the insulators are liable to be wantonly destroyed by the mis-
chievous persons of any community where the telegraph is a
novelty; occasional interruptions of the service are the result,
and are the more severely felt if no alternative lines are imme-
diately available. These difliculties had to be expected, and were
guarded against by the appointment of a considerable working
staff of guards and superiotendenls of the line, whose duty it was
not only to repair the line as soon as possible in cases of acci-
dent, but to prevent their recurrence by effecting local diversions
or other innprovemenls.

" The line having been opened, perhaps somewhat prematurely,
during the worst part of the year 1 870, the interruptions of the
traffic were rather serious during the first month or two, but by
pursuing the system above described we had succeeded in reducing
their number and effect to such an extent that the through com-
munication between London and Teheran was generally complete,
and could be worked direct and instantaneously without inter-
mediate repeating- stations, a result which has not been surpassed,
we beheve, in telegraphic practice; "when, on the 7th of July, a
calamity occurred which could not have been foreseen, namely,
the destruction of both our land and coble lines in Georgia by a
severe earthquake. Not only were the land lines thrown down
and the wires torn at several points, which could easily have been
;t right, but the cable line through the Black Sea between Sotcha

THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF S:

and D'juba, which had been successfully laid, and remained in
excellent working condition up to that time, was suddenly torn in
two places. A steamer, furnished with all the necessary appliances
for repairing cables, was immediately despatched from Kertch,
but in endeavouring to raise the cable it was found to be covered
with earth at a point twenty miles distant from Sotcha, a result
that could only be explained by a submarine landslip having
taken place. It was evident that to repair the line more spare
cable would have been required than was on board, and it would
not have been possible to obtain a fresh supply of cable from
England before the season would have been too far advanced to
undertake a considerable repair operation on a boisterous and
rocky coast. Moreover, it appeared, from inquiries on the coast,
which had been but little known before our line was projected,
that earthquakes of great severity had frequently been experienced,
under which circumstances the submarine line would have remained
in a hazardous condition after the repair would have been effected.
On the other hand, the objection which had originally attached
to this mountainous and deserted coast was in course of being
removed by the construction of a coast-road, which the Russian
government had in the meantime put in hand. After carefully
weighing these circumstances, we came to the conclusion that the
interests of the company would be best served by the construc-
tion of a substantial land line along the Caucasian coast. Appli-
cations were accordingly addressed to the Russian government to
grant the necessary authority. The liberality with which the
Russian government granted these requests made it possible for the
Indo-European Telegraph Company to continue their telegraphic
service after only a short interruption, and enabled us to push
forward the new work, which was accomplished by the end of the
year. On the ist of January, 187 1, messages again passed all the
way from London to Teheran upon the company's own lines."
Since then the line has worked well, and, although tempor:

J

S/Jl WILLIAM SIEMENS.

193 J

F interruptions are unavoidable, especially in Southern Russia, where

;xposed to heavy storms, and to the accumulation in

winter of masses of ice on the wires, they have generally been of

short duration. I'rom a commercial point of view, too, it is one

tof the most successful works of its kind.
' The connection of the Messrs. Siemens with this undertaking |
came to a close in 1882. Writing in August of (hat year, when
England's intense interest in the Egyptian campaign was attracting
public attention to our means of communicaiion with the East,
Sir William Siemens said ; " At the present time our communica-
tion with India, Australia, and the Cape depends, notwithstanding
the nominal e.tistence of a line through Turkej', on the Indo- |
European Telegraph. This line, referring now to the portion of '
the system connecting London and Teheran, with the origin and
construction of which I have been intimately associated, has not
been looked upon with much favour by many in this country, who
at the time of its construction predicted its ultimate failure, and
threw out broad hints to the effect that the telegraph posts might
serve in certain regions to mark the tombs of the staff employed
upon the work, while others took the objection that the line, if
:ted, would be liable to frequent interruptions from political
Lcauses. I and those acting with me felt no misgivings on these
Bpoints, because, before seeking to obtain concessions from Germany,
Russia, and Persia for the construction of the line, we took the
Bprecaution of having its neutrality and independence from govem-
■Iment interference guaranteed by an international convention
r between the two principal Powers concerned, which guarantee has
been absolutely respected throughout the very trying times of the |
Franco-German and Russo-Turkish wars, as well as during the

I critical period of the subsequent peace negotiations at Constanti-
nople, when the English despatches passed without hindrance
over the Indo-European line via Odessa. At the present time
the Itido-Etiropean telegraph is — not, indeed, for the first time—

^^K cau!
^■^ir
^■%us

^^Btoier
^■bett

194 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

practically the only means of communication between England
and her Eastern possessions, nor does it prove itself insufficient
or unreliable under these trying circumstances, land line though
it be.''

The Messrs. Siemens were also pioneers in submarine tele-
graphy. The first submarine telegraph cable covered with gutta-
percha was laid by Dr. Werner Siemens in 1847 across the Rhine
from Deutz to Cologne, a distance of half a mile. Previous
attempts to effect insulation by resinous substances had failed. In
the early days of submarine cables much difficulty was experienced
in getting a suitable insulating covering which would effectually
prevent the escape of the electric current through its entire length,
as a single flaw was foupd to make a whole cable useless. Dr.
Werner Siemens was the first to recommend and use gutta-percha
or india-rubber, which was brought to England about that time; and
its superiority soon became apparent, owing to its great tenacity
and power of resisting heat But the laborious operation by w^hich
india-rubber was applied as a covering to the wire made it expen-
sive. In the first cables made in this way the india-rubber was
cut into strips, which were wound spirally round the wires ; this
operation had to be repeated several times before the necessary
degree of safety was attained ; and though the overlapping edges
were heated and soldered together, even then the covering was
often imperfect. To obviate these difficulties Sir William Siemens
invented a machine which combined the advantages of cheapness,
quickness, and certainty of result. The machine was so con-
structed as to draw the india-rubber over the wire, and at the same
time the newly-cut edges were united under pressure so as to
combine firmly and form a secure covering. This invention was
brought before the world in i860.

Sir William subsequently designed the steamship Faraday
specially for the work of laying submarine cables. This unique
vessel was an improvement on all previous cable ships. For the

S/Ji WILLIAAf SfEME^rS.

■95 '

^Hfor

'first Atlantic cable that was laid the Great Eastern^ the largest i
ship in the world, was remodelled in the interior, being fitted with j
three immense circular iron tanks which carried the cable; but as I
ihe was found costly to maintain and inconvenient to manage, I
showed the necessity of providing a vessel better 1
lapted for the laying of long submarine cables.
The Great Eastern was used by the Telegraph Construction and
Maintenance Company ; the Hooper Telegraph Company built a
vessel of their own for the same purpose, and called it the Hooper ;
and Sir William Siemens designed the most suitable vessel of all
for his firm. It is 360 feet long, 52 feet wide, and 36 feet deep.
It has a measured register of 5, 000 tons, but is capable of carrying
nearly 6,oao tons dead weight. It is built of iron, and is double
bottomed, the spaces between the two bottoms consisting of a
network of iron girders, the meshes of which are fitted to contain
water ballast. In the interior of the ship are three enormous
cable tanks constructed of plate iron, and so contrived as to form
a series of double arches for supporting the sides of the ship ; they
are also united to one another and lo the general fabric of the hull
by five iron decks— an arrangement that makes the tanks a means
of strengthening the ship instead of weakening it. Moreover, as
the ship is hghtened by discharging the cable and consuming the
coals on board, water can be admitted into the cells between the
double bottom to serve as ballast, thus keeping the vessel at a
nearly uniform depth in the water. A complete system of valves, 1
cocks, pipes, and other appliances, which are under the control of ]
the engineers working in the engine-room, are used for filling and '
emptying any single compartment of the double bottom. The
ship is made alike at both ends, and furnished with machinery
capable of steering backward or forward with equal facility. The
tanks are capable of storing r,7oo miles of cable i\ inch ia
diameter, and new and ingenious machincTy is provided on deck
for paying it out The vessel is lighted by the electric light, whose

igfi THE CREATORS OF TffE AGE OF STEEL.

perrect iilumtnalion enables the men on board to work day and
night. All ihe heavy labour on board is performed by steam
apparatus placed on various parts of the deck. There is also
excellent cabin accommodation.

The two screws of this vessel are so constructed that she can
turn in her own length when the engines, which are constructed
with a view to great economy of fuel, are worked in opposite
directions. On a voyage from Newcastle to London a cask was
thrown overboard, and from it as a centre the vessel turned in her
own length in 8 minutes jo seconds, touching the cask three
times during the operation. This manosuvring power is found to
be of great importance in such a case as repairing a fault in a
cable, as it enables the engineer to keep her head in position, and
to place her just where necessary in defiance of side winds or
ciurents.

This ship was called the Faraday in honour of the distinguished
savanl of that name. In speaking of the great service which
Professor Faraday h.id rendered to electrical science, and the
invariable kindness with which he had encouraged younger
labourers in the same field, Sir William Siemens said the friendly
encouragement which he himself had experienced from him would
ever remain a most pleasing remembrance.

The Faraday was first used in laying the Direct United States
Cable, which is above 3,000 miles in length. Nearly the whole of
that cable, made of copper conductors and gutta-percha insulators,
and a sheeting of steel wires covered with hemp, was laid in per-
fect condition in 1874, but in consequence of the stormy season
setting in, its completion was postponed till 1875. In June of that
year the Faraday resumed operations, and soon completed the
work. But the discovery of a fault necessitated another return to
England for a piece of cable to repair the damage. This debyed
the opening of the cable till the 15th of September, on which day
it was opened to the public for the transmission cf messages. As

>97|

regards constniction, maintenance, and rate of transmission, the
cable has been a great success. The same firm laid another
Iransatl.-ntic cable for the Compagnie Frangaise du T^Mgraphe de
Paris tl New Vork ivith entire success in a surprisingly short space
of time. The order for the cable was given by the French
company in March 1879, and it was handed over to them in
perfect working orderin September of the same year. It transmits
messages over a distance exceeding 3,000 miles. Even that feat
has been eclipsed in the laying of subsequent cables.

The Faraday was one of the first vessels that used the electric

light at sea; and as an illuslration of the utility of that light in

navigation. Sir William Siemens staled that in 1878 it saved aserioua

collision in the Atlantic. During a dense fog, the captain, stand-

g on the bridge of the Faraday, saw by the electric light a dark

ftitnass moving before him, which he could not have seen with

I'Ordinary lights. At the same time the people on board the ap-

Iproaching vessel, which happened to be an emigrant ship, saw the

I- electric light, although they would not have seen a common light.

BBoth captains manceuvred their ships accordingly, and tliey just

(.managed to escape each other — actually approaching within a

I yard — and thus prevented a collision, which would otherwise, in

I the decided opinion of the captain, have taken place. So im-

t pressed was Sir William with the value of the light on this

f occasion, that he wrote to the Board of Trade, whose regulations

then forbade the use of the electric light on board ships, suggesting

an interview between the captain of the Faraday and the Board of

Trade authorities. The interview was immediately granted ; but

when the captain of the Faraday narrated the incident, he was

met by the observation that he had committed an illegal act. His

retort was, " Hut I saved the collision."

ir William relates another incident that shows the " consistency "
1 of the Board of Trade in another direction. He personally
Lniperin tended all the mechanical arrangements in connection

I

198 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL

with the Faraday ; but with regard to the engines and boilers he
depended entirely on the Board of Trade and Lloyd's rules, his
instructions being simply to ** make the boilers as safe and the
engines as efficient as they can be made." The result, he says,
was a success. The ship never failed in its arduous duties, often
being for weeks together in winter in the Atlantic. In the course of
a few years the Board of Trade rules were changed, and the boilers
considered no longer sufficient. They were carefully inspected
after each voyage, and reported to be in perfect condition by the
surveyors both of the Board of Trade and of Lloyd's. Never-
theless, they reduced the pressure after each voyage five lbs.
until the ship would soon have been dependent on her sails.
Accordingly he had to put in steel boilers, at a cost of 10,000/.,
while the old boilers were sold as secondhand, and went into
ships not requiring to conform to the Board of Trade rules.

Though Sir William did not design the boilers first used in the
Faraday^ he afterwards invented a new form of boiler of sur-
passing lightness and strength. He described it to the Institution
of Mechanical Engineers in 1878 as another proof of the supe-
rior properties of steel, as compared with iron, in resisting high
pressure.

For some time previously the use of compressed air instead of
steam in locomotives had been engaging the attention of engineers,
as it was found that air locomotives could be successfully and
economically used where steam could not. In collieries, for
instance, the use of air locomotives was found to be cheaper than
pony labour for carrying the trucks of coals from the workings to
the bottom of the shafts. Colonel Beaumont was also experi-
menting with compressed air engines with a view to adapting
them for tramways and underground railways, where steam and
smoke are a nuisance. But, as Sir William stated, it was found
difficult to construct a vessel capable of withstanding the great
internal pressure necessary for such a purpose. In consequence of

S/S WILLIAM SIEMENS.

'99 1

I
I

I
i

the practical difficulties hitherto experienced in making such
vessels of boiler plate (iron), it was generally thought advisable to
limit the diameter of cyUndrical vessels, and to resort to a multi-
tubular construction. But in these the seams of rivets and
many joints were sources of weakness ; and such vessels necessarily
occupied much more room than a plain cylindrical vessel would
do. The use of cast-iron, too, in such vessels, in hydraulic
presses, and accumulators, requited a degree of thickness that
rendered them extremely ponderous and costly ; and it sometimes
happened that the fluid under pressure found its way through the
pores of the metal. In consequence of these difficulties, Colonel
Beaumont asked Sir William in 1S77 to construct for him a vessel,
with a capacity of not less than a hundred cubic feet, capable of
■esistirg an interna! pressure of at least 1,000 lbs. on the square
inch, and at the same time not exceeding two and a half tons in
weight. To meet these requirements Sir William used steel, made
at ihe.Landore Steel Works, capable of resisting a tensile strain
of 45 tons per square inch and of extending from 8 to 10 per
cent, before breaking. Of that material he constructed a vessel
consisting of fourteen cylindrical rings of 40 inches internal
diameter, and is inches deep, rolled out of solid steel ingots, and
of two hemispherical ends beaten out of steel boiler plate. I'wo
rings of cast steel, each perforated witU ao holes, fitted over the
hemispherical ends, and through these holes were passed zo bolts
of steel, capable of resisting 50 tons per square inch. The vessel
being built up of these parts, the bolts were gradually tightened
to a point just sufficient to resist the intended internal pressure.
It was then filled with water, and the pressure of a hydraulic
accumulator loaded to i,odo lbs. per square inch was applied. [
With this test it showed no sign of leakage. The internal pressure
was therefore raised to 1,300 lbs. per square inch, at which point
nearly all the joints began to weep, showing that the bolts were
beginning to elongate. Upon drawing up each nut another eighth

a turn, the vessel was found perfectly tight at 1,300 lbs.
square inch, but it began to weep again when the pressure
raised to 1,400 lbs. " Considering," said the inventor, " that the
intended working pressure of this vessel was only !,□□□ lbs.
per square inch, it was thought unnecessary to draw the bolts
any tighter, although, according to calculation, the rings as
well as the bolts were capable of resisting with safety above
a,ooo lbs. per square inch. The great length of the bolts insured
a sufficiently elastic range of action for this purpose, and being
made of steel containing one half per cent, of carbon, they would
retain their elasticity for an indefinite length of time. An hy-
draulic press constructed on this principle should not weigh more
than one-fourth of the weight .of a press of the ordinary construc-
tion. A boiler of this construction possesses, in common with
the air vessel just described, the advantage of leaking, through
the yielding of the elastic bolts, long before there is the least
danger of explosion. It possesses, moreover, the additional ad-
vantage that it can be carried in pieces to be put together in si/u,
thus facilitating caniage and avoiding the necessity of providing
hatchways of extraordinary dimensions for putting the boilers on
Imard,"

Sir William Siemens has been one of the most versatile in-
ventors in England. Though he has taken out more than one
hundred patents of his own, all his inventions have not been
patented. His first pitent was taken out in 1845, and rarely has
a year elapsed since then without one invention or more being
recorded by him in the patent office. In addition to the patents
that are exclusively bis own, there are a good many in the joint
names of the Brothers Siemens, Sir William having always shown
the most scrupulous care in giving his brothers full credit for
their share in inventions of which they are joint patentees,
are forty or tifty of that description.

Some of his inventions which have never been patented

There j

ted ^^^^J

SIS WILLIAM SIEMENS.

recorded in the Proceedings of learned societies instead of in the
Patent Office. For example, in r866 he read a paper before the
Royal Society on Uniform Rotation, in which he described a
new kind of governor, called the gyrometric governor- He
staled that some months previously tliere occurred to him an idea
which, while it furnished the elements of a very general and com^
plete solution of the problem of uniform rotation, appeared to
possess also a separate scientific interest. An open cylindrical
glass vessel or tumbler containing some liquid being made to
rotate upon its vertical axis, he observed that the liquid rose from
the centre towards the sides to a height depending on the angular
velocity of the diameter of the vessel. As soon as the velocity
reached a certain limit tiie liquid commenced to overflow the
upper edge of the vessel, being thrown from it in the form of a
liquid sheet in a tangential direction. If the velocity remained
constant, the overflow of the liquid ceased, although it continued
to touch the extreme edge or brim. When the velocity of the
vessel was diminished, the liquid was observed to sintc, and to rise
again to its former position when the rotation was raised to its
previous limit of angular velocity. This velocity was the result
of the balance of two forces acting on the liquid panicles ;
namely, gravity and centrifugal force. He applied ihis principle to
tlie regulation of steam-engines and other machines where the
nearest approach to uniform rotation was desirable. The rotating
vessel constructed for this purpose consisted of a cup open at
both top and bottom, but widest at the top. The narrow bottom
was placed in another vessel containing water, which it just touched
while by mechanical appliances the cup itself was made to revolve
at a velocity proportionate to the strength of the motive power
employed. He found that rotation being thus imparted to the
cup, the liquid rose in it by centrifugal force, while additional
liquid entered from without and maintained the apex of the
Uiid curve. Experiments made with this apparatus showed that

202 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

the driving power might be varied between the widest limits with-
out producing any sensible variation of speed. The final adjust-
ment of the instrument to the normal velocity required was,
moreover, easily effected by raising or lowering the cup while it
was running, for which purpose mechanical appliances were pro-
vided. To illustrate the application of this principle, he constructed
a clock which was driven by electro-magnetism, whose power was
regulated by the cup, while a train of reducing wheels communi-
cated the motion of the cup to the face of the clock, which
recorded the hours and minutes in the usual manner. In its
application to steam-engines, the most striking feature of this
governor, said its inventor, was the rapidity with which the re-
adjustment between the power and the load of the engine was
effected. He proved by experiment that two-thirds of the total
load upon an engine could be suddenly thrown off without pro-
ducing any visible change in its rotation. The paper recording
these experiments was ordered to be printed in the Philosophical
Transactions,

In 187 1 he contributed a paper to the Royal Society "On
Electrical Resistance," which was made the Bakerian lecture for
that year. It explained a method of measuring variation of
temperature by variation of electrical resistance ; and described
two new instruments — the electrical resistance thermometer and
pyrometer, in connection with the differential voltameter — which
he invented, and which are now recognised as ingenious and
useful aids in thermometry and metallurgy. These instruments
can measure temperature without any break from the lowest
possible degree of cold to a temperature approaching that of
the fusion of platinum. Many eminent men of science have
endeavoured to invent such an instrument during the last 150
years ; but Sir William Siemens, who studied the question more
or less for ten years, was the first to construct a reliable pyro-
meter of unlimited range and universal application. Its first

9

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS. 203

application was the means of saving an important telegraph
cable from destruction through spontaneous generation of heat.
It has been used for recording the temperature at elevated points
and at points below the earth's surface. It has been successfully
used for determining the internal temperature of the blast furnace,
and recording the same in the ironmaster's office, sometimes
situated at a distance from the blast furnace. It has also been
used for ascertaining the temperature of the bottom of the
ocean.

. Again, while he has been unceasing in his efforts to impress
upon the public the scope there is for economy of fuel, he in
1879 constructed a form of fire-grate that brought the means of
effecting this economy, more or less, within the power of every
householder ; but in order that it might be used without restraint
and at the least expense, he did not make it the subject of a
patent.

In later years Sir William Siemens again came before the
world with some further results of his life-long study of questions
relating to combustion and the utilisation of different forms of
energy. Some of the conclusions he arrived at on these ques-
tions have excited the wonder and criticism of the greatest scientific
men in all parts of the world. His own expositions of the subject
are remarkable for simplicity and originality. The following extract
from a lecture on " Fuel," which he dehvered at Bradford in 1873,
under the auspices of the British Association, is an admirable
introduction to his views on this subject. He then stated that
" fuel in the ordinary acceptation of the term is carbonaceous
matter, which may be in the solid, the liquid, or the gaseous
condition, and which, in combining with oxygen, gives rise to the
phenomena of heat. Commonly speaking, this development of
heat is accompanied by flame, because the substance produced
in combustion is gaseous. In burning coal, for instance, in a fire-
grate, the oxygen of the atmosphere enters into combination with tlie

f04 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

solid carbon of the coal and produces carbonic acid, a gas which
enters the atmosphere, of which it forms a necessary constituent,
since without it the growth of trees and other plants would be
impossible. But combustion is not necessarily accompanied by
flame, or even by a display of intense heat The metal mag-
nesium burns with a great display of light and heat, but without
flame, because the product of combustion is not a gas but a
solid, viz., oxide of magnesia. Again, metallic iron, if in a finely
divided state, ignites when exposed to the atmosphere, giving
rise to the phenomena of heat and light without flame, because
the result of combustion is iron oxide or rust ; but the same iron,
if presented to the atmosphere — more especially to a damp
atmosphere — in a solid condition, does not ignite, but is never-
theless gradually converted into metallic oxide or rust, as before.
Here, then, we have combustion without the phenomena either of
flame or light; but by careful experiment we should find that
heat is nevertheless produced, and that the amount of -heat so
produced precisely equals that obtained more rapidly in exposing
spongy iron to the action of oxygen. Only in the latter case the
heat is developed by slow degrees, and is dispersed as soon as
produced, whereas in the former the rate of production exceeds the
rate of dispersion, and heat therefore accumulates to the extent of
raising the mass to redness. It is evident fi"om these experi-
ments that we have to widen our conception, and call fuel any
substance which is capable of entering into combination with
another substance, and in so doing gives rise to the phenomenon
of heat

" In looking at the solid crust of the earth we find it to be
composed for the most part of siliceous, calcareous, and mag-
neseous rock. The former, silica, consists of the metal silicon
combined with oxygen, and is therefore not fuel, but rather a
burnt substance which has parted with its heat of combustion
ages ago. The second, limestone, is carbonate of lime, or the

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS. 205

combination of two substances, viz., oxide of calcium and carbonic
acid, both of which are essentially products of combustion,
the one of the metal calcium, and the other of carbon. The
third is the substance magnesium, which, combined with lime,
constitutes dolomite rock, of which the Alps are mainly com-
posed. All the commoner metals, such as iron, zinc, tin,
alumina, sodium, &c., we find in nature in an oxidised or
burned condition ; and the only metallic substances that have
resisted the intense oxidising action that must have prevailed at
one period of the earth's creation are the so-called precious
metals, gold, platinum, iridium, and, to some extent also, silver
and copper. Excepting these, coal alone presents itself as carbon
and hydrogen in an oxidised condition. But what about the
oceans of water which have occasionally been cited as repre-
senting a vast store of heat-producing power ready for use when
coal shall be exhausted ? Not many months ago statements to
this effect could be seen in some of our leading papers. Nothing,
however, could be more fallacious. When hydrogen bums doubt-
less a great development of heat ensues, but water is already the
result of this combustion (which took place upon the globe before
the ocean was formed), and the separation of these two substances
would take precisely the same amount of heat as was originally
produced in their combustion. It will thus be seen that both
the solid and fluid constituents of our earth, with the exception
of coal, of naphtha (which is a mere modification of coal), and
the precious metals, are products of combustion, and therefore
the very reverse of fuel. Our earth may indeed be looked
upon as * a ball of cinder, rolling eternally through space,' but
happily in company with another celestial body — the sun — whose
glorious beams are the physical cause of everything that moves
and lives, or that has the power within itself of imparting life,
heat, or motion. Its invigorating influence is made perceptible
to our senses in the form of heat.''

2o6 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

After explaining that combustion ceases, according to Sainte-
Claire Deville, at 4,500° Fahr., which has been called the point
of dissociation — ^because at that point hydrogen might be mixed
with oxygen and yet the two would not combine or produce
combustion — he went on to say :

" All available energy upon the earth, excepting the tidal wave,
is derived from the sun, and the amount of heat radiated year
by year upon our earth could be measured by the evaporation
of a layer of water fourteen feet thick spread over the entire
surface, which again would be represented by the combustion of
a layer of coal one foot in thickness covering our entire globe.
It must, however, be taken into account that three-fourths of
this heat are intercepted by our atmosphere, and only one-fourth
reaches the earth itself. The amount of heat radiated away from
the sun would be represented by the annual combustion of a
thickness of coal seventeen miles thick covering its entire surface ;
and it has been a source of wonder with natural philosophers
how so prodigious an amount of heat could be given off year
after year without any appreciable diminution of the sun*s heat
having become observable. Recent researches with the spectro-
scope, chiefly by Mr. Norman Lockyer, have thrown much light
upon this question. It is now clearly made out that the sun
consists near the surface, if not throughout its mass, of gaseous
elementary bodies, and in a great measure of hydrogen gas,
which cannot combine with the oxygen present, owing to great
elevation of temperature (due to the original great compression)
which has been estimated at from 20,000° to 22,000° Fahr. This
chemically inert and comparatively dark mass of the sun is
surrounded by the photosphere, where the gaseous constituents
of the sun rush into combustion, owing to reduction of tempera-
ture in consequence of their expansion and of radiation of heat
into space. This photosphere is surrounded in its turn by the
chromosphere, consisting of the products of combustion, which,

Sm W/LZIAM SfEMBNS.

I

after being cooled down through loss of heat by radiation, sink
back, owing to their acquired density, towards the centre of the
sun, where they become again intensely heated through coirpreS'
sion, and are ' dissociated ' or split up again into their elements
at the expense of internal solar heat. Great convulsions are
thus continually produced upon the solar surface, resulting
frequently in explosive actions of extraordinary magniiude, when
masses of living fire are projected a thousand miles or more up-
ward, giving rise to the phenomena of sun-spots and of the
corona, which is visible during the total eclipses of the sun.
The sun may therefore be looked upon in the light of a gigantic
gas furnace In which the ^me materials of combustion are used
over and over again."

Continuing his study of this stupendous problem, he brought
his matured thoughts on the subject before the Royal Society in
March, 1S82. He then stated that the amount of heat radiated
from the sun bad been approximately computed at 18,000,000
of heat units for every square foot of his surface per hour, or
as equal to the heat that would be produced by the perfect com-
bustion every thirly-six hours of a mass of coal as great as that
of our earth. If the sun were surrounded by a solid sphere
with a radius equal to the mean distance of the sun from the
earth (93,000,000 miles), the whole of this prodigious amount
of heat would be intercepted ; but considering that the earth's
apparent diameter as seen from the sun is only seventeen seconds,
theearthcanintercept only (he a,25o-raillionlh part. . . . The sun
completes one revolution on his axis in twenty-five days, and his
diameter being taken at 88?, 000 miles, it follows that the tangential
velocity amounts to li mile per second, or nearly 4^ times that of
our earth. The high rotative velocity of the sun must cause an
equatorial rise of the solar atmosphere. If solar rotation takes
place within a medium of unbounded extension, Ihe sun would
:t mechanically upon the floating matter surrounding bim in the

2o8 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

manner of a fan, drawing it towards himself upon the polar surfaces,
and projecting it outward in a continuous disk-like stream. By this
fan-like action hydrogen, hydrocarbons, and oxygen are supposed
to be drawn in enormous quantities toward the polar surfaces
of the sun ; during their gradual approach they will pass from
their condition of extreme attenuation and extreme cold to that
of compression, accompanied with rise of temperature, until
on approaching the photosphere they burst into flame, giving rise
to a great development of heat, and a temperature commensurate
with their point of dissociation at the photospheric density. The
result of their combustion will be aqueous vapour and carbonic
anhydride or oxide, according to th^ufficiency or insufficiency
of oxygen present to complete the combustion ; and these pro-
ducts of combustion, in yielding to the influence of propulsive
force, will flow toward the solar equator, and be thence projected
into space. ... By means of the fan-like action resulting from the
rotation of the sun, the vapours dissociated in space would be
drawn toward the polar surfaces of the sun, be heated by increase
in density, and would burst into a flame at a point where both
their density and temperature had reached the necessary elevation
to induce combustion, each complete cycle taking years or cen-
turies to be accomplished. The resulting aqueous vapour, car-
bonic anhydride and carbonic oxide, would be drawn towards
the equatorial regions, and be then again projected into space
by centrifugal force.

In support of these views Sir William Siemens made numerous
experiments which showed the application of these physical
principles on a small scale. Experiment and reflection led him,
he says, to look upon the sun in the light of a vast piece of
apparatus, worked upon .principles that could be observed and
appreciated at their real value in terrestrial practice. Many
scientific authorities disputed this theory of solar action, but none
of the arguments used against it seemed powerful enough to shake

his faith in it. On the contrary, evidences'in favour of it con-
tinued to accumulate. Referring to this subject in his presidential
address at the British Association in August, i88z, he stated that,
" armed with greatly improved apparatus, the physical astronomer
lias been able to reap a rich harvest of scientific information
during the short periods of the last two solar eclipses— that of 1879,
visible in America, and that of May, 1881, visible in Egypt by
I.ockyer, Schuster, and Continental observers of high standing.
The result of this last eclipse expedition has been summed up as
follows : — " Different temperature levels have been discovered in
the solar atmosphere ; the constitution of the corona has now the
possibility of being determined, and it is proved to shine with its
own light. A suspicion has been aroused once more as to the
existence of a lunar atmosphere, and the position of an important
line has been discovered. Hydro<:arbons do not exist close to
; sun, but may in space between us and it."
"To me personally these reported results possess peculiar interest,
■ in March last I ventured to bring before the Royal Society a
peculation regarding the conservation of solar energy, which was
Bsed upon the three following postulates, viz. ; —

. That aqueous vapour and carbon compounds are present in
lar or interplanetary space.

. That these gaseous compounds are capable of being disso-
ed by radiant solat energy while in a state of extreme
Uten nation.

. That the effect of solar rotation is to draw in dissociated
rapours upon the polar surfaces, and to eject them after com-
bustion has taken place back into space equatorially.

" It is therefore a matter of peculiar gratification to me that the '

results of observation here recorded give considerable support to

m that speculation. The luminous equatorial extensions of the sun

Jwhich the American observations revealed in such a striking

mer (with which I was not acquainted when writing my paper)

210 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

were absent in Egypt; but the outflowing equatorial streams I
suppose to exist could only be rendered visible by reflected
sunlight, when mixed with dust produced by exceptional solar dis-
turbances or by electric discharge ; and the occasional appearance
of such luminous extensions would serve only to disprove the
hypothesis entertained by some, that they are divided planetary
matter, in which case their appearance should be permanent.
Stellar space filled with such matter as hydrocarbon and aqueous
vapour would establish a material continuity between the sun and
his planets, and between the innumerable solar systems of which
the universe is composed. If chemical action and reaction can
further be admitted, we may be able to trace certain conditions of
thermal dependence and maintenance, in which we may recognise
principles of high perfection, applicable also to comparatively
humble purposes of human life."

In 1877 Sir William Siemens, in his inaugural address as president
of the Iron and Steel Institute, again called attention to the
consumption and waste of fuel ; and to show the magnitude of
power which is now for the most part lost, but which may be
sooner or later called into requisition, he took the Falls of Niagara
as a familiar example. He said : " The amount of water passing
over this fall has been estimated at 100,000,000 of tons per hour,
and its perpendicular descent may be taken at 150 ft., without
counting the rapids, which represent a further fall of 150 ft., making
a total of 300 ft. between lake and. lake. But the force represented
by the principal fall alone amounts to 16,800,000 horse-power, an
amount which, if it had to be produced by steam, would necessitate
an expenditure of not less than 266,000,000 tons of coal per
annum, taking the consumption of coal at four pounds per horse-
power per hour. In other words, all the coal raised throughout
the world would barely suffice to produce the amount of power
that continually runs to waste at this one great fall. It would not
be difficult, indeed, to realise a large proportion of the power so

SIR WILLIAM SIEMENS. 211

wasted, by means of turbines and water-wheels erected on the
shores of the deep river below the falls, supplying them from races
cut along the edges. But it would be impossible to utilise the
power on the spot, the district being devoid of mineral wealth or
other natural inducements for the establishment of factories. In
order to render available the force of falling water at this and
hundreds of other places similarly situated, we must devise a
practicable means of transporting the power. Sir William
Armstrong has taught us how to carry and utilise water-power
at a distance, if conveyed through high pressure mains. Time
will probably reveal to us effectual means of carrying power to
great distances, but I cannot refrain from alluding to one which
is, in my opinion, worthy of consideration, namely, the electrical
conductor. Suppose water-power to be employed to give motion
to a dynamo-electrical machine, a very powerful electrical current
will be the result, which may be carried to a great distance, through
a large magnetic conductor, and then be made to impart motion
to electro-magnetic engines, to ignite the carbon points of electric
lamps, and to effect the separation of metals from their combina-
tions. A copper rod three inches in diameter would be capable of
transmitting 1,000 horse-power a distance of, say, thirty miles — an
amount sufficient to supply one-quarter of a million candle-power,
which would suffice to illuminate a moderately sized town."

This passage has been often quoted in the current literature of
the day. It has been much used and much abused. Returning
to the subject in 1881, Sir William Siemens said : "When, only five
years ago, in addressing the Iron and Steel Institute, I ventured
upon the assertion that the time was not distant when the great
natural sources of power, such as waterfalls, would be transferred
to considerable distances by means of stout electric conductors, to
be there utilised for providing towns with light and motive power,
I elicited an incredulous smile even from some of those most
conversant with the laws of electricity. I could now point to at

p 2

212 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

least three instances in this country where power is practically
transmitted to a distance by means of electricity, to be utilised for
pumping water, for lighting, for working machinery, and for the
transmission of locomotive power."

The application of the same idea formed the chief subject of
Sir William Thomson's presidential address to the Mathematical
and Physical Science Section of the British Association in 1881.
He said : '* The splendid suggestion made about five years ago by
Sir William Siemens, in his presidential address to the Iron and
Steel Institute, that the power of Niagara might be utilised by
transmitting it electrically to great distances, has given quite a
fresh departure for design in respect to economy of rain-power.
With the idea of bringing the energy of Niagara usefully to
Montreal, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, I calculated the
formula for a distance of 300 British statute miles (which is greater
than the distance of any of those four cities from Niagara, and is
the radius of a circle covering a large and very important part of
the United States and British North America), and I found almost
to my surprise that, even with so great a distance to be provided
for, the conditions are thoroughly practicable with good economy,
all aspects of the case carefully considered." Again, in 1883, Sir
William Siemens, speaking before the Institution of Civil Engineers,
said it would be interesting to test his early calculation by recent
experience. Mr. Marcel Deprez had lately succeeded in trans-
mitting as much as three horse-power to a distance of twenty-five
miles through a pair of ordinary telegraph wires of 4 mm. diameter.
The results so obtained had been carefully noted by Mr. Tresca,
and had been communicated to the French Academy of Sciences.
Taking the relative conductivity of iron wire employed by Deprez,
and the three-inch rod proposed by Sir William, the amount of
power that could be transmitted through the latter would be about
4,000 horse-power.

