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@@ -0,0 +1,12194 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Industrial Biography, by Samuel Smiles + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Industrial Biography + Iron Workers and Tool Makers + +Author: Samuel Smiles + +Release Date: March 6, 2008 [EBook #404] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INDUSTRIAL BIOGRAPHY *** + + + + + + + + + + + +[Updater's note: The previous version's footnotes were embedded +into their respective paragraphs. In this version, each chapter's +footnotes have been renumbered sequentially and moved to the end +of their chapter.] + + + + + +INDUSTRIAL BIOGRAPHY + +Iron Workers and Tool Makers + + +by Samuel Smiles + + +(This etext was produced from a reprint of the 1863 first edition) + + +PREFACE. + +The Author offers the following book as a continuation, in a more +generally accessible form, of the Series of Memoirs of Industrial Men +introduced in his Lives of the Engineers. While preparing that work he +frequently came across the tracks of celebrated inventors, mechanics, +and iron-workers--the founders, in a great measure, of the modern +industry of Britain--whose labours seemed to him well worthy of being +traced out and placed on record, and the more so as their lives +presented many points of curious and original interest. Having been +encouraged to prosecute the subject by offers of assistance from some +of the most eminent living mechanical engineers, he is now enabled to +present the following further series of memoirs to the public. + +Without exaggerating the importance of this class of biography, it may +at least be averred that it has not yet received its due share of +attention. While commemorating the labours and honouring the names of +those who have striven to elevate man above the material and +mechanical, the labours of the important industrial class to whom +society owes so much of its comfort and well-being are also entitled to +consideration. Without derogating from the biographic claims of those +who minister to intellect and taste, those who minister to utility need +not be overlooked. When a Frenchman was praising to Sir John Sinclair +the artist who invented ruffles, the Baronet shrewdly remarked that +some merit was also due to the man who added the shirt. + +A distinguished living mechanic thus expresses himself to the Author on +this point:--"Kings, warriors, and statesmen have heretofore +monopolized not only the pages of history, but almost those of +biography. Surely some niche ought to be found for the Mechanic, +without whose skill and labour society, as it is, could not exist. I +do not begrudge destructive heroes their fame, but the constructive +ones ought not to be forgotten; and there IS a heroism of skill and +toil belonging to the latter class, worthy of as grateful record,--less +perilous and romantic, it may be, than that of the other, but not less +full of the results of human energy, bravery, and character. The lot +of labour is indeed often a dull one; and it is doing a public service +to endeavour to lighten it up by records of the struggles and triumphs +of our more illustrious workers, and the results of their labours in +the cause of human advancement." + +As respects the preparation of the following memoirs, the Author's +principal task has consisted in selecting and arranging the materials +so liberally placed at his disposal by gentlemen for the most part +personally acquainted with the subjects of them, and but for whose +assistance the book could not have been written. The materials for the +biography of Henry Maudslay, for instance, have been partly supplied by +the late Mr. Joshua Field, F.R.S. (his partner), but principally by Mr. +James Nasmyth, C.E., his distinguished pupil. In like manner Mr. John +Penn, C.E., has supplied the chief materials for the memoir of Joseph +Clement, assisted by Mr. Wilkinson, Clement's nephew. The Author has +also had the valuable assistance of Mr. William Fairbairn, F.R.S., Mr. +J. O. March, tool manufacturer (Mayor of Leeds), Mr. Richard Roberts, +C.E., Mr. Henry Maudslay, C.E., and Mr. J. Kitson, Jun., iron +manufacturer, Leeds, in the preparation of the other memoirs of +mechanical engineers included in this volume. + +The materials for the memoirs of the early iron-workers have in like +manner been obtained for the most part from original sources; those of +the Darbys and Reynoldses from Mr. Dickinson of Coalbrookdale, Mr. +William Reynolds of Coed-du, and Mr. William G. Norris of the former +place, as well as from Mr. Anstice of Madeley Wood, who has kindly +supplied the original records of the firm. The substance of the +biography of Benjamin Huntsman, the inventor of cast-steel, has been +furnished by his lineal representatives; and the facts embodied in the +memoirs of Henry Cort and David Mushet have been supplied by the sons +of those inventors. To Mr. Anderson Kirkwood of Glasgow the Author is +indebted for the memoir of James Beaumont Neilson, inventor of the hot +blast; and to Mr. Ralph Moore, Inspector of Mines in Scotland, for +various information relative to the progress of the Scotch iron +manufacture. + +The memoirs of Dud Dudley and Andrew Yarranton are almost the only ones +of the series in preparing which material assistance has been derived +from books; but these have been largely illustrated by facts contained +in original documents preserved in the State Paper Office, the careful +examination of which has been conducted by Mr. W. Walker Wilkins. + +It will thus be observed that most of the information embodied in this +volume, more especially that relating to the inventors of tools and +machines, has heretofore existed only in the memories of the eminent +mechanical engineers from whom it has been collected. The estimable +Joshua Field has died since the date at which he communicated his +recollections; and in a few more years many of the facts which have +been caught and are here placed on record would, probably, in the +ordinary course of things, have passed into oblivion. As it is, the +Author feels that there are many gaps yet to be filled up; but the +field of Industrial Biography is a wide one, and is open to all who +will labour in it. + +London, October, 1863. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I. + +IRON AND CIVILIZATION. + + The South Sea Islanders and iron + Uses of iron for tools + The Stone, Bronze, and Iron ages + Recent discoveries in the beds of the Swiss lakes + Iron the last metal to come into general use, and why + The first iron smelters + Early history of iron in Britain + The Romans + Social importance of the Smith in early times + Enchanted swords + Early scarcity of iron in Scotland + Andrea de Ferrara + Scarcity of iron in England at the time of the Armada + Importance of iron for national defence + + +CHAPTER II. + +BEGINNINGS OF THE IRON-MANUFACTURER IN BRITAIN. + + Iron made in the Forest of Dean in Anglo-Saxon times + Monkish iron-workers + Early iron-smelting in Yorkshire + Much iron imported from abroad + Iron manufactures of Sussex + Manufacture of cannon + Wealthy ironmasters of Sussex + Founder of the Gale family + Extensive exports of English ordnance + Destruction of timber in iron-smelting + The manufacture placed under restrictions + The Sussex furnaces blown out + + +CHAPTER III. + +IRON SMELTING BY PIT-COAL--DUD DUDLEY. + + Greatly reduced production of English iron + Proposal to use pit-coal instead of charcoal of wood in smelting + Sturtevant's patent + Rovenson's + Dud Dudley; his family his history + Uses pit-coal to smelt iron with success + Takes out his patent + The quality of the iron proved by tests + Dudley's works swept away by a flood + Rebuilds his works, and they are destroyed by a mob + Renewal of his patent + Outbreak of the Civil War + Dudley joins the Royalists, and rises to be General of artillery + His perilous adventures and hair-breadth escapes + His estate confiscated + Recommences iron-smelting + Various attempts to smelt with pit-coal + Dudley's petitions to the King + His death + + +CHAPTER IV. + +ANDREW YARRANTON. + + A forgotten patriot + The Yarranton family + Andrew Yarranton's early life + A soldier under the Parliament + Begins iron works + Is seized and imprisoned + His plans for improving internal navigation + Improvements in agriculture + Manufacture of tin plate + His journey into Saxony to learn it + Travels in Holland + His views of trade and industry + His various projects + His 'England's Improvement by Sea and Land' + His proposed Land Bank + His proposed Registry of Real Estate + His controversies + His iron-mining + Value of his labours + + +CHAPTER V. + +COALBROOKDALE IRON WORKS--THE DARBYS AND REYNOLDSES. + + Failure in the attempts to smelt iron with pit-coal + Dr. Blewstone's experiment + Decay of the iron manufacture + Abraham Darby + His manufacture of cast-iron pots at Bristol + Removes to Coalbrookdale + His method of smelting iron + Increased use of coke + Use of pit-coal by Richard Ford + Richard Reynolds joins the Coalbrookdale firm + Invention of the Craneges in iron-refining + Letter of Richard Reynolds on the subject + Invention of cast-iron rails by Reynolds + Abraham Darby the Second constructs the first iron bridge + Extension of the Coalbrookdale Works + William Reynolds: his invention of inclined planes for working canals + Retirement of Richard Reynolds from the firm + His later years, character, and death + + +CHAPTER VI. + +INVENTION OF CAST STEEL--BENJAMIN HUNTSMAN. + + Conversion of iron into steel + Early Sheffield manufactures + Invention of blistered steel + Important uses of cast-steel + Le Play's writings on the subject + Early career of Benjamin Huntsman at Doncaster + His experiments in steel-making + Removes to the neighbourhood of Sheffield + His laborious investigations, failures, and eventual success + Process of making cast-steel + The Sheffield manufacturers refuse to use it + Their opposition foiled + How they wrested Huntsman's secret from him + Important results of the invention to the industry of Sheffield + Henry Bessemer and his process + Heath's invention + Practical skill of the Sheffield artisans + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE INVENTIONS OF HENRY CORT. + + Parentage of Henry Cort + Becomes a navy agent + State of the iron trade + Cort's experiments in iron-making + Takes a foundry at Fontley + Partnership with Jellicoe + Various improvers in iron-making: Roebuck, Cranege, Onions + Cort's improved processes described + His patents + His inventions adopted by Crawshay, Homfray, and other ironmasters + Cort's iron approved by the Admiralty + Public defalcations of Adam Jellicoe, Cort's partner + Cort's property and patents confiscated + Public proceedings thereon + Ruin of Henry Cort + Account of Richard Crawshay, the great ironmaster + His early life + Ironmonger in London + Starts an iron-furnace at Merthyr Tydvil + Projects and makes a canal + Growth of Merthyr Tydvil and its industry + Henry Cort the founder of the iron aristocracy, himself unrewarded + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE SCOTCH IRON MANUFACTURE--Dr. ROEBUCK--DAVID MUSHET. + + Dr. Roebuck, a forgotten public benefactor + His birth and education + Begins business as a physician at Birmingham + Investigations in metallurgy + Removes to Scotland, and begins the manufacture of chemicals, &c. + Starts the Carron Iron Works, near Falkirk + His invention of refining iron in a pit-coal fire + Embarks in coal-mining at Boroughstoness + Residence at Kinneil House + Pumping-engines wanted for his colliery + Is introduced to James Watt + Progress of Watt in inventing the steam-engine + Interviews with Dr. Roebuck + Roebuck becomes a partner in the steam-engine patent + Is involved in difficulties, and eventually ruined + Advance of the Scotch iron trade + Discovery of the Black Band by David Mushet + Early career of Mushet + His laborious experiments + His inventions and discoveries in iron and steel, and death + + +CHAPTER IX. + +INVENTION OF THE HOT BLAST--JAMES BEAUMONT NEILSON. + + Difficulty of smelting the Black Band by ordinary process until the + invention of the hot blast + Early career of James Beaumont Neilson + Education and apprenticeship + Works as an engine-fireman + As colliery engine-wright + Appointed foreman of the Glasgow Gas-works; afterwards manager + and engineer + His self-education + His Workmen's Institute + His experiments in iron-smelting + Trials with heated air in the blast-furnace + Incredulity of ironmasters + Success of his experiments, and patenting of his process + His patent right disputed, and established + Extensive application of the hot blast + Increase of the Scotch iron trade + Extraordinary increase in the value of estates yielding Black Band + Scotch iron aristocracy + + +CHAPTER X. + +MECHANICAL INVENTIONS AND INVENTORS. + + Tools and civilization + The beginnings of tools + Dexterity of hand chiefly relied on + Opposition to manufacturing machines + Gradual process of invention + The human race the true inventor + Obscure origin of many inventions + Inventions born before their time + "Nothing new under the sun" + The power of steam known to the ancients + Passage from Roger Bacon + Old inventions revived + Printing + Atmospheric locomotion + The balloon + The reaping machine + Tunnels + Gunpowder + Ancient firearms + The steam gun + The Congreve rocket + Coal-gas + Hydropathy + Anaesthetic agents + The Daguerreotype anticipated + The electric telegraph not new + Forgotten inventors + Disputed inventions + Simultaneous inventions + Inventions made step by step + James Watt's difficulties with his workmen + Improvements in modern machine-tools + Their perfection + The engines of "The Warrior" + + +CHAPTER XI. + +JOSEPH BRAMAH. + + The inventive faculty + Joseph Bramah's early life + His amateur work + Apprenticed to a carpenter + Starts as cabinet-maker in London + Takes out a patent for his water-closet + Makes pumps and ironwork + Invention of his lock + Invents tools required in lock-making + Invents his hydrostatic machine + His hydraulic press + The leathern collar invented by Henry Maudslay + Bramah's other inventions + His fire-engine + His beer-pump + Improvements in the steam-engine + His improvements in machine-tools + His number-printing machine + His pen-cutter + His hydraulic machinery + Practises as civil engineer + Altercation with William Huntington, "S.S." + Bramah's character and death + + +CHAPTER XII. + +HENRY MAUDSLAY. + + The Maudslays + Henry Maudslay + Employed as powder-boy in Woolwich Arsenal + Advanced to the blacksmiths' shop + His early dexterity in smith-work + His "trivet" making + Employed by Bramah + Proves himself a first-class workman + Advanced to be foreman of the works + His inventions of tools required for lock-making + His invention of the leathern collar in the hydraulic press + Leaves Bramah's service and begins business for himself + His first smithy in Wells Street + His first job + Invention of the slide-lathe + Resume of the history of the turning-lathe + Imperfection of tools about the middle of last century + The hand-lathe + Great advantages of the slide rest + First extensively used in constructing Brunel's Block Machinery + Memoir of Brunel + Manufacture of ships' blocks + Sir S. Bentham's specifications + Introduction of Brunel to Maudslay + The block-machinery made, and its success + Increased operations of the firm + Improvements in the steam-engine + Invention of the punching-machine + Further improvements in the slide-lathe + Screw-cutting machine + Maudslay a dexterous and thoughtful workman + His character described by his pupil, James Nasmyth + Anecdotes and traits + Maudslay's works a first-class school for workmen + His mode of estimating character + His death + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +JOSEPH CLEMENT. + + Skill in contrivance a matter of education + Birth and parentage of Joseph Clement + Apprenticed to the trade of a slater + His skill in amateur work + Makes a turning-lathe + Gives up slating, and becomes a mechanic + Employed at Kirby Stephen in making power-looms + Removes to Carlisle + Glasgow + Peter Nicholson teaches him drawing + Removes to Aberdeen + Works as a mechanic and attends College + London + Employed by Alexander Galloway + Employed by Bramah + Advanced to be foreman + Draughtsman at Maudslay and Field's + Begins business on his own account + His skill as a mechanical draughtsman + Invents his drawing instrument + His drawing-table + His improvements in the self-acting lathe + His double-driving centre-chuck and two-armed driver + His fluted taps and dies + Invention of his Planing Machine + Employed to make Babbage's Calculating Machine + Resume of the history of apparatus for making calculations + Babbage's engine proceeded with + Its great cost + Interruption of the work + Clement's steam-whistles + Makes an organ + Character and death + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +FOX OF DERBY--MURRAY OF LEEDS--ROBERTS AND WHITWORTH OF MANCHESTER. + + The first Fox of Derby originally a butler + His genius for mechanics + Begins business as a machinist + Invents a Planing Machine + Matthew Murray's Planing Machine + Murray's early career + Employed as a blacksmith by Marshall of Leeds + His improvements of flax-machinery + Improvements in steam-engines + Makes the first working locomotive for Mr. Blenkinsop + Invents the Heckling Machine + His improvements in tools + Richard Roberts of Manchester + First a quarryman, next a pattern-maker + Drawn for the militia, and flies + His travels + His first employment at Manchester + Goes to London, and works at Maudslay's + Roberts's numerous inventions + Invents a planing machine + The self-acting mule + Iron billiard-tables + Improvements in the locomotive + Invents the Jacquard punching machine + Makes turret-clocks and electro-magnets + Improvement in screw-steamships + Mr. Whitworth's improvement of the planing machine + His method of securing true surfaces + His great mechanical skill + + +CHAPTER XV. + +JAMES NASMYTH. + + Traditional origin of the Naesmyths + Alexander Nasmyth the painter, and his family + Early years of James Nasmyth + The story of his life told by himself + Becomes a pupil of Henry Maudslay + How he lived and worked in London + Begins business at Manchester + Story of the invention of the Steam Hammer + The important uses of the Hammer in modern engineering + Invents the steam pile-driving machine + Designs a new form of steam-engine + Other inventions + How he "Scotched" a strike + Uses of strikes + Retirement from business + Skill as a draughtsman + Curious speculations on antiquarian subjects + Mr. Nasmyth's wonderful discoveries in Astronomy + described by Sir John Herschel + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +WILLIAM FAIRBAIRN. + + Summary of progress in machine-tools + William Fairbairn's early years + His education + Life in the Highlands + Begins work at Kelso Bridge + An apprentice at Percy Main Colliery, North Shields + Diligent self-culture + Voyage to London + Adventures + Prevented obtaining work by the Millwrights' Union + Travels into the country, finds work, and returns to London + His first order, to make a sausage-chopping machine + Wanderschaft + Makes nail-machinery for a Dublin employer + Proceeds to Manchester, where he settles and marries + Begins business + His first job + Partnership with Mr. Lillie + Employed by Messrs. Adam Murray and Co. + Employed by Messrs. MacConnel and Kennedy + Progress of the Cotton Trade + Memoir of John Kennedy + Mr. Fairbairn introduces great improvements in the gearing, &c. + of mill machinery + Increasing business Improvements in water-wheels + Experiments as to the law of traction of boats + Begins building iron ships + Experiments on the strength of wrought iron + Britannia and Conway Tubular Bridges + Reports on iron + On boiler explosions + Iron construction + Extended use of iron + Its importance in civilization + Opinion of Mr. Cobden + Importance of modern machine-tools + Conclusion + + + + +INDUSTRIAL BIOGRAPHY. + + +CHAPTER I. + +IRON AND CIVILIZATION. + +"Iron is not only the soul of every other manufacture, but the main +spring perhaps of civilized society."--FRANCIS HORNER. + +"Were the use of iron lost among us, we should in a few ages be +unavoidably reduced to the wants and ignorance of the ancient savage +Americans; so that he who first made known the use of that contemptible +mineral may be truly styled the father of Arts and the author of +Plenty."--JOHN LOCKE. + + +When Captain Cook and the early navigators first sailed into the South +Seas on their voyages of discovery, one of the things that struck them +with most surprise was the avidity which the natives displayed for +iron. "Nothing would go down with our visitors," says Cook, "but +metal; and iron was their beloved article." A nail would buy a +good-sized pig; and on one occasion the navigator bought some four +hundred pounds weight of fish for a few wretched knives improvised out +of an old hoop. + +"For iron tools," says Captain Carteret, "we might have purchased +everything upon the Freewill Islands that we could have brought away. +A few pieces of old iron hoop presented to one of the natives threw him +into an ecstasy little short of distraction." At Otaheite the people +were found generally well-behaved and honest; but they were not proof +against the fascinations of iron. Captain Cook says that one of them, +after resisting all other temptations, "was at length ensnared by the +charms of basket of nails." Another lurked about for several days, +watching the opportunity to steal a coal-rake. + +The navigators found they could pay their way from island to island +merely with scraps of iron, which were as useful for the purpose as +gold coins would have been in Europe. The drain, however, being +continuous, Captain Cook became alarmed at finding his currency almost +exhausted; and he relates his joy on recovering an old anchor which the +French Captain Bougainville had lost at Bolabola, on which he felt as +an English banker would do after a severe run upon him for gold, when +suddenly placed in possession of a fresh store of bullion. + +The avidity for iron displayed by these poor islanders will not be +wondered at when we consider that whoever among them was so fortunate +as to obtain possession of an old nail, immediately became a man of +greater power than his fellows, and assumed the rank of a capitalist. +"An Otaheitan chief," says Cook, "who had got two nails in his +possession, received no small emolument by letting out the use of them +to his neighbours for the purpose of boring holes when their own +methods failed, or were thought too tedious." + +The native methods referred to by Cook were of a very clumsy sort; the +principal tools of the Otaheitans being of wood, stone, and flint. +Their adzes and axes were of stone. The gouge most commonly used by +them was made out of the bone of the human forearm. Their substitute +for a knife was a shell, or a bit of flint or jasper. A shark's tooth, +fixed to a piece of wood, served for an auger; a piece of coral for a +file; and the skin of a sting-ray for a polisher. Their saw was made +of jagged fishes' teeth fixed on the convex edge of a piece of hard +wood. Their weapons were of a similarly rude description; their clubs +and axes were headed with stone, and their lances and arrows were +tipped with flint. Fire was another agency employed by them, usually +in boat-building. Thus, the New Zealanders, whose tools were also of +stone, wood, or bone, made their boats of the trunks of trees hollowed +out by fire. + +The stone implements were fashioned, Captain Cook says, by rubbing one +stone upon another until brought to the required shape; but, after all, +they were found very inefficient for their purpose. They soon became +blunted and useless; and the laborious process of making new tools had +to be begun again. The delight of the islanders at being put in +possession of a material which was capable of taking a comparatively +sharp edge and keeping it, may therefore readily be imagined; and hence +the remarkable incidents to which we have referred in the experience of +the early voyagers. In the minds of the natives, iron became the +representative of power, efficiency, and wealth; and they were ready +almost to fall down and worship their new tools, esteeming the axe as a +deity, offering sacrifices to the saw, and holding the knife in +especial veneration. + +In the infancy of all nations the same difficulties must have been +experienced for want of tools, before the arts of smelting and working +in metals had become known; and it is not improbable that the +Phoenician navigators who first frequented our coasts found the same +avidity for bronze and iron existing among the poor woad-stained +Britons who flocked down to the shore to see their ships and exchange +food and skins with them, that Captain Cook discovered more than two +thousand years later among the natives of Otaheite and New Zealand. +For, the tools and weapons found in ancient burying-places in all parts +of Britain clearly show that these islands also have passed through the +epoch of stone and flint. + +There was recently exhibited at the Crystal Palace a collection of +ancient European weapons and implements placed alongside a similar +collection of articles brought from the South Seas; and they were in +most respects so much alike that it was difficult to believe that they +did not belong to the same race and period, instead of being the +implements of races sundered by half the globe, and living at periods +more than two thousand years apart. Nearly every weapon in the one +collection had its counterpart in the other,--the mauls or celts of +stone, the spearheads of flint or jasper, the arrowheads of flint or +bone, and the saws of jagged stone, showing how human ingenuity, under +like circumstances, had resorted to like expedients. It would also +appear that the ancient tribes in these islands, like the New +Zealanders, used fire to hollow out their larger boats; several +specimens of this kind of vessel having recently been dug up in the +valleys of the Witham and the Clyde, some of the latter from under the +very streets of modern Glasgow.[1] Their smaller boats, or coracles, +were made of osiers interwoven, covered with hides, and rigged with +leathern sails and thong tackle. + +It will readily be imagined that anything like civilization, as at +present understood, must have been next to impossible under such +circumstances. "Miserable indeed," says Carlyle, "was the condition of +the aboriginal savage, glaring fiercely from under his fleece of hair, +which with the beard reached down to his loins, and hung round them +like a matted cloak; the rest of his body sheeted in its thick natural +fell. He loitered in the sunny glades of the forest, living on wild +fruits; or, as the ancient Caledonians, squatted himself in morasses, +lurking for his bestial or human prey; without implements, without +arms, save the ball of heavy flint, to which, that his sole possession +and defence might not be lost, he had attached a long cord of plaited +thongs; thereby recovering as well as hurling it with deadly, unerring +skill." + +The injunction given to man to "replenish the earth and subdue it" +could not possibly be fulfilled with implements of stone. To fell a +tree with a flint hatchet would occupy the labour of a month, and to +clear a small patch of ground for purposes of culture would require the +combined efforts of a tribe. For the same reason, dwellings could not +be erected; and without dwellings domestic tranquillity, security, +culture, and refinement, especially in a rude climate, were all but +impossible. Mr. Emerson well observes, that "the effect of a house is +immense on human tranquillity, power, and refinement. A man in a cave +or a camp--a nomad--dies with no more estate than the wolf or the horse +leaves. But so simple a labour as a house being achieved, his chief +enemies are kept at bay. He is safe from the teeth of wild animals, +from frost, sunstroke, and weather; and fine faculties begin to yield +their fine harvest. Inventions and arts are born, manners, and social +beauty and delight." But to build a house which should serve for +shelter, for safety, and for comfort--in a word, as a home for the +family, which is the nucleus of society--better tools than those of +stone were absolutely indispensable. + +Hence most of the early European tribes were nomadic: first hunters, +wandering about from place to place like the American Indians, after +the game; then shepherds, following the herds of animals which they had +learnt to tame, from one grazing-ground to another, living upon their +milk and flesh, and clothing themselves in their skins held together by +leathern thongs. It was only when implements of metal had been +invented that it was possible to practise the art of agriculture with +any considerable success. Then tribes would cease from their +wanderings, and begin to form settlements, homesteads, villages, and +towns. An old Scandinavian legend thus curiously illustrates this last +period:--There was a giantess whose daughter one day saw a husbandman +ploughing in the field. She ran and picked him up with her finger and +thumb, put him and his plough and oxen into her apron, and carried them +to her mother, saying, "Mother, what sort of beetle is this that I have +found wriggling in the sand?" But the mother said, "Put it away, my +child; we must begone out of this land, for these people will dwell in +it." + +M. Worsaae of Copenhagen, who has been followed by other antiquaries, +has even gone so far as to divide the natural history of civilization +into three epochs, according to the character of the tools used in +each. The first was the Stone period, in which the implements chiefly +used were sticks, bones, stones, and flints. The next was the Bronze +period, distinguished by the introduction and general use of a metal +composed of copper and tin, requiring a comparatively low degree of +temperature to smelt it, and render it capable of being fashioned into +weapons, tools, and implements; to make which, however, indicated a +great advance in experience, sagacity, and skill in the manipulation of +metals. With tools of bronze, to which considerable hardness could be +given, trees were felled, stones hewn, houses and ships built, and +agriculture practised with comparative facility. Last of all came the +Iron period, when the art of smelting and working that most difficult +but widely diffused of the minerals was discovered; from which point +the progress made in all the arts of life has been of the most +remarkable character. + +Although Mr. Wright rejects this classification as empirical, because +the periods are not capable of being clearly defined, and all the three +kinds of implements are found to have been in use at or about the same +time,[2] there is, nevertheless, reason to believe that it is, on the +whole, well founded. It is doubtless true that implements of stone +continued in use long after those of bronze and iron had been invented, +arising most probably from the dearness and scarcity of articles of +metal; but when the art of smelting and working in iron and steel had +sufficiently advanced, the use of stone, and afterwards of bronze tools +and weapons, altogether ceased. + +The views of M. Worsaae, and the other Continental antiquarians who +follow his classification, have indeed received remarkable confirmation +of late years, by the discoveries which have been made in the beds of +most of the Swiss lakes.[3] It appears that a subsidence took place in +the waters of the Lake of Zurich in the year 1854, laying bare +considerable portions of its bed. The adjoining proprietors proceeded +to enclose the new land, and began by erecting permanent dykes to +prevent the return of the waters. While carrying on the works, several +rows of stakes were exposed; and on digging down, the labourers turned +up a number of pieces of charred wood, stones blackened by fire, +utensils, bones, and other articles, showing that at some remote +period, a number of human beings had lived over the spot, in dwellings +supported by stakes driven into the bed of the lake. + +The discovery having attracted attention, explorations were made at +other places, and it was shortly found that there was scarcely a lake +in Switzerland which did not yield similar evidence of the existence of +an ancient Lacustrine or Lake-dwelling population. Numbers of their +tools and implements were brought to light--stone axes and saws, flint +arrowheads, bone needles, and such like--mixed with the bones of wild +animals slain in the chase; pieces of old boats, portions of twisted +branches, bark, and rough planking, of which their dwellings had been +formed, the latter still bearing the marks of the rude tools by which +they had been laboriously cut. In the most ancient, or lowest series +of deposits, no traces of metal, either of bronze or iron, were +discovered; and it is most probable that these lake-dwellers lived in +as primitive a state as the South Sea islanders discovered by Captain +Cook, and that the huts over the water in which they lived resembled +those found in Papua and Borneo, and the islands of the Salomon group, +to this day. + +These aboriginal Swiss lake-dwellers seem to have been succeeded by a +race of men using tools, implements, and ornaments of bronze. In some +places the remains of this bronze period directly overlay those of the +stone period, showing the latter to have been the most ancient; but in +others, the village sites are altogether distinct. The articles with +which the metal implements are intermixed, show that considerable +progress had been made in the useful arts. The potter's wheel had been +introduced. Agriculture had begun, and wild animals had given place to +tame ones. The abundance of bronze also shows that commerce must have +existed to a certain extent; for tin, which enters into its +composition, is a comparatively rare metal, and must necessarily have +been imported from other European countries. + +The Swiss antiquarians are of opinion that the men of bronze suddenly +invaded and extirpated the men of flint; and that at some still later +period, another stronger and more skilful race, supposed to have been +Celts from Gaul, came armed with iron weapons, to whom the men of +bronze succumbed, or with whom, more probably, they gradually +intermingled. When iron, or rather steel, came into use, its +superiority in affording a cutting edge was so decisive that it seems +to have supplanted bronze almost at once;[4] the latter metal +continuing to be employed only for the purpose of making scabbards or +sword-handles. Shortly after the commencement of the iron age, the +lake-habitations were abandoned, the only settlement of this later +epoch yet discovered being that at Tene, on Lake Neufchatel: and it is +a remarkable circumstance, showing the great antiquity of the +lake-dwellings, that they are not mentioned by any of the Roman +historians. + +That iron should have been one of the last of the metals to come into +general use, is partly accounted for by the circumstance that iron, +though one of the most generally diffused of minerals, never presents +itself in a natural state, except in meteorites; and that to recognise +its ores, and then to separate the metal from its matrix, demands the +exercise of no small amount of observation and invention. Persons +unacquainted with minerals would be unable to discover the slightest +affinity between the rough ironstone as brought up from the mine, and +the iron or steel of commerce. To unpractised eyes they would seem to +possess no properties in common, and it is only after subjecting the +stone to severe processes of manufacture that usable metal can be +obtained from it. The effectual reduction of the ore requires an +intense heat, maintained by artificial methods, such as furnaces and +blowing apparatus.[5] But it is principally in combination with other +elements that iron is so valuable when compared with other metals. +Thus, when combined with carbon, in varying proportions, substances are +produced, so different, but each so valuable, that they might almost be +regarded in the light of distinct metals,--such, for example, as +cast-iron, and cast and bar steel; the various qualities of iron +enabling it to be used for purposes so opposite as a steel pen and a +railroad, the needle of a mariner's compass and an Armstrong gun, a +surgeon's lancet and a steam engine, the mainspring of a watch and an +iron ship, a pair of scissors and a Nasmyth hammer, a lady's earrings +and a tubular bridge. + +The variety of purposes to which iron is thus capable of being applied, +renders it of more use to mankind than all the other metals combined. +Unlike iron, gold is found pure, and in an almost workable state; and +at an early period in history, it seems to have been much more +plentiful than iron or steel. But gold was unsuited for the purposes +of tools, and would serve for neither a saw, a chisel, an axe, nor a +sword; whilst tempered steel could answer all these purposes. Hence we +find the early warlike nations making the backs of their swords of gold +or copper, and economizing their steel to form the cutting edge. This +is illustrated by many ancient Scandinavian weapons in the museum at +Copenhagen, which indicate the greatest parsimony in the use of steel +at a period when both gold and copper appear to have been comparatively +abundant. + +The knowledge of smelting and working in iron, like most other arts, +came from the East. Iron was especially valued for purposes of war, of +which indeed it was regarded as the symbol, being called "Mars" by the +Romans.[6] We find frequent mention of it in the Bible. One of the +earliest notices of the metal is in connexion with the conquest of +Judea by the Philistines. To complete the subjection of the +Israelites, their conquerors made captive all the smiths of the land, +and carried them away. The Philistines felt that their hold of the +country was insecure so long as the inhabitants possessed the means of +forging weapons. Hence "there was no smith found throughout all the +land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them +swords or spears. But the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to +sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his +mattock." [7] + +At a later period, when Jerusalem was taken by the Babylonians, one of +their first acts was to carry the smiths and other craftsmen captives +to Babylon.[8] Deprived of their armourers, the Jews were rendered +comparatively powerless. + +It was the knowledge of the art of iron-forging which laid the +foundation of the once great empire of the Turks. Gibbon relates that +these people were originally the despised slaves of the powerful Khan +of the Geougen. They occupied certain districts of the mountain-ridge +in the centre of Asia, called Imaus, Caf, and Altai, which yielded iron +in large quantities. This metal the Turks were employed by the Khan to +forge for his use in war. A bold leader arose among them, who +persuaded the ironworkers that the arms which they forged for their +masters might in their own hands become the instruments of freedom. +Sallying forth from their mountains, they set up their standard, and +their weapons soon freed them. For centuries after, the Turkish nation +continued to celebrate the event of their liberation by an annual +ceremony, in which a piece of iron was heated in the fire, and a +smith's hammer was successively handled by the prince and his nobles. + +We can only conjecture how the art of smelting iron was discovered. +Who first applied fire to the ore, and made it plastic; who discovered +fire itself, and its uses in metallurgy? No one can tell. Tradition +says that the metal was discovered through the accidental burning of a +wood in Greece. Mr. Mushet thinks it more probable that the discovery +was made on the conversion of wood into charcoal for culinary or +chamber purposes. "If a mass of ore," he says, "accidentally dropped +into the middle of the burning pile during a period of neglect, or +during the existence of a thorough draught, a mixed mass, partly earthy +and partly metallic, would be obtained, possessing ductility and +extension under pressure. But if the conjecture is pushed still +further, and we suppose that the ore was not an oxide, but rich in +iron, magnetic or spicular, the result would in all probability be a +mass of perfectly malleable iron. I have seen this fact illustrated in +the roasting of a species of iron-stone, which was united with a +considerable mass of bituminous matter. After a high temperature had +been excited in the interior of the pile, plates of malleable iron of a +tough and flexible nature were formed, and under circumstances where +there was no fuel but that furnished by the ore itself." [9] + +The metal once discovered, many attempts would be made to give to that +which had been the effect of accident a more unerring result. The +smelting of ore in an open heap of wood or charcoal being found tedious +and wasteful, as well as uncertain, would naturally lead to the +invention of a furnace; with the object of keeping the ore surrounded +as much as possible with fuel while the process of conversion into iron +was going forward. The low conical furnaces employed at this day by +some of the tribes of Central and Southern Africa, are perhaps very +much the same in character as those adopted by the early tribes of all +countries where iron was first made. Small openings at the lower end +of the cone to admit the air, and a larger orifice at the top, would, +with charcoal, be sufficient to produce the requisite degree of heat +for the reduction of the ore. To this the foot-blast was added, as +still used in Ceylon and in India; and afterwards the water-blast, as +employed in Spain (where it is known as the Catalan forge), along the +coasts of the Mediterranean, and in some parts of America. + +It is worthy of remark, that the ruder the method employed for the +reduction of the ore, the better the quality of the iron usually is. +Where the art is little advanced, only the most tractable ores are +selected; and as charcoal is the only fuel used, the quality of the +metal is almost invariably excellent. The ore being long exposed to +the charcoal fire, and the quantity made small, the result is a metal +having many of the qualities of steel, capable of being used for +weapons or tools after a comparatively small amount of forging. Dr. +Livingstone speaks of the excellent quality of the iron made by the +African tribes on the Zambesi, who refuse to use ordinary English iron, +which they consider "rotten." [10] Du Chaillu also says of the Fans, +that, in making their best knives and arrow-heads, they will not use +European or American iron, greatly preferring their own. The +celebrated wootz or steel of India, made in little cakes of only about +two pounds weight, possesses qualities which no European steel can +surpass. Out of this material the famous Damascus sword-blades were +made; and its use for so long a period is perhaps one of the most +striking proofs of the ancient civilization of India. + +The early history of iron in Britain is necessarily very obscure. When +the Romans invaded the country, the metal seems to have been already +known to the tribes along the coast. The natives had probably smelted +it themselves in their rude bloomeries, or obtained it from the +Phoenicians in small quantities in exchange for skins and food, or tin. +We must, however, regard the stories told of the ancient British +chariots armed with swords or scythes as altogether apocryphal. The +existence of iron in sufficient quantity to be used for such a purpose +is incompatible with contemporary facts, and unsupported by a single +vestige remaining to our time. The country was then mostly forest, and +the roads did not as yet exist upon which chariots could be used; +whilst iron was too scarce to be mounted as scythes upon chariots, when +the warriors themselves wanted it for swords. The orator Cicero, in a +letter to Trebatius, then serving with the army in Britain, +sarcastically advised him to capture and convey one of these vehicles +to Italy for exhibition; but we do not hear that any specimen of the +British war-chariot was ever seen in Rome. + +It is only in the tumuli along the coast, or in those of the +Romano-British period, that iron implements are ever found; whilst in +the ancient burying places of the interior of the country they are +altogether wanting. Herodian says of the British pursued by Severus +through the fens and marshes of the east coast, that they wore iron +hoops round their middles and their necks, esteeming them as ornaments +and tokens of riches, in like manner as other barbarous people then +esteemed ornaments of silver and gold. Their only money, according to +Caesar, consisted of pieces of brass or iron, reduced to a certain +standard weight.[11] It is particularly important to observe, says M. +Worsaae, that all the antiquities which have hitherto been found in the +large burying places of the Iron period, in Switzerland, Bavaria, +Baden, France, England, and the North, exhibit traces more or less of +Roman influence.[12] The Romans themselves used weapons of bronze when +they could not obtain iron in sufficient quantity, and many of the +Roman weapons dug out of the ancient tumuli are of that metal. They +possessed the art of tempering and hardening bronze to such a degree as +to enable them to manufacture swords with it of a pretty good edge; and +in those countries which they penetrated, their bronze implements +gradually supplanted those which had been previously fashioned of +stone. Great quantities of bronze tools have been found in different +parts of England,--sometimes in heaps, as if they had been thrown away +in basketfuls as things of little value. It has been conjectured that +when the Romans came into Britain they found the inhabitants, +especially those to the northward, in very nearly the same state as +Captain Cook and other voyagers found the inhabitants of the South Sea +Islands; that the Britons parted with their food and valuables for +tools of inferior metal made in imitation of their stone ones; but +finding themselves cheated by the Romans, as the natives of Otaheite +have been cheated by Europeans, the Britons relinquished the bad tools +when they became acquainted with articles made of better metal.[13] +The Roman colonists were the first makers of iron in Britain on any +large scale. They availed themselves of the mineral riches of the +country wherever they went. Every year brings their extraordinary +industrial activity more clearly to light. They not only occupied the +best sites for trade, intersected the land with a complete system of +well-constructed roads, studded our hills and valleys with towns, +villages, and pleasure-houses, and availed themselves of our medicinal +springs for purposes of baths to an extent not even exceeded at this +day, but they explored our mines and quarries, and carried on the +smelting and manufacture of metals in nearly all parts of the island. +The heaps of mining refuse left by them in the valleys and along the +hill-sides of North Derbyshire are still spoken of by the country +people as "old man," or the "old man's work." Year by year, from +Dartmoor to the Moray Firth, the plough turns up fresh traces of their +indefatigable industry and enterprise, in pigs of lead, implements of +iron and bronze, vessels of pottery, coins, and sculpture; and it is a +remarkable circumstance that in several districts where the existence +of extensive iron beds had not been dreamt of until within the last +twenty years, as in Northamptonshire and North Yorkshire, the remains +of ancient workings recently discovered show that the Roman colonists +were fully acquainted with them. + +But the principal iron mines worked by that people were those which +were most conveniently situated for purposes of exportation, more +especially in the southern counties and on the borders of Wales. The +extensive cinder heaps found in the--Forest of Dean--which formed the +readiest resource of the modern iron-smelter when improved processes +enabled him to reduce them--show that their principal iron manufactures +were carried on in that quarter.[14] It is indeed matter of history, +that about seventeen hundred years since (A.D. 120) the Romans had +forges in the West of England, both in the Forest of Dean and in South +Wales; and that they sent the metal from thence to Bristol, where it +was forged and made into weapons for the use of the troops. Along the +banks of the Wye, the ground is in many places a continuous bed of iron +cinders, in which numerous remains have been found, furnishing +unmistakeable proofs of the Roman furnaces. At the same time, the iron +ores of Sussex were extensively worked, as appears from the cinder +heaps found at Maresfield and several places in that county, intermixed +with Roman pottery, coins, and other remains. In a bed of scoriae +several acres in extent, at Old Land Farm in Maresfield, the Rev. Mr. +Turner found the remains of Roman pottery so numerous that scarcely a +barrow-load of cinders was removed that did not contain several +fragments, together with coins of the reigns of Nero, Vespasian, and +Dioclesian.[15] In the turbulent infancy of nations it is to be +expected that we should hear more of the Smith, or worker in iron, in +connexion with war, than with more peaceful pursuits. Although he was +a nail-maker and a horse-shoer--made axes, chisels, saws, and hammers +for the artificer--spades and hoes for the farmer--bolts and fastenings +for the lord's castle-gates, and chains for his draw-bridge--it was +principally because of his skill in armour-work that he was esteemed. +He made and mended the weapons used in the chase and in war--the +gavelocs, bills, and battle-axes; he tipped the bowmen's arrows, and +furnished spear-heads for the men-at-arms; but, above all, he forged +the mail-coats and cuirasses of the chiefs, and welded their swords, on +the temper and quality of which, life, honour, and victory in battle +depended. Hence the great estimation in which the smith was held in +the Anglo-Saxon times. His person was protected by a double penalty. +He was treated as an officer of the highest rank, and awarded the first +place in precedency. After him ranked the maker of mead, and then the +physician. In the royal court of Wales he sat in the great hall with +the king and queen, next to the domestic chaplain; and even at that +early day there seems to have been a hot spark in the smith's throat +which needed much quenching; for he was "entitled to a draught of every +kind of liquor that was brought into the hall." + +The smith was thus a mighty man. The Saxon Chronicle describes the +valiant knight himself as a "mighty war-smith." But the smith was +greatest of all in his forging of swords; and the bards were wont to +sing the praises of the knight's "good sword" and of the smith who made +it, as well as of the knight himself who wielded it in battle. The +most extraordinary powers were attributed to the weapon of steel when +first invented. Its sharpness seemed so marvellous when compared with +one of bronze, that with the vulgar nothing but magic could account for +it. Traditions, enshrined in fairy tales, still survive in most +countries, illustrative of its magical properties. The weapon of +bronze was dull; but that of steel was bright--the "white sword of +light," one touch of which broke spells, liberated enchanted +princesses, and froze giants' marrow. King Arthur's magic sword +"Excalibur" was regarded as almost heroic in the romance of +chivalry.[16] So were the swords "Galatin" of Sir Gawain, and +"Joyeuse" of Charlemagne, both of which were reputed to be the work of +Weland the Smith, about whose name clusters so much traditional glory +as an ancient worker in metals.[17] The heroes of the Northmen in like +manner wielded magic swords. Olave the Norwegian possessed the sword +"Macabuin," forged by the dark smith of Drontheim, whose feats are +recorded in the tales of the Scalds. And so, in like manner, +traditions of the supernatural power of the blacksmith are found +existing to this day all over the Scottish Highlands.[18] When William +the Norman invaded Britain, he was well supplied with smiths. His +followers were clad in armour of steel, and furnished with the best +weapons of the time. Indeed, their superiority in this respect is +supposed to have been the principal cause of William's victory over +Harold; for the men of both armies were equal in point of bravery. The +Normans had not only smiths to attend to the arms of the knights, but +farriers to shoe their horses. Henry de Femariis, or Ferrers, +"prefectus fabrorum," was one of the principal officers entrusted with +the supervision of the Conqueror's ferriery department; and long after +the earldom was founded his descendants continued to bear on their coat +of arms the six horse-shoes indicative of their origin.[19] William +also gave the town of Northampton, with the hundred of Fackley, as a +fief to Simon St. Liz, in consideration of his providing shoes for his +horses.[20] But though the practice of horse-shoeing is said to have +been introduced to this country at the time of the Conquest, it is +probably of an earlier date; as, according to Dugdale, an old Saxon +tenant in capite of Welbeck in Nottinghamshire, named Gamelbere, held +two carucates of land by the service of shoeing the king's palfrey on +all four feet with the king's nails, as oft as the king should lie at +the neighbouring manor of Mansfield. + +Although we hear of the smith mostly in connexion with the fabrication +of instruments of war in the Middle Ages, his importance was no less +recognized in the ordinary affairs of rural and industrial life. He +was, as it were, the rivet that held society together. Nothing could +be done without him. Wherever tools or implements were wanted for +building, for trade, or for husbandry, his skill was called into +requisition. In remote places he was often the sole mechanic of his +district; and, besides being a tool-maker, a farrier, and agricultural +implement maker, he doctored cattle, drew teeth, practised phlebotomy, +and sometimes officiated as parish clerk and general newsmonger; for +the smithy was the very eye and tongue of the village. Hence +Shakespeare's picture of the smith in King John: + + "I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus, + The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool, + With open mouth swallowing a tailor's news." + +The smith's tools were of many sorts; but the chief were his hammer, +pincers, chisel, tongs, and anvil. It is astonishing what a variety of +articles he turned out of his smithy by the help of these rude +implements. In the tooling, chasing, and consummate knowledge of the +capabilities of iron, he greatly surpassed the modern workman; for the +mediaeval blacksmith was an artist as well as a workman. The numerous +exquisite specimens of his handicraft which exist in our old gateways, +church doors, altar railings, and ornamented dogs and andirons, still +serve as types for continual reproduction. He was, indeed, the most +"cunninge workman" of his time. But besides all this, he was an +engineer. If a road had to be made, or a stream embanked, or a trench +dug, he was invariably called upon to provide the tools, and often to +direct the work. He was also the military engineer of his day, and as +late as the reign of Edward III. we find the king repeatedly sending +for smiths from the Forest of Dean to act as engineers for the royal +army at the siege of Berwick. + +The smith being thus the earliest and most important of mechanics, it +will readily be understood how, at the time when surnames were adopted, +his name should have been so common in all European countries. + + "From whence came Smith, all be he knight or squire, + But from the smith that forgeth in the fire?" [21] + +Hence the multitudinous family of Smiths in England, in some cases +vainly disguised under the "Smythe" or "De Smijthe;" in Germany, the +Schmidts; in Italy, the Fabri, Fabricii, or Fabbroni; in France, the Le +Febres or Lefevres; in Scotland, the Gows, Gowans, or Cowans. We have +also among us the Brownsmiths, or makers of brown bills; the Nasmyths, +or nailsmiths; the Arrowsmiths, or makers of arrowheads; the +Spearsmiths, or spear makers; the Shoosmiths, or horse shoers; the +Goldsmiths, or workers in gold; and many more. The Smith proper was, +however, the worker in iron--the maker of iron tools, implements, and +arms--and hence this name exceeds in number that of all the others +combined. + +In course of time the smiths of particular districts began to +distinguish themselves for their excellence in particular branches of +iron-work. From being merely the retainer of some lordly or religious +establishment, the smith worked to supply the general demand, and +gradually became a manufacturer. Thus the makers of swords, tools, +bits, and nails, congregated at Birmingham; and the makers of knives +and arrowheads at Sheffield. Chaucer speaks of the Miller of +Trompington as provided with a Sheffield whittle:-- + + "A Shefeld thwytel bare he in his hose." [22] + + +The common English arrowheads manufactured at Sheffield were long +celebrated for their excellent temper, as Sheffield iron and steel +plates are now. The battle of Hamildon, fought in Scotland in 1402, +was won mainly through their excellence. The historian records that +they penetrated the armour of the Earl of Douglas, which had been three +years in making; and they were "so sharp and strong that no armour +could repel them." The same arrowheads were found equally efficient +against French armour on the fields of Crecy and Agincourt. + +Although Scotland is now one of the principal sources from which our +supplies of iron are drawn, it was in ancient times greatly distressed +for want of the metal. The people were as yet too little skilled to be +able to turn their great mineral wealth to account. Even in the time +of Wallace, they had scarcely emerged from the Stone period, and were +under the necessity of resisting their iron-armed English adversaries +by means of rude weapons of that material. To supply themselves with +swords and spearheads, they imported steel from Flanders, and the rest +they obtained by marauding incursions into England. The district of +Furness in Lancashire--then as now an iron-producing district--was +frequently ravaged with that object; and on such occasions the Scotch +seized and carried off all the manufactured iron they could find, +preferring it, though so heavy, to every other kind of plunder.[23] +About the same period, however, iron must have been regarded as almost +a precious metal even in England itself; for we find that in Edward the +Third's reign, the pots, spits, and frying-pans of the royal kitchen +were classed among his Majesty's jewels.[24] + +The same famine of iron prevailed to a still greater extent in the +Highlands, where it was even more valued, as the clans lived chiefly by +hunting, and were in an almost constant state of feud. Hence the smith +was a man of indispensable importance among the Highlanders, and the +possession of a skilful armourer was greatly valued by the chiefs. The +story is told of some delinquency having been committed by a Highland +smith, on whom justice must be done; but as the chief could not +dispense with the smith, he generously offered to hang two weavers in +his stead! + +At length a great armourer arose in the Highlands, who was able to +forge armour that would resist the best Sheffield arrow-heads, and to +make swords that would vie with the best weapons of Toledo and Milan. +This was the famous Andrea de Ferrara, whose swords still maintain +their ancient reputation. This workman is supposed to have learnt his +art in the Italian city after which he was called, and returned to +practise it in secrecy among the Highland hills. Before him, no man in +Great Britain is said to have known how to temper a sword in such a way +as to bend so that the point should touch the hilt and spring back +uninjured. The swords of Andrea de Ferrara did this, and were +accordingly in great request; for it was of every importance to the +warrior that his weapon should be strong and sharp without being +unwieldy, and that it should not be liable to snap in the act of +combat. This celebrated smith, whose personal identity[25] has become +merged in the Andrea de Ferrara swords of his manufacture, pursued his +craft in the Highlands, where he employed a number of skilled workmen +in forging weapons, devoting his own time principally to giving them +their required temper. He is said to have worked in a dark cellar, the +better to enable him to perceive the effect of the heat upon the metal, +and to watch the nicety of the operation of tempering, as well as +possibly to serve as a screen to his secret method of working.[26] +Long after Andrea de Ferrara's time, the Scotch swords were famous for +their temper; Judge Marshal Fatten, who accompanied the Protector's +expedition into Scotland in 1547, observing that "the Scots came with +swords all broad and thin, of exceeding good temper, and universally so +made to slice that I never saw none so good, so I think it hard to +devise a better." The quality of the steel used for weapons of war was +indeed of no less importance for the effectual defence of a country +then than it is now. The courage of the attacking and defending forces +being equal, the victory would necessarily rest with the party in +possession of the best weapons. + +England herself has on more than one occasion been supposed to be in +serious peril because of the decay of her iron manufactures. Before +the Spanish Armada, the production of iron had been greatly discouraged +because of the destruction of timber in the smelting of the ore--the +art of reducing it with pit coal not having yet been invented; and we +were consequently mainly dependent upon foreign countries for our +supplies of the material out of which arms were made. The best iron +came from Spain itself, then the most powerful nation in Europe, and as +celebrated for the excellence of its weapons as for the discipline and +valour of its troops. The Spaniards prided themselves upon the +superiority of their iron, and regarded its scarcity in England as an +important element in their calculations of the conquest of the country +by their famous Armada. "I have heard," says Harrison, "that when one +of the greatest peers of Spain espied our nakedness in this behalf, and +did solemnly utter in no obscure place, that it would be an easy matter +in short time to conquer England because it wanted armour, his words +were not so rashly uttered as politely noted." The vigour of Queen +Elizabeth promptly supplied a remedy by the large importations of iron +which she caused to be made, principally from Sweden, as well as by the +increased activity of the forges in Sussex and the Forest of Dean; +"whereby," adds Harrison, "England obtained rest, that otherwise might +have been sure of sharp and cruel wars. Thus a Spanish word uttered by +one man at one time, overthrew, or at the leastwise hindered sundry +privy practices of many at another." [27] Nor has the subject which +occupied the earnest attention of politicians in Queen Elizabeth's time +ceased to be of interest; for, after the lapse of nearly three hundred +years, we find the smith and the iron manufacturer still uppermost in +public discussions. It has of late years been felt that our +much-prized "hearts of oak" are no more able to stand against the prows +of mail which were supposed to threaten them, than the sticks and +stones of the ancient tribes were able to resist the men armed with +weapons of bronze or steel. What Solon said to Croesus, when the +latter was displaying his great treasures of gold, still holds +true:--"If another comes that hath better iron than you, he will be +master of all that gold." So, when an alchemist waited upon the Duke +of Brunswick during the Seven Years' War, and offered to communicate +the secret of converting iron into gold, the Duke replied:--"By no +means: I want all the iron I can find to resist my enemies: as for +gold, I get it from England." Thus the strength and wealth of nations +depend upon coal and iron, not forgetting Men, far more than upon gold. + +Thanks to our Armstrongs and Whitworths, our Browns and our Smiths, the +iron defences of England, manned by our soldiers and our sailors, +furnish the assurance of continued security for our gold and our +wealth, and, what is infinitely more precious, for our industry and our +liberty. + + + +[1] "Mr. John Buchanan, a zealous antiquary, writing in 1855, informs +us that in the course of the eight years preceding that date, no less +than seventeen canoes had been dug out of this estuarine silt [of the +valley of the Clyde], and that he had personally inspected a large +number of them before they were exhumed. Five of them lay buried in +silt under the streets of Glasgow, one in a vertical position with the +prow uppermost, as if it had sunk in a storm.... Almost every one of +these ancient boats was formed out of a single oak-stem, hollowed out +by blunt tools, probably stone axes, aided by the action of fire; a few +were cut beautifully smooth, evidently with metallic tools. Hence a +gradation could be traced from a pattern of extreme rudeness to one +showing great mechanical ingenuity.... In one of the canoes a +beautifully polished celt or axe of greenstone was found; in the bottom +of another a plug of cork, which, as Mr. Geikie remarks, 'could only +have come from the latitudes of Spain, Southern France, or +Italy.'"--Sir C. LYELL, Antiquity of Man, 48-9. + +[2] THOMAS WRIGHT, F.S.A., The Celt, The Roman, and The Saxon, ed. 1861. + +[3] Referred to at length in the Antiquity of Man, by Sir C. Lyell, who +adopts M. Worsaae's classification. + +[4] Mr. Mushet, however, observes that "the general use of hardened +copper by the ancients for edge-tools and warlike instruments, does not +preclude the supposition that iron was then comparatively plentiful, +though it is probable that it was confined to the ruder arts of life. +A knowledge of the mixture of copper, tin, and zinc, seems to have been +among the first discoveries of the metallurgist. Instruments +fabricated from these alloys, recommended by the use of ages, the +perfection of the art, the splendour and polish of their surfaces, not +easily injured by time and weather, would not soon be superseded by the +invention of simple iron, inferior in edge and polish, at all times +easily injured by rust, and in the early stages of its manufacture +converted with difficulty into forms that required proportion or +elegance."--(Papers on Iron and Steel, 365-6.) By some secret method +that has been lost, perhaps because no longer needed since the +invention of steel, the ancients manufactured bronze tools capable of +taking a fine edge. In our own time, Chantrey the sculptor, in his +reverence for classic metallurgy, had a bronze razor made with which he +martyred himself in shaving; but none were found so hardy and devoted +as to follow his example. + +[5] It may be mentioned in passing, that while Zinc is fusible at 3 +degrees of Wedgwood's pyrometer, Silver at 22 degrees, Copper at 27 +degrees, and Gold at 32 degrees, Cast Iron is only fusible at 130 +degrees. Tin (one of the constituents of the ancient bronze) and Lead +are fusible at much lower degrees than zinc. + +[6] The Romans named the other metals after the gods. Thus Quicksilver +was called Mercury, Lead Saturn, Tin Jupiter, Copper Venus, Silver +Luna, and so on; and our own language has received a colouring from the +Roman nomenclature, which it continues to retain. + +[7] I. Samuel xiii. 19, 20. + +[8] II. Kings xxiv. 16. + +[9] Papers on Iron and Steel, 363-4. + +[10] Dr. Livingstone brought with him to England a piece of the Zambesi +iron, which he sent to a skilled Birmingham blacksmith to test. The +result was, that he pronounced the metal as strongly resembling Swedish +or Russian; both of which kinds are smelted with charcoal. The African +iron was found "highly carbonized," and "when chilled it possessed the +properties of steel." + +[11] HOLINSHED, i. 517. Iron was also the currency of the Spartans, +but it has been used as such in much more recent times. Adam Smith, in +his Wealth of Nations (Book I. ch. 4, published in 1776), says, "there +is at this day a village in Scotland where it is not uncommon, I am +told, for a workman to carry nails, instead of money, to the baker's +shop or the alehouse." + +[12] Primeval Antiquities of Denmark. London, 1849, p. 140. + +[13] See Dr. Pearson's paper in the Philosophical Transactions, 1796, +relative to certain ancient arms and utensils found in the river Witham +between Kirkstead and Lincoln. + +[14] "In the Forest of Dean and thereabouts the iron is made at this +day of cinders, being the rough and offal thrown by in the Roman time; +they then having only foot-blasts to melt the ironstone; but now, by +the force of a great wheel that drives a pair of Bellows twenty feet +long, all that iron is extracted out of the cinders which could not be +forced from it by the Roman foot-blast. And in the Forest of Dean and +thereabouts, and as high as Worcester, there ave great and infinite +quantities of these cinders; some in vast mounts above ground, some +under ground, which will supply the iron works some hundreds of years; +and these cinders ave they which make the prime and best iron, and with +much less charcoal than doth the ironstone."