ge,
and his brother George, of the Dale, spoke to me about a notion they
had conceived of making bar iron without wood charcoal. I told them,
consistent with the notion I had adopted in common with all others I
had conversed with, that I thought it impossible, because the vegetable
salts in the charcoal being an alkali acted as an absorbent to the
sulphur of the iron, which occasions the red-short quality of the iron,
and pit coal abounding with sulphur would increase it. This specious
answer, which would probably have appeared conclusive to most, and
which indeed was what I really thought, was not so to them. They
replied that from the observations they had made, and repeated
conversations together, they were both firmly of opinion that the
alteration from the quality of pig iron into that of bar iron was
effected merely by heat, and if I would give them leave, they would
make a trial some day. I consented, but, I confess, without any great
expectation of their success; and so the matter rested some weeks, when
it happening that some repairs had to be done at Bridgenorth, Thomas
came up to the Dale, and, with his brother, made a trial in Thos.
Tilly's air-furnace with such success as I thought would justify the
erection of a small air-furnace at the Forge for the more perfectly
ascertaining the merit of the invention. This was accordingly done,
and a trial of it has been made this week, and the success has
surpassed the most sanguine expectations. The iron put into the
furnace was old Bushes, which thou knowest are always made of hard
iron, and the iron drawn out is the toughest I ever saw. A bar 1 1/4
inch square, when broke, appears to have very little cold short in it.
I look upon it as one of the most important discoveries ever made, and
take the liberty of recommending thee and earnestly requesting thou
wouldst take out a patent for it immediately.... The specification of
the invention will be comprised in a few words, as it will only set
forth that a reverberatory furnace being built of a proper
construction, the pig or cast iron is put into it, and without the
addition of anything else than common raw pit coal, is converted into
good malleable iron, and, being taken red-hot from the reverberatory
furnace to the forge hammer, is drawn out into bars of various shapes
and sizes, according to the will of the workmen."

Mr. Reynolds's advice was implicitly followed. A patent was secured in
the name of the b