In the land of his adoption his labours and genius have not

S/I^ WILLIAM SIEMENS, 213

been allowed to go unrewarded or unhonoured. He has received
many medals and honours from learned societies. The Society of
Arts presented him with its gold medal for his regenerative con-
denser in 1850, and the Institute of Civil Engineers awarded him
the Telford medal in 1852 for his paper " On the Conversion of
Heat into Mechanical Effect." At the London Exhibition in 1862,
and at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867, he received prize
medals for his regenerative gas-furnace and steel process. In
1874 he received the Royal Albert Medal in recognition of his
scientific researches and inventions in connection with heat and
metallurgy; and with the same object the Bessemer gold medal of
the Iron and Steel Institute was presented to him in 1875. Oxford
University conferred the degree of D.C.L. upon him in i86cf;
Glasgow University likewise bestowed the degree of LL.D. ; and
he was made a F.R.S. in 1862. He was also a prominent member
of many learned societies. He has been president of the Insti-
tution of Mechanical Engineers, of the Society of Telegraph
Engineers, of the Iron and Steel Institute, of the Society of
Arts, and of the British Association for the Advancement of
Science. He was a member of the Council of the Institution of
Civil Engineers, of the Iron and Steel Institute, of the British
Association, of the Royal Institution, and the Royal Society.
To all of these societies he contributed valuable papers on
scientific subjects.

It is sad to have to add that a career so distinguished and
useful came to an abrupt close. While walking in Piccadilly on
the 5th November, 1883, he accidentally fell on the pavement,
and from the injuries then received he never recovered. After
a fortnight's illness he died from rupture of the nerves of the
heart, and his death was mourned as a national loss.

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH.

CHAPTER VIII.

** As we perceive the grass to have grown, but did not see it growing, and
as we perceive the shadow to have moved along the dial, but did not see it
moving ; so the advances we make in knowledge, as they consist of such
minute steps, can only be measured by the distance." — Addison,

If it be true, as Carlyle has said, that "we are to bethink us
that the epic verily is not Arms and the Man, but Tools and the
Man — an infinitely wider kind of epic," he has himself supplied
the key-note of the epic of the future. " Man," he says, " is a
tool-using animal. Weak in himself, and of small stature, he
stands on a basis, at most for the flattest soled of some half square
foot, insecurely enough ; has to straddle out his legs, lest the
very wind supplant him. Feeblest of bipeds ! Three quintals are
a crushing load for him ; the steer of the meadow tosses him aloft,
like a waste rag. Nevertheless he can use tools, can devise tools :
with these the granite mountain melts into light dust before him ;
he kneads glowing iron, as if it were soft paste ; seas are his smooth
highway, winds and fire his unwearying steeds. Nowhere can you
find him without tools; without tools he is nothing, with tools
he is alL" In the epic of Tools, surely Sir Joseph Whitworth will
be one of the foremost heroes. The first inventor who took out
a patent for making machine tools, no man has done more to
promote efficiency and facility in the use of workshop appliances.
" The most celebrated mechanician of this country," he has

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 215

invented a whole set of machine tools that have revolutionised
the labours of our workshops ; he has invented means for improving
the metal of which tools are usually made ; and he has provided
with princely liberality for the improvement of that technical
education upon which depends the success of future generations
in the skilful use of tools.

Carlyle, who was capable of going into raptures over tools, has
given us a definition of genius which is generally considered the
reverse of poetic, and is sometimes regarded as anything but
complimentary. Is it possible that after all the incense that for
ages has been offered at the shrine of genius, the " celestial fire "
which princes worshipped and poets prayed for has in the age of
tools been transformed into " an infinite capacity for taking pains ? "
Surely not. Marvellous things still continue to be said of genius
even in this age of tools. For example, it is recorded of William
Rowan Hamilton, who died in 1867, that when only three years
of age he was a superior reader of English and well advanced in
arithmetic ; at four he had a good knowledge of geography ; at
five he was able to read and translate Latin, Greek, and Hebrew,
and fond of reciting Dryden, Collins, Milton, and Homer ; at eight
he had learned Italian and French ; at nine he studied Arabic and
Sanscrit ; at eleven he compiled a Syriac grammar ; and at thirteen
he could write letters in Persian. This youth afterward became
the Royal Astronomer for Ireland, and gave to the world the
principle of quaternions.

Not less surprising were the early intellectual powers displayed
by Henry Smith, who died in 1883. At the age of two years he
was able to read ; and at the age of four he was found teaching
himself Greek from an old-fashioned grammar full of antique
contractions in the characters. His mother carried on his education
till he was eleven, and after that he was under a tutor, who has
stated that within nine months afterwards, the boy read all
Thucydides, Sophocles, and Sallust, twelve books of Tacitus, the

2i6 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

greater part of Horace, Juvenal, Persius, and several plays of
iEschylus and Euripides ; he also got up six books of Euclid and
algebra to simple equations ; he read a considerable quantity of
Hebrew ; and among other things, he learnt all the Odes of Horace
by heart. Such was the intellectual childhood of the man who
afterward became the greatest mathematician at Cambridge
University.

Again, of James Clerk Maxwell, who died in the winter of 1879,
it is said that before he was three years old he was busily engaged
in investigating the mysteries of the bell-wires which ran through
his father's house, and on a starry winter evening he was wrapped
in a plaid and carried to the hall-door by his father, who there
gave him his first lessons in astronomy. In his school-boy days
he became absorbed in experiments on the compression of solids
and the composition of light. In his fourteenth year he wrote a
paper on oval curves, which was pronounced on the highest
scientific authority to be worth reading before the Royal Society
of Edinburgh, on account of the simplicity and elegance of its
method as well as its originality. He grasped almost intuitively
results which cost others infinite pains. A fellow-student at
Cambridge who spent midnight and early morning hours in
preparation for Mr. Hopkins, the mathematical tutor, says that
half an hour or so before the time, Maxwell would rise and cheer-
fully say, '*Well, I must go to old Hop's problems." Yet his work
was always so well done that Mr. Hopkins said he never knew
Maxwell to make a mistake. At the age of nineteen, to the
astonishment of members who did not know the slender stripling,
he disputed some point in the colour theory with Sir David
Brewster at the British Association. At the age of 48 he died ;
yet at that early age he had made discoveries in physical science
that " enriched the inheritance left by Newton, consolidated the
work of Faraday, and impelled the mind of Cambridge University
to a fresh course of real investigation/'

^P SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 217

^P'Would it not be popularly regarded as the language or depre-
dation to speak of such amazing powers as merely an infinite
capacity for taking pains? Yet, however disenchanting the
admission may be, the "infinite capacity for taking pains" will
be found to have played a most imporiant part in the epic of
"Tools and the Man." Even the transcendent genius "who
first carried the line and plummet to the outskirts of creation"
was not above " taking pains." " Accurate and minute measure-
ment," says Sir William Thomson, " seems to the non-scientific
imagination a less lofty and dignified work than looking for
something new. But nearly all Ihe grandest discoveries of
science have been but the rewards of accurate measurement
and patient long continued labour in the minute sifting of numerical
results. The popular idea of Newton's grandest discovery is that
the theory of gravitation Bashed into his mind, and so the discovery
was made. It was by a long train of mathematical calculation,
founded on results accumulated through the prodigious toil of
practical astronomers, that Newton first demonstrated the forces
urging Ihe planets towards the sun, determined the magnitude of
those forces, and discovered that a force following the same law
of variation with distance urges the moon towards tJic earth.
Then first, we may suppose, came to him the idea of the
universality of gravitation ; but when he attempted to compare
Ihe magnitude of the force on the moon with the magnitude of
the force of gravitation of a heavy body of equal mass at the earth's
surface, he did not find the agreennent which the law he was
discovering requited. Not for years after would he publish his
discovery as made. It is recounted that, being present at a meeting
of the Royal Society, he heard a paper read describing geodesic
measurement by Picard, which led to a serious correction of the
previously accepted estimate of the earth's radius. This was what
Newton required. He went home with the result, and commenced
his calculations, but ftlt so much agitated that he handed over the

2i8 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

arithmetical work to a friend ; then (and not when, sitting in a
garden, he saw an apple fall,) did he ascertain that gravitation
keeps the moon in her orbit."

It thus appears that the greatest achievements in the realm of
physical truth may become common-place when stripped of the
halo of romance in which tradition has enveloped them ; and thus
it is that labourers in the field of science or mechanics may, as
Goldsmith said of literary men, lead uneventful lives. ** Taking
pains," even infinite pains, is rarely a fascinating operation ; indeed,
it is often the reverse. Hence the results obtained by men of this
stamp are generally of more value than a detailed record of the
labours that preceded them, even if, as is often the case with them,
it is labour refreshed with hope and crowned with success. In
this category may be ranked the life's work of Sir Joseph Whit-
worth. One of his most discriminating admirers has stated tliat for
his eminence in his profession Sir Joseph is indebted to a natural
aptitude for its cultivation, but mainly " to an exhaustive knowledge
of its principles and processes, acquired by unconquerable perse-
verance. He does not belong to the ordinary type of inventors, —
quick, versatile, and ingenious, acting from impulse or apparent
inspiration ; his productions, on the contrary, are the results of
slow and deliberate thought, bringing former observation to bear
upon tentative experiment, and accepting nothing as established
till it has undergone proof. Proceeding with a logical severity to
rest further operations only on ascertained facts, his process is
so strictly inductive that he might justly be designated the Bacon
of mechanics."

Joseph Whitworth was bom at Stockport, in Cheshire, on the
2 1 St of December, 1803. He was educated by his father till he was
twelve years old, and he was then sent to a private academy at
Idle, near I^eds, where he remained eighteen months. He then
left school, and entered the manufactory. He was placed under
the care of an uncle, who had a cotton mill in Derbyshire, wherein,

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 219

while still a boy of fourteen years, he began to acquire a knowledge
of machinery. At the age of eighteen he left the mill and entered
the workshop. In the capacity of a mechanic, he worked for four
years in Manchester, where he gave every attention to the making
of machinery, which may be said to have then become the object
of his life. At the age of twenty-one he removed to London,
where he worked for eight years, chiefly with Maudslay & Clements,
the former of whom was himself an inventor of tools, and the latter
was associated with Babbage in the construction of his calculating
machine. By this laborious training, and in this school of
inventors, he acquired that practical knowledge and mechanical
skill, which, aided by his inventive faculties, afterwards yielded
such abundant results. In those days the working mechanic was
almost unaided by machinery; the planing machine was then
unknown ; the chisel and hammer, the file, the primitive lathe, and
a simple screw-cutting machine formed the whole repertory of
engineers' tools. The measure then in use was a two-foot rule
divided into eighths of an inch ; and though the skilled workmen
ventured to go to i6ths, 32nds, bare 32nds, and full 32nds, the
general results were of a rude and primitive kind, and work of
a high character could only be produced by superior skill on
the part of the workmen. It was in these circumstances that
young Whitworth early saw the great need there was for im-
proved tools and machinery. In the cotton spinning and
weaving factories around Manchester there was a growing
demand for mechanical work of a higher character to cheapen
and improve the complicated machinery which was then in use,
but which it was difficult to make. His early connection with
the cotton trade impressed him with the great advantages to
be gained by improvements in the means of producing more
perfect and exact machinery. Among the many skilled work-
men employed in Maudslay & Clements' workshops, he was
esteemed the best ; but not content with personal distinction

220 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

as a mechanic, he set himself to the production of machine tools
— machines made for the purpose of producing other machinery.
To this work he devoted his years from attaining manhood to
middle life. It has been stated as a general law in scientific
thought, that the best and most original ideas have always been
conceived before the age of thirty. However generally this
may be the case, it is the fact that before Sir Joseph Whitworth
was thirty years of age he succeeded in producing plane surfaces
with a degree of precision which was then unknown, and this
formed the groundwork of nearly all his other machines. This
achievement was perfected and described by him in 1840. The
old method of producing true planes was that of grinding the
surfaces of plates alternately with emery powder and water, which
was as imperfect as it was laborious. Grinding, according to his
own account,^ was objectionable because it was unreliable. If one
plane was true and the other not, grinding might give part of the
error to both, instead of the true plane being imparted to each.
Moreover, grinding powder collected in greater quantity about the
edges of the metal than in the interior parts, producing untnie
planes. The practice of grinding altogether impeded the progress
of improvement A true surface, instead of being in common use,
was almost unknown. The want of it in various departments of
the arts and manufactures was sensibly felt. The valves of steam-
engines, the tables of printing-presses, stereotype plates, surface-
plates, slides of all kinds required a high degree of truth, much
superior to what they generally possessed. In the preparation of
a surface-plate where there was already a model, generally the
method of insuring the true natuire of the new one was by spreading
thin colouring matter over it, and then rubbing it with the true
plate. The colour formed a thin film over the brightness of the
plate, and where it was not true, the colour did not make a full
impression, the higher points on the rising surface being coloured
^ Paper reai at the British Association meeting in Glasgow, 1840.

SIR JOSEPH WHIT WO R TH 221

over, while the other parts were left in the shade. This dappled
appearance showed the precise conditions of the new surface in
every part, and enabled the mechanic to make it correspond with
the original.

Such was the primitive process which was superseded by a
method of mechanical precision. After repeated efforts, in-
volving much labour and ingenuity, to produce true planes by
means of the steel straight-edge and scraper, he succeeded, in
1830, in ** originating " the first true planes ever made. The work
of producing copies of them sufficiently accurate for workshop
purposes then became comparatively easy. One of the best and
most successful machines for this work is his edge planing
machine, which can be made of almost any size. Sir Joseph
had one made in his own works capable of taking a single cut
forty feet in length. The bed of this machine is fifty feet long,
its grooves being considered the longest true planes that have
ever been made. So exactly can surface plates be made by his
apparatus that if one of them be placed upon another, when clean
and dry, the upper one will appear to float upon the lower one with-
out being actually in contact with it, the weight of the upper plate
being insufficient to expel, except by slow degrees, the thin film
of air between their surfaces. But if the air be expelled, the
plates will adhere together, so that by lifting the upper one
the lower will be lifted along with it, as if they formed one
plate.

To test this property of true planes before a meeting at the
Royal Institution, Professor Tyndall exhibited two exceedingly
accurate hexagonal planes which remained adherent in the best
vacuum obtainable by a good air pump. The atmosphere was
reduced until its total pressure on the surface of the hexagon
amounted to only half a pound. The lower plate weighed 3 lbs.,
and to it was attached a mass of lead weighing 12 lbs. Though
the pull of gravity was here thirty times the pressure of the

22 2 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

atmosphere, the weight was supported. Indeed, it was obvious,
says the learned Professor, when an attempt was made to pull
the plates asunder, that had a weight of loo lbs. instead of
12 lbs. been attached to the lower hexagon, it also would have
been sustained by the powerful attraction of the two surfaces.
" To show*the probable character of the contact between the planes,
two very perfect surfaces of glass were squeezed together with
sliding pressure. They clung, apparently, as firmly as the
Whitworth planes. Throwing, by reflection from the glass plates,
a strong beam of light upon a white screen, the colours of ** thin
plates " were vividly revealed. Clasping the plates of glass by
callipers and squeezing them, the colours passed through various
changes. When monochromatic light was employed, the succes-
sions of light and darkness were numerous and varied, producing
patterns of great beauty. All this proved that, though in such
close mechanical contact, the plates were by no means in
optical contact, being separated by distances capable of embracing
several wave-lengths of the monochromatic light."

The economy of this invention is not less than its mechanical
precision ; the previous cost of planing surfaces, done by hand,
was 1 2S. a foot ; and now with this machine it is only a penny a
foot. As showing the different conditions of the trade, however,
it should be added, on the authority of the inventor himself, that
when the cost of labour for making a true plane by chipping and
filing was 12^. per foot, the capital required for tools for one
workman was only a few shillings, but now, when the labour is
lowered to \d, per foot, the capital required for planing machines
often amounts to 500/.

It was while working as a jouneyman mechanic that Sir Joseph
Whitworth conceived the idea of making true planes ; and having
partly accomplished this task he returned from London to
Manchester in 1833, and began business on his own account.
Over his door was written " Joseph Whitworth, tool-maker, from

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 223

Tendon," and this was the beginning of the great works which
have since achieved world-wide renown.

When he introduced his true planes into his own workshop,
the workmen did not conceal their prejudice in favour of the old
method of planing, but a very short experience taught them that
the new process was much quicker and more reliable than the old
one. The new planing machine may be said to have come
perfect from its creator's hands, for since its first construction
it has continued to be made to this day without any alteration in
principle.

The development of the principle of the slide followed the
construction of true planes, the one being in fact an extended
application of the other. Simple as the slide now appears, its
application to the construction of machines to an extent that has
not found a limit has only taken place during the last forty years,
for though the principle itself merely consists in so forming two
adjacent plates as parts of a machine that one of them can slide
freely upon the other, it required years of skill and ingenuity to
work out its application in complicated machines, and its effect
in facilitating the operations of the workshop might be regarded
as next in importance to the introduction of the steam-engine
as a source of motive power. It gave birth to a better and
happier age.

The improvement of the screw was another important step in
the same direction. He observed that great inconvenience
was experienced owing to the variety of threads adopted by
different manufacturers in the bolts and screws used in fitting
up steam engines and other machines, and that the work of
repairing was thus rendered both expensive and imperfect He saw
that the evil would be remedied by a uniform system in which the
threads would be constantly the same for a given diameter. The
old diversity of threads made it necessary in the refitting shop of
a railway or shipbuilding company to have as great a variety of

224 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

screwing apparatus as there were different manufacturers by whom
the engines were supplied. It appeared obvious to him that if the
same system of screw threads were in common use, a single set of
screwing machines would suffice. He therefore directed his
attention to this matter. He was led to alter the threads of the
screws used at his own works in consequence of various objections
that were urged against them. An extensive collection of screw
bolts was made from the principal workshops throughout England,
and the average thread was carefully observed for the different
diameters. The \^ ^, i, and \\ inch were particularly selected,
and taken as fixed points of the scale by which the intermediate
sizes were regulated. The scale was afterwards extended to six
inches. Impressed with the necessity of improving the guiding
screw in the lathe, he determined in like manner to accomplish
this desideratum. He got rid of fractional measurements, and
made the screw as perfect as possible. In the guiding screw,
thirty feet long, there were two threads in the inch, and he worked
upon it every day for six months, making it take out its own errors.
As then perfected it has remained ever since, and the standard
thus created is one of the most important as well as one of the
nicest applications of mechanism. It took a long time to do it,
but the result is that now every marine engine and every loco-
motive in this country has the same screw for every given diameter.
His system of screws has now been adopted throughout the world,
wherever engines and machinery are manufactured, the dies for
producing the whole series having been originally furnished from
his works at Manchester.

By his multiform applications of the true plane, the slide, and
the screw, he enabled mechanics to work with a facility, precision,
and cheapness hitherto unknown ; but to insure the perfection of
such work, exact uniformity of manufacture and reliable means
of testing this exactness were still wanted. ** I cannot impress
too strongly on this institution," said Sir Joseph to the Institution

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH, 225

of Mechanical Engineers in 1856, "and upon all in any way con-
nected with mechanism, the vast importance of possessing a true
plane as a standard of reference. All excellence of workmanship
depends upon it. Next in importance to the true plane is the
power of measurement." His measuring machine supplied that
power. It is one of his simplest and yet most valuable inventions.
The principle of it is best described in his own words : ** The
measuring machines which I have constructed are based upon the
production of the true plane. Measures of length are obtained
either by line or end measurement. The English standard yard
is represented by two lines drawn across two gold studs sunk in
a bronze bar about thirty-eight inches long, the temperature being
about 62° Fahr. There is an insurmountable difficulty in convert-
ing line measure to end measure, and therefore it is most de-
sirable for all standards of linear measure to be end measure.
Line measure depends on sight aided by magnifying glasses ; but
the accuracy of end measure is due to the sense of touch, and the
delicacy of that sense is indicated by means of a mechanical
multiplier. In the case of the workshop measuring machine the
divisions on the micrometer wheel represent io,oooths of an inch.
The screw has 20 threads to an inch, and the wheel is divided
into 500, which multiplied by 20 gives for each division the
1 0,000th of an inch. We find in practice that the movement of
the fourth part of a division, being the 40,000th of an inch, is
distinctly felt and gauged. In the case of the millionth machine,
we introduce a feeling piece between one end of the bar to be
measured and one end of the machine, and the movement of the
micrometer wheel through one division, which is the millionth of
an inch, is sufficient gravity. The screw in the machine has 20
threads, which number multiplied by 200 — the number of teeth in
the screw wheel — gives for the turn of the micrometer wheel the
4,oooth of an inch, which multiplied by 250 — the number of
divisions on the micrometer wheel — gives for each division one

Q

226 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

millionth of an inch. The sides of this feeling piece are true
planes parallel to each other, and the ends, both of the bars and
the machine, are true planes parallel to each other and at right
angles to the axis of the bar ; thus four tnie planes act in concert.
In practice we find that the temperature of the body exercises an
important influence when dealing with such minute differences, and
practically it is impossible to handle the pieces of metal without
raising the temperature beyond 60°. I am of opinion that the
proper temperature should be approaching that of the human
body, and I propose that 85** Fahr. should be adopted, and that
the standards and measuring appliances should be kept in a room
at a uniform temperature of 85° Fahr." Again he states that
when a standard yard, which is a square bar of steel, is placed in
one of his large measuring machines, and the gravity piece is
adjusted so as to fall by its weight, the heat imparted from the
slightest touch of the finger instantly prevents its fall, owing to
the lengthening of the bar by so small an amount of heat. As
another illustration of the extremely minute quantity represented
by the millionth part of an inch, he says it is only necessary to
rub a piece of soft steel a very few times to diminish its thickness
by a millionth of an inch.

Another striking illustration of the utility of exact measurements
and the importance of very small differences of size was given by
him in an address delivered at Manchester in 1857. "Here,*' he
said, "is an internal gauge, having a cylindrical aperture '5770
inch diameter, and here also are two external gauges or solid
cylinders, one being '5769 inch, and the other '5770 inch diameter.
The latter is one ten thousandth of an inch larger than the former,
and fits tightly in the internal gauge when both are clean and
dry, while the smaller '5769 gauge is so loose in it as to
appear not to fit at all. These gauges are finished with great
care, and are made true after being case hardened. They are so
hard that nothing but the diamond will cut them, except the

I

k

S/Ji JOSEPH WWTWORTH. aa?

grinding process to which they have been subjected. The effect of
applying a drop of fine oil to the surface of this gauge is very-
remarkable. It will be observed that the fit of the larger cyhnder
becomes more easy, while that of the smaller becomes more tight.
These results show the necessity of proper lubrication. The
external and internal gauges are so near in size that the one does
through the other when dried, and if pressed in there would
be a danger of the surface particles of the one becoming imbedded
among those of the other, which I have seen happen ; and
tfien no amount of force will separate them ; but with a small
quantity of oil on their surface they move easily and smoothly.
In the case of the external gauge, "5769 in diameter, which is one
ten thousandth of an inch smaller in diameter than the internal
gauge, a space of half that quantity is left between the surfaces,
this becomes filled with oil, and hence the tighter fitting which is
experienced. It is thus obvious to the eye and the touch that the
difference between these cylinders of one ten thousandth of an inch
is an appreciable and important quantity, and what is now required
is a method which shall express systematically and without
confusion a scale applicable to such minute differences of
measurement." The Whitworth gauges have been adopted by the
Government as standards of measurement.

In 1S41 he produced a simple machine which at the time did
more 10 bring his name under the immediate notice of the
general public than all his wonderful tools. This was a street
Bweeping machine, which after being in operation ten months
in Manchester was reported to have changed that town from
being one of the dirtiest into one of the cleanest of our large
towns. A contemporary account says the power of the machine
was extraordinary, being equal to thirty men, while in its opera-
tion the numerous annoyances inseparable from the old hand
method were avoided. The apparatus consisted of a series of
brooms suspended from a light frame of wrougtit iron hung

228 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

at the end of a common cart, the body of which was placed
as near the ground as possible for greater facility of loading.
As the cart and wheels revolved, the brooms successively swept
the surface of the ground, and carried the soil up an inclined
plane, at the top of which it fell into the body of the cart.

It would be tedious to go into all his minute inventions, but
his activity may be indicated by the fact that between 1834 and
1849 he took out fifteen patents, being an average of one per
annum. This was the period in which most of his important
machine tools were brought to perfection. At that time a patent
cost from 500/. to 600/., so that it was not worth while to
patent every trifling improvement.

All the machine tools invented by Sir Joseph Whitworth were
exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851; and the reports of
the juries on the machinery departments are full of compliments
to him. When we remember the alarm that was then raised
at the technical and mechanical progress made by foreign nations,
the decisive judgment of the jury in this department is of historic

interest. In concluding their report they said: "From the

•

above description of engineers' tools, it will be seen that Mr.
Whitworth has contributed one or more specimens of first-rate
excellence under each head. In addition, it is necessary to
direct particular attention to his measuring machine (which,
however, properly belongs to the class of philosophical instru-
ments) and to the admirable collection of apparatus by the
employment of which a uniformity of system in the dimensions
and fitting of machinery and in the sizes and arrangement of
screw-threads is rendered practicable amongst engineers in
general. The confusion and delay occasioned in the repair of
machinery and apparatus of all kinds by the want of sucli a
system have long been felt ; and the attention of engineers was
directed to the subject by a paper that he communicated to the
Institution of Civil Engineers in 1841. His system has already

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 229

obtained great extension, and he has contributed to the present
Exhibition a complete set of the apparatus required to carry
it out."

The Council awarded to Sir Joseph Whitworth their medal
for his engineers' machine tools, measuring machine, knitting
machine, &c.

From his primary inventions a whole progeny of tools,
gauges, and machines were produced for drilling, shaping,
slotting, and numerous other purposes; and as the result of
these manifold improvements the production of machinery has
multiplied during the last forty years to an enormous extent.
By the exactness and uniformity of manufacture which have been
attained by his improvements, manufacturers can now supply
in any number the component parts of a machine which are
perfectly interchangeable. For example, fifty years ago the
thousands of spindles in a cotton factory had each to be
separately fitted into the bolster in which it had to work. Now
all these spindles are made to gauge and are interchangeable.
As an example of the efficiency attained by these improvements,
take the duplex lathe, which he designed and perfected, and
used almost exclusively at his own works. By means of it the
prices of work were reduced 40 per cent, and in addition
to that 40 per cent, more work was produced.

But the beneficial effects of these mechanical improvements,
small and unimpressive as they appear individually, are not
confined to the workshop. No one appeared to take a sounder
view of this subject than their inventor. In the concluding
passages of his presidential address to the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers in 1857, Sir Joseph made some prescient
observations, which were then regarded by not a few as economic
heresy. " Formerly," he said, *• when the wealth of the nation
was produced, as it were, by hand labour, a different state of
things existed to that of the present day (1857). Our means

230 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

of production are now increased in some cases more than one
hundred and in others more than one thousand fold, and this will
go on just in proportion as the masses of the people are able to
consume larger quantities of everything they may require. When
the farm labourer pays less for his sugar and tea, more meat will
be consumed (which again goes to improve the land), also the
more he will have of our manufactures. In this wonderful
power of producing wealth which now exists, none can be more
interested and benefited than the proprietor of the land. A
striking proof of this is given by its increased value in the
manufacturing counties and for miles adjoining our manufacturing
towns. The competition, too, of our manufacturers and mer-
chants to be possessors of land is shown by the small rate of
interest with which they are satisfied for the outlay of their capital
on the soil. The proprietors of land may rest assured that in
the future development of mechanical improvements, none will
be more benefited than themselves. I don't hesitate to say
that all the harvest operations of land, properly laid down, will
very shortly be performed, in one quarter of the time required
with the hand labour now expended, by the further application
of machines worked by horse-power. This is my conviction
based upon the experience I have had in the successful working
of the machine I constructed for sweeping the streets and at the
same time filling the cart by horse-power. By the combined aid
of mechanical improvements, of the science of chemistry, to-
gether with the greater skill of our modern agriculturists, the
cultivation of the land throughout Great Britain must more and
more approximate that of a garden."

Such were some of the material results that he anticipated
as the effect of mechanical skill. He was next to exercise his
inventive powers in another field, success in which had often
been attended with very different results from those just described
by himself as the fruits of industrial progress. From the foremost

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH, 231

position as a maker of implements of construction to a similar
position as a maker ol* the apparatus of destruction may not
now-a-days appear a kind of natural sequence ; but in the case
of Sir Joseph Whitworth this was by no means a rapid transition.
Nor was it a voluntary transition. At the outbreak of the
Crimean War the equipment of our army became an urgent
question. The Enfield rifle was then considered the best weapon ;
and public confidence in it was strengthened by the aqcounts given
of its effectiveness at the battles of the Alma and Inkerman, where
" it smote the enemy like the destroying angel." But this favourite
weapon was then made by hand, and when it became necessary
to obtain rifles in large quantities it was found that the private
makers were unable to supply them in the requisite time. Under
these circumstances application was made to Parliament by the
military authorities for the means to erect a small arms factory ;
and as the Birmingham gunmakers vigorously opposed this
proposal, a select committee was appointed to consider the
subject Amongst the witnesses examined before this committee
was Sir Joseph Whitworth, who contended that there were no
sufficient data available for their guidance in the establishment
of a small arms factory, that little or nothing was then known
of the real nature of the interior of barrels, and that the most
effective form of barrel was only determined by the vague rule
of thumb. To demonstrate the mechanical precision with which
the work could be done, he explained that it was possible to
measure sizes to the millionth part of an inch, and at the same
time pointed out that till the accuracy of the barrel was tested
by such wonderful measuring power, no sound conclusions could
be arrived at as to the best form of bore, and that the Govern-
ment, in proceeding to establish a small arms factory without
clearer data of this sort, would be going to work in the dark.
His view was amply confirmed by the differences of opinion
among gunmakers as to the best form of bore; while Lord

232 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

Hardinge, then Master-General of the Ordnance, admitted that
" one rifle shoots well, another ill, and the eye of the best viewer
can detect no difference in the gun to account for it." In these
circumstances Lord Hardinge invited Sir Joseph in 1854 to
furnish designs for a complete set of new machinery for making
good rifles. This invitation he at first declined, and urged as
his reason ** the importance of first ascertaining what the principle
of the unknown secret was that caused the differences in the power
of rifles, before any machine could be constructed to make a rifle
that would require no further alteration." As the result of further
communications with Lord Hardinge, Sir Joseph offered to
conduct a series of preliminary experiments with the view of
determining the true principle governing the construction of rifle
barrels, if the Government would pay the expense of erecting
a shooting gallery for experimental purposes. At first this offer
was not accepted, chiefly on the ground of " expensiveness ; "
but, after being some time in suspense, Lord Ellesmere and Lord
Hardinge urged upon the Treasury the necessity of its immediate
acceptance. Lord Hardinge represented that "the most cele-
brated mechanician of his country" had declined the responsibility
of producing the required machinery until he had first, by the
most careful experiments, ascertained the true principle for
constructing and rifling the barrel; and so essential did he
consider this precaution that Sir Joseph would rather defray
the attendant expenses himself than proceed without the pre-
liminary experiments. The Government wanted, at the earliest
possible date, a million rifles, which Birmingham could not supply
with the existing means of production in less than twenty years.
" No gunsmith," he added, " could imitate the most perfect rifle,
nor tell why it shoots well or ill ; but if the secret be discovered,
it may be copied by machinery, and Sir Joseph Whitworth is
confident that he can discover and can copy it." Assured that
if this necessary demand were denied, there would be an end

S/J^ JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 233

to the plan of making rifle barrels by machinery, the Lords of
the Treasury assented to the experiments in May, 1854. Sir
Joseph then ordered the erection of a suitable gallery, protected
from changes in the wind and from fluctuations in the atmo-
sphere. He considered it absolutely necessary to track the path
of the rifle bullet through its entire course, to determine whether
its point preserved the true forward direction, and to mark its
trajectory. This rifle gallery, erected at Rusholme in October,
1854, was accordingly furnished with screens of very tight tissue
paper. Measuring 500 yards in length, 16 feet in width, and
20 feet in height, the gallery had a slated roof and was
lighted by openings in the south side. It was furnished with
a target on wheels, so that it could be used for shooting at
various distances, and there were also rests for steadying the
aim. But the experiments were delayed by an unexpected
accident. The gallery had scarcely been a week finished when it
was blown down by a storm of great violence, and it was not till
the spring of 1855 that it was rebuilt. The experiments in it
began in March. Lord Hardinge, who took a great interest in
these experiments, communicated the results to the Prince Con-
sort. The Enfield rifle had a bore of '577 inch and the rifling
had one turn in seventy-eight inches. The experiments carried
on by Sir Joseph led him to the conclusion that the Enfield rifle
was wrong in every particular. His first step was to find out the
effect of increased twist in rifling, and for this purpose he tried
barrels with one turn in sixty inches, one in thirty inches, one in
twenty inches, one in ten inches, one in five inches, and one in
one inch, by firing from each of those shapes mechanically fitting
bullets of lead and tin. In this way he satisfied himself that the
best twist for a rifle bullet was one in twenty with a minimum
diameter of barrel of '45 inch. In the Enfield, moreover, the
bore was cylindrical with grooves, while in the new Whitworth
rifle it was made hexagonal with the edges rounded.

234 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

The experiments which gave these results extended over two
years, and when, at the end of that time, Sir. Joseph announced
that he had solved the problem, a series of trials were made with
his new rifle, first at Hythe and next at Woolwich. It beat the
Government musket in the proportion of three to one. The best
performance previously noticed had been a deviation of twenty-
four inches in 500 yards ; the deviation of the Whit worth rifle
at 800 yards was barely half this amount, while the deviation
of the Enfield at 8oo was more than twice its deviation at 500.
At 1,400 yards the Whitworth deviation was 4*62 feet, while at
that distance a target fourteen feet square was not hit at all by
the Enfield.

Sir John Burgoyne, who took a lively interest in the inquiry,
stated, in a letter dated December 11, 1857, and addressed to
Sir Joseph Whitworth : " I am myself so fully satisfied with your
musket as a great step in advance which I must expect to be
early adopted, that I am anxious for the time when we can know
more about its powers of penetration of different substances, say
iron, steel, elm, oak, &c., or earth, with the hard bullet." Sir
Joseph soon solved this point. His rifle sent its bullets through
thirty-four half-inch elm boards, while the Enfield penetrated
twelve of the boards and was stopped at the thirteenth. A new
capacity of the Whitworth rifle was at the same time manifested.
The rifling of the new weapon permitted the use of a steel
bullet, which pierced plates of iron half an inch thick, not
only point blank, but at obliquities varying from 0° to over
50°. He adopted as the best form of bullet one with a conical
front and a length of three or three and a half times its own
diameter. " In some projectiles which I employ," he says,
** the rotations are 60,000 a minute. In the motion of machinery
S,ooo revolutions in a minute is extremely high, and consider-
ing the vis viva imparted to a projectile as represented by a
velocity of rotation of 60,000 revolutions, and the velocity of

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 235

progress of 60,000 feet per minute, the mind will be prepared
to understand how the resistance of thick armour plates of
iron is overcome when such enormous velocities are brought
to a sudden standstill."

What a handsome reward the unselfish and ingenious inventor
deserved at the hands of the British Government for producing
such a powerful weapon ! How did they recognise his services ?
They first depreciated his rifle, then ignored himself, and
finally appropriated the chief principles he had discovered: A
committee of officers in 1859 gave a conflicting account of the
Whitworth rifle which, on the whole, they made to appear
unsuitable, for the British army. Individual members of the
committee were emphatic in its favour. Thus, General Hay, then
considered one of the greatest authorities on the subject, reported
that the Whitworth rifle, as compared with the Enfield, possessed
great increase of precision and range ; great increase of strength
and durability, and great increase of penetration (nearly treble).
Nor was the individual testimony of great authorities the only
evidence in its favour The National Rifle Association put forth
an advertisement in i860 calling for the most perfect rifle that
could be invented. The competition was open to all the world,
and on trial the Whitworth was not only declared to be the
best rifle known, but it was at once adopted. In 186 1, when
the advertisement was repeated, no competitor came forward
to challenge the supremacy of the Whitworth rifle. Apropos^
the Queen inaugurated the first prize meeting of the National
Rifle Association at Wimbledon by firing the first shot with
a Whitworth rifle on the 2nd of July, i860. The rifle was
mounted on a mechanical rest, which was dependent for its
geometrical exactness on the use of one of the Whitworth tnie
planes, and which was constructed in a way that was believed
to secure accuracy of aim at the moment of firing. On the
rifle thus placed being fired by the Queen pulling a silken cord

236 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

attached to the trigger, the bullet struck the target an inch and
a half from the centre.