--A. YARRANTON, England's +Improvement by Sea and Land. London, 1677. + +[15] M. A. LOWER, Contributions to Literature, Historical, Antiquarian, +and Metrical. London, 1854, pp. 88-9. + +[16] This famous sword was afterwards sent by Richard I. as a present +to Tancred; and the value attached to the weapon may be estimated by +the fact that the Crusader sent the English monarch, in return for it, +"four great ships and fifteen galleys." + +[17] Weland was the Saxon Vulcan. The name of Weland's or Wayland's +Smithy is still given to a monument on Lambourn Downs in Wiltshire. +The place is also known as Wayland Smith's Cave. It consists of a rude +gallery of stones. + +[18] Among the Scythians the iron sword was a god. It was the image of +Mars, and sacrifices were made to it. "An iron sword," says Mr. +Campbell, "really was once worshipped by a people with whom iron was +rare. Iron is rare, while stone and bronze weapons are common, in +British tombs, and the sword of these stories is a personage. It +shines, it cries out--the lives of men are bound up in it. And so this +mystic sword may, perhaps, have been a god amongst the Celts, or the +god of the people with whom the Celts contended somewhere on their long +journey to the west. It is a fiction now, but it may be founded on +fact, and that fact probably was the first use of iron." To this day an +old horse-shoe is considered a potent spell in some districts against +the powers of evil; and for want of a horse-shoe a bit of a rusty +reaping-hook is supposed to have equal power, "Who were these powers of +evil who could not resist iron--these fairies who shoot STONE arrows, +and are of the foes to the human race? Is all this but a dim, hazy +recollection of war between a people who had iron weapons and a race +who had not--the race whose remains are found all over Europe? If these +were wandering tribes, they had leaders; if they were warlike, they had +weapons. There is a smith in the Pantheon of many nations. Vulcan was +a smith; Thor wielded a hammer; even Fionn had a hammer, which was +heard in Lochlann when struck in Eirinn. Fionn may have borrowed his +hammer from Thor long ago, or both may have got theirs from Vulcan, or +all three may have brought hammers with them from the land where some +primeval smith wielded the first sledge-hammer; but may not all these +'smith-gods be the smiths who made iron weapons for those who fought +with the skin-clad warriors who shot flint-arrows, and who are now +bogles, fairies, and demons? In any case, tales about smiths seem to +belong to mythology, and to be common property."--CAMPBELL, Popular +Tales of the West Highlands, Preface, 74-6. + +[19] BROOK, Discovery of Errors in the Catalogue of the Nobility, 198. + +[20] MEYRICK, i. 11. + +[21] GILBERT, Cornwall. + +[22] Before table-knives were invented, in the sixteenth century, the +knife was a very important article; each guest at table bearing his +own, and sharpening it at the whetstone hung up in the passage, before +sitting down to dinner, Some even carried a whetstone as well as a +knife; and one of Queen Elizabeth's presents to the Earl of Leicester +was a whetstone tipped with gold. + +[23] The early scarcity of iron in Scotland is confirmed by Froissart, +who says,--"In Scotland you will never find a man of worth; they are +like savages, who wish not to be acquainted with any one, are envious +of the good fortune of others, and suspicious of losing anything +themselves; for their country is very poor. When the English make +inroads thither, as they have very frequently done, they order their +provisions, if they wish to live, to follow close at their backs; for +nothing is to be had in that country without great difficulty. There +is neither iron to shoe horses, nor leather to make harness, saddles, +or bridles: all these things come ready made from Flanders by sea; and +should these fail, there is none to be had in the country." + +[24] PARKER'S English Home, 77 + +[25] The precise time at which Andrea de Ferrara flourished cannot be +fixed with accuracy; but Sir Waiter Scott, in one of the notes to +Waverley, says he is believed to have been a foreign artist brought +over by James IV. or V. of Scotland to instruct the Scots in the +manufacture of sword-blades. The genuine weapons have a crown marked +on the blades. + +[26] Mr. Parkes, in his Essay on the Manufacture of Edge Tools, says, +"Had this ingenious artist thought of a bath of oil, he might have +heated this by means of a furnace underneath it, and by the use of a +thermometer, to the exact point which he found necessary; though it is +inconvenient to have to employ a thermometer for every distinct +operation. Or, if he had been in the possession of a proper bath of +fusible metal, he would have attained the necessary certainty in his +process, and need not have immured himself in a subterranean +apartment.--PARKES' Essays, 1841, p. 495. + +[27] HOLINSHED, History of England. It was even said to have been one +of the objects of the Spanish Armada to get the oaks of the Forest of +Dean destroyed, in order to prevent further smelting of the iron. Thus +Evelyn, in his Sylva, says, "I have heard that in the great expedition +of 1588 it was expressly enjoined the Spanish Armada that if, when +landed, they should not be able to subdue our nation and make good +their conquest, they should yet be sure not to leave a tree standing in +the Forest of Dean."--NICHOLS, History of the Forest of Dean, p. 22. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +EARLY ENGLISH IRON MANUFACTURE. + +"He that well observes it, and hath known the welds of Sussex, Surry, +and Kent', the grand nursery especially of oake and beech, shal find +such an alteration, within lesse than 30 yeeres, as may well strike a +feare, lest few yeeres more, as pestilent as the former, will leave +fewe good trees standing in those welds. Such a heate issueth out of +the many forges and furnaces for the making of iron, and out of the +glasse kilnes, as hath devoured many famous woods within the +welds,"--JOHN NORDEN, Surveyors' Dialogue (1607). + + +Few records exist of the manufacture of iron in England in early times. +After the Romans left the island, the British, or more probably the +Teutonic tribes settled along the south coast, continued the smelting +and manufacture of the metal after the methods taught them by the +colonists. In the midst of the insecurity, however, engendered by +civil war and social changes, the pursuits of industry must necessarily +have been considerably interfered with, and the art of iron-forging +became neglected. No notice of iron being made in Sussex occurs in +Domesday Book, from which it would appear that the manufacture had in a +great measure ceased in that county at the time of the Conquest, though +it was continued in the iron-producing districts bordering on Wales. +In many of the Anglo-Saxon graves which have been opened, long iron +swords have been found, showing that weapons of that metal were in +common use. But it is probable that iron was still scarce, as ploughs +and other agricultural implements continued to be made of wood,--one of +the Anglo-Saxon laws enacting that no man should undertake to guide a +plough who could not make one; and that the cords with which it was +bound should be of twisted willows. The metal was held in esteem +principally as the material of war. All male adults were required to +be provided with weapons, and honour was awarded to such artificers as +excelled in the fabrication of swords, arms, and defensive armour.[1] + +Camden incidentally states that the manufacture of iron was continued +in the western counties during the Saxon era, more particularly in the +Forest of Dean, and that in the time of Edward the Confessor the +tribute paid by the city of Gloucester consisted almost entirely of +iron rods wrought to a size fit for making nails for the king's ships. +An old religious writer speaks of the ironworkers of that day as +heathenish in their manners, puffed up with pride, and inflated with +worldly prosperity. On the occasion of St. Egwin's visit to the +smiths of Alcester, as we are told in the legend, he found then given +up to every kind of luxury; and when he proceeded to preach unto them, +they beat upon their anvils in contempt of his doctrine so as +completely to deafen him; upon which he addressed his prayers to +heaven, and the town was immediately destroyed.[2] + +But the first reception given to John Wesley by the miners of the +Forest of Dean, more than a thousand years later, was perhaps scarcely +more gratifying than that given to St. Egwin. + +That working in iron was regarded as an honourable and useful calling +in the Middle Ages, is apparent from the extent to which it was +followed by the monks, some of whom were excellent craftsmen. Thus St. +Dunstan, who governed England in the time of Edwy the Fair, was a +skilled blacksmith and metallurgist. He is said to have had a forge +even in his bedroom, and it was there that his reputed encounter with +Satan occurred, in which of course the saint came off the victor. + +There was another monk of St. Alban's, called Anketil, who flourished +in the twelfth century, so famous for his skill as a worker in iron, +silver, gold, jewelry, and gilding, that he was invited by the king of +Denmark to be his goldsmith and banker. A pair of gold and silver +candlesticks of his manufacture, presented by the abbot of St. Alban's +to Pope Adrian IV., were so much esteemed for their exquisite +workmanship that they were consecrated to St. Peter, and were the +means of obtaining high ecclesiastical distinction for the abbey. + +We also find that the abbots of monasteries situated in the iron +districts, among their other labours, devoted themselves to the +manufacture of iron from the ore. The extensive beds of cinders still +found in the immediate neighbourhood of Rievaulx and Hackness, in +Yorkshire, show that the monks were well acquainted with the art of +forging, and early turned to account the riches of the Cleveland +ironstone. In the Forest of Dean also, the abbot of Flaxley was +possessed of one stationary and one itinerant forge, by grant from +Henry II, and he was allowed two oaks weekly for fuel,--a privilege +afterwards commuted, in 1258, for Abbot's Wood of 872 acres, which was +held by the abbey until its dissolution in the reign of Henry VIII. At +the same time the Earl of Warwick had forges at work in his woods at +Lydney; and in 1282, as many as 72 forges were leased from the Crown by +various iron-smelters in the same Forest of Dean. + +There are numerous indications of iron-smelting having been conducted +on a considerable scale at some remote period in the neighbourhood of +Leeds, in Yorkshire. In digging out the foundations of houses in +Briggate, the principal street of that town, many "bell pits" have been +brought to light, from which ironstone has been removed. The new +cemetery at Burmandtofts, in the same town, was in like manner found +pitted over with these ancient holes. The miner seems to have dug a +well about 6 feet in diameter, and so soon as he reached the mineral, +he worked it away all round, leaving the bell-shaped cavities in +question. He did not attempt any gallery excavations, but when the pit +was exhausted, a fresh one was sunk. The ore, when dug, was +transported, most probably on horses' backs, to the adjacent districts +for the convenience of fuel. For it was easier to carry the mineral to +the wood--then exclusively used for smelting'--than to bring the wood +to the mineral. Hence the numerous heaps of scoriae found in the +neighbourhood of Leeds,--at Middleton, Whitkirk, and Horsforth--all +within the borough. At Horsforth, they are found in conglomerated +masses from 30 to 40 yards long, and of considerable width and depth. +The remains of these cinder-beds in various positions, some of them +near the summit of the hill, tend to show, that as the trees were +consumed, a new wind furnace was erected in another situation, in order +to lessen the labour of carrying the fuel. There are also deposits of +a similar kind at Kirkby Overblow, a village a few miles to the +north-east of Leeds; and Thoresby states that the place was so called +because it was the village of the "Ore blowers,"--hence the corruption +of "Overblow." A discovery has recently been made among the papers of +the Wentworth family, of a contract for supplying wood and ore for iron +"blomes" at Kirskill near Otley, in the fourteenth century;[3] though +the manufacture near that place has long since ceased. + +Although the making of iron was thus carried on in various parts of +England in the Middle Ages, the quantity produced was altogether +insufficient to meet the ordinary demand, as it appears from our early +records to have long continued one of the principal articles imported +from foreign countries. English iron was not only dearer, but it was +much inferior in quality to that manufactured abroad; and hence all the +best arms and tools continued to be made of foreign iron. Indeed the +scarcity of this metal occasionally led to great inconvenience, and to +prevent its rising in price Parliament enacted, in 1354, that no iron, +either wrought or unwrought, should be exported, under heavy penalties. +For nearly two hundred years--that is, throughout the fourteenth and +fifteenth centuries--the English market was principally supplied with +iron and steel from Spain and Germany; the foreign merchants of the +Steelyard doing a large and profitable trade in those commodities. +While the woollen and other branches of trade were making considerable +progress, the manufacture of iron stood still. Among the lists of +articles, the importation of which was prohibited in Edward IV.'s +reign, with a view to the protection of domestic manufactures, we find +no mention of iron, which was still, as a matter of necessity, allowed +to come freely from abroad. + +The first indications of revival in the iron manufacture showed +themselves in Sussex, a district in which the Romans had established +extensive works, and where smelting operations were carried on to a +partial extent in the neighbourhood of Lewes, in the thirteenth and +fourteenth centuries, where the iron was principally made into nails +and horse-shoes. The county abounds in ironstone, which is contained +in the sandstone beds of the Forest ridge, lying between the chalk and +oolite of the district, called by geologists the Hastings sand. The +beds run in a north-westerly direction, by Ashburnham and Heathfield, +to Crowborough and thereabouts. In early times the region was covered +with wood, and was known as the Great Forest of Anderida. The Weald, +or wild wood, abounded in oaks of great size, suitable for smelting +ore; and the proximity of the mineral to the timber, as well as the +situation of the district in the neighbourhood of the capital, +sufficiently account for the Sussex iron-works being among the most +important which existed in England previous to the discovery of +smelting by pit-coal. + +The iron manufacturers of the south were especially busy during the +fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Their works were established near +to the beds of ore, and in places where water-power existed, or could +be provided by artificial means. Hence the numerous artificial ponds +which are still to be found all over the Sussex iron district. Dams of +earth, called "pond-bays," were thrown across watercourses, with +convenient outlets built of masonry, wherein was set the great wheel +which worked the hammer or blew the furnace. Portions of the adjoining +forest-land were granted or leased to the iron-smelters; and the many +places still known by the name of "Chart" in the Weald, probably mark +the lands chartered for the purpose of supplying the iron-works with +their necessary fuel. The cast-iron tombstones and slabs in many +Sussex churchyards,--the andirons and chimney backs[4] still found in +old Sussex mansions and farm-houses, and such names as Furnace Place, +Cinder Hill, Forge Farm, and Hammer Pond, which are of very frequent +occurrence throughout the county, clearly mark the extent and activity +of this ancient branch of industry.[5] Steel was also manufactured at +several places in the county, more particularly at Steel-Forge Land, +Warbleton, and at Robertsbridge. The steel was said to be of good +quality, resembling Swedish--both alike depending for their excellence +on the exclusive use of charcoal in smelting the ore,--iron so produced +maintaining its superiority over coal-smelted iron to this day. + +When cannon came to be employed in war, the nearness of Sussex to +London and the Cinque Forts gave it a great advantage over the remoter +iron-producing districts in the north and west of England, and for a +long time the iron-works of this county enjoyed almost a monopoly of +the manufacture. The metal was still too precious to be used for +cannon balls, which were hewn of stone from quarries on Maidstone +Heath. Iron was only available, and that in limited quantities, for +the fabrication of the cannon themselves, and wrought-iron was chiefly +used for the purpose. An old mortar which formerly lay on Eridge +Green, near Frant, is said to have been the first mortar made in +England;[6] only the chamber was cast, while the tube consisted of bars +strongly hooped together. Although the local distich says that + + "Master Huggett and his man John + They did cast the first cannon," + +there is every reason to believe that both cannons and mortars were +made in Sussex before Huggett's time; the old hooped guns in the Tower +being of the date of Henry VI. The first cast-iron cannons of English +manufacture were made at Buxtead, in Sussex, in 1543, by Ralph Hogge, +master founder, who employed as his principal assistant one Peter +Baude, a Frenchman. Gun-founding was a French invention, and Mr. Lower +supposes that Hogge brought over Baude from France to teach his workmen +the method of casting the guns. About the same time Hogge employed a +skilled Flemish gunsmith named Peter Van Collet, who, according to +Stowe, "devised or caused to be made certain mortar pieces, being at +the mouth from eleven to nine inches wide, for the use whereof the said +Peter caused to be made certain hollow shot of cast-iron to be stuffed +with fyrework, whereof the bigger sort for the same has screws of iron +to receive a match to carry fyre for to break in small pieces the said +hollow shot, whereof the smallest piece hitting a man would kill or +spoil him." In short, Peter Van Collet here introduced the manufacture +of the explosive shell in the form in which it continued to be used +down to our own day. + +Baude, the Frenchman, afterwards set up business on his own account, +making many guns, both of brass and iron, some of which are still +preserved in the Tower.[7] Other workmen, learning the trade from him, +also began to manufacture on their own account; one of Baude's +servants, named John Johnson, and after him his son Thomas, becoming +famous for the excellence of their cast-iron guns. The Hogges +continued the business for several generations, and became a wealthy +county family. Huggett was another cannon maker of repute; and Owen +became celebrated for his brass culverins. Mr. Lower mentions, as a +curious instance of the tenacity with which families continue to follow +a particular vocation, that many persons of the name of Huggett still +carry on the trade of blacksmith in East Sussex. But most of the early +workmen at the Sussex iron-works, as in other branches of skilled +industry in England during the sixteenth century, were +foreigners--Flemish and French--many of whom had taken refuge in this +country from the religious persecutions then raging abroad, while +others, of special skill, were invited over by the iron manufacturers +to instruct their workmen in the art of metal-founding.[8] + +As much wealth was gained by the pursuit of the revived iron +manufacture in Sussex, iron-mills rapidly extended over the +ore-yielding district. The landed proprietors entered with zeal into +this new branch of industry, and when wood ran short, they did not +hesitate to sacrifice their ancestral oaks to provide fuel for the +furnaces. Mr. Lower says even the most ancient families, such as the +Nevilles, Howards, Percys, Stanleys, Montagues, Pelhams, Ashburnhams, +Sidneys, Sackvilles, Dacres, and Finches, prosecuted the manufacture +with all the apparent ardour of Birmingham and Wolverhampton men in +modern times. William Penn, the courtier Quaker, had iron-furnaces at +Hawkhurst and other places in Sussex. The ruins of the Ashburnham +forge, situated a few miles to the north-east of Battle, still serve to +indicate the extent of the manufacture. At the upper part of the +valley in which the works were situated, an artificial lake was formed +by constructing an embankment across the watercourse descending from +the higher ground,[9] and thus a sufficient fall of water was procured +for the purpose of blowing the furnaces, the site of which is still +marked by surrounding mounds of iron cinders and charcoal waste. Three +quarters of a mile lower down the valley stood the forge, also provided +with water-power for working the hammer; and some of the old buildings +are still standing, among others the boring-house, of small size, now +used as an ordinary labourer's cottage, where the guns were bored. The +machine was a mere upright drill worked by the water-wheel, which was +only eighteen inches across the breast. The property belonged, as it +still does, to the Ashburnham family, who are said to have derived +great wealth from the manufacture of guns at their works, which were +among the last carried on in Sussex. The Ashburnham iron was +distinguished for its toughness, and was said to be equal to the best +Spanish or Swedish iron. + +Many new men also became enriched, and founded county families; the +Fuller family frankly avowing their origin in the singular motto of +Carbone et forcipibus--literally, by charcoal and tongs.[10] + +Men then went into Sussex to push their fortunes at the forges, as they +now do in Wales or Staffordshire; and they succeeded then, as they do +now, by dint of application, industry, and energy. The Sussex +Archaeological Papers for 1860 contain a curious record of such an +adventurer, in the history of the founder of the Gale family. Leonard +Gale was born in 1620 at Riverhead, near Sevenoaks, where his father +pursued the trade of a blacksmith. When the youth had reached his +seventeenth year, his father and mother, with five of their sons and +daughters, died of the plague, Leonard and his brother being the only +members of the family that survived. The patrimony of 200L. left them +was soon spent; after which Leonard paid off his servants, and took to +work diligently at his father's trade. Saving a little money, he +determined to go down into Sussex, where we shortly find him working +the St. Leonard's Forge, and afterwards the Tensley Forge near +Crawley, and the Cowden Iron-works, which then bore a high reputation. +After forty years' labour, he accumulated a good fortune, which he left +to his son of the same name, who went on iron-forging, and eventually +became a county gentleman, owner of the house and estate of Crabbett +near Worth, and Member of Parliament for East Grinstead. + +Several of the new families, however, after occupying a high position +in the county, again subsided into the labouring class, illustrating +the Lancashire proverb of "Twice clogs, once boots," the sons +squandering what the father's had gathered, and falling back into the +ranks again. Thus the great Fowles family of Riverhall disappeared +altogether from Sussex. One of them built the fine mansion of +Riverhall, noble even in decay. Another had a grant of free warren +from King James over his estates in Wadhurst, Frant, Rotherfield, and +Mayfield. Mr. Lower says the fourth in descent from this person kept +the turnpike-gate at Wadhurst, and that the last of the family, a +day-labourer, emigrated to America in 1839, carrying with him, as the +sole relic of his family greatness, the royal grant of free warren +given to his ancestor. The Barhams and Mansers were also great +iron-men, officiating as high sheriffs of the county at different +times, and occupying spacious mansions. One branch of these families +terminated, Mr. Lower says, with Nicholas Barham, who died in the +workhouse at Wadhurst in 1788; and another continues to be represented +by a wheelwright at Wadhurst of the same name. + +The iron manufacture of Sussex reached its height towards the close of +the reign of Elizabeth, when the trade became so prosperous that, +instead of importing iron, England began to export it in considerable +quantities, in the shape of iron ordnance. Sir Thomas Leighton and Sir +Henry Neville had obtained patents from the queen, which enabled them +to send their ordnance abroad, the consequence of which was that the +Spaniards were found arming their ships and fighting us with guns of +our own manufacture. Sir Walter Raleigh, calling attention to the +subject in the House of Commons, said, "I am sure heretofore one ship +of Her Majesty's was able to beat ten Spaniards, but now, by reason of +our own ordnance, we are hardly matcht one to one." Proclamations were +issued forbidding the export of iron and brass ordnance, and a bill was +brought into Parliament to put a stop to the trade; but, not +withstanding these prohibitions, the Sussex guns long continued to be +smuggled out of the country in considerable numbers. "It is almost +incredible," says Camden, "how many guns are made of the iron in this +county. Count Gondomar (the Spanish ambassador) well knew their +goodness when he so often begged of King James the boon to export +them." Though the king refused his sanction, it appears that Sir +Anthony Shirley of Weston, an extensive iron-master, succeeded in +forwarding to the King of Spain a hundred pieces of cannon. + +So active were the Sussex manufacturers, and so brisk was the trade +they carried on, that during the reign of James I. it is supposed +one-half of the whole quantity of iron produced in England was made +there. Simon Sturtevant, in his 'Treatise of Metallica,' published in +1612, estimates the whole number of iron-mills in England and Wales at +800, of which, he says, "there are foure hundred milnes in Surry, Kent, +and Sussex, as the townsmen of Haslemere have testified and numbered +unto me." But the townsmen of Haslemere must certainly have been +exaggerating, unless they counted smiths' and farriers' shops in the +number of iron-mills. About the same time that Sturtevant's treatise +was published, there appeared a treatise entitled the 'Surveyor's +Dialogue,' by one John Norden, the object of which was to make out a +case against the iron-works and their being allowed to burn up the +timber of the country for fuel. Yet Norden does not make the number of +iron-works much more than a third of Sturtevant's estimate. He says, +"I have heard that there are or lately were in Sussex neere 140 hammers +and furnaces for iron, and in it and Surrey adjoining three or four +glasse-houses." Even the smaller number stated by Norden, however, +shows that Sussex was then regarded as the principal seat of the +iron-trade. Camden vividly describes the noise and bustle of the +manufacture--the working of the heavy hammers, which, "beating upon the +iron, fill the neighbourhood round about, day and night, with continual +noise." These hammers were for the most part worked by the power of +water, carefully stored in the artificial "Hammer-ponds" above +described. The hammer-shaft was usually of ash, about 9 feet long, +clamped at intervals with iron hoops. It was worked by the revolutions +of the water-wheel, furnished with projecting arms or knobs to raise +the hammer, which fell as each knob passed, the rapidity of its action +of course depending on the velocity with which the water-wheel +revolved. The forge-blast was also worked for the most part by +water-power. Where the furnaces were small, the blast was produced by +leather bellows worked by hand, or by a horse walking in a gin. The +foot-blasts of the earlier iron-smelters were so imperfect that but a +small proportion of the ore was reduced, so that the iron-makers of +later times, more particularly in the Forest of Dean, instead of +digging for ironstone, resorted to the beds of ancient scoriae for +their principal supply of the mineral. + +Notwithstanding the large number of furnaces in blast throughout the +county of Sussex at the period we refer to, their produce was +comparatively small, and must not be measured by the enormous produce +of modern iron-works; for while an iron-furnace of the present day will +easily turn out 150 tons of pig per week, the best of the older +furnaces did not produce more than from three to four tons. One of the +last extensive contracts executed in Sussex was the casting of the iron +rails which enclose St. Paul's Cathedral. The contract was thought +too large for one iron-master to undertake, and it was consequently +distributed amongst several contractors, though the principal part of +the work was executed at Lamberhurst, near Tunbridge Wells. But to +produce the comparatively small quantity of iron turned out by the old +works, the consumption of timber was enormous; for the making of every +ton of pig-iron required four loads of timber converted into charcoal +fuel, and the making of every ton of bar-iron required three additional +loads. Thus, notwithstanding the indispensable need of iron, the +extension of the manufacture, by threatening the destruction of the +timber of the southern counties, came to be regarded in the light of a +national calamity. Up to a certain point, the clearing of the Weald of +its dense growth of underwood had been of advantage, by affording +better opportunities for the operations of agriculture. But the +"voragious iron-mills" were proceeding to swallow up everything that +would burn, and the old forest growths were rapidly disappearing. An +entire wood was soon exhausted, and long time was needed before it grew +again. At Lamberhurst alone, though the produce was only about five +tons of iron a-week, the annual consumption of wood was about 200,000 +cords! Wood continued to be the only material used for fuel +generally--a strong prejudice existing against the use of sea-coal for +domestic purposes.[11] It therefore began to be feared that there +would be no available fuel left within practicable reach of the +metropolis; and the contingency of having to face the rigorous cold of +an English winter without fuel naturally occasioning much alarm, the +action of the Government was deemed necessary to remedy the apprehended +evil. + +To check the destruction of wood near London, an Act was passed in 1581 +prohibiting its conversion into fuel for the making of iron within +fourteen miles of the Thames, forbidding the erection of new ironworks +within twenty-two miles of London, and restricting the number of works +in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, beyond the above limits. Similar +enactments were made in future Parliaments with the same object, which +had the effect of checking the trade, and several of the Sussex +ironmasters were under the necessity of removing their works elsewhere. +Some of them migrated to Glamorganshire, in South Wales, because of the +abundance of timber as well as ironstone in that quarter, and there set +up their forges, more particularly at Aberdare and Merthyr Tydvil. Mr. +Llewellin has recently published an interesting account of their +proceedings, with descriptions of their works,[12] remains of which +still exist at Llwydcoed, Pontyryns, and other places in the Aberdare +valley. Among the Sussex masters who settled in Glamorganshire for the +purpose of carrying on the iron manufacture, were Walter Burrell, the +friend of John Ray, the naturalist, one of the Morleys of Glynde in +Sussex, the Relfes from Mayfield, and the Cheneys from Crawley. + +Notwithstanding these migrations of enterprising manufacturers, the +iron trade of Sussex continued to exist until the middle of the +seventeenth century, when the waste of timber was again urged upon the +attention of Parliament, and the penalties for infringing the statutes +seem to have been more rigorously enforced. The trade then suffered a +more serious check; and during the civil wars, a heavy blow was given +to it by the destruction of the works belonging to all royalists, which +was accomplished by a division of the army under Sir William Waller. +Most of the Welsh ironworks were razed to the ground about the same +time, and were not again rebuilt. And after the Restoration, in 1674, +all the royal ironworks in the Forest of Dean were demolished, leaving +only such to be supplied with ore as were beyond the forest limits; the +reason alleged for this measure being lest the iron manufacture should +endanger the supply of timber required for shipbuilding and other +necessary purposes. + +From this time the iron manufacture of Sussex, as of England generally, +rapidly declined. In 1740 there were only fifty-nine furnaces in all +England, of which ten were in Sussex; and in 1788 there were only two. +A few years later, and the Sussex iron furnaces were blown out +altogether. Farnhurst, in western, and Ashburnham, in eastern Sussex, +witnessed the total extinction of the manufacture. The din of the iron +hammer was hushed, the glare of the furnace faded, the last blast of +the bellows was blown, and the district returned to its original rural +solitude. Some of the furnace-ponds were drained and planted with hops +or willows; others formed beautiful lakes in retired pleasure-grounds; +while the remainder were used to drive flour-mills, as the streams in +North Kent, instead of driving fulling-mills, were employed to work +paper-mills. All that now remains of the old iron-works are the +extensive beds of cinders from which material is occasionally taken to +mend the Sussex roads, and the numerous furnace-ponds, hammer-posts, +forges, and cinder places, which mark the seats of the ancient +manufacture. + + + +[1] WILKINS, Leges Sax. 25. + +[2] Life of St. Egwin, in Capgrave's Nova Legenda Anglioe. Alcester +was, as its name indicates, an old Roman settlement (situated on the +Icknild Street), where the art of working in iron was practised from an +early period. It was originally called Alauna, being situated on the +river Alne in Warwickshire. It is still a seat of the needle +manufacture. + +[3] The following is an extract of this curious document, which is +dated the 26th Dec. 1352: "Ceste endenture fait entre monsire Richard +de Goldesburghe, chivaler, dune part, et Robert Totte, seignour, dautre +tesmoigne qe le dit monsire Richard ad graunte et lesse al dit Robert +deuz Olyveres contenaunz vynt quatre blomes de la feste seynt Piere ad +vincula lan du regne le Roi Edward tierce apres le conqueste vynt +sysme, en sun parke de Creskelde, rendant al dit monsire Richard +chesqune semayn quatorzse soutz dargent duraunt les deux Olyvers avaunt +dist; a tenir et avoir al avaunt dit Robert del avaunt dit monsire +Richard de la feste seynt Piere avaunt dist, taunque le bois soit ars +du dit parke a la volunte le dit monsire Richard saunz interrupcione [e +le dicte monsieur Richard trovera a dit Robert urre suffisaunt pur lez +ditz Olyvers pur le son donaunt: these words are interlined]. Et fait +a savoir qe le dit Robert ne nule de soens coupard ne abatera nule +manere darbre ne de boys put les deuz olyvers avaunt ditz mes par la +veu et la lyvere le dit monsire Richard, ou par ascun autre par le dit +monsire Richard assigne. En tesmoigaunz (sic) de quenx choses a cestes +presentes endentures les parties enterchaungablement ount mys lour +seals. Escript a Creskelde le meskerdy en le semayn de Pasque lan +avaunt diste." + +It is probable that the "blomes" referred to in this agreement were the +bloomeries or fires in which the iron was made; and that the "olyveres" +were forges or erections, each of which contained so many bloomeries, +but were of limited durability, and probably perished in the using. + +[4] The back of a grate has recently been found, cast by Richard +Leonard at Brede Furnace in 1636. It is curious as containing a +representation of the founder with his dog and cups; a drawing of the +furnace, with the wheelbarrow and other implements for the casting, and +on a shield the pincers and other marks of the blacksmith. Leonard was +tenant of the Sackville furnace at Little Udimore.--Sussex +Archaeological Collections, vol. xii. + +[5] For an interesting account of the early iron industry of Sussex see +M. A. LOWER'S Contributions to Literature, Historical, Antiquarian, and +Metrical. London, 1854. + +[6] Archaeologia, vol. x. 472. + +[7] One of these, 6 1/2 feet long, and of 2 1/2 inches bore, +manufactured in 1543, bears the cast inscription of Petrus Baude Gallus +operis artifex. + +[8] Mr. Lower says, "Many foreigners were brought over to carry on the +works; which perhaps may account for the number of Frenchmen and +Germans whose names appear in our parish registers about the middle of +the sixteenth century ."--Contributions to Literature, 108. + +[9] The embankment and sluices of the furnace-pond at the upper part of +the valley continue to be maintained, the lake being used by the +present Lord Ashburnham as a preserve for fish and water-fowl. + +[10] Reminding one of the odd motto assumed by Gillespie, the +tobacconist of Edinburgh, founder of Gillespie's Hospital, on whose +carriage-panels was emblazoned a Scotch mull, with the motto, + + "Wha wad ha' thocht it, + That noses could ha' bought it!" + +It is just possible that the Fullers may have taken their motto from +the words employed by Juvenal in describing the father of Demosthenes, +who was a blacksmith and a sword-cutler-- + + "Quem pater ardentis massae fuligine lippus, + A carbone et forcipibus gladiosque parante + Incude et luteo Vulcano ad rhetora misit." + +[11] It was then believed that sea or pit-coal was poisonous when burnt +in dwellings, and that it was especially injurious to the human +complexion. All sorts of diseases were attributed to its use, and at +one time it was even penal to burn it. The Londoners only began to +reconcile themselves to the use of coal when the wood within reach of +the metropolis had been nearly all burnt up, and no other fuel was to +be had. + +[12] Archaeologia Cambrensis, 3rd Series, No. 34, April, 1863. Art. +"Sussex Ironmasters in Glamorganshire." + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +IRON-SMELTING BY PIT-COAL--DUD DUDLEY. + +"God of his Infinite goodness (if we will but take notice of his +goodness unto this Nation) hath made this Country a very Granary for +the supplying of Smiths with Iron, Cole, and Lime made with cole, which +hath much supplied these men with Corn also of late; and from these men +a great part, not only of this Island, but also of his Majestie's other +Kingdoms and Territories, with Iron wares have their supply, and Wood +in these parts almost exhausted, although it were of late a mighty +woodland country."--DUDLEY's Metallum Martis, 1665. + + +The severe restrictions enforced by the legislature against the use of +wood in iron-smelting had the effect of almost extinguishing the +manufacture. New furnaces ceased to be erected, and many of the old +ones were allowed to fall into decay, until it began to be feared that +this important branch of industry would become completely lost. The +same restrictions alike affected the operations of the glass +manufacture, which, with the aid of foreign artisans, had been +gradually established in England, and was becoming a thriving branch of +trade. It was even proposed that the smelting of iron should be +absolutely prohibited: "many think," said a contemporary writer, "that +there should be NO WORKS ANYWHERE--they do so devour the woods." + +The use of iron, however, could not be dispensed with. The very +foundations of society rested upon an abundant supply of it, for tools +and implements of peace, as well as for weapons of war. In the dearth +of the article at home, a supply of it was therefore sought for abroad; +and both iron and steel came to be imported in largely-increased +quantities. This branch of trade was principally in the hands of the +Steelyard Company of Foreign Merchants, established in Upper Thames +Street, a little above London Bridge; and they imported large +quantities of iron and steel from foreign countries, principally from +Sweden, Germany, and Spain. The best iron came from Spain, though the +Spaniards on their part coveted our English made cannons, which were +better manufactured than theirs; while the best steel came from Germany +and Sweden.[1] + +Under these circumstances, it was natural that persons interested in +the English iron manufacture should turn their attention to some other +description of fuel which should serve as a substitute for the +prohibited article. There was known to be an abundance of coal in the +northern and midland counties, and it occurred to some speculators more +than usually daring, to propose it as a substitute for the charcoal +fuel made from wood. But the same popular prejudice which existed +against the use of coal for domestic purposes, prevented its being +employed for purposes of manufacture; and they were thought very +foolish persons indeed who first promulgated the idea of smelting iron +by means of pit-coal. The old manufacturers held it to be impossible +to reduce the ore in any other way than by means of charcoal of wood. +It was only when the wood in the neighbourhood of the ironworks had +been almost entirely burnt up, that the manufacturers were driven to +entertain the idea of using coal as a substitute; but more than a +hundred years passed before the practice of smelting iron by its means +became general. + +The first who took out a patent for the purpose was one Simon +Sturtevant, a German skilled in mining operations; the professed object +of his invention being "to neale, melt, and worke all kind of metal +oares, irons, and steeles with sea-coale, pit-coale, earth-coale, and +brush fewell." The principal end of his invention, he states in his +Treatise of Metallica,[2] is to save the consumption and waste of the +woods and timber of the country; and, should his design succeed, he +holds that it "will prove to be the best and most profitable business +and invention that ever was known or invented in England these many +yeares." He says he has already made trial of the process on a small +scale, and is confident that it will prove equally successful on a +large one. Sturtevant was not very specific as to his process; but it +incidentally appears to have been his purpose to reduce the coal by an +imperfect combustion to the condition of coke, thereby ridding it of +"those malignant proprieties which are averse to the nature of +metallique substances." The subject was treated by him, as was +customary in those days, as a great mystery, made still more mysterious +by the multitude of learned words under which he undertook to describe +his "Ignick Invention" All the operations of industry were then treated +as secrets. Each trade was a craft, and those who followed it were +called craftsmen. Even the common carpenter was a handicraftsman; and +skilled artisans were "cunning men." But the higher branches of work +were mysteries, the communication of which to others was carefully +guarded by the regulations of the trades guilds. Although the early +patents are called specifications, they in reality specify nothing. +They are for the most part but a mere haze of words, from which very +little definite information can be gleaned as to the processes +patented. It may be that Sturtevant had not yet reduced his idea to +any practicable method, and therefore could not definitely explain it. +However that may be, it is certain that his process failed when tried +on a large scale, and Sturtevant's patent was accordingly cancelled at +the end of a year. + + +The idea, however, had been fairly born, and repeated patents were +taken out with the same object from time to time. Thus, immediately on +Sturtevant's failure becoming known, one John Rovenzon, who had been +mixed up with the other's adventure, applied for a patent for making +iron by the same process, which was granted him in 1613. His 'Treatise +of Metallica'[3] shows that Rovenzon had a true conception of the +method of manufacture. Nevertheless he, too, failed in carrying out +the invention in practice, and his patent was also cancelled. Though +these failures were very discouraging, like experiments continued to be +made and patents taken out,--principally by Dutchmen and +Germans,[4]--but no decided success seems to have attended their +efforts until the year 1620, when Lord Dudley took out his patent "for +melting iron ore, making bar-iron, &c., with coal, in furnaces, with +bellows." This patent was taken out at the instance of his son Dud +Dudley, whose story we gather partly from his treatise entitled +'Metallum Martis,' and partly from various petitions presented by him +to the king, which are preserved in the State Paper Office, and it runs +as follows:-- + +Dud Dudley was born in 1599, the natural son of Edward Lord Dudley of +Dudley Castle in the county of Worcester. He was the fourth of eleven +children by the same mother, who is described in the pedigree of the +family given in the Herald's visitation of the county of Stafford in +the year 1663, signed by Dud Dudley himself, as "Elizabeth, daughter of +William Tomlinson of Dudley, concubine of Edward Lord Dudley." Dud's +eldest brother is described in the same pedigree as Robert Dudley, +Squire, of Netherton Hall; and as his sisters mostly married well, +several of them county gentlemen, it is obvious that the family, +notwithstanding that the children were born out of wedlock, held a good +position in their neighbourhood, and were regarded with respect. Lord +Dudley, though married and having legitimate heirs at the time, seems +to have attended to the up-bringing of his natural children; educating +them carefully, and afterwards employing them in confidential offices +connected with the management of his extensive property. Dud describes +himself as taking great delight, when a youth, in his father's +iron-works near Dudley, where he obtained considerable knowledge of the +various processes of the manufacture. + +The town of Dudley was already a centre of the iron manufacture, though +chiefly of small wares, such as nails, horse-shoes, keys, locks, and +common agricultural tools; and it was estimated that there were about +20,000 smiths and workers in iron of various kinds living within a +circuit of ten miles of Dudley Castle. But, as in the southern +counties, the production of iron had suffered great diminution from the +want of fuel in the district, though formerly a mighty woodland +country; and many important branches of the local trade were brought +almost to a stand-still. Yet there was an extraordinary abundance of +coal to be met with in the neighbourhood--coal in some places lying in +seams ten feet thick--ironstone four feet thick immediately under the +coal, with limestone conveniently adjacent to both. The conjunction +seemed almost providential--"as if," observes Dud, "God had decreed the +time when and how these smiths should be supplied, and this island +also, with iron, and most especially that this cole and ironstone +should give the first and just occasion for the invention of smelting +iron with pit-cole;" though, as we have already seen, all attempts +heretofore made with that object had practically failed. + +Dud was a special favourite of the Earl his father, who encouraged his +speculations with reference to the improvement of the iron manufacture, +and gave him an education calculated to enable him to turn his +excellent practical abilities to account. He was studying at Baliol +College, Oxford, in the year 1619, when the Earl sent for him to take +charge of an iron furnace and two forges in the chase of Pensnet in +Worcestershire. He was no sooner installed manager of the works, than, +feeling hampered by the want of wood for fuel, his attention was +directed to the employment of pit-coal as a substitute. He altered his +furnace accordingly, so as to adapt it to the new process, and the +result of the first trial was such as to induce him to persevere. It +is nowhere stated in Dud Dudley's Treatise what was the precise nature +of the method adopted by him; but it is most probable that, in +endeavouring to substitute coal for wood as fuel, he would subject the +coal to a process similar to that of charcoal-burning. The result +would be what is called Coke; and as Dudley informs us that he followed +up his first experiment with a second blast, by means of which he was +enabled to produce good marketable iron, the presumption is that his +success was also due to an improvement of the blast which he contrived +for the purpose of keeping up the active combustion of the fuel. +Though the quantity produced by the new process was comparatively +small--not more than three tons a week from each furnace--Dudley +anticipated that greater experience would enable him to increase the +quantity; and at all events he had succeeded in proving the +practicability of smelting iron with fuel made from pit-coal, which so +many before him had tried in vain. + +Immediately after the second trial had been made with such good issue, +Dud wrote to his father the Earl, then in London, informing him what he +had done, and desiring him at once to obtain a patent for the invention +from King James. This was readily granted, and the patent (No. 18), +dated the 22nd February, 1620, was taken out in the name of Lord Dudley +himself. + +Dud proceeded with the manufacture of iron at Pensnet, and also at +Cradley in Staffordshire, where he erected another furnace; and a year +after the patent was granted he was enabled to send up to the Tower, by +the King's command, a considerable quantity of the new iron for trial. +Many experiments were made with it: its qualities were fairly tested, +and it was pronounced "good merchantable iron." Dud adds, in his +Treatise, that his brother-in-law, Richard Parkshouse, of Sedgeley,[5] +"had a fowling-gun there made of the Pit-cole iron," which was "well +approved." There was therefore every prospect of the new method of +manufacture becoming fairly established, and with greater experience +further improvements might with confidence be anticipated, when a +succession of calamities occurred to the inventor which involved him in +difficulties and put an effectual stop to the progress of his +enterprise. + +The new works had been in successful operation little more than a year, +when a flood, long after known as the "Great May-day Flood," swept away +Dudley's principal works at Cradley, and otherwise inflicted much +damage throughout the district. "At the market town called +Stourbridge," says Dud, in the course of his curious narrative, +"although the author sent with speed to preserve the people from +drowning, and one resolute man was carried from the bridge there in the +day-time, the nether part of the town was so deep in water that the +people had much ado to preserve their lives in the uppermost rooms of +their houses." Dudley himself received very little sympathy for his +losses. On the contrary, the iron-smelters of the district rejoiced +exceedingly at the destruction of his works by the flood. They had +seen him making good iron by his new patent process, and selling it +cheaper than they could afford to do. They accordingly put in +circulation all manner of disparaging reports about his iron. It was +bad iron, not fit to be used; indeed no iron, except what was smelted +with charcoal of wood, could be good. To smelt it with coal was a +dangerous innovation, and could only result in some great public +calamity. The ironmasters even appealed to King James to put a stop to +Dud's manufacture, alleging that his iron was not merchantable. And +then came the great flood, which swept away his works; the hostile +ironmasters now hoping that there was an end for ever of Dudley's +pit-coal iron. + +But Dud, with his wonted energy, forthwith set to work and repaired his +furnaces and forges, though at great cost; and in the course of a short +time the new manufacture was again in full progress. The ironmasters +raised a fresh outcry against him, and addressed another strong +memorial against Dud and his iron to King James. This seems to have +taken effect; and in order to ascertain the quality of the article by +testing it upon a large scale, the King commanded Dudley to send up to +the Tower of London, with every possible speed, quantities of all the +sorts of bar-iron made by him, fit for the "making of muskets, +carbines, and iron for great bolts for shipping; which iron," continues +Dud, "being so tried by artists and smiths, the ironmasters and +iron-mongers were all silenced until the 21st year of King James's +reign." The ironmasters then endeavoured to get the Dudley patent +included in the monopolies to be abolished by the statute of that year; +but all they could accomplish was the limitation of the patent to +fourteen years instead of thirty-one; the special exemption of the +patent from the operation of the statute affording a sufficient +indication of the importance already attached to the invention. After +that time Dudley "went on with his invention cheerfully, and made +annually great store of iron, good and merchantable, and sold it unto +diverse men at twelve pounds per ton." "I also," said he, "made all +sorts of cast-iron wares, as brewing cisterns, pots, mortars, &c., +better and cheaper than any yet made in these nations with charcoal, +some of which are yet to be seen by any man (at the author's house in +the city of Worcester) that desires to be satisfied of the truth of the +invention." + +Notwithstanding this decided success, Dudley encountered nothing but +trouble and misfortune. The ironmasters combined to resist his +invention; they fastened lawsuit's upon him, and succeeded in getting +him ousted from his works at Cradley. From thence he removed to Himley +in the county of Stafford, where he set up a pit-coal furnace; but +being without the means of forging the iron into bars, he was +constrained to sell the pig-iron to the charcoal-ironmasters, "who did +him much prejudice, not only by detaining his stock, but also by +disparaging his iron." He next proceeded to erect a large new furnace +at Hasco Bridge, near Sedgeley, in the same county, for the purpose of +carrying out the manufacture on the most improved principles. This +furnace was of stone, twenty-seven feet square, provided with unusually +large bellows; and when in full work he says he was enabled to turn out +seven tons of iron per week, "the greatest quantity of pit-coal iron +ever yet made in Great Britain." At the same place he discovered and +opened out new workings of coal ten feet thick, lying immediately over +the ironstone, and he prepared to carry on his operations on a large +scale; but the new works were scarcely finished when a mob of rioters, +instigated by the charcoal-ironmasters, broke in upon them, cut in +pieces the new bellows, destroyed the machinery, and laid the results +of all his deep-laid ingenuity and persevering industry in ruins. From +that time forward Dudley was allowed no rest nor peace: he was +attacked by mobs, worried by lawsuits, and eventually overwhelmed by +debts. He was then seized by his creditors and sent up to London, +where he was held a prisoner in the Comptoir for several thousand +pounds. The charcoal-iron men thus for a time remained masters of the +field. + +Charles I. seems to have taken pity on the suffering inventor; and on +his earnest petition, setting forth the great advantages to the nation +of his invention, from which he had as yet derived no advantage, but +only losses, sufferings, and persecution, the King granted him a +renewal of his patent[6] in the year 1638; three other gentlemen +joining him as partners, and doubtless providing the requisite capital +for carrying on the manufacture after the plans of the inventor. But +Dud's evil fortune continued to pursue him. The patent had scarcely +been securedere the Civil War broke out, and the arts of peace must at +once perforce give place to the arts of war. Dud's nature would not +suffer him to be neutral at such a time; and when the nation divided +itself into two hostile camps, his predilections being strongly +loyalist, he took the side of the King with his father. It would +appear from a petition presented by him to Charles II. in 1660, setting +forth his sufferings in the royal cause, and praying for restoral to +certain offices which he had enjoyed under Charles I., that as early as +the year 1637 he had been employed by the King on a mission into +Scotland,[7] in the train of the Marquis of Hamilton, the King's +Commissioner. Again in 1639, leaving his ironworks and partners, he +accompanied Charles on his expedition across the Scotch border, and was +present with the army until its discomfiture at Newburn near Newcastle +in the following year. + +The sword was now fairly drawn, and Dud seems for a time to have +abandoned his iron-works and followed entirely the fortunes of the +king. He was sworn surveyor of the Mews or Armoury in 1640, but being +unable to pay for the patent, another was sworn in in his place. Yet +his loyalty did not falter, for in the beginning of 1642, when Charles +set out from London, shortly after the fall of Strafford and Laud, Dud +went with him.[8] He was present before Hull when Sir John Hotham shut +its gates in the king's face; at York when the royal commissions of +array were sent out enjoining all loyal subjects to send men, arms, +money, and horses, for defence of the king and maintenance of the law; +at Nottingham, where the royal standard was raised; at Coventry, where +the townspeople refused the king entrance and fired upon his troops +from the walls; at Edgehill, where the first great but indecisive +battle was fought between the contending parties; in short, as Dud +Dudley states in his petition, he was "in most of the battailes that +year, and also supplyed his late sacred Majestie's magazines of +Stafford, Worcester, Dudley Castle, and Oxford, with arms, shot, +drakes, and cannon; and also, became major unto Sir Frauncis Worsley's +regiment, which was much decaied." + +In 1643, according to the statement contained in his petition above +referred to, Dud Dudley acted as military engineer in setting out the +fortifications of Worcester and Stafford, and furnishing them with +ordnance. After the taking of Lichfield, in which he had a share, he +was made Colonel of Dragoons, and accompanied the Queen with his +regiment to the royal head-quarters at Oxford. The year after we find +him at the siege of Gloucester, then at the first battle of Newbury +leading the forlorn hope with Sir George Lisle, afterwards marching +with Sir Charles Lucas into the associate counties, and present at the +royalist rout at Newport. That he was esteemed a valiant and skilful +officer is apparent from the circumstance, that in 1645 he was +appointed general of Prince Maurice's train of artillery, and +afterwards held the same rank under Lord Ashley. The iron districts +being still for the most part occupied by the royal armies, our +military engineer turned his practical experience to account by +directing the forging of drakes[9] of bar-iron, which were found of +great use, giving up his own dwelling-house in the city of Worcester +for the purpose of carrying on the manufacture of these and other arms. +But Worcester and the western towns fell before the Parliamentarian +armies in 1646, and all the iron-works belonging to royalists, from +which the principal supplies of arms had been drawn by the King's army, +were forthwith destroyed. + +Dudley fully shared in the dangers and vicissitudes of that trying +period, and bore his part throughout like a valiant soldier. For two +years nothing was heard of him, until in 1648, when the king's party +drew together again, and made head in different parts of the country, +north and south. Goring raised his standard in Essex, but was driven +by Fairfax into Colchester, where he defended himself for two months. +While the siege was in progress, the royalists determined to make an +attempt to raise it. On this Dud Dudley again made his appearance in +the field, and, joining sundry other counties, he proceeded to raise +200 men, mostly at his own charge. They were, however, no sooner +mustered in Bosco Bello woods near Madeley, than they were attacked by +the Parliamentarians, and dispersed or taken prisoners. Dud was among +those so taken, and he was first carried to Hartlebury Castle and +thence to Worcester, where he was imprisoned. Recounting the +sufferings of himself and his followers on this occasion, in the +petition presented to Charles II. in 1660,[10] he says, "200 men were +dispersed, killed, and some taken, namely, Major Harcourt, Major +Elliotts, Capt. Long, and Cornet Hodgetts, of whom Major Harcourt was +miserably burned with matches. The petitioner and the rest were +stripped almost naked, and in triumph and scorn carried up to the city +of Worcester (which place Dud had fortified for the king), and kept +close prisoners, with double guards set upon the prison and the city." + +Notwithstanding this close watch and durance, Dudley and Major Elliotts +contrived to break out of gaol, making their way over the tops of the +houses, afterwards passing the guards at the city gates, and escaping +into the open country. Being hotly pursued, they travelled during the +night, and took to the trees during the daytime. They succeeded in +reaching London, but only to drop again into the lion's mouth; for +first Major Elliotts was captured, then Dudley, and both were taken +before Sir John Warner, the Lord Mayor, who forthwith sent them before +the "cursed committee of insurrection," as Dudley calls them. The +prisoners were summarily sentenced to be shot to death, and were +meanwhile closely imprisoned in the Gatehouse at Westminster, with +other Royalists. + +The day before their intended execution, the prisoners formed a plan of +escape. It was Sunday morning, the 20th August, 1648, when they seized +their opportunity, "at ten of the cloeke in sermon time;" and, +overpowering the gaolers, Dudley, with Sir Henry Bates, Major Elliotts, +Captain South, Captain Paris, and six others, succeeded in getting +away, and making again for the open country. Dudley had received a +wound in the leg, and could only get along with great difficulty. He +records that he proceeded on crutches, through Worcester, Tewkesbury, +and Gloucester, to Bristol, having been "fed three weeks in private in +an enemy's hay mow." Even the most lynx-eyed Parliamentarian must have +failed to recognise the quondam royalist general of artillery in the +helpless creature dragging himself along upon crutches; and he reached +Bristol in safety. + +His military career now over, he found himself absolutely penniless. +His estate of about 200L. per annum had been sequestrated and sold by +the government;[11] his house in Worcester had been seized and his +sickly wife turned out of doors; and his goods, stock, great shop, and +ironworks, which he himself valued at 2000L., were destroyed. He had +also lost the offices of Serjeant-at-arms, Lieutenant of Ordnance, and +Surveyor of the Mews, which he had held under the king; in a word, he +found himself reduced to a state of utter destitution. + +Dudley was for some time under the necessity of living in great privacy +at Bristol; but when the king had been executed, and the royalists were +finally crushed at Worcester, Dud gradually emerged from his +concealment. He was still the sole possessor of the grand secret of +smelting iron with pit-coal, and he resolved upon one more commercial +adventure, in the hope of yet turning it to good account. He succeeded +in inducing Walter Stevens, linendraper, and John Stone, merchant, both +of Bristol, to join him as partners in an ironwork, which they +proceeded to erect near that city. The buildings were well advanced, +and nearly 700L. had been expended, when a quarrel occurred between +Dudley and his partners, which ended in the stoppage of the works, and +the concern being thrown into Chancery. Dudley alleges that the other +partners "cunningly drew him into a bond," and "did unjustly enter +staple actions in Bristol of great value against him, because he was of +the king's party;" but it would appear as if there had been some twist +or infirmity of temper in Dudley himself, which prevented him from +working harmoniously with such persons as he became associated with in +affairs of business. + +In the mean time other attempts were made to smelt iron with pit-coal. +Dudley says that Cromwell and the then Parliament granted a patent to +Captain Buck for the purpose; and that Cromwell himself, Major Wildman, +and various others were partners in the patent. They erected furnaces +and works in the Forest of Dean;[12] but, though Cromwell and his +officers could fight and win battles, they could not smelt and forge +iron with pit-coal. They brought one Dagney, an Italian glass-maker, +from Bristol, to erect a new furnace for them, provided with sundry +pots of glass-house clay; but no success attended their efforts. The +partners knowing of Dudley's possession of the grand secret, invited +him to visit their works; but all they could draw from him was that +they would never succeed in making iron to profit by the methods they +were pursuing. They next proceeded to erect other works at Bristol, +but still they failed. Major Wildman[13] bought Dudley's sequestrated +estate, in the hope of being able to extort his secret of making iron +with pit-coal; but all their attempts proving abortive, they at length +abandoned the enterprise in despair. In 1656, one Captain Copley +obtained from Cromwell a further patent with a similar object; and +erected works near Bristol, and also in the Forest of Kingswood. The +mechanical engineers employed by Copley failed in making his bellows +blow; on which he sent for Dudley, who forthwith "made his bellows to +be blown feisibly;" but Copley failed, like his predecessors, in making +iron, and at length he too desisted from further experiments. + +Such continued to be the state of things until the Restoration, when we +find Dud Dudley a petitioner to the king for the renewal of his patent. +He was also a petitioner for compensation in respect of the heavy +losses he had sustained during the civil wars. The king was besieged +by crowds of applicants of a similar sort, but Dudley was no more +successful than the others. He failed in obtaining the renewal of his +patent. Another applicant for the like privilege, probably having +greater interest at court, proved more successful. Colonel Proger and +three others[14] were granted a patent to make iron with coal; but +Dudley knew the secret, which the new patentees did not; and their +patent came to nothing. + +Dudley continued to address the king in importunate petitions, asking +to be restored to his former offices of Serjeant-at-arms, Lieutenant of +Ordnance, and Surveyor of the Mews or Armoury. He also petitioned to +be appointed Master of the Charter House in Smithfield, professing +himself willing to take anything, or hold any living.[15] We find him +sending in two petitions to a similar effect in June, 1660; and a third +shortly after. The result was, that he was reappointed to the office +of Serjeant-at-Arms; but the Mastership of the Charter-House was not +disposed of until 1662, when it fell to the lot of one Thomas +Watson.[16] In 1661, we find a patent granted to Wm. Chamberlaine +and--Dudley, Esq., for the sole use of their new invention of plating +steel, &c., and tinning the said plates; but whether Dud Dudley was the +person referred to, we are unable precisely to determine. A few years +later, he seems to have succeeded in obtaining the means of prosecuting +his original invention; for in his Metallum Martis, published in 1665, +he describes himself as living at Green's Lodge, in Staffordshire; and +he says that near it are four forges, Green's Forge, Swin Forge, Heath +Forge, and Cradley Forge, where he practises his "perfect invention." +These forges, he adds, "have barred all or most part of their iron with +pit-coal since the authors first invention In 1618, which hath +preserved much wood. In these four, besides many other forges, do the +like [sic ]; yet the author hath had no benefit thereby to this +present." From that time forward, Dud becomes lost to sight. He seems +eventually to have retired to St. Helen's in Worcestershire, where he +died in 1684, in the 85th year of his age. He was buried in the parish +church there, and a monument, now destroyed, was erected to his memory, +bearing the inscription partly set forth underneath.