By mastering founding, fining, puddling, or bloom smelting, ironworkers gained a degree of control over their lives not easily attained by others.

Reprint of the esteemed book originally published by Newsweek Books in 1981. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1854 edition. Excerpt: ... a cubic metre, or a little belter than a cubic yard. o able as it was before that period. One of the witnesses, an extensive iron-master of Champagne, says: --" We made some profit when we sold at 450f. (the 1040 kilogrammes), and we are now losers in selling at 500f.; the cause of which is, that, in 1819, the banne, of charcoal cost 18f. 3c, while it now costs 37f. 50c." The proprietors of wood (the landowners) received the profits. In 1818 the manufacture of bar-iron amounted to 800,000 quintals, that of cast-iron to 1,400,000 quintals--all smelted with charcoal. The increased price of wood having led to the use of cheaper fuel, a vast number of the forges established by the new comers were erected on the English plan. We find that of 1,521,881 quintals, forged in 1828, 476,116, or nearly one-third, were made with coal. The difference in the cost of production is surprising. One of the witnesses says, that to produce 1040 kilogrammes, of ordinary iron smelted with charcoal, he is obliged to use five bannes and a quarter of charcoal, which, at 41f. 50c. per banne, amounts to 207f. 50c, whilst, to produce 1000 kilogrammes with coke, he has only to employ 1700 kilogrammes of coal, at 49f. 50c per 1000 kilogrammes, which amount only to 84f. 15c. The proportion of the cost of coal to charcoal is nearly as nine to twenty. The difference in the expense of labour and carriage is not less striking. M. Pasquier says that labour and carriage form at least, on the average, 43 per cent, of the prix de revient of the wood-made iron, whilst in that of the coke-made iron they do not reach higher than 29 per cent. The reporter avers that "the average price of iron smelted with charcoal is 49f. 12c, and the average price smelted with coal...