"Considering," said Sir Hussey Vivian, "that that shot was
calculated beforehand, and that it was fired in the open air
at a distance of 400 yards from the target, it was probably the
most marvellous shot that ever came from a rifle."

The fame of the rifle soon spread abroad. On the second
Monday in October, i860. Sir Joseph Whijworth arrived in Paris,
and on Wednesday the Emperor Napoleon sent him a message
that he wished to see him at St. Cloud. The interview that
followed was a long one, and in the course of it the Emperor
discussed with Sir Joseph numerous questions relating to the
construction of his rifles, finally expressing a wish to see them
shot with. Accordingly a trial was arranged, and it took place
at Vincennes with the usual successful results. The Whitworth
rifle was tried in competition with the best rifles that were
produced in France. At 500 yards the Whitworth carried off
the honours at the rate of three to one ; at 700 yards the French
rifles were withdrawn from further contest, while the Whitworth
continued to shoot accurately up to 1,000. Next day it was
intimated to Sir Joseph that the experiment was considered
satisfactory, that the Emperor wished a number of rifles to be
made for him, that he would send an officer to Southport to
see some of Sir Joseph's large guns tested as soon as the neces-
sary arrangements could be made, and that he was prepared
without delay to negotiate the purchase of the patent for France,
if the ammunition used presented no difficulty.

In 1862 a committee appointed by the British Government
reported that makers of small bore rifles having any pretence
to special accuracy had copied to the letter the three main
elements of success adopted by Sir Joseph Whitworth, namely —
the diameter of bore, degree of spiral, and large proportion of
rifling surface. It was not till 1874 that the English Govern-

SIJ^ JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 237

ment adopted his principles, and then it was not done under
his name. The Martini-Henry rifle, which then became the
adopted weapon, is rifled polygonally, but a heptagon is sub-
stituted for the Whitworth hexagon. The twist in the Martini-
Henry rifle is one in twenty-two, or nearly the same as that
of the Whitworth rifle ; and the length of the bullet used for the
Martini-Henry — 2*93 diameters — is practically the Whitworth
measurement.

In a debate in the House of Commons in 1861, Mr. Turner
said that " Sir Joseph Whitworth was engaged in manufacturing
instruments of peace when he was applied to by the Government
It was not his wish to enter upon the manufacture of these rifles ;
but having been applied to by the Government, he gave his skill
and energy, and devoted thousands of pounds of his own private
fortune, to carry on experiments which were first originated at the
instance of the Government. Sir Joseph had no desire to make
a fortune by the manufacture of rifles, but he had a desire to
benefit his country by the production of the best weapon that
could be manufactured for its defence, and to bring his skill to
bear in producing an arm which should enable the troops of this
country to meet the enemy, both at home and abroad, with
eflfect. He ended by producing the very best weapon ever
invented. That was the only honour he sought, and he has
attained it, although very scant justice has been done to him
since he completed his experiments. '*

Professor Tyndall says : " When Sir Joseph Whitworth began
his experiments he was as ignorant of the rifle as Pasteur of the
miscroscope when he began his immortal researches on spon-
taneous generation. But, like the illustrious Frenchman, Whitworth
mastered his subject to an extent never previously approached.
He found the powder used for rifles unfit for its purpose. In
point of precision, he obtained a ' figure of merit ' greatly superior
to any obtained. He carried his ranges far beyond all previous

238 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

rpnges; and, in point of penetration, achieved unexampled
results. He did this, moreover, by a system of rifling peculiar to
himself, which had never been thought of previously, and which
is substantially adhered to in the favourite weapon of to-day. It
would be difficult to point to an experimental investigation con-
ducted with greater sagacity, thoroughness, and skill, and which
led to more important conclusions."

"It is the province of the generalising faculty to extend to
the largest phenomena the principles discerned in the smallest."
Exercising this faculty. Sir Joseph Whitworth appHed to the
manufacture of heavy guns the same principles that he applied
to his rifle. " I have always found," he says, " that what I could
do with the smaller calibres of my system could be reproduced
in the larger sizes."

Having, in 1856, demonstrated that a rifle bullet should be
three diameters long, he showed, when he came to the construc-
tion of ordnance, that "this rule holds good for a thirty-five ton
gun as well as for a rifle." He went through a similar course of
experiments to show the relation of the amount of twist to the
length of the projectile, and found that projectiles varying from
one to seven diameters in length yielded the following results : —
With one turn in ten inches, all projectiles went steadily with the
point first. With one turn in twenty inches, the projectile became
unsteady when more than six diameters. With one turn in thirty
inches, it fell over when more than five diameters in length. With
one turn in forty-five inches, the projectile turned over and flew
very wild when more than three diameters in length. From these
facts he concluded that unless a gun be rifled with a quick pitch,
so as to give a high rotation to the projectile, it would not be
possible to fire long projectiles.

In this way he produced guns of great power and precision,
and their fame was soon spread abroad. In 1863 the Timei
correspondent with the Confederate army in America stated that

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 239

it was impossible to praise too highly the performances, as a field
piece, of the twenty-pounder Whitworth. "There is no other gun
on the Continent," he added, " which can compare with it in light-
ness, precision, and length of range. Again and again one single
Whitworth gun has forced Federal batteries to change their
position, and eventually to fall back. There has been more joy
among the ordnance officers over the arrival of five more
AVhitworth guns, which have just safely arrived at Wilmington,
than there would be at the capture of a hundred such guns as
were in position on both sides at the battle of Fredericksburg."
The renown of these guns became so universal that the inventor
received overtures from almost every government in Europe to be
supplied with them. In 1864 the British Government arranged
for an elaborate series of experiments to take place at Shoebury-
ness for the purpose of testing the relative qualities of the
Whitworth and Armstrong guns. The competition was divided
into thirty-four stages, and upwards of 2,500 rounds of shot
and shell were fired. The committee of artillerists, after much
deliberation, reported that they could not determine which was
the superior gun. Though Whit worth's ordnance then failed to
be adopted by the British Government, his guns continued to be
fi*eely exported to other countries, while not a single Armstrong
gun went abroad.

In 1 868 Sir Joseph again astonished the world by producing a
gun which could throw projectiles further than they had ever
been thrown before. Its range was 11,243 yards with 2501b.
projectile, and 1 1,127 yards with 310 lb. projectile ; in other words,
a mass of 2jcwt. of iron was hurled a distance of 6 J miles.

Continuing his experiments, he demonstrated the form of pro-
jectile best adapted for flight and penetration. It is now readily
conceded that the same flowing lines, which give the form to a
ship to enable it to pass freely through water, or to a bird's body
to glide through the air, would apply to a bullet also. But it was

240 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

Sir Joseph Whitworth who demonstrated this to be the case,
showing that for flight the head should be shaped to the curve
of least resistance and the rear tapered off. He showed that the
form of rear is especially important for long ranges. For short
ranges one is as good as the other, but for long distances a shot
with a tapered end will reach one mile further than one with
parallel ends. He also demonstrated, contrary to what was then
generally believed, that a flat-headed projectile will penetrate
armour-plates even when striking obliquely, and that is the only
form that will pass in a straight line through water. From 1858
he advocated the flat front, and in 1869 he gave the following as
the points of superiority, which he claimed to have established
for his projectiles: That the flat-fronted form is capable of
piercing armour-plates at extreme angles ; that increase in length,
while adding to the efficiency of the projectile as a shell, in no
way diminishes, but, on the contrary, proportionately improves its
penetrative power ; that the amount of rotation he had adopted in
his system of rifling is suflficient to ensure the long projectiles
striking "end on," and consequently to accumulate the whole
effect of the mass on the reduced area of the flat front.
These results applied to his rifle and his ordnance. He also
invented a cartridge which increased the range by from 1 5 . to
20 per cent.

" Were it not," he says, " that the increased destructiveness of
war must tend to shorten its duration and diminish its frequency
— thus saving human life — the invention of my projectiles could
hardly be justified ; but believing in the really pacific influence of
the most powerful means of defence, these long projectiles I call
the * anti-war' shell."

The following is his own summary of the results of his experi-
ments on penetration : —

"In 1857 I proved for the first time that a ship could.be
penetrated below the water-line by a flat-headed rifle projectile.

^H SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 241 '

^^B " In 1S60 I penetrated for the first time a 4^ in. armour-plate
^^Bnth an So lb. flat-headed solid steel projectile.
^^K "In 1862 I penetrated for the first time a 4 in. armour-plate wifh
^^^1 70 lb. flat-headed steel shell, which exploded in an oak box
supporting the plate.

" In 1870 I penetrated with a 9 in. -bore gun three 5 in. armour-
plates jnterlaminated with two 5 in. layers of concrete.

"In 1871, with my 9-pounder treechloading gun and a flat-
headed steel projectile, I penetrated a 3 in. armour-plate at an
tangle of 45".
" All these performances were the first of their kind and were
ade, with one exception, with flat-headed projectiles, which
one are capable of penetrating armour-plates when impinging
rfiqueiy, and which alone can penetrate a ship below the
Iter- line."
While the British Government w«re unable to appreciate these
performances. Sir Joseph continued to supply foreign nations with
his most powerful weapons of destruction, and happily no occa-

•bion has ever arisen for using them against his own country, where
fcjone they were without honour. In 1871 Brazil put them to the
test of experiment, and the committee intrusted wilh the decision
of the comparative merits of the different kinds of ordnance, after
considering for nearly two years the various systems of cannon,
pronounced definitely in favour of the Whitworlh gun, as that
which, in respect of material and mode of construction, approached
nearest perfection. The committee emphatically condemned the
French system of cast-iron strengthened by wroiight-iron bands
as unscientific and practically inefficient. The Knipp gun, made
of Krupp cast-steel strengthened with bands, they considered
unreliable, notwithstanding its fine material, chiefly owing to the
uncertainty and irregularity of effect, which, they said, always
attended the action of the hammer, however ponderous, on
masses of iron. They considered the Armstrong, the Woolwich,

^wmas:

143 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OP STEEL.

and the Whilworth cannon much superior in construction and
strength to the best produced on the Continent, the Woolwich
being, in their opinion, an improvement on the Armstrong, and
the Whitworth far ahead of both in the essential qualities of a
good gun. The superiority of the Whitworth cannon they
attributed to the homogeneous quality of the steel used, to the
care exercised in its selection, to the use of the hydraulic press
instead of the hammer, and to the mode of constructing the
gun. With reference to its duration, ihe committee stated that
the Knipp gun had an average life of 600 or 800 shots, while
the Whitworth cannon used by the Brazilian forces during the
Paraguan war averaged from 3,500 to 4,000 shots each, without
a single case of bursting or serious damage having occurred.

Meanwhile Sir Joseph had solved another problem, which not
only increased the power of his guns, but gained for him a con-
spicuous position in the ranks of British metallurgists. After
determining the principles that should regulate the construction
of guns, he next sought to innprove the material of which guns
were made. At an early stage of his experiments and for a long
period this subject occupied his attention. His early interest in
it is shown by a passage in his presidential address to the Institu-
tion of Mechanical Engineers in September, 1856. About a
month after Sir Henry Bessemer's public announcement of his
great invention, Sir Joseph said : " With regard to the manufacture
of malleable iron and steel, it was with great gratification that I
read the account of the Bessemer process, so beautiful and
simple as apparently to leave nothing further to be desired in
that part of the process. I need not tell you of what vast im-
portance it must be to those who are more immediately connected
with those branches of mechanics requiring nicety of workman-
ship to have iron and steel of a better quality. I may menrion
that in making rifle-barrels for the experiments I have undertaken
for the Government, one of the greatest difficulries I encounter

S/Jf JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 243

* in atlaining tlie degree of accuracy I require arises from the
defects in iron. What we want is iron of great strength, free
from seams, flaws, and hard places. Inferior iron (with the use
of other defective and improper materials) is perhaps the main
cause of one of the greatest errors committed in the construction
of whatever in mechanism has to be kept in motion."

In the earlier years of his artillery experiments he found that
the terribly destructive weapons he was creating required a better
metal for their construction. All guns were then made of iron.
It was the common belief till then that steel was an unsafe
material to use for ordnance. He, however, turned his attention
to the adaptability of steel for that purpose after the Bessemer
process became a success ; but believing that its existing qualities
would have to be improved before the prejudices of the period
could be overcome and the tests required could be satisfied, he
determined to effect this improvement. The Bessemer steel then
made was hard enough, but it did not possess the requisite
ductility and soundness. Ductility was indispensable, but it
could not be got without forming air cells, which made it un-
sound. On splitting open a large ingot of the best Bessemer
steel, he found the upper part full of air cells, So far as
he knew, the only mode then used for working steel so as
to render it close, strong, and ductile was to compress it when
in a solid state by expensive machinery. Convinced that this
process could be improved upon, he began to make experi-
ments with that object steadfastly in view; but it seemed a
herculean task.

In both French and Prussian steel works experiments with the
same object in view were simultaneously carried on, but were
abandoned as hopeless. Between 1863 and 1865 he laboured
almost incessantly at this work, and in the latter year he succeeded
in atlaining his end, his ultimate success being the result of

i 2,500 experiments, His process simply consisted in subjecting

244 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

the steel in its fluid state to such a high pressure that the air or gas
bubbles were pressed out of it. He found that a pressure of not
less than six tons to the square inch was required, and that under
that pressure a column of steel was compressed in five minutes
to the extent of i^in. per foot of length, or one-eighth of its
whole length. He had made the experiment of putting on the
enormous pressure of twenty tons to the square inch, but found
that a greater pressure than six or nine tons to the square inch
did not improve the metal. He found too that the larger the
mass of steel the more beneficial and effective was the hydraulic
pressure. Experience also showed that the gases could not be
expelled when the metal was in a semi-fluid state, but that it was
desirable to get the pressure on as soon as possible after the
metal was poured into the mould. These facts indicate what a
difficult and dangerous process it was. At first he experienced
many failures; and not his least difficulty, after evolving the
principle of his process, was the making of materials and
machinery capable of resisting such enormous pressure. He was
obliged at the outset to make comparatively small presses for
compressing the steel, and then gradually to increase the size of
his apparatus, thus building up and extending the process till
he found that it could be employed with safety and certainty in
the production of articles of any required size, such as propeller
shafts and cylinder linings for the largest marine engines, ord-
nance of large calibre, and torpedo chambers. At last he made
what was known as the 8,000-ton press. In his own works,
where the steel was made, the workmen were so afraid of the
consequences that might result from the application of such
enormous pressure to fluid steel, that they always ran away when
the pressure was put on in order to be secure from the risk of
accidents. Nor was this his only discouragement, for while the
workmen were frightened, the critics were laughing at the inven-
tion. If the fluid steel were compressed in moulds of sudi

sin JOSEPH WHITWORTH. aJsl

strength as to resist the requisite pressure, where could the
id gas bubbles escape? If, they argued, there was no way
of escape, they must be still in the steel. Science was baffled to ■
explain how it was done, but the effect of the process was never-
l theless apparent. Provision was made for the escape of the
■ gases, and there was considerable flame caused by their ignition
^during the time of their escape. Anyhow, the result was indis-
putable. When tested along with the best metals hitherto
made, his was found superior to them all in strength and ductility.
Damascus steel burst with a charge that compressed steel resisted.
His field guns are now forged solid, and then bored and rifled, j
the trunnion hoops being screwed on. When Sir E. J. Reed
s chief constructor for the English Admiralty, he expressed t
b$ir Spenser Robinson his conviction that " the Whitworth metal \
I superior to all other existing steels for the manufacture of |
^ordnance. In no branch of manufacture has the want of sound-
niformity in steel been more severely felt than in this,
land in none is a superior steel more essential. No one who has I
considered the process of Sir Joseph Whitworth and has examined
the steel produced by it can, I think, doubt for a moment that it
is a more close, a more compact;, and a more perfect material
than any other description of steel in existence." Few \
now dare to dispute the general accuracy of that opinion, but at I
the time it was uttered few men in high official position were so

tbold as to assert iL Sir Joseph's own accounts we
definite. He conducted a series of experiments on small I
cylinders of metal a in. long, and having an average section of i
half a square inch ; these he tore asunder by hydraulic pressure, f
and the difference in length before and after this strain gave the I

I elongation and ductility of the metal. The conclusion he arrived [
at was that, taking the tensile strength per square inch of the |
best iron as twenty-seven tons, with a ductility of 38 per cent,
and that of ordinary cast-iron as ten tons, with a ductility of ■75'"!

tne

»^

ord:
nesi
and

'a:ge of steel.

per cent — high standards of comparison — steel compressed by his
process gave from forty to seventy-two tons of strength and from
3a to 14 per cent, of ductility. Another test used by him was
equally convincing. He took a small cylinder Uke a gun-barrel,
and having firmly plugged it at both ends, he fired a charge of
gunpowder within it It took six explosions, with an aggregate
quantity of 250 grains of gunpowder, to burst such a cylinder,
and even then it remained in one piece. In that way it has been
shown that a cylinder of compressed steel is capable of enduring
forty-eight explosions of 24 oz. each of gunpowder, while a
similar cast-iron cylinder burst in twenty pieces at the first
discharge of 3 oz.

The practical working of the process by which this steel
is produced is thus described by Professor Tyndall, who saw it
done at Sir Joseph Whitworth's works : " Within a hollow steel
cylinder of enormous strength were placed a series of cast-iron
bars, so as to form a kind of lining. The bars were laid loosely
side by side, so as to admit of the passage of a gas between them.
They were also grooved, with a view of facilitating gaseous motion.
The bars were coated by a porous lining of sand and other
materials, through which gases could readily be driven by pressure.
In the middle of the cylinder stood a core, also formed so as to
permit of the escape of gas from it. A space of several inches
existed between the inner core and outward sheath. A large ladle
was at hand, and into this was poured the molten metal from a
number of crucibles. From the ladle again the metal was poured
into the annular space just referred to, filling it to the brim.
Down upon the molten mass descended the plunger of a hydraulic
press. On first entering it a shower of the molten metal was
scattered on all sides ; but inasmuch as the distance between the
annular plunger and the core on the one side and the sheath on
the other was only about one tenth of an inch, the fluid metal
was immediately chilled and solidified. Thus entrapped, it was

■
■

ibjecled to pressure, which amounted eventually to about six I
tons per square inch.

" Doubtless gases were here dissolved in the fluid mass, and 1
doubtless also they were mechanically entangled in it as bubbles. '
I figure to myself the fluid metal as an assemblage of molecules,
with the inlermolecular spaces in coramunication with the air out-
side. Through these spaces 1 believe the carbonic oxide and the
air to have been forced, finding their escape through the porous
core on the one side, and through the porous sheath on tl
From both core and sheath issued copious streams of gas, mainly,
it would seem, in the condition of carbonic oxide flame. A con- I
siderable shortening of the fluid cylinder was the consequence of I
this expulsion of gases from its interior. The pressure wai |
continued long after the gases bad ceased to be ejected; for,
otherwise, the contraction of the metal, on cooling, might subject '
it to mjurious internal strains. In fact, castings have been known
to be rent asunder by this contraction. By the continuance of the
external pressure, every internal strain is at once responded to and
satisfied, and the metal is kept compact.

" The main factors which determine the quality of any kind of I
steel are its strength and ductility. The method adopted by Sir
Joseph Whitworth in determining these factors is, like all his
mechanical contrivances, admirable. Both ends of a cylinder of a
definite length and cross-section are screwed firmly between two
jaws, which are then separated by hydraulic pressure. For a time
this stretched cylinder maintains a uniform diameter. At a certain
pressure it passes its limit of elasticity, the passage being distinctly
indicated by the dial which registers the pressure. From this point i
fjrward the cylinder is observed to contract at its centre, and it I
finally snaps across. The ' strength ' is measured by the breaking
force ; white the ' ductility ' is determined by bringing the fractured
surface close together, measuring the length of the stretched mass,
and expressing its elongation as a percentage of the original length

24S" THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STl

of the cylinder. In one experiment made in my presence, ft
seconds sufficed to stretch and break the cylinder, and there
not the slightest jar or Jerk observed during the process. I
entirely sympathise with the desire entertained by Sir Joseph
Whitworth, that these two elements of strengtli and ductility
should be determined for, and registered ufjon, every ingot and bar
of steel employed in the construction of our railway tires and
axles ; and indeed on all portions of machinery, the giving way of
which imperils human life. It maybe added here that I have seen
the fluid compressed steel in various stages of working, and some-
times in masses suitable for sciew-propeller shafts or for 3S-ton
guns, I have never detected a flaw or fault in it, its planed sm'faces
always disclosing a metal of the most closely coherent texture."

In 1876 the two screw-propeller shafts of the Inflexible were
made of steel compressed by this process. This vessel is the
largest turret ship in the English navy, is protected by the thickest
Minour, is armed with the heaviest guns, and is, in construction
and method of working, an unparalleled engine of war. Her
propeller shafts were 283 feet in length and weighed 63 tons. If
ihey had been made of wrought iron their weight would have been
97 tons, so that by using Whitworth compressed steel the
constructor saved 34 tons being carried during the whole lifetime
of the engines. The strength of the metal in these shafts is 40 tons
to the square inch, and the ductility is 30 per cent. The shafts are
17 inches in diameter, and have a 9-inch hole through them.
They were cast hollow, but with a much larger diameter, and with
a considerably larger hole. In the City of Rome, too, which when
launched in 1881 was described as a floating palace, and was the
largest vessel afloat except the GtmI Eastern, the crank shaft was
made of Whitworth compressed steel. It weighed 64 tons, whereas
if it had been made of sohd iron it would have weighed 73 tons.
It is obvious that for other purposes this steel can be used with
similar results. For instance, the inventor himself proposes, J

les ,I^^J

SIR JOSEPH wmriVOJiTII. 249

reduce the dead weight of railway carriages from 7 tons to 5 tons
by using this steel instead of wrought iron, believing that during
the liferime of a railway carriage every ton of dead weight that
:aQ be saved represents a saving of 300/.

The Whitworth process for the manufacture of compressed steel
was patented in 1865, but it was not till 1869 that Sir Joseph got
his apparatus completed, and was in a position to manufacture his
steel in quantities fit for use in his works. The patent accord-
ingly expired in 1879, but the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council, in consideration of the cost and usefulness of the
invention, agreed to prolong it for a further term of five years.

In making guns for the Brazilian navy he determined that the
quality of the metal should be tested by its resistance to the
explosion of gunpowder; and the results thus obtained with his
breechloaders were so far superior in every way to what was
possible with any muzzleloading guns that he felt sure that the
British Government must ultimately adopt breech loading. Wish-
ing to convince the British Admiralty and War Office of the
superiority of his breechloading steel guns, he offered in 1874 to
lend them a 7-inch gun of that description, firing 33 lbs. of
powder, together with a 35 ton muziileloading gun, capable
firing armour-piercing projectiles weighing 1,250 lbs., with
bursting charge of 58 lbs. Both offers were declined, much to the
surprise of the Brazilian Government, from whom permission was
obtained to lend these guns.

The resistance which fluid compressed steel offered to the
bursting power of gunpowder was so clearly demonstrated by
repeated trials that Sir Joseph was impressed with the idea that
more powder might be fired from his breechloader with a larger
powder chamber than a muzzleloader could bear. Further
experiments soon proved that his breechloader could fire n
than double the charge of the Government gun. In experimenis
made in 1876, by a commission of French officers for the

2SO THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

BrMilian Government, with a 3S-ton gun of shorter length than
the Government gun, the superiority in bursting charge was
400 per cent.

After the increase in the efficiency of weapons of destruction
had been carried to such an extent, fears began to arise lest it
might be found impossible to make materials capable of resisting
their deadly power. Means of protection are not less necessary
than means of destruction ; and to provide the latter has generally
been found more easy than ihe former. No sooner had Sir Joseph
Whitworth provided efficient ordnance than he proceeded to study
the construction of armour, and in 1877 he produced his
" impregnable armour plating," formed of his fluid-compressed
steel, and built up in hexagonal sections, each of which was
composed of a series of concentric rings around a central circular
disc. These concentric rings prevented any crack in the steel
from passing beyond the limits of the one in which it occured. A
trial of this sort of plate made at Manchester in 1878 gave
remarkable results. A small target, i\ inches in thickness, and
representing one section of a jjlate, being fired at with 3 lb. shot,
all the iron shot broke up against it harmlessly, and a compressed
steel projectile only indented its surface to a trifling extent. The
experimentwas afterwards repeated on a larger scale with a target
9 inches in thickness, supported by a wood backing against a sand-
bank. In front of this target a horizontal iron tube was fixed to
receive the fragments of the shot. Against this a Palliser shell
weighing 250 lbs. was fired from a p-inch gun, with 50 lbs. of
pebble powder, at a distance of 30 yards from the target Such a
projectile would have passed through la inches of ordinary iron
armour-plating ; but against this new target it was powerless. It
broke up into innumerable small fragments. Such was the force
of impact that the target was driven back 18 inches into the
sand. The fragments of the projectile escaped at the end of thi
tube, and continuing their rotating movement in such a way as

St^^

SIX JOSEPH WHITWORTH.

251 ■

I

It a sort of trench through ten planks immediately in front of tlie
displaced target, were then scattered about in a shower. The
only piece of any size that survived the shock was a flattened mass,
8 lbs. in weight, which was formed from the apex of ihe shell, and
which was left imbedded in the surface of the target, where it had
made for itself an excavation of about 8 inches in diameter and
iy*j inch deep at the central or deepest part. With the exception
of this shallow depression, the target was absolutely uninjured, the
ring which received the shock was not cracked, and no disturbance
of the back surface was produced. This was then admitted to be
.the greatest achievement in resisting the latest implements of
ruction; and competent judges declared that this new plating

mid supply, not only a material that was invulnerable to any
missiles employed in warfare, but a lighter armour than any in use
[Ifcr large ironclads.

The inventor of these remarkable guns and armour plates has
ilicly pointed out the persistency with which the English
'Government continued to manufacture guns of inferior material,
and to ignore the principles of gunnery that he advocated.
Indeed, in one of his publications on this subject he said that,
following past precedent, he supposed his name and labours
would be forgotten before his own Government would fully
understand the principles he had worked out. But he has lived
to see indications of a better spirit on the part of our naval and
military authorities, and to see that practical vindication of his
principles which from the first he declared that time would
inevitably ratify. In the House of Lords on the 14th April, 1878,
the Duke of Somerset expressed his conviction that wrought-iron
plates were not sufficiently strong for armour, the more so as Sir
Joseph VVhitworth had been successful in producing a very much
stronger quality of plate. Shells, he said, must now be made of
stronger metal, and so also must guns. He believed that a 50-
or 60-lon gun made of Whilworlh metal would be able to do

252 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

everything that could now be done by an 80- or 100-ton gun. Sir
Joseph Whitworth's shells carried double the charge of the Wool-
wich shells ; and he hoped that measures would be taken to secure
a fair trial, because he could not help feeling that it was very natural
for the Woolwich authorities to favour their own manufacture.
Lord Bury, replying for the Government, stated that a trial of
different kinds of ordnance was going on at Shoeburyness.
The Government were aware that Sir Joseph Whitworth had
produced a steel which was much stronger in every way than
any that had yet been tried ; and its use was a point that was
undergoing investigation !

Incredible as it may appear, the fact is that the first naval
power in the world is one of the slowest in adopting improvements
in ordnance. In the House of Commons on the i8th March,
1881, the Secretary to the Admiralty (Mr. Trevelyan, the
biographer of Lord Macaulay) stated that, **At this moment
there was not a single heavy breechloading gun mounted in any
of our ships, but by the end of next year a very substantial
beginning would have been made towards arming our fleet with
breechloaders. The Admiralty had been driven to the step by
the fact that a high velocity was now required for the projectile ;
that high velocity could only be obtained by a great length of
gun ; and to load a gun over a certain length at the muzzle
became impracticable under the ordinary conditions of mounting
guns afloat When the shot and the powder weighed nearly a ton
together, it was no light matter to ram them down a tube 30 feet
long. He added that the Government had lost nothing by
waiting. In the breechloading guns which were being made at
Woolwich to serve, if successful, as patterns for our future naval
ordnance, it had been possible to take advantage of the various
improvements introduced by the foreign nations which had
preceded us in their use. Our new breechloading guns would be,
calibre for calibre, more powerful than any which had been

" 'STRJ^^^W^nWdRT^ 353 '

■oduced abroad, and in point of price tliey would compare
favourably with the ordnance of foreign nations. Our new 9-inch
breechloader of 18 tons, which would penetrate 16 inches of iron
and 13 of composite armour, cost only two-thirds as much as the
Krupp gun of the same size and certainly not greater power."

The year 1881 also witnessed the introduction of steel for the
manufacture of ordnance at Woolwich. In the autumn of that
'ear it was reported with ndiTete that "a 43 ton gun lai^ely
msisting of steel is being constructed at the Royal Gun
factories in the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. One of the steel
feet in length, and weighing four tons, was coiled on
ij ft gjj ^ ^ter aoth, with an amount of simplicity and success which
(bUy demonstrated the workability of modem steel. Instead of
the rigid, brittle material which steel is generally supposed to be,
the metal now produced at the gun factories is almost as elastic
id docile as wrought iron, and at a very slight sacrifice of its
rbonic virtues it can be produced in bars or plates as cheaply
iron, and nearly as available for every purpose. These qualities
deprive it of the objections hitherto entertained with regard to
its employment in gun-making, and the 43 ton breechloader
now in progress will, with the exception of the outer coil or jacket,
be nearly all sleel. In the experiments which have been carried
out with the new material, it has been found to be remarkably
pure and free from laminte or dross, which is always present to
some extent in wrought iron, and its toughness has been satisfac-
torily proved by every kind of strain. Welded into a homogeneous
mass, it forms a cylinder of a quality which is said to have never
hitherto been equalled. A new furnace for making the steel in
bulk is in operation at the gun factories, and establishes a marvel-
lous advance upon the only method in vogue a few years ago,
when a bar of steel required for its production some hundreds of
small crucibles."' These properties of steel, which the Woolwich
' 77bw/, October 3, iSSi.

254 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

authorities professed to have discovered for themselves in 1881,
were just what our greatest steel inventors had urged upon them
in vain for a quarter of a century.

In 1883 the Marquis of Hartington, as minister for war, made
the following statement in the House of Commons : " During the
last few years the increasing length and size of guns have led to a
complete change of system. The great weight and the enormous
charges of the new guns have caused the War Department to
consider the feasibility of constructing guns wholly of steel, and
the experience of the Ordnance Committee, as well as of
private manufacturers, together with the results of recent experi-
ments conducted by them, have resulted in the committee making
a recommendation that *the manufacture of wrought-iron guns
should be discontinued, and that all guns in future should be
made wholly of steel.' The requirements of the Navy, as the first
line of defence, have been mainly considered. The great length
of new guns have led to the necessity of adopting the breech-
loading instead of the muzzle-loading system. The Committee of
Ordnance began their experiments in 1879 with breechloading
6-inch guns. These experiments were so far satisfactory that the
6-inch gun has been and is being provided for the Navy. In
1880-81, 14 such guns were pro^'ided ; in 1881-2, 103 ; in 1882-3,
59 ; and in 1883-4, 63, making in all 239. The guns of the two
latter years are of steel."

In the manufacture of projectiles, too, the military advisers of
the British Government discovered that there was room for
improvement. Till then their projectiles had been made of iron;
the average number produced per annum was about a quarter of
a million ; and the iron used in their construction varied from
5,000 to 8,000 tons per annum. In the autumn of 1881 it was
announced that some valuable experience as to the construction
of heavy shot and shell for the penetration of iron-clad ships was
acquired by the officers of the Royal Arsenal, in a series of

S/H JOSEPH WHITWOSTII.

ass

■ experiments at Shoeburyness on the ist of October. A target
had been erected representing a section of the warship most in
vogue, consisting of a sound plate of wrought iron twelve inches
thick, with the usual timber backing and supports ; and against
this was brought a g-inch gun of twelve tons — a weapon which
might be regarded as a sixth-rate gun. Being planted within
sixty yards of the target, it was supposed to realise the conditions
of a navai attack at close quarters. According to the account
published of these experiments, it had recently been surmised
that the elongated projectile, which had created such an advance
in the art of gunnery since it had superseded the ancient spherical
shot, might be improved as a missile of penetration by an altera-
tion of its shape and also by a careful study of the metal
composing it " In the latter respect steel had been favoured, and
the authorities had proved it capable of doing remarkable work ;
but the Woolwich officials had several objections to its employ-
ment in the making of shells ; and they had at last produced a
description of wrought iron, the precise nature of which was a secret,
but the superiority of which over any material yet discovered for
the purpose was said to be remarkable. It possessed the essential
qualities of hardness and toughness in an extraordinary degree — a
combination which had previously been considered impracticable."
The trials were described as most successful, two of the shells
penetrated the plate ; and then broke into fragments ; whereupon
the public were told that a discovery calculated to double the
power of ihe national artillery afloat could scarcely be too highly-
estimated.^

L- Such was the sort of language in which the world was informed

I ' It was in iSSt, lop, when the Government adopted various refonns in iha
manufacnire oF ordnnnce which Sir Joseph Whilworth had so long advocated,
that they al^o adopted his itandird gauges, increasing by from quarters of an
inch to one-thousand ih of an inch, as Board of Trade Btandards, in like manner
fts if ihey were mentioned in the " Weights and Measures Act, 1878,"

256 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

that the artillery advisers of the British Government had " dis-
covered '* a projectile which, fired from a 9-inch gun, was capable of
penetrating a 12-inch iron plate. Eleven years previously Sir
Joseph Whitworth penetrated, with a 9-inch-bore gun, fifteen
inches of armour plating and ten inches of iron concrete !

In 1883 a new 21-ton gun made in Sir Joseph Whitworth's
works at Manchester, for the Brazilian Government, gave still
greater results. In the trials for range the gun was loaded with a
projectile weighing 300 lbs., and a charge of i8t lbs. of
powder. At an elevation of ten degrees, a velocity of 1,990 ft.
per second and a range of 7,876 yards were obtained; and
it was estimated that a full charge (200 lbs.) would at the
same elevation carry the shot upwards of five miles. A special
target was erected in order to test its power of penetration.
This target consisted of a solid wrought-iron plate 18 in.
thick, with a backing composed of a steel hoop 37 in. long,
with a 23-in. hole, and rammed hard with wet sand, then a
second backing composed of T-iron riveted on to a steel plate
1^ in. thick, and built in solidly with oak; this was further
supported by a cast-iron bed plate 20 ft. long by 5 ft. wide
and 14!^ in. deep, and finally securely strutted by a series of
timbers driven firmly into the sand. The gun was loaded with
a Whitworth steel shell weighing 403 lbs. and a charge of 200 lbs.
of powder, and was fired at about 90 ft. distance from the target.
The shot, which was 9 in. diameter, went clean through the plate,
about an inch from the centre, next through the hoop, bursting
it open, then after passing through the second plate, it broke
the iron bed plate into fragments, and finally lodged in the
sand below. The shell, though slightly shortened, was found in
almost perfect condition imbedded in the sand at a distance
of about 17 ft. 6 in. from the point of first contact with the
target.

There is another subject with which the name of Sir Joseph

SIS JOSEPH WBITWORTH.