[17] + + + +[1] As late as 1790, long after the monopoly of the foreign merchants +had been abolished, Pennant says, "The present Steelyard is the great +repository of imported iron, which furnishes our metropolis with that +necessary material. The quantity of bars that fills the yards and +warehouses of this quarter strikes with astonishment the most +indifferent beholder."--PENNANT, Account of London, 309. + +[2] STURTEVANT'S Metallica; briefly comprehending the Doctrine of +Diverse New Metallical Inventions, &c. Reprinted and published at the +Great Seal Patent Office, 1858. + +[3] Reprinted and published at the Great Seal Patent Office, 1858. + +[4] Among the early patentees, besides the names of Sturtevant and +Rovenzon, we find those of Jordens, Francke, Sir Phillibert Vernatt, +and other foreigners of the above nations. + +[5] Mr. Parkshouse was one of the esquires to Sir Ferdinando Dudley +(the legitimate son of the Earl of Dudley) When he was made Knight of +the Bath. Sir Ferdinando's only daughter Frances married Humble Ward, +son and heir of William Ward, goldsmith and jeweller to Charles the +First's queen. Her husband having been created a baron by the title of +Baron Ward of Birmingham, and Frances becoming Baroness of Dudley in +her own right on the demise of her father, the baronies of Dudley and +Ward thus became united in their eldest son Edward in the year 1697. + +[6] Patent No. 117, Old Series, granted in 1638, to Sir George Horsey, +David Ramsey, Roger Foulke, and Dudd Dudley. + +[7] By his own account, given in Metallum Martis, while in Scotland in +1637, he visited the Highlands as well as the Lowlands, spending the +whole summer of that year "in opening of mines and making of +discoveries;" spending part of the time with Sir James Hope of Lead +Hills, near where, he says, "he got gold." It does not appear, +however, that any iron forges existed in Scotland at the time: indeed +Dudley expressly says that "Scotland maketh no iron;" and in his +treatise of 1665 he urges that the Corporation of the Mines Royal +should set him and his inventions at work to enable Scotland to enjoy +the benefit of a cheap and abundant supply of the manufactured article. + +[8] The Journals of the House of Commons, of the 13th June, 1642, +contain the resolution "that Captain Wolseley, Ensign Dudley, and John +Lometon be forthwith sent for, as delinquents, by the Serjeant-at-Arms +attending on the House, for giving interruption to the execution of the +ordinance of the militia in the county of Leicester." + +[9] Small pieces of artillery, specimens of which are still to be seen +in the museum at Woolwich Arsenal and at the Tower. + +[10] State Paper Office, Dom. Charles II., vol. xi. 54. + +[11] The Journals of the House of Commons, on the 2nd Nov. 1652, have +the following entry: "The House this day resumed the debate upon the +additional Bill for sale of several lands and estates forfeited to the +Commonwealth for treason, when it was resolved that the name of Dud +Dudley of Green Lodge be inserted into this Bill." + +[12] Mr. Mushet, in his 'Papers on Iron,' says, that "although he had +carefully examined every spot and relic in Dean Forest likely to denote +the site of Dud Dudley's enterprising but unfortunate experiment of +making pig-iron with pit coal," it had been without success; neither +could he find any traces of the like operations of Cromwell and his +partners. + +[13] Dudley says, "Major Wildman, more barbarous to me than a wild man, +although a minister, bought the author's estate, near 200L. per annum, +intending to compell from the author his inventions of making iron with +pitcole, but afterwards passed my estate unto two barbarous brokers of +London, that pulled down the author's two mantion houses, sold 500 +timber trees off his land, and to this day are his houses unrepaired." +Wildman himself fell under the grip of Cromwell. Being one of the +chiefs of the Republican party, he was seized at Exton, near +Marlborough, in 1654, and imprisoned in Chepstow Castle. + +[14] June 13, 1661. Petition of Col. Jas. Proger and three others to +the king for a patent for the sole exercise of their invention of +melting down iron and other metals with coal instead of wood, as the +great consumption of coal [charcoal?] therein causes detriment to +shipping, &c. With reference thereon to Attorney-General Palmer, and +his report, June 18, in favour of the petition,--State Papers, Charles +II. (Dom. vol. xxxvii, 49.) + +[15] In his second petition he prays that a dwelling-house situated in +Worcester, and belonging to one Baldwin, "a known traitor," may be +assigned to him in lieu of Alderman Nash's, which had reverted to that +individual since his return to loyalty; Dudley reminding the king that +his own house in that city had been given up by him for the service of +his father Charles I., and turned into a factory for arms. It does not +appear that this part of his petition was successful. + +[16] State Papers, vol. xxxi. Doquet Book, p.89. + +[17] + + Pulvis et umbra sumus + Memento mori. + +Dodo Dudley chiliarchi nobilis Edwardi nuper domini de Dudley filius, +patri charus et regiae Majestatis fidissimus subditus et servus in +asserendo regein, in vindicartdo ecclesiam, in propugnando legem ac +libertatem Anglicanam, saepe captus, anno 1648, semel condemnatus et +tamen non decollatus, renatum denuo vidit diadaema hic inconcussa +semper virtute senex. + + Differt non aufert mortem longissima vita + Sed differt multam cras hodiere mori. + Quod nequeas vitare, fugis: + Nec formidanda est. + +Plot frequently alludes to Dudley in his Natural History of +Staffordshire, and when he does so he describes him as the "worshipful +Dud Dudley," showing the estimation in which he was held by his +contemporaries. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +ANDREW YARRANTON. + +"There never have been wanting men to whom England's improvement by sea +and land was one of the dearest thoughts of their lives, and to whom +England's good was the foremost of their worldly considerations. And +such, emphatically, was Andrew Yarranton, a true patriot in the best +sense of the word."--DOVE, Elements of Political Science. + + +That industry had a sore time of it during the civil wars will further +appear from the following brief account of Andrew Yarranton, which may +be taken as a companion memoir to that of Dud Dudley. For Yarranton +also was a Worcester ironmaster and a soldier--though on the opposite +side,--but more even than Dudley was he a man of public spirit and +enterprise, an enlightened political economist (long before political +economy had been recognised as a science), and in many respects a true +national benefactor. Bishop Watson said that he ought to have had a +statue erected to his memory because of his eminent public services; +and an able modern writer has gone so far as to say of him that he was +"the founder of English political economy, the first man in England who +saw and said that peace was better than war, that trade was better than +plunder, that honest industry was better than martial greatness, and +that the best occupation of a government was to secure prosperity at +home, and let other nations alone." [1] + +Yet the name of Andrew Yarranton is scarcely remembered, or is at most +known to only a few readers of half-forgotten books. The following +brief outline of his history is gathered from his own narrative and +from documents in the State Paper Office. + +Andrew Yarranton was born at the farmstead of Larford, in the parish of +Astley, in Worcestershire, in the year 1616.[2] In his sixteenth year +he was put apprentice to a Worcester linendraper, and remained at that +trade for some years; but not liking it, he left it, and was leading a +country life when the civil wars broke out. Unlike Dudley, he took the +side of the Parliament, and joined their army, in which he served for +some time as a soldier. His zeal and abilities commended him to his +officers, and he was raised from one position to another, until in the +course of a few years we find him holding the rank of captain. "While +a soldier," says he, "I had sometimes the honour and misfortune to +lodge and dislodge an army;" but this is all the information he gives +us of his military career. In the year 1648 he was instrumental in +discovering and frustrating a design on the part of the Royalists to +seize Doyley House in the county of Hereford, and other strongholds, +for which he received the thanks of Parliament "for his ingenuity, +discretion, and valour," and a substantial reward of 500L.[3] He was +also recommended to the Committee of Worcester for further employment. +But from that time we hear no more of him in connection with the civil +wars. When Cromwell assumed the supreme control of affairs, Yarranton +retired from the army with most of the Presbyterians, and devoted +himself to industrial pursuits. + +We then find him engaged in carrying on the manufacture of iron at +Ashley, near Bewdley, in Worcestershire. "In the year 1652", says he, +"I entered upon iron-works, and plied them for several years." [4] He +made it a subject of his diligent study how to provide employment for +the poor, then much distressed by the late wars. With the help of his +wife, he established a manufacture of linen, which was attended with +good results. Observing how the difficulties of communication, by +reason of the badness of the roads, hindered the development of the +rich natural resources of the western counties,[5] he applied himself +to the improvement of the navigation of the larger rivers, making +surveys of them at his own cost, and endeavouring to stimulate local +enterprise so as to enable him to carry his plans into effect. + +While thus occupied, the restoration of Charles II. took place, and +whether through envy or enmity Yarranton's activity excited the +suspicion of the authorities. His journeys from place to place seemed +to them to point to some Presbyterian plot on foot. On the 13th of +November, 1660, Lord Windsor, Lord-Lieutenant of the county, wrote to +the Secretary of State--"There is a quaker in prison for speaking +treason against his Majesty, and a countryman also, and Captain +Yarrington for refusing to obey my authority." [6] It would appear +from subsequent letters that Yarranton must have lain in prison for +nearly two years, charged with conspiring against the king's authority, +the only evidence against him consisting of some anonymous letter's. +At the end of May, 1662, he succeeded in making his escape from the +custody of the Provost Marshal. The High Sheriff scoured the country +after him at the head of a party of horse, and then he communicated to +the Secretary of State, Sir Edward Nicholas, that the suspected +conspirator could not be found, and was supposed to have made his way +to London. Before the end of a month Yarranton was again in custody, +as appears from the communication of certain justices of Surrey to Sir +Edward Nicholas.[7] As no further notice of Yarranton occurs in the +State Papers, and as we shortly after find him publicly occupied in +carrying out his plans for improving the navigation of the western +rivers, it is probable that his innocence of any plot was established +after a legal investigation. A few years later he published in London +a 4to. tract entitled 'A Full Discovery of the First Presbyterian Sham +Plot,' which most probably contained a vindication of his conduct.[8] + +Yarranton was no sooner at liberty than we find him again occupied with +his plans of improved inland navigation. His first scheme was to +deepen the small river Salwarp, so as to connect Droitwich with the +Severn by a water communication, and thus facilitate the transport of +the salt so abundantly yielded by the brine springs near that town. In +1665, the burgesses of Droitwich agreed to give him 750L. and eight +salt vats in Upwich, valued at 80L. per annum, with three-quarters of a +vat in Northwich, for twenty-one years, in payment for the work. But +the times were still unsettled, and Yarranton and his partner Wall not +being rich, the scheme was not then carried into effect.[9] In the +following year we find him occupied with a similar scheme to open up +the navigation of the river Stour, passing by Stourport and +Kidderminster, and connect it by an artificial cut with the river +Trent. Some progress was made with this undertaking, so far in advance +of the age, but, like the other, it came to a stand still for want of +money, and more than a hundred years passed before it was carried out +by a kindred genius--James Brindley, the great canal maker. Mr. +Chambers says that when Yarranton's scheme was first brought forward, +it met with violent opposition and ridicule. The undertaking was +thought wonderfully bold, and, joined to its great extent, the sandy, +spongy nature of the ground, the high banks necessary to prevent the +inundation of the Stour on the canal, furnished its opponents, if not +with sound argument, at least with very specious topics for opposition +and laughter.[10] Yarranton's plan was to make the river itself +navigable, and by uniting it with other rivers, open up a communication +with the Trent; while Brindley's was to cut a canal parallel with the +river, and supply it with water from thence. Yarranton himself thus +accounts for the failure of his scheme in 'England's Improvement by Sea +and Land':--"It was my projection," he says, "and I will tell you the +reason why it was not finished. The river Stour and some other rivers +were granted by an Act of Parliament to certain persons of honor, and +some progress was made in the work, but within a small while after the +Act passed[11] it was let fall again; but it being a brat of my own, I +was not willing it should be abortive, wherefore I made offers to +perfect it, having a third part of the inheritance to me and my heirs +for ever, and we came to an agreement, upon which I fell on, and made +it completely navigable from Stourbridge to Kidderminster, and carried +down many hundred tons of coal, and laid out near 1000L., and there it +was obstructed for want of money." [12] + +Another of Yarranton's far-sighted schemes of a similar kind was one to +connect the Thames with the Severn by means of an artificial cut, at +the very place where, more than a century after his death, it was +actually carried out by modern engineers. This canal, it appears, was +twice surveyed under his direction by his son. He did, however, +succeed in his own time in opening up the navigation of the Avon, and +was the first to carry barges upon its waters from Tewkesbury to +Stratford. + +The improvement of agriculture, too, had a share of Yarranton's +attention. He saw the soil exhausted by long tillage and constantly +repeated crops of rye, and he urged that the land should have rest or +at least rotation of crop. With this object he introduced clover-seed, +and supplied it largely to the farmers of the western counties, who +found their land doubled in value by the new method of husbandry, and +it shortly became adopted throughout the country. Seeing how commerce +was retarded by the small accommodation provided for shipping at the +then principal ports, Yarranton next made surveys and planned docks for +the city of London; but though he zealously advocated the subject, he +found few supporters, and his plans proved fruitless. In this respect +he was nearly a hundred and fifty years before his age, and the London +importers continued to conduct their shipping business in the crowded +tideway of the Thames down even to the beginning of the present century. + +While carrying on his iron works, it occurred to Yarranton that it +would be of great national advantage if the manufacture of tin-plate +could be introduced into England. Although the richest tin mines then +known existed in this country, the mechanical arts were at so low an +ebb that we were almost entirely dependent upon foreigners for the +supply of the articles manufactured from the metal. The Saxons were +the principal consumers of English tin, and we obtained from them in +return nearly the whole of our tin-plates. All attempts made to +manufacture them in England had hitherto failed; the beating out of the +iron by hammers into laminae sufficiently thin and smooth, and the +subsequent distribution and fixing of the film of tin over the surface +of the iron, proving difficulties which the English manufacturers were +unable to overcome. To master these difficulties the indefatigable +Yarranton set himself to work. "Knowing," says he, "the usefulness of +tin-plates and the goodness of our metals for that purpose, I did, +about sixteen years since (i.e. about 1665), endeavour to find out the +way for making thereof; whereupon I acquainted a person of much riches, +and one that was very understanding in the iron manufacture, who was +pleased to say that he had often designed to get the trade into +England, but never could find out the way. Upon which it was agreed +that a sum of monies should be advanced by several persons,[13] for the +defraying of my charges of travelling to the place where these plates +are made, and from thence to bring away the art of making them. Upon +which, an able fire-man, that well understood the nature of iron, was +made choice of to accompany me; and being fitted with an ingenious +interpreter that well understood the language, and that had dealt much +in that commodity, we marched first for Hamburgh, then to Leipsic, and +from thence to Dresden, the Duke of Saxony's court, where we had notice +of the place where the plates were made; which was in a large tract of +mountainous land, running from a place called Seger-Hutton unto a town +called Awe [Au], being in length about twenty miles." [14] + +It is curious to find how much the national industry of England has +been influenced by the existence from time to time of religious +persecutions abroad, which had the effect of driving skilled Protestant +artisans, more particularly from Flanders and France, into England, +where they enjoyed the special protection of successive English +Governments, and founded various important branches of manufacture. +But it appears from the history of the tin manufactures of Saxony, that +that country also had profited in like manner by the religious +persecutions of Germany, and even of England itself. Thus we are told +by Yarranton that it was a Cornish miner, a Protestant, banished out of +England for his religion in Queen Mary's time, who discovered the tin +mines at Awe, and that a Romish priest of Bohemia, who had been +converted to Lutheranism and fled into Saxony for refuge, "was the +chief instrument in the manufacture until it was perfected." These two +men were held in great regard by the Duke of Saxony as well as by the +people of the country; for their ingenuity and industry proved the +source of great prosperity and wealth, "several fine cities," says +Yarranton, "having been raised by the riches proceeding from the +tin-works"--not less than 80,000 men depending upon the trade for their +subsistence; and when Yarranton visited Awe, he found that a statue had +been erected to the memory of the Cornish miner who first discovered +the tin. + +Yarranton was very civilly received by the miners, and, contrary to his +expectation, he was allowed freely to inspect the tin-works and examine +the methods by which the iron-plates were rolled out, as well as the +process of tinning them. He was even permitted to engage a number of +skilled workmen, whom he brought over with him to England for the +purpose of starting the manufacture in this country. A beginning was +made, and the tin-plates manufactured by Yarranton's men were +pronounced of better quality even than those made in Saxony. "Many +thousand plates," Yarranton says, "were made from iron raised in the +Forest of Dean, and were tinned over with Cornish tin; and the plates +proved far better than the German ones, by reason of the toughness and +flexibleness of our forest iron. One Mr. Bison, a tinman in Worcester, +Mr. Lydiate near Fleet Bridge, and Mr. Harrison near the King's Bench, +have wrought many, and know their goodness." As Yarranton's account was +written and published during the lifetime of the parties, there is no +reason to doubt the accuracy of his statement. + +Arrangements were made to carry on the manufacture upon a large scale; +but the secret having got wind, a patent was taken out, or "trumpt up" +as Yarranton calls it, for the manufacture, "the patentee being +countenanced by some persons of quality," and Yarranton was precluded +from carrying his operations further. It is not improbable that the +patentee in question was William Chamberlaine, Dud Dudley's quondam +partner in the iron manufacture.[15] "What with the patent being in +our way," says Yarranton, "and the richest of our partners being afraid +to offend great men in power, who had their eye upon us, it caused the +thing to cool, and the making of the tin-plates was neither proceeded +in by us, nor possibly could be by him that had the patent; because +neither he that hath the patent, nor those that have countenanced him, +can make one plate fit for use." Yarranton's labours were thus lost to +the English public for a time; and we continued to import all our +tin-plates from Germany until about sixty years later, when a tin-plate +manufactory was established by Capel Hanbury at Pontypool in +Monmouthshire, where it has since continued to be successfully carried +on. + +We can only briefly refer to the subsequent history of Andrew +Yarranton. Shortly after his journey into Saxony, he proceeded to +Holland to examine the inland navigations of the Dutch, to inspect +their linen and other manufactures, and to inquire into the causes of +the then extraordinary prosperity of that country compared with +England. Industry was in a very languishing state at home. "People +confess they are sick," said Yarranton, "that trade is in a +consumption, and the whole nation languishes." He therefore determined +to ascertain whether something useful might not be learnt from the +example of Holland. The Dutch were then the hardest working and the +most thriving people in Europe. They were manufacturers and carriers +for the world. Their fleets floated on every known sea; and their +herring-busses swarmed along our coasts as far north as the Hebrides. +The Dutch supplied our markets with fish caught within sight of our own +shores, while our coasting population stood idly looking on. Yarranton +regarded this state of things as most discreditable, and he urged the +establishment of various branches of home industry as the best way of +out-doing the Dutch without fighting them. + +Wherever he travelled abroad, in Germany or in Holland, he saw industry +attended by wealth and comfort, and idleness by poverty and misery. +The same pursuits, he held, would prove as beneficial to England as +they were abundantly proved to have been to Holland. The healthy life +of work was good for all--for individuals as for the whole nation; and +if we would out-do the Dutch, he held that we must out-do them in +industry. But all must be done honestly and by fair means. "Common +Honesty," said Yarranton, "is as necessary and needful in kingdoms and +commonwealths that depend upon Trade, as discipline is in an army; and +where there is want of common Honesty in a kingdom or commonwealth, +from thence Trade shall depart. For as the Honesty of all governments +is, so shall be their Riches; and as their Honour, Honesty, and Riches +are, so will be their Strength; and as their Honour, Honesty, Riches, +and Strength are, so will be their Trade. These are five sisters that +go hand in hand, and must not be parted." Admirable sentiments, which +are as true now as they were two hundred years ago, when Yarranton +urged them upon the attention of the English public. + +On his return from Holland, he accordingly set on foot various schemes +of public utility. He stirred up a movement for the encouragement of +the British fisheries. He made several journeys into Ireland for the +purpose of planting new manufactures there. He surveyed the River +Slade with the object of rendering it navigable, and proposed a plan +for improving the harbour of Dublin. He also surveyed the Dee in +England with a view to its being connected with the Severn. Chambers +says that on the decline of his popularity in 1677, he was taken by +Lord Clarendon to Salisbury to survey the River Avon, and find out how +that river might be made navigable, and also whether a safe harbour for +ships could be made at Christchurch; and that having found where he +thought safe anchorage might be obtained, his Lordship proceeded to act +upon Yarranton's recommendations.[16] + +Another of his grand schemes was the establishment of the linen +manufacture in the central counties of England, which, he showed, were +well adapted for the growth of flax; and he calculated that if success +attended his efforts, at least two millions of money then sent out of +the country for the purchase of foreign linen would be retained at +home, besides increasing the value of the land on which the flax was +grown, and giving remunerative employment to our own people, then +emigrating for want of work. "Nothing but Sloth or Envy," he said, +"can possibly hinder my labours from being crowned with the wished for +success; our habitual fondness for the one hath already brought us to +the brink of ruin, and our proneness to the other hath almost +discouraged all pious endeavours to promote our future happiness." + +In 1677 he published the first part of his England's Improvement by Sea +and Land--a very remarkable book, full of sagacious insight as +respected the future commercial and manufacturing greatness of England. +Mr. Dove says of this book that "Yarranton chalks out in it the future +course of Britain with as free a hand as if second-sight had revealed +to him those expansions of her industrial career which never fail to +surprise us, even when we behold them realized." Besides his extensive +plans for making harbours and improving internal navigation with the +object of creating new channels for domestic industry, his schemes for +extending the iron and the woollen trades, establishing the linen +manufacture, and cultivating the home fisheries, we find him throwing +out various valuable suggestions with reference to the means of +facilitating commercial transactions, some of winch have only been +carried out in our own day. One of his grandest ideas was the +establishment of a public bank, the credit of which, based upon the +security of freehold land,[17] should enable its paper "to go in trade +equal with ready money." A bank of this sort formed one of the +principal means by which the Dutch had been enabled to extend their +commercial transactions, and Yarranton accordingly urged its +introduction into England. Part of his scheme consisted of a voluntary +register of real property, for the purpose of effecting simplicity of +title, and obtaining relief from the excessive charges for law,[18] as +well as enabling money to be readily raised for commercial purposes on +security of the land registered. + +He pointed out very graphically the straits to which a man is put who +is possessed of real property enough, but in a time of pressure is +unable to turn himself round for want of ready cash. "Then," says he, +"all his creditors crowd to him as pigs do through a hole to a bean and +pease rick." "Is it not a sad thing," he asks, "that a goldsmith's boy +in Lombard Street, who gives notes for the monies handed him by the +merchants, should take up more monies upon his notes in one day than +two lords, four knights, and eight esquires in twelve months upon all +their personal securities? We are, as it were, cutting off our legs and +arms to see who will feed the trunk. But we cannot expect this from +any of our neighbours abroad, whose interest depends upon our loss." + +He therefore proposed his registry of property as a ready means of +raising a credit for purposes of trade. Thus, he says, "I can both in +England and Wales register my wedding, my burial, and my christening, +and a poor parish clerk is entrusted with the keeping of the book; and +that which is registered there is held good by our law. But I cannot +register my lands, to be honest, to pay every man his own, to prevent +those sad things that attend families for want thereof, and to have the +great benefit and advantage that would come thereby. A register will +quicken trade, and the land registered will be equal as cash in a man's +hands, and the credit thereof will go and do in trade what ready money +now doth." His idea was to raise money, when necessary, on the land +registered, by giving security thereon after a form which he suggested. +He would, in fact, have made land, as gold now is, the basis of an +extended currency; and he rightly held that the value of land as a +security must always be unexceptionable, and superior to any metallic +basis that could possibly be devised. + +This indefatigable man continued to urge his various designs upon the +attention of the public until he was far advanced in years. He +professed that he was moved to do so (and we believe him) solely by an +ardent love for his country, "whose future flourishing," said he, "is +the only reward I ever hope to see of all my labours." Yarranton, +however, received but little thanks for his persistency, while he +encountered many rebuffs. The public for the most part turned a deaf +ear to his entreaties; and his writings proved of comparatively small +avail, at least during his own lifetime. He experienced the lot of +many patriots, even the purest--the suspicion and detraction of his +contemporaries. His old political enemies do not seem to have +forgotten him, of which we have the evidence in certain rare +"broadsides" still extant, twitting him with the failure of his +schemes, and even trumping up false charges of disloyalty against +him.[19] + +In 1681 he published the second part of 'England's Improvement,'[20] in +which he gave a summary account of its then limited growths and +manufactures, pointing out that England and Ireland were the only +northern kingdoms remaining unimproved; he re-urged the benefits and +necessity of a voluntary register of real property; pointed out a +method of improving the Royal Navy, lessening the growing power of +France, and establishing home fisheries; proposed the securing and +fortifying of Tangier; described a plan for preventing fires in London, +and reducing the charge for maintaining the Trained Bands; urged the +formation of a harbour at Newhaven in Sussex; and, finally, discoursed +at considerable length upon the tin, iron, linen, and woollen trades, +setting forth various methods for their improvement. In this last +section, after referring to the depression in the domestic tin trade +(Cornish tin selling so low as 70s. the cwt.), he suggested a way of +reviving it. With the Cornish tin he would combine "the Roman cinders +and iron-stone in the Forest of Dean, which makes the best iron for +most uses in the world, and works up to the best advantage, with +delight and pleasure to the workmen." He then described the history of +his own efforts to import the manufacture of tin-plates into England +some sixteen years before, in which he had been thwarted by +Chamberlaine's patent, as above described,--and offered sundry queries +as to the utility of patents generally, which, says he, "have the +tendency to drive trade out of the kingdom." Appended to the chapter on +Tin is an exceedingly amusing dialogue between a tin-miner of Cornwall, +an iron-miner of Dean Forest, and a traveller (himself). From this we +gather that Yarranton's business continued to be that of an +iron-manufacturer at his works at Ashley near Bewdley. Thus the +iron-miner says, "About 28 years since Mr. Yarranton found out a vast +quantity of Roman cinders, near the walls of the city of Worcester, +from whence he and others carried away many thousand tons or loads up +the river Severn, unto their iron-furnaces, to be melted down into +iron, with a mixture of the Forest of Dean iron-stone; and within 100 +yards of the walls of the city of Worcester there was dug up one of the +hearths of the Roman foot-blasts, it being then firm and in order, and +was 7 foot deep in the earth; and by the side of the work there was +found a pot of Roman coin to the quantity of a peck, some of which was +presented to Sir [Wm.] Dugdale, and part thereof is now in the King's +Closet." [21] + +In the same year (1681) in which the second part of 'England's +Improvement' appeared, Yarranton proceeded to Dunkirk for the purpose +of making a personal survey of that port, then belonging to England; +and on his return he published a map of the town, harbour, and castle +on the sea, with accompanying letterpress, in which he recommended, for +the safety of British trade, the demolition of the fortifications of +Dunkirk before they were completed, which he held would only be for the +purpose of their being garrisoned by the French king. His 'Full +Discovery of the First Presbyterian Sham Plot' was published in the +same year; and from that time nothing further is known of Andrew +Yarranton. His name and his writings have been alike nearly forgotten; +and, though Bishop Watson declared of him that he deserved to have a +statue erected to his memory as a great public benefactor, we do not +know that he was so much as honoured with a tombstone; for we have been +unable, after careful inquiry, to discover when and where he died. + +Yarranton was a man whose views were far in advance of his age. The +generation for whom he laboured and wrote were not ripe for their +reception and realization; and his voice sounded among the people like +that of one crying in the wilderness. But though his exhortations to +industry and his large plans of national improvement failed to work +themselves into realities in his own time, he broke the ground, he +sowed the seed, and it may be that even at this day we are in some +degree reaping the results of his labours. At all events, his books +still live to show how wise and sagacious Andrew Yarranton was beyond +his contemporaries as to the true methods of establishing upon solid +foundations the industrial prosperity of England. + + + +[1] PATRICK EDWARD DOVE, Elements of Political Science. Edinburgh, +1854. + +[2] A copy of the entries in the parish register relating to the +various members of the Yarranton family, kindly forwarded to us by the +Rev. H. W. Cookes, rector of Astley, shows them to have resided in that +parish for many generations. There were the Yarrantons of Yarranton, +of Redstone, of Larford, of Brockenton, and of Longmore. With that +disregard for orthography in proper names which prevailed some three +hundred years since, they are indifferently designated as Yarran, +Yarranton, and Yarrington. The name was most probably derived from two +farms named Great and Little Yarranton, or Yarran (originally +Yarhampton), situated in the parish of Astley. The Yarrantons +frequently filled local offices in that parish, and we find several of +them officiating at different periods as bailiffs of Bewdley. + +[3] Journals of the House of Commons, 1st July, 1648. + +[4] YARRANTON'S England's Improvement by Sea and Land. Part I. +London, 1677. + +[5] There seems a foundation of truth in the old English distich-- + + The North for Greatness, the East for Health, + The South for Neatness, the West for Wealth. + +[6] State Paper Office. Dom. Charles II. 1660-1. Yarranton afterwards +succeeded in making a friend of Lord Windsor, as would appear from his +dedication of England's Improvement to his Lordship, whom he thanks for +the encouragement he had given to him in his survey of several rivers +with a view to their being rendered navigable. + +[7] The following is a copy of the document from the State +Papers:--"John Bramfield, Geo. Moore, and Thos. Lee, Esqrs. and +Justices of Surrey, to Sir Edw. Nicholas.--There being this day brought +before us one Andrew Yarranton, and he accused to have broken prison, +or at least made his escape out of the Marshalsea at Worcester, being +there committed by the Deputy-Lieuts. upon suspicion of a plot in +November last; we having thereupon examined him, he allegeth that his +Majesty hath been sought unto on his behalf, and hath given order to +yourself for his discharge, and a supersedeas against all persons and +warrants, and thereupon hath desired to appeal unto you. The which we +conceiving to be convenient and reasonable (there being no positive +charge against him before us), have accordingly herewith conveyed him +unto you by a safe hand, to be further examined or disposed of as you +shall find meet."--S. P. O. Dom. Chas. II. 23rd June, 1662. + +[8] We have been unable to refer to this tract, there being no copy of +it in the British Museum. + +[9] NASH'S Worcestershire, i. 306. + +[10] JOHN CHAMBERS, Biographical Illustrations of Worcestershire. +London, 1820. + +[11] The Act for making the Stour and Salwarp navigable originated in +the Lords and was passed in the year 1661. + +[12] Nash, in his Hist. of Worc., intimates that Lord Windsor +subsequently renewed the attempt to make the Salwarp navigable. He +constructed five out of the six locks, and then abandoned the scheme. +Gough, in his edition of Camden's Brit. ii. 357, Lond. 1789, says, "It +is not long since some of the boats made use of in Yarranton's +navigation were found. Neither tradition nor our projector's account +of the matter perfectly satisfy us why this navigation was +neglected..... We must therefore conclude that the numerous works and +glass-houses upon the Stour, and in the neighbourhood of Stourbridge, +did not then exist, A.D. 1666. ....The navigable communication which +now connects Trent and Severn, and which runs in the course of +Yarranton's project, is already of general use.... The canal since +executed under the inspection of Mr. Brindley, running parallel with +the river.... cost the proprietors 105,000L." + +[13] In the dedication of his book, entitled Englands Improvement by +Sea and Land, Part I., Yarranton gives the names of the "noble +patriots" who sent him on his journey of inquiry. They were Sir Waiter +Kirtham Blount, Bart., Sir Samuel Baldwin and Sir Timothy Baldwin, +Knights, Thomas Foley and Philip Foley, Esquires, and six other +gentlemen. The father of the Foleys was himself supposed to have +introduced the art of iron-splitting into England by an expedient +similar to that adopted by Yarranton in obtaining a knowledge of the +tin-plate manufacture (Self-Help, p.145). The secret of the +silk-throwing machinery of Piedmont was in like manner introduced into +England by Mr. Lombe of Derby, who shortly succeeded in founding a +flourishing branch of manufacture. These were indeed the days of +romance and adventure in manufactures. + +[14] The district is known as the Erzgebirge or Ore Mountains, and the +Riesengebirge or Giant Mountains, MacCulloch says that upwards of 500 +mines are wrought in the former district, and that one-thirtieth of the +entire population of Saxony to this day derive their subsistence from +mining industry and the manufacture of metallic products.-- +Geographical Dict. ii. 643, edit. 1854. + +[15] Chamberlaine and Dudley's first licence was granted in 1661 for +plating steel and tinning the said plates; and Chamberlaine's sole +patent for "plating and tinning iron, copper, &c.," was granted in +1673, probably the patent in question. + +[16] JOHN CHAMBERS, Biographical Illustrations of Worcestershire. +London, 1820. + +[17] Yarranton's Land Bank was actually projected in 1695, and received +the sanction of Parliament; though the Bank of England (founded in the +preceding year) petitioned against it, and the scheme was dropped. + +[18] It is interesting to note in passing, that part of Yarranton's +scheme has recently been carried into effect by the Act (25 and 26 +Vict. c. 53) passed in 1862 for the Registration of Real Estate. + +[19] One of these is entitled 'A Coffee-house Dialogue, or a Discourse +between Captain Y---- and a Young Barrister of the Middle Temple; with +some Reflections upon the Bill against the D. of Y.' In this broadside, +of 3 1/2 pages folio, published about 1679, Yarranton is made to favour +the Duke of York's exclusion from the throne, not only because he was a +papist, but for graver reasons than he dare express. Another +scurrilous pamphlet, entitled 'A Word Without Doors,' was also aimed at +him. Yarranton, or his friends, replied to the first attack in a folio +of two pages, entitled 'The Coffee-house Dialogue Examined and Refuted, +by some Neighbours in the Country, well-wishers to the Kingdom's +interest.' The controversy was followed up by 'A Continuation of the +Coffee-house Dialogue,' in which the chief interlocutor hits Yarranton +rather hard for the miscarriage of his "improvements." "I know," says +he, "when and where you undertook for a small charge to make a river +navigable, and it has cost the proprietors about six times as much, and +is not yet effective; nor can any man rationally predict when it will +be. I know since you left it your son undertook it, and this winter +shamefully left his undertaking." Yarranton's friends immediately +replied in a four-page folio, entitled 'England's Improvements +Justified; and the Author thereof, Captain Y., vindicated from the +Scandals in a paper called a Coffee-house Dialogue; with some +Animadversions upon the Popish Designs therein contained.' The writer +says he writes without the privity or sanction of Yarranton, but +declares the dialogue to be a forgery, and that the alleged conference +never took place. "His innocence, when he heard of it, only provoked a +smile, with this answer, Spreta vilescunt, falsehoods mu st perish, and +are soonest destroyed by contempt; so that he needs no further +vindication. The writer then proceeds at some length to vindicate the +Captain's famous work and the propositions contained in it. + +[20] This work (especially with the plates) is excessively rare. There +is a copy of it in perfect condition in the Grenville Library, British +Museum. + +[21] Dr. Nash, in his History of Worcestershire, has thrown some doubts +upon this story; but Mr. Green, in his Historical Antiquities of the +city, has made a most able defence of Yarranton's statement (vol.i. 9, +in foot-note). + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +COALBROOKDALE IRON WORKS--THE DARBYS AND REYNOLDSES. + +"The triumph of the industrial arts will advance the cause of +civilization more rapidly than its warmest advocates could have hoped, +and contribute to the permanent prosperity and strength of the country +far move than the most splendid victories of successful war."--C. +BABBAGE, The Exposition of 1851. + + +Dud Dudley's invention of smelting iron with coke made of pit-coal was, +like many others, born before its time. It was neither appreciated by +the iron-masters nor by the workmen. All schemes for smelting ore with +any other fuel than charcoal made from wood were regarded with +incredulity. As for Dudley's Metallum Martis, as it contained no +specification, it revealed no secret; and when its author died, his +secret, whatever it might be, died with him. Other improvements were +doubtless necessary before the invention could be turned to useful +account. Thus, until a more powerful blowing-furnace had been +contrived, the production of pit-coal iron must necessarily have been +limited. Dudley himself does not seem to have been able to make more +on an average than five tons a-week, and seven tons at the outside. +Nor was the iron so good as that made by charcoal; for it is admitted +to have been especially liable to deterioration by the sulphureous +fumes of the coal in the process of manufacture. + +Dr. Plot, in his 'History of Staffordshire,' speaks of an experiment +made by one Dr. Blewstone, a High German, as "the last effort" made in +that county to smelt iron-ore with pit-coal. He is said to have "built +his furnace at Wednesbury, so ingeniously contrived (that only the +flame of the coal should come to the ore, with several other +conveniences), that many were of opinion he would succeed in it. But +experience, that great baffler of speculation, showed it would not be; +the sulphureous vitriolic steams that issue from the pyrites, which +frequently, if not always, accompanies pit-coal, ascending with the +flame, and poisoning the ore sufficiently to make it render much worse +iron than that made with charcoal, though not perhaps so much worse as +the body of the coal itself would possibly do." [1] Dr. Plot does not +give the year in which this "last effort" was made; but as we find that +one Dr. Frederic de Blewston obtained a patent from Charles II. on the +25th October, 1677, for "a new and effectual way of melting down, +forging, extracting, and reducing of iron and all metals and minerals +with pit-coal and sea-coal, as well and effectually as ever hath yet +been done by charcoal, and with much less charge;" and as Dr. Plot's +History, in which he makes mention of the experiment and its failure, +was published in 1686, it is obvious that the trial must have been made +between those years. + +As the demand for iron steadily increased with the increasing +population of the country, and as the supply of timber for smelting +purposes was diminishing from year to year, England was compelled to +rely more and more upon foreign countries for its supply of +manufactured iron. The number of English forges rapidly dwindled, and +the amount of the home production became insignificant in comparison +with what was imported from abroad. Yarranton, writing in 1676, speaks +of "the many iron-works laid down in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and in the +north of England, because the iron of Sweadland, Flanders, and Spain, +coming in so cheap, it cannot be made to profit here." There were many +persons, indeed, who held that it was better we should be supplied with +iron from Spain than make it at home, in consequence of the great waste +of wood involved by the manufacture; but against this view Yarranton +strongly contended, and held, what is as true now as it was then, that +the manufacture of iron was the keystone of England's industrial +prosperity. He also apprehended great danger to the country from want +of iron in event of the contingency of a foreign war. "When the +greatest part of the iron-works are asleep," said he, "if there should +be occasion for great quantities of guns and bullets, and other sorts +of iron commodities, for a present unexpected war, and the Sound happen +to be locked up, and so prevent iron coming to us, truly we should then +be in a fine case!" + +Notwithstanding these apprehended national perils arising from the want +of iron, no steps seem to have been taken to supply the deficiency, +either by planting woods on a large scale, as recommended by Yarranton, +or by other methods; and the produce of English iron continued steadily +to decline. In 1720-30 there were found only ten furnaces remaining in +blast in the whole Forest of Dean, where the iron-smelters were +satisfied with working up merely the cinders left by the Romans. A +writer of the time states that we then bought between two and three +hundred thousand pounds' worth of foreign iron yearly, and that England +was the best customer in Europe for Swedish and Russian iron.[2] By +the middle of the eighteenth century the home manufacture had so much +fallen off, that the total production of Great Britain is supposed to +have amounted to not more than 18,000 tons a year; four-fifths of the +iron used in the country being imported from Sweden.[3] + +The more that the remaining ironmasters became straitened for want of +wood, the more they were compelled to resort to cinders and coke made +from coal as a substitute. And it was found that under certain +circumstances this fuel answered the purpose almost as well as charcoal +of wood. The coke was made by burning the coal in heaps in the open +air, and it was usually mixed with coal and peat in the process of +smelting the ore. Coal by itself was used by the country smiths for +forging whenever they could procure it for their smithy fires; and in +the midland counties they had it brought to them, sometimes from great +distances, slung in bags across horses' backs,--for the state of the +roads was then so execrable as not to admit of its being led for any +considerable distance in carts. At length we arrive at a period when +coal seems to have come into general use, and when necessity led to its +regular employment both in smelting the ore and in manufacturing the +metal. And this brings us to the establishment of the Coalbrookdale +works, where the smelting of iron by means of coke and coal was first +adopted on a large scale as the regular method of manufacture. + +Abraham Darby, the first of a succession of iron manufacturers who bore +the same name, was the son of a farmer residing at Wrensnest, near +Dudley. He served an apprenticeship to a maker of malt-kilns near +Birmingham, after which he married and removed to Bristol in 1700, to +begin business on his own account. Industry is of all politics and +religions: thus Dudley was a Royalist and a Churchman, Yarranton was a +Parliamentarian and a Presbyterian, and Abraham Darby was a Quaker. At +Bristol he was joined by three partners of the same persuasion, who +provided the necessary capital to enable him to set up works at Baptist +Mills, near that city, where he carried on the business of malt-mill +making, to which he afterwards added brass and iron founding. + +At that period cast-iron pots were in very general use, forming the +principal cooking utensils of the working class. The art of casting +had, however, made such small progress in England that the pots were +for the most part imported from abroad. Darby resolved, if possible, +to enter upon this lucrative branch of manufacture; and he proceeded to +make a number of experiments in pot-making. Like others who had +preceded him, he made his first moulds of clay; but they cracked and +burst, and one trial failed after another. He then determined to find +out the true method of manufacturing the pots, by travelling into the +country from whence the best were imported, in order to master the +grand secret of the trade. With this object he went over to Holland in +the year 1706, and after diligent inquiry he ascertained that the only +sure method of casting "Hilton ware," as such castings were then +called, was in moulds of fine dry sand. This was the whole secret. + +Returning to Bristol, accompanied by some skilled Dutch workmen, Darby +began the new manufacture, and succeeded to his satisfaction. The work +was at first carried on with great secrecy, lest other makers should +copy the art; and the precaution was taken of stopping the keyhole of +the workshop-door while the casting was in progress. To secure himself +against piracy, he proceeded to take out a patent for the process in +the year 1708, and it was granted for the term of fourteen years. The +recital of the patent is curious, as showing the backward state of +English iron-founding at that time. It sets forth that "whereas our +trusty and well-beloved Abraham Darby, of our city of Bristol, smith, +hath by his petition humbly represented to us, that by his study, +industry, and expense, he hath found out and brought to perfection a +new way of casting iron bellied pots and other iron bellied ware in +sand only, without loam or clay, by which such iron pots and other ware +may be cast fine and with more ease and expedition, and may be afforded +cheaper than they can be by the way commonly used; and in regard to +their cheapness may be of great advantage to the poor of this our +kingdom, who for the most part use such ware, and in all probability +will prevent the merchants of England going to foreign markets for such +ware, from whence great quantities are imported, and likewise may in +time supply other markets with that manufacture of our dominions, +&c..... grants the said Abraham Darby the full power and sole privilege +to make and sell such pots and ware for and during the term of fourteen +years thence ensuing." + +Darby proceeded to make arrangements for carrying on the manufacture +upon a large scale at the Baptist Mills; but the other partners +hesitated to embark more capital in the concern, and at length refused +their concurrence. Determined not to be baulked in his enterprise, +Darby abandoned the Bristol firm; and in the year 1709 he removed to +Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, with the intention of prosecuting the +enterprise on his own account. He took the lease of a little furnace +which had existed at the place for more than a century, as the records +exist of a "smethe" or "smeth-house" at Coalbrookdale in the time of +the Tudors. The woods of oak and hazel which at that time filled the +beautiful dingles of the dale, and spread in almost a continuous forest +to the base of the Wrekin, furnished abundant fuel for the smithery. +As the trade of the Coalbrookdale firm extended, these woods became +cleared, until the same scarcity of fuel began to be experienced that +had already desolated the forests of Sussex, and brought the +manufacture of iron in that quarter to a stand-still. + +It appears from the 'Blast Furnace Memorandum Book' of Abraham Darby, +which we have examined, that the make of iron at the Coalbrookdale +foundry, in 1713, varied from five to ten tons a week. The principal +articles cast were pots, kettles, and other "hollow ware," direct from +the smelting-furnace; the rest of the metal was run into pigs. In +course of time we find that other castings were turned out: a few +grates, smoothing-irons, door-frames, weights, baking-plates, +cart-bushes, iron pestles and mortars, and occasionally a tailor's +goose. The trade gradually increased, until we find as many as 150 +pots and kettles cast in a week. + +The fuel used in the furnaces appears, from the Darby Memorandum-Book, +to have been at first entirely charcoal; but the growing scarcity of +wood seems to have gradually led to the use of coke, brays or small +coke, and peat. An abundance of coals existed in the neighbourhood: by +rejecting those of inferior quality, and coking the others with great +care, a combustible was obtained better fitted even than charcoal +itself for the fusion of that particular kind of ore which is found in +the coal-measures. Thus we find Darby's most favourite charge for his +furnaces to have been five baskets of coke, two of brays, and one of +peat; next followed the ore, and then the limestone. The use of +charcoal was gradually given up as the art of smelting with coke and +brays improved, most probably aided by the increased power of the +furnace-blast, until at length we find it entirely discontinued. + +The castings of Coalbrookdale gradually acquired a reputation, and the +trade of Abraham Darby continued to increase until the date of his +death, which occurred at Madeley Court in 1717. His sons were too +young at the time to carry on the business which he had so successfully +started, and several portions of the works were sold at a serious +sacrifice. But when the sons had grown up to manhood, they too entered +upon the business of iron-founding; and Abraham Darby's son and +grandson, both of the same name, largely extended the operations of the +firm, until Coalbrookdale, or, as it was popularly called, "Bedlam," +became the principal seat of one of the most important branches of the +iron trade. + +There seems to be some doubt as to the precise time when pit-coal was +first regularly employed at Coalbrookdale in smelting the ore. Mr. +Scrivenor says, "pit-coal was first used by Mr. Abraham Darby, in his +furnace at Coalbrookdale, in 1713;" [4] but we can find no confirmation +of this statement in the records of the Company. It is probable that +Mr. Darby used raw coal, as was done in the Forest of Dean at the same +time,[5] in the process of calcining the ore; but it would appear from +his own Memoranda that coke only was used in the process of smelting. +We infer from other circumstances that pit-coal was not employed for +the latter purpose until a considerably later period. The merit of its +introduction, and its successful use in iron-smelting, is due to Mr. +Richard Ford, who had married a daughter of Abraham Darby, and managed +the Coalbrookdale works in 1747. In a paper by the Rev. Mr. Mason, +Woodwardian Professor at Cambridge, given in the 'Philosophical +Transactions' for that year,[6] the first account of its successful +employment is stated as follows:--"Several attempts have been made to +run iron-ore with pit-coal: he (Mr. Mason) thinks it has not succeeded +anywhere, as we have had no account of its being practised; but Mr. +Ford, of Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, from iron-ore and coal, both got +in the same dale, makes iron brittle or tough as he pleases, there +being cannon thus cast so soft as to bear turning like wrought-iron." +Most probably, however, it was not until the time of Richard Reynolds, +who succeeded Abraham Darby the second in the management of the works +in 1757, that pit-coal came into large and regular use in the +blasting-furnaces as well as the fineries of Coalbrookdale. + +Richard Reynolds was born at Bristol in 1735. His parents, like the +Darbys, belonged to the Society of Friends, and he was educated in that +persuasion. Being a spirited, lively youth, the "old Adam" +occasionally cropped out in him; and he is even said, when a young man, +to have been so much fired by the heroism of the soldier's character +that he felt a strong desire to embrace a military career; but this +feeling soon died out, and he dropped into the sober and steady rut of +the Society. After serving an apprenticeship in his native town, he +was sent to Coalbrookdale on a mission of business, where he became +acquainted with the Darby family, and shortly after married Hannah, the +daughter of Abraham the second. He then entered upon the conduct of +the iron and coal works at Ketley and Horsehay, where he resided for +six years, removing to Coalbrookdale in 1763, to take charge of the +works there, on the death of his father-in-law. + +By the exertions and enterprise of the Darbys, the Coalbrookdale Works +had become greatly enlarged, giving remunerative employment to a large +and increasing population. The firm had extended their operations far +beyond the boundaries of the Dale: they had established foundries at +London, Bristol, and Liverpool, and agencies at Newcastle and Truro for +the disposal of steam-engines and other iron machinery used in the deep +mines of those districts. Watt had not yet perfected his steam-engine; +but there was a considerable demand for pumping-engines of Newcomen's +construction, many of which were made at the Coalbrookdale Works. The +increasing demand for iron gave an impetus to coal-mining, which in its +turn stimulated inventors in their improvement of the power of the +steam-engine; for the coal could not be worked quickly and +advantageously unless the pits could be kept clear of water. Thus one +invention stimulates another; and when the steam-engine had been +perfected by Watt, and enabled powerful-blowing apparatus to be worked +by its agency, we shall find that the production of iron by means of +pit-coal being rendered cheap and expeditious, soon became enormously +increased. + +We are informed that it was while Richard Reynolds had charge of the +Coalbrookdale works that a further important improvement was effected +in the manufacture of iron by pit-coal. Up to this time the conversion +of crude or cast iron into malleable or bar iron had been effected +entirely by means of charcoal. The process was carried on in a fire +called a finery, somewhat like that of a smith's forge; the iron being +exposed to the blast of powerful bellows, and in constant contact with +the fuel. In the first process of fusing the ironstone, coal had been +used for some time with increasing success; but the question arose, +whether coal might not also be used with effect in the second or +refining stage. Two of the foremen, named Cranege, suggested to Mr. +Reynolds that this might be performed in what is called a reverberatory +furnace,[7] in which the iron should not mix with the coal, but be +heated solely by the flame. Mr. Reynolds greatly doubted the +feasibility of the operation, but he authorized the Cranege, to make an +experiment of their process, the result of which will be found +described in the following extract of a letter from Mr. Reynolds to Mr. +Thomas Goldney of Bristol, dated "Coalbrookdale, 25th April, 1766":-- + +.... "I come now to what I think a matter of very great consequence. +It is some time since Thos. Cranege, who works at Bridgenorth Forge, +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 brothers Cranege, dated the 17th June, 1766; and the +identical words in the above letter were adopted in the specification +as descriptive of the process. By this method of puddling, as it is +termed, the manufacturer was thenceforward enabled to produce iron in +increased quantity at a large reduction in price; and though the +invention of the Craneges was greatly improved upon by Onions, and +subsequently by Cort, there can be no doubt as to the originality and +the importance of their invention. Mr. Tylor states that he was +informed by the son of Richard Reynolds that the wrought iron made at +Coalbrookdale by the Cranege process "was very good, quite tough, and +broke with a long, bright, fibrous fracture: that made by Cort +afterwards was quite different." [8] Though Mr. Reynolds's generosity +to the Craneges is apparent; in the course which he adopted in securing +for them a patent for the invention in their own names, it does not +appear to have proved of much advantage to them; and they failed to +rise above the rank which they occupied when their valuable discovery +was patented. This, however, was no fault of Richard Reynolds, but was +mainly attributable to the circumstance of other inventions in a great +measure superseding their process, and depriving them of the benefits +of their ingenuity. + +Among the important improvements introduced by Mr. Reynolds while +managing the Coalbrookdale Works, was the adoption by him for the first +time of iron instead of wooden rails in the tram-roads along which coal +and iron were conveyed from one part of the works to another, as well +as to the loading-places along the river Severn. He observed that the +wooden rails soon became decayed, besides being liable to be broken by +the heavy loads passing over them, occasioning much loss of time, +interruption to business, and heavy expenses in repairs. It occurred +to him that these inconveniences would be obviated by the use of rails +of cast-iron; and, having tried an experiment with them, it answered so +well, that in 1767 the whole of the wooden rails were taken up and +replaced by rails of iron. Thus was the era of iron railroads fairly +initiated at Coalbrookdale, and the example of Mr. Reynolds was shortly +after followed on all the tramroads throughout the Country. + +It is also worthy of note that the first iron bridge ever erected was +cast and made at the Coalbrookdale Works--its projection as well as its +erection being mainly due to the skill and enterprise of Abraham Darby +the third. When but a young man, he showed indications of that +sagacity and energy in business which seemed to be hereditary in his +family. One of the first things he did on arriving at man's estate was +to set on foot a scheme for throwing a bridge across the Severn at +Coalbrookdale, at a point where the banks were steep and slippery, to +accommodate the large population which had sprung up along both banks +of the river. There were now thriving iron, brick, and pottery works +established in the parishes of Madeley and Broseley; and the old ferry +on the Severn was found altogether inadequate for ready communication +between one bank and the other. The want of a bridge had long been +felt, and a plan of one had been prepared during the life time of +Abraham Darby the second; but the project was suspended at his death. +When his son came of age, he resolved to take up his father's dropped +scheme, and prosecute it to completion, which he did. Young Mr. Darby +became lord of the manor of Madeley in 1776, and was the owner of +one-half of the ferry in right of his lordship. He was so fortunate as +to find the owner of the other or Broseley half of the ferry equally +anxious with himself to connect the two banks of the river by means of +a bridge. The necessary powers were accordingly obtained from +Parliament, and a bridge was authorized to be built "of cast-iron, +stone, brick, or timber." A company was formed for the purpose of +carrying out the project, and the shares were taken by the adjoining +owners, Abraham Darby being the principal subscriber.