om the blast furnace is subjected to convert it into wrought
iron.

The economy claimed for this process, over the blast furnace and
puddling practice for the production of wrought iron, is that nearly
all the fuel used in the puddling operation is saved, and that with
about the same amount of fuel used in the blast furnace to produce a
ton of pig iron, a ton of wrought iron blooms can be made. I had no
opportunity of weighing the charges of ore and coal used, but I saw
the process in actual operation at Rockaway, N.J. The iron produced
was hammered up into good solid blooms, containing but little cinder.
The muck-bar made from the blooms was fibrous in fracture, and showed
every appearance of good iron. I am informed by the manager of the
Sanderson Brothers' steel works, at Syracuse, N.Y., that they
purchased blooms made by the Wilson process in 1881-1882, that _none_
of them showed red-shortness, and that they discontinued their use
only on account of the injurious action of the titanium they contained
on the melting pots. These blooms were made from magnetic sands from
the Long Island and Connecticut coasts.

[Illustration: NEW PROCESS FOR MAKING WROUGHT IRON FROM THE ORE.]

The drawing given shows the construction of the furnace employed. I
quote from the published description:

"The upper part, or deoxidizer, is supported on a strong
mantel plate resting on four cast iron columns.

"The retorts and flues are made entirely of fire-brick, from
special patterns. The outside is protected by a wrought iron
jacket made of No. 14 iron. The puddling furnace is of the
ordinary construction, except in the working bottom, which is
made longer to accommodate two charges of ore, and thus
utilize more of the waste heat in reducing the ore to metallic
iron.

"The operation of the furnace is as follows: The pulverized
ore is mixed with 20 per cent. of pulverized charcoal or coke,
and is fed into an elevator which discharges into the hopper
on the deoxidizer leading into the retorts marked C. These
retorts are proportioned so that they will hold ore enough to
run the puddling furnace 24 hours, the time required for
perfect deoxidation. After the retorts are filled, a fire is
started in the furnace, and the products of combustion pass up
through the main flue, or well, B, where they are deflected by
the arch, and pass out through suitable openings, a