257

K

Whitworth will be for ever associated In i858 he informed the
Prime Minister that he intended to found a series of scholarships
for the encouragement of young men in scientific and technical
education. This announcement was as opportune as it was
munificent At that time the leading men in educational and
scientific matters were deploring England's deficiency in technical
education. The subject was brought prominently under public
notice in 1867, when the Universal Exhibition was held in Paris.
A school inquiry commission was then sitring in London, and
to the Chairman of it, Sir Lyon Playfair, who had acted as a
juror not only in the exhibition of that year but also in those of
1851 and 1862, addressed a letter on the advance made in
England in those acquirements that come under the name of
technical education. He said : " I am sony to say that, with very
few exceptions, a singular accordance of opinion prevailed that
our country had shown little inventiveness and made but little
progress in the peaceful arts of industry since i86z. Deficient
representation in some of the industries might have accounted for
this judgment against us ; but when we find that of ninety
classes there are scarcely a dozen in which pre-eminence is
unhesitatingly awarded to us, this plea must be abandoned. My
own opinion is worthy only of the confidence which might be
supposed to attach to my knowledge of the chemical arts ; but
when I found some of our chief mechanical and civil engineers
lamenting the want of progress in their industries, and pointing to
the wonderful advances which other nations are making; when
I found our chemical and even textile manufacturers uttering
similar complaints, 1 naturally devoted attention to eliciting their
views as to the causes. These causes are believed to be of two
very different kinds. In the first place, the system of trades
unionism tends to keep down the best hands by encouraging
equal wages for all alike, without giving free scope to the skill and
ability o( individual workmen. In the second place, there was a

258 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OE STEEL.

general admission thai England is deficient in one advantage
which France, Belgium, Prussia, Austria, and Switzerland possess,
viz., a good system of industrial educarion for the masters and
managers of factories and workshops. Austria is said to possess
the best system for workmen, while the higher instruction of
managers and foremen is best attended to in France, Prussia, and
Switzerland."

This letter was considered so important by the Commission
that it was circulated for the purpose of eliciting the opinions of
eminent men of science and large manufacturers. The opinions
thus obtained were almost uraanimously to the same etfecL Pro-
fessor Tyndall, who succeeded Professor Faraday at the Royal
Institution, slated that he had long been of opinion that '•'iii
virtue of the better education provided by Continental nations,
England must one day — and that no distant one — find herself
outstripped by those nations both in the arts of peace and war ;
as surely as knowledge is power, this must be the result." Similar
evidence was given by Dr. Frankiand, Professor of Chemistry
in the Royal School of Mines, and by Mr. Warrington Smith,
Lecturer on Mining and Mineralogy at the same institution. The
former said that in England masters and foremen rarely had any
opportunities of making themselves acquainted with the funda-
mental laws and principles of physics and chemistry ; they there-
fore found themselves engaged Jn pursuits for which their previous
education had afforded them no preparation ; and hence their
inability to originate inventions and improvements. Mr, W. Smith
believed that the greater proportional advancement made by
France, Prussia, and Belgium in mining, colliery working, and
metallurgy was due, not to the workmen, but in great part to the
superior training and attention to the general knowledge of this
subject observable among the managers and sub-officers of the
works, and that no candid person could deny that they were far
better educated as a rule than those who held similar positions in

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH, 259

England. Mr. E. W. Cooke, the Royal Academician, stated that
at Ihe Paris Exhibilion he was struck with the great advance
which Continental nations had made in ten years in the design as
well as execution of works in which he had sanguinely hoped that
England would have greatly excelled, if not triumphed over, our
Continental neighbours. Mr. Scott Russell and Mr. McConnell
were equally strong in their expressions of opinion as to England's
position in mechanical art and science. " I am firmly convinced,"
said the latter gentleman, one of the greatest authorities on loco-
motive construction, " that our former superiority no longer exists,
either in material or workmanship; in fact, there are engines made
in France and Germany equal to those of the best English makers.
It requires no skill to predict that, unless we adopt a system of
technical education for our workmen in this country, we shall
soon not even hold our own in the cheapness of cost and the
excellence of quality of our mechanical productions." He
attributed the position of our Continental neighbours to the
establishment of workmen's schools, in which a clever mechanic
could qualify himself for any position in his business. Dr. James
Young, the founder of the manufacture of paraffin-oil, spoke from
personal experience of the value of technical education. He
said ; " Originally I was a working man, but have succeeded in
increasing the range of manufacturing industry. The foundation
of my success consisted in my havi ng been fortunately attached to
the laboratory of the Andersonian University in Glasgow, where
1 learned chemistry under Graham, and natural philosophy and
other subjects under the respective professors. This knowledge
gave me the power of improving the chemical manufactures, into
which I afterwards passed as a servant, and ultimately led to my
being the founder of a new branch of industry, and owner of the
largest chemical works in the kingdom. It would be most un-
grateful of me if I did not recognise the importance of scientific
I sind technical education in improving and advancing manufactures."

26o THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

This distinguished witness, after being present at the Paris
Exhibition of 1867, said : " So formidable did the rate of progress
of other nations appear to miany of us that several meetings of
jurors, exhibitors, and others took place at the Louvre Hotel on
the subject. The universal impression at these meetings was that
the rate of progress of foreign nations, in the larger number of
our staple industries, was much greater than our own."

It was at the time when public interest was much exercised by
these representations that Sir Joseph Whitworth announced his
intention of giving 100,000/. to found a series of scholarships in
aid of advanced scientific instruction. He Sent the following
letter to the Prime Minister :

Manchester, \%tk March, 1868.
28, Pall Mall.
Sir,

I desire to promote the engineering and mechanical industry
of this country by founding thirty scholarships of the annual value
of 100/. each, to be applied for ^the further instruction of young
men, natives of the United Kingdom, selected by open compe-
tition for their intelligence and proficiency in the theory and
practice of mechanics and its cognate sciences.

I propose that these scholarships should be tenable on con-
ditions to be defined by a deed of trust regulating the adminis-
tration of the endowment fund during my life, and that thereafter
the management of this fund, subject to the conditions specified
therein, should vest in the Lord President of the Council or other
minister of public instruction for the time being.

I venture to make this communication to you in the hope that
means may be found for bringing science and industry into closer
relation with each other than at present obtains in this country.

I am, &c.

Joseph Whitworth.

To the Right Hon. B. Disraeli, M.P.

Srif JOSEPH WHITWORTH.

361 1

I

The offer was of course gratefully accepted, and as an expres-
sion of public appreciation a baronetcy was afteiwards conferred I
on the donor.

In another letter written six weeks afterward to the Education 1
Department, he said : "I would beg leave to ask the Lords of!
the Committee of Cotmcil on Education to undertake the f
examinations for these scholarships.

" As respects the preparation of the necessary details for the
examinations in the use of tools, I am willing to be responsible
myself with the aid of friends, and I propose to obtain the c
sent of a few gentlemen to advise with tne from time to time |
in whatever may arise in the future for my consideration.

In reply to the invitation of their lordships to submit s.
suggestions, I venture to submit for consideration whether honours \
■in the nature of degrees might not be conferred by some com-
petent authority on successful students each year, thus creating a
faculty of industry analogous to the existing faculties of divinity,
law, and medicine. I am of opinion that such honours would be
a great incentive to exertion, and would tend greatly to promote
■the object in view.

" I venture further to express a Eiope that the Government will 1
provide the necessary funds for endowing a sufficient number of |
professors of mechanics throughout the United Kingdom."

For the first year, 1869, ten of these scholarships were offered I
for competition, to be held for three years on condition that the J
successful candidates should spend their time of holding the
scholarships in the study and practice of mechanical engineering^
and that the Education Department should decide on the manner
if testing the scholars' progress from year to year. In order that
lolars should have the utmost latitude for following the bent of j
ltheirownminds,studentBwishingtocomplctetheir general education |
; were permitted logototheuniversitiesor to colleges where scientific
'or technical instruction was given, or to travel abroad for the same

262 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

purpose. The desire of the founder was that the successful
artisan should be encouraged to study theory, while the successful
competitor in theory should be aided in getting admission to
machine shops and other practical establishments, and accordingly
it was agreed to give the same number of marks for equal merit,
whether shown in theoretical science or practical skill, in the
following subjects : (i) mathematics, elementary and higher ; (2)
mechanics, theoretical and applied; (3) practical, plane, and
descriptive geometry ; (4) mechanical and freehand drawing ;
(5) physics; (6) chemistry and metallurgy; and (7) such handi-
craft processes as smiths' work, turning, filing, fitting, pattern
making, and moulding.

So impressed was he with the backward condition of technical
education that he proposed to give competitors the benefit of
twelve months' training preparatory to the examination. With that
view he offered sixty exhibitions or premiums of 25/. each, which
were awarded for one year to young men under twenty-two years
of age who undertook to compete for the 100/. scholarships in
May, 1869; and in order that the benefit of these exhibitions
might be widespread, they were placed at the disposal of a large
number of educational bodies in different parts, such as the
Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, London, Dublin, Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Aberdeen, Durham, and St Andrews, the Queen's Col-
leges in Ireland, King's College and University College, London,the
College of Preceptors, the Science and Art Department, and the
public schools of Eton, Rugby, Harrow, Westminster, Winchester,
St. Paul's, Charterhouse, Merchant Taylor's, Christ's Hospital,
Shrewsbury, Marlborough, Cheltenham, Manchester, Liverpool,
Chester, Clifton, and Brighton ; while exhibitions for artisans
were transmitted to the Society of Arts and to the Corporations
of Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff", Swansea, Halifax, Huddersfield,
Leeds, Sheffield, and Northampton.

It was under these encouraging circumstances that the first

I

SIR JOSEPH WHITWORTH. 263 \

were held for the scholarships in 1869 at Manchester '
and London. There were 106 candidates, of whom 55 had had
the benefit of the year's exhibitions, while 5 1 had not The results
of the examination showed how low scientific education had fallei
in this country. Fifty-four of the candidates failed to pass the
humble standard of general scientific knowledge which had been
established as essential. The remaining 52 candidates who
passed the preliminary examination went to Manchester to undergo
the technical examination which Sir Joseph Whitworth personally
superintended ; but the number that was successful at this stage
was little more than the numberof scholarships offered — ten. The 1
exhibitioners passed more creditably than the others, but it was \
found that on the whole those who passed well in science generally
failed in technical manipulation, while those who excelled a
handicraftsmen were deficient in science.

Again in 1869 he provided eighty similar exhibitions to enable
students to prepare for the examination for scholarships in 1870.
These were, as formerly, widely distributed, six being given in
London, three in Liverpool, five in Manchester, three in Glasgow,
three in Edinburgh, two in Bradford, Bristol, Leeds, and Notting-
ham, and one in each of the otiier thirty-two large industrial
towns in the United Kingdom. With the view of effectually
promoting manual as well as scientific attainments, the scholar-
ships were, so far as impartiality would admit, about equally
divided among students of science and practical workmen,
careful and minute were the arrangements made under the
fostering care of the thoughtful donor, that poor candidates
competing for the scholarships were provided with travelling
expenses to, and the cost of lodgings in, London and Manchester.

In 1873 Sir Joseph made a fresh suggestion to the Education
Department. He said the experience of past competitions for
the scholarships had proved the necessity of establishing rules
which would insure that the holders of ihem should devote them-

264 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

selves to the study and practice necessary for mechanical
engineering during the tenure of the scholarships. He therefore
proposed that every candidate for a scholarship should produce a
certificate showing that he had worked in a mechanical engineer-
ing shop, or in the drawing office of such a shop, for two
consecutive years. In order, however, that this condition might
not inflict any hardship on the candidates preparing for the
examination of 1873, he accepted such a certificate for nine
months instead of two years. Nor did his indulgence in the
application of the new rule end here. Towards the end of 1873
he announced his desire that candidates for his scholarships in
1874, who, owing to shortness of notice, might not have been able
to be in a mechanical shop for six months before the competition
took place, should be allowed to compete, but if they were
successful their scholarships should not begin until they had
worked six months in a machine shop. He also suggested that
the same privilege should be allowed in 1875 to candidates who
had not served eighteen months in a machine shop, the scholar-
ships not beginning till that period was complete.

At the same time he announced, with the approval of the
Education Department, that the number of scholarships in the
competition of 1874 would be reduced from ten to six. Each
scholarship would be worth 100/. a year, together with an
additional sum determined by the results of the progress made in
the preceding year. At the end of each year's tenure of the
scholarships the scholars were to be examined in theory and in
practice in the same manner as in the competition for the scholar-
ships. On the results of this examination the following payments,
in addition to the 100/. a year, would be made among each year's
scholars. To the best scholar in the examination, 100/. ; to the
second, 60/. ; to the third, 50/. ; to the fourth, 40/. ; to the fifth,
30/. ; and to the sixth, 20/. ; provided that each scholar had made
such progress as was satisfactory to the Department of Science

SIX JOSEPH WHITWORTH.

;6s

I

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bu!
spe
for

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frie
my
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and Artj which would determine whether the sum named, or any
other sum, should be awarded. Moreover, he provided that at
the expiration of the three years' tenure of the scholarships a
further sum of 300/. would be awarded in sums of 200/. and 100/. I
to the two scholars of each year who did best during their term of
scholarship. In this way it was made possible for the best of the
scholars at the end of his period of scholarship to have obtained '
800/., acd the others in proportion.

Sir Joseph continued to take an active interest in the manage-
ment of his scheme for the advancement of technical education,
and varied the conditions of examination for, and tenure of, the
scholarships from time to time as circumstances required or
experience suggested. Among the subsequent changes the most
liable was made in compliance vrith the following letter which
frote to the Secretary of the Science and Art Department on 1
13th of December, 1878 :—

The experience gained during the last ten years in the working

the VVhitworth scholarships leads me to the conclusion that

■considerable alteration is necessa-ry in the conditions of their

tenure to secure their fulfilling the object I had in view in founding

them. The withdrawal of a student for three years from his

business, entailing a complete severance from its routine, seems

specially to militate against the success of the scheme as a means

for improving the technical education of mechanical engineers in

this country. Having discussed the subject with several of my

friends who are in a position to understand its bearings, I placed

myself in communication with Lieut. -Col. Donnelly, The

alterations which he has embodied in the revised prospectus on

this head, and with regard to other points which I have considered

with him, entirely carry out my wishes. I trust, therefore, that

Lords of the Committee of Council on Education will sanction

ic alterations being made. They may, and probably will,

dl an increased expenditure during the year 1879, which

a66 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

would, however, be adjusted in the following year. As I under'
stand that the excess cannot be defrayed from public funds, I
request that you will inform their lordships that I shall be happy
to advance what is necessary in 1879."

In accordance with this letter, the condition requiring a Whit-
worth scholar to devote his entire time to the prosecution of his
education as a mechanical engineer was relaxed in iS8o, and
thereafter he had to spend at least six consecutive months in each
of the three consecutive years at handicraft, not less than two of
these being at the vice or lathe. The examinations in practical
workmanship continued to be held in the workshops of Sir Joseph
Whitworth at Manchester, which were always open to students who
wished to practise the working details of mechanical engineering.

He also endeavoured to make the prosperity of his works a
source of benefit to his workmen. Writing on this subject in
1S77, he said: "The relations between foreman engineers and
their employers have lately become of a much more intimate
character, particularly in concerns which have availed themselves
of the Limited Liability AcC. The foreman engineers have
themselves become employers. Three years since (on the 31st of
March, 1874) I converted my business into that of a company
under the Limited Liabihty Act, but not in the usual sense of
asking the public to take shares in it. Myself, the foremen, and
others in the concern, twenty-three in number, hold ninety-two per
cent, of the shares and have practical control, while the remaining
eight per cent, of the shares are held by others. In this trans-
action there was no good will to be charged for, and the plant was
taken at a low valuation. The shares of 25/. were otfered, as
many as could be taken, to the foremen, draughtsmen, clerks, and
workmen. For the workman who has not the meins to buy
shares, arrangements have been made that will, I think, solve
some of the difficulties between capital and labour. When
workman wlio intends to save receives his wages, he deposits

wi^^^

SIS JOSEPH WHITWORTB.

a67

^H Uli

the clerk appointed what he thinks fit. This money is employed
in the concern as capital, and whatever dividend is paid to the
shareholders the workman is paid for his deposits in the shape of
interest on them. It has been said that these terms are more
favourable to the workmen than to the shareholders ; but the
shareholder provides only capital, and as the workman devotes
both his labour and capital the terms ought to be more favourable.
If a workman from sickness or other cause wants to withdraw
what he has deposited, he can by giving three days' notice receive
a quarter, six days' notice a half, and twelve days' notice the whole
of what stands to his credit. When a workman leaves he must
withdraw his deposit; and if he holds shares he must sell them
to the company at the price he paid for them." At that lime the
ground on which his works stood was considered worth a quarter
of a million sterling.

Shortly after (he announcement of this scheme Thomas Carlyle
wrote the following characteristic letter to Sir Joseph Whitworth:- —

" I have heard of your offer on behalf of the thrifty workpeople
of Darley, and of the thankful acceptance of it by the district
authorities of the place. I cannot resist the highly unwonted
desire that has risen in me to say that I highly approve and applaud
the ideas you have on the subject, and to declare in words that in
my opinion nothing wiser, more beneficent, or worthy of your
distinguished place as a master of workers has come before me
for many a year. Would to Heaven that all or many of the
captains of industry in England had a soul in them such as yours, <
and could do as you have done or could still furtlier cooperate
with you in works and plans to the like effect The look of
England is to me at this moment abundantly ominous. The
question of capita! and labour growing ever more anarchic,
insoluble altogether by the notions hitherto applied to it, is pretty
certain to issue in petroleum one day, unless some other gospel
than that of the ' dismal science ' come to illuminate it Two

268 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

things are pretty sure to me ; the first is that capital and labour
never can or will agree together till they both first of all decide on
doing their work faithfully throughout, and like men of conscience
and honour, whose highest aim is to behave like faithful citizens of
this universe, and obey the eternal commandment of Almighty God
who made them. The second thing is that a sadder object than
either that of the coal strike or any considerable strike is the fact
that, loosely speaking, all England has decided that the profitablest
way is to do its work ill, slimly, swiftly, and mendaciously. What
a contrast between now, and say only one hundred years ago ! At
that latter date, or still more conspicuously for ages before that, all
England awoke to its work with an invocation to the Eternal
Maker to bless them in their day's labour and help them to do it
well. Now all England, shopkeepers, workmen, all manner of
competing labourers, awaken as if with an unspoken but heartfelt
prayer to Beelzebub, * Oh, help us, thou great lord of shoddy,
adulteration, and malfeasance, to do our work with a maximum of
slimness, swiftness, profit, and mendacity; for the devil's sake,
Amen.' "

Sir C. H. Gregory, the renter warden of the Turners* Company,
and late president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, in pre-
senting the freedom of the Turners' Company to Sir Joseph
Whitworth in 1875, said : " Well has he merited fortune, fame, and
honour. Raised by his Sovereign to rank and title, he has been
honoured by other men of science with the distinctions of D.C.L
and F.R.S. He has devoted a noble share of his well-earned
fortune in munificent endowments for the higher education of
mechanical engineers. When he is taken from us, he will leave
hi? monument in the workshops of the world ; and as monks of
old sang requiems over the graves of departed heroes, so young
mechanics, trained by his liberality, will keep the name of Sir
Joseph Whitworth green in their grateful memory for all time."

SIR JOHN BROWN.
CHAPTER IX.

*' O Heav.n ! that one might read the book of fate
And see the revolution of the times.
There is a history in all men's lives,
Figuring the nature of the times deceased."— Shakespeare.

" Sir John Brown, my next door neighbour, was the first man
to look into it/' said Sir Henry Bessemer, in giving an account
of the difficulties he experienced in getting steel makers to adopt
his process ; and thus it came to pass that, although not pre-
eminently distinguished as an inventor. Sir John Brown occupies
an honoured place in the history of the age of steel. He can
only be classed as a nebulous star in the brilliant constellation of
genius whose great inventions have permanently benefited the
industrial world, but like them he was the architect of his own
fortune; and his life has therefore the twofold interest that
attaches to one who took a foremost part in fostering from its
infancy a new industry, and who at the same time ** waged with
fortune a successful war." To ordinary readers such a life may
have more congenial traits than if he stood upon a higher pedestal
in the Temple of Science. The love of fortune actuates most
men, more or less ; but it is only given to the few to rise on " the
wings of thought " to those commanding heights where the apple
of fortune may be plucked in a moment of inspiration. Hence,

270 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

to many the successful inventor is rather an object of wonder
than a subject of imitation. To the general public it appears
as if

" His generous mind the fair ideas drew
Of fame and honour which in dangers lay ;
Where wealth, like fruit, on precipices grew,
Not to be gathered but by birds of prey."

If the life of Sir John Brown has less of the magic spell of genius,
it has more affinity with the ordinary battle of life. It displays in
the unheroic arena of the workshop the application of that
" conformation of the faculties " which appears to command
success. The saying is as old as Demosthenes, that as it is a
maxim for a general to lead his army, so a wise man should lead
things and make them execute his will, instead of being himself
obliged to follow events. This maxim is illustrated by the career
of Sir John Brown. At first sight his connection with the Bessemer
converter might appear the result of a lucky accident rather than
the work of a " leading " mind ; but while, like all the creators
of the age of steel, he became a man of fortune, this was not
the only incident that a superficial observer might regard as an
accident From such a point of view his whole life would
appear a chapter of lucky accidents. But the record of it will
rather exhibit him as an illustration of Lord Bacon's observation
in his Precepts for Rising in Life; namely, that "there are two
different kinds of men held capable of the management of
affairs ; some know how to make advantageous use of oppor-
tunities, but contrive or project nothing of themselves; whilst
others are wholly intent upon forming schemes, and neglect to
take advantage of opportunities as they occur; but either of
these faculties is quite lame without the other."

Sheffield, the scene of Sir John Brown's life-long labours, has
for centuries been celebrated as the centre of the steel trade.
Chaucer states that the gay miller of Trumpington wore a Sheffield

A/JC JUJiN MKU IV JV. 2 7 1

whittle (knife) in his hose ; and the distinction which the town
thus appears to have attained nearly 500 years ago it retains stilL
But it has retained its eminence at the expense of its beauty, A
popular novehst has described it as "the infernal city, whose water
is blacking, and whose air is coal [" and, as is the case with most
fictions, that description has some foundation in fact. But it has
not been always so. In the year 1S47, when Sir John Brown was
"projecting" the Atlas steel works, which have since become
famous, Charles Knight visited Sheffield, and addressing the
members of the Atheneeum, said ; " It is a real good — it is to some
minds a compensation for the absence of many common blessings
— to live surrounded by fine natural scenery, I have heard that
there is not a street in Sheffield from which you may not gel some
prospect of the country. The distant hills and streams are here
for ever wooing the busy man to come amongst them, and receive
their peace into his heart. One who was keenly alive to those
influences — Ebenezer Rhodes, the topographer of Yorkshire and
Derbyshire — tells us in allusion to Rome's boast of its seven hills,
that Sheffield has seventy times seven, with woods, and verdant
slopes, and sparkling slreams innumerous. It was in these scenes
that Chantrey was formed. His characteristic excellence was the
union of refined taste with strong judgment. His sketches of these,
his native localities, were as true and at the same time as tasteful as
his statues and his busts. Think ye not that the mind of the milk
boy who raised himself to equal companionship with the greatest
in rank and intellect, and who, making his fortune by art, left the
most splendid benefactions for the support of art of any man in

I any time — think ye not that the nnind of Francis Chantrey grew
^e more luxuriantly amid the beauties of this his early home?

' When calmly scaled on his pannicr'd as?,
Where Iravdlers hear the steel hks as they pass,
A milk boy, shellering (nan the traiuient Blomi,
Chalked, on the grindera' wall, an iafoat's form ;
YoiWE Chantrey smiled."

2 72 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

" The milk boy here became a mechanic — a carver. Sheffield
nourished him into an artist. He drew his ideal from your
scenery — his unerring tact from your practical good sense.

" Men of Sheffield ! You are great travellers. Your fathers
were travellers in the days when they carried their wares upon
pack-horses to city and to port. You now cross the Atlantic with
greater facility than those who went before you voyaged from Hull
to London. You see much of manners differing widely from your
own. Your minds are expanded by this familiarity with the out-
ward world. The knowledge which you thus acquire by observation
descends imperceptibly from your own firesides to your workshops
and your counting houses. ' Great men have been amongst us,*
says the Patriarch of the Lakes. Great men have been amongst
you ; and it is your happiness that some of them are still amongst
you. There abide here memories of science, of literature, of the
arts, which we all cherish, but which you must especially cherish.
There are few towns of England that can boast of two such poets as
still dwell in or near Sheffield, and who have drawn their inspiration
from the scenes which their descriptions have rendered dearer to
you. It is not an uncommon thing for local reputations to have
no national recognition. It is not so with your James Montgomery
and your Ebenezer Elliott. Of the productions of the one it has
been said — and said by a real poet himself, John Wilson — * they
are embalmed in sincerity, and therefore shall not pass away;
neither shall they moulder — not even though exposed to the air, and
blow the air ever so rudely through time's mutations.* The same
genial critic has spoken as emphatically of the other : * The poor
might well be proud, did they know it, that they have such a poet.
Not a few of them know it now ; but many will know it in future ;
for a muse of fire like his will yet send its illumination into dark,
deep holds.' .... Those things which were the delight of our
jocund days steal in upon the sober consolations of our waning
time — ^bright images, tender echoes. Memory dwells among the

sis JOHN BRO WN. 273

scenes in which childhood was nourished, and youth walked
fearlessly."

Such was the animated description given in 1847 of the town
which up to then had been the Steelopohs of England ; and which
now numbers among its most distinguished men the subject of this
memoir. Sir John Brown was then entering upon a remarkable
career, which gave his native town a fresh lease of its ancient title.
He introduced the manufacture of iron into Sheffield. He was
not only the first manufacturer that adopted the Bessemer process,
but in its early years was the largest producer of Bessemer steeL
As a manufacturer of railway material when railways were in their
infancy, he is entitled to rank among the founders of that trade ;
and when the time came for the wooden walls of England to make
way for iron and steel, he introduced into this country, as well
as improved, the manufacture of rolled armour plates.

John Brown was the second surviving son of Samuel Brown,
a slater in Sheffield, who, although not a man of fortune, possessed
in no small measure that strength of character which his son
afterwards displayed to better advantage in a larger sphere.
The son with whom we have to deal was bom in 1816, and was
educated in a humble way, evidently with no idea of the com-
manding position which he was subsequently to attain in his
native town. His scanty education was acquired in a local school '■

conducted by a master of that old and unacademic type which is I

now believed to be almost extinct, but the prototype of which
Goldsmith has preserved for the wonder of succeeding generations

in his Village Schoolmaster. The Sheffield pedagogue kept his 1

school in a garret; and when the little "hopeful" first came ^^^|
under his rule, his brusque manner of replying to the questions ^^^H
addressed to him was so out of place as to excite merriment in ^^^^
the scholars and to offend the dignity of "the master," One |

scholar, a girl three years older than John Brown, sitting on \

^^ the form opposite to him, was so impressed with the hazardous ^^J

274 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

position of the new scholar, after addressing '' the master " as
" Sir " with that air of decision which leaves the hearer undecided
as to whether it means contempt or respect, that she went home
and told her father in piteous tones of the retribution which
offended majesty was likely to exact for his innocent but untutored
airs. This tender-hearted girl in course of time became the
most distinguished scholar that, like the boy she once trembled
for, was educated at that school. She afterwards played an
important part in the movement that placed Sheffield in the
front rank of English towns distinguished for the efficiency of
their primary education. When she died in November, 1881,
it was related of her in the local press that perhaps no part of
her husband's life interested her more than that of the School
Board. At the opening of the Springfield Board School she
was presented with a gold key and asked to perform the opening
ceremony with it At other times she gave other evidences of
her kindly solicitude for the education of the young. She took
a special interest in the Truants' School at Hollow Meadows ; and
by her death the poor boys at that school lost a compassionate
friend. It was truly said that her quiet, homely, and unostenta-
tious life, and her kindly liberality, more especially to the poor
and distressed, will long be remembered by many to whose wants
she had ministered; for by numerous acts of kindness, which
were never intended to be known, she endeared herself to
hundreds, who therefore cherished her memory with veneration,
respect, and gratitude. Such was the character to the last of
Mary Schofield, better known in Sheffield as Lady Brown — the
partner through a long and eventful life of the boy who excited
her sympathy in the garret school. The cause of her early
anxiety for this, her junior schoolfellow, soon passed away, for he
quickly became one of his master's favourites, and was com-
mended for his knowledge of the English language. ' To the
schoolmaster's honour be it said that he eventually appreciated

^^ advit
^" ware

I

S/Ji JOHir BRO WN, 375

aright tlie strength of the boy's character. When young Brown
had reached his fourteenth year his father talked of making him a
hnendrapet ; but to his surprise the boy scorned the idea. The
determined father asked why he objected to tliat trade; and
the only answer the boy could give was : " I never will be
a linendraper." Further remonstrances had the effect, first of
drawing from the boy the solemn assurance that if the father
insisted upon putting him to that trade he should run away
and go to sea, and next of leading the father to ask what trade
his son preferred, " A merchant," was the ready answer to the
last question, " I should like to be a merchant ; " and the only
reason he gave for his choice was, that a merchant did business
with all the world — a reason which, while it persuaded him most,
persuaded his father least. The boy's ambition was kindled by
the sight of the large establishments belonging to merchants,
and the commanding position they occupied in the world;
while the more sober mind of his father was appalled at j
the very idea of raising his son to such a princely position,
the father's dissuasive expostulations only persuaded the boy I
all the more that he would like to be a merchant ; and at las^ |
bewildered at his son's self confidence, he had recourse to. the ]
advice of the schoolmaster, who, to his astoniehment, was \
favour of gratifying the boy's " humour," assigning as a reason |
that the very fact of his talking about being a merchant showed "
that there was something in him, for he did not think any
other boy in the school knew what the word meant. This
advice turned the scales ; and with his father's consent young
John Brown entered the service of a local firm of merchants ■
led Earl, Horton, and Company, who traded in the staple \
wares of Sheffield. For the first two years he received no wages,
but during the last five years of his apprenticeship he got 6j.
a week. He showed a natural aptitude for business, and soon
ingratiated himself into the goodwill of his employers. Conscious

276 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

that his skill and industry were his only avenues to fortune,
he sedulously improved every opportunity that could increase
his knowledge of the business or strengthen the confidence of
his employers. At the end of his apprenticeship his father
gave him a suit of new clothes and a sovereign, telling him
that for his future success he must rely on his own resources.
The indenture of this apprenticeship is still in the possession of
Sir John Brown, who regards it as one of the treasures of his
palatial residence, Endcliffe Hall.

Important changes in the business of the firm soon opened
out what to him was a golden opportunity. In 1836 his
employers, who had gone into the steel trade, removed from
Orchard Place to Rockingham Street, where they established
the Hallamshire Works, and commenced the manufacture of
files and table cutlery. In the following year John Brown
became of age, and a few months afterwards, to his surprise,
Mr. Earl, the senior partner, offered him a share in the business.
Being unable to find the capital required, he was obliged to
decline this offer ; but on further consideration, Mr. Earl offered
him the " factoring " part of the business, at the same time pro-
mising to aid in finding " the wherewithal " to conduct it. Full
of hope and courage, the young merchant preferred to negotiate
a loan on his own account, and he succeeded in getting his
father and a well-to-do uncle to be security for 500/. which a
local bank agreed to advance. With this money he bought
the business, and thenceforth conducted it with the utmost
zeal. Travelling through the country with a horse and gig,
he canvassed for his own orders and carried his own samples.
His industry soon brought its reward.. His business steadily
increased; and one extension after another had to be made
in order to keep pace with its growth. The gig was succeeded
by the four-wheeled sample coach. Instead of retailing the
xutlery of other manufacturers, he determined first to make

I

f SIR JOHN SHOWN. tifM

his own goods, and next to make the steel required for those
goods. Before entering upon the latter enterprise, however,
he asked the consent of his former employers, being unwilling
to enter into competition with those to whom he felt indebted for
previous favours. The desired consent was readily granted, ^
and in 1844 he commenced the manufacture of steel in small I
premises in Orchard Street. To the production and applica- I

I tion of this metal he then chiefly devoted his attention and
s. His new industry prospered and grew so rapidly

I that he disposed of his factoring business ; and removing to
more suitable premises in Furnival Street, he gave them the |
name of the Atlas Steel Works, and therein applied himself I

j exclusively to the production of steel, files, and railway springs.
The increasing growth of the railway system attracted his atten-
tion, and he perceived in it a great field for the consumption of
I products. At that time railway carriages or waggons were
joined together by a lengthy chain between each of them ; i
and one reason for arranging them in this primitive way was that
there were no buffers in use then. This want w.as supplied by
Sir John Brown. In 1848 he invented and patented the conical
spring buffer, which soon proved a great success both commer-
cially and mechanically. He sent the first pair of these buffers
ever made to the Taff Vale Railway Company in South Wales ;
the second pair went to the Glasgow and South Western Railway ;
and the third to the Dublin and Drogheda Railway Company ;
wliile they were first used in England on the London and Norlh

I Western Railway. All these lines had been constructed about
ten years before the conical buffer was invented. The utility
of the invention was soon demonstrated, and the demand for
the buffers, as well as for other descriptions of railway material,
increased rapidly.
An instance of the expedition with which Sir John executed
orders occurred about this time. He happened to be m Edinburgh

I

i

278 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

a few days before the date appointed for the opening of a new
line of railway to Dundee, and calling on the engineer of the
line on Saturday, was informed that everything was ready for the
opening day except a few sets of brake-springs, and that there
was every prospect of the opening ceremony being spoilt through
the default of the contractor in not having these springs ready.
In this strait he asked Sir John if he could supply the springs
by Thursday — ^five days hence. Sir John pointed out that with
the imperfect means of communication then available he feared
there would not be time to get them. The engineer, evidently
appreciating the energy of the man he was speaking to, said :
"But Aye must have them." "You shall* have them, then,"
rejoined Sir John ; and starting that afternoon by coach for
Berwick, he took the train thence to Newcastle, and thus got
into Sheffield on Sunday forenoon. Arrived at home he sent for
his foreman, and gave orders that his men were to start the
making of these springs first thing on Monday morning, and
that they were to be ready without fail on Monday night. These
orders were executed ; and the springs having been properly
packed, Sir John started with them for their destination. Travel-
ling by rail to Manchester, he there took steamer to Fleetwood,
where it was arranged that a waggon should be ready to carry the
springs to the station from which the mail started for the north.
On reaching the station, however, the railway officials declined to
carry such bulky goods in a mail train. But Sir John was not to
be outdone. He called for the manager, and on telling him the
peculiar circumstances of the case, got a horse-box attached
to the train to carry the springs. In this way he reached
Glasgow on Wednesday afternoon, and there and then delivered
the springs to the engineer, who was so pleased at his expedition
that, in addition to paying the full price and extra expense
involved in the manufacture of the springs, he mentioned the
circumstances under which they were produced to most of the

I

SIR JOH2:7 BROWN. 279 ,

railway directors present at the opening of the new line ; and for
a considerable time afterwards Sir John got most of the orders I
for the railway material required on Scotch lines.