[9] + +The construction of a bridge of iron was an entirely new idea. An +attempt had indeed been made at Lyons, in France, to construct such a +bridge more than twenty years before; but it had entirely failed, and a +bridge of timber was erected instead. It is not known whether the +Coalbrookdale masters had heard of that attempt; but, even if they had, +it could have been of no practical use to them. + +Mr. Pritchard, an architect of Shrewsbury, was first employed to +prepare a design of the intended structure, which is still preserved. +Although Mr. Pritchard proposed to introduce cast-iron in the arch of +the bridge, which was to be of 120 feet span, it was only as a sort of +key, occupying but a few feet at the crown of the arch. This sparing +use of cast iron indicates the timidity of the architect in dealing +with the new material--his plan exhibiting a desire to effect a +compromise between the tried and the untried in bridge-construction. +But the use of iron to so limited an extent, and in such a part of the +structure, was of more than questionable utility; and if Mr. +Pritchard's plan had been adopted, the problem of the iron bridge would +still have remained unsolved. + +The plan, however, after having been duly considered, was eventually +set aside, and another, with the entire arch of cast-iron, was prepared +under the superintendence of Abraham Darby, by Mr. Thomas Gregory, his +foreman of pattern-makers. This plan was adopted, and arrangements +were forthwith made for carrying it into effect. The abutments of the +bridge were built in 1777-8, during which the castings were made at the +foundry, and the ironwork was successfully erected in the course of +three months. The bridge was opened for traffic in 1779, and proved a +most serviceable structure. In 1788 the Society of Arts recognised Mr. +Darby's merit as its designer and erector by presenting him with their +gold medal; and the model of the bridge is still to be seen in the +collection of the Society. Mr. Robert Stephenson has said of the +structure: "If we consider that the manipulation of cast-iron was then +completely in its infancy, a bridge of such dimensions was doubtless a +bold as well as an original undertaking, and the efficiency of the +details is worthy of the boldness of the conception." [10] Mr. +Stephenson adds that from a defect in the construction the abutments +were thrust inwards at the approaches and the ribs partially fractured. +We are, however, informed that this is a mistake, though it does appear +that the apprehension at one time existed that such an accident might +possibly occur. + +To remedy the supposed defect, two small land arches were, in the year +1800, substituted for the stone approach on the Broseley side of the +bridge. While the work was in progress, Mr. Telford, the well-known +engineer, carefully examined the bridge, and thus spoke of its +condition at the time:--"The great improvement of erecting upon a +navigable river a bridge of cast-iron of one arch only was first put in +practice near Coalbrookdale. The bridge was executed in 1777 by Mr. +Abraham Darby, and the ironwork is now quite as perfect as when it was +first put up. Drawings of this bridge have long been before the +public, and have been much and justly admired." [11] A Coalbrookdale +correspondent, writing in May, 1862, informs us that "at the present +time the bridge is undergoing repair; and, special examination having +been made, there is no appearance either that the abutments have moved, +or that the ribs have been broken in the centre or are out of their +proper right line. There has, it is true, been a strain on the land +arches, and on the roadway plates, which, however, the main arch has +been able effectually to resist." + +The bridge has now been in profitable daily use for upwards of eighty +years, and has during that time proved of the greatest convenience to +the population of the district. So judicious was the selection of its +site, and so great its utility, that a thriving town of the name of +Ironbridge has grown up around it upon what, at the time of its +erection, was a nameless part of "the waste of the manor of Madeley." +And it is probable that the bridge will last for centuries to come. +Thus, also, was the use of iron as an important material in +bridge-building fairly initiated at Coalbrookdale by Abraham Darby, as +the use of iron rails was by Richard Reynolds. We need scarcely add +that since the invention and extensive adoption of railway locomotion, +the employment of iron in various forms in railway and bridge +structures has rapidly increased, until iron has come to be regarded as +the very sheet-anchor of the railway engineer. + +In the mean time the works at Coalbrookdale had become largely +extended. In 1784, when the government of the day proposed to levy a +tax on pit-coal, Richard Reynolds strongly urged upon Mr. Pitt, then +Chancellor of the Exchequer, as well as on Lord Gower, afterwards +Marquis of Stafford, the impolicy of such a tax. To the latter he +represented that large capitals had been invested in the iron trade, +which was with difficulty carried on in the face of the competition +with Swedish and Russian iron. At Coalbrookdale, sixteen "fire +engines," as steam engines were first called, were then at work, eight +blast-furnaces and nine forges, besides the air furnaces and mills at +the foundry, which, with the levels, roads, and more than twenty miles +of iron railways, gave employment to a very large number of people. +"The advancement of the iron trade within these few years," said he, +"has been prodigious. It was thought, and justly, that the making of +pig-iron with pit coal was a great acquisition to the country by saving +the wood and supplying a material to manufactures, the production of +which, by the consumption of all the wood the country produced, was +formerly unequal to the demand, and the nail trade, perhaps the most +considerable of any one article of manufactured iron, would have been +lost to this country had it not been found practicable to make nails of +iron made with pit coal. We have now another process to attempt, and +that is to make BAR IRON with pit coal; and it is for that purpose we +have made, or rather are making, alterations at Donnington Wood, +Ketley, and elsewhere, which we expect to complete in the present year, +but not at a less expense than twenty thousand pounds, which will be +lost to us, and gained by nobody, if this tax is laid upon our coals." +He would not, however, have it understood that he sought for any +PROTECTION for the homemade iron, notwithstanding the lower prices of +the foreign article. "From its most imperfect state as pig-iron," he +observed to Lord Sheffield, "to its highest finish in the regulating +springs of a watch, we have nothing to fear if the importation into +each country should be permitted without duty." We need scarcely add +that the subsequent history of the iron trade abundantly justified +these sagacious anticipations of Richard Reynolds. + +He was now far advanced in years. His business had prospered, his +means were ample, and he sought retirement. He did not desire to +possess great wealth, which in his opinion entailed such serious +responsibilities upon its possessor; and he held that the accumulation +of large property was more to be deprecated than desired. He therefore +determined to give up his shares in the ironworks at Ketley to his sons +William and Joseph, who continued to carry them on. William was a man +of eminent ability, well versed in science, and an excellent mechanic. +He introduced great improvements in the working of the coal and iron +mines, employing new machinery for the purpose, and availing himself +with much ingenuity of the discoveries then being made in the science +of chemistry. He was also an inventor, having been the first to employ +(in 1788) inclined planes, consisting of parallel railways, to connect +and work canals of different levels,--an invention erroneously +attributed to Fulton, but which the latter himself acknowledged to +belong to William Reynolds. In the first chapter of his 'Treatise on +Canal Navigation,' published in 1796, Fulton says:--"As local +prejudices opposed the Duke of Bridgewater's canal in the first +instance, prejudices equally strong as firmly adhered to the principle +on which it was constructed; and it was thought impossible to lead one +through a country, or to work it to any advantage, unless by locks and +boats of at least twenty-five tons, till the genius of Mr. William +Reynolds, of Ketley, in Shropshire, stepped from the accustomed path, +constructed the first inclined plane, and introduced boats of five +tons. This, like the Duke's canal, was deemed a visionary project, and +particularly by his Grace, who was partial to locks; yet this is also +introduced into practice, and will in many instances supersede lock +canals." Telford, the engineer, also gracefully acknowledged the +valuable assistance he received from William Reynolds in planning the +iron aqueduct by means of which the Ellesmere Canal was carried over +the Pont Cysylltau, and in executing the necessary castings for the +purpose at the Ketley foundry. + +The future management of his extensive ironworks being thus placed in +able hands, Richard Reynolds finally left Coalbrookdale in 1804, for +Bristol, his native town, where he spent the remainder of his life in +works of charity and mercy. Here we might leave the subject, but +cannot refrain from adding a few concluding words as to the moral +characteristics of this truly good man. Though habitually religious, +he was neither demure nor morose, but cheerful, gay, and humorous. He +took great interest in the pleasures of the young people about him, and +exerted himself in all ways to promote their happiness. He was fond of +books, pictures, poetry, and music, though the indulgence of artistic +tastes is not thought becoming in the Society to which he belonged. +His love for the beauties of nature amounted almost to a passion, and +when living at The Bank, near Ketley, it was his great delight in the +summer evenings to retire with his pipe to a rural seat commanding a +full view of the Wrekin, the Ercall Woods, with Cader Idris and the +Montgomeryshire hills in the distance, and watch the sun go down in the +west in his glory. Once in every year he assembled a large party to +spend a day with him on the Wrekin, and amongst those invited were the +principal clerks in the company's employment, together with their +families. At Madeley, near Coalbrookdale, where he bought a property, +he laid out, for the express use of the workmen, extensive walks +through the woods on Lincoln Hill, commanding beautiful views. They +were called "The Workmen's Walks," and were a source of great enjoyment +to them and their families, especially on Sunday afternoons. + +When Mr. Reynolds went to London on business, he was accustomed to make +a round of visits, on his way home, to places remarkable for their +picturesque beauty, such as Stowe, Hagley Park, and the Leasowes. +After a visit to the latter place in 1767, he thus, in a letter to his +friend John Maccappen, vindicated his love for the beautiful in +nature:--"I think it not only lawful but expedient to cultivate a +disposition to be pleased with the beauties of nature, by frequent +indulgences for that purpose. The mind, by being continually applied +to the consideration of ways and means to gain money, contracts an +indifferency if not an insensibility to the profusion of beauties which +the benevolent Creator has impressed upon every part of the material +creation. A sordid love of gold, the possession of what gold can +purchase, and the reputation of being rich, have so depraved the finer +feelings of some men, that they pass through the most delightful grove, +filled with the melody of nature, or listen to the murmurings of the +brook in the valley, with as little pleasure and with no more of the +vernal delight which Milton describes, than they feel in passing +through some obscure alley in a town." + +When in the prime of life, Mr. Reynolds was an excellent rider, +performing all his journeys on horseback. He used to give a ludicrous +account of a race he once ran with another youth, each having a lady +seated on a pillion behind him; Mr. Reynolds reached the goal first, +but when he looked round he found that he had lost his fair companion, +who had fallen off in the race! On another occasion he had a hard run +with Lord Thurlow during a visit paid by the latter to the Ketley +Iron-Works. Lord Thurlow pulled up his horse first, and observed, +laughing, "I think, Mr. Reynolds, this is probably the first time that +ever a Lord Chancellor rode a race with a Quaker!" But a stranger +rencontre was one which befel Mr. Reynolds on Blackheath. Though he +declined Government orders for cannon, he seems to have had a secret +hankering after the "pomp and circumstance" of military life. At all +event's he was present on Blackheath one day when George III. was +reviewing some troops. Mr. Reynold's horse, an old trooper, no sooner +heard the sound of the trumpet than he started off at full speed, and +made directly for the group of officers before whom the troops were +defiling. Great was the surprise of the King when he saw the Quaker +draw up alongside of him, but still greater, perhaps, was the confusion +of the Quaker at finding himself in such company. + +During the later years of his life, while living at Bristol, his hand +was in every good work; and it was often felt where it was not seen. +For he carefully avoided ostentation, and preferred doing his good in +secret. He strongly disapproved of making charitable bequests by will, +which he observed in many cases to have been the foundation of enormous +abuses, but held it to be the duty of each man to do all the possible +good that he could during his lifetime. Many were the instances of his +princely, though at the time unknown, munificence. Unwilling to be +recognised as the giver of large sums, he employed agents to dispense +his anonymous benefactions. He thus sent 20,000L. to London to be +distributed during the distress of 1795. He had four almoners +constantly employed in Bristol, finding out cases of distress, +relieving them, and presenting their accounts to him weekly, with +details of the cases relieved. He searched the debtors' prisons, and +where, as often happened, deserving but unfortunate men were found +confined for debt, he paid the claims against them and procured their +release. Such a man could not fail to be followed with blessings and +gratitude; but these he sought to direct to the Giver of all Good. "My +talent," said he to a friend, "is the meanest of all talents--a little +sordid dust; but as the man in the parable who had but one talent was +held accountable, I also am accountable for the talent that I possess, +humble as it is, to the great Lord of all." On one occasion the case +of a poor orphan boy was submitted to him, whose parents, both dying +young, had left him destitute, on which Mr. Reynolds generously offered +to place a sum in the names of trustees for his education and +maintenance until he could be apprenticed to a business. The lady who +represented the case was so overpowered by the munificence of the act +that she burst into tears, and, struggling to express her gratitude, +concluded with--"and when the dear child is old enough, I will teach +him to thank his benefactor." "Thou must teach him to look higher," +interrupted Reynolds: "Do we thank the clouds for rain? When the child +grows up, teach him to thank Him who sendeth both the clouds and the +rain." Reynolds himself deplored his infirmity of temper, which was by +nature hasty; and, as his benevolence was known, and appeals were made +to him at all times, seasonable and unseasonable, he sometimes met them +with a sharp word, which, however, he had scarcely uttered before he +repented of it: and he is known to have followed a poor woman to her +home and ask forgiveness for having spoken hastily in answer to her +application for help. + +This "great good man" died on the 10th of September, 1816, in the 81st +year of his age. At his funeral the poor of Bristol were the chief +mourners. The children of the benevolent societies which he had +munificently supported during his lifetime, and some of which he had +founded, followed his body to the grave. The procession was joined by +the clergy and ministers of all denominations, and by men of all +classes and persuasions. And thus was Richard Reynolds laid to his +rest, leaving behind him a name full of good odour, which will long be +held in grateful remembrance by the inhabitants of Bristol. + + + +[1] Dr. PLOT, Natural History of Staffordshire, 2nd ed. 1686, p. 128. + +[2] JOSHUA GEE, The Trade and Navigation of Great Britain considered, +1731. + +[3] When a bill was introduced into Parliament in 1750 with the object +of encouraging the importation of iron from our American colonies, the +Sheffield tanners petitioned against it, on the ground that, if it +passed, English iron would be undersold; many forges would consequently +be discontinued; in which case the timber used for fuel would remain +uncut, and the tanners would thereby be deprived of bark for the +purposes of their trade! + +[4] History of the Iron Trade, p. 56. + +[5] See Mr. Powle's account of the Iron Works in the Forest of Dean +(1677-8), in the Philosophical Transactions, vol. ii. p. 418, where he +says, "After they have pounded their ore, their first work is to +calcine it, which is done in kilns, much after the fashion of ordinary +lime-kilns, These they fill up to the top with coal and ore, stratum +super stratum, until it be full; and so setting fire to the bottom, +they let it burn till the coal be wasted, and then renew the kilns with +fresh ore and coal, in the same manner as before. This is done without +fusion of the metal, and serves to consume the more drossy parts of the +ore and to make it friable." The writer then describes the process of +smelting the ore mixed with cinder in the furnaces, where, he says, the +fuel is "always of charcoal." "Several attempts," he adds, "have been +made to introduce the use of sea-coal in these works instead of +charcoal, the former being to be had at an easier rate than the latter; +but hitherto they have proved ineffectual, the workmen finding by +experience that a sea-coal fire, how vehement soever, will not +penetrate the most fixed parts of the ore, and so leaves much of the +metal unmelted" + +[6] Phil. Trans. vol. xliv. 305. + +[7] Reverberatory, so called because the flame or current of heated +gases from the fuel is caused to be reverberated or reflected down upon +the substance under operation before passing into the chimney. It is +curious that Rovenson, in his Treatise of Metallica of 1613, describes +a reverberatory furnace in which iron was to be smelted by pit-coal, +though it does not appear that he succeeded in perfecting his +invention. Dr. Percy, in his excellent work on Metallurgy, thus +describes a reverberatory furnace:--"It consists essentially of three +parts--a fireplace at one end, a stack or chimney at the other, and a +bed between both on which the matter is heated. The fireplace is +separated from the bed by a low partition wall called the fire-bridge, +and both are covered by an arched roof which rises from the end wall of +the fireplace and gradually dips toward the furthest end of the bed +connected with the stack. On one or both sides of the bed, or at the +end near the stack, may be openings through which the ore spread over +the surface of the bed may be stirred about and exposed to the action +of the air. The matter is heated in such a furnace by flame, and is +kept from contact with the solid fuel. The flame in its course from +the fireplace to the stack is reflected downwards or REVERBERATED on +the matter beneath, whence the name REVERBERATORY furnace." + +[8] Mr. TYLOR on Metal Work--Reports on the Paris Exhibition of 1855. +Part II. 182. We are informed by Mr. Reynolds of Coed-du, a grandson +of Richard Reynolds, that "on further trials many difficulties arose. +The bottoms of the furnaces were destroyed by the heat, and the quality +of the iron varied. Still, by a letter dated May, 1767, it appears +there had been sold of iron made in the new way to the value of 247L. +14s. 6d." + +[9] Among the other subscribers were the Rev. Mr. Harris, Mr. Jennings, +and Mr. John Wilkinson, an active promoter of the scheme, who gave the +company the benefit of his skill and experience when it was determined +to construct the bridge of iron. For an account of John Wilkinson see +Lives of the Engineers, vol. ii. 337, 356. In the description of the +first iron bridge given in that work we have, it appears, attributed +rather more credit to Mr. Wilkinson than he is entitled to. Mr. Darby +was the most active promoter of the scheme, and had the principal share +in the design. Wilkinson nevertheless was a man of great energy and +originality. Besides being the builder of the first iron ship, he was +the first to invent, for James Watt, a machine that would bore a +tolerably true cylinder. He afterwards established iron works in +France, and Arthur Young says, that "until that well-known English +manufacturer arrived, the French knew nothing of the art of casting +cannon solid and then boring them" (Travels in France, 4to. ed. London, +1792, p.90). Yet England had borrowed her first cannon-maker from +France in the person of Peter Baude, as described in chap. iii. +Wilkinson is also said to have invented a kind of hot-blast, in respect +of which various witnesses gave evidence on the trial of Neilson's +patent in 1839; but the invention does not appear to have been +perfected by him. + +[10] Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed. Art. + +[11] PLYMLEY, General View of the Agriculture of Shropshire. "Iron +Bridges." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +INVENTION OF CAST STEEL--BENJAMIN HUNTSMAN. + +"It may be averred that as certainly as the age of iron superseded that +of bronze, so will the age of steel reign triumphant over iron."--HENRY +BESSEMER. + +"Aujourd'hui la revolution que devait amener en Grande-Bretagne la +memorable decouverte de Benjamin Huntsman est tout a fait accomplie, et +chaque jour les consequetces sen feront plus vivement sentir sur le +confinent."--LE PLAY, Sur la Fabrication de l' Acier en Yorkshire. + + +Iron, besides being used in various forms as bar and cast iron, is also +used in various forms as bar and cast steel; and it is principally +because of its many admirable qualities in these latter forms that iron +maintains its supremacy over all the other metals. + +The process of converting iron into steel had long been known among the +Eastern nations before it was introduced into Europe. The Hindoos were +especially skilled in the art of making steel, as indeed they are to +this day; and it is supposed that the tools with which the Egyptians +covered their obelisks and temples of porphyry and syenite with +hieroglyphics were made of Indian steel, as probably no other metal was +capable of executing such work. The art seems to have been well known +in Germany in the Middle Ages, and the process is on the whole very +faithfully described by Agricola in his great work on Metallurgy.[1] +England then produced very little steel, and was mainly dependent for +its supply of the article upon the continental makers. + +From an early period Sheffield became distinguished for its manufacture +of iron and steel into various useful articles. We find it mentioned +in the thirteenth century as a place where the best arrowheads were +made,--the Earl of Richmond owing his success at the battle of Bosworth +partly to their superior length, sharpness, and finish. The +manufactures of the town became of a more pacific character in the +following centuries, during which knives, tools, and implements of +husbandry became the leading articles. + +Chaucer's reference to the 'Sheffield thwytel' (or case-knife) in his +Canterbury Tales, written about the end of the fourteenth century, +shows that the place had then become known for its manufacture of +knives. In 1575 we find the Earl of Shrewsbury presenting to his +friend Lord Burleigh "a case of Hallamshire whittells, being such +fruites as his pore cuntrey affordeth with fame throughout the realme." +Fuller afterwards speaks of the Sheffield knives as "for common use of +the country people," and he cites an instance of a knave who cozened +him out of fourpence for one when it was only worth a penny. + +In 1600 Sheffield became celebrated for its tobacco-boxes and +Jew's-harps. The town was as yet of small size and population; for +when a survey of it was made in 1615 it was found to contain not more +than 2207 householders, of whom one-third, or 725, were "not able to +live without the charity of their neighbours: these are all Begging +poor." [2] It must, however, have continued its manufacture of knives; +for we find that the knife with which Felton stabbed the Duke of +Buckingham at Portsmouth in 1628 was traced to Sheffield. The knife +was left sticking in the duke's body, and when examined was found to +bear the Sheffield corporation mark. It was ultimately ascertained to +have been made by one Wild, a cutler, who had sold the knife for +tenpence to Felton when recruiting in the town. At a still later +period, the manufacture of clasp or spring knives was introduced into +Sheffield by Flemish workmen. Harrison says this trade was begun in +1650. The clasp-knife was commonly known in the North as a jocteleg. +Hence Burns, describing the famous article treasured by Captain Grose +the antiquarian, says that-- + + "It was a faulding jocteleq, + Or lang-kail gully;" + +the word being merely a corruption of Jacques de Liege, a famous +foreign cutler, whose knives were as well known throughout Europe as +those of Rogers or Mappin are now. Scythes and sickles formed other +branches of manufacture introduced by the Flemish artisans, the makers +of the former principally living in the parish of Norton, those of the +latter in Eckington. + +Many improvements were introduced from time to time in the material of +which these articles were made. Instead of importing the German steel, +as it was called, the Sheffield manufacturers began to make it +themselves, principally from Dannemora iron imported from Sweden. The +first English manufacturer of the article was one Crowley, a Newcastle +man; and the Sheffield makers shortly followed his example. We may +here briefly state that the ordinary method of preparing this valuable +material of manufactures is by exposing iron bars, placed in contact +with roughly-granulated charcoal, to an intense heat,--the process +lasting for about a week, more or less, according to the degree of +carbonization required. By this means, what is called BLISTERED STEEL +is produced, and it furnishes the material out of which razors, files, +knives, swords, and various articles of hardware are manufactured. A +further process is the manufacture of the metal thus treated into SHEAR +STEEL, by exposing a fasciculus of the blistered steel rods, with sand +scattered over them for the purposes of a flux, to the heat of a +wind-furnace until the whole mass becomes of a welding heat, when it is +taken from the fire and drawn out under a forge-hammer,--the process of +welding being repeated, after which the steel is reduced to the +required sizes. The article called FAGGOT steel is made after a +somewhat similar process. + +But the most valuable form in which steel is now used in the +manufactures of Sheffield is that of cast-steel, in which iron is +presented in perhaps its very highest state of perfection. Cast-steel +consists of iron united to carbon in an elastic state together with a +small portion of oxygen; whereas crude or pig iron consists of iron +combined with carbon in a material state.[3] Chief merits of +cast-steel consist in its possessing great cohesion and closeness of +grain, with an astonishing degree of tenacity and +flexibility,--qualities which render it of the highest value in all +kinds of tools and instruments where durability, polish, and fineness +of edge are essential requisites. It is to this material that we are +mainly indebted for the exquisite cutting instrument of the surgeon, +the chisel of the sculptor, the steel plate on which the engraver +practises his art, the cutting tools employed in the various processes +of skilled handicraft, down to the common saw or the axe used by the +backwoodsman in levelling the primeval forest. + +The invention of cast-steel is due to Benjamin Huntsman, of +Attercliffe, near Sheffield. M. Le Play, Professor of Metallurgy in +the Royal School of Mines of France, after making careful inquiry and +weighing all the evidence on the subject, arrived at the conclusion +that the invention fairly belongs to Huntsman. The French professor +speaks of it as a "memorable discovery," made and applied with +admirable perseverance; and he claims for its inventor the +distinguished merit of advancing the steel manufactures of Yorkshire to +the first rank, and powerfully contributing to the establishment on a +firm foundation of the industrial and commercial supremacy of Great +Britain. It is remarkable that a French writer should have been among +the first to direct public attention to the merits of this inventor, +and to have first published the few facts known as to his history in a +French Government Report,--showing the neglect which men of this class +have heretofore received at home, and the much greater esteem in which +they are held by scientific foreigners.[4] Le Play, in his +enthusiastic admiration of the discoverer of so potent a metal as +cast-steel, paid a visit to Huntsman's grave in Atterclifle Churchyard, +near Sheffield, and from the inscription on his tombstone recites the +facts of his birth, his death, and his brief history. With the +assistance of his descendants, we are now enabled to add the following +record of the life and labours of this remarkable but almost forgotten +man. + +Benjamin Huntsman was born in Lincolnshire in the year 1704. His +parents were of German extraction, and had settled in this country only +a few years previous to his birth. The boy being of an ingenious turn, +was bred to a mechanical calling; and becoming celebrated for his +expertness in repairing clocks, he eventually set up in business as a +clock maker and mender in the town of Doncaster. He also undertook +various other kinds of metal work, such as the making and repairing of +locks, smoke-jacks, roasting-jacks, and other articles requiring +mechanical skill. He was remarkably shrewd, observant, thoughtful, and +practical; so much so that he came to be regarded as the "wise man" of +his neighbourhood, and was not only consulted as to the repairs of +machinery, but also of the human frame. He practised surgery with +dexterity, though after an empirical fashion, and was held in especial +esteem as an oculist. His success was such that his advice was sought +in many surgical diseases, and he was always ready to give it, but +declined receiving any payment in return. + +In the exercise of his mechanical calling, he introduced several +improved tools, but was much hindered by the inferior quality of the +metal supplied to him, which was common German steel. He also +experienced considerable difficulty in finding a material suitable for +the springs and pendulums of his clocks. These circumstances induced +him to turn his attention to the making of a better kind of steel than +was then procurable, for the purposes of his trade. His first +experiments were conducted at Doncaster;[5] but as fuel was difficult +to be had at that place, he determined, for greater convenience, to +remove to the neighbourhood of Sheffield, which he did in 1740. He +first settled at Handsworth, a few miles to the south of that town, and +there pursued his investigations in secret. Unfortunately, no records +have been preserved of the methods which he adopted in overcoming the +difficulties he had necessarily to encounter. That they must have been +great is certain, for the process of manufacturing cast-steel of a +first-rate quality even at this day is of a most elaborate and delicate +character, requiring to be carefully watched in its various stages. He +had not only to discover the fuel and flux suitable for his purpose, +but to build such a furnace and make such a crucible as should sustain +a heat more intense than any then known in metallurgy. Ingot-moulds +had not yet been cast, nor were there hoops and wedges made that would +hold them together, nor, in short, were any of those materials at his +disposal which are now so familiar at every melting-furnace. + +Huntsman's experiments extended over many years before the desired +result was achieved. Long after his death, the memorials of the +numerous failures through which he toilsomely worked his way to +success, were brought to light in the shape of many hundredweights of +steel, found buried in the earth in different places about his +manufactory. From the number of these wrecks of early experiments, it +is clear that he had worked continuously upon his grand idea of +purifying the raw steel then in use, by melting it with fluxes at an +intense heat in closed earthen crucibles. The buried masses were found +in various stages of failure, arising from imperfect melting, breaking +of crucibles, and bad fluxes; and had been hid away as so much spoiled +steel of which nothing could be made. At last his perseverance was +rewarded, and his invention perfected; and though a hundred years have +passed since Huntsman's discovery, the description of fuel (coke) which +he first applied for the purpose of melting the steel, and the +crucibles and furnaces which he used, are for the most part similar to +those in use at the present day. Although the making of cast-steel is +conducted with greater economy and dexterity, owing to increased +experience, it is questionable whether any maker has since been able to +surpass the quality of Huntsman's manufacture. + +The process of making cast-steel, as invented by Benjamin Huntsman, may +be thus summarily described. The melting is conducted in clay pots or +crucibles manufactured for the purpose, capable of holding about 34 +lbs. each. Ten or twelve of such crucibles are placed in a +melting-furnace similar to that used by brass founders; and when the +furnace and pots are at a white heat, to which they are raised by a +coke fire, they are charged with bar steel reduced to a certain degree +of hardness, and broken into pieces of about a pound each. When the +pots are all thus charged with steel, lids are placed over them, the +furnace is filled with coke, and the cover put down. Under the intense +heat to which the metal is exposed, it undergoes an apparent +ebullition. When the furnace requires feeding, the workmen take the +opportunity of lifting the lid of each crucible and judging how far the +process has advanced. After about three hours' exposure to the heat, +the metal is ready for "teeming." The completion of the melting +process is known by the subsidence of all ebullition, and by the clear +surface of the melted metal, which is of a dazzling brilliancy like the +sun when looked at with the naked eye on a clear day. The pots are +then lifted out of their place, and the liquid steel is poured into +ingots of the shape and size required. The pots are replaced, filled +again, and the process is repeated; the red-hot pots thus serving for +three successive charges, after which they are rejected as useless. + +When Huntsman had perfected his invention, it would naturally occur to +him that the new metal might be employed for other purposes besides +clock-springs and pendulums. The business of clock-making was then of +a very limited character, and it could scarcely have been worth his +while to pursue so extensive and costly a series of experiments merely +to supply the requirements of that trade. It is more probable that at +an early stage of his investigations he shrewdly foresaw the extensive +uses to which cast-steel might be applied in the manufacture of tools +and cutlery of a superior kind; and we accordingly find him early +endeavouring to persuade the manufacturers of Sheffield to employ it in +the manufacture of knives and razors. But the cutlers obstinately +refused to work a material so much harder than that which they had been +accustomed to use; and for a time he gave up all hopes of creating a +demand in that quarter. Foiled in his endeavours to sell his steel at +home, Huntsman turned his attention to foreign markets; and he soon +found he could readily sell abroad all that he could make. The merit +of employing cast-steel for general purposes belongs to the French, +always so quick to appreciate the advantages of any new discovery, and +for a time the whole of the cast-steel that Huntsman could manufacture +was exported to France. When he had fairly established his business +with that country, the Sheffield cutlers became alarmed at the +reputation which cast-steel was acquiring abroad; and when they heard +of the preference displayed by English as well as French consumers for +the cutlery manufactured of that metal, they readily apprehended the +serious consequences that must necessarily result to their own trade if +cast-steel came into general use. They then appointed a deputation to +wait upon Sir George Savile, one of the members for the county of York, +and requested him to use his influence with the government to obtain an +order to prohibit the exportation of cast-steel. But on learning from +the deputation that the Sheffield manufacturers themselves would not +make use of the new steel, he positively declined to comply with their +request. It was indeed fortunate for the interests of the town that +the object of the deputation was defeated, for at that time Mr. +Huntsman had very pressing and favourable offers from some spirited +manufacturers in Birmingham to remove his furnaces to that place; and +it is extremely probable that had the business of cast-steel making +become established there, one of the most important and lucrative +branches of its trade would have been lost to the town of Sheffield. + +The Sheffield makers were therefore under the necessity of using the +cast-steel, if they would retain their trade in cutlery against France; +and Huntsman's home trade rapidly increased. And then began the +efforts of the Sheffield men to wrest his secret from him. For +Huntsman had not taken out any patent for his invention, his only +protection being in preserving his process as much a mystery as +possible. All the workmen employed by him were pledged to inviolable +secrecy; strangers were carefully excluded from the works; and the +whole of the steel made was melted during the night. There were many +speculations abroad as to Huntsman's process. It was generally +believed that his secret consisted in the flux which he employed to +make the metal melt more readily; and it leaked out amongst the workmen +that he used broken bottles for the purpose. Some of the +manufacturers, who by prying and bribing got an inkling of the process, +followed Huntsman implicitly in this respect; and they would not allow +their own workmen to flux the pots lest they also should obtain +possession of the secret. But it turned out eventually that no such +flux was necessary, and the practice has long since been discontinued. +A Frenchman named Jars, frequently quoted by Le Play in his account of +the manufacture of steel in Yorkshire,[6] paid a visit to Sheffield +towards the end of last century, and described the process so far as he +was permitted to examine it. According to his statement all kinds of +fragments of broken steel were used; but this is corrected by Le Play, +who states that only the best bar steel manufactured of Dannemora iron +was employed. Jars adds that "the steel is put into the crucible with +A FLUX, the composition of which is kept secret;" and he states that +the time then occupied in the conversion was five hours. + +It is said that the person who first succeeded in copying Huntsman's +process was an ironfounder named Walker, who carried on his business at +Greenside near Sheffield, and it was certainly there that the making of +cast-steel was next begun. Walker adopted the "ruse" of disguising +himself as a tramp, and, feigning great distress and abject poverty, he +appeared shivering at the door of Huntsman's foundry late one night +when the workmen were about to begin their labours at steel-casting, +and asked for admission to warm himself by the furnace fire. The +workmen's hearts were moved, and they permitted him to enter. We have +the above facts from the descendants of the Huntsman family; but we add +the traditional story preserved in the neighbourhood, as given in a +well-known book on metallurgy:-- + +"One cold winter's night, while the snow was falling in heavy flakes, +and the manufactory threw its red glared light over the neighbourhood, +a person of the most abject appearance presented himself at the +entrance, praying for permission to share the warmth and shelter which +it afforded. The humane workmen found the appeal irresistible, and the +apparent beggar was permitted to take up his quarters in a warm corner +of the building. A careful scrutiny would have discovered little real +sleep in the drowsiness which seemed to overtake the stranger; for he +eagerly watched every movement of the workmen while they went through +the operations of the newly discovered process. He observed, first of +all, that bars of blistered steel were broken into small pieces, two or +three inches in length, and placed in crucibles of fire clay. When +nearly full, a little green glass broken into small fragments was +spread over the top, and the whole covered over with a closely-fitting +cover. The crucibles were then placed in a furnace previously prepared +for them, and after a lapse of from three to four hours, during which +the crucibles were examined from time to time to see that the metal was +thoroughly melted and incorporated, the workmen proceeded to lift the +crucible from its place on the furnace by means of tongs, and its +molten contents, blazing, sparkling, and spurting, were poured into a +mould of cast-iron previously prepared: here it was suffered to cool, +while the crucibles were again filled, and the process repeated. When +cool, the mould was unscrewed, and a bar of cast-steel presented +itself, which only required the aid of the hammerman to form a finished +bar of cast-steel. How the unauthorized spectator of these operations +effected his escape without detection tradition does not say; but it +tells us that, before many months had passed, the Huntsman manufactory +was not the only one where cast-steel was produced." [7] + +However the facts may be, the discovery of the elder Huntsman proved of +the greatest advantage to Sheffield; for there is scarcely a civilized +country where Sheffield steel is not largely used, either in its most +highly finished forms of cutlery, or as the raw material for some home +manufacture. In the mean time the demand for Huntsman's steel steadily +increased, and in 1770, for the purpose of obtaining greater scope for +his operations, he removed to a large new manufactory which he erected +at Attercliffe, a little to the north of Sheffield, more conveniently +situated for business purposes. There he continued to flourish for six +years more, making steel and practising benevolence; for, like the +Darbys and Reynoldses of Coalbrookdale, he was a worthy and highly +respected member of the Society of Friends. He was well versed in the +science of his day, and skilled in chemistry, which doubtless proved of +great advantage to him in pursuing his experiments in metallurgy.[8] +That he was possessed of great perseverance will be obvious from the +difficulties he encountered and overcame in perfecting his valuable +invention. He was, however, like many persons of strong original +character, eccentric in his habits and reserved in his manner. The +Royal Society wished to enrol him as a member in acknowledgment of the +high merit of his discovery of cast-steel, as well as because of his +skill in practical chemistry; but as this would have drawn him in some +measure from his seclusion, and was also, as he imagined, opposed to +the principles of the Society to which he belonged, he declined the +honour. Mr. Huntsman died in 1776, in his seventy-second year, and was +buried in the churchyard at Attercliffe, where a gravestone with an +inscription marks his resting-place. + +His son continued to carry on the business, and largely extended its +operations. The Huntsman mark became known throughout the civilised +world. Le Play the French Professor of Metallurgy, in his Memoire of +1846, still speaks of the cast-steel bearing the mark of "Huntsman and +Marshall" as the best that is made, and he adds, "the buyer of this +article, who pays a higher price for it than for other sorts, is not +acting merely in the blind spirit of routine, but pays a logical and +well-deserved homage to all the material and moral qualities of which +the true Huntsman mark has been the guarantee for a century." [9] + +Many other large firms now compete for their share of the trade; and +the extent to which it has grown, the number of furnaces constantly at +work, and the quantity of steel cast into ingots, to be tilted or +rolled for the various purposes to which it is applied, have rendered +Sheffield the greatest laboratory in the world of this valuable +material. Of the total quantity of cast-steel manufactured in England, +not less than five-sixths are produced there; and the facilities for +experiment and adaptation on the spot have enabled the Sheffield +steel-makers to keep the lead in the manufacture, and surpass all +others in the perfection to which they have carried this important +branch of our national industry. It is indeed a remarkable fact that +this very town, which was formerly indebted to Styria for the steel +used in its manufactures, now exports a material of its own conversion +to the Austrian forges and other places on the Continent from which it +was before accustomed to draw its own supplies. + +Among the improved processes invented of late years for the manufacture +of steel are those of Heath, Mushet, and Bessemer. The last promises +to effect before long an entire revolution in the iron and steel trade. +By it the crude metal is converted by one simple process, directly as +it comes from the blast-furnace. This is effected by driving through +it, while still in a molten state, several streams of atmospheric air, +on which the carbon of the crude iron unites with the oxygen of the +atmosphere, the temperature is greatly raised, and a violent ebullition +takes place, during which, if the process be continued, that part of +the carbon which appears to be mechanically mixed and diffused through +the crude iron is entirely consumed. The metal becomes thoroughly +cleansed, the slag is ejected and removed, while the sulphur and other +volatile matters are driven off; the result being an ingot of malleable +iron of the quality of charcoal iron. An important feature in the +process is, that by stopping it at a particular stage, immediately +following the boil, before the whole of the carbon has been abstracted +by the oxygen, the crude iron will be found to have passed into the +condition of cast-steel of ordinary quality. By continuing the +process, the metal losing its carbon, it passes from hard to soft +steel, thence to steely iron, and last of all to very soft iron; so +that by interrupting the process at any stage, or continuing it to the +end, almost any quality of iron and steel may be obtained. One of the +most valuable forms of the metal is described by Mr. Bessemer as +"semi-steel," being in hardness about midway between ordinary +cast-steel and soft malleable iron. The Bessemer processes are now in +full operation in England as well as abroad, both for converting crude +into malleable iron, and for producing steel; and the results are +expected to prove of the greatest practical utility in all cases where +iron and steel are extensively employed. + +Yet, like every other invention, this of Mr. Bessemer had long been +dreamt of, if not really made. We are informed in Warner's Tour +through the Northern. Counties of England, published at Bath in 1801, +that a Mr. Reed of Whitehaven had succeeded at that early period in +making steel direct from the ore; and Mr. Mushet clearly alludes to the +process in his "Papers on Iron and Steel." Nevertheless, Mr. Bessemer +is entitled to the merit of working out the idea, and bringing the +process to perfection, by his great skill and indomitable perseverance. +In the Heath process, carburet of manganese is employed to aid the +conversion of iron into steel, while it also confers on the metal the +property of welding and working more soundly under the hammer--a fact +discovered by Mr. Heath while residing in India. Mr. Mushet's process +is of a similar character. Another inventor, Major Uchatius, an +Austrian engineer, granulates crude iron while in a molten state by +pouring it into water, and then subjecting it to the process of +conversion. Some of the manufacturers still affect secrecy in their +operations; but as one of the Sanderson firm--famous for the excellence +of their steel--remarked to a visitor when showing him over their +works, "the great secret is to have the courage to be honest--a spirit +to purchase the best material, and the means and disposition to do +justice to it in the manufacture." + +It remains to be added, that much of the success of the Sheffield +manufactures is attributable to the practical skill of the workmen, who +have profited by the accumulated experience treasured up by their class +through many generations. The results of the innumerable experiments +conducted before their eyes have issued in a most valuable though +unwritten code of practice, the details of which are known only to +themselves. They are also a most laborious class; and Le Play says of +them, when alluding to the fact of a single workman superintending the +operations of three steel-casting furnaces--"I have found nowhere in +Europe, except in England, workmen able for an entire day, without any +interval of rest, to undergo such toilsome and exhausting labour as +that performed by these Sheffield workmen." + + + +[1] AGRICOLA, De Re Metallica. Basle, 1621. + +[2] The Rev. JOSEPH HUNTER, History of Hallamshire. + +[3] MUSHET, Papers On Iron and Steel. + +[4] M. Le Play's two elaborate and admirable reports on the manufacture +of steel, published in the Annales des Mines, vols. iii. and ix., 4th +series, are unique of their kind, and have as yet no counterpart in +English literature. They are respectively entitled 'Memoire sur la +Fabrication de l'Acier en Yorkshire,' and 'Memoire sur le Fabrication +et le Commerce des Fers a Acier dans le Nord de l'Europe.' + +[5] There are several clocks still in existence in the neighbourhood of +Doncaster made by Benjamin Huntsman; and there is one in the possession +of his grandson, with a pendulum made of cast-steel. The manufacture +of a pendulum of such a material at that early date is certainly +curious; its still perfect spring and elasticity showing the scrupulous +care with which it had been made. + +[6] Annales des Mines, vols. iii. and ix., 4th Series. + +[7] The Useful Metals and their Alloys (p. 348), an excellent little +work, in which the process of cast-steel making will be found fully +described. + +[8] We are informed that a mirror is still preserved at Attercliffe, +made by Huntsman in the days of his early experiments. + +[9] Annales des Mines, vol. ix., 4th Series, 266. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE INVENTIONS OF HENRY CORT. + +"I have always found it in mine own experience an easier matter to +devise manie and profitable inventions, than to dispose of one of them +to the good of the author himself."--Sir Hugh Platt, 1589. + + +Henry Cort was born in 1740 at Lancaster, where his father carried on +the trade of a builder and brickmaker. Nothing is known as to Henry's +early history; but he seems to have raised himself by his own efforts +to a respectable position. In 1765 we find him established in Surrey +Street, Strand, carrying on the business of a navy agent, in which he +is said to have realized considerable profits. It was while conducting +this business that he became aware of the inferiority of British iron +compared with that obtained from foreign countries. The English +wrought iron was considered so bad that it was prohibited from all +government supplies, while the cast iron was considered of too brittle +a nature to be suited for general use.[1] Indeed the Russian +government became so persuaded that the English nation could not carry +on their manufactures without Russian iron, that in 1770 they ordered +the price to be raised from 70 and 80 copecs per pood to 200 and 220 +copecs per pood.[2] + +Such being the case, Cort's attention became directed to the subject in +connection with the supply of iron to the Navy, and he entered on a +series of experiments with the object of improving the manufacture of +English iron. What the particular experiments were, and by what steps +he arrived at results of so much importance to the British iron trade, +no one can now tell. All that is known is, that about the year 1775 he +relinquished his business as a navy agent, and took a lease of certain +premises at Fontley, near Fareham, at the north-western corner of +Portsmouth Harbour, where he erected a forge and an iron mill. He was +afterwards joined in partnership by Samuel Jellicoe (son of Adam +Jellicoe, then Deputy-Paymaster of Seamen's Wages), which turned out, +as will shortly appear, a most unfortunate connection for Cort. + +As in the case of other inventions, Cort took up the manufacture of +iron at the point to which his predecessors had brought it, carrying it +still further, and improving upon their processes. We may here briefly +recite the steps by which the manufacture of bar-iron by means of +pit-coal had up to this time been advanced. In 1747, Mr. Ford +succeeded at Coalbrookdale in smelting iron ore with pit-coal, after +which it was refined in the usual way by means of coke and charcoal. +In 1762, Dr. Roebuck (hereafter to be referred to) took out a patent +for melting the cast or pig iron in a hearth heated with pit-coal by +the blast of bellows, and then working the iron until it was reduced to +nature, or metallized, as it was termed; after which it was exposed to +the action of a hollow pit-coal fire urged by a blast, until it was +reduced to a loop and drawn out into bar-iron under a common +forge-hammer. Then the brothers Cranege, in 1766, adopted the +reverberatory or air furnace, in which they placed the pig or cast +iron, and without blast or the addition of anything more than common +raw pit-coal, converted the same into good malleable iron, which being +taken red hot from the reverberatory furnace to the forge hammer, was +drawn into bars according to the will of the workman. Peter Onions of +Merthyr Tydvil, in 1783, carried the manufacture a stage further, as +described by him in his patent of that year. Having charged his +furnace ("bound with iron work and well annealed") with pig or fused +cast iron from the smelting furnace, it was closed up and the doors +were luted with sand. The fire was urged by a blast admitted +underneath, apparently for the purpose of keeping up the combustion of +the fuel on the grate. Thus Onions' furnace was of the nature of a +puddling furnace, the fire of which was urged by a blast. The fire was +to be kept up until the metal became less fluid, and "thickened into a +kind of froth, which the workman, by opening the door, must turn and +stir with a bar or other iron instrument, and then close the aperture +again, applying the blast and fire until there was a ferment in the +metal." The patent further describes that "as the workman stirs the +metal," the scoriae will separate, "and the particles of iron will +adhere, which particles the workman must collect or gather into a mass +or lump." This mass or lump was then to be raised to a white heat, and +forged into malleable iron at the forge-hammer. + +Such was the stage of advance reached in the manufacture of bar-iron, +when Henry Cort published his patents in 1783 and 1784. In dispensing +with a blast, he had been anticipated by the Craneges, and in the +process of puddling by Onions; but he introduced so many improvements +of an original character, with which he combined the inventions of his +predecessors, as to establish quite a new era in the history of the +iron manufacture, and, in the course of a few years, to raise it to the +highest state of prosperity. As early as 1786, Lord Sheffield +recognised the great national importance of Cort's improvements in the +following words:--"If Mr. Cort's very ingenious and meritorious +improvements in the art of making and working iron, the steam-engine of +Boulton and Watt, and Lord Dundonald's discovery of making coke at half +the present price, should all succeed, it is not asserting too much to +say that the result will be more advantageous to Great Britain than the +possession of the thirteen colonies (of America); for it will give the +complete command of the iron trade to this country, with its vast +advantages to navigation." It is scarcely necessary here to point out +how completely the anticipations of Lord Sheffield have been fulfilled, +sanguine though they might appear to be when uttered some seventy-six +years ago.[3] + + + + +We will endeavour as briefly as possible to point out the important +character of Mr. Cort's improvements, as embodied in his two patents of +1783 and 1784. In the first he states that, after "great study, +labour, and expense, in trying a variety of experiments, and making +many discoveries, he had invented and brought to perfection a peculiar +method and process of preparing, welding, and working various sorts of +iron, and of reducing the same into uses by machinery: a furnace, and +other apparatus, adapted and applied to the said process." He first +describes his method of making iron for "large uses," such as shanks, +arms, rings, and palms of anchors, by the method of piling and +faggoting, since become generally practised, by laying bars of iron of +suitable lengths, forged on purpose, and tapering so as to be thinner +at one end than the other, laid over one another in the manner of +bricks in buildings, so that the ends should everywhere overlay each +other. The faggots so prepared, to the amount of half a ton more or +less, were then to be put into a common air or balling furnace, and +brought to a welding heat, which was accomplished by his method in a +much shorter time than in any hollow fire; and when the heat was +perfect, the faggots were then brought under a forge-hammer of great +size and weight, and welded into a solid mass. Mr. Cort alleges in the +specification that iron for "larger uses" thus finished, is in all +respect's possessed of the highest degree of perfection; and that the +fire in the balling furnace is better suited, from its regularity and +penetrating quality, to give the iron a perfect welding heat throughout +its whole mass, without fusing in any part, than any fire blown by a +blast. Another process employed by Mr. Cort for the purpose of +cleansing the iron and producing a metal of purer grain, was that of +working the faggots by passing them through rollers. "By this simple +process," said he, "all the earthy particles are pressed out and the +iron becomes at once free from dross, and what is usually called +cinder, and is compressed into a fibrous and tough state." The +objection has indeed been taken to the process of passing the iron +through rollers, that the cinder is not so effectually got rid of as by +passing it under a tilt hammer, and that much of it is squeezed into +the bar and remains there, interrupting its fibre and impairing its +strength. + +It does not appear that there was any novelty in the use of rollers by +Cort; for in his first specification he speaks of them as already well +known.[4] His great merit consisted in apprehending the value of +certain processes, as tested by his own and others' experience, and +combining and applying them in a more effective practical form than had +ever been done before. This power of apprehending the best methods, +and embodying the details in one complete whole, marks the practical, +clear-sighted man, and in certain cases amounts almost to a genius. +The merit of combining the inventions of others in such forms as that +they shall work to advantage, is as great in its way as that of the man +who strikes out the inventions themselves, but who, for want of tact +and experience, cannot carry them into practical effect. + +It was the same with Cort's second patent, in which he described his +method of manufacturing bar-iron from the ore or from cast-iron. All +the several processes therein described had been practised before his +time; his merit chiefly consisting in the skilful manner in which he +combined and applied them. Thus, like the Craneges, he employed the +reverberatory or air furnace, without blast, and, like Onions, he +worked the fused metal with iron bars until it was brought into lumps, +when it was removed and forged into malleable iron. Cort, however, +carried the process further, and made it more effectual in all +respects. His method may be thus briefly described: the bottom of the +reverberatory furnace was hollow, so as to contain the fluid metal, +introduced into it by ladles; the heat being kept up by pit-coal or +other fuel. When the furnace was charged, the doors were closed until +the metal was sufficiently fused, when the workman opened an aperture +and worked or stirred about the metal with iron bars, when an +ebullition took place, during the continuance of which a bluish flame +was emitted, the carbon of the cast-iron was burned off, the metal +separated from the slag, and the iron, becoming reduced to nature, was +then collected into lumps or loops of sizes suited to their intended +uses, when they were drawn out of the doors of the furnace. They were +then stamped into plates, and piled or worked in an air furnace, heated +to a white or welding heat, shingled under a forge hammer, and passed +through the grooved rollers after the method described in the first +patent. + +The processes described by Cort in his two patents have been followed +by iron manufacturers, with various modifications, the results of +enlarged experience, down to the present time. After the lapse of +seventy-eight years, the language employed by Cort continues on the +whole a faithful description of the processes still practised: the +same methods of manufacturing bar from cast-iron, and of puddling, +piling, welding, and working the bar-iron through grooved rollers--all +are nearly identical with the methods of manufacture perfected by Henry +Cort in 1784. It may be mentioned that the development of the powers +of the steam-engine by Watt had an extraordinary effect upon the +production of iron. It created a largely increased demand for the +article for the purposes of the shafting and machinery which it was +employed to drive; while at the same time it cleared pits of water +which before were unworkable, and by being extensively applied to the +blowing of iron-furnaces and the working of the rolling-mills, it thus +gave a still further impetus to the manufacture of the metal. It would +be beside our purpose to enter into any statistical detail on the +subject; but it will be sufficient to state that the production of +iron, which in the early part of last century amounted to little more +than 12,000 tons, about the middle of the century to about 18,000 tons, +and at the time of Cort's inventions to about 90,000 tons, was found, +in 1820, to have increased to 400,000 tons; and now the total quantity +produced is upwards of four millions of tons of pig-iron every year, or +more than the entire production of all other European countries. There +is little reason to doubt that this extraordinary development of the +iron manufacture has been in a great measure due to the inventions of +Henry Cort. It is said that at the present time there are not fewer +than 8200 of Cort's furnaces in operation in Great Britain alone.[5] + +Practical men have regarded Cort's improvement of the process of +rolling the iron as the most valuable of his inventions. A competent +authority has spoken of Cort's grooved rollers as of "high +philosophical interest, being scarcely less than the discovery of a new +mechanical Power, in reversing the action of the wedge, by the +application of force to four surfaces, so as to elongate a mass, +instead of applying force to a mass to divide the four surfaces." One +of the best authorities in the iron trade of last century, Mr. +Alexander Raby of Llanelly, like many others, was at first entirely +sceptical as to the value of Cort's invention; but he had no sooner +witnessed the process than with manly candour he avowed his entire +conversion to his views. + +We now return to the history of the chief author of this great branch +of national industry. As might naturally be expected, the principal +ironmasters, when they heard of Cort's success, and the rapidity and +economy with which he manufactured and forged bar-iron, visited his +foundry for the purpose of examining his process, and, if found +expedient, of employing it at their own works. Among the first to try +it were Richard Crawshay of Cyfartha, Samuel Homfray of Penydarran +(both in South Wales), and William Reynolds of Coalbrookdale. Richard +Crawshay was then (in 1787) forging only ten tons of bar-iron weekly +under the hammer; and when he saw the superior processes invented by +Cort he readily entered into a contract with him to work under his +patents at ten shillings a ton royalty, In 1812 a letter from Mr. +Crawshay to the Secretary of Lord Sheffield was read to the House of +Commons, descriptive of his method of working iron, in which he said, +"I took it from a Mr. Cort, who had a little mill at Fontley in +Hampshire: I have thus acquainted you with my method, by which I am +now making more than ten thousand tons of bar-iron per annum." Samuel +Homfray was equally prompt in adopting the new process. He not only +obtained from Cort plans of the puddling-furnaces and patterns of the +rolls, but borrowed Cort's workmen to instruct his own in the necessary +operations; and he soon found the method so superior to that invented +by Onions that he entirely confined himself to manufacturing after +Cort's patent. We also find Mr. Reynolds inviting Cort to conduct a +trial of his process at Ketley, though it does not appear that it was +adopted by the firm at that time.[6] + +The quality of the iron manufactured by the new process was found +satisfactory; and the Admiralty having, by the persons appointed by +them to test it in 1787, pronounced it to be superior to the best +Oregrounds iron, the use of the latter was thenceforward discontinued, +and Cort's iron only was directed to be used for the anchors and other +ironwork in the ships of the Royal Navy. The merits of the invention +seem to have been generally conceded, and numerous contracts for +licences were entered into with Cort and his partner by the +manufacturers of bar-iron throughout the country.[7] Cort himself made +arrangements for carrying on the manufacture on a large scale, and with +that object entered upon the possession of a wharf at Gosport, +belonging to Adam Jellicoe, his partner's father, where he succeeded in +obtaining considerable Government orders for iron made after his +patents. To all ordinary eyes the inventor now appeared to be on the +high road to fortune; but there was a fatal canker at the root of this +seeming prosperity, and in a few years the fabric which he had so +laboriously raised crumbled into ruins. On the death of Adam Jellicoe, +the father of Cort's partner, in August, 1789,[8] defalcations were +discovered in his public accounts to the extent of 39,676L, and his +books and papers were immediately taken possession of by the +Government. On examination it was found that the debts due to Jellicoe +amounted to 89,657L, included in which was a sum of not less than +54,853L. owing to him by the Cort partnership. In the public +investigation which afterwards took place, it appeared that the capital +possessed by Cort being insufficient to enable him to pursue his +experiments, which were of a very expensive character, Adam Jellicoe +had advanced money from time to time for the purpose, securing himself +by a deed of agreement entitling him to one-half the stock and profits +of all his contracts; and in further consideration of the capital +advanced by Jellicoe beyond his equal share, Cort subsequently assigned +to him all his patent rights as collateral security. As Jellicoe had +the reputation of being a rich man, Cort had not the slightest +suspicion of the source from which he obtained the advances made by him +to the firm, nor has any connivance whatever on the part of Cort been +suggested. At the same time it must be admitted that the connexion was +not free from suspicion, and, to say the least, it was a singularly +unfortunate one. It was found that among the moneys advanced by +Jellicoe to Cort there was a sum of 27,500L. entrusted to him for the +payment of seamen's and officers' wages. How his embarrassments had +tempted him to make use of the public funds for the purpose of carrying +on his speculations, appears from his own admissions. In a memorandum +dated the 11th November, 1782, found in his strong box after his death, +he set forth that he had always had much more than his proper balance +in hand, until his engagement, about two years before, with Mr. Cort, +"which by degrees has so reduced me, and employed so much more of my +money than I expected, that I have been obliged to turn most of my Navy +bills into cash, and at the same time, to my great concern, am very +deficient in my balance. This gives me great uneasiness, nor shall I +live or die in peace till the whole is restored." He had, however, +made the first false step, after which the downhill career of +dishonesty is rapid. His desperate attempts to set himself right only +involved him the deeper; his conscious breach of trust caused him a +degree of daily torment which he could not bear; and the discovery of +his defalcations, which was made only a few days before his death, +doubtless hastened his end. + +The Government acted with promptitude, as they were bound to do in such +a case. The body of Jellicoe was worth nothing to them, but they could +secure the property in which he had fraudulently invested the public +moneys intrusted to him. With this object the them Paymaster of the +Navy proceeded to make an affidavit in the Exchequer that Henry Cort +was indebted to His Majesty in the sum of 27,500L. and upwards, in +respect of moneys belonging to the public treasury, which "Adam +Jellicoe had at different times lent and advanced to the said Henry +Cort, from whom the same now remains justly due and owing; and the +deponent saith he verily believes that the said Henry Cort is much +decayed in his credit and in very embarrassed circumstances; and +therefore the deponent verily believes that the aforesaid debt so due +and owing to His Majesty is in great danger of being lost if some more +speedy means be not taken for the recovery than by the ordinary process +of the Court." Extraordinary measures were therefore adopted. The +assignments of Cort's patents, which had been made to Jellicoe in +consideration of his advances, were taken possession of; but Samuel +Jellicoe, the son of the defaulter, singular to say, was put in +possession of the properties at Fontley and Gosport, and continued to +enjoy them, to Cort's exclusion, for a period of fourteen years. It +does not however appear that any patent right was ever levied by the +assignees, and the result of the proceeding was that the whole benefit +of Cort's inventions was thus made over to the ironmasters and to the +public. Had the estate been properly handled, and the patent rights +due under the contracts made by the ironmasters with Cort been duly +levied, there is little reason to doubt that the whole of the debt +owing to the Government would have been paid in the course of a few +years. "When we consider," says Mr. Webster, "how very simple was the +process of demanding of the contracting ironmasters the patent due +(which for the year 1789 amounted to 15,000L., in 1790 to 15,000L., and +in 1791 to 25,000L.), and which demand might have been enforced by the +same legal process used to ruin the inventor, it is not difficult to +surmise the motive for abstaining." The case, however, was not so +simple as Mr. Webster puts it; for there was such a contingency as that +of the ironmasters combining to dispute the patent right, and there is +every reason to believe that they were prepared to adopt that course.