24, 1857.

[Illustration: Figure 2.--ONLY KNOWN DESIGN FOR KELLY'S AIR-BOILING
FURNACE, FROM U.S. PATENT 17628. _A_ is "the flue to carry off the
carbonic gas formed in decarbonizing the iron," _B_ is the port through
which the charge of fluid iron is received, _C_ and _C'_ are the
tuyeres, and _D_ is the tap hole for letting out the refined metal.]

The discussion in the _Scientific American_, which was mostly concerned
with Martien's claim to priority, soon evoked a letter from William
Kelly. Writing under date of September 30, 1856, from the Suwanee Iron
Works, Eddyville, Kentucky, he claimed to have started "a series of
experiments" in November 1851 which had been witnessed by hundreds of
persons and "discussed amongst the ironmasters, etc., of this section,
all of whom are perfectly familiar with the whole principle ... as
discovered by me nearly five years ago." A number of English puddlers
had visited him to see his new process. "Several of them have since
returned to England and may have spoken of my invention there." Kelly
expected "shortly to have the invention perfected and bring it before
the public."[97]

[97] _Scientific American_, 1856, vol. 12, p. 43, Kelly's
suggestion of piracy of his ideas was later enlarged upon by his
biographer John Newton Boucher, _William Kelly: A true history
of the so-called Bessemer process_, Greensburg, Pennsylvania,
1924.

Bessemer's application for an American patent was granted during the
week ending November 18, 1856, and Kelly began his interference
proceedings sometime before January 1857.[98]

[98] _Ibid._, p. 82. Kelly's notice of his intention to take
testimony was addressed to Bessemer on January 12, 1857. See
papers on "Interference, William Kelly vs. Henry Bessemer
Decision April 13, 1857." U.S. Patent Office Records. Quotations
below are from this file, which is now permanently preserved in
the library of the U.S. Patent Office.

Kelly's witnesses were almost wholly from the ranks of employees or
former employees. The only exception was Dr. Alfred H. Champion, a
physician of Eddyville. Dr. Champion describes a meeting in the fall of
1851 with "two or three practical Ironmasters and others" at which
Kelly described his process and invited all present to see it in
operation. He stated:

The company present all differed in opinion from Mr. Kelly and
appealed to me as a chemist in con