To supply the increasing demand for these goods he had to I
extetid his means of production, and for this purpose he acquired I
first one additional workshop and then another, till in 1S53 his I
works were being carried on in four different districts. In the
following year an opportunity occurred that enabled him to
concentrate his scattered works. In 1854 what were then known
as the Queen's Works in Saville Street were offered for sale. The
buildings covered an acre of ground, but the site comprised three
acres. The works were originally built at a cost of 23,000/., but
Sir John Brown bought them for Itttlc more than half that amount.
On the first of January, 1856, the various detached departments
of his business were transferred to this newly acquired property ;
and in honour of the event. Sir John, his friends, and workpeople,
then numbering about 200, held high festival. The premises
were decorated with flags, cannon were fired during the day, the
school children of the neighbourhood were feasted, and the work-
people were entertained by their liberal employer at luncheon.
After some appropriate remarks from the head of the undertaking,
Lady Brown {nee Mary Schofield) performed *' the christening"
ceremony by dashing a bottle of wine against the wall, and
announcing amid the cheers of the spectators that henceforth the
premises were to be named the Atlas Sleel and Spring Works.
At that time the district around these works was a sylvan retreat,
where the wild-flowers blossomed in all the luxuriance of rural
repose. How quickly its aspect changed^and such a change 1
Its transformation almost reahsed the description which Milton
gives of what in his day was a. visionary scene. Ere long it
became a place which —

" Belch'd fire and rolling amol^e j the rest enlire |

Shone with a glossy ecuif ; unilouLled f\la

28o THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

That in its womb was hid metallic ore,

The work of sulphur. Thither, winged with speed,

A numerous brigade hastened : as when bands

Of pioneers, with spade and pickaxe armed.

Forerun the royal camp, to trench a field

Or cast a rampart. Mammon led them on :

Men also, by his suggestion taught,

Ransacked the centre, and with their busy hands

Rifled the bowels of their mother earth

For (hidden) treasures."

In the course of three years the whole of the three acres of
land connected with the Atlas Works were built upon, while the
machinery was renewed and enlarged. The year after he entered
his new works he embarked in an enterprise which greatly increased
not only his own trade, but the trade of South Yorkshire. He
determined to try, as an experiment, the manufacture of iron fit
for conversion into steel. For that purpose iron of a superior
quality was required, and incredible though it may now appear,
this country was then dependent upon Sweden and Russia for that
quality of iron. Seeing the great demand for iron created by the
growth of the railway system, and the high price commanded by
the foreign iron used in Sheffield, Sir John Brown, emboldened no
doubt by his success in previous ventures, could see no insuper-
able difficulty in making sufficiently good iron for his own use in
his own works. When he first mentioned the matter at a meeting
of local manufacturers, they simply laughed at it. But to him
mocking laughter only showed the vacant mind. Though the old
steel manufacturers pooh-poohed his scheme as a chimera, he satis-
fied himself of its practicability by proving that the coal, ore, and
other materials required in the manufacture of iron, were as cheap
in Sheffield as in the foreign countries that then manufactured the
iron for the steel trade, and that the steel manufacturers would
save by taking the metal in hand in its crude state instead of
having first to import it from Sweden and Russia. Accordingly

Sl/t JOHN BROWN.

j8i

1857 he commenced the manufacture of iron, and was so
successful that to him is accorded the credit of having inaugurated
this new industry in that district. He commenced with six
puddhng furnaces, a balling furnace, a mill furnace, and two
Naimyth hammers j and the iron produced by these appliances
was not only satisfactory in point of quality, but cheaper and more
convenient than the foreign iron previously used Seeing the
successful results thus obtained, his competitors in the steel trade,
who had formerly derided the scheme, soon came wanting to buy
his iron, because they could not get it so cheap from Sweden. In I
these circumstances the demand for this Yorkshire iron increased
rapidly. The six puddling furnaces were soon increased to twelve,
which produced about 100 tons of iron per week. Still the
demand increased, and further extensions of the works became
necessary. His works were bounded on one side by the line of
the Midland Railway, and to get more land he had to cross that
line. He did so, and on the other side built first one large mill
and then another. The first stone of the new works on the north
side of the line was laid in June, 1859. In January, i860, a storm
blew down and destroyed half of the roof, measuring 180 feet by 75
feet. This occurred on a Sunday morning, and knowing that Sir
John was anxious to get work started in the new premises at the
earhesl possible moment, a messenger rushed in breathless haste
to the old parish church of Sheffield to inform his master of the '
calamity. When called to the door of the church, Sir John,
surprised at seeing one of his workmen with pale face and tears in \
his eyes, instantly exclaimed ; " What is the matter ? " " It's
down, sir," replied the workman. " What's down?" "The roof ]
of the new works," continued the workman; "it's blown down."
"Then," said Sir John, "go to Harvey and tell him to arrange for
putting it up again ; " and he coolly returned into the church to
hear the sermon. The accident was soon repaired, and in June
I .following the new works were in operation. The iron made at

^0m

282 TIIE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

the Atlas Works was then coming into use for other purposes
than steel making. Notably boiler and bridge plates were
beginning ,to be made of this Yorkshire iron. Some of the
plates used at Charing Cross Bridge were manufactured at the
Atlas Works.

It was at this time that Sir John Brown began to produce steel
by the Bessemer process. He was one of the five ironmasters,
who, immediately after the first announcement of the process
agreed to give a large sum for the right to work it in his district ;
but when it was found that the first expectations were not realised^
he, along with the others, abandoned the project. At the beginning
of 1 85 9, however, the new works of Henry Bessemer and Company
were in operation, and were producing steel at 20/. a ton less than
the other manufacturers could make it for. When Sir John was de-
signing his new works he intended to produce steel by puddling ;
but on seeing the Bessemer converter in successful operation
next door to his own works, he changed his plan, and asked for
a licence to work the Bessemer process. The licence was granted
on the terms subsequently charged to all manufacturers of
Bessemer steel, namely, a royalty of i/. a ton on steel rails, and
2/. a ton on steel for all other purposes. Up to that time railway
wheel tyres were sold at 90/. a ton ; but they could be made of
Bessemer steel for 20/. or 25/. a ton. The tensile strength of the
new metal was declared to be 40 tons per square inch, being 15
or 18 tons greater than that of the best Yorkshire iron. As soon
as he began to produce this cheap steel, Sir John Brown perceived
that it was much preferable to iron for making rails ; and accord-
ingly he was the first manufacturer who made rails of Bessemer
steel. This he did in i860. In the following year he informed
the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, then holding their
meeting in Sheffield, that the new process furnished a pure,
homogeneous, hard, and tough material, admirably adapted for
the purposes of rail making. In making rails at the Atlas Works

sin JOHN SRO WN. 283

in 1861, the ingot of steel was made the exact size, in each case,
for a single rail, and in respect of faciUty of manufacture it had
some advantages over the mode of piling by which iron rails were
made He exhibited a number of samples of short stee! rails,
which had been bent and twisted in an extraordinary manner,
without presenting any apjiearance of fracture. At that time,
however, sleel rails were much more costly than iron ones ; indeed
they were then sold at four times the price which they now cost ;
and hence their slow progress in these early years.' Nevertheless
the production of Bessemer steel rapidly increased. In 1865 Sir
Henry Bessemer told the British Association at Birmingham that
steel made by his process was then being used as a substitute for
iron to a great and rapidly increasi ng extent. He added: The
jury reports of the International Exhibition of 1851 show that the
entire production of steel of all kinds in Sheffield was, at that
period, 35,000 tons annually, of which about i8,oqo tons were
cast steel, equal to 346 tons per week ; the few other small cast
steel works in the country would probably bring up this quantity
to 400 tons per week as the entire production of cast steel in
Great Britain. The jury report also states that an ingot of steel,
called the " monster" ingot, weighing 34 cwt, was exhibited by
Messrs. Turton, and was supposed to be the largest mass of steel
ever manufactured in England. Since that date a great change
had been made, for the largest Bessemer apparatus erected i
Sheffield (in 1865), at the worlcs of Sir John Brown, was capable
of producing with ease every four hours a mass of cast steel
weighing 24 tons, being 20 times larger than the monster ingot
of 185 1.

While the new steel works were thus making rapid strides, Sir

' In later yeoTB, when steel rails becime to much cheaper, and the demand
fui ibem much greater, the Atlas Works cea.sed to make them, because Sheffield
W05 found to be di-iadvanlBgeously situated fot carrying on a keen competitiiin
ifilh works nearer the sea csast that had shipping and other raciiities.

I

284 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

John was busily engaged in laying the foundations of another
industry, which soon became a large consumer of iron, and with
which his name will be for ever associated. He was the pioneer
of armour plate making, not only in Sheffield, but in this country.
It is a remarkable fact that, while England is indisputably the first
naval power in the world, nearly all the great changes made in the
materiel of naval warfare have originated in foreign countries.
Mr. D. Grant stated, in the House of Commons in 1881, that
ironclad armour had originated in France, turret ships in America,
torpedoes in Austria, and pebble powder in Germany. In a
lecture delivered in May, 1862, '* On the iron walls of England,"
Mr. J. Scott Russell, a great authority on the subject, stated that
" the invention of iron armour took place fifty or sixty years ago.
I am not prepared to name the first inventor ; but long before we
thought of using it in our navy, Mr. R. L. Stevens, a celebrated
engineer in New York, the builder of some of the fastest steam
vessels on the Hudson, was, I think, the inventor. Certainly
Mr. Stevens, between 1845 and 1B50, gave me a full account of
experiments made in America, partly at his own and partly at the
State's expense, and he found that six inches thickness of iron
plate armour was sufficient to resist every shot and shell of that
day. In 1845 Mr. Stevens proposed to the American Government
to construct an iron plated ship, and in 1854 the ship was begun.
This ship is in progress, but not yet (1862) finished. Mr. Stevens
is, therefore, the inventor of iron armour ; but no doubt the first
man who applied it practically for warfare was the Emperor of the
French. In 1854 he engaged in the Russian war, and being a
great artillerist, he felt deeply what his fleet could not do in the
Black Sea, and what we could not do in the Baltic ; and so he put
his wise head to work to find out what could be done. In 1854
the Emperor built some floating batteries — four or five ; we simply
took his design, and made five or six." Stevens used thin flat
plates one over the other ; but Mr. Lloyd, of the Admiralty, on

SIJi JOHN B£0 WN.

being consulled, expressed an opinion that solid 43- inch plates
would be more effectual than six inches of thickness in a con-
geries of plates. After the evidence afforded of the success of
ironclads in the Black Sea, the Emperor Napoleon determined to
make the future fleet of France of iron. Meanwhile, as the Duke
of Somerset said, " the House of Commons was in no particular
hurry ; " and when asked about his own dilatoriness in adopting
armour plating, he said, " he delayed until he had consulted the
House of Commons about it" In 1856 the Admiralty got the
Trusty made ready for experiments to test the resistance of iron-
clad batteries to shot and shell. But after getting her out, the
authorities took fright and sent her back again, whereby this country
lost two years' start in the construction of its new fleet In 1855
the design of the Warrior was submitted ; but the construction of
the first ship of that class was delayed till 1859. In 1858 Sir
John Packington first ordered an iron fleet to be made ; but the
French had previously commenced the Gloire, so that we were
three years behind the French. At the close of 1861 we had only
the M'arrior that was fit for service, if it was true, as Sir John
Hay, the chairman of the Naval Commission said, that "the
man who goes into acrion in a wooden ship is a fool, and the man
who sends him there is a villain."

Although the name of Sir John Brown is now liable to be
overlooked in connection with this subject, he took an im-
portant, if not a conspicuous part, in the work of transforming
our fleet from this obsolete condition to a stale of security that
no other country has ever approached. The circumstances that
led him into this position were of that class which ordinary
minds would consider accidental, but which a man of his
resources converts into that " tide in the affairs of men, which,
taken at its flood, leads on to fortune." He was, in the autumn
of i860, making a tour on the Continent, and happened lo be
- ,At Toulon when the French vessel already mentioned, the G/oire,

286 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

put into harbour there. This vessel was a curiosity. Originally
she was a timber built three-decker, but the French Government
had cut down her decks, and covered with armour the portions
that were not under water. Some consternation was caused
in Government circles in England by the announcement that
this " ironclad " had been put in commission ; and our Govern-
ment, not having at that time a single ironclad, determined to
convert ten large wooden men-of-war into the shape adapted
for armour plating. Sir John Brown perceived that in the pro-
duction of iron plates for armour clads there was a new field for
his enterprise and skill. He therefore asked permission to go
on board the Gloire for the purpose of examining the armour
plating, but this was refused. Determined to succeed, he made
as minute an examination of the exterior of the vessel as he
could from the nearest point of view ; and from this inspection
and inquiries he ascertained that the armour plates were 5 ft.
long by 2 ft. wide, were 4J in. thick, and were made by
hammering. He thought he could make thicker, larger, and
tougher plates by rolling the iron instead of hammering it;
and he returned to Sheffield with the intention of putting his
ideas to a practical test. He erected a rolling mill, selected
workmen, and personally directed the operation to a successful
issue. The way in which he manufactured a five-ton armour
plate was thus described by himself at a meeting of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers in Sheffield : — Several
bars of iron were rolled 12 in. broad by i in. thick, and were
cut 30 in. long. Five of these bars were piled and rolled down
to a rough slab. Five other bars were also rolled down to another
rough slab ; and these two slabs were then welded and rolled
down to a plate ij in. thick, which was sheared to 4 ft. square.
Four plates like that one were then piled and rolled down to
one plate measuring 8 ft. by 4, and 2 J in. thick. Lastly four
of these were piled and rolled to form the final and endre

S/X JOHN BRO WN.

2S7

I

plate. There were thus welded together 160 thicknesses of
plate, each of which was originally i in. thick, to form one plate
45 in. thick, being a reduction of thirty-five times in thickness;
and in the operation from 3,500 to 4,000 square feet of surface
had to be perfectly welded by the process of rolling. It was
not surprising, he added, that even with the greatest care blisters
and imperfect welding should occur and render the plate defective.
This was the chief difficulty to be overcome, and it increased ,
with the magnitude and weight of the plale, the final operation
of welding the four plates, measuring 8 ft. by 4 ft., and 2\
thick, being a very critical one. The intensity of the heat thrown
off was almost unendurable, and the loss of a few moments in
the conveyance of the pile from the furnace to the rolls would
be fatal to success.

No sooner had Sir John Brown made a fair start in the
manufacture of armour plates by this process than some for-
midable competitors entered the field and openly contested his
claims to superiority. The first orders of the Government
divided among different manufacturers, Sir John getting a
I at prices ranging from 37/. to 45/. a ton. In September,
the question of superiority was put to a decisive test.
:periments were made at Portsmouth with four plates forged in
[he Government dockyards and with one manufactured at the
iHas Steel Works. The latter was selected from a heap of
which had been made for the Royal Sovereign shield
lip, and it weighed 94 cwt. 3 qr. These plates were secured
le of the Alfred target ship, and were fired at from the
15 cwt. gim of the Stork gunboat. Solid 63 lb. shot were thrown
ilh the ordinary 16 lbs. of powder. According to a contem-
porary account, unusual interest attached to the trial, because
the plates from the Government yards had been manufactured
purposely to test the cost of production in comparison with
the price paid to contractors {which some detractors had

288 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

represented as exorbitant), and also to decide upon the respective
merits of puddled and scrap iron as the material for plating.
The plates made at the Government yards soon broke up, while
the plates produced by Sir John Brown stood a severer ordeal
than any plates had ever been subjected to before. Four shots
sufficed to destroy the Government plates, while Sir John
Brown's appeared invulnerable after receiving nine shots. In
subsequent tests he likewise carried off all the honours.

While some powerful competitors advocated hammering as
the best means of making armour plates. Sir John continually
advocated the rolling system, and demonstrated that it possessed
many great merits. . Nearly all the experimental plates required
by the special commisson on iron plates appointed ,by the
Government were made at the Atlas Works. Many costly
experimental plates were supplied from these works free of charge.
At the close of the Exhibition of 1862 Sir John was awarded
the gold medal for excellence in armour plating : and it may be
here added that in 1867 he received from the French jurors
the sole gold medal for British armour plates. Members of the
English Government also acknowledged his pre-eminence as a
maker of armour plates. In August, 1862, Lord Palmerston,
then Prime Minister, went to Sheffield on a special visit to Sir
John Brown at his residence, Shirle Hall, and took a lively
interest in the various processes carried on at the Atlas Works,
where he saw a plate rolled that weighed six tons. Speaking on
the navy estimates in the House of Commons in February follow-
ing. Lord Clarence Paget said : " While upon armour plates let
me pay honour where honour is due. We can get good plates,
both hammered and rolled, but we find that the rolled are more
uniform ; and Sir John Brown, a gentleman distinguished by
great zeal, and conducting important works at Sheffield, has been
most successful in producing these plates."

Up to 1863 some of the naval heads of the Government

» SIR JOHN BROWN.

(houglit it fifxt to impossible to produce armour plates more
than 4^ in. thick ; but Sir John Brown, who saw that the
increased power of the artillery coming into use would soon
render such thin plates useless for defensive purposes, was then
erecting a new rolling mill designed to produce larger plates.
In reference to the strength of the armour plates that were first
made. Sir Joseph Whitworth relates the following ; " 1 remember
telling tlie Duke of Somerset when I penetrated the Trusty~\
think I sent four shots through the Tnisty — that I had no doubt
from what I saw that I should be able to make shell go through.
That created immense surprise. He had no idea that such a
thing could ever be accomplished as sending a shell through
armour plating. My steel projectile in 1858 was the first to do

»it At 450 yards the first shot that was fired went through it."
In these circumstances Sir John Brown offered the Government
^ roll three plates, 5, 7, and 8 in. thick respectively ; and if they
btiled to resist the shot that penetrated the 4J in. plates, he
irould bear the cost of the experiments. On his invitation,
the Lords of the Admiralty and other noblemen attended to
witness the opening of the new mill, and to see the " monster "
plates rolled. This took place on the 9th of April, 1863, when
there were present the Duke of Somerset, Lord Clarence Paget,
the Marquis of Ripon, the Duke of Devonshire, Earl Fitz- j
william, Lord Wharncliffe, and other distinguished metL They ^
saw several plates rolled exceeding 4^ in. in thickness, and the '
operations concluded with the rolling of a plate 12 in. thick,
measuring 15 ft. by so ft., and a plate 5 in. thick, measuring
40 ft. by 4 ft. Addressing the workmen. Sir John said : '
are all proud of your exploits ; you are all worthy of the i
of Englishmen. His Grace the Duke of Somerset wishes me
to express his admiration of what you have done,"

At the banquet which followed the Duke said that Sir Joseph I
Whitworth maintained that whatever plates were made

290 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

would fire through them. " I always encourage him," continued
his Grace, ** to give us the most irresistible artillery he can, because
we wish to have irresistible ships, and, on the other hand, armed
with irresistible artillery. These are the difficulties in which we
are at present placed, and I must now say that what I have seen
to-day gives me hopes on the one side, that as to the protection
of our ships we are now in a fair way of meeting the difficulty."
He also praised the intelligence, good temper, and kindly feeling
of the workmen in the Atlas Works, saying he was convinced
that the men felt they were well treated, and that the head
of the establishment managed them with great judgment and
kindness — which was the only way in which such great works
could be carried on. In proposing prosperity to the new rolling
mill, he said it would be " in the future one of the most wonderful
pieces of machinery ever made in this country."

Punch published a characteristic account of this event, which is
still worth reading : —

" Now," said Mr. Punch, " let the ceremonies proceed. Somer-
set, my boy, do you think you understand anything about the
process ? "

** Well, yes," said the first Lord of the Admiralty, " I think I
do. You see, they make it hot, and then "

" Make what hot ? Brandy and water ? That reminds me that
I should like a little, for I am far from well."

" I mean the iron," said the Duke, when Mr. Punch had
finished the liquid that was tendered to him as he spoke.

" Well, why didn't you say the iron ? Didn't you like to speak
ironically ? "

It is well that Mr. Brown had built his works strongly, for a
shout like that which followed would have brought down any
light erection.

" Well," said the Duke, ** they take it out of the furnace and
roll it between these rollers, and that is all."

Sm JOHN BRO WN.

" Not quite," sa'd llie Mayor,' with a quiet look at Mr. Pancli ;
" but his Grace is not altogetlier an unintelligent observer. Here
comes a. plate."

The brawny giants suddenly drew open the door of a vast
furnace, and you had an idea that a large piece of blazing fire had
got in there by accident and It was about as possible to look in
the face of Ihc (ire as of Phcebus. Then, tugged forth by the
giants, out came a large slab of red-hot metal, just the thing for
a dining-table in Pandemoniuin, and it was received upon a
mighty iron truck, and hurried along to the jaws of the rolling
machine. As it was drawn fiercely into the mill a volcano broke
out, and the air was filled with a shower of fire-spangles of the
largest construction, and eminently calculated to make holes in
your garments. The monster slab was so mercilessly taken in
hand by the mighty wheels, and was hurled backwards and for-
wards, under terrific pressure, and so squeezed and rolled and
consolidated, that when at length it was fiung, exhausted as
it were, upon the iron floor beyond, Mr. Punch was reminded of
the way in which he has dealt with, improved, and educated the
public mind for the last twenty years.

"And that's the way I propose to defend the British navy,"
said the Duke of Somerset, looking as if he had done it alL

" Mr. Mayor," said Mr. Punch, " it makes me thirsty to hear I
these aristocratic muffs going on in this manner. I hear you have i
spent 100,000/. in this single part of your works in six months,
and that you are going to build largely in addition. Sir, I suppose
that we, the nation, shall have to pay you a trifle for what you
'_ manufacture."

Mr. Brown smiled, as if he thought that just possible.

"Sir," continued Mr. Punch, "1 rejoice thereat. I don't care I

I what these things cost I consider them the cheap defence of j

I nations, at least of our nation, which is the only one I care a red ]

' Sir John Brown wm then Mayor of ShcfEeld.

292 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

cent about These things will make war as nearly impossible as
anything in this mad world can be ; and therefore, Mr. Brown,
I hope you will go on making them until further notice."

The large plates which the Admiralty tested were found so
satisfactory that orders were given that they were to be paid for \
and henceforth Sir John Brown became the largest maker of iron
plates for the Government His fame as a manufacturer of these
plates soon spread abroad. At one time it was announced that
plates were being produced in France that could successfully
compete with those of British manufacturers in the markets of
Europe, and no little consternation was caused by the successful
results obtained at the trial of some French plates at Portsmouth.
How these successful French plates were produced was not
known, but the failures sustained by French manufacturers after-
wards were so rapid, that they were driven out of the market
nearly as quickly as they entered it. They were officially con-
demned in Russia, Holland, Sweden, England, France, and Den-
mark. In the latter country testing experiments took place in
the last week of 1863 upon five plates, sent from Lyons, Glasgow,
the Thames, and Sheffield. The one made by Sir John Brown
showed greater powers of resistance than any of the others ; and
he was accordingly awarded the first order of merit. He did not,
however, immediately supply these foreign customers. One
foreign Government after another applied for his plates, but he
refused to supply them while he was busy executing orders for
his own Government. In 1867 it was reported that three-fourths
of the ironclads of the British navy were clothed with armour
plates made at his works.

Being then the acknowledged leader in the manufacture of
armour plates, the demand for them and for his other products
was such as required almost continuous extensions to be made to
the Atlas Works. In the development of his plate rolling mills
he expended 200,000/. In 1857 his works covered a single

f SIR JOHN SROWK 293 '

facre; in 1867 they covered ai acres- The buildings which
closely covered this lai^e area were all designed by himself
without the assistance of an architect, and they were filled with
machinery used in the production of plates, ordnance, forgings,
railway bars, steel springs, rails, tyres, axles, &c. Much of the
machinery was designed by himself, and all of it was made under
I his supervision. A single incident will give an idea of the diffi-
fcculties he had to surmount in furnishing his workshops with the
VWquisite machinery, even of an ordinary kind. When he com-
P menced the manufacture of armour plates he was unable to find
I in any of the leading machine shops in the country planing and
slotting machines large enough to finish such immense masses of
iron. A leading machine maker in Glasgow was astonished to
hear Sir John say that his largest productions were too weak,
\ and assured him that nothing he could do would break them.
"Ah!" said Sit John, "you don't know what I want them
I for; nothing made at present raay break them, but I want
Kthem made stronger," Calling for the drawings of the largest
I jnachines, he marked with a pencil the parts that were to be
l:inade stouter and stronger, so as to stand a greater strain than
■ they had ever been subjected to before, and then handing the
•Resign to the manufacturer, ordered machines to be made of
■ithese enlarged dimensions, agreeing to pay so much a ton for
f tiiem. By his order steel shafts were put into them instead of '
rrought iron, and when finished these machines were found to be
s strong as any hitherto produced. Though he was con-
' tinually devising and introducing labour-saving machinery, the
hands employed at the Atlas Works increased as rapidly as the
works. In 1857 they numbered 200 ; in 1867, 4,000. In the

I first year of his business he turned over about 3,000/. ; and in
the last named year it was nearly 1,000,000/. Inconnection
with his works he raised two corps of volun
them at his own cosL In 1864 the works v

rs, and equipped
; registered as a

294 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

limited liability concern, with a capital of 1,000,000/. Sir
John became chairman of the company, and Mr. J. D. Ellis
and Mr. W. Bragge, whom he had previously taken into partner-
ship, became managing directors.

After the retirement of Sir John from the active duties of
management, the Atlas Works continued to display a degree of
enterprise and skill that entitled them to a foremost place in the
history of the steel trade. It was at these works that chrome
steel was first made in England. For many years it had been
known that a mixture of chromium and iron could be made to
produce steel of great hardness and strength ; but it was not till
187 1 that it was brought into practical use. Mr. Julius Bauei>
patented in America a way of producing chrome steel in crucibles,
and the metal produced by his process was described as having
extraordinary properties. It was said that the new steel, being an
alloy, was capable of being graded for any special purpose, that
it could be made so hard that it could not be softened, and so
soft that it could not be hardened ; that it had a tensile strength
far exceeding that of any other kind of steel, and that one grade of
it, called adamantine, when forged into a tool and allowed to cool
^adually, was too hard to be worked with a file. Chrome steel
was used for those parts of the St. Louis Bridge, U.S., in which
great strength was required. In 1875 Sir John Brown and Co.
took up the manufacture of this steel, about which little or nothing
was then known in this country, and they claimed for it a remark-
able degree of strength, malleability, and freedom from corrosion.
This steel, however, never came largely into use in this country,
though some makers of edge tools have a decided preference for it.

In the manufacture of armour plates the Atlas Works continued
in the van of progress, notwithstanding the skill and enterprise of
able competitors. In later years this department of the works
was further improved and adapted for the most recent require-
ments of the trade. From the memorable time when Sir John

SIR JOHN BROWN. 295

I Bro*n demonstrated that he could roll plates of greater thickness
^than 4j- inches, increased thickness was one of the features of our
■ ironclads built before 1S76. When the Inflexible was commenced
1874, it was intended to arm her with 24 inches of iron plating,
but before she was ready to receive her iron walls an important
change in the material and manufacture of armour plates took
place. At Spezzia in October, 1S76, the 100 ton gun completely
|, perforated and smashed 22 inches of iron plates and their back-
lings. This appeared a fatal blow to iron. The French manu-
facturers thereafter directed attention to the power of steel plates,
which the Italian Government thought superior to iron ones. At
the same time Sir Joseph Whitworlh obtained remarkable results
with plates of steel, while the Sheffield manufacturers declared in
favour of iron plates with steel faces. In 1S77 Mr. J. D. Ellis, of
the Adas Steel Works, took out a patent for the manufacture of
Lthese steel-faced plates; and at the Fans Exhibition of 1878 some
1. of "Brown's compound plates" — half iron and half steel — were
I exhibited for the purpose of showing their power of resisting a
e severe trial than iron ever withstood. The process of
I manufacture was this : an armour plale, made in the usual way,
I had affixed to it a frame made of iron bars, so as to inclose on
I the plate a quantity of steel equal to about half the thickness of
iron plate. The plate thus " framed " was placed in a heating
I furnace till it reached a welding heat, after which it was with-
1 drawn, and molten Bessemer steel was poured onto it. This is
\ an interesting process to see. At a given signal a ladle, contain-
■ ing about ten tons of steel, is carried along by a powerful crane,
and being suspended over the plate, and the plug withdrawn, the
liquid sleel flows in a stream into the box-like frame. Sometimes '

I the stream of metal is iniemipted lo prevent it settling down, and
to secure an equal distribution al! over the plate. Sometimes the
metal bursts forth at the side, and falls in a shower of star-shaped
■parks, not unlike the beauliful phenomenon of the Bessemer J

296 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

process. When there is more metal in the ladle than is needed
for the plate, the surplus is run into moulds to form ingots for
other purposes. Meanwhile the compound plate is allowed to
cool, and being afterwards again re-heated, is rolled in the usual
manner. A plate which, after receiving its steel facing, is 16^
inches thick and weighs 20 tons in the rough, is reduced before
being finished to 9 inches in thickness and 14 tons in weight.
The plates thus produced have been subjected to all sorts of
trials, and found equal, if not superior, to all competitors. The
projectile of the 100 ton gun only penetrated 8 inches into a
19 inch steel-faced plate, whereas, if it had been made of iron, it
would certainly have been perforated.

A sample armour plate, manufactured at the Atlas Works, for
the Russian Government, was tested in 1883 on board the Nettle
at Portsmouth. It was a specimen of the belt protection of a
Russian cruiser in course of construction, and measured 8 feet by
7 feet, the thickness tapering from 6 inches to 4 inches below the
water-line, and the steel face forming one-third of the thickness.
Three rounds were fired from the 7 inch gun, with charges of
14 lb., and projectiles of 114 lb. The test was highly successful.
Nothing was produced except hair cracks, of which the most
important was only about one-tenth of an inch wide.

Reporting in 1883 on the manufactures and exports of Sheffield,
Mr. C. B. Webster, the American consul in that town, stated that
the firm of Sir J. Brown and Co. " use at their Sheffield works
160 steam boilers, with between 11,000 and 12,000 h.-p. They
have the largest planing machines — used for finishing armour
plates — in the world. Their weekly pay roll amounts to 7,000/.
They consume a quarter of a million tons of coal and coke
annually. I saw, at their works, a day or two since, an armour
plate 18 inches thick, weighing from 20 to 23 tons, made for the
English Admiralty ; also several heavy beam plates for shipment
to the United States. The largest plate recently rolled is for the

SIR JOHN BROWN. 297

Italian Government. It is 19 inches thick, and weighs, when
finished, over 3* tons. Tliese plates are a combination of iron
and steel, the patent of Mr. Ellis, the chairman of the company.
The total weight of armour for the large Italian vessel Italia will
be about iS,ooo tons. In addition, she will require iron deck-
plates from 3 inches to 4 inches thick, weighing 800 or 1,000
tons. The process of handling and bending these immense
armour plales to fit every part of the ship is an interesting one,
and their edges are so nicely planed, that when placed in position
they fit each other with the utmost exactness. This firm illustrates
the value of a name. When Sir John Brown, its founder, left the
business to his successors, he was paid 200,000/. for goodwill
and for the privilege of retaining the well-known title,"

Not only did these works increase the industrial resources of
Sheffield, but they called forth the emulation and the energies of
worthy competitors in the same direction. The great progress
made in the staytle industries of the town, in which Sir John was
a pioneer, is rellected in the increase of its population. When the
present Alias Works were started in 1857. the population of
Sheffield was about 133,000; in i88r it was 284,000. Apart
from the effect of his industrial enterprise, he has personally
rendered invaluable services to the town in which his life has been
spent. In all works of charity, and in all movements calculated
to promote ils advancement, he has taken a foremost part. His
life has been marked by great liberality and a desire as far as
possible to benefit those around him ; and in recognition of his
public spirit, his townsmen have conferred upon him all their local
honours. In the consecutive years 1862-63 ^^ ^^ mayor of the
borough, and after that he remained an alderman. There are two
public bodies in Sheffield which hold and administer property for
the benefit and improvement of the town — the church burgesses
and the town trustees ; and he was made a member of both these
bodies. He was also made a magistrate for the borough, as well

298 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

as for the North West Riding, of which, too, he was appointed a
deputy lieutenant. Twice he held the office of master cutler;
and his tenure of that office was signalised by the completion of
the Cutlers* Hall. The honour of knighthood was conferred on
him in 1867. When, in 187 1, the Sheffield School Board was
constituted, he was elected chairman ; and ten years afterwards a
bu-?t of him was placed in the board room of that body to com-
memorate his services. In works of charity he was likewise a
man of "light and leading." His name appeared as a patron or
officer in many local societies. His liberal support of every move-
ment likely to benefit the town was more conspicuously shown
during the years he acted as mayor. It was stated afterwards that
during those two years he spent 6,000/. for the benefit of the
public. Through his effi^rts a large sum of money was raised in
Sheffield in aid of the Lancashire distress fund ; and when, imme-
diately after his retirement from the civic chair, the memorable
inundation occurred through the bursting of a reservoir, causing a
serious loss of life, he took a foremost part in alleviating the
sufferings which that calamity entailed. He visited the most
urgent cases of distress, and supplied their immediate wants from
his own purse. In the district in which most of the large works
are situated, he built a church and schools in 1867-8 at a cost of
12,200/. Its ecclesiastical name is "All Saints;" its local name
is "John Brown's Church.*' In opening this church on February
5th, 1869, the Archbishop of York said, in reference to the donor,
"I feel persuaded, from many conversations ahd from what I know,
that the feeling uppermost in his mind was not to raise a grand
temple, which, seen from afar by men, would be an ornament to
the town and a monument of his own liberality ; I feel sure it
was his great anxiety to do what he could towards saving the souls
of those who work for him." Although himself a Churchman, it
is said that there is no religious denomination in Sheffield that has
not had reason to appreciate his generosity.

MR. SIDNEY GILCHRIST THOMAS.

CHAPTER X.

" l*he invention all admired, and each how he
To be the inventor missed; so easy it seemed'
Once found, which, yet unfound, most would have thought
Impossible, " — M ILTON.

Rarely has an inventor attained world-wide celebrity so quickly
as Mr. Sidney Gilchrist Thomas. He solved a problem which
had baffled the greatest metallurgists since the invention of the
Bessemer converter. The trouble which the presence of phosphorus
in iron occasioned to Sir Henry Bessemer has already been
recorded ; but other metallurgists, as well as he, had tried to effect
its elimination. Among this array of eminent but unsuccessful
experimentalists were Karston, Tanoyer, Wall, Winkler, Fleury,
Guest, Evans, Englehart, Knowles, Heaton, Hargreaves, Fuchs,
Crawshay, Fissier, Warner, Drown, Troost, Daelen, Rochussen,
and others. To these has to be added one of the greatest and one
of the oldest of contemporary metallurgists — Mr. Isaac Lowthian
Bell. He had for years been regarded as the high priest of
British metallurgy ; and the fact that he did not solve the
problem, after very elaborate investigations, was by many con-
sidered a proof that it was insoluble. It was believed that no one
knew more than he did about the manufacture of iron in general,
and the baneful nature of phosphorus in particular. Besides being

300 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

the chief proprietor of the largest works in England that produced
pig iron only, his observations on the phenomena of the blast
furnace extended over a period of nearly forty years. In 1870-2 he
communicated to the world the fruits of his studies in an elaborate
work entitled The Chemical Phenomena of Iron Smelting^ which
recorded the results of about 1,000 experiments, besides collating
the innumerable data and experiments of other metallurgists past
and present, British and foreign. The concluding words of that
work contained some interesting references to the importance of
eliminating phosphorus from iron. He said : ** The very cheapness
of iron has been the means of introducing its use in a thousand
ways, to which high price would have shut the door, and when a
better article for higher class work was required, it was easier and
less expensive to go at once to better class iron, than engage in
costly experiments for the purpose of freeing the cheaper article
of its imperfections.

" Such was the state of things a few years ago, when the cost of
producing a ton of pig iron, free from phosphorus, probably did
not exceed by loj. that of Cleveland, with its i or i^ per cent, of
this element.

" The introduction of Bessemer steel for railway bars, the necessity
of constructing our locomotives and iron steamers of great strength,
combined with great lightness, have changed all this. Steel is now
a form in whichiron will be greatly sought after, and in such anxious
request is pig iron, suitable for the manufacture of this material,
that it has run up rapidly from about 6oj. to nearly 6/. per ton,
being nearly double that of pig iron obtained from Cleveland
stone.