[9] + +Although the Cort patents expired in 1796 and 1798 respectively, they +continued the subject of public discussion for some time after, more +particularly in connection with the defalcations of the deceased Adam +Jellicoe. It does not appear that more than 2654L. was realised by the +Government from the Cort estate towards the loss sustained by the +public, as a balance of 24,846L. was still found standing to the debit +of Jellicoe in 1800, when the deficiencies in the naval account's +became matter of public inquiry. A few years later, in 1805, the +subject was again revived in a remarkable manner. In that year, the +Whigs, Perceiving the bodily decay of Mr. Pitt, and being too eager to +wait for his removal by death, began their famous series of attacks +upon his administration. Fearing to tackle the popular statesman +himself, they inverted the ordinary tactics of an opposition, and fell +foul of Dundas, Lord Melville, then Treasurer of the Navy, who had +successfully carried the country through the great naval war with +revolutionary France. They scrupled not to tax him with gross +peculation, and exhibited articles of impeachment against him, which +became the subject of elaborate investigation, the result of which is +matter of history. In those articles, no reference whatever was made +to Lord Melville's supposed complicity with Jellicoe; nor, on the trial +that followed, was any reference made to the defalcations of that +official. But when Mr. Whitbread, on the 8th of April, 1805, spoke to +the "Resolutions" in the Commons for impeaching the Treasurer of the +Navy, he thought proper to intimate that he "had a strong suspicion +that Jellicoe was in the same partnership with Mark Sprott, Alexander +Trotter, and Lord Melville. He had been suffered to remain a public +debtor for a whole year after he was known to be in arrears upwards of +24,000L. During next year 11,000L. more had accrued. It would not +have been fair to have turned too short on an old companion. It would +perhaps, too, have been dangerous, since unpleasant discoveries might +have met the public eye. It looked very much as if, mutually conscious +of criminality, they had agreed to be silent, and keep their own +secrets." + +In making these offensive observations Whitbread was manifestly +actuated by political enmity. They were utterly unwarrantable. In the +first place, Melville had been formally acquitted of Jellicoe's +deficiency by a writ of Privy Seal, dated 31st May, 1800; and secondly, +the committee appointed in that very year (1805) to reinvestigate the +naval accounts, had again exonerated him, but intimated that they were +of opinion there was remissness on his part in allowing Jellicoe to +remain in his office after the discovery of his defalcations. + +the report made by the commissioners to the Houses of Parliament in +1805,[10] the value of Corts patents was estimated at only 100L. +Referring to the schedule of Jellicoe's alleged assets, they say "Many +of the debts are marked as bad; and we apprehend that the debt from Mr. +Henry Cort, not so marked, of 54,000L. and upwards, is of that +description." As for poor bankrupt Henry Cort, these discussions +availed nothing. On the death of Jellicoe, he left his iron works, +feeling himself a ruined man. He made many appeals to the Government +of the day for restoral of his patents, and offered to find security +for payment of the debt due by his firm to the Crown, but in vain. In +1794, an appeal was made to Mr. Pitt by a number of influential members +of Parliament, on behalf of the inventor and his destitute family of +twelve children, when a pension of 200L. a-year was granted him. This +Mr. Cort enjoyed until the year 1800, when he died, broken in health +and spirit, in his sixtieth year. He was buried in Hampstead +Churchyard, where a stone marking the date of his death is still to be +seen. A few years since it was illegible, but it has recently been +restored by his surviving son. + +Though Cort thus died in comparative poverty, he laid the foundations +of many gigantic fortunes. He may be said to have been in a great +measure the author of our modern iron aristocracy, who still +manufacture after the processes which he invented or perfected, but for +which they never paid him a shilling of royalty. These men of gigantic +fortunes have owed much--we might almost say everything--to the ruined +projector of "the little mill at Fontley." Their wealth has enriched +many families of the older aristocracy, and has been the foundation of +several modern peerages. Yet Henry Cort, the rock from which they were +hewn, is already all but forgotten; and his surviving children, now +aged and infirm, are dependent for their support upon the slender +pittance wrung by repeated entreaty and expostulation from the state. + +The career of Richard Crawshay, the first of the great ironmasters who +had the sense to appreciate and adopt the methods of manufacturing iron +invented by Henry Cort, is a not unfitting commentary on the sad +history we have thus briefly described. It shows how, as respects mere +money-making, shrewdness is more potent than invention, and business +faculty than manufacturing skill. Richard Crawshay was born at +Normanton near Leeds, the son of a small Yorkshire farmer. When a +youth, he worked on his father's farm, and looked forward to occupying +the same condition in life; but a difference with his father unsettled +his mind, and at the age of fifteen he determined to leave his home, +and seek his fortune elsewhere. Like most unsettled and enterprising +lads, he first made for London, riding to town on a pony of his own, +which, with the clothes on his back, formed his entire fortune. It +took him a fortnight to make the journey, in consequence of the badness +of the roads. Arrived in London, he sold his pony for fifteen pounds, +and the money kept him until he succeeded in finding employment. He +was so fortunate as to be taken upon trial by a Mr. Bicklewith, who +kept an ironmonger's shop in York Yard, Upper Thames Street; and his +first duty there was to clean out the office, put the stools and desks +in order for the other clerks, run errands, and act as porter when +occasion required. Young Crawshay was very attentive, industrious, and +shrewd; and became known in the office as "The Yorkshire Boy." Chiefly +because of his "cuteness," his master appointed him to the department +of selling flat irons. The London washerwomen of that day were very +sharp and not very honest, and it used to be said of them that where +they bought one flat iron they generally contrived to steal two. Mr. +Bicklewith thought he could not do better than set the Yorkshireman to +watch the washerwomen, and, by way of inducement to him to be vigilant, +he gave young Crawshay an interest in that branch of the business, +which was soon found to prosper under his charge. After a few more +years, Mr. Bicklewith retired, and left to Crawshay the cast-iron +business in York Yard. This he still further increased, There was not +at that time much enterprise in the iron trade, but Crawshay +endeavoured to connect himself with what there was of it. The price of +iron was then very high, and the best sorts were still imported from +abroad; a good deal of the foreign iron and steel being still landed at +the Steelyard on the Thames, in the immediate neighbourhood of +Crawshay's ironmongery store. + +It seems to have occurred to some London capitalists that money was +then to be made in the iron trade, and that South Wales was a good +field for an experiment. The soil there was known to be full of coal +and ironstone, and several small iron works had for some time been +carried on, which were supposed to be doing well. Merthyr Tydvil was +one of the places at which operations had been begun, but the place +being situated in a hill district, of difficult access, and the +manufacture being still in a very imperfect state, the progress made +was for some time very slow. Land containing coal and iron was deemed +of very little value, as maybe inferred from the fact that in the year +1765, Mr. Anthony Bacon, a man of much foresight, took a lease from +Lord Talbot, for 99 years, of the minerals under forty square miles of +country surrounding the then insignificant hamlet of Merthyr Tydvil, at +the trifling rental of 200L. a-year. There he erected iron works, and +supplied the Government with considerable quantities of cannon and iron +for different purposes; and having earned a competency, he retired from +business in 1782, subletting his mineral tract in four divisions--the +Dowlais, the Penydarran, the Cyfartha, and the Plymouth Works, north, +east, west, and south, of Merthyr Tydvil. + +Mr. Richard Crawshay became the lessee of what Mr. Mushet has called +"the Cyfartha flitch of the great Bacon domain." There he proceeded to +carry on the works established by Mr. Bacon with increased spirit; his +son William, whom he left in charge of the ironmongery store in London, +supplying him with capital to put into the iron works as fast as he +could earn it by the retail trade. In 1787, we find Richard Crawshay +manufacturing with difficulty ten tons of bar-iron weekly, and it was +of a very inferior character,[11]--the means not having yet been +devised at Cyfartha for malleableizing the pit-coal cast-iron with +economy or good effect. Yet Crawshay found a ready market for all the +iron he could make, and he is said to have counted the gains of the +forge-hammer close by his house at the rate of a penny a stroke. In +course of time he found it necessary to erect new furnaces, and, having +adopted the processes invented by Henry Cort, he was thereby enabled +greatly to increase the production of his forges, until in 1812 we find +him stating to a committee of the House of Commons that he was making +ten thousand tons of bar-iron yearly, or an average produce of two +hundred tons a week. But this quantity, great though it was, has since +been largely increased, the total produce of the Crawshay furnaces of +Cyfartha, Ynysfach, and Kirwan, being upwards of 50,000 tons of +bar-iron yearly. + +The distance of Merthyr from Cardiff, the nearest port, being +considerable, and the cost of carriage being very great by reason of +the badness of the roads, Mr. Crawshay set himself to overcome this +great impediment to the prosperity of the Merthyr Tydvil district; and, +in conjunction with Mr. Homfray of the Penydarran Works, he planned and +constructed the canal[12] to Cardiff, the opening of which, in 1795, +gave an immense impetus to the iron trade of the neighbourhood. +Numerous other extensive iron works became established there, until +Merthyr Tydvil attained the reputation of being at once the richest and +the dirtiest district in all Britain. Mr. Crawshay became known in the +west of England as the "Iron King," and was quoted as the highest +authority in all questions relating to the trade. Mr. George Crawshay, +recently describing the founder of the family at a social meeting at +Newcastle, said,--"In these days a name like ours is lost in the +infinity of great manufacturing firms which exist through out the land; +but in those early times the man who opened out the iron district of +Wales stood upon an eminence seen by all the world. It is preserved in +the traditions of the family that when the 'Iron King' used to drive +from home in his coach-and-four into Wales, all the country turned out +to see him, and quite a commotion took place when he passed through +Bristol on his way to the works. My great grandfather was succeeded by +his son, and by his grandson; the Crawshays have followed one another +for four generations in the iron trade in Wales, and there they still +stand at the head of the trade." The occasion on which these words +were uttered was at a Christmas party, given to the men, about 1300 in +number, employed at the iron works of Messrs. Hawks, Crawshay, and Co., +at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. These works were founded in 1754 by William +Hawks, a blacksmith, whose principal trade consisted in making +claw-hammers for joiners. He became a thriving man, and eventually a +large manufacturer of bar-iron. Partners joined him, and in the course +of the changes wrought by time, one of the Crawshays, in 1842, became a +principal partner in the firm. + +Illustrations of a like kind might be multiplied to any extent, showing +the growth in our own time of an iron aristocracy of great wealth and +influence, the result mainly of the successful working of the +inventions of the unfortunate and unrequited Henry Cort. He has been +the very Tubal Cain of England--one of the principal founders of our +iron age. To him we mainly owe the abundance of wrought-iron for +machinery, for steam-engines, and for railways, at one-third the price +we were before accustomed to pay to the foreigner. We have by his +invention, not only ceased to be dependent upon other nations for our +supply of iron for tools, implements, and arms, but we have become the +greatest exporters of iron, producing more than all other European +countries combined. In the opinion of Mr. Fairbairn of Manchester, the +inventions of Henry Cort have already added six hundred millions +sterling to the wealth of the kingdom, while they have given employment +to some six hundred thousand working people during three generations. +And while the great ironmasters, by freely availing themselves of his +inventions, have been adding estate to estate, the only estate secured +by Henry Cort was the little domain of six feet by two in which he lies +interred in Hampstead Churchyard. + + + +[1] Life of Brunel, p. 60. + +[2] SCRIVENOR, History of the Iron Trade, 169. + +[3] Although the iron manufacture had gradually been increasing since +the middle of the century, it was as yet comparatively insignificant in +amount. Thus we find, from a statement by W. Wilkinson, dated Dec. 25, +1791, contained in the memorandum-book of Wm. Reynolds of +Coalbrookdale, that the produce in England and Scotland was then +estimated to be + + Coke Furnaces. Charcoal Furnaces. + + In England ......73 producing 67,548 tons 20 producing 8500 tons + In Scotland......12 " 12,480 " 2 " 1000 " + ---- ------ -- ---- + 85 " 80,028 " 22 " 9500 " + + +At the same time the annual import of Oregrounds iron from Sweden +amounted to about 20,000 tons, and of bars and slabs from Russia about +50,000 tons, at an average cost of 35L. a ton! + +[4] "It is material to observe", says Mr. Webster, "that Cort, in this +specification, speaks of the rollers, furnaces, and separate processes, +as well known. There is no claim to any of them separately; the claim +is to the reducing of the faggots of piled iron into bars, and the +welding of such bars by rollers instead of by forge-hammers."--Memoir +of Henry Cort, in Mechanic's Magazine, 15 July, 1859, by Thomas +Webster, M.A., F.R.S. + +[5] Letter by Mr. Truran in Mechanic's Magazine. + +[6] In the memorandum-book of Wm. Reynolds appears the following entry +on the subject:-- + +"Copy of a paper given to H. Cort, Esq. + +"W. Reynolds saw H. C. in a trial which he made at Ketley, Dec. 17, +1784, produce from the same pig both cold short and tough iron by a +variation of the process used in reducing them from the state of +cast-iron to that of malleable or bar-iron; and in point of yield his +processes were quite equal to those at Pitchford, which did not exceed +the proportion of 31 cwt. to the ton of bars. The experiment was made +by stamping and potting the blooms or loops made in his furnace, which +then produced a cold short iron; but when they were immediately +shingled and drawn, the iron was of a black tough." + +The Coalbrookdale ironmasters are said to have been deterred from +adopting the process because of what was considered an excessive waste +of the metal--about 25 per cent,--though, with greater experience, this +waste was very much diminished. + +[7] Mr. Webster, in the 'Case of Henry Cort,' published in the +Mechanic's Magazine (2 Dec. 1859), states that "licences were taken at +royalties estimated to yield 27,500L. to the owners of the patents." + +[8] In the 'Case of Henry Cort,' by Mr. Webster, above referred to +(Mechanic's Magazine, 2 Dec. 1859), it is stated that Adam Jellicoe +"committed suicide under the pressure of dread of exposure," but this +does not appear to be confirmed by the accounts in the newspapers of +the day. He died at his private dwelling-house, No. 14, Highbury +Place, Islingtonn, on the 30th August, 1789, after a fortnight's +illness. + +[9] This is confirmed by the report of a House of Commons Committee on +the subject Mr. Davies Gilbert chairman, in which they say, "Your +committee have not been able to satisfy themselves that either of the +two inventions, one for subjecting cast-iron to an operation termed +puddling during its conversion to malleable iron, and the other for +passing it through fluted or grooved rollers, were so novel in their +principle or their application as fairly to entitle the petitioners +[Mr. Cort's survivors] to a parliamentary reward." It is, however, +stated by Mr. Mushet that the evidence was not fairly taken by the +committee--that they were overborne by the audacity of Mr. Samuel +Homfray, one of the great Welsh ironmasters, whose statements were +altogether at variance with known facts--and that it was under his +influence that Mr. Gilbert drew up the fallacious report of the +committee. The illustrious James Watt, writing to Dr. Black in 1784, +as to the iron produced by Cort's process, said, "Though I cannot +perfectly agree with you as to its goodness, yet there is much +ingenuity in the idea of forming the bars in that manner, which is the +only part of his process which has any pretensions to novelty.... Mr. +Cort has, as you observe, been most illiberally treated by the trade: +they are ignorant brutes; but he exposed himself to it by showing them +the process before it was perfect, and seeing his ignorance of the +common operations of making iron, laughed at and despised him; yet they +will contrive by some dirty evasion to use his process, or such parts +as they like, without acknowledging him in it. I shall be glad to be +able to be of any use to him. Watts fellow-feeling was naturally +excited in favour of the plundered inventor, he himself having all his +life been exposed to the attacks of like piratical assailants. + +[10] Tenth Report of the Commissioners of Naval Inquiry. See also +Report of Select Committee on the 10th Naval Report. May, 1805. + +[11] Mr. Mushet says of the early manufacture of iron at Merthyr Tydvil +that "A modification of the charcoal refinery, a hollow fire, was +worked with coke as a substitute for charcoal, but the bar-iron +hammered from the produce was very inferior." The pit-coal cast-iron +was nevertheless found of a superior quality for castings, being more +fusible and more homogeneous than charcoal-iron. Hence it was well +adapted for cannon, which was for some time the principal article of +manufacture at the Welsh works. + +[12] It may be worthy of note that the first locomotive run upon a +railroad was that constructed by Trevithick for Mr. Homfray in 1803, +which was employed to bring down metal from the furnaces to the Old +Forge. The engine was taken off the road because the tram-plates were +found too weak to bear its weight without breaking. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE SCOTCH IRON MANUFACTURE--DR. ROEBUCK DAVID MUSHET. + +"Were public benefactors to be allowed to pass away, like hewers of +wood and drawers of water, without commemoration, genius and enterprise +would be deprived of their most coveted distinction."--Sir Henry +Englefield. + + +The account given of Dr. Roebuck in a Cyclopedia of Biography, recently +published in Glasgow, runs as follows:--"Roebuck, John, a physician and +experimental chemist, born at Sheffield, 1718; died, after ruining +himself by his projects, 1794." Such is the short shrift which the man +receives who fails. Had Dr. Roebuck wholly succeeded in his projects, +he would probably have been esteemed as among the greatest of +Scotland's benefactors. Yet his life was not altogether a failure, as +we think will sufficiently appear from the following brief account of +his labours:-- + +At the beginning of last century, John Roebuck's father carried on the +manufacture of cutlery at Sheffield,[1] in the course of which he +realized a competency. He intended his son to follow his own business, +but the youth was irresistibly attracted to scientific pursuits, in +which his father liberally encouraged him; and he was placed first +under the care of Dr. Doddridge, at Northampton, and afterwards at the +University of Edinburgh, where he applied himself to the study of +medicine, and especially of chemistry, which was then attracting +considerable attention at the principal seats of learning in Scotland. +While residing at Edinburgh young Roebuck contracted many intimate +friendships with men who afterwards became eminent in literature, such +as Hume and Robertson the historians, and the circumstance is supposed +to have contributed not a little to his partiality in favour of +Scotland, and his afterwards selecting it as the field for his +industrial operations. + +After graduating as a physician at Leyden, Roebuck returned to England, +and settled at Birmingham in the year 1745 for the purpose of +practising his profession. Birmingham was then a principal seat of the +metal manufacture, and its mechanics were reputed to be among the most +skilled in Britain. Dr. Roebuck's attention was early drawn to the +scarcity and dearness of the material in which the mechanics worked, +and he sought by experiment to devise some method of smelting iron +otherwise than by means of charcoal. He had a laboratory fitted up in +his house for the purpose of prosecuting his inquiries, and there he +spent every minute that he could spare from his professional labours. +It was thus that he invented the process of smelting iron by means of +pit-coal which he afterwards embodied in the patent hereafter to be +referred to. At the same time he invented new methods of refining gold +and silver, and of employing them in the arts, which proved of great +practical value to the Birmingham trades-men, who made extensive use of +them in their various processes of manufacture. + +Dr. Roebuck's inquiries had an almost exclusively practical direction, +and in pursuing them his main object was to render them subservient to +the improvement of the industrial arts. Thus he sought to devise more +economical methods of producing the various chemicals used in the +Birmingham trade, such as ammonia, sublimate, and several of the acids; +and his success was such as to induce him to erect a large laboratory +for their manufacture, which was conducted with complete success by his +friend Mr. Garbett. Among his inventions of this character, was the +modern process of manufacturing vitriolic acid in leaden vessels in +large quantities, instead of in glass vessels in small quantities as +formerly practised. His success led him to consider the project of +establishing a manufactory for the purpose of producing oil of vitriol +on a large scale; and, having given up his practice as a physician, he +resolved, with his partner Mr. Garbett, to establish the proposed works +in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. He removed to Scotland with that +object, and began the manufacture of vitriol at Prestonpans in the year +1749. The enterprise proved eminently lucrative, and, encouraged by +his success, Roebuck proceeded to strike out new branches of +manufacture. He started a pottery for making white and brown ware, +which eventually became established, and the manufacture exists in the +same neighbourhood to this day. + +The next enterprise in which he became engaged was one of still greater +importance, though it proved eminently unfortunate in its results as +concerned himself. While living at Prestonpans, he made the friendship +of Mr. William Cadell, of Cockenzie, a gentleman who had for some time +been earnestly intent on developing the industry of Scotland, then in a +very backward condition. Mr. Cadell had tried, without success, to +establish a manufactory of iron; and, though he had heretofore failed, +he hoped that with the aid of Dr. Roebuck he might yet succeed. The +Doctor listened to his suggestions with interest, and embraced the +proposed enterprise with zeal. He immediately proceeded to organize a +company, in which he was joined by a number of his friends and +relatives. His next step was to select a site for the intended works, +and make the necessary arrangements for beginning the manufacture of +iron. After carefully examining the country on both sides of the +Forth, he at length made choice of a site on the banks of the river +Carron, in Stirlingshire, where there was an abundant supply of wafer, +and an inexhaustible supply of iron, coal, and limestone in the +immediate neighbourhood, and there Dr. Roebuck planted the first +ironworks in Scotland. + +In order to carry them on with the best chances of success, he brought +a large number of skilled workmen from England, who formed a nucleus of +industry at Carron, where their example and improved methods of working +served to train the native labourers in their art. At a subsequent +period, Mr. Cadell, of Carronpark, also brought a number of skilled +English nail-makers into Scotland, and settled them in the village of +Camelon, where, by teaching others, the business has become handed down +to the present day. + +The first furnace was blown at Carron on the first day of January, +1760; and in the course of the same year the Carron Iron Works turned +out 1500 tons of iron, then the whole annual produce of Scotland. +Other furnaces were shortly after erected on improved plans, and the +production steadily increased. Dr. Roebuck was indefatigable in his +endeavours to improve the manufacture, and he was one of the first, as +we have said, to revive the use of pit-coal in refining the ore, as +appears from his patent of 1762. He there describes his new process as +follows:--"I melt pig or any kind of cast-iron in a hearth heated with +pit-coal by the blast of bellows, and work the metal until it is +reduced to nature, which I take out of the fire and separate to pieces; +then I take the metal thus reduced to nature and expose it to the +action of a hollow pit-coal fire, heated by the blast of bellows, until +it is reduced to a loop, which I draw out under a common forge hammer +into bar-iron." This method of manufacture was followed with success, +though for some time, as indeed to this day, the principal production +of the Carron Works was castings, for which the peculiar quality of the +Scotch iron admirably adapts it. The well-known Carronades,[2] or +"Smashers," as they were named, were cast in large numbers at the +Carron Works. To increase the power of his blowing apparatus, Dr. +Roebuck called to his aid the celebrated Mr. Smeaton, the engineer, who +contrived and erected for him at Carron the most perfect apparatus of +the kind then in existence. It may also be added, that out of the +Carron enterprise, in a great measure, sprang the Forth and Clyde +Canal, the first artificial navigation in Scotland. The Carron +Company, with a view to securing an improved communication with +Glasgow, themselves surveyed a line, which was only given up in +consequence of the determined opposition of the landowners; but the +project was again revived through their means, and was eventually +carried out after the designs of Smeaton and Brindley. + +While the Carron foundry was pursuing a career of safe prosperity, Dr. +Roebuck's enterprise led him to embark in coal-mining, with the object +of securing an improved supply of fuel for the iron works. He became +the lessee of the Duke of Hamilton's extensive coal-mines at +Boroughstoness, as well as of the salt-pans which were connected with +them. The mansion of Kinneil went with the lease, and there Dr. +Roebuck and his family took up their abode. Kinneil House was formerly +a country seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, and is to this day a stately +old mansion, reminding one of a French chateau. Its situation is of +remarkable beauty, its windows overlooking the broad expanse of the +Firth of Forth, and commanding an extensive view of the country along +its northern shores. The place has become in a measure classical, +Kinneil House having been inhabited, since Dr. Roebuck's time, by +Dugald Stewart, who there wrote his Philosophical Essays.[3] When Dr. +Roebuck began to sink for coal at the new mines, he found it necessary +to erect pumping-machinery of the most powerful kind that could be +contrived, in order to keep the mines clear of water. For this purpose +the Newcomen engine, in its then state, was found insufficient; and +when Dr. Roebuck's friend, Professor Black, of Edinburgh, informed him +of a young man of his acquaintance, a mathematical instrument maker at +Glasgow, having invented a steam-engine calculated to work with +increased power, speed, and economy, compared with Newcomen's; Dr. +Roebuck was much interested, and shortly after entered into a +correspondence with James Watt, the mathematical instrument maker +aforesaid on the subject. The Doctor urged that Watt, who, up to that +time, had confined himself to models, should come over to Kinneil +House, and proceed to erect a working; engine in one of the +outbuildings. The English workmen whom he had brought; to the Carron +works would, he justly thought, give Watt a better chance of success +with his engine than if made by the clumsy whitesmiths and blacksmiths +of Glasgow, quite unaccustomed as they were to first-class work; and he +proposed himself to cast the cylinders at Carron previous to Watt's +intended visit to him at Kinneil. + +Watt paid his promised visit in May, 1768, and Roebuck was by this time +so much interested in the invention, that the subject of his becoming a +partner with Watt, with the object of introducing the engine into +general use, was seriously discussed. Watt had been labouring at his +invention for several years, contending with many difficulties, but +especially with the main difficulty of limited means. He had borrowed +considerable sums of money from Dr. Black to enable him to prosecute +his experiments, and he felt the debt to hang like a millstone round +his neck. Watt was a sickly, fragile man, and a constant sufferer from +violent headaches; besides he was by nature timid, desponding, +painfully anxious, and easily cast down by failure. Indeed, he was +more than once on the point of abandoning his invention in despair. On +the other hand, Dr. Roebuck was accustomed to great enterprises, a bold +and undaunted man, and disregardful of expense where he saw before him +a reasonable prospect of success. His reputation as a practical +chemist and philosopher, and his success as the founder of the +Prestonpans Chemical Works and of the Carron Iron Works, justified the +friends of Watt in thinking that he was of all men the best calculated +to help him at this juncture, and hence they sought to bring about a +more intimate connection between the two. The result was that Dr. +Roebuck eventually became a partner to the extent of two-thirds of the +invention, took upon him the debt owing by Watt to Dr. Black amounting +to about 1200L., and undertook to find the requisite money to protect +the invention by means of a patent. The necessary steps were taken +accordingly and the patent right was secured by the beginning of 1769, +though the perfecting of his model cost Watt much further anxiety and +study. + +It was necessary for Watt occasionally to reside with Dr. Roebuck at +Kinneil House while erecting his first engine there. It had been +originally intended to erect it in the neighbouring town of +Boroughstoness, but as there might be prying eyes there, and Watt +wished to do his work in privacy, determined "not to puff," he at +length fixed upon an outhouse still standing, close behind the mansion, +by the burnside in the glen, where there was abundance of water and +secure privacy. Watt's extreme diffidence was often the subject of +remark at Dr. Roebuck's fireside. To the Doctor his anxiety seemed +quite painful, and he was very much disposed to despond under +apparently trivial difficulties. Roebuck's hopeful nature was his +mainstay throughout. Watt himself was ready enough to admit this; for, +writing to his friend Dr. Small, he once said, "I have met with many +disappointments; and I must have sunk under the burthen of them if I +had not been supported by the friendship of Dr. Roebuck." + +But more serious troubles were rapidly accumulating upon Dr. Roebuck +himself; and it was he, and not Watt, that sank under the burthen. The +progress of Watt's engine was but slow, and long before it could be +applied to the pumping of Roebuck's mines, the difficulties of the +undertaking on which he had entered overwhelmed him. The opening out +of the principal coal involved a very heavy outlay, extending over many +years, during which he sank not only his own but his wife's fortune, +and--what distressed him most of all--large sums borrowed from his +relatives and friends, which he was unable to repay. The consequence +was, that he was eventually under the necessity of withdrawing his +capital from the refining works at Birmingham, and the vitriol works at +Prestonpans. At the same time, he transferred to Mr. Boulton of Soho +his entire interest in Watt's steam-engine, the value of which, by the +way, was thought so small that it was not even included among the +assets; Roebuck's creditors not estimating it as worth one farthing. +Watt sincerely deplored his partner's misfortunes, but could not help +him. "He has been a most sincere and generous friend," said Watt, "and +is a truly worthy man." And again, "My heart bleeds for him, but I can +do nothing to help him: I have stuck by him till I have much hurt +myself; I can do so no longer; my family calls for my care to provide +for them." The later years of Dr. Roebuck's life were spent in +comparative obscurity; and he died in 1794, in his 76th year. + +He lived to witness the success of the steam-engine, the opening up of +the Boroughstoness coal,[4] and the rapid extension of the Scotch iron +trade, though he shared in the prosperity of neither of those branches +of industry. He had been working ahead of his age, and he suffered for +it. He fell in the breach at the critical moment, and more fortunate +men marched over his body into the fortress which his enterprise and +valour had mainly contributed to win. Before his great undertaking of +the Carron Works, Scotland was entirely dependent upon other countries +for its supply of iron. In 1760, the first year of its operations, the +whole produce was 1500 tons. In course of time other iron works were +erected, at Clyde Cleugh, Muirkirk, and Devon--the managers and +overseers of which, as well as the workmen, had mostly received their +training and experience at Carron--until at length the iron trade of +Scotland has assumed such a magnitude that its manufacturers are +enabled to export to England and other countries upwards of 500,000 +tons a-year. How different this state of things from the time when +raids were made across the Border for the purpose of obtaining a store +of iron plunder to be carried back into Scotland! + +The extraordinary expansion of the Scotch iron trade of late years has +been mainly due to the discovery by David Mushet of the Black Band +ironstone in 1801, and the invention of the Hot Blast by James Beaumont +Neilson in 1828. David Mushet was born at Dalkeith, near Edinburgh, in +1772.[5] Like other members of his family he was brought up to +metal-founding. At the age of nineteen he joined the staff of the +Clyde Iron Works, near Glasgow, at a time when the Company had only two +blast-furnaces at work. The office of accountant, which he held, +precluded him from taking any part in the manufacturing operations of +the concern. But being of a speculative and ingenious turn of mind, +the remarkable conversions which iron underwent in the process of +manufacture very shortly began to occupy his attention. The subject +was much discussed by the young men about the works, and they +frequently had occasion to refer to Foureroy's well-known book for the +purpose of determining various questions of difference which arose +among them in the course of their inquiries. The book was, however, in +many respects indecisive and unsatisfactory; and, in 1793, when a +reduction took place in the Company's staff, and David Mushet was left +nearly the sole occupant of the office, he determined to study the +subject for himself experimentally, and in the first place to acquire a +thorough knowledge of assaying, as the true key to the whole art of +iron-making. + +He first set up his crucible upon the bridge of the reverberatory +furnace used for melting pig-iron, and filled it with a mixture +carefully compounded according to the formula of the books; but, +notwithstanding the shelter of a brick, placed before it to break the +action of the flame, the crucible generally split in two, and not +unfrequently melted and disappeared altogether. To obtain better +results if possible, he next had recourse to the ordinary smith's fire, +carrying on his experiments in the evenings after office-hours. He set +his crucible upon the fire on a piece of fire brick, opposite the +nozzle of the bellows; covering the whole with coke, and then exciting +the flame by blowing. This mode of operating produced somewhat better +results, but still neither the iron nor the cinder obtained resembled +the pig or scoria of the blast-furnace, which it was his ambition to +imitate. From the irregularity of the results, and the frequent +failure of the crucibles, he came to the conclusion that either his +furnace, or his mode of fluxing, was in fault, and he looked about him +for a more convenient means of pursuing his experiments. A small +square furnace had been erected in the works for the purpose of heating +the rivets used for the repair of steam-engine boilers; the furnace had +for its chimney a cast-iron pipe six or seven inches in diameter and +nine feet long. After a few trials with it, he raised the heat to such +an extent that the lower end of the pipe was melted off, without +producing any very satisfactory results on the experimental crucible, +and his operations were again brought to a standstill. A chimney of +brick having been substituted for the cast-iron pipe, he was, however, +enabled to proceed with his trials. + +He continued to pursue his experiments in assaying for about two years, +during which he had been working entirely after the methods described +in books; but, feeling the results still unsatisfactory, he determined +to borrow no more from the books, but to work out a system of his own, +which should ensure results similar to those produced at the +blast-furnace. This he eventually succeeded in effecting by numerous +experiments performed in the night; as his time was fully occupied by +his office-duties during the day. At length these patient experiments +bore their due fruits. David Mushet became the most skilled assayer at +the works; and when a difficulty occurred in smelting a quantity of new +ironstone which had been contracted for, the manager himself resorted +to the bookkeeper for advice and information; and the skill and +experience which he had gathered during his nightly labours, enabled +him readily and satisfactorily to solve the difficulty and suggest a +suitable remedy. His reward for this achievement was the permission, +which was immediately granted him by the manager, to make use of his +own assay-furnace, in which he thenceforward continued his +investigations, at the same time that he instructed the manager's son +in the art of assaying. This additional experience proved of great +benefit to him; and he continued to prosecute his inquiries with much +zeal, sometimes devoting entire nights to experiments in assaying, +roasting and cementing iron-ores and ironstone, decarbonating cast-iron +for steel and bar-iron, and various like operations. His general +practice, however, at that time was, to retire between two and three +o'clock in the morning, leaving directions with the engine-man to call +him at half-past five, so as to be present in the office at six. But +these praiseworthy experiments were brought to a sudden end, as thus +described by himself:-- + +"In the midst of my career of investigation," says he,[6] "and without +a cause being assigned, I was stopped short. My furnaces, at the order +of the manager, were pulled in pieces, and an edict was passed that +they should never be erected again. Thus terminated my researches at +the Clyde Iron Works. It happened at a time when I was interested--and +I had been two years previously occupied--in an attempt to convert +cast-iron into steel, without fusion, by a process of cementation, +which had for its object the dispersion or absorption of the +superfluous carbon contained in the cast-iron,--an object which at that +time appeared to me of so great importance, that, with the consent of a +friend, I erected an assay and cementing Furnace at the distance of +about two miles from the Clyde Works. Thither I repaired at night, and +sometimes at the breakfast and dinner hours during the day. This plan +of operation was persevered in for the whole of one summer, but was +found too uncertain and laborious to be continued. At the latter end +of the year 1798 I left my chambers, and removed from the Clyde Works +to the distance of about a mile, where I constructed several furnaces +for assaying and cementing, capable of exciting a greater temperature +than any to which I before had access; and thus for nearly two years I +continued to carry on my investigations connected with iron and the +alloys of the metals. + +"Though operating in a retired manner, and holding little communication +with others, my views and opinions upon the RATIONALE of iron-making +spread over the establishment. I was considered forward in affecting +to see and explain matters in a different way from others who were much +my seniors, and who were content to be satisfied with old methods of +explanation, or with no explanation at all..... Notwithstanding these +early reproaches, I have lived to see the nomenclature of my youth +furnish a vocabulary of terms in the art of iron-making, which is used +by many of the ironmasters of the present day with freedom and effect, +in communicating with each other on the subject of their respective +manufactures. Prejudices seldom outlive the generation to which they +belong, when opposed by a more rational system of explanation. In this +respect, Time (as my Lord Bacon says) is the greatest of all innovators. + +"In a similar manner, Time operated in my favour in respect to the +Black Band Ironstone.[7] The discovery of this was made in 1801, when +I was engaged in erecting for myself and partners the Calder Iron +Works. Great prejudice was excited against me by the ironmasters and +others of that day in presuming to class the WILD COALS of the country +(as Black Band was called) with ironstone fit and proper for the blast +furnace. Yet that discovery has elevated Scotland to a considerable +rank among the iron-making nations of Europe, with resources still in +store that may be considered inexhaustible. But such are the +consolatory effects of Time, that the discoverer of 1801 is no longer +considered the intrusive visionary of the laboratory, but the +acknowledged benefactor of his country at large, and particularly of an +extensive class of coal and mine proprietors and iron masters, who have +derived, and are still deriving, great wealth from this important +discovery; and who, in the spirit of grateful acknowledgment, have +pronounced it worthy of a crown of gold, or a monumental record on the +spot where the discovery was first made. + +"At an advanced period of life, such considerations are soothing and +satisfactory. Many under similar circumstances have not, in their own +lifetime, had that measure of justice awarded to them by their country +to which they were equally entitled. I accept it, however, as a boon +justly due to me, and as an equivalent in some degree for that +laborious course of investigation which I had prescribed for myself, +and which, in early life, was carried on under circumstances of +personal exposure and inconvenience, which nothing but a frame of iron +could have supported. They atone also, in part, for that +disappointment sustained in early life by the speculative habits of one +partner, and the constitutional nervousness of another, which +eventually occasioned my separation from the Calder Iron Works, and +lost me the possession of extensive tracts of Black Band iron-stone, +which I had secured while the value of the discovery was known only to +myself." + +Mr. Mushet published the results of his laborious investigations in a +series of papers in the Philosophical Magazine,--afterwards reprinted +in a collected form in 1840 under the title of "Papers on Iron and +Steel." These papers are among the most valuable original +contributions to the literature of the iron-manufacture that have yet +been given to the world. They contain the germs of many inventions and +discoveries in iron and steel, some of which were perfected by Mr. +Mushet himself, while others were adopted and worked out by different +experimenters. In 1798 some of the leading French chemists were +endeavouring to prove by experiment that steel could be made by contact +of the diamond with bar-iron in the crucible, the carbon of the diamond +being liberated and entering into combination with the iron, forming +steel. In the animated controversy which occurred on the subject, Mr. +Mushet's name was brought into considerable notice; one of the subjects +of his published experiments having been the conversion of bar-iron +into steel in the crucible by contact with regulated proportions of +charcoal. The experiments which he made in connection with this +controversy, though in themselves unproductive of results, led to the +important discovery by Mr. Mushet of the certain fusibility of +malleable iron at a suitable temperature. + +Among the other important results of Mr. Mushet's lifelong labours, the +following may be summarily mentioned: The preparation of steel from +bar-iron by a direct process, combining the iron with carbon; the +discovery of the beneficial effects of oxide of manganese on iron and +steel; the use of oxides of iron in the puddling-furnace in various +modes of appliance; the production of pig-iron from the blast-furnace, +suitable for puddling, without the intervention of the refinery; and +the application of the hot blast to anthracite coal in iron-smelting. +For the process of combining iron with carbon for the production of +steel, Mr. Mushet took out a patent in November, 1800; and many years +after, when he had discovered the beneficial effects of oxide of +manganese on steel, Mr. Josiah Heath founded upon it his celebrated +patent for the making of cast-steel, which had the effect of raising +the annual production of that metal in Sheffield from 3000 to 100,000 +tons. His application of the hot blast to anthracite coal, after a +process invented by him and adopted by the Messrs. Hill of the Plymouth +Iron Works, South Wales, had the effect of producing savings equal to +about 20,000L. a year at those works; and yet, strange to say, Mr. +Mushet himself never received any consideration for his invention. + +The discovery of Titanium by Mr. Mushet in the hearth of a +blast-furnace in 1794 would now be regarded as a mere isolated fact, +inasmuch as Titanium was not placed in the list of recognised metals +until Dr. Wollaston, many years later, ascertained its qualities. But +in connection with the fact, it may be mentioned that Mr. Mushet's +youngest son, Robert, reasoning on the peculiar circumstances of the +discovery in question, of which ample record is left, has founded upon +it his Titanium process, which is expected by him eventually to +supersede all other methods of manufacturing steel, and to reduce very +materially the cost of its production. + +While he lived, Mr. Mushet was a leading authority on all matters +connected with Iron and Steel, and he contributed largely to the +scientific works of his time. Besides his papers in the Philosophical +Journal, he wrote the article "Iron" for Napiers Supplement to the +Encyclopaedia Britannica; and the articles "Blast Furnace" and "Blowing +Machine" for Rees's Cyclopaedia. The two latter articles had a +considerable influence on the opposition to the intended tax upon iron +in 1807, and were frequently referred to in the discussions on the +subject in Parliament. Mr. Mushet died in 1847. + + + +[1] Dr. Roebuck's grandson, John Arthur Roebuck, by a singular +coincidence, at present represents Sheffield in the British Parliament. + +[2] The carronade was invented by General Robert Melville [Mr. Nasmyth +says it was by Miller of Dalswinton], who proposed it for discharging +68 lb, shot with low charges of powder, in order to produce the +increased splintering or SMASHING effects which were known to result +from such practice. The first piece of the kind was cast at the Carron +Foundry, in 1779, and General Melville's family have now in their +possession a small model of this gun, with the inscription:--"Gift of +the Carron Company to Lieutenant-general Melville, inventor of the +smashers and lesser carronades, for solid, ship, shell, and carcass +shot, &c. First used against French ships in 1779." + +[3] Wilkie the painter once paid him a visit there while in Scotland +studying the subject of his "Penny Wedding;" and Dugald Stewart found +for him the old farm-house with the cradle-chimney, which he introduced +in that picture. But Kinneil House has had its imaginary inhabitants +as well as its real ones, the ghost of a Lady Lilburn, once an occupant +of the place, still "haunting" some of the unoccupied chambers. Dugald +Stewart told Wilkie one night, as he was going to bed, of the unearthly +wailings which he himself had heard proceeding from the ancient +apartments; but to him at least they had been explained by the door +opening out upon the roof being blown in on gusty nights, when a +jarring and creaking noise was heard all over the house. One advantage +derived from the house being "haunted" was, that the garden was never +broken into, and the winter apples and stores were at all times kept +safe from depredation in the apartments of the Lady Lilburn. + +[4] Dr. Roebuck had been on the brink of great good fortune, but he did +not know it. Mr. Ralph Moore, in his "Papers on the Blackband +Ironstones" (Glasgow, 1861), observes:--"Strange to say, he was leaving +behind him, almost as the roof of one of the seams of coal which he +worked, a valuable blackband ironstone, upon which Kinneil Iron Works +are now founded. The coal-field continued to be worked until the +accidental discovery of the blackband about 1845. The old coal-pits +are now used for working the ironstone." + +[5] The Mushets are an old Kincardine family; but they were almost +extinguished by the plague in the reign of Charles the Second. Their +numbers were then reduced to two; one of whom remained at Kincardine, +and the other, a clergyman, the Rev. George Mushet, accompanied +Montrose as chaplain. He is buried in Kincardine churchyard. + +[6] Papers on Iron and Steel. By David Mushet. London, 1840. + +[7] This valuable description of iron ore was discovered by Mr. Mushet, +as he afterwards informs us (Papers on Iron and Steel, 121), in the +year 1801, when crossing the river Calder, in the parish of Old +Monkland. Having subjected a specimen which he found in the river-bed +to the test of his crucible, he satisfied himself as to its properties, +and proceeded to ascertain its geological position and relations. He +shortly found that it belonged to the upper part of the coal-formation, +and hence he designated it carboniferous ironstone. He prosecuted his +researches, and found various rich beds of the mineral distributed +throughout the western counties of Scotland. On analysis, it was found +to contain a little over 50 per cent. of protoxide of iron. The coaly +matter it contained was not its least valuable ingredient; for by the +aid of the hot blast it was afterwards found practicable to smelt it +almost without any addition of coal. Seams of black band have since +been discovered and successfully worked in Edinburghshire, +Staffordshire, and North Wales. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +INVENTION OF THE HOT BLAST--JAMES BEAUMONT NEILSON. + +"Whilst the exploits of the conqueror and the intrigues of the +demagogue are faithfully preserved through a succession of ages, the +persevering and unobtrusive efforts of genius, developing the best +blessings of the Deity to man, are often consigned to oblivion."--David +Mushet. + + +The extraordinary value of the Black Band ironstone was not at first +duly recognised, perhaps not even by Mr. Mushet himself. For several +years after its discovery by him, its use was confined to the Calder +Iron Works, where it was employed in mixture with other ironstones of +the argillaceous class. It was afterwards partially used at the Clyde +Iron Works, but nowhere else, a strong feeling of prejudice being +entertained against it on the part of the iron trade generally. It was +not until the year 1825 that the Monkland Company used it alone, +without any other mixture than the necessary quantity of limestone for +a flux. "The success of this Company," says Mr. Mushet, "soon gave +rise to the Gartsherrie and Dundyvan furnaces, in the midst of which +progress came the use of raw pit-coal and the Hot Blast--the latter one +of the greatest discoveries in metallurgy of the present age, and, +above every other process, admirably adapted for smelting the Blackband +ironstone." From the introduction of this process the extraordinary +development of the iron-manufacture of Scotland may be said to date; +and we accordingly propose to devote the present chapter to an account +of its meritorious inventor. + +James Beaumont Neilson was born at Shettleston, a roadside village +about three miles eastward of Glasgow, on the 22nd of June, 1792. His +parents belonged to the working class. His father's earnings during +many laborious years of his life did not exceed sixteen shillings a +week. He had been bred to the trade of a mill-wright, and was for some +time in the employment of Dr. Roebuck as an engine-wright at his +colliery near Boroughstoness. He was next employed in a like capacity +by Mr. Beaumont, the mineral-manager of the collieries of Mrs. +Cunningham of Lainshaw, near Irvine in Ayrshire; after which he was +appointed engine-wright at Ayr, and subsequently at the Govan Coal +Works near Glasgow, where he remained until his death. It was while +working at the Irvine Works that he first became acquainted with his +future wife, Marion Smith, the daughter of a Renfrewshire bleacher, a +woman remarkable through life for her clever, managing, and industrious +habits. She had the charge of Mrs. Cunningham's children for some time +after the marriage of that lady to Mr. Beaumont, and it was in +compliment to her former mistress and her husband that she named her +youngest son James Beaumont after the latter. + +The boy's education was confined to the common elements of reading, +writing, and arithmetic, which he partly acquired at the parish school +of Strathbungo near Glasgow, and partly at the Chapel School, as it was +called, in the Gorbals at Glasgow. He had finally left school before +he was fourteen. Some time before he left, he had been partially set +to work, and earned four shillings a week by employing a part of each +day in driving a small condensing engine which his father had put up in +a neighbouring quarry. After leaving school, he was employed for two +years as a gig boy on one of the winding engines at the Govan colliery. +His parents now considered him of fit age to be apprenticed to some +special trade, and as Beaumont had much of his father's tastes for +mechanical pursuits, it was determined to put him apprentice to a +working engineer. His elder brother John was then acting as engineman +at Oakbank near Glasgow, and Beaumont was apprenticed under him to +learn the trade. John was a person of a studious and serious turn of +mind, and had been strongly attracted to follow the example of the +brothers Haldane, who were then exciting great interest by their +preaching throughout the North; but his father set his face against his +son's "preaching at the back o' dikes," as he called it; and so John +quietly settled down to his work. The engine which the two brothers +managed was a very small one, and the master and apprentice served for +engineman and fireman. Here the youth worked for three years, +employing his leisure hours in the evenings in remedying the defects of +his early education, and endeavouring to acquire a knowledge of English +grammar, drawing, and mathematics. + +On the expiry of his apprenticeship, Beaumont continued for a time to +work under his brother as journeyman at a guinea a week; after which, +in 1814, he entered the employment of William Taylor, coal-master at +Irvine, and he was appointed engine-wright of the colliery at a salary +of from 70L. to 80L. a year. One of the improvements which he +introduced in the working of the colliery, while he held that office, +was the laying down of an edge railway of cast-iron, in lengths of +three feet, from the pit to the harbour of Irvine, a distance of three +miles. At the age of 23 he married his first wife, Barbara +Montgomerie, an Irvine lass, with a "tocher" of 250L. This little +provision was all the more serviceable to him, as his master, Taylor, +becoming unfortunate in business, he was suddenly thrown out of +employment, and the little fortune enabled the newly-married pair to +hold their heads above water till better days came round. They took a +humble tenement, consisting of a room and a kitchen, in the Cowcaddens, +Glasgow, where their first child was born. + +About this time a gas-work, the first in Glasgow, was projected, and +the company having been formed, the directors advertised for a +superintendent and foreman, to whom they offered a "liberal salary." +Though Beaumont had never seen gaslight before, except at the +illumination of his father's colliery office after the Peace of Amiens, +which was accomplished in a very simple and original manner, without +either condenser, purifier, or gas-holder, and though he knew nothing +of the art of gas-making, he had the courage to apply for the +situation. He was one of twenty candidates, and the fortunate one; and +in August, 1817, we find him appointed foreman of the Glasgow Gasworks, +for five years, at the salary of 90L. a year. Before the expiry of his +term he was reappointed for six years more, at the advanced salary of +200L., with the status of manager and engineer of the works. His +salary was gradually increased to 400L. a year, with a free +dwelling-house, until 1847, when, after a faithful service of thirty +years, during which he had largely extended the central works, and +erected branch works in Tradeston and Partick, he finally resigned the +management. + +The situation of manager of the Glasgow Gas-works was in many respects +well suited for the development of Mr. Neilson's peculiar abilities. +In the first place it afforded him facilities for obtaining theoretical +as well as practical knowledge in Chemical Science, of which he was a +diligent student at the Andersonian University, as well as of Natural +Philosophy and Mathematics in their higher branches. In the next place +it gave free scope for his ingenuity in introducing improvements in the +manufacture of gas, then in its infancy. He was the first to employ +clay retorts; and he introduced sulphate of iron as a self-acting +purifier, passing the gas through beds of charcoal to remove its oily +and tarry elements. The swallow-tail or union jet was also his +invention, and it has since come into general use. + +While managing the Gas-works, one of Mr. Neilson's labours of love was +the establishment and direction by him of a Workmen's Institution for +mutual improvement. Having been a workman himself, and experienced the +disadvantages of an imperfect education in early life, as well as the +benefits arising from improved culture in later years, he desired to +impart some of these advantages to the workmen in his employment, who +consisted chiefly of persons from remote parts of the Highlands or from +Ireland. Most of them could not even read, and his principal +difficulty consisted in persuading them that it was of any use to +learn. For some time they resisted his persuasions to form a Workmen's +Institution, with a view to the establishment of a library, classes, +and lectures, urging as a sufficient plea for not joining it, that they +could not read, and that books would be of no use to them. At last Mr. +Neilson succeeded, though with considerable difficulty, in inducing +fourteen of the workmen to adopt his plan. Each member was to +contribute a small sum monthly, to be laid out in books, the Gas +Company providing the members with a comfortable room in which they +might meet to read and converse in the evenings instead of going to the +alehouse. The members were afterwards allowed to take the books home +to read, and the room was used for the purpose of conversation on the +subjects of the books read by them, and occasionally for lectures +delivered by the members themselves on geography, arithmetic, +chemistry, and mechanics. Their numbers increased so that the room in +which they met became insufficient for their accommodation, when the +Gas Company provided them with a new and larger place of meeting, +together with a laboratory and workshop. In the former they studied +practical chemistry, and in the latter they studied practical +mechanics, making for themselves an air pump and an electrifying +machine, as well as preparing the various models used in the course of +the lectures. The effects on the workmen were eminently beneficial, +and the institution came to be cited as among the most valuable of its +kind in the kingdom.[1] + +Mr. Neilson throughout watched carefully over its working, and exerted +himself in all ways to promote its usefulness, in which he had the +zealous co-operation of the leading workmen themselves, and the +gratitude of all. On the opening of the new and enlarged rooms in +1825, we find him delivering an admirable address, which was thought +worthy of republication, together with the reply of George Sutherland, +one of the workmen, in which Mr. Neilson's exertions as its founder and +chief supporter were gratefully and forcibly expressed.[2] + +It was during the period of his connection with the Glasgow Gas-works +that Mr. Neilson directed his attention to the smelting of iron. His +views in regard to the subject were at first somewhat crude, as appears +from a paper read by him before the Glasgow Philosophical Society early +in 1825. It appears that in the course of the preceding year his +attention had been called to the subject by an iron-maker, who asked +him if he thought it possible to purify the air blown into the blast +furnaces, in like manner as carburetted hydrogen gas was purified. The +ironmaster supposed that it was the presence of sulphur in the air that +caused blast-furnaces to work irregularly, and to make bad iron in the +summer months. Mr. Neilson was of opinion that this was not the true +cause, and he was rather disposed to think it attributable to the want +of a due proportion of oxygen in summer, when the air was more +rarefied, besides containing more aqueous vapour than in winter. He +therefore thought the true remedy was in some way or other to throw in +a greater proportion of oxygen; and he suggested that, in order to dry +the air, it should be passed, on its way to the furnace, through two +long tunnels containing calcined lime. But further inquiry served to +correct his views, and eventually led him to the true theory of +blasting. + +Shortly after, his attention was directed by Mr. James Ewing to a +defect in one of the Muirkirk blast-furnaces, situated about half a +mile distant from the blowing-engine, which was found not to work so +well as others which were situated close to it. The circumstances of +the case led Mr. Neilson to form the opinion that, as air increases in +volume according to temperature, if he were to heat it by passing it +through a red-hot vessel, its volume would be increased, according to +the well-known law, and the blast might thus be enabled to do more duty +in the distant furnace. He proceeded to make a series of experiments +at the Gas-works, trying the effect of heated air on the illuminating +power of gas, by bringing up a stream of it in a tube so as to surround +the gas-burner. He found that by this means the combustion of the gas +was rendered more intense, and its illuminating power greatly +increased. He proceeded to try a similar experiment on a common +smith's fire, by blowing the fire with heated air, and the effect was +the same; the fire was much more brilliant, and accompanied by an +unusually intense degree of heat. + +Having obtained such marked results by these small experiments, it +naturally occurred to him that a similar increase in intensity of +combustion and temperature would attend the application of the process +to the blast-furnace on a large scale; but being only a gas-maker, he +had the greatest difficulty in persuading any ironmaster to permit him +to make the necessary experiment's with blast-furnaces actually at +work. Besides, his theory was altogether at variance with the +established practice, which was to supply air as cold as possible, the +prevailing idea being that the coldness of the air in winter was the +cause of the best iron being then produced. Acting on these views, the +efforts of the ironmasters had always been directed to the cooling of +the blast, and various expedients were devised for the purpose. Thus +the regulator was painted white, as being the coolest colour; the air +was passed over cold water, and in some cases the air pipes were even +surrounded by ice, all with the object of keeping the blast cold. +When, therefore, Mr. Neilson proposed entirely to reverse the process, +and to employ hot instead of cold blast, the incredulity of the +ironmasters may well be imagined. What! Neilson, a mere maker of gas, +undertake to instruct practical men in the manufacture of iron! And to +suppose that heated air can be used for the purpose! It was +presumption in the extreme, or at best the mere visionary idea of a +person altogether unacquainted with the subject! + +At length, however, Mr. Neilson succeeded in inducing Mr. Charles +Macintosh of Crossbasket, and Mr. Colin Dunlop of the Clyde Iron Works, +to allow him to make a trial of the hot air process. In the first +imperfect attempts the air was heated to little more than 80 degrees +Fahrenheit, yet the results were satisfactory, and the scoriae from the +furnace evidently contained less iron. He was therefore desirous of +trying his plan upon a more extensive scale, with the object, if +possible, of thoroughly establishing the soundness of his principle. +In this he was a good deal hampered even by those ironmasters who were +his friends, and had promised him the requisite opportunities for +making a fair trial of the new process. They strongly objected to his +making the necessary alterations in the furnaces, and he seemed to be +as far from a satisfactory experiment as ever. In one instance, where +he had so far succeeded as to be allowed to heat the blast-main, he +asked permission to introduce deflecting plates in the main or to put a +bend in the pipe, so as to bring the blast more closely against the +heated sides of the pipe, and also increase the area of heating +surface, in order to raise the temperature to a higher point; but this +was refused, and it was said that if even a bend were put in the pipe +the furnace would stop working. These prejudices proved a serious +difficulty in the way of our inventor, and several more years passed +before he was allowed to put a bend in the blast-main. After many +years of perseverance, he was, however, at length enabled to work out +his plan into a definite shape at the Clyde Iron Works, and its +practical value was at once admitted. At the meeting of the Mechanical +Engineers' Society held in May, 1859, Mr. Neilson explained that his +invention consisted solely in the principle of heating the blast +between the engine and the furnace, and was not associated with any +particular construction of the intermediate heating apparatus. This, +he said, was the cause of its success; and in some respects it +resembled the invention of his countryman, James Watt, who, in +connection with the steam-engine, invented the plan of condensing the +steam in a separate vessel, and was successful in maintaining his +invention by not limiting it to any particular construction of the +condenser. On the same occasion he took the opportunity of +acknowledging the firmness with which the English ironmasters had stood +by him when attempts were made to deprive him of the benefits of his +invention; and to them he acknowledged he was mainly indebted for the +successful issue of the severe contests he had to undergo. For there +were, of course, certain of the ironmasters, both English and Scotch, +supporters of the cause of free trade in others' inventions, who sought +to resist the patent, after it had come into general use, and had been +recognised as one of the most valuable improvements of modern times.