" The limit to the production of Bessemer pig is want of ores
free from phosphorus. The hematites of this country, under the
sudden demand, have doubled in price, and speculators of all
kinds are rushing off to Spain, where tracts of land, conceded with-
out any payment a few months ago by the Government of that

MR. SIDNEY GILCHRIST THOMAS. 301

country, are said now to be worth large premiums ; at least, such
is the impression left on the mind by a perusal of the published
prospectuses of the day.

" This may be correct, and so firm may be the grip that phos-
phorus holds on iron, that breaking up the bonds that bind them
together may defy the skill of our most scientific men ; but it may
be well to remember that the yearly make of iron from Cleveland
stone alone contains about 30,000 tons of phosphorus, worth for
agricultural purposes, were it in manure as phosphoric acid, above
a quarter of a million, and that the money value difference be-
tween Cleveland and hematite iron is not short of four millions
sterling, chiefly due to the presence of this 250,000/. worth of
phosphorus.

** The Pattinson process does not leave one part of silver in
100,000 of lead ; the Bessemer converter robs iron of almost every
contamination except phosphorus, but nine-tenths of this ingredient
is expelled by the puddling furnace. It may be difficult, but let
it not be supposed there would be any surprise excited in the minds
of chemists, if a simple and inexpensive process for separating iron
and phosphorus were made known to-morrow, so that only one of
the latter should be found in 5,000 of the former ; and now that
there is such a margin to stimulate exertion, we may be sure the
minds of properly qualified persons will be directed towards the
solution of a question of such national importance."

No one gave more evidence of diligent application to the con-
sideration of this problem than the author of these words. In 1877
he read two papers before the members of the Iron and Steel
Institute on the conditions which influenced the separation of
carbon, silicon, sulphur, and phosphorus from iron as they exist
in the pig. He showed as the result of numerous experiments
that carbon and silicon were expelled at moderately high, as well
as at the more intense, temperatures commanded by the different
furnaces and apparatus employed in the manufacture of iron and

302 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

steel ; and that the agent which effected the removal of these two
substances was oxygen. In some, he said, this is probably performed
by direct action, as in the Bessemer converter, while in others the
oxidation of the carbon and silicon is chiefly produced by the fluid
cinder, in which oxide of iron is the active body. He was of
opinion that the separation of sulphur took place in a similar
manner ; but phosphorus appeared to be influenced by a different
condition of things. Oxygen in its free state was almost entirely
inert as regarded phosphorus at the intense temperature of the
Bessemer process. But he found that when melted pig iron was
exposed to the action of oxygen at lower temperatures, phosphorus
was rapidly removed. He therefore held that the order of affinity
Between iron and phosphorus, by difference of heat alone, was
inverted. This was ascertained by a variety of experiments, and
he gave details of several which showed that phosphorus tended
to disappear at a low temperature and to return at a high
temperature.

At the annual meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1878,
the first paper read was one by Mr. Isaac Lowthian Bell, " On the
separation of phosphorus from pig iron." In this communication
he explained the mechanical apparatus in which he had so applied
the fused oxides of iron to liquid iron, at a comparatively low
temperature, as to remove 96 per cent, of the phosphorus ; but he
left the commercial value of the process untouched. As soon as
the paper was read. Prof, Williamson expressed the obligation the
members were under to Mr. Bell for his valuable information.
Mr. Snelus next rose and stated that six years previously he had
taken out a patent for using lime for the lining of steel-melting
and other furnaces ; and although he had refrained from saying
anything about it at these meetings, he was so impressed with ** the
value of the essence of the thing," that he had been trying during
these six years to devise some mechanical means of reducing it to
practice. In the middle of the discussion a young member,

MR. SIDNEY GILCHRIST THOMAS. 303

apparently the youngest man in the meeting, modestly stated
in three sentences that he had succeeded in effecting the almost
complete removal of phosphorus in the Bessemer process; and
that some hundreds of analyses made by Mr. Gilchrist showed a
reduction of from 20 to 99*9 per cent, of phosphorus. The meeting
did not laugh at this youthful Eureka^ nor did it congratulate the
young man on his achievement. Much less did it inquire about
his method of elimination; it simply took no notice of his
undemonstrative announcement. The young man, whose name
probably very few of those present had ever heard before, was
Sidney Gilchrist Thomas, and the Thomas-Gilchrist process was
then announced for the first time. Future historians will probably
date from that announcement a revolution in the steel trade of the
world ; and its author's name at present stands foremost* among
the successful inventors of steel.

Bom in 1850, Sidney Gilchrist Thomas was educated at
Dulwich College, near London, where he received a purely classical
training with the view of studying medicme. On finishing his
studies there he was about to proceed to London University, with
the view of graduating in arts, but his father dying at that critical
period, he determined not to proceed further in his academic career.
He resolved to make his way in the world by a shorter cut, and
accordingly he became for a short time a teacher in a private
school. At the age of seventeen he entered the Civil Service, but
not with the intention of remaining in it Though he continued
in the service till 1879, he turned these years to good account,
with the view of attaining quicker and more valuable distinction
than the service could give. He always showed a predilection for
science, and impelled by the love of it, he worked assiduously in
his leisure hours to master the elements of chemistry. His intention
was to go into metallurgy, and in order to pursue his chemical
studies he had a small laboratory fitted up for his own use. He
also studied occasionally in the evenings at Mr. Vacher's laboratory

304 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

in London. Having fixed upon metallurgy as the special branch
of science which he should pursue, he took care to qualify himself
for passing the examinations of the School of Mines. The curriculum
of that school extends over three years, but he did not attend the
lectures during that period. Dr. Percy was then the lecturer, but
Mr. Thomas's other engagements did not admit of his attendance.
Nevertheless he passed all his examinations except that of metallurgy,
which is only open to those who attend the whole course of lectures.
He generally spent his holidays in visiting iron works in this country
and on the continent, in order to gain a better insight into the
different operations and methods in use for the smelting and
refining of metals. In his laboratory studies he made it a practice
to select three or four problems in connection with things unsolved,
so as to group facts around them with the view of seeing how far
he could obtain a solution of them. It was in this way that he
took up dephosphorisation, at which he worked at intervals for
seven years. In order to master the known conditions of the
problem, he first collected all the analytical and technical data
available on the subject He soon came to the conclusion that
the best practical way to eliminate the phosphorus was to obtain
a very strong base, which should be added to the Bessemer process
to enable the oxydised phosphorus to unite with it and thus be
carried off in the slag. The term base is used by chemists to signify
a compound which will chemically combine with an acid ; and the
phosphorus, when oxidised in the Bessemer converter, is technically
called phosphoric acid. In other words, the base and the acid
have a " liking '' for each other, and the one thus combining with
the other, they could be expelled together. For this purpose it
seemed clear to him that a basic lining must be used. Having
arrived at these prtmd facte conclusions as to the best method of
procedure, he entered upon a series of experiments for the purpose
of investigating the nature and duration of different sorts of linings,
and soon became convinced that the requisite material must be

MH. SIDNEY GILCHRIST THOMAS.

son

^^^^^ MR

^^Reither lime or magnesia. He then entered upon some experiments
with a Bessemer converter on a miniature sca]e in London, but |
finding it very difficult to obtain the pressure of blast necessary to
cany such experiments further, he wrote to his cousin, Mr. P. C.
Gilchrist, who was then chemist at Cwm-Avon in South Wales,
laying the condition of the esperimcnts before him, and asking his
co-operation with the view of experimenting with a converter on a .
greater scale. Nothing was done just then, but soon afterwards Mr.
Gilchrist went to Blaenavon as analytical chemist, and there he
made arrangements for further experiments in the direction indicated
by Mr, Thomas. Accordingly these two young men— the one aj
twenty-six and the other twenty-five years — carried on a series of I
experiments for eighteen months with crucibles lined with lime,
oxide of iron, magnesia, and other substances ; and after a long
delay they got a miniature converter, which, though it only held
eight pounds instead of eight tons, sufficed, when supplied with
blast from the furnace, for their experimental purposes. Another |
series of experiments was then begun, and with prospects of success.
About midsummer in 1877 they began to obtain satisfactory I
results, which proved that Mr. Thomas's theory was right. They |
effected partial dephosphorlsation in many instances with North- I
ampton pig by lining the converter with bricks of limestone and '
with silicate of soda, which lasted fairly well ; but owing to some
defect in the apparatus they were not able to get a cast fluid so as
to finish the operation. Early in the autumn of the same year ihey
got a number of casts of eight pounds each which were completely |
dephosphorised, and which on analysis were found to be excellent
steel. These results they communicated to Mr. Martin, of the
Blaenavon Works, who offered them further facihiies for carrying
on their experiments. Till then they had been making them, for
the sake of secrecy, in an old smithy shed; and Mr. Martin 1
undertook, on behalf of the Blaenavon Company, to build a small I

IfcOn for making their bricks, and to let them have the use of a

3o6 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

small converter — small compared with the usual size, but large
compared with the miniatur one they had been using. Some
time before that they had been experimenting on the effect of a
very high temperature in producing a very hard and compact
structure in the limestone, and for that purpose they used a
Fletcher injection furnace. They found that by exposing the
magnesia and limestone to a very intense white heat for a
considerable period, it became shrunk lime, and as hard as flint
They at once saw that this material was likely to withstand the
intense heat in the converter, and to contain within its compact
physical structure the base necessary to eliminate the phosphonis.
Believing that they had at last obtained the means of practically
solving the problem, they tried to manufacture these bricks in the
small kiln built for the purpose at Blaenavon; but they found
that the fireplace was too small, and the heat insufficient to tho-
roughly burn them. In the winter of 1877 they had two converters
at their service — a fixed one holding four hundredweight, and a
tipping one holding ten hundredweight. The rights of the inventors
were now secured by patent ; and the results already obtained
having been communicated to the Dowlais Works in February or
March, 1878, arrangements were made for the use of a large
converter there. Some experiments were made in a S-ton con-
verter at Dowlais, but they were unsuccessful ; dephosphorisation
topk place, but they did not get more than five casts. The inventors
elected not to proceed further there, because the floor of the kiln
prevented them getting a proper supply of lime bricks for lining
the converter. But, with the vigorous co-operation of Mr. Martin,
experiments were resumed at Blaenavon, and continued till
September, when an account of the results of their labours was
prepared for the Paris meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute.
During an excursion of the members of that institute from Paris
to Creusot, Mr. Thomas mentioned to Mr. E. W. Richards, the
manager of Bolckow, Vaughan, and Co.'s works in Cleveland, the

MR. SIDNEY GTLCHRIST THOMAS. 307 '

stale in which their experiments stood, and their desire to continue
them on a larger scale.

Mr. Richards, who is not .only a practical ironmaster of large
experience, but a gentleman much esteemed for the liberaHty
and kindliness with which he is ever ready to lend a helping
hand to a good cause, immediately took an interest in Mr.
Thomas's representations ; and his own account of his honourable
connection with the working of the process forms one of the
most interesting parts of its history. In his presidential
address to the Cleveland Institution of Engineers on the
15th of November, 1880, Mr. Richards said; " Messrs. Thomas
and Gilchrist prepared a paper giving very fully the results of their
experiments, with analyses. It was intended to be read at the
autumn meeting of the Iron and Steel InstJlute in Paris in 1878;
but so little importance was attached to it, and so hltle was it
believed in, that the paper was scarcely noticed, and it was left
unread till the spring meeting in London in 1879. Mr. Sidney
Thomas first drew my particular attention to the subject at Creusot,
and we had a meeting a few days later in Paris to discuss it, when
I resolved to take the matter up, provided I received the consent
of my directors. That consent was given, and on the and October,
1878, accompanied by Mr. Stead of Middlesbrough, I went with
Mr. Thomas to Blaenavon. Arrived there, Mr. Gilchrist and Mr.
Martin showed us three casts in a miniature cupola, and I saw
sufficient to convince me that iron could be dephosphorised at
high temperatures. I also visited the Dowlais Works, where Mr.
Menelaus informed me that the experiments in the large converters
had failed, owing to the lining being washed out. We very quickly
erected a pair of 30-cwt. converters at Middlesbrough, but were
unable for a long time to try the process, owing to the difficulties
experienced in making basic bricks for lining the converters and
making the basic bottom. The difficulties arose principally from
the enormous shrinkage of the magnesian limestone when being

J

3o8 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

burnt in a kiln with an up-draught, and of the failure of thi
ordinary bncks of the kiln to withstand the very high temperature
necessary for efficient burning. The difficulties were, howevei
one by one surmounted, and at last we lined up the converter
with basic bricks ; then, after much labour, many failures, disap
pointments, and encouragements, we were able to show some o
the leading gentlemen of Middlesbrough two successful operation:
on Friday, April 4th, 1879. The news of this success spreac
rapidly far and wide, and Middlesbrough was soon besieged b]
the combined forces of Belgium, France, Prussia, Austria, anc
America. We then lined up one of the 6-ton converters at Eston
and had fair success. The next meeting of the Iron and Stee
Institute in London, under the presidency of Mr. Edward Williams
was perhaps the most interesting and brilliant ever held by thai
institute. Messrs. Thomas and Gilchrist's paper was read, anc
the explanations and discussions by other members of th<
institute were listened to with marked attention.

" Directly the meeting was over, Middlesbrough was again be
sieged by a large array of Continental metallurgists, and a fei«
hundredweights of samples of basic bricks, molten metal used
and steel produced were taken away for searching analysis at home
Our Continental friends were of an inquisitive turn of mind, and
like many other practical men who saw the process in operation
only believed in what they saw with their own eyes, and felt witl:
their own hands. And they were not quite sure even then, anc
some are not quite sure even now. We gave them samples of the
metal out of the very nose of the converter. Our method o
working at that time was to charge the additions of oxide of iror
and lime at the same time into the converter, and pour the molter
metal upon them. The quantity of additions varied from 15 to 2 f
per cent, of the metal charged, according to the amount of silicoi
in the pig iron used. We soon found that the oxide of iron wai
unnecessary ; besides, it cooled the bath of metal ; and we after

MR. SIDNEY GILCHRIST THOMAS. 309

wards used lime additions only. After about three minutes' after-
blow, a sample of metal was taken from the converter, quickly
flattened down under a steam-hammer, and cooled in water. The
fracture gave clear indications of the malleability of the iron.
When the bath was sufficiently dephosphorised to give a soft,
ductile metal, the spiegel was added. Other firms have taken up
the manufacture of steel on the basic system, notably the Hoerde
Company in Westphalia, and Messrs. Brown, Bayley, and Dixon
in Sheffield. Very interesting papers on the subject have been
read by Messrs. Pink and Massenez and Messrs. Holland and
Cooper. On Monday, the 23rd of August, (1880), I visited the
Hoerde Works with a few friends, and saw two successful casts in
a small converter. Imitating the good example set me, and
having good friends in Messrs. Pink and Massenez, I took a
sample of the re-melted pig as it was running from a cupola to
the converter, and a sample of dephosphorised metal and of the
steel Our chemist's (Mr. Cook's) analysis of the re-melted pig
is: — combined carbon, 275; manganese, '50; silicon, '93
sulphur, '31 ; phosphorus, 1*51. This analysis agrees with that
given by Mr. Massenez in his paper read before the institute.
The metal, after three minutes' after-blow, gave : phosphorus '13 ;
and a further 25 seconds gave phosphorus 'lo; carbon, a trace;
manganese, '17 ; sulphur, •12. At this stage of the operation a
large quantity of slag was poured out of the converter, and then
the Spiegel was added. The steel contained: carbon, '19;
manganese, '57; sulphur, 'lo; phosphorus, 'lo. The steel
worked well under the steam-hammer. The slag was of the
following composition: — iron, io'2o; lime, 46*94; silica, 9*67;
phosphoric acid, 970. On Thursday, the 26th August, I visited
the Rhenish Steel Works with several members of the Iron and
Steel Institute, and the samples were analysed by Mr. Cook, who
shows the re-melted metal to contain : combined carbon, 2 '90 ;
manganese, I'lo; silicon, '46; sulphur, '16; phosphorus, 203.

310 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

The after-blow was very long, being nearly 4^ minutes before the
first sample was taken, and a further f minute before the second
sample was taken, in all five minutes. The carbon lines appeared
on the spectroscope in a few seconds after the converter was turned
up. The steel contained: carbon, '28 ; manganese, '56 ; sulphur,
•08 ; phosphorus, '08. The metal before the addition of the spiegel
had phosphorus, "07 . The slag here is not poured off before the
spiegel is added. The sample of slag analysed by Mr. Cook is
almost identically the same as that given above from the Hoerde
Works. Another cast made when about 150 members of the in-
stitute were present contained, I am informed, phosphorus '13.
It was most difficult to get near the workmen who were testing
the samples, so great was the crush and the desire to obtain a
piece of the metal ; and the wonder was that the metal was so
well blown and so low in phosphorus, considering the circumstances
under which the operation was performed.

" Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan, and Co. resolved to erect some large
converters at the Cleveland Steel Works, of a size and form which
they expected would enable them to overcome some of the diffi-
culties which they had experienced when working with the old
converters on the basic system. This new form of converter is
concentric, whilst the old converters are eccentric. During the
operation of blowing, the lime and metal are lighted by the force
of the blast, and when that force is somewhat expended the mate-
rials fall again on to the bottom in the new form, whilst in the old
form some portions would cling to the nose. The concentric form
has also another advantage ; it gives a much larger area of floor to
work in, by enabling the metal to be poured into the converter
when turned on its side with its nose pointing away from the con-
verter-ladle crane, just the contrary of the present practice. On
the 1 8th October, 1880, this converter was set to work on the
basic system, and was quite successful, answering the purpose well,
and showing no more symptoms of gathering at the outlet than

I

AtH. SIDNEY GILCHRIST THOMAS 311

when making ordinary steel. Our plan of operations is exceedingly
simple. The converter, as is usual, is first heated up with coke,
so as to prevent the chilling of the metal ; then a measured
quantity of well-burnt lime, about 16 per cent of the weight of
molten metal, mixed with a small quantity of coal and coke, is
charged into the converter, and blown till the lime is well heated.
The molten metal is then poured on the lime additions, the
blast, J 5 lb, pressure, is turned on, and the carbon lines disappear
in about ten minutes ; then after about two and a half minutes'
over-blow, the converter is turned down, and a small sample ingot
made, which is quickly beaten into a thin sheet under a small
sleam-hammer, cooled in water, broken in two pieces, and the
fracture shows (o the experienced eye whether the metal is sufli-
cienlly ductile. If it is not so, then the blowing is prolonged,
after which the spiegel is added, and is now being poured into the
ladle, not into the converter. For the basic process the metal
bath should he low in silicon, because silicon fluxes and destroys
the lining, and causes waste of metal ; it should be low in sulphur
so that the metal may not be red-short. Nearly one-half the
sulphur is eliminated by the basic process. In order to work
economically, the metal should be taken direct from the blast
furnace, so as to avoid — (i) the cost of re-melting in a cupola,
and {2) lo avoid further contact of the metal with the sulphur and
the impuriiies of the coke. It is not an easy matter to accomplish
in a blast furnace the manufacture of a metal low in silicon and at
the same time low in sulphur. It would, no doubt, very much
help to keep sulphur low if manganese were used, but manganese
is a cosily metal. At present we have succeeded in making a
mottled Cleveland iron with i percent, of silicon and -16 percent,
sulphur, and white iron with -5 per cent, silicon and ■25 per cent.
sulphur, which, taken direct from the blast furnace, liavc both
made excellent steel ; but we have another method of operating,
which relieves us from the necessity of making a particular quality

312 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

of Cleveland pig iron. We call this second mode of working the
" transfer " system, because we transfer the metal from the acid to
the basic converter. The " transfer " system enables us to take
any gray iron direct from the blast furnace to the converter, with-
out any consideration as to the percentage of sulphur, which is
always low in gray iron. This gray metal is poured into a converter
with a silicious lining, and desiliconised, when, after, say, twelve or
fifteen minutes' blowing in the ordinary manner, it is poured out
of the converter into the ladle, and poured again from that ladle
into a converter lined with dolomite, taking care that the highly
silicious slag is prevented from entering the basic-lined converter.
Then in the second converter it is only necessary to add sufficient
lime for the absorption of the phosphorus of the metal, and the
blowing then used need not occupy more time than is necessary
for the elimination of the phosphorus — say, about three minutes.
This mode of operation will, no doubt, give the basic lining and
bottom a much longer life ; but both systems are good and effective^
and have given excellent results. I have thus summed up in ten
minutes what has taken about two years of constant work and the
expenditure of large sums of money to accomplish. I am now
able to say that the basic process has been brought to a technical
and commercial success at the Cleveland Steel Works of Messrs.
Bolckow, Vaughan, and Co. ,

" One feature in this new process seems to have been lost sight of
by those who have written on the subject — namely, the possibility
or otherwise of being able to eliminate phosphorus before the carbon
flame drops, so as to avoid the after-blow. Few give any hope of
this being accomplished ; but when we remember that few gave
any hope of the basic process, or of any other process being suc-
cessful in eliminating phosphorus at the high temperature of the
Bessemer converter, we should not abandon research or relax
efforts. It has been said over and over again that the basic
process was a failure, and would never succeed. It is a grand

MR. SIDNEY GILCHRIST THOMAS

313

^<

trait in the character of Englishmen — that of not knowing when they
are beaten. If the after-blow could be avoided, the wear of the
lining and bottoms would be very much reduced. We know
already that the basic lining will not be anything like so enduring
as the acid lining, so special means have been adopted to quickly
change a converter. An overhead steam travelling crane capable
of lifting 60 tons is being erected, so that, directly a converter
lining has worn out, the crane will remove the worn converter out
of the way, and bring in a re-lined one dried and ready for
working. A very ingenious plan for quickly changing the converter
without removing the trunnion was patented by Mr. Holley, the
well-known American engineer and raetallurgisL"

Such was the rapidity with which the mechanical difficulties
of the process were overcome that Mr. Holley stated, in 1881,
that the manufacture of steel in basic-lined converters was as far
advanced as the older alternative process was five years previously.
The progress of the process has been more rapid than that of any
other great invenlion in the trade ; and next to the invention
of the Bessemer converter, it is likely to cause the greatest
revolution in the means available for the conversion of iron into
steel. It was soon adopted in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany,
England, and the United States. Even the Bessemer process
did not make anything like such rapid progress in the first years
of its existence, probably owing to its greater novelty.

As an illustration of the eagerness of Continental ironmastere
(o avail themselves of the Dew process, we may mention the
following amusing circumstance : — A Continental ironmaster called
on the patentee one April morning at the unusual hour of half-
past seven, and at once proceeded to negotiate terms for the
Qse of the process. They were engaged together in conversation
for three hours arranging matters of detail, and just as they
had concluded, a telegram arrived announcing to the patentee

it another Continental ironmaster from the same district was

314 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

coming to arrange terms for acquiring the same rights in order
to work the process. The first visitor, however, had secured
a monopoly of the patent rights for that district ; and the second,
on his arrival at noon, found that he was too late. It afterwards
transpired that both these ironmasters had come over in the
same boat to London, and that the one on landing drove direct
to the house of the patentee, while the other went to a hotel
to rest himself and get breakfast before entering upon the business
of his mission.

Other German manufacturers tried to work the process regard-
less of patent rights. The validity of the patents was attacked by
a powerful combination of the North German steel manufacturers,
who, by taking advantage of some irregularity and delay in
the proceedings connected with the procuring of the patents,
and by simultaneously challenging them on various other grounds,
endeavoured to free themselves from the obligation of pa3dDg
royalties for an invention which was acknowledged by them to
be of the greatest importance. In 1880 two cases were tried
at Berlin, and the judges included the head of the Imperial
Patent Office and other eminent jurists, as well as Professor
Wedding, Dr. Bruno Kerl, Dr. Hoffman, Dr. Siemens, and
other technical authorities. In both cases the courts held the
validity of the patents to be thoroughly established, and considered
the substantial novelty and great value of the invention to be
proved, and to be such as to amply cover any minor technical
defects. This decision was generally welcomed as showing that
the German Patent Court was determined to administer the
new law on just and equitable principles, and not on the narrow
basis of the old law, which refused protection to the inventions of
Bessemer and Siemens.

As further evidence of its appreciation on the Continent, it
may be mentioned that early in 1880 the Westphalian ironmasters
offered 150,000/. for the acquisition of the patent rights in that

■ MR. SIDNEY GILCHRIST THOMAS. 315

district; but the offer was declined. In 1881, when Mr. Thomas
was travelling in the United States, where he received a cordial
welcome, the American steel manufacturers offered 55,000/. for
the use of the patent in that country, which needs it less perhaps
than any other counfry. The offer was accepted.

In one respect its history differs from that of the Bessemer
converter. Sir Heniy Bessemer's claims to the honour of being
the first inventor of the converter were never seriously disputed ;
but the young inventors of the basic process, like many great
inventors before them, have the satisfaction of knowing that some
of the greatest metallurgists in England and on the Continent
now claim to have previously discovered the principle of their
process. To them, however, belongs the honour of being the
first to establish a practical and cheap process of dephosphori-
sation ; and that, too, at a time when the iron trade was despairing
of such a consummation, which it had vainly hoped for so long.
Its ultimate effect need not be anticipated. Its present effect has
been to create almost a new industry in some of the greatest
industrial centres of the Continent ; and in England its general
adoption would enable her to multiply her means of production
fourfold The greatest metallurgists both in England and on the
Continent have pronounced the steel produced by it to be of high
quality, in no respect different from hematite steel, and especially
adapted for rails, plates, and other industrial purposes ; indeed, it
is held to be superior to hematite steel for certain purposes, such
as wire, boiler and other plates. So great was the impression
that it made on the Continent that new works were quickly built
expressly for the conversion of the poorest ores into steel Before
the process had been three years in operation it was the means
of producing nearly half a million tons of steel per annum.

In 1883 the Iron and Steel Institute resolved to award the
Bessemer gold medal to Mr. Thomas in recognition of the
value of his invention to the steel trade of the world ; but as

3i6 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

he was then in Australia, which he visited for the benefit of his
health, the presentation was deferred at the request of his mother
till his return home. Mr. Thomas returned in the summer;
but in the autumn again left England for Algeria. In a letter
to the President of the Institute (Mr. B. Samuelson, M.P.),
acknowledging his appreciation of the honour conferred on him,
he said : " It would be difficult for me to insist too strongly
on how greatly we are indebted for the success the basic process
has now attained to the unwearied exertions, the conspicuous
energy and ability of my colleague, Mr. Gilchrist, whom I regard
as no less my associate in the acceptance of this medal than
he was in the sometimes anxious days of which this is the
outcome. I am sure, too, that he and I are agreed in saying
that the present position of dephosphorisation has been only
rendered possible by the frank, generous, and unreserved co-
operation of Mr. Richards. As an instance of the effect of
free discussion of metallurgical theories and experience, which
this institute especially promotes, it may be interesting to note
that, while in the autumn of 1877 there was, so far as I know,
no public record of even any successful experiment tending to
show that phosphorus could be removed in the Bessemer or
Siemens process, for the present month of September (1883) the
make of dephosphorised Bessemer and Siemens steel is between
sixty and seventy thousand tons.*'

MR. GEORGE JAMES SNELUS.

CHAPTER XL

" Every positive determination in science is susceptible of extension and
of useful application, though the period may be distant. A microscopical
observation or an optical property, which at first sight is only curious and
abstract, may in time become important to agriculturists and manufacturers,

— BlOT.

There are four great inventions or discoveries that have given
a great impetus to the manufacture of iron and steel during the
present century, namely, the introduction, of hot blast into the
blast furnace for the production of crude iron ; the application of
the cold blast in the Bessemer converter for the conversion of
liquid iron into steel ; the production of steel direct from the ore
on the open hearth ; and the discovery of a basic lining by which
phosphorus is eliminated and all qualities of iron converted into
steel. It is remarkable that only one of the inventors of these im
provements was directly or professionally connected with the iron
trade. The discovery, says Dr. Ure, of the superior power of a
hot over a cold blast in fusing refractory lumps of cast-iron was
accidentally made by my pupil, Mr. James Beaumont Neilson,
engineer to the Glasgow Gas Works, about the year 1827, at a
smith's forge in that city, and it was made the subject of a patent
in the month of September of the following year. Sir Henry
Bessemer, who thirty years afterwards invented his converter for the

3i8 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

production of steel by the application of cold blast, was also an
engineer, who three years previously had no knowledge of the iron
trade. Sir William Siemens, who both designed and put in opera-
tion the direct process of producing steel from raw ores, was an
engineer and electrician likewise unconnected with the iron trade ;
and Mr. Thomas, whose name has been most prominently asso-
ciated with the basic process of dephosphorisation, was a member
of the Civil Service previous to his labours in perfecting that
process. To Mr. Snelus belongs the honour of having been the
6rst to discover the principle of the basic process, and he is the
only man connected with the trade whose investigations have been
attended with such pregnant results as entitle him to a place
among its successful inventors. No one in the steel trade has
had a more distinguished career as a metallurgist, and perhaps no
one has been more scientific in liis data or more accurate in his
conclusions. He is a recognised authority on both practical
and scientific questions in connection with the trade.

George James Snelus was born at Camden Town, London, on
June 24, 1837. His father, James Snelus, a builder, died before
young George had reached his twelfth year. The son was never-
theless well educated, and trained as a teacher ; but he had a
preference for applied science, which an accidental circumstance
turned into the study of chemistry and metallurgy. Shortly after
the invention of the Bessemer process, he happened to attend a
lecture on it at the Polytechnic by Professor Pepper, and was so
fascinated with the subject that he determined to devote himself
to applied science. After some preliminary instruction, he became
a student under Professor Roscoe at Owens College in Man-
chester. He thus qualified himself as a teacher of science under
the Department of Science and Art \ and in order to complete his
scientific training, he next became a student at the Royal School
of Mines. Accordingly he studied there from 1864 to 1867 ; and
his career was one of pre-eminent distinction. In the science

MR. GEORGE JAMES SNELUS. 319

examination of May, 1864, he gained the Royal Albert scholarship ;
he also took the first place and the gold medal for physical
geography ; the first place and the silver medal for applied
mechanics ; the second place and the bronze medal for inorganic
chemistry ; the third place and the bronze medal for magnerism
and electricity ; and lastly, the De la Beche medal for mining.
During the second year of his studies at ihe School of Mines he
became the assistant of Professor Frankland at the Royal College
of Chemistry, and successfully conducted science classes at the
Royal Polytechnic and other institutions. At the end of his cur-
riculum at the School of Mines he became an Associate in
Mining and Metallurgy. He was then (1867) appointed chemist
at the Dowlais Iron and Steel Works, which were at that time the
largest in the United Kingdom,

In these busy years his name was frequently conspicuous in
connection with the rifle volunteer movement, He became a
volunteer in i86o,and besides being for many years acommissioned
officer, he occupied a foremost place as a successful " shot." In
1864 he won a place in the first 60 for the Queen's Prize at
Wimbledon ; in r868 he won the first prize for small-bore rifles in
the Albert competition ; and he frequently won other prizes.
For twelve years — 1866-77 — ^^ w^ 0"^ '^^ "i^ competitors in the
volunteer match between England, Ireland, and Scotland, and his
name often stood among the highest scores.

Mr. Snelus was one of the first members of the Iron and Steel
Institute, and from its formation has been a frequent contributor
and speaker at its meetings. His first paper was read at the
Menhyr Tydvil meeting in 1870, "On the condition of carbon
and silicon in iron and steel." Its fresh information and elegant
composition at once attracted attention ; it combated some of the
views on the subject propounded by Dr. Percy and other metal-
lurgists; and its conclusions were adopted by Mr, I, L. Bell.
Next year he investigated the composition of the gases evolved

320 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

from the Bessemer converter during the blow. At the annual
meeting of tke Iron and Steel Institute held in London in March,
187 1, Professor Roscoe delivered a lecture on the spectrum
analysis of the flame issuing from the Bessemer converter, and in
it he alluded to the difficulty of determining the cause of the
greater part of the lines in the Bessemer spectrum, pointing out
that while most observers referred them to carbon in some form,
others believed them to be mainly due to manganese. Mr. Snelus
thought an analysis of the gas producing the lines would be a
step towards solving the difficulty. Although it was generally as-
sumed that during the process of conversion the carbon in the iron
was burnt to carbonic oxide, that theory had never been proved ;
and Mr. Snelus perceived that the composition of the gases evolved
from the converter would afford an insight into the nature of the
process going on inside. Accordingly he collected the gas for
analysis by means of a long iron gas-pipe, one end of which was
inserted in the neck of the converter, while at the other end glass
tubes were attached at particular periods of the blow when the
gas was to be analysed, and these were sealed up with the blow-
pipe before being removed. As a constant stream of gas was
allowed to rush through the pipe, Mr. Snelus felt sure that the gas
thus collected was a fair sample of that produced at the time in
the converter. It was observable, he says, that during the first
part of the blow the gas would not light at the end of the iron
tube, but from about the commencement of the " boil " to the end
of the blow it biuned with the pale blue flame characteristic of
carbonic oxide. An analysis of the samples of gas, which were
taken every two minutes, showed, broadly speaking, that the
carbon in the converter took up twice as much oxygen at one time
as at another ; and he inferred that this fact and the difference of
spectra were due to temperature. It was certain, he said, that at
the commencement of the blow the temperature could not be much
above a yellow heat, while at the end of the blow it was un-

■ MR. GEORGE JAMES SNELUS. 321!

rdoubiedly a good white heat. His analyses also showed that the '

gas from the Bessemer converter during the last half of the blow

is really of as much value as any gas made purposely or incidentally

at an iron works. "This," he remarked, " is an important fact and

Lif we consider the amount of fuel thus going to waste, the quesiioa

laturaily suggests itself whelher it cannot be made available. I

[Jf we assume that, during the latter half of the blow, two thirds of

ihe total carbon iri the pig is burnt, and lake the melted iron to

Bcontain three and a half per cent, of carbon, we find that a Besse-

Ener works using only r,ooo tons of such pig per week is wasting

Squantity of fuel equal to 23^ tons of pure carbon, or, say, 25 tons j
ftof coke (40 tons of coal). Now, I would suggest that it is possible |

Sly simple mechanism to collect this gas and pass it under boilers,
Ewhere !l would save its equivalent of coal. The large body of
Ifiame is rot wanted for any purpose. True, the workman now
^ends upon its indications to afford him the means of judging
|when the blow is completed, but the spectroscope would do this
irilh greater accuracy with a fraction of the gas which now roars
n the converter."
About the time he was pursuing these investigations the question j
ftlhat was exercising the iron trade was whelher iron could be |
■i|Mldiiled or refined in a machine so as to supersede hand labour ; I
J-Mr, Danks, an American, had inven led a machine for that purpose,
md the members of the Iron and Stee! lostilule were so much in*
[terested in tiie question of ils success, that in 1871 they resolved
a deputation to America to investigate the subject. Mr.
' Snelus was selected for that pur[x»se as the best authority for
solving the scientific questions involved in the process.
coUaborateurs were Messrs. Jones and Lester. The Commission
sailed from Liverpool early in October, and visited the Cincinnati ,
Iron Works, where the Danks puddling machine was at work, and j
where ihey conducted an elaborate series of exjjeriments for the
purpose of testing ils capabililies. Along with the Comraiision

322 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

were sent forty tons of pig-iron selected from Dowlais, Coneygree,
Butterley, and Cleveland, together with a variety of fluxing materials,
all of which were used in the Danks rotatory furnace. The general
opinion in America at that time was that the machine was a
success ; and high hopes were entertained that at last a mechanical
means of refining pig-iron would supersede manual labour. The
Commission drew up their report at Washington on December 12,
and submitted it for the consideration of the committee of the
Iron and Steel Institute on January 1 2. In addition to his labours
in the production of this joint report, Mr. Snelus drew up a special
one on the scientific features of the process. The analyses con-
tained in that report were the most elaborate that had been made
of the puddling process up to that time ; and they were of
permanent value as revealing the important fact, hitherto unsus-
pected, that phosphorus was eliminated very early in the puddling
process while the metal was in a fluid condition. Till then Dr.
Percy had taught that phosphorus was removed by a process of
liquation from the puddled ball ; but Mr. Snelus now exploded this
theory ; and this discovery was the germ of the principle that has
since borne such fruitful results in the steel trade.