[3] + +The patent was secured in 1828 for a term of fourteen years; but, as +Mr. Neilson did not himself possess the requisite capital to enable him +to perfect the invention, or to defend it if attacked, he found it +necessary to invite other gentlemen, able to support him in these +respects, to share its profits; retaining for himself only three-tenths +of the whole. His partners were Mr. Charles Macintosh, Mr. Colin +Dunlop, and Mr. John Wilson of Dundyvan. The charge made by them was +only a shilling a ton for all iron produced by the new process; this +low rate being fixed in order to ensure the introduction of the patent +into general use, as well as to reduce to a minimum the temptations of +the ironmasters to infringe it. + +The first trials of the process were made at the blast-furnaces of +Clyde and Calder; from whence the use of the hot blast gradually +extended to the other iron-mining districts. In the course of a few +years every furnace in Scotland, with one exception (that at Carron), +had adopted the improvement; while it was also employed in half the +furnaces of England and Wales, and in many of the furnaces on the +Continent and in America. In course of time, and with increasing +experience, various improvements were introduced in the process, more +particularly in the shape of the air-heating vessels; the last form +adopted being that of a congeries of tubes, similar to the tubular +arrangement in the boiler of the locomotive, by which the greatest +extent of heating surface was provided for the thorough heating of the +air. By these modifications the temperature of the air introduced into +the furnace has been raised from 240 degrees to 600 degrees, or the +temperature of melting lead. To protect the nozzle of the air-pipe as +it entered the furnace against the action of the intense heat to which +it was subjected, a spiral pipe for a stream of cold water constantly +to play in has been introduced within the sides of the iron tuyere +through which the nozzle passes; by which means the tuyere is kept +comparatively cool, while the nozzle of the air-pipe is effectually +protected.[4] + +This valuable invention did not escape the usual fate of successful +patents, and it was on several occasions the subject of protracted +litigation. The first action occurred in 1832; but the objectors +shortly gave in, and renewed their licence. In 1839, when the process +had become generally adopted throughout Scotland, and, indeed, was +found absolutely essential for smelting the peculiar ores of that +country--more especially Mushet's Black Band--a powerful combination +was formed amongst the ironmasters to resist the patent. The +litigation which ensued extended over five years, during which period +some twenty actions were proceeding in Scotland, and several in +England. Three juries sat upon the subject at different times, and on +three occasions appeals were carried to the House of Lords. One jury +trial occupied ten days, during which a hundred and two witnesses were +examined; the law costs on both sides amounting, it is supposed, to at +least 40,000L. The result was, that the novelty and merit of Mr. +Neilson's invention were finally established, and he was secured in the +enjoyment of the patent right. + +We are gratified to add, that, though Mr. Neilson had to part with +two-thirds of the profits of the invention to secure the capital and +influence necessary to bring it into general use, he realized +sufficient to enable him to enjoy the evening of his life in peace and +comfort. He retired from active business to an estate which he +purchased in 1851 in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, where he is found +ready to lend a hand in every good work--whether in agricultural +improvement, railway extension, or the moral and social good of those +about him. Mindful of the success of his Workmen's Institution at the +Glasgow Gas-Works, he has, almost at his own door, erected a similar +Institution for the use of the parish in which his property is +situated, the beneficial effects of which have been very marked in the +district. We may add that Mr. Neilson's merits have been recognised by +many eminent bodies--by the Institution of Civil Engineers, the +Chemical Society, and others--the last honour conferred on him being +his election as a Member of the Royal Society in 1846. + +The invention of the hot blast, in conjunction with the discovery of +the Black Band ironstone, has had an extra ordinary effect upon the +development of the iron-manufacture of Scotland. The coals of that +country are generally unfit for coking, and lose as much as 55 per +cent. in the process. But by using the hot blast, the coal could be +sent to the blast-furnace in its raw state, by which a large saving of +fuel was effected.[5] Even coals of an inferior quality were by its +means made available for the manufacture of iron. But one of the +peculiar qualities of the Black Band ironstone is that in many cases it +contains sufficient coaly matter for purposes of calcination, without +any admixture of coal whatever. Before its discovery, all the iron +manufactured in Scotland was made from clay-band; but the use of the +latter has in a great measure been discontinued wherever a sufficient +supply of Black Band can be obtained. And it is found to exist very +extensively in most of the midland Scotch counties,--the coal and iron +measures stretching in a broad belt from the Firth of Forth to the +Irish Channel at the Firth of Clyde. At the time when the hot blast +was invented, the fortunes of many of the older works were at a low +ebb, and several of them had been discontinued; but they were speedily +brought to life again wherever Black Band could be found. In 1829, the +year after Neilson's patent was taken out, the total make of Scotland +was 29,000 tons. As fresh discoveries of the mineral were made, in +Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, new works were erected, until, in 1845, we +find the production of Scotch pig-iron had increased to 475,000 tons. +It has since increased to upwards of a million of tons, +nineteen-twentieths of which are made from Black Band ironstone.[6] + +Employment has thus been given to vast numbers of our industrial +population, and the wealth and resources of the Scotch iron districts +have been increased to an extraordinary extent. During the last year +there were 125 furnaces in blast throughout Scotland, each employing +about 400 men in making an average of 200 tons a week; and the money +distributed amongst the workmen may readily be computed from the fact +that, under the most favourable circumstances, the cost of making iron +in wages alone amounts to 36s. a-ton.[7] + +An immense additional value was given to all land in which the Black +Band was found. Mr. Mushet mentions that in 1839 the proprietor of the +Airdrie estate derived a royalty of 16,500L. from the mineral, which +had not before its discovery yielded him one farthing. At the same +time, many fortunes have been made by pushing and energetic men who +have of late years entered upon this new branch of industry. Amongst +these may be mentioned the Bairds of Gartsherrie, who vie with the +Guests and Crawshays of South Wales, and have advanced themselves in +the course of a very few years from the station of small farmers to +that of great capitalists owning estates in many counties, holding the +highest character commercial men, and ranking among the largest +employers of labour in the kingdom. + + + +[1] Article by Dugald Bannatyne in Glasgow Mechanic's Magazine, No. 53, +Dec. 1824. + +[2] Glasgow Mechanic's Magazine, vol. iii. p. 159. + +[3] Mr. Mushet described it as "a wonderful discovery," and one of the +"most novel and beautiful improvements in his time." Professor Gregory +of Aberdeen characterized it as "the greatest improvement with which he +was acquainted." Mr. Jessop, an extensive English iron manufacturer, +declared it to be "of as great advantage in the iron trade as +Arkwright's machinery was in the cotton-spinning trade"; and Mr. +Fairbairn, in his contribution on "Iron" in the Encyclopaedia +Britannica, says that it "has effected an entire revolution in the iron +industry of Great Britain, and forms the last era in the history of +this material." + +[4] The invention of the tubular air-vessels and the water-tuyere +belongs, we believe, to Mr. John Condie, sometime manager of the Blair +Iron Works. + +[5] Mr. Mushet says, "The greatest produce in iron per furnace with the +Black Band and cold blast never exceeded 60 tons a-week. The produce +per furnace now averages 90 tons a-week. Ten tons of this I attribute +to the use of raw pit-coal, and the other twenty tons to the use of hot +blast." [Papers on Iron and Steel, 127.] The produce per furnace is +now 200 tons a-week and upwards. The hot blast process was afterwards +applied to the making of iron with the anthracite or stone coal of +Wales; for which a patent was taken out by George Crane in 1836. +Before the hot blast was introduced, anthracite coal would not act as +fuel in the blast-furnace. When put in, it merely had the effect of +putting the fire out. With the aid of the hot blast, however, it now +proves to be a most valuable fuel in smelting. + +[6] It is stated in the North British Review for Nov. 1845, that "As in +Scotland every furnace--with the exception of one at Carron--now uses +the hot blast the saving on our present produce of 400,000 tons of +pig-iron is 2,000,000 tons of coals, 200,000 tons of limestone, and +#650,000 sterling per annum." But as the Scotch produce is now above a +million tons of pig-iron a year, the above figures will have to be +multiplied by 2 1/2 to give the present annual savings. + +[7] Papers read by Mr. Ralph Moore, Mining Engineer, Glasgow, before +the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, Edin. 1861, pp. 13, 14. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +MECHANICAL INVENTIONS AND INVENTORS. + +"L'invention nest-elle pas la poesie de la science? . . . Toutes les +grandes decouvertes portent avec elles la trace ineffacable d'une +pensee poetique. Il faut etre poete pour creer. Aussi, sommes-nous +convaincus que si les puissantes machines, veritable source de la +production et de l'industrie de nos jours, doivent recevoir des +modifications radicales, ce sera a des hommes d'imagination, et non +point a dea hommes purement speciaux, que l'on devra cette +transformation."--E. M. BATAILLE, Traite des Machines a Vapeur. + + +Tools have played a highly important part in the history of +civilization. Without tools and the ability to use them, man were +indeed but a "poor, bare, forked animal,"--worse clothed than the +birds, worse housed than the beaver, worse fed than the jackal. "Weak +in himself," says Carlyle, "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, Jest 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 unvarying +steeds. Nowhere do you find him without tools: without tools he is +nothing; with tools he is all." His very first contrivances to support +life were tools of the simplest and rudest construction; and his latest +achievements in the substitution of machinery for the relief of the +human hand and intellect are founded on the use of tools of a still +higher order. Hence it is not without good reason that man has by some +philosophers been defined as A TOOL-MAKING ANIMAL. + +Tools, like everything else, had small beginnings. With the primitive +stone-hammer and chisel very little could be done. The felling of a +tree would occupy a workman a month, unless helped by the destructive +action of fire. Dwellings could not be built, the soil could not be +tilled, clothes could not be fashioned and made, and the hewing out of +a boat was so tedious a process that the wood must have been far gone +in decay before it could be launched. It was a great step in advance +to discover the art of working in metals, more especially in steel, one +of the few metals capable of taking a sharp edge and keeping it. From +the date of this discovery, working in wood and stone would be found +comparatively easy; and the results must speedily have been felt not +only in the improvement of man's daily food, but in his domestic and +social condition. Clothing could then be made, the primitive forest +could be cleared and tillage carried on; abundant fuel could be +obtained, dwellings erected, ships built, temples reared; every +improvement in tools marking a new step in the development of the human +intellect, and a further stage in the progress of human civilization. + +The earliest tools were of the simplest possible character, consisting +principally of modifications of the wedge; such as the knife, the +shears (formed of two knives working on a joint), the chisel, and the +axe. These, with the primitive hammer, formed the principal +stock-in-trade of the early mechanics, who were handicraftsmen in the +literal sense of the word. But the work which the early craftsmen in +wood, stone, brass, and iron, contrived to execute, sufficed to show +how much expertness in the handling of tools will serve to compensate +for their mechanical imperfections. Workmen then sought rather to aid +muscular strength than to supersede it, and mainly to facilitate the +efforts of manual skill. Another tool became added to those mentioned +above, which proved an additional source of power to the workman. We +mean the Saw, which was considered of so much importance that its +inventor was honoured with a place among the gods in the mythology of +the Greeks. This invention is said to have been suggested by the +arrangement of the teeth in the jaw of a serpent, used by Talus the +nephew of Daedalus in dividing a piece of wood. From the +representations of ancient tools found in the paintings at Herculaneum +it appears that the frame-saw used by the ancients very nearly +resembled that still in use; and we are informed that the tools +employed in the carpenters' shops at Nazareth at this day are in most +respects the same as those represented in the buried Roman city. +Another very ancient tool referred to in the Bible and in Homer was the +File, which was used to sharpen weapons and implements. Thus the +Hebrews "had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the +forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads." [1] When to these +we add the adze, plane-irons, the anger, and the chisel, we sum up the +tools principally relied on by the early mechanics for working in wood +and iron. + +Such continued to be the chief tools in use down almost to our own day. +The smith was at first the principal tool-maker; but special branches +of trade were gradually established, devoted to tool-making. So long, +however, as the workman relied mainly on his dexterity of hand, the +amount of production was comparatively limited; for the number of +skilled workmen was but small. The articles turned out by them, being +the product of tedious manual labour, were too dear to come into common +use, and were made almost exclusively for the richer classes of the +community. It was not until machinery had been invented and become +generally adopted that many of the ordinary articles of necessity and +of comfort were produced in sufficient abundance and at such prices as +enabled them to enter into the consumption of the great body of the +people. + +But every improver of tools had a long and difficult battle to fight; +for any improvement in their effective power was sure to touch the +interests of some established craft. Especially was this the case with +machines, which are but tools of a more complete though complicated +kind than those above described. + +Take, for instance, the case of the Saw. The tedious drudgery of +dividing timber by the old fashioned hand-saw is well known. To avoid +it, some ingenious person suggested that a number of saws should be +fixed to a frame in a mill, so contrived as to work with a +reciprocating motion, upwards and downwards, or backwards and forwards, +and that this frame so mounted should be yoked to the mill wheel, and +the saws driven by the power of wind or water. The plan was tried, +and, as may readily be imagined, the amount of effective work done by +this machine-saw was immense, compared with the tedious process of +sawing by hand. + +It will be observed, however, that the new method must have seriously +interfered with the labour of the hand-sawyers; and it was but natural +that they should regard the establishment of the saw-mills with +suspicion and hostility. Hence a long period elapsed before the +hand-sawyers would permit the new machinery to be set up and worked. +The first saw-mill in England was erected by a Dutchman, near London, +in 1663, but was shortly abandoned in consequence of the determined +hostility of the workmen. More than a century passed before a second +saw-mill was set up; when, in 1767, Mr. John Houghton, a London +timber-merchant, by the desire and with the approbation of the Society +of Arts, erected one at Limehouse, to be driven by wind. The work was +directed by one James Stansfield, who had gone over to Holland for the +purpose of learning the art of constructing and managing the sawing +machinery. But the mill was no sooner erected than a mob assembled and +razed it to the ground. The principal rioters having been punished, +and the loss to the proprietor having been made good by the nation, a +new mill was shortly after built, and it was suffered to work without +further molestation. + +Improved methods of manufacture have usually had to encounter the same +kind of opposition. Thus, when the Flemish weavers came over to +England in the seventeenth century, bringing with them their skill and +their industry, they excited great jealousy and hostility amongst the +native workmen. Their competition as workmen was resented as an +injury, but their improved machinery was regarded as a far greater +source of mischief. In a memorial presented to the king in 1621 we +find the London weavers complaining of the foreigners' competition, but +especially that "they have made so bould of late as to devise engines +for working of tape, lace, ribbin, and such like, wherein one man doth +more among them than 7 Englishe men can doe; so as their cheap sale of +commodities beggereth all our Englishe artificers of that trade, and +enricheth them." [2] + +At a much more recent period new inventions have had to encounter +serious rioting and machine-breaking fury. Kay of the fly-shuttle, +Hargreaves of the spinning-jenny, and Arkwright of the spinning-frame, +all had to fly from Lancashire, glad to escape with their lives. +Indeed, says Mr. Bazley, "so jealous were the people, and also the +legislature, of everything calculated to supersede men's labour, that +when the Sankey Canal, six miles long, near Warrington, was authorized +about the middle of last century, it was on the express condition that +the boats plying on it should be drawn by men only!" [3] Even improved +agricultural tools and machines have had the same opposition to +encounter; and in our own time bands of rural labourers have gone from +farm to farm breaking drill-ploughs, winnowing, threshing, and other +machines, down even to the common drills,--not perceiving that if their +policy had proved successful, and tools could have been effectually +destroyed, the human race would at once have been reduced to their +teeth and nails, and civilization summarily abolished.[4] It is, no +doubt, natural that the ordinary class of workmen should regard with +prejudice, if not with hostility, the introduction of machines +calculated to place them at a disadvantage and to interfere with their +usual employments; for to poor and not very far-seeing men the loss of +daily bread is an appalling prospect. But invention does not stand +still on that account. Human brains WILL work. Old tools are improved +and new ones invented, superseding existing methods of production, +though the weak and unskilled may occasionally be pushed aside or even +trodden under foot. The consolation which remains is, that while the +few suffer, society as a whole is vastly benefitted by the improved +methods of production which are suggested, invented, and perfected by +the experience of successive generations. + +The living race is the inheritor of the industry and skill of all past +times; and the civilization we enjoy is but the sum of the useful +effects of labour during the past centuries. Nihil per saltum. By +slow and often painful steps Nature's secrets have been mastered. Not +an effort has been made but has had its influence. For no human labour +is altogether lost; some remnant of useful effect surviving for the +benefit of the race, if not of the individual. Even attempts +apparently useless have not really been so, but have served in some way +to advance man to higher knowledge, skill, or discipline. "The loss of +a position gained," says Professor Thomson, "is an event unknown in the +history of man's struggle with the forces of inanimate nature." A +single step won gives a firmer foothold for further effort. The man +may die, but the race survives and continues the work,--to use the +poet's simile, mounting on stepping-stones of dead selves to higher +selves. + +Philarete Chasles, indeed, holds that it is the Human Race that is your +true inventor: "As if to unite all generations," he says, "and to show +that man can only act efficiently by association with others, it has +been ordained that each inventor shall only interpret the first word of +the problem he sets himself to solve, and that every great idea shall +be the RESUME of the past at the same time that it is the germ of the +future." And rarely does it happen that any discovery or invention of +importance is made by one man alone. The threads of inquiry are taken +up and traced, one labourer succeeding another, each tracing it a +little further, often without apparent result. This goes on sometimes +for centuries, until at length some man, greater perhaps than his +fellows, seeking to fulfil the needs of his time, gathers the various +threads together, treasures up the gain of past successes and failures, +and uses them as the means for some solid achievement, Thus Newton +discovered the law of gravitation, and thus James Watt invented the +steam-engine. So also of the Locomotive, of which Robert Stephenson +said, "It has not been the invention of any one man, but of a race of +mechanical engineers." Or, as Joseph Bramah observed, in the preamble +to his second Lock patent, "Among the number of patents granted there +are comparatively few which can be called original so that it is +difficult to say where the boundary of one ends and where that of +another begins." + +The arts are indeed reared but slowly; and it was a wise observation of +Lord Bacon that we are too apt to pass those ladders by which they have +been reared, and reflect the whole merit on the last new performer. +Thus, what is hailed as an original invention is often found to be but +the result of a long succession of trials and experiments gradually +following each other, which ought rather to be considered as a +continuous series of achievements of the human mind than as the +conquest of any single individual. It has sometimes taken centuries of +experience to ascertain the value of a single fact in its various +bearings. Like man himself, experience is feeble and apparently +purposeless in its infancy, but acquires maturity and strength with +age. Experience, however, is not limited to a lifetime, but is the +stored-up wealth and power of our race. Even amidst the death of +successive generations it is constantly advancing and accumulating, +exhibiting at the same time the weakness and the power, the littleness +and the greatness of our common humanity. And not only do we who live +succeed to the actual results of our predecessors' labours,--to their +works of learning and of art, their inventions and discoveries, their +tools and machines, their roads, bridges, canals, and railways,--but to +the inborn aptitudes of blood and brain which they bequeath to us, to +that "educability," so to speak, which has been won for us by the +labours of many generations, and forms our richest natural heritage. + +The beginning of most inventions is very remote. The first idea, born +within some unknown brain, passes thence into others, and at last comes +forth complete, after a parturition, it may be, of centuries. One +starts the idea, another developes it, and so on progressively until at +last it is elaborated and worked out in practice; but the first not +less than the last is entitled to his share in the merit of the +invention, were it only possible to measure and apportion it duly. +Sometimes a great original mind strikes upon some new vein of hidden +power, and gives a powerful impulse to the inventive faculties of man, +which lasts through generations. More frequently, however, inventions +are not entirely new, but modifications of contrivances previously +known, though to a few, and not yet brought into practical use. +Glancing back over the history of mechanism, we occasionally see an +invention seemingly full born, when suddenly it drops out of sight, and +we hear no more of it for centuries. It is taken up de novo by some +inventor, stimulated by the needs of his time, and falling again upon +the track, he recovers the old footmarks, follows them up, and +completes the work. + +There is also such a thing as inventions being born before their +time--the advanced mind of one generation projecting that which cannot +be executed for want of the requisite means; but in due process of +time, when mechanism has got abreast of the original idea, it is at +length carried out; and thus it is that modern inventors are enabled to +effect many objects which their predecessors had tried in vain to +accomplish. As Louis Napoleon has said, "Inventions born before their +time must remain useless until the level of common intellects rises to +comprehend them." For this reason, misfortune is often the lot of the +inventor before his time, though glory and profit may belong to his +successors. Hence the gift of inventing not unfrequently involves a +yoke of sorrow. Many of the greatest inventors have lived neglected +and died unrequited, before their merits could be recognised and +estimated. Even if they succeed, they often raise up hosts of enemies +in the persons whose methods they propose to supersede. Envy, malice, +and detraction meet them in all their forms; they are assailed by +combinations of rich and unscrupulous persons to wrest from them the +profits of their ingenuity; and last and worst of all, the successful +inventor often finds his claims to originality decried, and himself +branded as a copyist and a pirate. + +Among the inventions born out of time, and before the world could make +adequate use of them, we can only find space to allude to a few, though +they are so many that one is almost disposed to accept the words of +Chaucer as true, that "There is nothing new but what has once been +old;" or, as another writer puts it, "There is nothing new but what has +before been known and forgotten;" or, in the words of Solomon, "The +thing that hath been is that which shall be, and there is no new thing +under the sun." One of the most important of these is the use of +Steam, which was well known to the ancients; but though it was used to +grind drugs, to turn a spit, and to excite the wonder and fear of the +credulous, a long time elapsed before it became employed as a useful +motive-power. The inquiries and experiments on the subject extended +through many ages. Friar Bacon, who flourished in the thirteenth +century, seems fully to have anticipated, in the following remarkable +passage, nearly all that steam could accomplish, as well as the +hydraulic engine and the diving-bell, though the flying machine yet +remains to be invented:-- + +"I will now," says the Friar, "mention some of the wonderful works of +art and nature in which there is nothing of magic, and which magic +could not perform. Instruments may be made by which the largest ships, +with only one man guiding them, will be carried with greater velocity +than if they were full of sailors. Chariots may be constructed that +will move with incredible rapidity, without the help of animals. +Instruments of flying may be formed, in which a man, sitting at his +ease and meditating on any subject, may beat the air with his +artificial wings, after the manner of birds. A small instrument may be +made to raise or depress the greatest weights. An instrument may be +fabricated by which one man may draw a thousand men to him by force and +against their will; as also machines which will enable men to walk at +the bottom of seas or rivers without danger." It is possible that Friar +Bacon derived his knowledge of the powers which he thus described from +the traditions handed down of former inventions which had been +neglected and allowed to fall into oblivion; for before the invention +of printing, which enabled the results of investigation and experience +to be treasured up in books, there was great risk of the inventions of +one age being lost to the succeeding generations. Yet Disraeli the +elder is of opinion that the Romans had invented printing without being +aware of it; or perhaps the senate dreaded the inconveniences attending +its use, and did not care to deprive a large body of scribes of their +employment. They even used stereotypes, or immovable printing-types, +to stamp impressions on their pottery, specimens of which still exist. +In China the art of printing is of great antiquity. Lithography was +well known in Germany, by the very name which it still bears, nearly +three hundred years before Senefelder reinvented it; and specimens of +the ancient art are yet to be seen in the Royal Museum at Munich.[5] + +Steam-locomotion by sea and land, had long been dreamt of and +attempted. Blasco de Garay made his experiment in the harbour of +Barcelona as early as 1543; Denis Papin made a similar attempt at +Cassel in 1707; but it was not until Watt had solved the problem of the +steam-engine that the idea of the steam-boat could be developed in +practice, which was done by Miller of Dalswinton in 1788. Sages and +poets have frequently foreshadowed inventions of great social moment. +Thus Dr. Darwin's anticipation of the locomotive, in his Botanic +Garden, published in 1791, before any locomotive had been invented, +might almost be regarded as prophetic: + + Soon shall thy arm, unconquered Steam! afar + Drag the slow barge, and drive the rapid car. + +Denis Papin first threw out the idea of atmospheric locomotion; and +Gauthey, another Frenchman, in 1782 projected a method of conveying +parcels and merchandise by subterraneous tubes,[6] after the method +recently patented and brought into operation by the London Pneumatic +Despatch Company. The balloon was an ancient Italian invention, +revived by Mongolfier long after the original had been forgotten. Even +the reaping machine is an old invention revived. Thus Barnabe Googe, +the translator of a book from the German entitled 'The whole Arte and +Trade of Husbandrie,' published in 1577, in the reign of Elizabeth, +speaks of the reaping-machine as a worn-out invention--a thing "which +was woont to be used in France. The device was a lowe kinde of carre +with a couple of wheeles, and the frunt armed with sharpe syckles, +whiche, forced by the beaste through the corne, did cut down al before +it. This tricke," says Googe, "might be used in levell and champion +countreys; but with us it wolde make but ill-favoured woorke." [7] The +Thames Tunnel was thought an entirely new manifestation of engineering +genius; but the tunnel under the Euphrates at ancient Babylon, and that +under the wide mouth of the harbour at Marseilles (a much more +difficult work), show that the ancients were beforehand with us in the +art of tunnelling. Macadamized roads are as old as the Roman empire; +and suspension bridges, though comparatively new in Europe, have been +known in China for centuries. + +There is every reason to believe--indeed it seems clear that the Romans +knew of gunpowder, though they only used it for purposes of fireworks; +while the secret of the destructive Greek fire has been lost +altogether. When gunpowder came to be used for purposes of war, +invention busied itself upon instruments of destruction. When recently +examining the Museum of the Arsenal at Venice, we were surprised to +find numerous weapons of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries +embodying the most recent English improvements in arms, such as +revolving pistols, rifled muskets, and breech-loading cannon. The +latter, embodying Sir William Armstrong's modern idea, though in a rude +form, had been fished up from the bottom of the Adriatic, where the +ship armed with them had been sunk hundreds of years ago. Even +Perkins's steam-gun was an old invention revived by Leonardo da Vinci +and by him attributed to Archimedes.[8] The Congreve rocket is said to +have an Eastern origin, Sir William Congreve having observed its +destructive effects when employed by the forces under Tippoo Saib in +the Mahratta war, on which he adopted and improved the missile, and +brought out the invention as his own. + +Coal-gas was regularly used by the Chinese for lighting purposes long +before it was known amongst us. Hydropathy was generally practised by +the Romans, who established baths wherever they went. Even chloroform +is no new thing. The use of ether as an anaesthetic was known to +Albertus Magnus, who flourished in the thirteenth century; and in his +works he gives a recipe for its preparation. In 1681 Denis Papin +published his Traite des Operations sans Douleur, showing that he had +discovered methods of deadening pain. But the use of anaesthetics is +much older than Albertus Magnus or Papin; for the ancients had their +nepenthe and mandragora; the Chinese their mayo, and the Egyptians +their hachisch (both preparations of Cannabis Indica), the effects of +which in a great measure resemble those of chloroform. What is perhaps +still more surprising is the circumstance that one of the most elegant +of recent inventions, that of sun-painting by the daguerreotype, was in +the fifteenth century known to Leonardo da Vinci,[9] whose skill as an +architect and engraver, and whose accomplishments as a chemist and +natural philosopher, have been almost entirely overshadowed by his +genius as a painter.[10] The idea, thus early born, lay in oblivion +until 1760, when the daguerreotype was again clearly indicated in a +book published in Paris, written by a certain Tiphanie de la Roche, +under the anagrammatic title of Giphantie. Still later, at the +beginning of the present century, we find Thomas Wedgwood, Sir Humphry +Davy, and James Watt, making experiments on the action of light upon +nitrate of silver; and only within the last few months a silvered +copper-plate has been found amongst the old household lumber of Matthew +Boulton (Watt's partner), having on it a representation of the old +premises at Soho, apparently taken by some such process.[11] + +In like manner the invention of the electric telegraph, supposed to be +exclusively modern, was clearly indicated by Schwenter in his +Delasements Physico-Mathematiques, published in 1636; and he there +pointed out how two individuals could communicate with each other by +means of the magnetic needle. A century later, in 1746, Le Monnier +exhibited a series of experiments in the Royal Gardens at Paris, +showing how electricity could be transmitted through iron wire 950 +fathoms in length; and in 1753 we find one Charles Marshall publishing +a remarkable description of the electric telegraph in the Scots +Magazine, under the title of 'An expeditions Method of conveying +Intelligence.' Again, in 1760, we find George Louis Lesage, professor +of mathematics at Geneva, promulgating his invention of an electric +telegraph, which he eventually completed and set to work in 1774. This +instrument was composed of twenty-four metallic wires, separate from +each other and enclosed in a non-conducting substance. Each wire ended +in a stalk mounted with a little ball of elder-wood suspended by a silk +thread. When a stream of electricity, no matter how slight., was sent +through the wire, the elder-ball at the opposite end was repelled, such +movement designating some letter of the alphabet. A few years later we +find Arthur Young, in his Travels in France, describing a similar +machine invented by a M. Lomond of Paris, the action of which he also +describes.[12] In these and similar cases, though the idea was born +and the model of the invention was actually made, it still waited the +advent of the scientific mechanical inventor who should bring it to +perfection, and embody it in a practical working form. + +Some of the most valuable inventions have descended to us without the +names of their authors having been preserved. We are the inheritors of +an immense legacy of the results of labour and ingenuity, but we know +not the names of our benefactors. Who invented the watch as a measurer +of time? Who invented the fast and loose pulley? Who invented the +eccentric? Who, asks a mechanical inquirer,[13] "invented the method of +cutting screws with stocks and dies? Whoever he might be, he was +certainly a great benefactor of his species. Yet (adds the writer) his +name is not known, though the invention has been so recent." This is +not, however, the case with most modern inventions, the greater number +of which are more or less disputed. Who was entitled to the merit of +inventing printing has never yet been determined. Weber and Senefelder +both laid claim to the invention of lithography, though it was merely +an old German art revived. Even the invention of the penny-postage +system by Sir Rowland Hill is disputed; Dr. Gray of the British Museum +claiming to be its inventor, and a French writer alleging it to be an +old French invention.[14] The invention of the steamboat has been +claimed on behalf of Blasco de Garay, a Spaniard, Papin, a Frenchman, +Jonathan Hulls, an Englishman, and Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, a +Scotchman. The invention of the spinning machine has been variously +attributed to Paul, Wyatt, Hargreaves, Higley, and Arkwright. The +invention of the balance-spring was claimed by Huyghens, a Dutchman, +Hautefeuille, a Frenchman, and Hooke, an Englishman. There is scarcely +a point of detail in the locomotive but is the subject of dispute. +Thus the invention of the blast-pipe is claimed for Trevithick, George +Stephenson, Goldsworthy Gurney, and Timothy Hackworth; that of the +tubular boiler by Seguin, Stevens, Booth, and W. H. James; that of +the link-motion by John Gray, Hugh Williams, and Robert Stephenson. + +Indeed many inventions appear to be coincident. A number of minds are +working at the same time in the same track, with the object of +supplying some want generally felt; and, guided by the same experience, +they not unfrequently arrive at like results. It has sometimes +happened that the inventors have been separated by great distances, so +that piracy on the part of either was impossible. Thus Hadley and +Godfrey almost simultaneously invented the quadrant, the one in London, +the other in Philadelphia; and the process of electrotyping was +invented at the same time by Mr. Spencer, a working chemist at +Liverpool, and by Professor Jacobi at St. Petersburg. The safety-lamp +was a coincident invention, made about the same time by Sir Humphry +Davy and George Stephenson; and perhaps a still more remarkable +instance of a coincident discovery was that of the planet Neptune by +Leverrier at Paris, and by Adams at Cambridge. + +It is always difficult to apportion the due share of merit which +belongs to mechanical inventors, who are accustomed to work upon each +other's hints and suggestions, as well as by their own experience. +Some idea of this difficulty may be formed from the fact that, in the +course of our investigations as to the origin of the planing +machine--one of the most useful of modern tools--we have found that it +has been claimed on behalf of six inventors--Fox of Derby, Roberts of +Manchester, Matthew Murray of Leeds, Spring of Aberdeen, Clement and +George Rennie of London; and there may be other claimants of whom we +have not yet heard. But most mechanical inventions are of a very +composite character, and are led up to by the labour and the study of a +long succession of workers. Thus Savary and Newcomen led up to Watt; +Cugnot, Murdock, and Trevithick to the Stephensons; and Maudslay to +Clement, Roberts, Nasmyth, Whitworth, and many more mechanical +inventors. There is scarcely a process in the arts but has in like +manner engaged mind after mind in bringing it to perfection. "There is +nothing," says Mr. Hawkshaw, "really worth having that man has +obtained, that has not been the result of a combined and gradual +process of investigation. A gifted individual comes across some old +footmark, stumbles on a chain of previous research and inquiry. He +meets, for instance, with a machine, the result of much previous +labour; he modifies it, pulls it to pieces, constructs and reconstructs +it, and by further trial and experiment he arrives at the long +sought-for result." [15] + +But the making of the invention is not the sole difficulty. It is one +thing to invent, said Sir Marc Brunel, and another thing to make the +invention work. Thus when Watt, after long labour and study, had +brought his invention to completion, he encountered an obstacle which +has stood in the way of other inventors, and for a time prevented the +introduction of their improvements, if not led to their being laid +aside and abandoned. This was the circumstance that the machine +projected was so much in advance of the mechanical capability of the +age that it was with the greatest difficulty it could be executed. +When labouring upon his invention at Glasgow, Watt was baffled and +thrown into despair by the clumsiness and incompetency of his workmen. +Writing to Dr. Roebuck on one occasion, he said, "You ask what is the +principal hindrance in erecting engines? It is always the smith-work." +His first cylinder was made by a whitesmith, of hammered iron soldered +together, but having used quicksilver to keep the cylinder air-tight, +it dropped through the inequalities into the interior, and "played the +devil with the solder." Yet, inefficient though the whitesmith was, +Watt could ill spare him, and we find him writing to Dr. Roebuck almost +in despair, saying, "My old white-iron man is dead!" feeling his loss +to be almost irreparable. His next cylinder was cast and bored at +Carron, but it was so untrue that it proved next to useless. The +piston could not be kept steam tight, notwithstanding the various +expedients which were adopted of stuffing it with paper, cork, putty, +pasteboard, and old hat. Even after Watt had removed to Birmingham, +and he had the assistance of Boulton's best workmen, Smeaton expressed +the opinion, when he saw the engine at work, that notwithstanding the +excellence of the invention, it could never be brought into general use +because of the difficulty of getting its various parts manufactured +with sufficient precision. For a long time we find Watt, in his +letters, complaining to his partner of the failure of his engines +through "villainous bad workmanship." Sometimes the cylinders, when +cast, were found to be more than an eighth of an inch wider at one end +than the other; and under such circumstances it was impossible the +engine could act with precision. Yet better work could not be had. +First-rate workmen in machinery did not as yet exist; they were only in +process of education. Nearly everything had to be done by hand. The +tools used were of a very imperfect kind. A few ill-constructed +lathes, with some drills and boring-machines of a rude sort, +constituted the principal furniture of the workshop. Years after, when +Brunel invented his block-machines, considerable time elapsed before he +could find competent mechanics to construct them, and even after they +had been constructed he had equal difficulty in finding competent hands +to work them.[16] + +Watt endeavoured to remedy the defect by keeping certain sets of +workmen to special classes of work, allowing them to do nothing else. +Fathers were induced to bring up their sons at the same bench with +themselves, and initiate them in the dexterity which they had acquired +by experience; and at Soho it was not unusual for the same precise line +of work to be followed by members of the same family for three +generations. In this way as great a degree of accuracy of a mechanical +kind was arrived at was practicable under the circumstances. But +notwithstanding all this care, accuracy of fitting could not be secured +so long as the manufacture of steam-engines was conducted mainly by +hand. There was usually a considerable waste of steam, which the +expedients of chewed paper and greased hat packed outside the piston +were insufficient to remedy; and it was not until the invention of +automatic machine-tools by the mechanical engineers about to be +mentioned, that the manufacture of the steam-engine became a matter of +comparative ease and certainty. Watt was compelled to rest satisfied +with imperfect results, arising from imperfect workmanship. Thus, +writing to Dr. Small respecting a cylinder 18 inches in diameter, he +said, "at the worst place the long diameter exceeded the short by only +three-eighths of an inch." How different from the state of things at +this day, when a cylinder five feet wide will be rejected as a piece of +imperfect workmanship if it be found to vary in any part more than the +80th part of an inch in diameter! + +Not fifty years since it was a matter of the utmost difficulty to set +an engine to work, and sometimes of equal difficulty to keep it going. +Though fitted by competent workmen, it often would not go at all. Then +the foreman of the factory at which it was made was sent for, and he +would almost live beside the engine for a month or more; and after +easing her here and screwing her up there, putting in a new part and +altering an old one, packing the piston and tightening the valves, the +machine would at length begot to work.[17] Now the case is altogether +different. The perfection of modern machine-tools is such that the +utmost possible precision is secured, and the mechanical engineer can +calculate on a degree of exactitude that does not admit of a deviation +beyond the thousandth part of an inch. When the powerful oscillating +engines of the 'Warrior' were put on board that ship, the parts, +consisting of some five thousand separate pieces, were brought from the +different workshops of the Messrs. Penn and Sons, where they had been +made by workmen who knew not the places they were to occupy, and fitted +together with such precision that so soon as the steam was raised and +let into the cylinders, the immense machine began as if to breathe and +move like a living creature, stretching its huge arms like a new-born +giant, and then, after practising its strength a little and proving its +soundness in body and limb, it started off with the power of above a +thousand horses to try its strength in breasting the billows of the +North Sea. + +Such are among the triumphs of modern mechanical engineering, due in a +great measure to the perfection of the tools by means of which all +works in metal are now fashioned. These tools are themselves among the +most striking results of the mechanical invention of the day. They are +automata of the most perfect kind, rendering the engine and +machine-maker in a great measure independent of inferior workmen. For +the machine tools have no unsteady hand, are not careless nor clumsy, +do not work by rule of thumb, and cannot make mistakes. They will +repeat their operations a thousand times without tiring, or varying one +hair's breadth in their action; and will turn out, without complaining, +any quantity of work, all of like accuracy and finish. Exercising as +they do so remarkable an influence on the development of modern +industry, we now propose, so far as the materials at our disposal will +admit, to give an account of their principal inventors, beginning with +the school of Bramah. + + + +[1] 1 Samuel, ch. xiii. v. 21. + +[2] State Papers, Dom. 1621, Vol. 88, No. 112. + +[3] Lectures on the Results of the Great Exhibition of 1851, 2nd +Series, 117. + +[4] Dr. Kirwan, late President of the Royal Irish Academy, who had +travelled much on the continent of Europe, used to relate, when +speaking of the difficulty of introducing improvements in the arts and +manufactures, and of the prejudices entertained for old practices, +that, in Normandy, the farmers had been so long accustomed to the use +of plough's whose shares were made entirely of WOOD that they could not +be prevailed on to make trial of those with IRON; that they considered +them to be an idle and useless innovation on the long-established +practices of their ancestors; and that they carried these prejudices so +far as to force the government to issue an edict on the subject. And +even to the last they were so obstinate in their attachment to +ploughshares of wood that a tumultuous opposition was made to the +enforcement of the edict, which for a short time threatened a rebellion +in the province.--PARKES, Chemical Essays, 4th Ed. 473. + +[5] EDOUARD FOURNIER, Vieux-Neuf, i. 339. + +[6] Memoires de l' Academie des Sciences, 6 Feb. 1826. + +[7] Farmer's Magazine, 1817, No. ixxi. 291. + +[8] Vieux-Neuf, i. 228; Inventa Nova-Antiqua, 742. + +[9] Vieux-Neuf, i. 19. See also Inventa Nova-Antiqua, 803. + +[10] Mr. Hallam, in his Introduction to the History of Europe, +pronounces the following remarkable eulogium on this extraordinary +genius:--"If any doubt could be harboured, not only as to the right of +Leonardo da Vinci to stand as 'the first name of the fifteenth century, +which is beyond all doubt, but as to his originality in so many +discoveries, which probably no one man, especially in such +circumstances, has ever made, it must be on an hypothesis not very +untenable, that some parts of physical science had already attained a +height which mere books do not record." "Unpublished MSS. by Leonardo +contain discoveries and anticipations of discoveries," says Mr. Hallam, +"within the compass of a few pages, so as to strike us with something +like the awe of preternatural knowledge." + +[11] The plate is now to be seen at the Museum of Patents at South +Kensington. In the account which has been published of the above +discovery it is stated that "an old man of ninety (recently dead or +still alive) recollected, or recollects, that Watt and others used to +take portraits of people in a dark (?) room; and there is a letter +extant of Sir William Beechey, begging the Lunar Society to desist from +these experiments, as, were the process to succeed, it would ruin +portrait-painting." + +[12] "16th Oct. 1787. In the evening to M. Lomond, a very ingenious +and inventive mechanic, who has made an improvement of the jenny for +spinning cotton. Common machines are said to make too hard a thread +for certain fabrics, but this forms it loose and spongy. In +electricity he has made a remarkable discovery: you write two or three +words on a paper; he takes it with him into a room, and turns a machine +inclosed in a cylindrical case, at the top of which is an electrometer, +a small fine pith ball; a wire connects with a similar cylinder and +electrometer in a distant apartment; and his wife, by remarking the +corresponding motions of the ball, writes down the words they indicate; +from which it appears that he has formed an alphabet of motions. As +the length of the wire makes no difference in the effect, a +correspondence might be carried on at any distance: within and without +a besieged town, for instance; or for a purpose much more worthy, and a +thousand times more harmless, between two lovers prohibited or +prevented from any better connexion. Whatever the use may be, the +invention is beautiful."--Arthur Young's Travels in France in 1787-8-9. +London, 1792, 4to. ed. p. 65. + +[13] Mechanic's Magazine, 4th Feb. 1859. + +[14] A writer in the Monde says:--"The invention of postage-stamps is +far from being so modern as is generally supposed. A postal regulation +in France of the year 1653, which has recently come to light, gives +notice of the creation of pre-paid tickets to be used for Paris instead +of money payments. These tickets were to be dated and attached to the +letter or wrapped round it, in such a manner that the postman could +remove and retain them on delivering the missive. These franks were to +be sold by the porters of the convents, prisons, colleges, and other +public institutions, at the price of one sou." + +[15] Inaugural Address delivered before the Institution of Civil +Engineers, 14th Jan. 1862. + +[16] BEAMISH'S Memoir of Sir I. M. Brunel, 79, 80. + +[17] There was the same clumsiness in all kinds of mill-work before the +introduction of machine-tools. We have heard of a piece of machinery +of the old school, the wheels of which, when set to work, made such a +clatter that the owner feared the engine would fall to pieces. The +foreman who set it agoing, after working at it until he was almost in +despair, at last gave it up, saving, "I think we had better leave the +cogs to settle their differences with one another: they will grind +themselves right in time!" + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +JOSEPH BRAMAH. + +"The great Inventor is one who has walked forth upon the industrial +world, not from universities, but from hovels; not as clad in silks and +decked with honours, but as clad in fustian and grimed with soot and +oil."--ISAAC TAYLOR, Ultimate Civilization. + + +The inventive faculty is so strong in some men that it may be said to +amount to a passion, and cannot be restrained. The saying that the +poet is born, not made, applies with equal force to the inventor, who, +though indebted like the other to culture and improved opportunities, +nevertheless invents and goes on inventing mainly to gratify his own +instinct. The inventor, however, is not a creator like the poet, but +chiefly a finder-out. His power consists in a great measure in quick +perception and accurate observation, and in seeing and foreseeing the +effects of certain mechanical combinations. He must possess the gift +of insight, as well as of manual dexterity, combined with the +indispensable qualities of patience and perseverance,--for though +baffled, as he often is, he must be ready to rise up again unconquered +even in the moment of defeat. This is the stuff of which the greatest +inventors have been made. The subject of the following memoir may not +be entitled to take rank as a first-class inventor, though he was a +most prolific one; but, as the founder of a school from which proceeded +some of the most distinguished mechanics of our time, he is entitled to +a prominent place in this series of memoirs. + +Joseph Bramah was born in 1748 at the village of Stainborough, near +Barnsley in Yorkshire, where his father rented a small farm under Lord +Strafford. Joseph was the eldest of five children, and was early +destined to follow the plough. After receiving a small amount of +education at the village school, he was set to work upon the farm. +From an early period he showed signs of constructive skill. When a +mere boy, he occupied his leisure hours in making musical instruments, +and he succeeded in executing some creditable pieces of work with very +imperfect tools. A violin, which he made out of a solid block of wood, +was long preserved as a curiosity. He was so fortunate as to make a +friend of the village blacksmith, whose smithy he was in the practice +of frequenting. The smith was an ingenious workman, and, having taken +a liking for the boy, he made sundry tools for him out of old files and +razor blades; and with these his fiddle and other pieces of work were +mainly executed. + +Joseph might have remained a ploughman for life, but for an accident +which happened to his right ankle at the age of 16, which unfitted him +for farm-work. While confined at home disabled he spent his time in +carving and making things in wood; and then it occurred to him that, +though he could not now be a ploughman, he might be a mechanic. When +sufficiently recovered, he was accordingly put apprentice to one +Allott, the village carpenter, under whom he soon became an expert +workman. He could make ploughs, window-frames, or fiddles, with equal +dexterity. He also made violoncellos, and was so fortunate as to sell +one of his making for three guineas, which is still reckoned a good +instrument. He doubtless felt within him the promptings of ambition, +such as every good workman feels, and at all events entertained the +desire of rising in his trade. When his time was out, he accordingly +resolved to seek work in London, whither he made the journey on foot. +He soon found work at a cabinet-maker's, and remained with him for some +time, after which he set up business in a very small way on his own +account. An accident which happened to him in the course of his daily +work, again proved his helper, by affording him a degree of leisure +which he at once proceeded to turn to some useful account. Part of his +business consisted in putting up water-closets, after a method invented +or improved by a Mr. Allen; but the article was still very imperfect; +and Bramah had long resolved that if he could only secure some leisure +for the purpose, he would contrive something that should supersede it +altogether. A severe fall which occurred to him in the course of his +business, and laid him up, though very much against his will, now +afforded him the leisure which he desired, and he proceeded to make his +proposed invention. He took out a patent for it in 1778, describing +himself in the specification as "of Cross Court, Carnaby Market [Golden +Square], Middlesex, Cabinet Maker." He afterwards removed to a shop in +Denmark Street, St. Giles's, and while there he made a further +improvement in his invention by the addition of a water cock, which he +patented in 1783. The merits of the machine were generally recognised, +and before long it came into extensive use, continuing to be employed, +with but few alterations, until the present day. His circumstances +improving with the increased use of his invention, Bramah proceeded to +undertake the manufacture of the pumps, pipes, &c., required for its +construction; and, remembering his friend the Yorkshire blacksmith, who +had made his first tools for him out of the old files and razor-blades, +he sent for him to London to take charge of his blacksmith's +department, in which he proved a most useful assistant. As usual, the +patent was attacked by pirates so soon as it became productive, and +Bramah was under the necessity, on more than one occasion, of defending +his property in the invention, in which he was completely successful. + +We next find Bramah turning his attention to the invention of a lock +that should surpass all others then known. The locks then in use were +of a very imperfect character, easily picked by dexterous thieves, +against whom they afforded little protection. Yet locks are a very +ancient invention, though, as in many other cases, the art of making +them seems in a great measure to have become lost, and accordingly had +to be found out anew. Thus the tumbler lock--which consists in the use +of moveable impediments acted on by the proper key only, as +contradistinguished from the ordinary ward locks, where the impediments +are fixed--appears to have been well known to the ancient Egyptians, +the representation of such a lock being found sculptured among the +bas-reliefs which decorate the great temple at Karnak. This kind of +lock was revived, or at least greatly improved, by a Mr. Barron in +1774, and it was shortly after this time that Bramah directed his +attention to the subject. After much study and many experiments, he +contrived a lock more simple, more serviceable, as well as more secure, +than Barron's, as is proved by the fact that it has stood the test of +nearly eighty years' experience,[1] and still holds its ground. For a +long time, indeed, Bramah's lock was regarded as absolutely inviolable, +and it remained unpicked for sixty-seven years until Hobbs the American +mastered it in 1851. A notice had long been exhibited in Bramah's +shop-window in Piccadilly, offering 200L. to any one who should succeed +in picking the patent lock. Many tried, and all failed, until Hobbs +succeeded, after sixteen days' manipulation of it with various +elaborate instruments. But the difficulty with which the lock was +picked showed that, for all ordinary purposes, it might be pronounced +impregnable. + +The new locks were machines of the most delicate kind, the action of +which depended in a great measure upon the precision with which the +springs, sliders, levers, barrels, and other parts were finished. The +merits of the invention being generally admitted, there was a +considerable demand for the locks, and the necessity thus arose for +inventing a series of original machine-tools to enable them to be +manufactured in sufficient quantities to meet the demand. It is +probable, indeed, that, but for the contrivance of such tools, the lock +could never have come in to general use, as the skill of hand-workmen, +no matter how experienced, could not have been relied upon for turning +out the article with that degree of accuracy and finish in all the +parts which was indispensable for its proper action. In conducting the +manufacture throughout, Bramah was greatly assisted by Henry Maudslay, +his foreman, to whom he was in no small degree indebted for the +contrivance of those tool-machines which enabled him to carry on the +business of lock-making with advantage and profit. + +Bramah's indefatigable spirit of invention was only stimulated to fresh +efforts by the success of his lock; and in the course of a few years we +find him entering upon a more important and original line of action +than he had yet ventured on. His patent of 1785 shows the direction of +his studies. Watt had invented his steam-engine, which was coming into +general use; and the creation of motive-power in various other forms +became a favourite subject of inquiry with inventors. Bramah's first +invention with this object was his Hydrostatic Machine, founded on the +doctrine of the equilibrium of pressure in fluids, as exhibited in the +well known 'hydrostatic paradox.' In his patent of 1785, in which he no +longer describes himself as Cabinet maker, but 'Engine maker' of +Piccadilly, he indicated many inventions, though none of them came into +practical use,--such as a Hydrostatical Machine and Boiler, and the +application of the power produced by them to the drawing of carriages, +and the propelling of ships by a paddle-wheel fixed in the stern of the +vessel, of which drawings are annexed to the specification; but it was +not until 1795 that he patented his Hydrostatic or Hydraulic Press. + +Though the principle on which the Hydraulic Press is founded had long +been known, and formed the subject of much curious speculation, it +remained unproductive of results until a comparatively recent period, +when the idea occurred of applying it to mechanical purposes. A +machine of the kind was indeed proposed by Pascal, the eminent +philosopher, in 1664, but more than a century elapsed before the +difficulties in the way of its construction were satisfactorily +overcome. Bramah's machine consists of a large and massive cylinder, +in which there works an accurately-fitted solid piston or plunger. A +forcing-pump of very small bore communicates with the bottom of the +cylinder, and by the action of the pump-handle or lever, exceeding +small quantities of water are forced in succession beneath the piston +in the large cylinder, thus gradually raising it up, and compressing +bodies whose bulk or volume it is intended to reduce. Hence it is most +commonly used as a packing-press, being superior to every other +contrivance of the kind that has yet been invented; and though +exercising a prodigious force, it is so easily managed that a boy can +work it. The machine has been employed on many extraordinary occasions +in preference to other methods of applying power. Thus Robert +Stephenson used it to hoist the gigantic tubes of the Britannia Bridge +into their bed,[2] and Brunel to launch the Great Eastern steamship +from her cradles. It has also been used to cut bars of iron, to draw +the piles driven in forming coffer dams, and to wrench up trees by the +roots, all of which feats it accomplishes with comparative ease. + +The principal difficulty experienced in constructing the hydraulic +press before the time of Bramah arose from the tremendous pressure +exercised by the pump, which forced the water through between the solid +piston and the side of the cylinder in which it worked in such +quantities as to render the press useless for practical purposes. +Bramah himself was at first completely baffled by this difficulty. It +will be observed that the problem was to secure a joint sufficiently +free to let the piston slide up through it, and at the same time so +water-tight as to withstand the internal force of the pump. These two +conditions seemed so conflicting that Bramah was almost at his wit's +end, and for a time despaired of being able to bring the machine to a +state of practical efficiency. None but those who have occupied +themselves in the laborious and often profitless task of helping the +world to new and useful machines can have any idea of the tantalizing +anxiety which arises from the apparently petty stumbling-blocks which +for awhile impede the realization of a great idea in mechanical +invention. Such was the case with the water-tight arrangement in the +hydraulic press. In his early experiments, Bramah tried the expedient +of the ordinary stuffing-box for the purpose of securing the required +water tightness' That is, a coil of hemp on leather washers was placed +in a recess, so as to fit tightly round the moving ram or piston, and +it was further held in its place by means of a compressing collar +forced hard down by strong screws. The defect of this arrangement was, +that, even supposing the packing could be made sufficiently tight to +resist the passage of the water urged by the tremendous pressure from +beneath, such was the grip which the compressed material took of the +ram of the press, that it could not be got to return down after the +water pressure had been removed. + +In this dilemma, Bramah's ever-ready workman, Henry Maudslay, came to +his rescue. The happy idea occurred to him of employing the pressure +of the water itself to give the requisite water-tightness to the +collar. It was a flash of common-sense genius--beautiful through its +very simplicity. The result was Maudslay's self-tightening collar, the +action of which a few words of description will render easily +intelligible. A collar of sound leather, the convex side upwards and +the concave downwards, was fitted into the recess turned out in the +neck of the press-cylinder, at the place formerly used as a +stuffing-box. Immediately on the high pressure water being turned on, +it forced its way into the leathern concavity and 'flapped out' the +bent edges of the collar; and, in so doing, caused the leather to apply +itself to the surface of the rising ram with a degree of closeness and +tightness so as to seal up the joint the closer exactly in proportion +to the pressure of the water in its tendency to escape. On the other +hand, the moment the pressure was let off and the ram desired to +return, the collar collapsed and the ram slid gently down, perfectly +free and yet perfectly water-tight. Thus, the former tendency of the +water to escape by the side of the piston was by this most simple and +elegant self-adjusting contrivance made instrumental to the perfectly +efficient action of the machine; and from the moment of its invention +the hydraulic press took its place as one of the grandest agents for +exercising power in a concentrated and tranquil form. + +Bramah continued his useful labours as an inventor for many years. His +study of the principles of hydraulics, in the course of his invention +of the press, enabled him to introduce many valuable improvements in +pumping-machinery. By varying the form of the piston and cylinder he +was enabled to obtain a rotary motion,[3] which he advantageously +applied to many purposes. Thus he adopted it in the well known +fire-engine, the use of which has almost become universal. Another +popular machine of his is the beer-pump, patented in 1797, by which the +publican is enabled to raise from the casks in the cellar beneath, the +various liquors sold by him over the counter. He also took out several +patents for the improvement of the steam-engine, in which, however, +Watt left little room for other inventors; and hence Bramah seems to +have entertained a grudge against Watt, which broke out fiercely in the +evidence given by him in the case of Boulton and Watt versus Hornblower +and Maberly, tried in December 1796. On that occasion his temper seems +to have got the better of his judgment, and he was cut short by the +judge in the attempt which he then made to submit the contents of the +pamphlet subsequently published by him in the form of a letter to the +judge before whom the case was tried.