The Danks puddling process was not the only one he then
investigated. At that time there was a kind of mania for puddling
processes, and one after another came up for examination. Mr.
Snelus did valuable service to the iron trade by the thoroughness
and impartiality with which he investigated their scientific features.
In this way he examined the Sherman and Heaton processes, both
of which attracted attention in their day, and presented the results
in reports to the Iron and Steel Institute. In addition to his own
reports on these processes, he took a leading part in several of the
discussions on other inventions which had the same object in view,
but all of which have since been superseded. He also contributed
])apers on the " Manufacture and use of spiegeleisen ; " and on
*' Fireclays and other refractory materials.'* The subject matter

MR, GEORGE JAMES SNELUS.

3*3

alone of these papers indicates the range of Mr. Snelus' researches,
and all of them were, moreover, distinguished by their original
information and lucid arrangement

The first announcements of the principle of the basic process of
de phosphor! sat ion form another example of the way in which a
valuable discovery is ofttimes allowed to lie unused by its
discoverer, till somebody else lays claim to it, and turns it to
good account. At the annual meeting of the Iron and Stee'
Institute held in London in May, 1872, under the presidency of
Sir Henry Bessemer, a lengthy discussion took place on the reports
presented on the Danks and other puddUng processes. In the
course of it Mr. Snelus said that no one could be more satisfied ■
than himself of the injurious effects of phosphorus upon steel, and
of the fact that it did not go out in the Bessemer process. He
had his own opinion about the reasons why it did not go out in
the Bessemer process, which, however, he was not then at liberty to
make known, because he was working in that direction, and had
some hopes of surmounting ihe difficulty, though he had not then
gone far enough with his experiments. Next year these ambiguous
allusions were made more explicit.

When Sir William Siemens explained to the Iron and Steel
Institute in 1873 the difficulties he had experienced in findings,
lining for his steel furnace, that was capable of resisting the exces-
sive heat necessary for carrying out his process, Mr. Snelus
stated, in the discussion which followed, that in the previous year
he had taken out a patent for using limestone in places where Sir
William Siemens was using bauxite, and that in experimenting
with it he had used it for the lining of a smal! Bessemer vessel,
in which it stood admirably, Theway in which he had used it was
by grinding the limestone to a powder, not using raw lime, but
taking limestone and grinding it to the plastic condition of ordinary
clay. He found it was about as plastic as ordinary clay, and that
it could be moul led into any shape. UTien rammed up round a

324 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

core, it formed a permanent lining as long as it was in use. Of
course, he added, if it had to stand any length of time the lime
produced would slake away ; but as long as it was in use — and he
saw no reason why they could not keep a furnace of that descrip-
tion constantly in use — the temperature had no action upon it, and
it formed a hard, compact, and infusible lining. He thought Sir
William Siemens would find it more infusible than bauxite, as well as
cheaper and perhaps more practical to use ; but he would leave
that for Sir William to experiment upon, and would be very glad
to hear the results if that gentleman would give it a trial.

The experiments which he thus clearly indicated were not
made known publicly till seven years afterwards, and then they
created quite a sensation, for it was made perfectly evident that
all that time Mr. Snelus was acquainted with the principle and
properties of the basic lining as a means of dephosphorising
iron in the Bessemer converter. There are many well attested^
instances on record in which different individuals have made
the same discoveries simultaneously in different localities ; and
the present age adds many such instances to the records of
the past. When the history of the inventions of the nineteenth
century is properly written, it will be found that the concep-
tion of some of the most original and useful of them was
allowed to lie dormant till the course of events forced their prac-
tical application, or till the announcement of some competitor in
the same field of inquiry brought forward the original inventor to
vindicate his claims. The basic process of dephosphorisation
belongs to this category ; but a not less notable feature of its his-
tory is the fact that its principle and material were publicly, though
incompletely, pointed out to Sir Henry Bessemer and Sir William
Siemens by two men of scientific attainments; and neither of
these great inventors utilised the valuable suggestions gratuitously
offered to them.

Mr. Snelus was first led to doubt the correctness of Dr. Percy's

MR. GEORGE JAMES SNEL US. 325

hypothesis, already referred to, that " phosphorus is eliminated by
a process of liquation of fluid phosphide of iron from the pasty
puddled ball," during his studies of the puddling and refining
processes at Dowlais; and in examining the reactions that
occured in the Danks process he was struck by the fact that a
good deal of the phosphorus was eliminated while the iron was in
a fluid state. Impressed with the importance of this discovery,
for such it was, he determined to investigate the matter still
further. A comparison of the slags in the process of Welsh
refining, puddling, and Bessemer converting showed him that the
slag from the puddling process, in which the phosphorus was
comparatively easily removed, was highly basic ; while that from
the refinery, in which only small amounts of phosphorus were
removed, was less basic; and that from the converter, in which
none at all was removed, was highly silicious. Other observations
pointed to the same results, and led Mr. Snelus to the conclusion
that phosphorus was removed in all processes just in proportion to
the basic nature of the slag. With these data before him, he was
meditating, in the beginning of 1872, how he could systematically
obtain a highly-basic slag in the Bessemer process ; and he tried
two or three materials of this nature, but found that they were not
sufficiently refractory to withstand the intense heat of the converter.
While his experiments were in this tentative state, he happened
to make the fortunate observation ihat lime, when subjected to an
excessively high temperature — in the Siemens steel melting furnace
— became indurated and insensible to moisture. This fact,
accidentally observed while performing an experiment for another
purpose, suggested to him that lime in some form or other
was the basic material he required for lining the converter ; and
being well aware that it would not do to bum lime at too high a
temperature if it were to be caustic, he selected and particularly
specified magnesian limestone. Shortly afterwards he found that
bricks could be made of lime or limestone, if the lime, when used

326 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

for that purpose, were crushed quickly, compressed, and fired
before it had time to absorb moisture. To consolidate these
bricks, however, required an intense temperature, the more so
when the lime was pure ; but he found that it was facilitated by
the application of a small quantity of oxide of iron or other
fusible base. In order to put these conclusions to a practical
test, he lined a small converter with crushed limestone, and fired
it at a very high temperature.

His first experiment was made with one or two cwt. of Cleve-
land pig, which was melted in a cupola, then poured into this
converter, and blown in the usual way till the carbon lines
disappeared. The first piece of steel thus produced from phos-
phoric iron was carefully preserved by Mr. Snelus. The metal was
found to be free from phosphorus, which, however, was traced into
the slag. Several other blows were made, and samples of metal and
slag taken at intervals during the blow. On analyses being made,
the results showed clearly that so long as the slag was kept basic
there was no difficulty in removing the phosphorus. To make sure
that this was the secret of success, he had the same small con-
verter lined with ganister, and then he found that the phosphorus,
as hitherto, remained in the metal. Next he tried to line a seven ton
converter with the same material that was used in the small one ;
but he found considerable difficulty in preparing a lining
sufficiently strong of that size. This led him to defer further
experiments till a more convenient season ; but in the meantime
he secured his discovery by patent. In his patent he specified the
use of lime and limestone, magnesian or otherwise, in all the forms
he thought it possible to use it, for " the lining of all furnaces in
which metals or oxides are melted or operated upon while fluid."
" I felt," he says, ** that, although I had found the solution of
the problem so long and anxiously looked for, my plans required to
be tried on a larger scale before they were fully laid before the
public, not because there could be any question that the same

MR. GEORGE JAMES SNELUS. 3"?

chemical action that succeeded wilh one or two cwt. of metal was
likely to be reversed when operating upon tons, but because I felt
that there were many points of detail that would require to be
worked out. These details have been filled up by subsequent
workers, but it is gratifying to me that the complete success now
attained follows closely some of the lines then laid down. To the
question why I did not follow up my discovery and put my plans
into practice, my answer is that I had just taken the management
of a concern the interests of which were opposed to the solution
of this problem, and therefore having secured the ground by patent,
I was compelled to wait a more favourable opportunity for putting
ray plans into practice. There was also a good deal of scepticism
among those interested as to the possibility of solving the problem,
and none seemed to care to take it up." He tried to get some
of his friends to work his process, but in this respect hi^was
^_ unsuccessful.

^^ta The correctness of this account is veriGed by some remaikablfi
^H&cts. Mr. Snelus had confidentially told some of his friends of the
^^K^xperimental success of his invention in the long interval between
^^tits conception and perfection. Among them was an eminent
^B-engineer, who, on hearing that a patent had been taken out for this
^^r process, strongly advised Mr. Snelus not to dabble in patents, as
^K they did not pay ; but to show that his mind was open to con-
^^ viction, this friend added : " when you can show i,ooo tons of rails
^Hmade by the process, then I will beheve in it." In May, iSSo,
^H.tfais same friend stated that he had recently had occasion to test
^^P i,Doo tons of rails made by the basic process as compared with
i,Qoo tons made by the old process, and that he found no differ-
ence whatever. Again, a few minutes before Mr. Thomas vaguely
(announced his discovery of the same process and his more perfect
application of it, Mr. Snelus gave a short account of its leading
features to the Iron and Steel Institute. Before any one else
mentioned the elimination of phosphorus by the use of magnesi

I

328 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

■

limestone, Mr. Snelus stated that he had succeeded in that way ;
and that, though there was a difficulty in constructing a practical
apparatus in which the limestone could be used, he had such
confidence in the ultimate success of that material for this purpose,
that he still intended to maintain his patent, although it was six
years old, and the seven years* fee would soon have to be paid.
The story of the eventual application and success of the process
has been told in the previous chapter.

The rival inventors and patentees had the good sense to avoid
litigation as a means of settling their claims. Messrs Thomas and
Gilchrist, who made the process a practical success, agreed with
Mr. Snelus to submit their claims as to the way in which the
profits should be divided to the decision of Sir William Thomson ;
and by this amicable arrangement no legal difficulty was allowed to
retard the application of the process. The patent rights of Mr.
Snelus extend to America and the United Kingdom ; but not to
the Continent. The history of his American patent is another
evidence of his priority of invention as well as his dilatoriness in
availing himself of it. When he discovered in 1872 that in prin-
ciple he had solved the problem, he shortly afterwards fully
described it to his friend Mr. E. Cooper, of Cooper & Hewitt of
New York, and that gentleman urged him at once to take out an
American patent; but here again Mr. Snelus' habitual desire to
thoroughly perfect all details nearly lost him his rights. In the
hope that he would soon find an opportunity of perfecting the
working of the process, he disregarded his friend's advice until Mr.
Thomas announced his discovery of it in 1878. Mr. Snelus then
joined Messrs. Cooper & Hewitt in taking out an American patent,
which secured the original inventor a share in the royalties from
America.

After the process became a practical success, he applied himself
to its elucidation. As the result of careful observations he con-
cluded that the elements found in combination with iron were

MR. GEORGE JAMES SNELUS, 329

eliminated in the following order : in a basic lined converter,
silicon went first, carbon second, phosphorus next, then man-
ganese, and lastly sulphur. In a converter with the old lining,
called, for the sake of distinction, an acid lining, generally silicon
went first, then carbon, and lastly manganese, while phosphorus
and sulphur were not removed in the slightest degree. No doubt
temperature would be found to modify the results in a basic lined
converter; and although he believed the combustion of the
elements took place in this relative order, yet one reaction to some
extent overlapped the other. Thus, in an acid lined converter
carbon was gradually removed from the commencement ; but while
the silicon disappeared rapidly in the early part of the blow, the
carbon only went slowly.

As to the ultimate effect of the process, Mr. Snelus believed
from the first that it was not only capable of producing from the
poorest ores a metal having all the properties of Bessemer steel,
but also of making the finest classes of steel for cutlery purposes.
After careful investigation he has come to the conclusion that the
essential for a steel to carry a keen cutting edge, without being
brittle, is that it shall not only be free from silicon and have the
right proportion of carbon, but that it shall be absolutely free
from phosphorus. He believes that the basic process is capable
of producing metal, even from inferior pig, eminently suitable for
the manufacture of cutlery and other goods, at one fourth the
price of the high-class steel hitherto used for that purpose.

The work which so absorbed Mr. Snelus' attention as to put
the basic process in abeyance was the remodelling of the West
Cumberland Steel Works. His appointment as manager of the
Bessemer department of these works occurred shortly after he
had taken out his patent in England ; and a few months after-
wards he was promoted to the position of general manager of the
entire works. At the time this promotion took place he was at a
loss to know which would be the best way to perfect the basic

330 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL.

process before making it thoroughly public, and more urgent
affairs soon absorbed his powers. " My duties at West Cumber-
land," he says, " demanded all my time and attention, and I had
to postpone further trials till a more convenient occasion. Several
years of anxious and hard work then intervened, and being deter-
mined to make a success of the West Cumberland Works, I had
to devote all my time and attention to them." Under his
management these works did become a success. His scientific
And practical knowledge of the Bessemer process enabled him to
introduce some valuable improvements. Of his scientific attain-
ments we have already given some account ; his practical
knowledge was also extensive. During his visit to America he
examined most of the large works there, and took notes of
everything he saw in connection with the manufacture of iron
and steel He made careful observations of the improvements
made there in the mechanical details of the Bessemer process;
and was so impressed with the advantages of the Holley patent
for Bessemer vessel bottoms, that he made a special journey of
1,000 miles, from New York to Harrisburg, in order to satisfy
himself at the latter place that he perfectly understood the details
of this invention. He afterwards introduced the Holley patent
at the West Cumberland Works, where it continued in use. The
year after his return from America he visited Germany, and he
made a sojourn at Hoerde purposely to see the process of
ascensional casting under Mr. Pink. He was so convinced of
its utility that he wished to introduce this improvement also at
West Cumberland, but found that the size and construction of the
Bessemer pits there were not suitable for it.

His next improvement at West Cumberland was of a more
interesting character. At that time the introduction of the fluid
metal direct from the bla'st furnace to the Bessemer converter
was engaging the attention of steel makers. When Sir Henry
Bessemer first publicly described the details of his process, he

MR, GEORGE JAMES SNELUS. 331

stated that the fluid crude iron was to be run into the converter
from the blast furnace ; and that, after " the blow," the ingots
were to be put on a truck and run along a line of rails to the
rolls, the whole of the latter operation lasting a minute or two,
"in which time," he said, "the ingots will not have cooled down
sufficiently in the centre for rolling, so that the first bars will be
produced and finished off" fit for sale wholly without the use
of fuel, and within a period of forty minutes from the time of
tapping the crude iron from the blast furnace. If the iron is
made in very large quantities, the heat of some of the ingots
will not be retained until they can be rolled into bars ; a small
oven, capable of retaining the heat, must, in that case, be erected
near the rolls, in which the ingots may remain till the rolls are
at liberty." Nearly a quarter of a century elapsed before these
directions were carried out ; and when carried out, the one was
considered a new discovery, and the other was heralded as a great
invention. When the Bessemer process was first put in operation
in Sheffield, the iron used in it was manufactured either in
Sweden or West Cumberland, and consequently it had to be
remelted, after transit, in order to be "converted." In course
of time this mere accident of circumstances came to be regarded
as an essential principle in English metallurgy; and when in
1874-5 it was reported in England that at some foreign works the
molten iron was being run direct from the blast furnace into the
converter, it was contended by many that to convert the fluid
metal from the blast furnace into steel, without first cooling
and then remelting it, would be impracticable in working and
uncertain in results.

Mr. Snelus was among the first in England to advocate the
conversion of the fluid iron direct from the blast furnace into
steel. For carrying out this improvement he designed appliances
of a model kind. At the West Cumberland Iron and Steel
Works the distance between the blast furnaces and the converters

332 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL,

was 350 yards. To carry the molten metal this distance he
designed a large ladle capable of holding 8 tons. It was so
placed in the centre of a carriage that the greatest stability was
obtained without the need of any balance weight, and it was
turned over by a simple cast steel worm and wheel. The weight
of the whole apparatus was under 10 tons. In practice about
3 tons 10 cwt. of molten iron was tapped from each of two
furnaces into the ladle in order to ensure a uniform charge.
The tapping of both furnaces was often done in about five
minutes, and in less than that time the charge was weighed,
taken to the converter, and poured into it. One ladle lasted
from 100 to 200 casts before the " skull " needed to be taken out.
By this method considerable benefit arose from the increased
yield of metal; and Mr. Snelus stated in 1876 that he estimated
the saving in labour and fuel at 4^. or 55. per ton. He also
found that the steel made in this way was better in quality.

The advent of another improvement forms an episode in the
history of the Bessemer process. In the autumn of 1882 Mr.
Gjers of Middlesbrough, in introducing an invention of his
to the notice of the iron and steel trade, stated that " when
Sir Henry Bessemer in 1856 made public his great invention,
and announced to the world that he was able to produce
malleable steel from cast iron without the expenditure of any
fuel, except that which already existed in the fluid metal, imparted
to it in the blast furnace, his statement was received with doubt
and surprise. If at that time he had been able to add that it
was also possible to roll such steel into a finished bar with no
further expenditure of fuel, then, undoubtedly, the surprise
would have been still greater. Even this, however, has come
to pass, and it is now easy and practicable to roll a bloom into
a rail or other finished article with its own initial heat.'* Perhaps
the most surprising thing in connection with this idea is the
fact that Sir Henry Bessemer was the first to suggest and

MS. GEORGE JAMES SNELUS.

3.i3

as appears from the extract just given from tlie
paper he read at Cheltenham in 1856. In the intervening
([uarter of a century, the universal practice was to put the ingots
into a heating furnace in order to impart to them the high
uniform temperature at which they could be rolled; so that
when, in 1882, Mr. Gjers published his design of "an oven"
composed of cells of brickwork, called by hina " soaking pits,"
because the ingots in them were soaked in their own heat till they
were fit to be rolled, he was hailed as a public benefactor, and his
invention was described as being both economically advantageous
and as simplifying the operation of steel making on a large scale.
It was said to dispense with a large number of men^some of
them highly paid — in connection with the heating department;
to do away with costly heating furnaces and gas generators ;
to save all the coa! used in heating; and to save the loss in yield
of steel, as there would be no more steel spoiled by overheating
in the furnaces. Mr. Snelus was one of the first steel makers in
England to adopt this improvement at the West Cumberland
Works ; and when, for the first time, the subject was brought
before the Iron and Steel Institute at Vienna in September, 1882,
he spoke strongly in favour of it, and gave some practical advice
as to the construction of " soaking pits."

At the Paris Exhibition of 1878 he was an exhibitor on his
own account of a very elaborate collection of analysed samples
illustrating the manufacture of iron and steel in England. For
this the jury awarded him a gold medal as a "coUaborateur."
The collection was purchased by Professor Deure for the
Polytechnic School at Aix-la-Chapelle.

In 1883 the President of the Iron and Steel Institute (Mr.
11. Samuelson, M.P.) presented the Bessemer gold medal to
Mr. Snelus " as the first man who made pure steel from impure
iron in a Bessemer converter lined with basic materials," Mr.
Snelus' reply was interesting and graceful. He said ; " It is not

334 THE CREATORS OF THE AGE OF STEEL

a little singular that my first lesson in metallurgy and sdenoe
was obtained at a lecture by Professor Pepper on the Bessemer
process. The clear and lucid way in which he presented the
great discovery of Sir Henry Bessemer quite enchanted me, and I
have never ceased to look upon the Bessemer process as one of
the most charming phenomena that any man could witness. Thb
being the case, it will not be considered singular that, after haviif
passed my course of studies with Professor Roscoe at Owens
College, and under a professor of the School of Mines, I wai
selected by Dr. Percy to be the chemist to the great DowUs
Works. I thought I had a great future before me. I entered upon
those duties with great pleasure, but I met there with such cordial
kindness at the hands of the late lamented Mr. Menelaus, that
I cannot refrain from mentioning the great assistance which I
received from him. It was to his kindly, genial help that I owed a
great deal, and it was at Dowlais that I worked out the theory of
the basic process. I had the good fortune to be selected by this
Institute to report upon the chemistry of Danks's process, thua
enabling me in pursuing my investigations to discover the fed,
until then unknown, that phosphorus could be removed from pig
iron while the pig iron was in the molten state. A discussion with
Mr. Isaac Lowthian Bell, after my return from America, induced
me to make an experiment, which showed me the simple fact that
lime could be burnt to such a high temperature as to be impervious
to water. It at once struck me that I had here the means of
lining the Bessemer converter so as to be able to blow the metal
in it and yet retain the basic lining. I thought it advisable at
this early stage to take a provisional patent of what was then
an idea, but shortly afterwards I had the opportunity of proving
my theory by a course of very severe and careful inspection.
Commencing with i^ to 2 cwt. of Middlesbrough pig iron,
I ended by blowing 3 tons in an ordinary Bessemer converter,
and in every case I succeeded in removing the phosphorus from.

I MR. GEORGE JAMES SNELUS, 335*

i the pig iron, and in recovering it in the slag. I lacked, however,
ij a good binding material for the basic lining, and this has been
I supplied by my colleague Mr. Riley. Mr. Sidney Thomas shortly
I afterwards, with very much more energy than I had shown,
followed in the same line, and Mr. Gilchrist and he developed
the process of making basic bricks on a large scale. After this he
demonstrated much more publicly than I had done the theory of
the basic process, and he induced Mr. Windsor Richards to take
it up. It was a piece of very good fortune, I consider, that Mr.
Thomas succeeded in enlisting the sympathy of Mr. Richards ;
this was due to Mr. Thomas's perseverance and his deter-
mination to make the process public, and to make it go; but
I doubt very much whether Mr. Thomas's perseverance and all
our skill would have placed the process in the position in which it
now is, if it had not been for the indomitable pluck and energy
of Mr. Richards, backed by the great power and interest of a
large concern like Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan, and Co. In
thanking you for the very kind way in which you have recognised
the portion which I have had in this improvement in the iron and
steel trade, I can only say that I believe your action in awarding
the Bessemer medal, irrespective of all legal technicalities, will
have a considerable effect in encouraging those students of science
who are pursuing their investigations after truth, and those
engineers who are endeavouring to apply the truths so established
for the benefit of their fellow mea"

INDEX.

Abel, F« A., on Bessemer process,

Adamson, Daniel, first use of Bes-
semer steel for boilers, 96

Age of steel, vindication of name, I ;
prediction of, by Bessemer, 78

Age of tools, Carlyle's description of,
214

Agitator, mechanical, for producing
homogeneous steel, 112

Air, u^ed to purify molten iron, 37

Air, high pressure, in combustion,
106

Albert gold medal presented to Bes-
semer, 129; to Siemens, 213

Allen, W. D., application of Be^se-
mer's stirrer to steel castings, 112

Anastatic printing by Siemens, 140

Announcement of Bessemer process,
first public, 40

Anti-war shell, Whitworth's, 240

Armature, Siemens', 175

Armour-ciad!«, application of steel to,
102 ; of iron to, 284

Armour-plates, iron, invention of,
284 ; rolled, 286 ; steel faced,
295
of Whitworth steel, 250

Armstrong iron gun adopted by
Government, 92 ; competition with
Whitworth, 239, 241

Artisan population, use of machinery

by, 5
Atlas si eel works, 277 ; inauguration

of, 279 ; extensions of, 281, 292 ;

extent of, 296

Atmospheric resistance to railway

carriages, 25

Bacon, Lord, on gfeat inventions, 6
Barrow steel works, 88
Basic process for eliminating phos-
phorus, 302 ; early experi-
ments with, by Thomas, 304 ; by
Richards, 307 ; by SneluS, 323
German eagerness for, 313
methods of working, 310
proercss of, 313, 315, 316
rival claims to, 328
result of use of, 315, 329
various discoveries of, 324
Baxter House, Bessemer's experi-
ments at, 38, 42
Belgium, early working of Bessemer

process in, 82
Bell, I. L., on elimination of phos*

phorus, I99
Berlin, electric railway at, 182
Be>semer, Anthony, adventurous
escape from France, 13
inventions of, 14
Bessemer, Sir Henry, 10

Albert gold medal presented to,

129
annuity given to Robert Mushet,

applications of his steel, 71, 73,

.77, 88. 93».97, 100
billion, description of, 121
biography of, chap. i. 10 ; chap,

it. 30 ; chap. iii. 49 ; chap. iv.

79 ; chap. v. 103
birth of, 15.
boilers, steel for, 96
bronze powder making, 23
cannon, first made of steel, 55
civil engineers, before, 72, 89

338

INDEX,

Bessemer, Sir Henry —

coal mines, ventilation of, 26,

107.
coal production, account of, 1 24
constructive purposes, steel for,

77. 88
converter, first conception of,
37 ; announcement of, 42 ;
perfection of, 68 ; description
of, 72 ; working of, 74, 80,
283
description of steel-making pro-
cess, 72
direct process of steel making,

109
earliest inventive efforts, 16
eccentric turning, experiments in,

16
establishment of his process, 74
estate at Denmark Hill, 120
exhibits at Great Exhibition of

185 1, 26; of 1862, 80.
experiments in steel making, 35,

42 ; cost of, 68
extraordinary properties of his

steel, 76
failure of his first process, 47 ;

cause of failure, 54
foreign patents for converter, 80
freedom of City of London con-
ferred on, 130
glass polishing machines, 27,117
gold casket presented to by City

of London, 130
gold medal established bv, 130
Government negotiations with,

17, 28, 91
hematite iron, experiments with,

in converter, 69
high -pressure furnace, 106
homogeneous steel, methods of

producing, 84, ilo, 112
honours conferred on, 128
hydraulic process of steel casting,
1 10 ; uses of hydraulic pres-
sure, 114
introduction of steel into work-
shops, 71. .Sif^fl/jtf Rails, Ship-
building, &c.
inventions, earliest, 16; between
1844 and 1854, 25 ; greatest,
account of, 30 ; number of,
103 ; experience of fi*ee, 104

Bessemer, Sir Henry —

iron direct from blast furnace for

converter, 330
iron, first Bessemer, 70
iron, first idea of improving bv,

3o» 35
iron, used in converter, 54, 55,

69, 330
lathe for polishing glass specula,

"7
letters to Times, 100, 121, 123

licences for working converter,

46, 75
literary specimens by, 121
manganese, use of, in converter,

mechanical engineers, before in-
stitution of, 77

monster ingot, account of, 283

ordnance, experiments with, 27 ;
proposes steel for, 89 j manu-
facture of steel, 1 01 ■

patents, anecdote about, 77;
foreign, 80; number of, 103;
cost of, 105

phosphorus, refractory nature of,
in converter, 52 ; investigation
of, 54

pioneer of steel for structural
purposes, 77, 88

process, origin of, 37 ; descrip-
of, 72; result of, 127, 129.
See Converter

progress of steel process, 76, 79,
283

projectiles, experiments with, 27 ;
manufacture of, 100, I02

pump, invention of, by, 26

rails, first proposal of steel for,

93
refused patent for converter in

Germany, 82

regenerative gas furnace, Sie-
mens on, 154

ridicule of his new steel-malving
process, 40, 48, 53. 93

royalties received for steel pro-
cess by, 129

saving effected by converter, 88,
95. 127

Sheffield works established, 74 ;
Sheffield steel manu£Eu:tuKk
85

INDEX.

339

Bessemer, Sir Henry —

shipbuilding, first use of steel
for, 97 ; money advanced for,
loo
soaking-pits first suggrested by,

332
stamping inventions, 17

steamer, 1 1 3

steel, description of, 56

steel manufacture, first studies ^n,

30,35
steel, first production of, 36

steel process. See Process, Con-
verter, &c.

studies in metallurgy, 35

success of process for steel
making, 68

sugar-making machinery, 26

Swedish honours, 8i

telescope, construction of, 115

treatment of, by Government, 1 7,
28, 91, 102

type-casting inventions, 22

Utrecht velvet, invention for pro-
ducing, 22

ven illation of coal mines, means
of, 26, 107
Billion, description of, by Bessemer,

121
Birmingham, Siemens at, 138, 155,

157
Blowholes in steel, 83, 1 10, 112, 242

Board of Trade & s.s. Faraday ^ 197

Boiler, new design of, by Siemens,

198

Boilers, use of steel for, 96 ; steel

locomotive boiler, first, 95

Boilers on s.s. Faraday, 196

Brazil adopts Whit worth's guns, 241

Bronze powder, Bessemer process of

making', 23

Brown, Sir John, 269 ; accident at

works, 281

anecdotes of, 273, 278, 281, 293

apprenticeship of, 275

armour plates first seen by, 285

invention of rolled, by, 286

manufacture of, by, 286

monster, rolled by, 289

rewards and honours for, 288

steel faced, 295

tests and trials of, 287, 292,

296

Brown, Sir John —

Atlas steel works coni^enced by,

277 ; inauguration of ne«%,

279 ; extensions of, 281, 292 ;

extent of, 296
Bessemer converter, first worked

by, 75, 282
biography of, 269
birth of, 273
buffers, railway, invented and

manufactured by, 277
business of bis own begun, 276
character of, 269, 273
charitable works of, 297
chrome steel made at works of, 294
church built by, 298
compound plates, 295
coolness in emergencies, 281
determines to be a merchant, 275
education of, 273
ex edition of, 277
father's opposition to being a

merchant, 275
genius of, 269
Government's recognition of Jiis

armour-plates, 2b8, 292
honours conferred on, 288, 297
inventions of, 277, 286
iron manufacture in Sheffield

begun by, 280
n^achinery used by, 293
Mary Schofield's first acquaint-
ance with, 273
medals awarded to, :^8
merchant, early determination to

become a, 275
public works of, 297
Punch's description of rolling

armour-plates by, 290
rolling mill, new, for mons ir

armour-plates, 289
Sheffield, the scene of his labours,

270, 273, 297
steel manufacture begun by, 276 ;

Bessemer, first made by, 282
wife of, 274
Works of, at Sheffield, 276, 279.

See Atlas Works.
BrowD, Lady, 274
Buffers, railway spring, 277

Cables, submarine, 194, 196
California, gold minei> of, 3

Z 2

340

INDEX,

Caloric or gas eiTgines, 147

Cannon of Bessemer steel, first, 55

Cannon. See Guns.

Capital and labour, Carlyle on, 267 ;
W hit won h on, 266

Carbon in steel, ^3, 55 ; as fuel, 203

Carlyle on age of tools, 214
on capital and labour, 267

Cementation process, 32

Chantrey's early associations, 271

Characteristics of ages, i

Cheltenham, announcement of Besse-
mer process at, 40

Chrome steel, 294

Chronometric governor, Siemens', 139

City Chamberlain (of Ix)ndon), account
of Bessemer process, 131

City of Rome's crank shatt, 248

Civil engineers and Bessemer pro-
cess, 72, 89

CI) temnestra^ first ocean-going steel
ship, 98

Coal mines, ventilation of, Bess'^mer's,
26, 107 ; lighting of, 108 ; pro-
posal to put gas-producers in, 155

Coal production, Bessemer's account
of, 124

CoUyer, Dr. R. H., on Bessemer
process and dephosphoriKation, 44

Combustion, nature of, 106, 152,
203

Compressed air boiler, Siemens',
198

Compressed steel, Whitworth's, 243,
246

Constellations of genius, 6

Converter, Bessemer, first conception
of, 36 ; first announcement of,
40 ; descrip ion of, 38, 68,
72
failure of, 47 ; success of, 55
mechanical mounting of, 68
working of, 74, 80, 282

Co'-t, Henry, his reward for inven-
tions, 7, 50

Cotton trade, progress of, 4

Dank's puddling machine, 321
Dephosphorisation in Bessemer con-
verter, first suggested, 45
invention of means of, 3( 2, See
Basic process.

Direct process of steel making, Besse-
mer's experiments, 109
Siemens* ex))eriinents, 156. See
Open hearth.
Direct process of iron making, Sie-
mens' object, 160 ; first experiments,
161 ; improvements in, .162 ; work-
ing of. 163
Direct United States cable, 196
Dissociation, point of, 152, 20(S
Dowlais iron works, Bessemer pro-
cess at, 42, 47
Dud Dudley's reward, 7
Duration of steel rails, 94
Dynamo machiue, Siemens', 175

Eccentric turning, Bessemer's
youthful experiments in, 16

Eclipse of sun, observation of, 209

Economy of Bessemer process, 88,
9S» 127

Economy of fuel, 127, 141, 147, 154,
203, 321

EdisDu's secret of success in invent-
ing* 134

Education Department and "Whit-
worth scholarships, 261

Elemen's in iron and steel, 52

Electric railway, 181

Electrical re* istance, 202

Electricity. See Dynamo, Telegraphs,
&c.
Faraday's discoveries in, 173
first a plication of, by Siemens,

136
Siemens' discoveries in, 173 ; and
inventions in, 1 75

Flectro-gilding, 14, 137

Electro-horticulture, 1 79

Elkington's discovery of electro-gild-
ing, 137

Ellis, J. D., steel-faced armour-plates
by, 295

Engines, improved, 143, 147

England, Siemens' first vihit to, 137;
his reasons for remaining in, 139

England's share of the w orld's trade,

5
Exhibition, Great, of 185 1, Bessemer
machines at, 26

of 1851, Whitworth's tools at,
228

INDEX.

341

Exhibition —

of 1862, Bessemer, steel exhibits
at, 80 ; Siemens* furnaces, 213
of 1867, evidences of foreign
progress at, 257
Exhibitions, Whitworth's, for scho-
lars, 262
Experiments of Bessemer. See Bes-
semer, &c.

Failure of first Bessemer converter

at Dowhis, 47; causes of, 53
Falls of Niagara, Siemens' account

of, 210
FaraJay, Michael, discovery of mag-
netism, 173
kindness of, 196
lecture on Siemens' regenerative

furnace, 150
statue of, 174
Faraday steamship, description of,

194; working of, 196
Ferro-manganese. See Manganese
First steel maker who adopted Besse-
mer process, 75, 269, 282
Foot-pound, determination of, 141 ;

illustration of, 143
Foreign history of the Bessemer pro-
cess, 80
France, early working of Bessemer

process in, 83
French armour-plates, 285, 292
Freedom of City of London presented

to Bessemer, 130
French inventiveness, 12
Fuel, economy of, 141, 144, 147, 154,
203, 321
investigation of, by Siemens, 140 ;

lecture on, 203
waste of, 1 54. See also Economy of
Furnaces, Bessemer's high presbure,
106
Siemens' electi ic, 179
Siemens' open hearth, 157
Siemens' regenerative, 148, i$i ;
rotative, 161

Gas engine, Siemens on, 147
Ga*es of Bessemer process, composi-
tion of, 320 ; waste of, 321
Gauges, Whit won h's measuringf, 226
Gautier, M. , on manganese and mild
steel, 67 ; on solid steel castings, 83

Genius, characteristics of, 215
German characteristics, 133
Germany, basic process in, 309, 314
early history of Bessemer process

in, 81
old guild system of, 134
Giant's Causeway, electric railway to,.

184
Gilchrist, P. C, experiments with

basic process, 305, 307, 316
Gjers, J., invention of soaking- pits^

332
Glass polishing machines by Besse-
mer, 27, 117
Gloire, first French ironclad, 285
Gold casket presented to Bessemer,

130
Gold paint, Bessemer, 22
Gottenburg University, 136, 187
Government, English, treatment of
Bessemer, 19, 28, 91
Brown, 288

Whitworth, 235, 239, 249, 251
Governors, Siemens', 139, 201
Gravitation, Newton's discovery of^

217
Gregory, C. H., on "Whitworth, 268
Giinding true planes, 220
Guild system, German, 134
Guns, Armstrong, 92, 239, 241
Bessemer's, 27, 89
Government, made of iron, 89,

92 ; of steel, 253
Krupp's, 241
Whitworth, 238, 249, 256

Hamilton, W. R., early genius of,

215
Hardinge, Lord, on rifle construction,

232
Hartington, Marquis of, on steel

guns, 254
Heat, applications of. See Furnaces
first investigated by Siemens,

141 ; by Mayer, 149
mechanical theory aud value of,

141
of the sun, Siemens on, 206
Heath, discovery of properties of
manganese by, 57 ; his law->uits,
58 ; his death, 59 ; Mushet's ac-
count of his patent, 64

34*

INDEX,

Hematite iron, 69; Bessemer's im-
provement and use of, 70
Henderson's process for mannfacture

of manganese, 65
Herbert, Sidney, rejects Bessemer

steel for ordnance, 92
High-pressure furnace, Bes^emer's,

106
Holley*s plan of working basic pro-
cess, 313
Homogeneous steel, Bessemer's
methods of producing, 84, no,
112
Gautier on, 83

Whitworth's experiments with,
242 ; process for producing,
243, 246
Honours conferred on Bessemer, 128
on Brown, 288, 297
on Siemens, 213
on Whit worth, 261; 268
TTorticulture, electro-, 179
Huntsman's improvements in steel

manufacture, 31
Hydraulic pressure, Bessemer's appli-
cations of, 1 10
steel ca .tings, Bessemer's process,

no
Whitworth's process, 244

Indo-European telegraph, con-
struction of, i88 ; Siemens' account
of, 189 ; success of, 193

Inducements to study metallurgy and
science, 8

Inrlustriai progress, 4

Inflexible s screw propeller shafts,
248

Introduction of Bessemer steel, 71

Inventions of Sir Henry Bessemer.
See Bessemer, also Siemens, &c.

Inventions, Bacon on, 6

great, of last hundred years, 10,
their characteristics, 1 1

Inventive spirit of the French, 12

Inventors, rewards of, 7

Iris and Mercury ^ use of steel in, 169

Iron armour-plates, 284

Bessemer's improvements in, 30,

35.41
clads, first, 284

direct from the blast furnace for

the Bessemer process, 330

Iron armour-plates —

direct process, Siemens', lor pro*

duction of, 160
malleable, Cort's process for the

manufacture of, 50
manufacture be^n in Sheffield,

280
rails made into steel, 158
sand, production of iron from,
164
Iron and steel trade, the leading in-
dustry, 5

Joule's determination of foot-pounds,
141

Knight, Charles, docription ot
Sheffield by, 271

Krupp, Herr, uses Bessemer pro-
cess in Germany, 81

Labour, Carlyle on, 267
Landore Steel Company formed, 158
Leading industry, the, 5
Licences, Bessemer, 46, 75
Lichterfelde electric railway, 182
Light, electric, 178 ; cost of, 178
Lime, use of, in the Bessemer con-
verter, 44, 305, 307, 323. Set
also Basic process
Locomotive steel boiler, first, 95
London and North Western railway,
first use of Bessenaer steel by,
94, 95
first to adopt open-hearth pro-
cess, 158

Machine tools, production of, 220 ;
exhibition of, 228 ; utility of, 229
Machinery, increasing use of, 5
Magdeburg poly technical school, 135
Magnetism, description of, 173
Malleable iron and Cort's invention

50

Manganese in steel making", 57, eo
manufacture of, 65

Martin, steel making by, 159 ; refuta-
tion of his claims to open-hearth
process, I §4

Maxwell, J. C, genius of, 216

Mayer discovered mechanical theory
of heat, 149

Measuring machine, Whitworth's, 224

INDEX,

343

Mechanical industries, progress of, 4
Mechanical philosopher, 134
Mechanical theory of heat, 140
Mild steel, properties of, 67
Millionth part of inch, 226 ; measur-
ing machine, 225
Mineral art, great events of, 3
Monster steel ingots, 283
Mushet, David, on Bessemer process,

49 ; on Cort*s invention^, 50
Mushet, Robert, use of manganese in
Bessemer process, 60

Napoleon's encDU'aofement of
Hessemer's experinents, 28 ; ap-
proval of Wlntworth rifle, 230 ;
employment of armour-plates, 284
Nasmyth, James, on the Bessemer

process, 39, 40
National Rifle Association, adoption of
Whitworth rifle, 235 ; first meeting
of, inaugurated by the Queen, 235
National wealth, "Whitworth on, 229
Newton's discovery of gravitation, 217
Newton's philosophy, introduction
into Cambridge University, 70

Open-hearth proces<5 of steelmalcing,

Siemens' experiments, 156 ;

success of, 158
Martin's experiments, 159
progress of, 159
vindication of, 166
working of, 159
Ordnance, Bessemer's ' experiments

with, 27
manufacture of Bessemer steel,

loi
use of steel for, proposed by

Bessemer, 89 : rejected by

English Government, 92 ;

adopted by Government, 254
Whitworth's improvements in,

238, 249, 256
Oxygen. See Air

Pa(;et, Lord Clarence, on Brown's

armour-plates, 288
Pain<, an infinite capacity for taking,

215, 217
Taris Exhibition, evidences of foreijrn

progress at, 257; electric railway

at, 184

Parks' experiments with Bessemer

steel, 76
Patent law, 139

Patents, Bessemer's, 77, 80, 103, 105
Siemens', 167, 200
Snelus*, 328
Thomas', 314
Whitworth's, 214, 228, 249
Penetration, results of Whitworth's

experiments on, 240, 256, 289
Penny post, introduction of, 1 1
Persley, Sir Charles, on Government

stamps, 17
Phosphorus, elimination of, in Besse-
mer converter, 45, 299, 323
basic process for, 302. See Basic

process
in Siemens' process, 168
in puddling process, 322
in Cleveland iron, 300
refractory nature of, 52
Pig-iron, name of, 54
Pioneer of steel for structural pur-

poes, 88
Planes, true, grinding of, 220 ; imr
provement of, 221 ; properties of,
221 ; utility of, 222, 224
Play fair. Sir Lyon, on technical

education in England, 257
Power, transmission of, 127, 21 1
Progress in mechanical industries, 4
of Bessemer's process, 76, 79»i28
of basic process. 313, 3'5» 3^^
of Siemens' process, 159
Projectiles, Bessemer's experiments
with, 27 ; steel, 102
Government's, 254
Whitworth's, 234, 239. 256
Properties, extraordmary, of Bessemer

steel, 76
Puddling process, Cort's invention,
and value' of, 50
Dank's machine for, 321
Punches description of rolling armour-
plates, 290

QtTEEN firing first shot at Wiujbledrn
rifle meeting, 235

Rail, first Bessemer, 63 ; manufac-
turer of, 282

Roils, steel first proposed for, 93 ;
duration of, 94

344

INDEX.

Railway, electric, i8i

Railway spring butfers, 277

Railway trains, resistance of atmos-
phere to, 25

Relay, Siemens', 187

Ramsbottom, John, first steel rails
made by, 94 ; first to adopt open-
ht*arth process, 158

Reed, Sir E. J., on Whitworth steel,

245
Regenerative furnace, Siemcn's, 148,

151, »54
steam engine, Siemens', 143

Regenerator, application aud descrip-
tion of, 141, 145
economy of, 154
Rennie, Geo., on Bessemer converter,

40
Resistance of atmosphere to railway

trains, 25
Respirator. See Regenerator
Rewards of inventors, 7. See aho
Honours of Bessemer, Siemens, &c.
Richards, E. W., adoption of basic
process, 307
description of experiments with
, basic process, 307 ; methods of
working, 310
energy of, acknowledged, 316 335
visits to Continental steel worKs,

309
Ridicule of Bessemer process, 40, 48, 53

Kifle, construction of, Whitworth on,
231 ; results of Whitworth's expe-
riments on, 234 ; Government. 236

Riley, J., description of open- hearth
process, 159
on first steel-built vessels, 169

Rolling mill for monster armour-
plates, first inauguration of, 289

Rotative fui nace, Siemens', for making
irm, 161

Rotomohana, accident to, 171

Royalties paid to Bessemer, 129

Saving of Bessemer process, 88, 127 ;

of steel rails, 95
Saving of improved engines, 144, 147
Schneider, M., working Bessemer

process in France, 87
Schofield^ Mary, aud Sir John Brown,

274

Scholarships, Whitworth, annomux-
ment of, 257, 260 ; conditions o^,
261, 264; exhibitions to prepare
for, 262 ; first examination for, 263;
holding of, 265 ; payments, 264
Science, inducements to pursue, 8
Science and Art Department and

Whitworth sch' >larship>s, 261
Scotland, Steel Company of, 1 59
Scrap process, 159

Screw, improvement •« of, by Whit-
worth, 223 ; uniform system of, 224
Sea-sickness, Bessemer steamer to

prevent, 113
S-rvia, a steel-built vessel, 170
Shafts of Whitworth steel, 24S
Sheffield, Bessemer works at, 74
description of, by C. Knight,

271
industrial character of, 273
iron manufacture begun in, 280
progress of, 297
steel trade in, 31, 85
Shipbuilding, use of Bessemer steel
in, 95» 97
use of Siemens steel in, 169
proofs of superiority, 171
progress of, 1 70, 1 72
Shunt wound machine, 177
Siemens, Sir William, 132
air-pump, 140
anastatic printing, 140
armature, 175

bauxite lining of furnace, 162
biography of, 132
bi th of, 134

boilers, new design of, 198
cables, submarine, 194, 196
coal mines, proposal to place gas-
producers in, 155
death of, 213

determining incident of life, 136
direct process of steel making,

156 ; of iron making, 160
Direct United States cable, 196
dynamo-machine, 175
economy of fuel, I41, 144, 147^

155
electric conductor, 2ii

electric furnace, 179

electric light, 178

electric railway, 181, 185

electrical re iitance, z^z

INDEX.

345

Siemens, Sir William —

electricity, first application of,
1 37 ; other applications of, 1 73,

175
electro-horticulture, 179

electro - gilding, discovery of,

engine, invention of new steam-
141 ; on gas, 147

England, first visit to, 137 ;
reasons for remaining in, 139

experiments in steel making,
156

Falls of Niagara, account of, 210

family of scientists, 132

Faraday's description of regene-
rative furnace, 150, 153 ; elec-
trical discoveres, 173, 175 ;
reminiscences of, 196

Faraday steamship designed,
194

f )ot-pound, iIIu>tration of, 143

fuel, study of, 140 ; economy of,
144, 154, 155 ; lecture on, 203

furnaces, electric, 179

open hearth for steel making,

157

regenerative gas, 148, 151, 154
rota'ive iron making, 161
gas-engine, economy of, 147
gas-producer, 148, 151 ; proposed
application of, in coal mines,

general principles, application of,

133
German characteristics of, 133

Gottingen University, attendance

at, 136, 186
governor, steam-engine, 139 ;

eyrometric, 201
guild system, on, 134
heat, first studies in, 140 ; future

use of, 1 56 ; mechanical theory

uf, 141
honours conferred on, 213
Indo- European telegraph laid by,

188, 193
inventions, metallurgical, 164,

167. See also Electro-gilding,

Governors, Furnaces, &c.
Martin's claims to open-hearth

process, refuted by, 164
mechanical philosopher, 134

Siemens, Sir William —

open-hearth process, early expe-
riment •« with, 156 ; success of,
158, 168; working of, 159

patents, 139, 167, 2CX)

phosphorus, reduction of, in open-
hearth proce>s, 168

pyrometer, 202

railway, electric, 181

regeneralive furnace, invention
of, 148 ; de>cription of, 151

regeneralive steam engine, inven-
tion of, 143 ; description of, 145

regenerators, application of, 141 ;
description of, 145

relay, invention of, 187

revrrberatory furnace, 161 -

rotative furnace for iron making,
description of, 161 ; improve-
ments in, 162

sample^teel works at Birmingham,

'57
school-day reminiscences, 134

shipbuilding, use of his steel in,

169
steam engine, governor, 139 •
steam en^^ine, regenerative, inven-
tion of, 141 ; description of,

145

steel, descnption of, by, 3

direct process for producing,

156 ; progress of, 168
for shipbuilding, 169
special features of, 169
submarine telegraphy, 194
sun, its constitution and opera-
tions, on, 206
technical training, 135
telegraph, improvements in, 186
telegraph, Indo-European, 188,

193
telegraph, submarine, 194

telegraph works, 188

transmission of poMer, 211

uniform rotation, 201

water-meter, 140

Siemens, Werner, 137, 175, 181, 188

Silicon in steel, 84

blide, development of, by Whitworlh,
223

Smith, Henry, early genius of, 215

Snelus G. J., as a metallurgical in-
ventor, 317

34^

INDEX,

Sue] us G. J. —

basic process, first experiments
with, 323
investigation and results of, 328
Bessemer ^ Id medal presented

to. 333
bi«*th and education of, 318
chemist at l)owlais, 319
composinoa of Besseiner gases,

investigated by, 320
eliminatijn of phoNph:)rus, 322,

exhibition of analysed samples at
Paris, 333

experiments with basic linings,

323* 326
gas was ed in Bessemer process,

321
improvements adopted in Brsse-

mer process, 330
iron direct froui Mast furnace

used in converter, 331
medals won by, at School of

Mines, 3 [9
papers read at Iron and Steel

Institute, 319
puddling machiaes, examination

of, by, 321
rifle volunteer honours, 319
soaking-pits adopted by, 333
West Cumberland steel works
remodelled by, 329
Soaking^ pits for Bessemer ingots, 332
Solid steel castings, 83. Sr-e Steel
Someret, Duke of, on Whit^vorth
steel, 251 ; on armour- j/lating, 285,
289
Soot over London, 151
Spherical Bessemer steel shot, icx)
Spiegeleisen. See Manganese
Springs, railway, 277
Stamps, Bessemer's inventions for

producing, 17
Steam engine, governor, Siemens*, 138
Steam engine, introducti iX\ of WattS ,
10, 144 ; Siemens* regenerative,

141, 143

Stevens as an inventor of armour-
plates, 284

Stirrer, mechanical, for producing
homogeneous steel, 112

Steel, armour, Ellis, 295 ; Whitworth,
250

Steel, Bessemer, first production of,
36 ; first practical applications
of, 71. See Bessemer

blistered, manufacture of, 32

boilers, first, 95

cannon, first Bessemer, 55;
Whitworth, 242, 249 ; Go-
vernment, 253

chrome, 294

description of, by Siemens, 3;
by Bessemer, 56

direct process of producii^, 156.
See Opt*n hearth

elements in, 52, 56

for structural purposes, pioneer
of, 88

homogeneous. »SVtf Hooiog^ene us

Huntsman's improTements in, 31,

.34
manuficture of, early, 31

by Bessemer, 36, {.See Bes-
semer) by Brown, 2^2, by
Siemens, 156. (See Siemens)
by Whitworth, 242
mild properties of, 67
mon-^ter ingots of, 283
ordnance. See Orduance
properties of, 76
rails. See Rails
shear, manufacture of, 33
shipbuilding, 95, 97, 169
Siemens. See Open hearth
soft, properties o^, 67
solid castings, 83, 1 10, 112. See

also Homogeneous
te>ts of, 67, 247
"well pielted,"85
Whitworth's improvements in,
242. See Whitworth
Structural purposes, Bessemer steel

lor, 77, 88
Submarine telegraph, 194, 196
Sun, eclipse of, 209
Sun, Siemens' theory of nature of, 206
Sweden, Bessemer process in, 8i
Sweeping machine, Whitworth's, 227
Swinging saloon, Bessemer, 1 14

Taking pains, an infinite capacity
for, 215, 217

Technical education, condition of, in
England, 257 ; Whitworth scholar-
ships in, 257

INDEX.

347

Tclegrraph, electric, origin of, 186

Siemens' improvements in, 186
Telegraph, jmbmarine, 194
Telegraph, Indo-European, 188
Telegraph works, Siemens', 188
Telescope, Bessemer, construction of,
115, 118
of Herschel and Rosre, 116, 117
Thomas, S. G., announcement of his
basic process, 302
basic process conceired, 304
Bessemer medal > presented to,

315

biojnraphy of, 299

birth and education of, 303
colleagues' efforts, acknowledg-
ment of, 316
experiments with basic linings,

305
metallurgical studies, 304

negotiations with Mr. Richards,
306; with Continental iron-
masters, 313

offers made to, for ba^ic process,

313, 314
paper on basic process, 307, 308

Thomson, Sir William, account of
Newton's discovery of gravita-
tion, 217
on mechanical theory of heat,

142
on transmisFion of electrical
power, 212
Tools, age of, 214 ; description of
primitive, 219. :See also Machine
tr>ols
Transmission of electrical power, 127,

211
Trevelyan, G. O., on breechloading

guns, 252
True planes, 220
Trusty^ armour-clad, experiments

with, 285, 289
Turner, Mr., on Whitworth's rifle

experiments, 237
Turning, experiments in, byBe.scmer,

16
Tyndall, Prof., account of Mayer's
experiments with heat, 149 ; de-
scription of magnetism, 173; on
properties of Wbitworth's true
planes, 221 ; Whitworth rifie, 237 ;
Whitworth steel process, 246

Type-making, improvements in, by
Anthony Bessemer, 14
by Sir Henry Bessemer, 22

Utrecht velvet, Bessemer's inven-
tion for producing, 22

Wasted power at Falls of Niagara,

210
Water-meter, Siemens', 140
Watt, James, as an inventor, 10
,Webb, F. W., on use of Bessemer
steel, 95
Wehsier, C. B., report on Atlas steel

works, 296
Werner Siemens, 137, 175
West Cumberland steel works, 329
Whitworth, Sir Joseph, 214

age of tools, position in, 214
agricultural operations, machines

in, 230
afkti-war shell, 240
armour, improved, 250
baronetcy conferred on, 261
begins business as a tool maker, 2 22
birth of, 218
biography of, 214
Brazil adopts his ^n, 241
breechloading, in favour of, 249
Carlyle, Thouja«, letter to, 267
characteristics of, 214, 218
cotton trade, early connection

with, 219
destruction, apparatus of, 231
early years and pursuits, 219
Emperor Napoleon sends for, 236
enormous pressure used in Lis

steel process, 244
exhibitions for scholars, 262
exhibits at Great Exhibition of

1851, 228
experiments with steel, 243
first examination for scholsirships,

263
foreigners adopt his guns, 238,

241
foreman engineers sharing profits

with, 266
gauges, measiurirg, 226
generalising faculty of, 23S
Government's appropriation of
his principles, 236

348

INDEX,

WLil'vorth, Sir Joseph —

Government treatment of, 235,

236, 239, 249. 251
guns, grear, ex|)eriments with,

238 ; results of, 239 ; trials of,

239, 241, 249, 256
guns, great, material of, 242, 249
lion )urs conferred on, 261, 26b
invention of measuring macbine,

224 ; principle of, 225
invention of screw, uniform

system of, 223
invention of slide, 223
invention of rifle and guns, 231,

233, 238

invention of steel, homogeneous,
242, 246

invention of true planes, 220

letter to Prime Minister on tech-
nical scholarships, 260

letters on relations between en-
gineers and employers, 266

letter from Thomas Carlyie to,
267

machine tools, first inventor to
patent, 214; production of,
220 ; results of, 229

Maudslay and Clements, connec-
tion with, 219

Napvoleon's approval of his rifle,
236

national wealth, views on, 229

patents, 214, 228, 249

penetration, results of experi-
ments on, 240, 256, 289

planes, true, economy of, 222 ;
grinding of, 220 ; * * originating"
fir>t, 221 ; workmen's preju-
dice against, 223

powder chamber of guns, enlarge-
ment of, 249

projectiles, 234, 239, 256

rifle, construction of, 231
gallery at Ru-^holme, 233
National Rifle Association's

ad )ption of, 235
Queen firing shot with, 235
superiority of his new, 234

Whitworth, Sir Joseph —

scholarships, announcement of,
257, 260 ; conditions of ex-
amination for, 261 ; condition^
of holding, 263, 265; pay-
ments, 264
screw, im rovement ofi 223;

uniform system of, 224
shares profits u ith 'workmen, 266
skill as a workman, 219
slide, development of the, 223
Somerset, Duke of, on his steel,

251
steel ariTiour, his construction of,
250
his interest in, 242; early im-
pressions of Bessemer pro-
cess, 242
improvements in, 243
process for producing homo-
geneous, 244, 246
shafts of his, 248
superiority of his, 245
tests of his, 245, 247
sweeping machine>, 227
technical education, scheme to
promote, 257. 5"<?^ Scholarships
tests of steel, 245, 247
tools, age of, position in, 214
tools, improvements in, 220
tools used in early years of, 219
true planes, 220. See Planes
Turner and Tyndall on, 237
Turner's Company, presentation

of freedom of, to, 268
workmen participate in profits,
266

works of, co-operative nature of,
266
\Vilmot, Colonel E., in favour of the

Bessemer process, 89, 90
Woolwich Arsenal, Bessemer process

at, 36, 90
Workington, manufacture of Bessemer
iron at, 69

Young, Dr. J., on technical educa-
tion, 259

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OLD CURIOSITY SHOP* REPRINTED PIECES 36

BARNABY RUDGE and HARD TIMES 36

BLEAK HOUSE 40

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16

LITTLE DORRIT 40

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DOMBEY AND SON 38

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DAVID COPPERFIELD 38

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OUR MUTUAL FRIEND 40

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SKETCHES BY "BOZ" 39

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OLIVER TWIST 24

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A TALE OF TWO CITIES 16

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GREAT EXPECTATIONS B

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PICTURES FROM ITALY & AMERICAN NOTES 8

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UNCOMMERCIAL TRAVELLER 8

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8

CHILD'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND B

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EDWIN DROOD and MISCELLANIES la

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THE LIFE OF CHARLES DICKENS. ByJoHN FOBSTER

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MARTIN CHU2ZLEWIT.,

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DOMBEY AND SON

NICHOLAS NICKLEBY ..

DAVID COPPERFIELD ..

BLEAK HOUSE ...

8

LITTLE DORRIT

OUR MUTUAL FRIEND.,

8

BARNABY RUDGE

3 6

OLD CURIOSITY SHOP .

A CHILDS HISTORY OF ENGLAND

EDWIN DROOD and OTHER STORIES

CHRISTMAS STORIES, from •■ Household Words '■ ...

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H^ SKETCHES BY "BOZ"

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^H THE LIFE OF CHARLES DICKENS. Nameroui IlTnstralians, 2 vols

7 v^^m

l"-™'~""""

J

^^^^1

22 BOOKS PUBUSHED B Y

DICKENS'S (CHARLES) WORKS— a?«/i««^</.

THE ILLUSTRATED LIBRARY EDITION-

CompUte in JO Volumes, Demy Svo, tos. each; or set, '£t^.

This Edition is printed on a finer paper and in a larger type than has been
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No such attractive issue has been made of the writings of Mr. Dickens, which,
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The collection comprises all the minor writings it was Mr. Dickens's wish to
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SKETCHES BY " BOZ." With 40 Illustrations by George Cruikshank.

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MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT. 2 vols. With 4 Illustrations by Phiz.

AMERICAN NOTES and PICTURES FROM ITALY, i voL With 8

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DOMBEY AND SON. 2 vols. With 40 Illustrations by Phiz.
DAVID COPPERFIELD. 2 vols. With 40 Illustrations by Phiz.
BLEAK HOUSE. 2 vols. With 40 Illustrations by Phiz.
LITTLE DORRIT. 2 vols. With 40 Illustrations by Phiz.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES, With 16 Illustrations by Phiz.
THE UNCOMMERCIAL TRAVELLER. With 8 Illustrations by Marcus Stone.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS. With 8 Illustrations by Marcus Stone.
OUR MUTUAL FRIEND. 2 vols. With 40 Illustrations by Marcus Stone.

CHRISTMAS BOOKS. With 17 lUustrations by Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A.,
Maclise, R.A., &c. &c.

HISTORY OF ENGLAND. With 8 Illustrations by Marcus Stone.

CHRISTMAS STORIES. (From "Household Words" and "AU the Year
Rotmd.") With 14 Illustrations.

EDWIN DROOD AND OTHER STORIES. With 12 Illustrations by S. L.
Fildes.

CHAPMAN &» HALL, LIMITED, 23

DICKENS'S (CHARLES) WORKS— Gwf/i«»^</.

HOUSEHOLD EDITION.

Complete in 22 Volumes, Crown 4/^, cloth, £4. 8x. 6d.

MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT. with 59 lUustraUons, cloth, 55.

DAVID COPPERFIELD, with 60 Illustrations and a Portrait, cloth, 5s.

BLEAK HOUSE, with 61 IllustraUons, cloth, 5s.

LITTLE DORRIT, with 58 Illustrations, cloth, 5s.

PICKWICK PAPERS, with 56 lUustrations, cloth, 55.

OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, with 58 Illustrations, cloth, 53.

NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, with 59 Illustrations, cloth, 55.

DOMBEY AND SON, with 61 lUustrations, cloth, 5s.

EDWIN DROOD ; REPRINTED PIECES ; and other Stories, with 30 lUustra-
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THE LIFE OF DICKENS. By John Forster. With 40 Illustrations. Cloth; 55.

BARNABY RUDGE, with 46 Illustrations, cloth, 4s.

OLD CURIOSITY SHOP, with 32 Illustrations, cloth, 4s.

CHRISTMAS STORIES, with 23 lUustrations, cloth, 4s.

OLIVER TWIST, with 28 lUustrations, cloth, 3s.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS, with 26 lUustrations, cloth, 3s.

SKETCHES BY "BOZ," with 36 lUustrations, cloth, 3s.

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THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND, with 15 Illustrations, cloth, 3s.

AMERICAN NOTES and PICTURES FROM ITALY, with 18 lUustrations,
cloth, 3s.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES, with 25 Illustrations, cloth, 3s.

HARD TIMES, with 20 lUustrations, cloth, 2s. 6d.

MR. DICKENS'S READINGS.
Fcap, Svo, sewed.

CHRISTMAS CAROL IN PROSE.

IS.

CRICKET ON THE HEARTH, is.
CHIMES : A GOBLIN STORY, is.

STORY OF LITTLE DOMBEY. is.
POOR TRAVELLER. BOOTS AT

THE HOLLY-TREE INN. and

MRS. GAMP. IS.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL, with the Original Coloured Plates,

being a reprint of the Original Edition. Small 8vo. red cloth, gilt edges, 5s.

BOOKS PUBLISHED BY

DICKENS'S (CHARLES) WORKS-Ctfu/inif^^/.

THE POPULAR LIBRARY EDITION

OF THE WORKS OF

CHARLES DICKENS,

Ih 30 Vois,t large crovm Svo, price £fi; separate Vols, 4J. each^

An Edition printed on good paper, containing Illustrations selected from
the Household Edition, on Plate Paper. Each Volume has about 450 pages
and 16 full-page Illustrations.

SKETCHES BY "BOZ."
PICKWICK. 2 vols.
OLIVER TWIST.

OLD CURIOSITY SHOP and

REPRINTED PIECES, a vols.
BARNABY KUDGE. 2 vols.

NICHOLAS NICKLEBY. 2 vols. UNCOMMERCIAL TRAVEL-

MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT. 2 vols. ' ^^^^ irYPTrrxATTmMc

DOMBEY AND SON. 2 vols. \ S^f ^ V^^^Vw^^

DAVID COPPERFI ELD. 2 vols. i^y^^S*^,,,o^)C«xV^ iJ.?*^;

CHRISTMAS BOOKS.

OUR MUTUAL FRIEND. 2 vols.

CHRISTMAS STORIES.

BLEAK HOUSE. 2 vols.

LITTLE DORRIT. 2 vols.

CHILD'S HISTORY OF ENG-
LAND.

EDWIN DROOD and MISCEL-
LANIES.

PICTURES FROM ITALY AND
AMERICAN NOTES.

The Cheapest and Handiest Edition of

THE WORKS OF CHARLES DICKENS,

The Pocket-Volume Edition of Charles Dickens's Works.
In 30 Vols, small fcap, %vo^ £2 5s.

Ntiv and Cheap Issue of

THE WORKS OF CHARLES DICKENS.

In pocket volumes.
PICKWICK PAPERS, with 8 Illustnitions, cloth, 2s.
NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, with 8 Illustrations, doth, 2s.
OLIVER TWIST, with 8 Illustrations, doth, is.
SKETCHES BY " BOZ," with 8 Illustrations, doth, xs.
OLD CURIOSITY SHOP, wiih 8 Illustrations, doth, as.
BARNABY RUDGE. with 16 Illustrations, doth, as.
AMERICAN NOTES and PICTURES FROM ITALY.
CHRISTMAS BOOKS.

SIXPKNNY RKPRINTS.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL and THE

HAUNTED MAN.

By Charles Dickens. Illustrated.

READINGS FROM*" THE WORKS OF

CHARLES DICKENS..

As selected and read by himself and now published for the first time. Illustrated.

(in.)

THE CHIMES: A Goblin Story, and THE
CRICKET ON THE HEARTH.

Illustrated.

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Listof Books, Drawing Examples. Diagrams, Models,
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THOSE ISSUED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE SCIENCE
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PRINCIPLES OF THE SCIENCE OF COLOUR.

Small 41a, cloih, 151.

MANUAL OF THE SCIENCE OF COLOUR. Coloured

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ASTRONOMICAL :

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PHYSIOLOGICAL :

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.. THE SKELETON AND LIGAMENTS.

3. THE MUSCLES, JOINTS, AND ANIMAL MECHANICS.

3. THE VISCERA IN POSITION.— THE STRUCTURE OF THE LTJ]

4. THE ORGANS OF CIRCULATION.

5. THE LYMPHATICS OR ABSORBENTS.

6. THE ORGANS OF DIGESTION.

7. THE BRAIN AND NERVES.— THE ORGANS OF THE VOICE.
B. THE ORGANS OF THE SENSES.
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HUMAN BODY, LIFE SIZE.

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ZOOLOGICAL :

TEN SHEETS. IllustnillnB the Clasrffical

lABSHAii, F.R-S., F.R.C.S.

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THE FEMALE SKELE1

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CHAPMAN &• HALL, UMITED. ^

In January was published

^istorg of t^ndcnt €ggptian (^rt

By GEORGES PERROT and CHARLES CHIPIEZ. fl

Translated from the French by W. ARMSTRONG. \

" The study of Egyptnlogy is QBE which grows fromjiay lo day, ami wt

lion of matmaL Thff wjll-fcnQwr. . „

inent to sn exient which had never hilhcno been atlemptrd, and which, b«wc i
mcBTches of Muiette and Mhspvto, wonid have been impofiuble. Without waiEine tor [he
iUustrions aqttion to camplele Lheir great ondertaluiig Hf. W. AnmrFonE ha« very properj^
leuftd lheir tint iiustalineDt, and has presented tif the EngUah pahlic ail ihal has ^t appeared
of a molt UHfuL and fucioaEine world To traastate such a book, however, is a task that
needs therevitioaoraspedalist, and this Mr- ArrnstroDg iiafi fett, for he has not Bent out his
venion to the worid witieul the suKCion of Dr. Birch and Mr, Re^rudd Stuart Faole. The
result U in every way AatEjifactory to his readern, wliose attentioQ is luriher stimulated ajid
their knowledge advanced by moie than 6™ iUnsIrmtiaas, loae of which, however, can only
he regarded as tolerably accurate. Hr. ArmslrooE adds, in' an appcudiv, a descnptioa of
that fltanling discovery which occurred juvt after the French tirigiu] of these volumes led
the press— aamely, the linding of Jt^ royal mumaiies, with their sepulchral fumiiure, in a

annals of ardueoloEy, is still fresh in our memories, but it forms an exceedingly interaslina
commentary on M. Perrot's praise of io'iucljve processes in the practice of antiqaajian
research. It forms a brilliant ending lo a worli of great value and hayay."— Pail Mali

Uf Rrviiw, speaking of the French edition, says: "To say that thismagni-
the best history of EEyptian art that we poises, ie to state one of the least
I the admiration of alfloven of antiquity, Egyptian or other. No previous

impared with It for method or completeness Not oiil;^ are the best

m the cJder Bnthorities atili&etl, hul numerous tmpuhli^lied designs have been
led greatly to the value of a work, in which the trvined eye of
[b]e,by his Tesrorations of various buildings and modes of con-

remarkable- This histop, . -p^, —-

t ; and, we may add. there are lew more delightful vi

a model of cueful twkmonship- Nor hatre the publisbcrt spared either pains or expense It

Jy of these volumes wcrald belter prepare a traveller for appredadng the
Ilidn a Tear's luroinE over of the 'DcnkmUei' of Lepsiui, the 'Moun.

■le'Monnmedts'o'" ■"- *■-' ■- ■

k. It is

Ro^Dai.Dr the'Monnmenu'ofChampallion- -'-' , " Mr. A^tr^g-s tianila
necessary and nselul work. It is well written ■"■* Mth Mnmn.*! rar^ inm^n^iv
having been added. Such n book should.

of Eben, attract new students to Ibe constanil^ decreaung body of Egyptologists in
'[ is full of the rham of Egypt, leading the reader back to the ideas which
ly almost call immortal, whether we regard tbeir first emboditnent or Ehelr

32 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY CHAPMAN ^ HALL, LIMIT ED.

THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW.

Edited by T. H. S. ESCOTT.
HTHE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW is published on the ist of

every month, and a Volume is completed every Six Months.
Tke fottffunmg are among the CotUributors :^

SIR RUTHERFORD ALCOCK.

MATHEW ARNOLD.

PROFESSOR BAIN.

SIR SAMUEL BAKER.

PROFESSOR BEESLY.

PAUL BERT.

BARON GEORGETON BUNSEN.

DR. BRIDGES.

HON. GEORGE C BRODRICK.

JAMES BRYCE, M.P.

THOMAS BURT, M.P.

SIR GEORGE CAMPBELL, M.P.

THE EARL OF CARNARVON.

EMILIO CASTELAR.

RT. HON. J. CHAMBERLAIN, M.P.

PROFESSOR SIDNEY COLVIN.

MONTAGUE COOKSON, Q.C.

L. H. COURTNEY. M.P.

G. H. DARWIN.

SIR GEORGE W. DASENT.

PROFESSOR A. V. DICEY.

RIGHT HON. H. FAWCETT, M.P.

EDWARD A. FREEMAN.

SIR BARTLE FRERE, Bart.

J. A. FROUDE.

MRS. GARRET-ANDERSON.

J. W. L. GLAISHER, F.R.S.

M. E. GRANT DUFF, M.P.

THOMAS HARE.

F. HARRISON.

LORD HOUGHTON.

PROFESSOR HUXLEY.

PROFESSOR R. C. JEDB.

PROFESSOR JEVONS.

ANDREW LANG.

EMILE DE LAVELEYE.

T. E. CLIFFE LLSLIE

SIR JOHN LUBBOCK. M.P.

THE EARL LYTTON.

SIR H. S. MAINE.

DR. MAUDSLEY.

PROFESSOR MAX MULLER.

G. OSBORNE MORGAN. Q.C, M.P.

PROFESSOR HENRY MORLEY.

WILLIAM MORRIS.

PROFESSOR H. N. MOSELEY.

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PROFESSOR JOHN NICHOL.

W. G. PALGRAVE.

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DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI.

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SIR J. FITZJAMES STEPHEN, Q.C.

LESLIE STEPHEN.

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A. C. SWINBURNE.

DR. VON SYBEL.

J. A. SYMONDS.

THE REV. EDWARD F. TALBOT

(Warden of Kbble College).
SIR RICHARD TEMPLK, Bakt.
W. T. THORNTON.
HON. LIONEL A. TOLLEMACHE.
H. D. TRAILL.
ANTHONY TROLLOPE. ,
PROFESSOR TYNDALL.
A. J. WILSON.
THE EDITOR.

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