[4] In that pamphlet he argued +that Watt's specification had no definite meaning; that it was +inconsistent and absurd, and could not possibly be understood; that the +proposal to work steam-engines on the principle of condensation was +entirely fallacious; that Watt's method of packing the piston was +"monstrous stupidity;" that the engines of Newcomen (since entirely +superseded) were infinitely superior, in all respects, to those of +Watt;--conclusions which, we need scarcely say, have been refuted by +the experience of nearly a century. + +On the expiry of Boulton and Watt's patent, Bramah introduced several +valuable improvements in the details of the condensing engine, which +had by that time become an established power,--the most important of +which was his "four-way cock," which he so arranged as to revolve +continuously instead of alternately, thus insuring greater precision +with considerably less wear of parts. In the same patent by which he +secured this invention in 1801, he also proposed sundry improvements in +the boilers, as well as modifications in various parts of the engine, +with the object of effecting greater simplicity and directness of +action. + +In his patent of 1802, we find Bramah making another great stride in +mechanical invention, in his tools "for producing straight, smooth, and +parallel surfaces on wood and other materials requiring truth, in a +manner much more expeditious and perfect than can be performed by the +use of axes, saws, planes, and other cutting instruments used by hand +in the ordinary way." The specification describes the object of the +invention to be the saving of manual labour, the reduction in the cost +of production, and the superior character of the work executed. The +tools were fixed on frames driven by machinery, some moving in a rotary +direction round an upright shaft, some with the shaft horizontal like +an ordinary wood-turning lathe, while in others the tools were fixed on +frames sliding in stationary grooves. A wood-planing machine[5] was +constructed on the principle of this invention at Woolwich Arsenal, +where it still continues in efficient use. The axis of the principal +shaft was supported on a piston in a vessel of oil, which considerably +diminished the friction, and it was so contrived as to be accurately +regulated by means of a small forcing-pump. Although the machinery +described in the patent was first applied to working on wood, it was +equally applicable to working on metals; and in his own shops at +Pimlico Bramah employed a machine with revolving cutters to plane +metallic surfaces for his patent locks and other articles. He also +introduced a method of turning spherical surfaces, either convex or +concave, by a tool moveable on an axis perpendicular to that of the +lathe; and of cutting out concentric shells by fixing in a similar +manner a curved tool of nearly the same form as that employed by common +turners for making bowls. "In fact," says Mr. Mallet, "Bramah not only +anticipated, but carried out upon a tolerably large scale in his own +works--for the construction of the patent hydraulic press, the +water-closet, and his locks--a surprisingly large proportion of our +modern tools." [6] His remarkable predilection in favour of the use of +hydraulic arrangements is displayed in his specification of the +surface-planing machinery, which includes a method of running pivots +entirely on a fluid, and raising and depressing them at pleasure by +means of a small forcing-pump and stop-cock,--though we are not aware +that any practical use has ever been made of this part of the invention. + +Bramah's inventive genius displayed itself alike in small things as in +great--in a tap wherewith to draw a glass of beer, and in a hydraulic +machine capable of tearing up a tree by the roots. His powers of +contrivance seemed inexhaustible, and were exercised on the most +various subjects. When any difficulty occurred which mechanical +ingenuity was calculated to remove, recourse was usually had to Bramah, +and he was rarely found at a loss for a contrivance to overcome it. +Thus, when applied to by the Bank of England in 1806, to construct a +machine for more accurately and expeditiously printing the numbers and +date lines on Bank notes, he at once proceeded to invent the requisite +model, which he completed in the course of a month. He subsequently +brought it to great perfection the figures in numerical succession +being changed by the action of the machine itself,--and it still +continues in regular use. Its employment in the Bank of England alone +saved the labour of a hundred clerks; but its chief value consisted in +its greater accuracy, the perfect legibility of the figures printed by +it, and the greatly improved check which it afforded. + +We next find him occupying himself with inventions connected with the +manufacture of pens and paper. His little pen-making machine for +readily making quill pens long continued in use, until driven out by +the invention of the steel pen; but his patent for making paper by +machinery, though ingenious, like everything he did, does not seem to +have been adopted, the inventions of Fourdrinier and Donkin in this +direction having shortly superseded all others. Among his other minor +inventions may be mentioned his improved method of constructing and +sledging carriage-wheels, and his improved method of laying +water-pipes. In his specification of the last-mentioned invention, he +included the application of water-power to the driving of machinery of +every description, and for hoisting and lowering goods in docks and +warehouses,--since carried out in practice, though in a different +manner, by Sir William Armstrong.[7] In this, as in many other +matters, Bramah shot ahead of the mechanical necessities of his time; +and hence many of his patents (of which he held at one time more than +twenty) proved altogether profitless. His last patent, taken out in +1814, was for the application of Roman cement to timber for the purpose +of preventing dry rot. + +Besides his various mechanical pursuits, Bramah also followed to a +certain extent the profession of a civil engineer, though his more +urgent engagements rendered it necessary for him to refuse many +advantageous offers of employment in this line. He was, however, led +to carry out the new water-works at Norwich, between the years 1790 and +1793, in consequence of his having been called upon to give evidence in +a dispute between the corporation of that city and the lessees, in the +course of which he propounded plans which, it was alleged, could not be +carried out. To prove that they could be carried out, and that his +evidence was correct, he undertook the new works, and executed them +with complete success; besides demonstrating in a spirited publication +elicited by the controversy, the insufficiency and incongruity of the +plans which had been submitted by the rival engineer. + +For some time prior to his death Bramah had been employed in the +erection of several large machines in his works at Pimlico for sawing +stone and timber, to which he applied his hydraulic power with great +success. New methods of building bridges and canal-locks, with a +variety of other matters, were in an embryo state in his mind, but he +did not live to complete them. He was occupied in superintending the +action of his hydrostatic press at Holt Forest, in Hants--where upwards +of 300 trees of the largest dimensions were in a very short time torn +up by the roots,--when he caught a severe cold, which settled upon his +lungs, and his life was suddenly brought to a close on the 9th of +December, 1814, in his 66th year. + +His friend, Dr. Cullen Brown,[8] has said of him, that Bramah was a man +of excellent moral character, temperate in his habits, of a pious turn +of mind,[9] and so cheerful in temperament, that he was the life of +every company into which he entered. To much facility of expression he +added the most perfect independence of opinion; he was a benevolent and +affectionate man; neat and methodical in his habits, and knew well how +to temper liberality with economy. Greatly to his honour, he often +kept his workmen employed, solely for their sake, when stagnation of +trade prevented him disposing of the products of their labour. As a +manufacturer he was distinguished for his promptitude and probity, and +he was celebrated for the exquisite finish which he gave to all his +productions. In this excellence of workmanship, which he was the first +to introduce, he continued while he lived to be unrivalled. + +Bramah was deservedly honoured and admired as the first mechanical +genius of his time, and as the founder of the art of tool-making in its +highest branches. From his shops at Pimlico came Henry Maudslay, +Joseph Clement, and many more first-class mechanics, who carried the +mechanical arts to still higher perfection, and gave an impulse to +mechanical engineering, the effects of which are still felt in every +branch of industry. + +The parish to which Bramah belonged was naturally proud of the +distinction he had achieved in the world, and commemorated his life and +career by a marble tablet erected by subscription to his memory, in the +parish church of Silkstone. In the churchyard are found the tombstones +of Joseph's father, brother, and other members of the family; and we +are informed that their descendants still occupy the farm at +Stainborough on which the great mechanician was born. + + + +[1] The lock invented by Bramah was patented in 1784. Mr. Bramah +himself fully set forth the specific merits of the invention in his +Dissertation on the Construction of Locks. In a second patent, taken +out by him in 1798, he amended his first with the object of preventing +the counterfeiting of keys, and suspending the office of the lock until +the key was again in the possession of the owner. This he effected by +enabling the owner so to alter the sliders as to render the lock +inaccessible to such key if applied by any other person but himself, or +until the sliders had been rearranged so as to admit of its proper +action. We may mention in passing that the security of Bramah's locks +depends on the doctrine of combinations, or multiplication of numbers +into each other, which is known to increase in the most rapid +proportion. Thus, a lock of five slides admits of 3,000 variations, +while one of eight will have no less than 1,935,360 changes; in other +words, that number of attempts at making a key, or at picking it, may +be made before it can be opened. + +[2] The weight raised by a single press at the Britannia Bridge was +1144 tons. + +[3] Dr. Thomas Young, in his article on Bramah in the Encyclopaedia +Britannica, describes the "rotative principle" as consisting in making +the part which acts immediately on the water in the form of a slider, +"sweeping round a cylindrical cavity, and kept in its place by means of +an eccentric groove; a contrivance which was probably Bramah's own +invention, but which had been before described, in a form nearly +similar, by Ramelli, Canalleri, Amontons, Prince Rupert, and Dr. Hooke. + +[4] A Letter to the Right Hon. Sir James Eyre, Lord Chief Justice of +the Common Pleas, on the subject of the cause Boulton and Watt v. +Hornblower and Maberly, for Infringement on Mr. Watt's Patent for an +Improvement of the Steam Engine. By Joseph Bramah, Engineer. London, +1797. + +[5] Sir Samuel Bentham and Marc Isambard Brunel subsequently +distinguished themselves by the invention of wood-working machinery, +full accounts of which will be found in the Memoirs of the former by +Lady Bentham, and in the Life of the latter by Mr. Beamish. + +[6] "Record of the International Exhibition, 1862." Practical +Mechanic's Journal, 293. + +[7] In this, as in other methods of employing power, the moderns had +been anticipated by the ancients; and though hydraulic machinery is a +comparatively recent invention in England, it had long been in use +abroad. Thus we find in Dr. Bright's Travels in Lower Hungary a full +description of the powerful hydraulic machinery invented by M. Holl, +Chief Engineer of the Imperial Mines, which had been in use since the +year 1749, in pumping water from a depth of 1800 feet, from the silver +and gold mines of Schemnitz and Kremnitz. A head of water was +collected by forming a reservoir along the mountain side, from which it +was conducted through water-tight cast-iron pipes erected +perpendicularly in the mine-shaft. About forty-five fathoms down, the +water descending through the pipe was forced by the weight of the +column above it into the bottom of a perpendicular cylinder, in which +it raised a water-tight piston. When forced up to a given point a +self-acting stop-cock shut off the pressure of the descending column, +while a self-acting valve enabled the water contained in the cylinder +to be discharged, on which the piston again descended, and the process +was repeated like the successive strokes of a steam-engine. Pump-rods +were attached to this hydraulic apparatus, which were carried to the +bottom of the shaft, and each worked a pump at different levels, +raising the water stage by stage to the level of the main adit. The +pumps of these three several stages each raised 1790 cubic feet of +water from a depth of 600 feet in the hour. The regular working of the +machinery was aided by the employment of a balance-beam connected by a +chain with the head of the large piston and pump-rods; and the whole of +these powerful machines by means of three of which as much as 789,840 +gallons of water were pumped out of the mines every 24 hours--were set +in operation and regulated merely by the turning of a stopcock. It +will be observed that the arrangement thus briefly described was +equally applicable to the working of machinery of all kinds, cranes, +&c., as well as pumps; and it will be noted that, notwithstanding the +ingenuity of Bramah, Armstrong, and other eminent English mechanics, +the Austrian engineer Holl was thus decidedly beforehand with them in +the practical application of the principles of hydrostatics. + +[8] Dr. Brown published a brief memoir of his friend in the New Monthly +Magazine for April, 1815, which has been the foundation of all the +notices of Bramah's life that have heretofore appeared. + +[9] Notwithstanding his well-known religious character, Bramah seems to +have fallen under the grievous displeasure of William Huntington, S.S. +(Sinner Saved), described by Macaulay in his youth as "a worthless ugly +lad of the name of Hunter," and in his manhood as "that remarkable +impostor" (Essays, 1 vol. ed. 529). It seems that Huntington sought +the professional services of Bramah when re-edifying his chapel in +1793; and at the conclusion of the work, the engineer generously sent +the preacher a cheque for 8L. towards defraying the necessary expenses. +Whether the sum was less than Huntington expected, or from whatever +cause, the S.S. contemptuously flung back the gift, as proceeding from +an Arian whose religion was "unsavoury," at the same time hurling at +the giver a number of texts conveying epithets of an offensive +character. Bramah replied to the farrago of nonsense, which he +characterised as "unmannerly, absurd, and illiterate that it must have +been composed when the writer was intoxicated, mad, or under the +influence of Lucifer," and he threatened that unless Huntington +apologised for his gratuitous insults, he (Bramah) would assuredly +expose him. The mechanician nevertheless proceeded gravely to explain +and defend his "profession of faith," which was altogether unnecessary. +On this Huntington returned to the charge, and directed against the +mechanic a fresh volley of Scripture texts and phraseology, not without +humour, if profanity be allowable in controversy, as where he says, +"Poor man! he makes a good patent lock, but cuts a sad figure with the +keys of the Kingdom of Heaven!" "What Mr. Bramah is," says S.S., "In +respect to his character or conduct in life, as a man, a tradesman, a +neighbour, a gentleman, a husband, friend, master, or subject, I know +not. In all these characters he may shine as a comet for aught I know; +but he appears to me to be as far from any resemblance to a poor +penitent or broken-hearted sinner as Jannes, Jambres, or Alexander the +coppersmith!" Bramah rejoined by threatening to publish his +assailant's letters, but Huntington anticipated him in A Feeble Dispute +with a Wise and Learned Man, 8vo. London, 1793, in which, whether +justly or not, Huntington makes Bramah appear to murder the king's +English in the most barbarous manner. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +HENRY MAUDSLAY. + +"The successful construction of all machinery depends on the perfection +of the tools employed; and whoever is a master in the arts of +tool-making possesses the key to the construction of all machines..... +The contrivance and construction of tools must therefore ever stand at +the head of the industrial arts."--C. BABBAGE, Exposition of 1851. + + +Henry Maudslay was born at Woolwich towards the end of last century, in +a house standing in the court at the back of the Salutation Inn, the +entrance to which is nearly opposite the Arsenal gates. His father was +a native of Lancashire, descended from an old family of the same name, +the head of which resided at Mawdsley Hall near Ormskirk at the +beginning of the seventeenth century. The family were afterwards +scattered, and several of its members became workmen. William +Maudslay, the father of Henry, belonged to the neighbourhood of Bolton, +where he was brought up to the trade of a joiner. His principal +employment, while working at his trade in Lancashire, consisted in +making the wood framing of cotton machinery, in the construction of +which cast-iron had not yet been introduced. Having got into some +trouble in his neighbourhood, through some alleged LIAISON, William +enlisted in the Royal Artillery, and the corps to which he belonged was +shortly after sent out to the West Indies. He was several times +engaged in battle, and in his last action he was hit by a musket-bullet +in the throat. The soldier's stock which he wore had a piece cut out +of it by the ball, the direction of which was diverted, and though +severely wounded, his life was saved. He brought home the stock and +preserved it as a relic, afterwards leaving it to his son. Long after, +the son would point to the stock, hung up against his wall, and say +"But for that bit of leather there would have been no Henry Maudslay." +The wounded artilleryman was invalided and sent home to Woolwich, the +headquarters of his corps, where he was shortly after discharged. +Being a handy workman, he sought and obtained employment at the +Arsenal. He was afterwards appointed a storekeeper in the Dockyard. +It was during the former stage of William Maudslay's employment at +Woolwich, that the subject of this memoir was born in the house in the +court above mentioned, on the 22nd of August, 1771. + +The boy was early set to work. When twelve years old he was employed +as a "powder-monkey," in making and filling cartridges. After two +years, he was passed on to the carpenter's shop where his father +worked, and there he became acquainted with tools and the art of +working in wood and iron. From the first, the latter seems to have had +by far the greatest charms for him. The blacksmiths' shop was close to +the carpenters', and Harry seized every opportunity that offered of +plying the hammer, the file, and the chisel, in preference to the saw +and the plane. Many a cuff did the foreman of carpenters give him for +absenting himself from his proper shop and stealing off to the smithy. +His propensity was indeed so strong that, at the end of a year, it was +thought better, as he was a handy, clever boy, to yield to his earnest +desire to be placed in the smithy, and he was removed thither +accordingly in his fifteenth year. + +His heart being now in his work, he made rapid progress, and soon +became an expert smith and metal worker. He displayed his skill +especially in forging light ironwork; and a favourite job of his was +the making of "Trivets" out of the solid, which only the "dab hands" of +the shop could do, but which he threw off with great rapidity in first +rate style. These "Trivets" were made out of Spanish iron bolts--rare +stuff, which, though exceedingly tough, forged like wax under the +hammer. Even at the close of his life, when he had acquired eminent +distinction as an inventor, and was a large employer of skilled labour, +he looked back with pride to the forging of his early days in Woolwich +Arsenal. He used to describe with much gusto, how the old experienced +hands, with whom he was a great favourite, would crowd about him when +forging his "Trivets," some of which may to this day be in use among +Woolwich housewives for supporting the toast-plate before the bright +fire against tea time. This was, however, entirely contraband work, +done "on the sly," and strictly prohibited by the superintending +officer, who used kindly to signal his approach by blowing his nose in +a peculiar manner, so that all forbidden jobs might be put out of the +way by the time he entered the shop. + +We have referred to Maudslay's early dexterity in trivet-making--a +circumstance trifling enough in itself--for the purpose of illustrating +the progress which he had made in a branch of his art of the greatest +importance in tool and machine making. Nothing pleased him more in his +after life than to be set to work upon an unusual piece of forging, and +to overcome, as none could do so cleverly as he, the difficulties which +it presented. The pride of art was as strong in him as it must have +been in the mediaeval smiths, who turned out those beautiful pieces of +workmanship still regarded as the pride of our cathedrals and old +mansions. In Maudslay's case, his dexterity as a smith was eventually +directed to machinery, rather than ornamental work; though, had the +latter been his line of labour, we do not doubt that he would have +reached the highest distinction. + +The manual skill which our young blacksmith had acquired was such as to +give him considerable reputation in his craft, and he was spoken of +even in the London shops as one of the most dexterous hands in the +trade. It was this circumstance that shortly after led to his removal +from the smithy in Woolwich Arsenal to a sphere more suitable for the +development of his mechanical ability. + +We have already stated in the preceding memoir, that Joseph Bramah took +out the first patent for his lock in 1784, and a second for its +improvement several years later; but notwithstanding the acknowledged +superiority of the new lock over all others, Bramah experienced the +greatest difficulty in getting it manufactured with sufficient +precision, and at such a price as to render it an article of extensive +commerce. This arose from the generally inferior character of the +workmanship of that day, as well as the clumsiness and uncertainty of +the tools then in use. Bramah found that even the best manual +dexterity was not to be trusted, and yet it seemed to be his only +resource; for machine-tools of a superior kind had not yet been +invented. In this dilemma he determined to consult an ingenious old +German artisan, then working with William Moodie, a general blacksmith +in Whitechapel. This German was reckoned one of the most ingenious +workmen in London at the time. Bramah had several long interviews with +him, with the object of endeavouring to solve the difficult problem of +how to secure precise workmanship in lock-making. But they could not +solve it; they saw that without better tools the difficulty was +insuperable; and then Bramah began to fear that his lock would remain a +mere mechanical curiosity, and be prevented from coming into general +use. + +He was indeed sorely puzzled what next to do, when one of the hammermen +in Moodie's shop ventured to suggest that there was a young man in the +Woolwich Arsenal smithy, named Maudslay, who was so ingenious in such +matters that "nothing bet him," and he recommended that Mr. Bramah +should have a talk with him upon the subject of his difficulty. +Maudslay was at once sent for to Bramah's workshop, and appeared before +the lock-maker, a tall, strong, comely young fellow, then only eighteen +years old. Bramah was almost ashamed to lay his case before such a +mere youth; but necessity constrained him to try all methods of +accomplishing his object, and Maudslay's suggestions in reply to his +statement of the case were so modest, so sensible, and as the result +proved, so practical, that the master was constrained to admit that the +lad before him had an old head though set on young shoulders. Bramah +decided to adopt the youth's suggestions, made him a present on the +spot, and offered to give him a job if he was willing to come and work +in a town shop. Maudslay gladly accepted the offer, and in due time +appeared before Bramah to enter upon his duties. + +As Maudslay had served no regular apprenticeship, and was of a very +youthful appearance, the foreman of the shop had considerable doubts as +to his ability to take rank alongside his experienced hands. But +Maudslay soon set his master's and the foreman's mind at rest. +Pointing to a worn-out vice-bench, he said to Bramah, "Perhaps if I can +make that as good as new by six o'clock to-night, it will satisfy your +foreman that I am entitled to rank as a tradesman and take my place +among your men, even though I have not served a seven years' +apprenticeship." There was so much self-reliant ability in the +proposal, which was moreover so reasonable, that it was at once acceded +to. Off went Maudslay's coat, up went his shirt sleeves, and to work +he set with a will upon the old bench. The vice-jaws were re-steeled +"in no time," filed up, re-cut, all the parts cleaned and made trim, +and set into form again. By six o'clock, the old vice was screwed up +to its place, its jaws were hardened and "let down" to proper temper, +and the old bench was made to look so smart and neat that it threw all +the neighbouring benches into the shade! Bramah and his foreman came +round to see it, while the men of the shop looked admiringly on. It +was examined and pronounced "a first-rate job." This diploma piece of +work secured Maudslay's footing, and next Monday morning he came on as +one of the regular hands. + +He soon took rank in the shop as a first-class workman. Loving his +art, he aimed at excellence in it, and succeeded. For it must be +understood that the handicraftsman whose heart is in his calling, feels +as much honest pride in turning out a piece of thoroughly good +workmanship, as the sculptor or the painter does in executing a statue +or a picture. In course of time, the most difficult and delicate jobs +came to be entrusted to Maudslay; and nothing gave him greater pleasure +than to be set to work upon an entirely new piece of machinery. And +thus he rose, naturally and steadily, from hand to head work. For his +manual dexterity was the least of his gifts. He possessed an intuitive +power of mechanical analysis and synthesis. He had a quick eye to +perceive the arrangements requisite to effect given purposes; and +whenever a difficulty arose, his inventive mind set to work to overcome +it. + +His fellow-workmen were not slow to recognise his many admirable +qualities, of hand, mind, and heart; and he became not only the +favourite, but the hero of the shop. Perhaps he owed something to his +fine personal appearance. Hence on gala-days, when the men turned out +in procession, "Harry" was usually selected to march at their head and +carry the flag. His conduct as a son, also, was as admirable as his +qualities as a workman. His father dying shortly after Maudslay +entered Bramah's concern, he was accustomed to walk down to Woolwich +every Saturday night, and hand over to his mother, for whom he had the +tenderest regard, a considerable share of his week's wages, and this he +continued to do as long as she lived. + +Notwithstanding his youth, he was raised from one post to another, +until he was appointed, by unanimous consent, the head foreman of the +works; and was recognised by all who had occasion to do business there +as "Bramah's right-hand man." He not only won the heart of his master, +but--what proved of far greater importance to him--he also won the +heart of his master's pretty housemaid, Sarah Tindel by name, whom he +married, and she went hand-in-hand with him through life, an admirable +"help meet," in every way worthy of the noble character of the great +mechanic. Maudslay was found especially useful by his master in +devising the tools for making his patent locks; and many were the +beautiful contrivances which he invented for the purpose of ensuring +their more accurate and speedy manufacture, with a minimum degree of +labour, and without the need of any large amount of manual dexterity on +the part of the workman. The lock was so delicate a machine, that the +identity of the several parts of which it was composed was found to be +an absolute necessity. Mere handicraft, however skilled, could not +secure the requisite precision of workmanship; nor could the parts be +turned out in sufficient quantity to meet any large demand. It was +therefore requisite to devise machine-tools which should not blunder, +nor turn out imperfect work;--machines, in short, which should be in a +great measure independent of the want of dexterity of individual +workmen, but which should unerringly labour in their prescribed track, +and do the work set them, even in the minutest details, after the +methods designed by their inventor. In this department Maudslay was +eminently successful, and to his laborious ingenuity, as first +displayed in Bramah's workshops, and afterwards in his own +establishment, we unquestionably owe much of the power and accuracy of +our present self-acting machines. + +Bramah himself was not backward in admitting that to Henry Maudslay's +practical skill in contriving the machines for manufacturing his locks +on a large scale, the success of his invention was in a great degree +attributable. In further proof of his manual dexterity, it may be +mentioned that he constructed with his own hands the identical padlock +which so severely tested the powers of Mr. Hobbs in 1851. And when it +is considered that the lock had been made for more than half a century, +and did not embody any of the modern improvements, it will perhaps be +regarded not only as creditable to the principles on which it was +constructed, but to the workmanship of its maker, that it should so +long have withstood the various mechanical dexterity to which it was +exposed. + +Besides the invention of improved machine-tools for the manufacture of +locks, Maudslay was of further service to Bramah in applying the +expedient to his famous Hydraulic Press, without which it would +probably have remained an impracticable though a highly ingenious +machine. As in other instances of great inventions, the practical +success of the whole is often found to depend upon the action of some +apparently trifling detail. This was especially the case with the +hydraulic press; to which Maudslay added the essential feature of the +self-tightening collar, above described in the memoir of Bramah. Mr. +James Nasmyth is our authority for ascribing this invention to +Maudslay, who was certainly quite competent to have made it; and it is +a matter of fact that Bramah's specification of the press says nothing +of the hollow collar,[1] on which its efficient action mainly depends. +Mr. Nasmyth says--"Maudslay himself told me, or led me to believe, that +it was he who invented the self-tightening collar for the hydraulic +press, without which it would never have been a serviceable machine. +As the self-tightening collar is to the hydraulic press, so is the +steamblast to the locomotive. It is the one thing needful that has +made it effective in practice. If Maudslay was the inventor of the +collar, that one contrivance ought to immortalize him. He used to tell +me of it with great gusto, and I have no reason to doubt the +correctness of his statement." Whoever really struck out the idea of +the collar, displayed the instinct of the true inventor, who invariably +seeks to accomplish his object by the adoption of the simplest possible +means. + +During the time that Maudslay held the important office of manager of +Bramah's works, his highest wages were not more than thirty shillings +a-week. He himself thought that he was worth more to his master--as +indeed he was,--and he felt somewhat mortified that he should have to +make an application for an advance; but the increasing expenses of his +family compelled him in a measure to do so. His application was +refused in such a manner as greatly to hurt his sensitive feelings; and +the result was that he threw up his situation, and determined to begin +working on his own account. + +His first start in business was in the year 1797, in a small workshop +and smithy situated in Wells Street, Oxford Street. It was in an awful +state of dirt and dilapidation when he became its tenant. He entered +the place on a Friday, but by the Saturday evening, with the help of +his excellent wife, he had the shop thoroughly cleaned, whitewashed, +and put in readiness for beginning work on the next Monday morning. He +had then the pleasure of hearing the roar of his own forge-fire, and +the cheering ring of the hammer on his own anvil; and great was the +pride he felt in standing for the first time within his own smithy and +executing orders for customers on his own account. His first customer +was an artist, who gave him an order to execute the iron work of a +large easel, embodying some new arrangements; and the work was +punctually done to his employer's satisfaction. Other orders followed, +and he soon became fully employed. His fame as a first-rate workman +was almost as great as that of his former master; and many who had been +accustomed to do business with him at Pimlico followed him to Wells +Street. Long years after, the thought of these early days of +self-dependence and hard work used to set him in a glow, and he would +dilate to his intimate friends up on his early struggles and his first +successes, which were much more highly prized by him than those of his +maturer years. + +With a true love of his craft, Maudslay continued to apply himself, as +he had done whilst working as Bramah's foreman, to the best methods of +ensuring accuracy and finish of work, so as in a measure to be +independent of the carelessness or want of dexterity of the workman. +With this object he aimed at the contrivance of improved machine-tools, +which should be as much self-acting and self-regulating as possible; +and it was while pursuing this study that he wrought out the important +mechanical invention with which his name is usually identified--that of +the Slide Rest. It continued to be his special delight, when engaged +in the execution of any piece of work in which he took a personal +interest, to introduce a system of identity of parts, and to adapt for +the purpose some one or other of the mechanical contrivances with which +his fertile brain was always teeming. Thus it was from his desire to +leave nothing to the chance of mere individual dexterity of hand that +he introduced the slide rest in the lathe, and rendered it one of the +most important of machine-tools. The first device of this kind was +contrived by him for Bramah, in whose shops it continued in practical +use long after he had begun business for himself. "I have seen the +slide rest," says Mr. James Nasmyth, "the first that Henry Maudslay +made, in use at Messrs. Bramah's workshops, and in it were all those +arrangements which are to be found in the most modern slide rest of our +own day,[2] all of which are the legitimate offspring of Maudslay's +original rest. If this tool be yet extant, it ought to be preserved +with the greatest care, for it was the beginning of those mechanical +triumphs which give to the days in which we live so much of their +distinguishing character." + +A very few words of explanation will serve to illustrate the importance +of Maudslay's invention. Every person is familiar with the uses of the +common turning-lathe. It is a favourite machine with amateur +mechanics, and its employment is indispensable for the execution of all +kinds of rounded work in wood and metal. Perhaps there is no +contrivance by which the skill of the handicraftsman has been more +effectually aided than by this machine. Its origin is lost in the +shades of antiquity. Its most ancient form was probably the potter's +wheel, from which it advanced, by successive improvements, to its +present highly improved form. It was found that, by whatever means a +substance capable of being cut could be made to revolve with a circular +motion round a fixed right line as a centre, a cutting tool applied to +its surface would remove the inequalities so that any part of such +surface should be equidistant from that centre. Such is the +fundamental idea of the ordinary turning-lathe. The ingenuity and +experience of mechanics working such an instrument enabled them to add +many improvements to it; until the skilful artisan at length produced +not merely circular turning of the most beautiful and accurate +description, but exquisite figure-work, and complicated geometrical +designs, depending upon the cycloidal and eccentric movements which +were from time to time added to the machine. + +The artisans of the Middle Ages were very skilful in the use of the +lathe, and turned out much beautiful screen and stall work, still to be +seen in our cathedrals, as well as twisted and swash-work for the +balusters of staircases and other ornamental purposes. English +mechanics seem early to have distinguished themselves as improvers of +the lathe; and in Moxon's 'Treatise on Turning,' published in 1680, we +find Mr. Thomas Oldfield, at the sign of the Flower-de-Luce, near the +Savoy in the Strand, named as an excellent maker of oval-engines and +swash-engines, showing that such machines were then in some demand. +The French writer Plumier[3] also mentions an ingenious modification of +the lathe by means of which any kind of reticulated form could be given +to the work; and, from it's being employed to ornament the handles of +knives, it was called by him the "Machine a manche de Couteau +d'Angleterre." But the French artisans were at that time much better +skilled than the English in the use of tools, and it is most probable +that we owe to the Flemish and French Protestant workmen who flocked +into England in such large numbers during the religious persecutions of +the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the improvement, if not the +introduction, of the art of turning, as well as many other arts +hereafter to be referred to. It is certain that at the period to which +we refer numerous treatises were published in France on the art of +turning, some of them of a most elaborate character. Such were the +works of De la Hire,[4] who described how every kind of polygon might +be made by the lathe; De la Condamine,[5] who showed how a lathe could +turn all sorts of irregular figures by means of tracers; and of Grand +Jean, Morin,[6] Plumier, Bergeron, and many other writers. + +The work of Plumier is especially elaborate, entering into the +construction of the lathe in its various parts, the making of the tools +and cutters, and the different motions to be given to the machine by +means of wheels, eccentrics, and other expedients, amongst which may be +mentioned one very much resembling the slide rest and planing-machine +combined.[7] From this work it appears that turning had long been a +favourite pursuit in France with amateurs of all ranks, who spared no +expense in the contrivance and perfection of elaborate machinery for +the production of complex figures.[8] There was at that time a great +passion for automata in France, which gave rise to many highly +ingenious devices, such as Camus's miniature carriage (made for Louis +XIV. when a child), Degennes' mechanical peacock, Vancanson's duck, and +Maillardet's conjuror. It had the effect of introducing among the +higher order of artists habits of nice and accurate workmanship in +executing delicate pieces of machinery; and the same combination of +mechanical powers which made the steel spider crawl, the duck quack, or +waved the tiny rod of the magician, contributed in future years to +purposes of higher import,--the wheels and pinions, which in these +automata almost eluded the human senses by their minuteness, +reappearing in modern times in the stupendous mechanism of our +self-acting lathes, spinning-mules, and steam-engines. + +"In our own country," says Professor Willis, "the literature of this +subject is so defective that it is very difficult to discover what +progress we were making during the seventeenth and eighteenth +centuries." [9] We believe the fact to be, that the progress made in +England down to the end of last century had been very small indeed, and +that the lathe had experienced little or no improvement until Maudslay +took it in hand. Nothing seems to have been known of the slide rest +until he re-invented it and applied it to the production of machinery +of a far more elaborate character than had ever before been +contemplated as possible. Professor Willis says that Bramah's, in +other words Maudslay's, slide rest of 1794 is so different from that +described in the French 'Encyclopedie in 1772, that the two could not +have had a common origin. We are therefore led to the conclusion that +Maudslay's invention was entirely independent of all that had gone +before, and that he contrived it for the special purpose of overcoming +the difficulties which he himself experienced in turning out duplicate +parts in large numbers. At all events, he was so early and zealous a +promoter of its use, that we think he may, in the eyes of all practical +mechanics, stand as the parent of its introduction to the workshops of +England. + +It is unquestionable that at the time when Maudslay began the +improvement of machine-tools, the methods of working in wood and metals +were exceedingly imperfect. Mr. William Fairbairn has stated that when +he first became acquainted with mechanical engineering, about sixty +years ago, there were no self-acting tools; everything was executed by +hand. There were neither planing, slotting, nor shaping machines; and +the whole stock of an engineering or machine establishment might be +summed up in a few ill-constructed lathes, and a few drills and boring +machines of rude construction.[10] Our mechanics were equally backward +in contrivances for working in wood. Thus, when Sir Samuel Bentham +made a tour through the manufacturing districts of England in 1791, he +was surprised to find how little had been done to substitute the +invariable accuracy of machinery for the uncertain dexterity of the +human hand. Steam-power was as yet only employed in driving +spinning-machines, rolling metals, pumping water, and such like +purposes. In the working of wood no machinery had been introduced +beyond the common turning-lathe and some saws, and a few boring tools +used in making blocks for the navy. Even saws worked by inanimate +force for slitting timber, though in extensive use in foreign +countries, were nowhere to be found in Great Britain.[11] As +everything depended on the dexterity of hand and correctness of eye of +the workmen, the work turned out was of very unequal merit, besides +being exceedingly costly. Even in the construction of comparatively +simple machines, the expense was so great as to present a formidable +obstacle to their introduction and extensive use; and but for the +invention of machine-making tools, the use of the steam-engine in the +various forms in which it is now applied for the production of power +could never have become general. + +In turning a piece of work on the old-fashioned lathe, the workman +applied and guided his tool by means of muscular strength. The work +was made to revolve, and the turner, holding the cutting tool firmly +upon the long, straight, guiding edge of the rest, along which he +carried it, and pressing its point firmly against the article to be +turned, was thus enabled to reduce its surface to the required size and +shape. Some dexterous turners were able, with practice and +carefulness, to execute very clever pieces of work by this simple +means. But when the article to be turned was of considerable size, and +especially when it was of metal, the expenditure of muscular strength +was so great that the workman soon became exhausted. The slightest +variation in the pressure of the tool led to an irregularity of +surface; and with the utmost care on the workman's part, he could not +avoid occasionally cutting a little too deep, in consequence of which +he must necessarily go over the surface again, to reduce the whole to +the level of that accidentally cut too deep; and thus possibly the job +would be altogether spoiled by the diameter of the article under +operation being made too small for its intended purpose. + +The introduction of the slide rest furnished a complete remedy for this +source of imperfection. The principle of the invention consists in +constructing and fitting the rest so that, instead of being screwed +down to one place, and the tool in the hands of the workman travelling +over it, the rest shall itself hold the cutting tool firmly fixed in +it, and slide along the surface of the bench in a direction exactly +parallel with the axis of the work. Before its invention various +methods had been tried with the object of enabling the work to be +turned true independent of the dexterity of the workman. Thus, a +square steel cutter used to be firmly fixed in a bed, along which it +was wedged from point to point of the work, and tolerable accuracy was +in this way secured. But the slide rest was much more easily managed, +and the result was much more satisfactory. All that the workman had to +do, after the tool was firmly fitted into the rest, was merely to turn +a screw-handle, and thus advance the cutter along the face of the work +as required, with an expenditure of strength so slight as scarcely to +be appreciable. And even this labour has now been got rid of; for, by +an arrangement of the gearing, the slide itself has been made +self-acting, and advances with the revolution of the work in the lathe, +which thus supplies the place of the workman's hand. The accuracy of +the turning done by this beautiful yet simple arrangement is as +mechanically perfect as work can be. The pair of steel fingers which +hold the cutting tool firmly in their grasp never tire, and it moves +along the metal to be cut with an accuracy and precision which the +human hand, however skilled, could never equal. + +The effects of the introduction of the slide rest were very shortly +felt in all departments of mechanism. Though it had to encounter some +of the ridicule with which new methods of working are usually received, +and for a time was spoken of in derision as "Maudslay's Go-cart,"--its +practical advantages were so decided that it gradually made its way, +and became an established tool in all the best mechanical workshops. +It was found alike capable of executing the most delicate and the most +ponderous pieces of machinery; and as slide-lathes could be +manufactured to any extent, machinery, steam-engines, and all kinds of +metal work could now be turned out in a quantity and at a price that, +but for its use, could never have been practicable. In course of time +various modifications of the machine were introduced--such as the +planing machine, the wheel-cutting machine, and other beautiful tools +on the slide-rest principle,--the result of which has been that +extraordinary development of mechanical production and power which is +so characteristic a feature of the age we live in. + +"It is not, indeed, saying at all too much to state," says Mr. +Nasmyth,[12] a most competent judge in such a matter, "that its +influence in improving and extending the use of machinery has been as +great as that produced by the improvement of the steam-engine in +respect to perfecting manufactures and extending commerce, inasmuch as +without the aid of the vast accession to our power of producing perfect +mechanism which it at once supplied, we could never have worked out +into practical and profitable forms the conceptions of those master +minds who, during the last half century, have so successfully pioneered +the way for mankind. The steam-engine itself, which supplies us with +such unbounded power, owes its present perfection to this most +admirable means of giving to metallic objects the most precise and +perfect geometrical forms. How could we, for instance, have good +steam-engines if we had not the means of boring out a true cylinder, or +turning a true piston-rod, or planing a valve face? It is this alone +which has furnished us with the means of carrying into practice the +accumulated result's of scientific investigation on mechanical +subjects. It would be blamable indeed," continues Mr. Nasmyth, "after +having endeavoured to set forth the vast advantages which have been +conferred on the mechanical world, and therefore on mankind generally, +by the invention and introduction of the Slide Rest, were I to suppress +the name of that admirable individual to whom we are indebted for this +powerful agent towards the attainment of mechanical perfection. I +allude to Henry Maudslay, whose useful life was enthusiastically +devoted to the grand object of improving our means of producing perfect +workmanship and machinery: to him we are certainly indebted for the +slide rest, and, consequently, to say the least, we are indirectly so +for the vast benefits which have resulted from the introduction of so +powerful an agent in perfecting our machinery and mechanism generally. +The indefatigable care which he took in inculcating and diffusing among +his workmen, and mechanical men generally, sound ideas of practical +knowledge and refined views of construction, have rendered and ever +will continue to render his name identified with all that is noble in +the ambition of a lover of mechanical perfection." + +One of the first uses to which Mr. Maudslay applied the improved slide +rest, which he perfected shortly after beginning business in Margaret +Street, Cavendish Square, was in executing the requisite tools and +machinery required by Mr. (afterwards Sir Marc Isambard) Brunel for +manufacturing ships' blocks. The career of Brunel was of a more +romantic character than falls to the ordinary lot of mechanical +engineers. His father was a small farmer and postmaster, at the +village of Hacqueville, in Normandy, where Marc Isambard was born in +1769. He was early intended for a priest, and educated accordingly. +But he was much fonder of the carpenter's shop than of the school; and +coaxing, entreaty, and punishment alike failed in making a hopeful +scholar of him. He drew faces and plans until his father was almost in +despair. Sent to school at Rouen, his chief pleasure was in watching +the ships along the quays; and one day his curiosity was excited by the +sight of some large iron castings just landed. What were they? How had +they been made? Where did they come from? His eager inquiries were soon +answered. They were parts of an engine intended for the great Paris +water-works; the engine was to pump water by the power of steam; and +the castings had been made in England, and had just been landed from an +English ship. "England!" exclaimed the boy, "ah! when I am a man I +will go see the country where such grand machines are made!" On one +occasion, seeing a new tool in a cutler's window, he coveted it so much +that he pawned his hat to possess it. This was not the right road to +the priesthood; and his father soon saw that it was of no use urging +him further: but the boy's instinct proved truer than the father's +judgment. + +It was eventually determined that he should qualify himself to enter +the royal navy, and at seventeen he was nominated to serve in a +corvette as "volontaire d'honneur." His ship was paid off in 1792, and +he was at Paris during the trial of the King. With the incautiousness +of youth he openly avowed his royalist opinions in the cafe which he +frequented. On the very day that Louis was condemned to death, Brunel +had an angry altercation with some ultra-republicans, after which he +called to his dog, "Viens, citoyen!" Scowling looks were turned upon +him, and he deemed it expedient to take the first opportunity of +escaping from the house, which he did by a back-door, and made the best +of his way to Hacqueville. From thence he went to Rouen, and succeeded +in finding a passage on board an American ship, in which he sailed for +New York, having first pledged his affections to an English girl, +Sophia Kingdom, whom he had accidentally met at the house of Mr. +Carpentier, the American consul at Rouen. + +Arrived in America, he succeeded in finding employment as assistant +surveyor of a tract of land along the Black River, near Lake Ontario. +In the intervals of his labours he made occasional visits to New York, +and it was there that the first idea of his block-machinery occurred to +him. He carried his idea back with him into the woods, where it often +mingled with his thoughts of Sophia Kingdom, by this time safe in +England after passing through the horrors of a French prison. "My +first thought of the block-machinery," he once said, "was at a dinner +party at Major-General Hamilton's, in New York; my second under an +American tree, when, one day that I was carving letters on its bark, +the turn of one of them reminded me of it, and I thought, 'Ah! my +block! so it must be.' And what do you think were the letters I was +cutting? Of course none other than S. K." Brunel subsequently +obtained some employment as an architect in New York, and promulgated +various plans for improving the navigation of the principal rivers. +Among the designs of his which were carried out, was that of the Park +Theatre at New York, and a cannon foundry, in which he introduced +improvements in casting and boring big guns. But being badly paid for +his work, and a powerful attraction drawing him constantly towards +England, he determined to take final leave of America, which he did in +1799, and landed at Falmouth in the following March. There he again +met Miss Kingdom, who had remained faithful to him during his six long +years of exile, and the pair were shortly after united for life. + +Brunel was a prolific inventor. During his residence in America, he +had planned many contrivances in his mind, which he now proceeded to +work out. The first was a duplicate writing and drawing machine, which +he patented. The next was a machine for twisting cotton thread and +forming it into balls; but omitting to protect it by a patent, he +derived no benefit from the invention, though it shortly came into very +general use. He then invented a machine for trimmings and borders for +muslins, lawns, and cambrics,--of the nature of a sewing machine. His +famous block-machinery formed the subject of his next patent. + +It may be explained that the making of the blocks employed in the +rigging of ships for raising and lowering the sails, masts, and yards, +was then a highly important branch of manufacture. Some idea may be +formed of the number used in the Royal Navy alone, from the fact that a +74-gun ship required to be provided with no fewer than 1400 blocks of +various sizes. The sheaved blocks used for the running rigging +consisted of the shell, the sheaves, which revolved within the shell, +and the pins which fastened them together. The fabrication of these +articles, though apparently simple, was in reality attended with much +difficulty. Every part had to be fashioned with great accuracy and +precision to ensure the easy working of the block when put together, as +any hitch in the raising or lowering of the sails might, on certain +emergencies, occasion a serious disaster. Indeed, it became clear that +mere hand-work was not to be relied on in the manufacture of these +articles, and efforts were early made to produce them by means of +machinery of the most perfect kind that could be devised. In 1781, Mr. +Taylor, of Southampton, set up a large establishment on the river +Itchen for their manufacture; and on the expiry of his contract, the +Government determined to establish works of their own in Portsmouth +Dockyard, for the purpose at the same time of securing greater economy, +and of being independent of individual makers in the supply of an +article of such importance in the equipment of ships. + +Sir Samuel Bentham, who then filled the office of Inspector-General of +Naval Works, was a highly ingenious person, and had for some years been +applying his mind to the invention of improved machinery for working in +wood. He had succeeded in introducing into the royal dockyards +sawing-machines and planing-machines of a superior kind, as well as +block-making machines. Thus the specification of one of his patents, +taken out in 1793, clearly describes a machine for shaping the shells +of the blocks, in a manner similar to that afterwards specified by +Brunel. Bentham had even proceeded with the erection of a building in +Portsmouth Dockyard for the manufacture of the blocks after his method, +the necessary steam-engine being already provided; but with a singular +degree of candour and generosity, on Brunel's method being submitted to +him, Sir Samuel at once acknowledged its superiority to his own, and +promised to recommend its adoption by the authorities in his department. + +The circumstance of Mrs. Brunel's brother being Under-Secretary to the +Navy Board at the time, probably led Brunel in the first instance to +offer his invention to the Admiralty. A great deal, however, remained +to be done before he could bring his ideas of the block-machinery into +a definite shape; for there is usually a wide interval between the +first conception of an intricate machine and its practical realization. +Though Brunel had a good knowledge of mechanics, and was able to master +the intricacies of any machine, he laboured under the disadvantage of +not being a practical mechanic and it is probable that but for the help +of someone possessed of this important qualification, his invention, +ingenious and important though it was, would have borne no practical +fruits. It was at this juncture that he was so fortunate as to be +introduced to Henry Maudslay, the inventor of the sliderest. + +It happened that a M. de Bacquancourt, one of the French emigres, of +whom there were then so many in London, was accustomed almost daily to +pass Maudslay's little shop in Wells-street, and being himself an +amateur turner, he curiously inspected the articles from time to time +exhibited in the window of the young mechanic. One day a more than +ordinarily nice piece of screw-cutting made its appearance, on which he +entered the shop to make inquiries as to the method by which it had +been executed. He had a long conversation with Maudslay, with whom he +was greatly pleased; and he was afterwards accustomed to look in upon +him occasionally to see what new work was going on. Bacquancourt was +also on intimate terms with Brunel, who communicated to him the +difficulty he had experienced in finding a mechanic of sufficient +dexterity to execute his design of the block-making machinery. It +immediately occurred to the former that Henry Maudslay was the very man +to execute work of the elaborate character proposed, and he described +to Brunel the new and beautiful tools which Maudslay had contrived for +the purpose of ensuring accuracy and finish. Brunel at once determined +to call upon Maudslay, and it was arranged that Bacquancourt should +introduce him, which he did, and after the interview which took place +Brunel promised to call again with the drawings of his proposed model. + +A few days passed, and Brunel called with the first drawing, done by +himself; for he was a capital draughtsman, and used to speak of drawing +as the "alphabet of the engineer." The drawing only showed a little +bit of the intended machine, and Brunel did not yet think it advisable +to communicate to Maudslay the precise object he had in view; for +inventors are usually very chary of explaining their schemes to others, +for fear of being anticipated. Again Brunel appeared at Maudslay's +shop with a further drawing, still not explaining his design; but at +the third visit, immediately on looking at the fresh drawings he had +brought, Maudslay exclaimed, "Ah! now I see what you are thinking of; +you want machinery for making blocks." At this Brunel became more +communicative, and explained his designs to the mechanic, who fully +entered into his views, and went on from that time forward striving to +his utmost to work out the inventor's conceptions and embody them in a +practical machine. + +While still occupied on the models, which were begun in 1800, Maudslay +removed his shop from Wells-street, where he was assisted by a single +journeyman, to Margaret-street, Cavendish-square, where he had greater +room for carrying on his trade, and was also enabled to increase the +number of his hands. The working models were ready for inspection by +Sir Samuel Bentham and the Lords of the Admiralty in 1801, and having +been fully approved by them, Brunel was authorized to proceed with the +execution of the requisite machinery for the manufacture of the ship's +blocks required for the Royal Navy. The whole of this machinery was +executed by Henry Maudslay; it occupied him very fully for nearly six +years, so that the manufacture of blocks by the new process was not +begun until September, 1808. + +We despair of being able to give any adequate description in words of +the intricate arrangements and mode of action of the block-making +machinery. Let any one attempt to describe the much more simple and +familiar process by which a shoemaker makes a pair of shoes, and he +will find how inadequate mere words are to describe any mechanical +operation.[13] Suffice it to say, that the machinery was of the most +beautiful manufacture and finish, and even at this day will bear +comparison with the most perfect machines which can be turned out with +all the improved appliances of modern tools. The framing was of +cast-iron, while the parts exposed to violent and rapid action were all +of the best hardened steel. In turning out the various parts, Maudslay +found his slide rest of indispensable value. Indeed, without this +contrivance, it is doubtful whether machinery of so delicate and +intricate a character could possibly have been executed. There was not +one, but many machines in the series, each devoted to a special +operation in the formation of a block. Thus there were various +sawing-machines,--the Straight Cross-Cutting Saw, the Circular +Cross-Cutting Saw, the Reciprocating Ripping-saw, and the Circular +Ripping-Saw. Then there were the Boring Machines, and the Mortising +Machine, of beautiful construction, for cutting the sheave-holes, +furnished with numerous chisels, each making from 110 to 150 strokes a +minute, and cutting at every stroke a chip as thick as pasteboard with +the utmost precision. In addition to these were the Corner-Saw for +cutting off the corners of the block, the Shaping Machine for +accurately forming the outside surfaces, the Scoring Engine for cutting +the groove round the longest diameter of the block for the reception of +the rope, and various other machines for drilling, riveting, and +finishing the blocks, besides those for making the sheaves. + +The total number of machines employed in the various operations of +making a ship's block by the new method was forty-four; and after being +regularly employed in Portsmouth Dockyard for upwards of fifty years, +they are still as perfect in their action as on the day they were +erected. They constitute one of the most ingenious and complete +collections of tools ever invented for making articles in wood, being +capable of performing most of the practical operations of carpentry +with the utmost accuracy and finish. The machines are worked by a +steam-engine of 32-horse power, which is also used for various other +dockyard purposes. Under the new system of block-making it was found +that the articles were better made, supplied with much greater +rapidity, and executed at a greatly reduced cost. Only ten men, with +the new machinery, could perform the work which before had required a +hundred and ten men to execute, and not fewer than 160,000 blocks of +various kinds and sizes could be turned out in a year, worth not less +than 541,000L.[14] + +The satisfactory execution of the block-machinery brought Maudslay a +large accession of fame and business; and the premises in Margaret +Street proving much too limited for his requirements, he again resolved +to shift his quarters. He found a piece of ground suitable for his +purpose in Westminster Road, Lambeth. Little more than a century since +it formed part of a Marsh, the name of which is still retained in the +adjoining street; its principal productions being bulrushes and +willows, which were haunted in certain seasons by snipe and waterfowl. +An enterprising riding-master had erected some premises on a part of +the marsh, which he used for a riding-school; but the speculation not +answering, they were sold, and Henry Maudslay became the proprietor. +Hither he removed his machinery from Margaret Street in 1810, adding +fresh plant from time to time as it was required; and with the aid of +his late excellent partner he built up the far-famed establishment of +Maudslay, Field, and Co. There he went on improving his old tools and +inventing new ones, as the necessity for them arose, until the original +slide-lathes used for making the block-machinery became thrown into the +shade by the comparatively gigantic machine-tools of the modern school. +Yet the original lathes are still to be found in the collection of the +firm in Westminster Road, and continue to do their daily quota of work +with the same precision as they did when turned out of the hands of +their inventor and maker some sixty years ago. + +It is unnecessary that we should describe in any great detail the +further career of Henry Maudslay. The rest of his life was full of +useful and profitable work to others as well as to himself. His +business embraced the making of flour and saw mills, mint machinery, +and steam-engines of all kinds. Before he left Margaret Street, in +1807, he took out a patent for improvements in the steam-engine, by +which he much simplified its parts, and secured greater directness of +action. His new engine was called the Pyramidal, because of its form, +and was the first move towards what are now called Direct-acting +Engines, in which the lateral movement of the piston is communicated by +connecting-rods to the rotatory movement of the crank-shaft. Mr. +Nasmyth says of it, that "on account of its great simplicity and +GET-AT-ABILITY of parts, its compactness and self-contained steadiness, +this engine has been the parent of a vast progeny, all more or less +marked by the distinguishing features of the original design, which is +still in as high favour as ever." Mr. Maudslay also directed his +attention in like manner to the improvement of the marine engine, which +he made so simple and effective as to become in a great measure the +type of its class; and it has held its ground almost unchanged for +nearly thirty years. The 'Regent,' which was the first steamboat that +plied between London and Margate, was fitted with engines by Maudslay +in 1816; and it proved the forerunner of a vast number of marine +engines, the manufacture of which soon became one of the most important +branches of mechanical engineering. + +Another of Mr. Maudslay's inventions was his machine for punching +boiler-plates, by which the production of ironwork of many kinds was +greatly facilitated. This improvement originated in the contract which +he held for some years for supplying the Royal Navy with iron plates +for ships' tanks. The operations of shearing and punching had before +been very imperfectly done by hand, with great expenditure of labour. +To improve the style of the work and lessen the labour, Maudslay +invented the machine now in general use, by which the holes punched in +the iron plate are exactly equidistant, and the subsequent operation of +riveting is greatly facilitated. One of the results of the improved +method was the great saving which was at once effected in the cost of +preparing the plates to receive the rivets, the price of which was +reduced from seven shillings per tank to ninepence. He continued to +devote himself to the last to the improvement of the lathe,--in his +opinion the master-machine, the life and soul of engine-turning, of +which the planing, screw-cutting, and other machines in common use, are +but modifications. In one of the early lathes which he contrived and +made, the mandrill was nine inches in diameter; it was driven by +wheel-gearing like a crane motion, and adapted to different speeds. +Some of his friends, on first looking at it, said he was going "too +fast;" but he lived to see work projected on so large a scale as to +prove that his conceptions were just, and that he had merely +anticipated by a few years the mechanical progress of his time. His +large removable bar-lathe was a highly important tool of the same kind. +It was used to turn surfaces many feet in diameter. While it could be +used for boring wheels, or the side-rods of marine engines, it could +turn a roller or cylinder twice or three times the diameter of its own +centres from the ground-level, and indeed could drive round work of any +diameter that would clear the roof of the shop. This was therefore an +almost universal tool, capable of very extensive uses. Indeed much of +the work now executed by means of special tools, such as the planing or +slotting machine, was then done in the lathe, which was used as a +cutter-shaping machine, fitted with various appliances according to the +work. + +Maudslay's love of accuracy also led him from an early period to study +the subject of improved screw-cutting. The importance of this +department of mechanism can scarcely be overrated, the solidity and +permanency of most mechanical structures mainly depending on the +employment of the screw, at the same time that the parts can be readily +separated for renewal or repair. Any one can form an idea of the +importance of the screw as an element in mechanical construction by +examining say a steam-engine, and counting the number of screws +employed in holding it together. Previous to the time at which the +subject occupied the attention of our mechanic, the tools used for +making screws were of the most rude and inexact kind. The screws were +for the most part cut by hand: the small by filing, the larger by +chipping and filing. In consequence of the great difficulty of making +them, as few were used as possible; and cotters, cotterils, or +forelocks, were employed instead. Screws, however, were to a certain +extent indispensable; and each manufacturing establishment made them +after their own fashion. There was an utter want of uniformity. No +system was observed as to "pitch," i.e. the number of threads to the +inch, nor was any rule followed as to the form of those threads. Every +bolt and nut was sort of specialty in itself, and neither owed nor +admitted of any community with its neighbours. To such an extent was +this irregularity carried, that all bolts and their corresponding nuts +had to be marked as belonging to each other; and any mixing of them +together led to endless trouble, hopeless confusion, and enormous +expense. Indeed none but those who lived in the comparatively early +days of machine-manufacture can form an adequate idea of the annoyance +occasioned by the want of system in this branch of detail, or duly +appreciate the services rendered by Maudslay to mechanical engineering +by the practical measures which he was among the first to introduce for +its remedy. In his system of screw-cutting machinery, his taps and +dies, and screw-tackle generally, he laid the foundations of all that +has since been done in this essential branch of machine-construction, +in which he was so ably followed up by several of the eminent mechanics +brought up in his school, and more especially by Joseph Clement and +Joseph Whitworth. One of his earliest self-acting screw lathes, moved +by a guide-screw and wheels after the plan followed by the latter +engineer, cut screws of large diameter and of any required pitch. As +an illustration of its completeness and accuracy, we may mention that +by its means a screw five feet in length, and two inches in diameter, +was cut with fifty threads to the inch; the nut to fit on to it being +twelve inches long, and containing six hundred threads. This screw was +principally used for dividing scales for astronomical purposes; and by +its means divisions were produced so minute that they could not be +detected without the aid of a magnifier. The screw, which was sent for +exhibition to the Society of Arts, is still carefully preserved amongst +the specimens of Maudslay's handicraft at the Lambeth Works, and is a +piece of delicate work which every skilled mechanic will thoroughly +appreciate. Yet the tool by which this fine piece of turning was +produced was not an exceptional tool, but was daily employed in the +ordinary work of the manufactory. + +Like every good workman who takes pride in his craft, he kept his tools +in first-rate order, clean, and tidily arranged, so that he could lay +his hand upon the thing he wanted at once, without loss of time. They +are still preserved in the state in which he left them, and strikingly +illustrate his love of order, "nattiness," and dexterity. Mr. Nasmyth +says of him that you could see the man's character in whatever work he +turned out; and as the connoisseur in art will exclaim at sight of a +picture, "That is Turner," or "That is Stansfield," detecting the hand +of the master in it, so the experienced mechanician, at sight of one of +his machines or engines, will be equally ready to exclaim, "That is +Maudslay;" for the characteristic style of the master-mind is as clear +to the experienced eye in the case of the finished machine as the +touches of the artist's pencil are in the case of the finished picture. +Every mechanical contrivance that became the subject of his study came +forth from his hand and mind rearranged, simplified, and made new, with +the impress of his individuality stamped upon it. He at once stripped +the subject of all unnecessary complications; for he possessed a +wonderful faculty of KNOWING WHAT TO DO WITHOUT--the result of his +clearness of insight into mechanical adaptations, and the accurate and +well-defined notions he had formed of the precise object to be +accomplished. "Every member or separate machine in the system of +block-machinery," says Mr. Nasmyth, "is full of Maudslay's presence; +and in that machinery, as constructed by him, is to be found the parent +of every engineering tool by the aid of which we are now achieving such +great things in mechanical construction. To the tools of which +Maudslay furnished the prototypes are we mainly indebted for the +perfection of our textile machinery, our locomotives, our marine +engines, and the various implements of art, of agriculture, and of war. +If any one who can enter into the details of this subject will be at +the pains to analyse, if I may so term it, the machinery of our modern +engineering workshops, he will find in all of them the strongly-marked +features of Maudslay's parent machine, the slide rest and slide +system--whether it be a planing machine, a slotting machine, a +slide-lathe, or any other of the wonderful tools which are now enabling +us to accomplish so much in mechanism." + +One of the things in which Mr. Maudslay took just pride was in the +excellence of his work. In designing and executing it, his main object +was to do it in the best possible style and finish, altogether +irrespective of the probable pecuniary results. This he regarded in +the light of a duty he could not and would not evade, independent of +its being a good investment for securing a future reputation; and the +character which he thus obtained, although at times purchased at great +cost, eventually justified the soundness of his views. As the eminent +Mr. Penn, the head of the great engineering firm, is accustomed to say, +"I cannot afford to turn out second-rate work," so Mr. Maudslay found +both character and profit in striving after the highest excellence in +his productions. He was particular even in the minutest details. Thus +one of the points on which he insisted--apparently a trivial matter, +but in reality of considerable importance in mechanical +construction--was the avoidance of sharp interior angles in ironwork, +whether wrought or cast; for he found that in such interior angles +cracks were apt to originate; and when the article was a tool, the +sharp angle was less pleasant to the hand as well as to the eye. In +the application of his favourite round or hollow corner system--as, for +instance, in the case of the points of junction of the arms of a wheel +with its centre and rim--he used to illustrate its superiority by +holding up his hand and pointing out the nice rounded hollow at the +junction of the fingers, or by referring to the junction of the +branches to the stem of a tree. Hence he made a point of having all +the angles of his machine framework nicely rounded off on their +exterior, and carefully hollowed in their interior angles. In forging +such articles he would so shape his metal before bending that the +result should be the right hollow or rounded corner when bent; the +anticipated external angle falling into its proper place when the bar +so shaped was brought to its ultimate form. In all such matters of +detail he was greatly assisted by his early dexterity as a blacksmith; +and he used to say that to be a good smith you must be able to SEE in +the bar of iron the object proposed to be got out of it by the hammer +or the tool, just as the sculptor is supposed to see in the block of +stone the statue which he proposes to bring forth from it by his mind +and his chisel. + +Mr. Maudslay did not allow himself to forget his skill in the use of +the hammer, and to the last he took pleasure in handling it, sometimes +in the way of business, and often through sheer love of his art. Mr +Nasmyth says, "It was one of my duties, while acting as assistant in +his beautiful little workshop, to keep up a stock of handy bars of lead +which he had placed on a shelf under his work-bench, which was of thick +slate for the more ready making of his usual illustrative sketches of +machinery in chalk. His love of iron-forging led him to take delight +in forging the models of work to be ultimately done in iron; and cold +lead being of about the same malleability as red-hot iron, furnished a +convenient material for illustrating the method to be adopted with the +large work. I well remember the smile of satisfaction that lit up his +honest face when he met with a good excuse for 'having a go at' one of +the bars of lead with hammer and anvil as if it were a bar of iron; and +how, with a few dexterous strokes, punchings of holes, and rounded +notches, he would give the rough bar or block its desired form. He +always aimed at working it out of the solid as much as possible, so as +to avoid the risk of any concealed defect, to which ironwork built up +of welded parts is so liable; and when he had thus cleverly finished +his model, he used forthwith to send for the foreman of smiths, and +show him how he was to instruct his men as to the proper forging of the +desired object." One of Mr. Maudslay's old workmen, when informing us +of the skilful manner in which he handled the file, said, "It was a +pleasure to see him handle a tool of any kind, but he was QUITE +SPLENDID with an eighteen-inch file!" The vice at which he worked was +constructed by himself, and it was perfect of its kind. It could be +turned round to any position on the bench; the jaws would turn from the +horizontal to the perpendicular or any other position--upside-down if +necessary--and they would open twelve inches parallel. + +Mr. Nasmyth furnishes the following further recollections of Mr. +Maudslay, which will serve in some measure to illustrate his personal +character. "Henry Maudslay," he says, "lived in the days of +snuff-taking, which unhappily, as I think, has given way to the +cigar-smoking system. He enjoyed his occasional pinch very much. It +generally preceded the giving out of a new notion or suggestion for an +improvement or alteration of some job in hand. As with most of those +who enjoy their pinch, about three times as much was taken between the +fingers as was utilized by the nose, and the consequence was that a +large unconsumed surplus collected in the folds of the master's +waistcoat as he sat working at his bench. Sometimes a file, or a tool, +or some small piece of work would drop, and then it was my duty to go +down on my knees and fetch it up. On such occasions, while waiting for +the article, he would take the opportunity of pulling down his +waistcoat front, which had become disarranged by his energetic working +at the bench; and many a time have I come up with the dropped article, +half-blinded by the snuff jerked into my eyes from off his waistcoat +front. + +"All the while he was at work he would be narrating some incident in +his past life, or describing the progress of some new and important +undertaking, in illustrating which he would use the bit of chalk ready +to his hand upon the slate bench before him, which was thus in almost +constant use. One of the pleasures he indulged in while he sat at work +was Music, of which he was very fond,--more particularly of melodies +and airs which took a lasting hold on his mind. Hence he was never +without an assortment of musical boxes, some of which were of a large +size. One of these he would set agoing on his library table, which was +next to his workshop, and with the door kept open, he was thus enabled +to enjoy the music while he sat working at his bench. Intimate friends +would frequently call upon him and sit by the hour, but though talking +all the while he never dropped his work, but continued employed on it +with as much zeal as if he were only beginning life. His old friend +Sir Samuel Bentham was a frequent caller in this way, as well as Sir +Isambard Brunel while occupied with his Thames Tunnel works[15] and Mr. +Chantrey, who was accustomed to consult him about the casting of his +bronze statuary. Mr. Barton of the Royal Mint, and Mr. Donkin the +engineer, with whom Mr. Barton was associated in ascertaining and +devising a correct system of dividing the Standard Yard, and many +others, had like audience of Mr. Maudslay in his little workshop, for +friendly converse, for advice, or on affairs of business. + +"It was a special and constant practice with him on a workman's +holiday, or on a Sunday morning, to take a walk through his workshops +when all was quiet, and then and there examine the various jobs in +hand. On such occasions he carried with him a piece of chalk, with +which, in a neat and very legible hand, he would record his remarks in +the most pithy and sometimes caustic terms. Any evidence of want of +correctness in setting things square, or in 'flat filing,' which he +held in high esteem, or untidiness in not sweeping down the bench and +laying the tools in order, was sure to have a record in chalk made on +the spot. If it was a mild case, the reproof was recorded in gentle +terms, simply to show that the master's eye was on the workman; but +where the case deserved hearty approbation or required equally hearty +reproof, the words employed were few, but went straight to the mark. +These chalk jottings on the bench were held in the highest respect by +the workmen themselves, whether they conveyed praise or blame, as they +were sure to be deserved; and when the men next assembled, it soon +became known all over the shop who had received the honour or otherwise +of one of the master's bench memoranda in chalk." + +The vigilant, the critical, and yet withal the generous eye of the +master being over all his workmen, it will readily be understood how +Maudslay's works came to be regarded as a first-class school for +mechanical engineers. Every one felt that the quality of his +workmanship was fully understood; and, if he had the right stuff in +him, and was determined to advance, that his progress in skill would be +thoroughly appreciated. It is scarcely necessary to point out how this +feeling, pervading the establishment, must have operated, not only in +maintaining the quality of the work, but in improving the character of +the workmen. The results were felt in the increased practical ability +of a large number of artisans, some of whom subsequently rose to the +highest distinction. Indeed it may be said that what Oxford and +Cambridge are in letters, workshops such as Maudslay's and Penn's are +in mechanics. Nor can Oxford and Cambridge men be prouder of the +connection with their respective colleges than mechanics such as +Whitworth, Nasmyth, Roberts, Muir, and Lewis, are of their connection +with the school of Maudslay. For all these distinguished engineers at +one time or another formed part of his working staff, and were trained +to the exercise of their special abilities under his own eye. The +result has been a development of mechanical ability the like of which +perhaps is not to be found in any age or country. + +Although Mr. Maudslay was an unceasing inventor, he troubled himself +very little about patenting his inventions. He considered that the +superiority of his tools and the excellence of his work were his surest +protection. Yet he had sometimes the annoyance of being threatened +with actions by persons who had patented the inventions which he +himself had made.[16] He was much beset by inventors, sometimes sadly +out at elbows, but always with a boundless fortune looming before them. +To such as applied to him for advice in a frank and candid spirit, he +did not hesitate to speak freely, and communicate the results of his +great experience in the most liberal manner; and to poor and deserving +men of this class he was often found as ready to help them with his +purse as with his still more valuable advice. He had a singular way of +estimating the abilities of those who thus called upon him about their +projects. The highest order of man was marked in his own mind at 100 +degrees; and by this ideal standard he measured others, setting them +down at 90 degrees, 80 degrees, and so on. A very first-rate man he +would set down at 95 degrees, but men of this rank were exceedingly +rare. After an interview with one of the applicants to him for advice, +he would say to his pupil Nasmyth, "Jem, I think that man may be set +down at 45 degrees, but he might be WORKED UP TO 60 degrees"--a common +enough way of speaking of the working of a steam-engine, but a somewhat +novel though by no means an inexpressive method of estimating the +powers of an individual. + +But while he had much toleration for modest and meritorious inventors, +he had a great dislike for secret-mongers,--schemers of the close, +cunning sort,--and usually made short work of them. He had an almost +equal aversion for what he called the "fiddle-faddle inventors," with +their omnibus patents, into which they packed every possible thing that +their noddles could imagine. "Only once or twice in a century," said +he, "does a great inventor appear, and yet here we have a set of +fellows each taking out as many patents as would fill a cart,--some of +them embodying not a single original idea, but including in their +specifications all manner of modifications of well-known processes, as +well as anticipating the arrangements which may become practicable in +the progress of mechanical improvement." Many of these "patents" he +regarded as mere pit-falls to catch the unwary; and he spoke of such +"inventors" as the pests of the profession. + +The personal appearance of Henry Maudslay was in correspondence with +his character. He was of a commanding presence, for he stood full six +feet two inches in height, a massive and portly man. His face was +round, full, and lit up with good humour. A fine, large, and square +forehead, of the grand constructive order, dominated over all, and his +bright keen eye gave energy and life to his countenance. He was +thoroughly "jolly" and good-natured, yet full of force and character. +It was a positive delight to hear his cheerful, ringing laugh. He was +cordial in manner, and his frankness set everybody at their ease who +had occasion to meet him, even for the first time. No one could be +more faithful and consistent in his friendships, nor more firm in the +hour of adversity. In fine, Henry Maudslay was, as described by his +friend Mr. Nasmyth, the very beau ideal of an honest, upright, +straight-forward, hard-working, intelligent Englishman. + +A severe cold which he caught on his way home from one of his visits to +France, was the cause of his death, which occurred on the 14th of +February, 1831. The void which his decease caused was long and deeply +felt, not only by his family and his large circle of friends, but by +his workmen, who admired him for his industrial skill, and loved him +because of his invariably manly, generous, and upright conduct towards +them. He directed that he should be buried in Woolwich +parish-churchyard, where a cast-iron tomb, made to his own design, was +erected over his remains. He had ever a warm heart for Woolwich, where +he had been born and brought up. He often returned to it, sometimes to +carry his mother a share of his week's wages while she lived, and +afterwards to refresh himself with a sight of the neighbourhood with +which he had been so familiar when a boy. He liked its green common, +with the soldiers about it; Shooter's Hill, with its out-look over Kent +and down the valley of the Thames; the river busy with shipping, and +the royal craft loading and unloading their armaments at the dockyard +wharves. He liked the clangour of the Arsenal smithy where he had +first learned his art, and all the busy industry of the place. It was +natural, therefore, that, being proud of his early connection with +Woolwich, he should wish to lie there; and Woolwich, on its part, let +us add, has equal reason to be proud of Henry Maudslay. + + + +[1] The words Bramah uses in describing this part of his patent of 1795 +are these--"The piston must be made perfectly watertight by leather or +other materials, as used in pump-making." He elsewhere speaks of the +piston-rod "working through the stuffing-box." But in practice, as we +have above shown, these methods were found to be altogether inefficient. + +[2] In this lathe the slide rest and frame were moveable along the +traversing-bar, according to the length of the work, and could be +placed in any position and secured by a handle and screw underneath. +The Rest, however, afterwards underwent many important modifications; +but the principle of the whole machine was there. + +[3] PLUMIER, L'Art de Tourner, Paris, 1754, p. 155. + +[4] Machines approuvees par l' Academie, 1719. + +[5] Machines approuvees par l' Academie, 1733. + +[6] L'Art de Tourner en perfection, 49. + +[7] It consisted of two parallel bars of wood or iron connected +together at both extremities by bolts or keys of sufficient width to +admit of the article required to be planed. A moveable frame was +placed between the two bars, motion being given to it by a long +cylindrical thread acting on any tool put into the sliding frame, and, +consequently, causing the screw, by means of a handle at each end of +it, to push or draw the point or cutting-edge of the tool either +way.--Mr. George Rennie's Preface to Buchanan's Practical Essays on +Mill Work, 3rd Ed. xli. + +[8] Turning was a favourite amusement amongst the French nobles of last +century, many of whom acquired great dexterity in the art, which they +turned to account when compelled to emigrate at the Revolution. Louis +XVI. himself was a very good locksmith, and could have earned a fair +living at the trade. Our own George III. was a good turner, and was +learned in wheels and treadles, chucks and chisels. Henry Mayhew says, +on the authority of an old working turner, that, with average industry, +the King might have made from 40s. to 50s. a-week as a hard wood and +ivory turner. Lord John Hay, though one-armed, was an adept at the +latter, and Lord Gray was another capital turner. Indeed the late Mr. +Holtzapffel's elaborately illustrated treatise was written quite as +much for amateurs as for working mechanics. Among other noble +handicraftsmen we may mention the late Lord Douglas, who cultivated +bookbinding. Lord Traquair's fancy was cutlery, and one could not come +to him in a more welcome fashion than with a pair of old razors to set +up. + +[9] Professor WILLIS, Lectures on the Results of the Great Exhibition +of 1851, 1st series, p. 306. + +[10] Address delivered before the British Association at Manchester in +1861; and Useful Information for Engineers, 1st series, p. 22. + +[11] Life of Sir Samuel Bentham, 97-8. + +[12] Remarks on the Introduction of the Slide Principle in Tools and +Machines employed in the Production of Machinery, in Buchanan's +Practical Essays on Mill Work and other Machinery. 3rd ed. p. 397. + +[13] So far as words and drawings can serve to describe the +block-making machinery, it will be found very ably described by Mr. +Farey in his article under this head in Rees's Cyclopaedia, and by Dr. +Brewster in the Edinburgh Cyclopaedia. A very good account will also +be found in Tomlinson's Cyclopaedia of the Useful Arts, Art. "Block." + +[14] The remuneration paid to Mr. Brunel for his share in the invention +was only one year's savings, which, however, were estimated by Sir +Samuel Bentham at 17,663L.; besides which a grant of 5000L. was +afterwards made to Brunel when labouring under pecuniary difficulties. +But the ANNUAL saving to the nation by the adoption of the block-making +machinery was probably more than the entire sum paid to the engineer. +Brunel afterwards invented other wood-working machinery, but none to +compare in merit and excellence with the above, For further particulars +of his career, see BEAMISH'S Memoirs of Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, C.E. +London. 1862. + +[15] Among the last works executed by the firm during Mr. Maudslay's +lifetime was the famous Shield employed by his friend Brunel in +carrying forward the excavation of the Thames Tunnel. He also supplied +the pumping-engines for the same great work, the completion of which he +did not live to see. + +[16] His principal patent's were--two, taken out in 1805 and 1808, +while in Margaret Street, for printing calicoes (Nos. 2872 and 3117); +one taken out in 1806, in conjunction with Mr. Donkin, for lifting +heavy weights (2948); one taken out in 1807, while still in Margaret +Street, for improvements in the steam-engine, reducing its parts and +rendering it more compact and portable (3050); another, taken out in +conjunction with Robert Dickinson in 1812, for sweetening water and +other liquids (3538); and, lastly, a patent taken out in conjunction +with Joshua Field in 1824 for preventing concentration of brine in +boilers (5021). + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +JOSEPH CLEMENT. + +"It is almost impossible to over-estimate the importance of these +inventions. The Greeks would have elevated their authors among the +gods; nor will the enlightened judgment of modern times deny them the +place among their fellow-men which is so undeniably their +due."--Edinburgh Review. + + +That Skill in mechanical contrivance is a matter of education and +training as well as of inborn faculty, is clear from the fact of so +many of our distinguished mechanics undergoing the same kind of +practical discipline, and perhaps still more so from the circumstance +of so many of them passing through the same workshops. Thus Maudslay +and Clement were trained in the workshops of Bramah; and Roberts, +Whitworth, Nasmyth, and others, were trained in those of Maudslay. + +Joseph Clement was born at Great Ashby in Westmoreland, in the year +1779. His father was a hand-loom weaver, and a man of remarkable +culture considering his humble station in life. He was an ardent +student of natural history, and possessed a much more complete +knowledge of several sub-branches of that science than was to have been +looked for in a common working-man. One of the departments which he +specially studied was Entomology. In his leisure hours he was +accustomed to traverse the country searching the hedge-bottoms for +beetles and other insects, of which he formed a remarkably complete +collection; and the capture of a rare specimen was quite an event in +his life. In order more deliberately to study the habits of the bee +tribe, he had a number of hives constructed for the purpose of enabling +him to watch their proceedings without leaving his work; and the +pursuit was a source of the greatest pleasure to him. He was a lover +of all dumb creatures; his cottage was haunted by birds which flew in +and out at his door, and some of them became so tame as to hop up to +him and feed out of his hand. "Old Clement" was also a bit of a +mechanic, and such of his leisure moments as he did not devote to +insect-hunting, were employed in working a lathe of his own +construction, which he used to turn his bobbing on, and also in various +kinds of amateur mechanics. + +His boy Joseph, like other poor men's sons, was early set to work. He +received very little education, and learnt only the merest rudiments of +reading and writing at the village school. The rest of his education +he gave to himself as he grew older. His father needed his help at the +loom, where he worked with him for some years; but, as handloom weaving +was gradually being driven out by improved mechanism, the father +prudently resolved to put his son to a better trade. They have a +saying in Cumberland that when the bairns reach a certain age, they are +thrown on to the house-rigg, and that those who stick on are made +thatchers of, while those who fall off are sent to St. Bees to be made +parsons of. Joseph must have been one of those that stuck on--at all +events his father decided to make him a thatcher, afterwards a slater, +and he worked at that trade for five years, between eighteen and +twenty-three. + +The son, like the father, had a strong liking for mechanics, and as the +slating trade did not keep him in regular employment, especially in +winter time, he had plenty of opportunity for following the bent of his +inclinations. He made a friend of the village blacksmith, whose smithy +he was accustomed to frequent, and there he learned to work at the +forge, to handle the hammer and file, and in a short time to shoe +horses with considerable expertness. A cousin of his named Farer, a +clock and watchmaker by trade, having returned to the village from +London, brought with him some books on mechanics, which he lent to +Joseph to read; and they kindled in him an ardent desire to be a +mechanic instead of a slater. He nevertheless continued to maintain +himself by the latter trade for some time longer, until his skill had +grown; and, by way of cultivating it, he determined, with the aid of +his friend the village blacksmith, to make a turning-lathe. The two +set to work, and the result was the production of an article in every +way superior to that made by Clement's father, which was accordingly +displaced to make room for the new machine. It was found to work very +satisfactorily, and by its means Joseph proceeded to turn fifes, +flutes, clarinets, and hautboys; for to his other accomplishments he +joined that of music, and could play upon the instruments that he made. +One of his most ambitious efforts was the making of a pair of +Northumberland bagpipes, which he finished to his satisfaction, and +performed upon to the great delight of the villagers. To assist his +father in his entomological studies, he even contrived, with the aid of +the descriptions given in the books borrowed from his cousin the +watchmaker, to make for him a microscope, from which he proceeded to +make a reflecting telescope, which proved a very good instrument. At +this early period (1804) he also seems to have directed his attention +to screw-making--a branch of mechanics in which he afterwards became +famous; and he proceeded to make a pair of very satisfactory +die-stocks, though it is said that he had not before seen or even heard +of such a contrivance for making screws. + +So clever a workman was not likely to remain long a village slater. +Although the ingenious pieces of work which he turned out by his lathe +did not bring him in much money, he liked the occupation so much better +than slating that he was gradually giving up that trade. His father +urged him to stick to slating as "a safe thing;" but his own mind was +in favour of following his instinct to be a mechanic; and at length he +determined to leave his village and seek work in a new line. He +succeeded in finding employment in a small factory at Kirby Stephen, a +town some thirteen miles from Great Ashby, where he worked at making +power-looms. From an old statement of account against his employer +which we have seen, in his own handwriting, dated the 6th September, +1805, it appears that his earnings at such work as "fitting the first +set of iron loames," "fitting up shittles," and "making moddles," were +3s. 6d. a day; and he must, during the same time, have lived with his +employer, who charged him as a set-off "14 weaks bord at 8s. per weak." +He afterwards seems to have worked at piece-work in partnership with +one Andrew Gamble supplying the materials as well as the workmanship +for the looms and shuttles. His employer, Mr. George Dickinson, also +seems to have bought his reflecting telescope from him for the sum of +12L. + +From Kirby Stephen Clement removed to Carlisle, where he was employed +by Forster and Sons during the next two years at the same description +of work; and he conducted himself, according; to their certificate on +his leaving their employment to proceed to Glasgow in 1807, "with great +sobriety and industry, entirely to their satisfaction." While working +at Glasgow as a turner, he took lessons in drawing from Peter +Nicholson, the well-known writer on carpentry--a highly ingenious man. +Nicholson happened to call at the shop at which Clement worked in order +to make a drawing of a power-loom; and Clement's expressions of +admiration at his expertness were so enthusiastic, that Nicholson, +pleased with the youth's praise, asked if he could be of service to him +in any way. Emboldened by the offer, Clement requested, as the +greatest favour he could confer upon him, to have the loan of the +drawing he had just made, in order that he might copy it. The request +was at once complied with; and Clement, though very poor at the time, +and scarcely able to buy candle for the long winter evenings, sat up +late every night until he had finished it. Though the first drawing he +had ever made, he handed it back to Nicholson instead of the original, +and at first the draughtsman did not recognise that the drawing was not +his own. When Clement told him that it was only the copy, Nicholson's +brief but emphatic praise was--"Young man, YOU'LL DO!" Proud to have +such a pupil, Nicholson generously offered to give him gratuitous +lessons in drawing, which were thankfully accepted; and Clement, +working at nights with great ardour, soon made rapid progress, and +became an expert draughtsman. + +Trade being very slack in Glasgow at the time, Clement, after about a +year's stay in the place, accepted a situation with Messrs. Leys, +Masson, and Co., of Aberdeen, with whom he began at a guinea and a half +a week, from which he gradually rose to two guineas, and ultimately to +three guineas. His principal work consisted in designing and making +power-looms for his employers, and fitting them up in different parts +of the country. He continued to devote himself to the study of +practical mechanics, and made many improvements in the tools with which +he worked. While at Glasgow he had made an improved pair of die-stocks +for screws; and, at Aberdeen, he made a turning-lathe with a sliding +mandrill and guide-screws, for cutting screws, furnished also with the +means for correcting guide-screws. In the same machine he introduced a +small slide rest, into which he fixed the tool for cutting the +screws,--having never before seen a slide rest, though it is very +probable he may have heard of what Maudslay had already done in the +same direction. Clement continued during this period of his life an +industrious self-cultivator, occupying most of his spare hours in +mechanical and landscape drawing, and in various studies. Among the +papers left behind him we find a ticket to a course of instruction on +Natural Philosophy given by Professor Copland in the Marischal College +at Aberdeen, which Clement attended in the session of 1812-13; and we +do not doubt that our mechanic was among the most diligent of his +pupils. Towards the end of 1813, after saving about 100L. out of his +wages, Clement resolved to proceed to London for the purpose of +improving himself in his trade and pushing his way in the world. The +coach by which he travelled set him down in Snow Hill, Holborn; and his +first thought was of finding work. He had no friend in town to consult +on the matter, so he made inquiry of the coach-guard whether he knew of +any person in the mechanical line in that neighbourhood. The guard +said, "Yes; there was Alexander Galloway's show shop, just round the +corner, and he employed a large number of hands." Running round the +corner, Clement looked in at Galloway's window, through which he saw +some lathes and other articles used in machine shops. Next morning he +called upon the owner of the shop to ask employment. "What can you +do?" asked Galloway. "I can work at the forge," said Clement. +"Anything else?" "I can turn." "What else?" "I can draw." "What!" +said Galloway, "can you draw? Then I will engage you." A man who could +draw or work to a drawing in those days was regarded as a superior sort +of mechanic. Though Galloway was one of the leading tradesmen of his +time, and had excellent opportunities for advancement, he missed them +all. As Clement afterwards said of him, "He was only a mouthing +common-council man, the height of whose ambition was to be an +alderman;" and, like most corporation celebrities, he held a low rank +in his own business. He very rarely went into his workshops to +superintend or direct his workmen, leaving this to his foremen--a +sufficient indication of the causes of his failure as a mechanic.[1] + +On entering Galloway's shop, Clement was first employed in working at +the lathe; but finding the tools so bad that it was impossible to +execute satisfactory work with them, he at once went to the forge, and +began making a new set of tools for himself. The other men, to whom +such a proceeding was entirely new, came round him to observe his +operations, and they were much struck with his manual dexterity. The +tools made, he proceeded to use them, displaying what seemed to the +other workmen an unusual degree of energy and intelligence; and some of +the old hands did not hesitate already to pronounce Clement to be the +best mechanic in the shop. When Saturday night came round, the other +men were curious to know what wages Galloway would allow the new hand; +and when he had been paid, they asked him. "A guinea," was the reply. +"A guinea! Why, you are worth two if you are worth a shilling," said +an old man who came out of the rank--an excellent mechanic, who, though +comparatively worthless through his devotion to drink, knew Clement's +money value to his employer better than any man there; and he added, +"Wait for a week or two, and if you are not better paid than this, I +can tell you of a master who will give you a fairer wage." Several +Saturdays came round, but no advance was made on the guinea a week; and +then the old workman recommended Clement to offer himself to Bramah at +Pimlico, who was always on the look out for first-rate mechanics. + +Clement acted on the advice, and took with him some of his drawings, at +sight of which Bramah immediately engaged him for a month; and at the +end of that time he had given so much satisfaction, that it was agreed +he should continue for three months longer at two guineas a week. +Clement was placed in charge of the tools of the shop, and he showed +himself so apt at introducing improvements in them, as well as in +organizing the work with a view to despatch and economy, that at the +end of the term Bramah made him a handsome present, adding, "if I had +secured your services five years since, I would now have been a richer +man by many thousands of pounds." A formal agreement for a term of +five years was then entered into between Bramah and Clement, dated the +1st of April, 1814, by which the latter undertook to fill the office of +chief-draughtsman and superintendent of the Pimlico Works, in +consideration of a salary of three guineas a week, with an advance of +four shillings a week in each succeeding year of the engagement. This +arrangement proved of mutual advantage to both. Clement devoted +himself with increased zeal to the improvement of the mechanical +arrangements of the concern, exhibiting his ingenuity in many ways, and +taking; a genuine pride in upholding the character of his master for +turning out first-class work. + +On the death of Bramah, his sons returned from college and entered into +possession of the business. They found Clement the ruling mind there +and grew jealous of him to such an extent that his situation became +uncomfortable; and by mutual consent he was allowed to leave before the +expiry of his term of agreement. He had no difficulty in finding +employment; and was at once taken on as chief draughtsman at Maudslay +and Field's where he was of much assistance in proportioning the early +marine engines, for the manufacture of which that firm were becoming +celebrated. After a short time, he became desirous of beginning +business on his own account as a mechanical engineer. He was +encouraged to do this by the Duke of Northumberland, who, being a great +lover of mechanics and himself a capital turner, used often to visit +Maudslay's, and thus became acquainted with Clement, whose expertness +as a draughtsman and mechanic he greatly admired. Being a man of +frugal and sober habits, always keeping his expenditure very +considerably within his income, Clement had been enabled to accumulate +about 500L., which he thought would be enough for his purpose; and he +accordingly proceeded, in 1817, to take a small workshop in Prospect +Place, Newington Butts, where he began business as a mechanical +draughtsman and manufacturer of small machinery requiring first-class +workmanship. + +From the time when he took his first gratuitous lessons in drawing from +Peter Nicholson, at Glasgow, in 1807, he had been steadily improving in +this art, the knowledge of which is indispensable to whoever aspires to +eminence as a mechanical engineer,--until by general consent Clement +was confessed to stand unrivalled as a draughtsman. Some of the very +best drawings contained in the Transactions of the Society of Arts, +from the year 1817 downwards,--especially those requiring the +delineation of any unusually elaborate piece of machinery,--proceeded +from the hand of Clement. In some of these, he reached a degree of +truth in mechanical perspective which has never been surpassed.[2] To +facilitate his labours, he invented an extremely ingenious instrument, +by means of which ellipses of all proportions, as well as circles and +right lines, might be geometrically drawn on paper or on copper. He +took his idea of this instrument from the trammel used by carpenters +for drawing imperfect ellipses; and when he had succeeded in avoiding +the crossing of the points, he proceeded to invent the straight-line +motion. For this invention the Society of Arts awarded him their gold +medal in 1818. Some years later, he submitted to the same Society his +invention of a stand for drawings of large size. He had experienced +considerable difficulty in making such drawings, and with his +accustomed readiness to overcome obstacles, he forthwith set to work +and brought out his new drawing-table. + +As with many other original-minded mechanics, invention became a habit +with him, and by study and labour he rarely failed in attaining the +object which he had bent his mind upon accomplishing. Indeed, nothing +pleased him better than to have what he called "a tough job;" as it +stimulated his inventive faculty, in the exercise of which he took the +highest pleasure. Hence mechanical schemers of all kinds were +accustomed to resort to Clement for help when they had found an idea +which they desired to embody in a machine. If there was any value in +their idea, none could be more ready than he to recognise its merit, +and to work it into shape; but if worthless, he spoke out his mind at +once, dissuading the projector from wasting upon it further labour or +expense. + +One of the important branches of practical mechanics to which Clement +continued through life to devote himself, was the improvement of +self-acting tools, more especially of the slide-lathe. He introduced +various improvements in its construction and arrangement, until in his +hands it became as nearly perfect as it was possible to be. In 1818, +he furnished the lathe with a slide rest twenty-two inches long, for +the purpose of cutting screws, provided with the means of +self-correction; and some years later, in 1827, the Society of Arts +awarded him their gold Isis medal for his improved turning-lathe, which +embodied many ingenious contrivances calculated to increase its +precision and accuracy in large surface-turning. + +The beautiful arrangements embodied in Mr. Clement's improved lathe can +with difficulty be described in words; but its ingenuity may be +inferred from a brief statement of the defects which it was invented to +remedy, and which it successfully overcame. When the mandrill of a +lathe, having a metal plate fixed to it, turns round with a uniform +motion, and the slide rest which carries the cutter is moving from the +circumference of the work to the centre, it will be obvious that the +quantity of metal passing over the edge of the cutter at each +revolution, and therefore at equal intervals of time, is continually +diminishing, in exact proportion to the spiral line described by the +cutter on the face of the work. But in turning metal plates it is +found very in expedient to increase the speed of the work beyond a +certain quantity; for when this happens, and the tool passes the work +at too great a velocity, it heats, softens, and is ground away, the +edge of the cutter becomes dull, and the surface of the plate is +indented and burnished, instead of being turned. Hence loss of time on +the part of the workman, and diminished work on the part of the tool, +results which, considering the wages of the one and the capital +expended on the construction of the other, are of no small importance; +for the prime objects of all improvement of tools are, economy of time +and economy of capital--to minimize labour and cost, and maximize +result. + +The defect to which we have referred was almost the only remaining +imperfection in the lathe, and Mr. Clement overcame it by making the +machine self-regulating; so that, whatever might be the situation of +the cutter, equal quantities of metal should pass over it in equal +times,--the speed at the centre not exceeding that suited to the work +at the circumference,--while the workman was enabled to convert the +varying rate of the mandrill into a uniform one whenever he chose. +Thus the expedients of wheels, riggers, and drums, of different +diameters, by which it had been endeavoured to alter the speed of the +lathe-mandrill, according to the hardness of the metal and the diameter +of the thing to be turned, were effectually disposed of. These, though +answering very well where cylinders of equal diameter had to be bored, +and a uniform motion was all that was required, were found very +inefficient where a Plane surface had to be turned; and it was in such +cases that Mr. Clement's lathe was found so valuable. By its means +surfaces of unrivalled correctness were produced, and the slide-lathe, +so improved, became recognised and adopted as the most accurate and +extensively applicable of all machine-tools. + +The year after Mr. Clement brought out his improved turning-lathe, he +added to it his self-adjusting double driving centre-chuck, for which +the Society of Arts awarded him their silver medal in 1828. In +introducing this invention to the notice of the Society, Mr. Clement +said, "Although I have been in the habit of turning and making +turning-lathes and other machinery for upwards of thirty-five years, +and have examined the best turning-lathes in the principal +manufactories throughout Great Britain, I find it universally regretted +by all practical men that they cannot turn anything perfectly true +between the centres of the lathe." It was found by experience, that +there was a degree of eccentricity, and consequently of imperfection, +in the figure of any long cylinder turned while suspended between the +centres of the lathe, and made to revolve by the action of a single +driver. Under such circumstances the pressure of the tool tended to +force the work out of the right line and to distribute the strain +between the driver and the adjacent centre, so that one end of the +cylinder became eccentric with respect to the other. By Mr. Clement's +invention of the two-armed driver, which was self-adjusting, the strain +was taken from the centre and divided between the two arms, which being +equidistant from the centre, effectually corrected all eccentricity in +the work. This invention was found of great importance in ensuring the +true turning of large machinery, which before had been found a matter +of considerable difficulty. + +In the same year (1828) Mr. Clement began the making of fluted taps and +dies, and he established a mechanical practice with reference to the +pitch of the screw, which proved of the greatest importance in the +economics of manufacture. Before his time, each mechanical engineer +adopted a thread of his own; so that when a piece of work came under +repair, the screw-hob had usually to be drilled out, and a new thread +was introduced according to the usage which prevailed in the shop in +which the work was executed. Mr. Clement saw a great waste of labour +in this practice, and he promulgated the idea that every screw of a +particular length ought to be furnished with its appointed number of +threads of a settled pitch. Taking the inch as the basis of his +calculations, he determined the number of threads in each case; and the +practice thus initiated by him, recommended as it was by convenience +and economy, was very shortly adopted throughout the trade. It may be +mentioned that one of Clement's ablest journeymen, Mr. Whitworth, has, +since his time, been mainly instrumental in establishing the settled +practice; and Whitworth's thread (initiated by Clement) has become +recognised throughout the mechanical world. To carry out his idea, +Clement invented his screw-engine lathe, with gearing, mandrill, and +sliding-table wheel-work, by means of which he first cut the inside +screw-tools from the left-handed hobs--the reverse mode having before +been adopted,--while in shaping machines he was the first to use the +revolving cutter attached to the slide rest. Then, in 1828, he fluted +the taps for the first time with a revolving cutter,--other makers +having up to that time only notched them. Among his other inventions +in screws may be mentioned his headless tap, which, according to Mr. +Nasmyth, is so valuable an invention, that, "if he had done nothing +else, it ought to immortalize him among mechanics. It passed right +through the hole to be tapped, and was thus enabled to do the duty of +three ordinary screws." By these improvements much greater precision +was secured in the manufacture of tools and machinery, accompanied by a +greatly reduced cost of production; the results of which are felt to +this day. + +Another of Mr. Clement's ingenious inventions was his Planing Machine, +by means of which metal plates of large dimensions were planed with +perfect truth and finished with beautiful accuracy. There is perhaps +scarcely a machine about which there has been more controversy than +this; and we do not pretend to be able to determine the respective +merits of the many able mechanics who have had a hand in its invention. +It is exceedingly probable that others besides Clement worked out the +problem in their own way, by independent methods; and this is confirmed +by the circumstance that though the results achieved by the respective +inventors were the same, the methods employed by them were in many +respects different. As regards Clement, we find that previous to the +year 1820 he had a machine in regular use for planing the triangular +bars of lathes and the sides of weaving-looms. This instrument was +found so useful and so economical in its working, that Clement +proceeded to elaborate a planing machine of a more complete kind, which +he finished and set to work in the year 1825. He prepared no model of +it, but made it direct from the working drawings; and it was so nicely +constructed, that when put together it went without a hitch, and has +continued steadily working for more than thirty years down to the +present day. + +Clement took out no patent for his invention, relying for protection +mainly on his own and his workmen's skill in using it. We therefore +find no specification of his machine at the Patent Office, as in the +case of most other capital inventions; but a very complete account of +it is to be found in the Transactions of the Society of Arts for 1832, +as described by Mr. Varley. The practical value of the Planing Machine +induced the Society to apply to Mr. Clement for liberty to publish a +full description of it; and Mr. Varley's paper was the result.[3] It +may be briefly stated that this engineer's plane differs greatly from +the carpenter's plane, the cutter of which is only allowed to project +so far as to admit of a thin shaving to be sliced off,--the plane +working flat in proportion to the width of the tool, and its length and +straightness preventing the cutter from descending into any hollows in +the wood. The engineer's plane more resembles the turning-lathe, of +which indeed it is but a modification, working up on the same +principle, on flat surfaces. The tools or cutters in Clement's machine +were similar to those used in the lathe, varying in like manner, but +performing their work in right lines,--the tool being stationary and +the work moving under it, the tool only travelling when making lateral +cuts. To save time two cutters were mounted, one to cut the work while +going, the other while returning, both being so arranged and held as to +be presented to the work in the firmest manner, and with the least +possible friction. The bed of the machine, on which the work was laid, +passed under the cutters on perfectly true rollers or wheels, lodged +and held in their bearings as accurately as the best mandrill could be, +and having set-screws acting against their ends totally preventing all +end-motion. The machine was bedded on a massive and solid foundation +of masonry in heavy blocks, the support at all points being so complete +as effectually to destroy all tendency to vibration, with the object of +securing full, round, and quiet cuts. The rollers on which the +planing-machine travelled were so true, that Clement himself used to +say of them, "If you were to put but a paper shaving under one of the +rollers, it would at once stop all the rest." Nor was this any +exaggeration--the entire mechanism, notwithstanding its great size, +being as true and accurate as that of a watch. + +By an ingenious adaptation of the apparatus, which will also be found +described in the Society of Arts paper, the planing machine might be +fitted with a lathe-bed, either to hold two centres, or a head with a +suitable mandrill. When so fitted, the machine was enabled to do the +work of a turning-lathe, though in a different way, cutting cylinders +or cones in their longitudinal direction perfectly straight, as well as +solids or prisms of any angle, either by the longitudinal or lateral +motion of the cutter; whilst by making the work revolve, it might be +turned as in any other lathe. This ingenious machine, as contrived by +Mr. Clement, therefore represented a complete union of the +turning-lathe with the planing machine and dividing engine, by which +turning of the most complicated kind might readily be executed. For +ten years after it was set in motion, Clement's was the only machine of +the sort available for planing large work; and being consequently very +much in request, it was often kept going night and day,--the earnings +by the planing machine alone during that time forming the principal +income of its inventor. As it took in a piece of work six feet square, +and as his charge for planing was three-halfpence the square inch, or +eighteen shillings the square foot, he could thus earn by his machine +alone some ten pounds for every day's work of twelve hours. We may add +that since planing machines in various forms have become common in +mechanical workshops, the cost of planing does not amount to more than +three-halfpence the square foot. + +The excellence of Mr. Clement's tools, and his well-known skill in +designing and executing work requiring unusual accuracy and finish, led +to his being employed by Mr. Babbage to make his celebrated Calculating +or Difference Engine. The contrivance of a machine that should work +out complicated sums in arithmetic with perfect precision, was, as may +readily be imagined, one of the most difficult feats of the mechanical +intellect. To do this was in an especial sense to stamp matter with +the impress of mind, and render it subservient to the highest thinking +faculty. Attempts had been made at an early period to perform +arithmetical calculations by mechanical aids more rapidly and precisely +than it was possible to do by the operations of the individual mind. +The preparation of arithmetical tables of high numbers involved a vast +deal of labour, and even with the greatest care errors were unavoidable +and numerous. Thus in a multipltcation-table prepared by a man so +eminent as Dr. Hutton for the Board of Longitude, no fewer than forty +errors were discovered in a single page taken at random. In the tables +of the Nautical Almanac, where the greatest possible precision was +desirable and necessary, more than five hundred errors were detected by +one person; and the Tables of the Board of Longitude were found equally +incorrect. But such errors were impossible to be avoided so long as +the ordinary modes of calculating, transcribing, and printing continued +in use. + +The earliest and simplest form of calculating apparatus was that +employed by the schoolboys of ancient Greece, called the Abacus; +consisting of a smooth board with a narrow rim, on which they were +taught to compute by means of progressive rows of pebbles, bits of bone +or ivory, or pieces of silver coin, used as counters. The same board, +strewn over with sand, was used for teaching the rudiments of writing +and the principles of geometry. The Romans subsequently adopted the +Abacus, dividing it by means of perpendicular lines or bars, and from +the designation of calculus which they gave to each pebble or counter +employed on the board, we have derived our English word to calculate. +The same instrument continued to be employed during the middle ages, +and the table used by the English Court of Exchequer was but a modified +form of the Greek Abacus, the chequered lines across it giving the +designation to the Court, which still survives. Tallies, from the +French word tailler to cut, were another of the mechanical methods +employed to record computations, though in a very rude way. Step by +step improvements were made; the most important being that invented by +Napier of Merchiston, the inventor of logarithms, commonly called +Napier's bones, consisting of a number of rods divided into ten equal +squares and numbered, so that the whole when placed together formed the +common multiplication table. By these means various operations in +multiplication and division were performed. Sir Samuel Morland, +Gunter, and Lamb introduced other contrivances, applicable to +trigonometry; Gunter's scale being still in common use. The +calculating machines of Gersten and Pascal were of a different kind, +working out arithmetical calculations by means of trains of wheels and +other arrangements; and that contrived by Lord Stanhope for the purpose +of verifying his calculations with respect to the National Debt was of +like character. But none of these will bear for a moment to be +compared with the machine designed by Mr. Babbage for performing +arithmetical calculations and mathematical analyses, as well as for +recording the calculations when made, thereby getting rid entirely of +individual error in the operations of calculation, transcription, and +printing. + +The French government, in their desire to promote the extension of the +decimal system, had ordered the construction of logarithmical tables of +vast extent; but the great labour and expense involved in the +undertaking prevented the design from being carried out. It was +reserved for Mr. Babbage to develope the idea by means of a machine +which he called the Difference Engine. This machine is of so +complicated a character that it would be impossible for us to give any +intelligible description of it in words. Although Dr. Lardner was +unrivalled in the art of describing mechanism, he occupied twenty-five +pages of the 'Edinburgh Review' (vol.59) in endeavouring to describe +its action, and there were several features in it which he gave up as +hopeless. Some parts of the apparatus and modes of action are indeed +extraordinary and perhaps none more so than that for ensuring accuracy +in the calculated results,--the machine actually correcting itself, and +rubbing itself back into accuracy, when the disposition to err occurs, +by the friction of the adjacent machinery! When an error is made, the +wheels become locked and refuse to proceed; thus the machine must go +rightly or not at all,--an arrangement as nearly resembling volition as +anything that brass and steel are likely to accomplish. + +This intricate subject was taken up by Mr. Babbage in 1821, when he +undertook to superintend for the British government the construction of +a machine for calculating and printing mathematical and astronomical +tables. The model first constructed to illustrate the nature of his +invention produced figures at the rate of 44 a minute. In 1823 the +Royal Society was requested to report upon the invention, and after +full inquiry the committee recommended it as one highly deserving of +public encouragement. A sum of 1500L. was then placed at Mr. Babbage's +disposal by the Lords of the Treasury for the purpose of enabling him +to perfect his invention. It was at this time that he engaged Mr. +Clement as draughtsman and mechanic to embody his ideas in a working +machine. Numerous tools were expressly contrived by the latter for +executing the several parts, and workmen were specially educated for +the purpose of using them. Some idea of the elaborate character of the +drawings may be formed from the fact that those required for the +calculating machinery alone--not to mention the printing machinery, +which was almost equally elaborate--covered not less than four hundred +square feet of surface! The cost of executing the calculating machine +was of course very great, and the progress of the work was necessarily +slow. The consequence was that the government first became impatient, +and then began to grumble at the expense. At the end of seven years +the engineer's bills alone were found to amount to nearly 7200L., and +Mr. Babbage's costs out of pocket to 7000L. more. In order to make +more satisfactory progress, it was determined to remove the works to +the neighbourhood of Mr. Babbage's own residence; but as Clement's +claims for conducting the operations in the new premises were thought +exorbitant, and as he himself considered that the work did not yield +him the average profit of ordinary employment in his own trade, he +eventually withdrew from the enterprise, taking with him the tools +which he had constructed for executing the machine. The government +also shortly after withdrew from it, and from that time the scheme was +suspended, the Calculating Engine remaining a beautiful but unfinished +fragment of a great work. Though originally intended to go as far as +twenty figures, it was only completed to the extent of being capable of +calculating to the depth of five figures, and two orders of +differences; and only a small part of the proposed printing machinery +was ever made. The engine was placed in the museum of King's College +in 1843, enclosed in a glass case, until the year 1862, when it was +removed for a time to the Great Exhibition, where it formed perhaps the +most remarkable and beautifully executed piece of mechanism the +combined result of intellectual and mechanical contrivance--in the +entire collection.[4] + +Clement was on various other occasions invited to undertake work +requiring extra skill, which other mechanics were unwilling or unable +to execute. He was thus always full of employment, never being under +the necessity of canvassing for customers. He was almost constantly in +his workshop, in which he took great pride. His dwelling was over the +office in the yard, and it was with difficulty he could be induced to +leave the premises. On one occasion Mr. Brunel of the Great Western +Railway called upon him to ask if he could supply him with a superior +steam-whistle for his locomotives, the whistles which they were using +giving forth very little sound. Clement examined the specimen brought +by Brunel, and pronounced it to be "mere tallow-chandler's work." He +undertook to supply a proper article, and after his usual fashion he +proceeded to contrive a machine or tool for the express purpose of +making steam-whistles. They were made and supplied, and when mounted +on the locomotive the effect was indeed "screaming." They were heard +miles off, and Brunel, delighted, ordered a hundred. But when the bill +came in, it was found that the charge made for them was very high--as +much as 40L. the set. The company demurred at the price,--Brunel +declaring it to be six times more than the price they had before been +paying. "That may be;" rejoined Clement, "but mine are more than six +times better. You ordered a first-rate article, and you must be +content to pay for it." The matter was referred to an arbitrator, who +awarded the full sum claimed. Mr. Weld mentions a similar case of an +order which Clement received from America to make a large screw of +given dimensions "in the best possible manner," and he accordingly +proceeded to make one with the greatest mathematical accuracy. But his +bill amounted to some hundreds of pounds, which completely staggered +the American, who did not calculate on having to pay more than 20L. at +the utmost for the screw. The matter was, however, referred to +arbitrators, who gave their decision, as in the former case, in favour +of the mechanic.[5] + +One of the last works which Clement executed as a matter of pleasure, +was the building of an organ for his own use. It will be remembered +that when working as a slater at Great Ashby, he had made flutes and +clarinets, and now in his old age he determined to try his skill at +making an organ--in his opinion the king of musical instruments. The +building of it became his hobby, and his greatest delight was in +superintending its progress. It cost him about two thousand pounds in +labour alone, but he lived to finish it, and we have been informed that +it was pronounced a very excellent instrument. + +Clement was a heavy-browed man, without any polish of manner or speech; +for to the last he continued to use his strong Westmoreland dialect. +He was not educated in a literary sense; for he read but little, and +could write with difficulty. He was eminently a mechanic, and had +achieved his exquisite skill by observation, experience, and +reflection. His head was a complete repertory of inventions, on which +he was constantly drawing for the improvement of mechanical practice. +Though he had never more than thirty workmen in his factory, they were +all of the first class; and the example which Clement set before them +of extreme carefulness and accuracy in execution rendered his shop one +of the best schools of its time for the training of thoroughly +accomplished mechanics. Mr. Clement died in 1844, in his sixty-fifth +year; after which his works were carried on by Mr. Wilkinson, one of +his nephews; and his planing machine still continues in useful work. + + + +[1] On one occasion Galloway had a cast-iron roof made for his +workshop, so flat and so independent of ties that the wonder was that +it should have stood an hour. One day Peter Keir, an engineer much +employed by the government--a clever man, though some what +eccentric--was taken into the shop by Galloway to admire the new roof. +Keir, on glancing up at it, immediately exclaimed, "Come outside, and +let us speak about it there!" All that he could say to Galloway +respecting the unsoundness of its construction was of no avail. The +fact was that, however Keir might argue about its not being able to +stand, there it was actually standing, and that was enough for +Galloway. Keir went home, his mind filled with Galloway's most +unprincipled roof. "If that stands," said he to himself, "all that I +have been learning and doing for thirty years has been wrong." That +night he could not sleep for thinking about it. In the morning he +strolled up Primrose Hill, and returned home still muttering to himself +about "that roof." "What," said his wife to him, "are you thinking of +Galloway's roof?" "Yes," said he. "Then you have seen the papers?" +"No--what about them?" "Galloway's roof has fallen in this morning, +and killed eight or ten of the men!" Keir immediately went to bed, and +slept soundly till next morning. + +[2] See more particularly The Transactions of the Society for the +Encouragement of Arts, vol. xxxiii. (1817), at pp. 74, 157, 160, 175, +208 (an admirable drawing; of Mr. James Allen's Theodolite); vol. +xxxvi. (1818), pp. 28, 176 (a series of remarkable illustrations of Mr. +Clement's own invention of an Instrument for Drawing Ellipses); vol. +xliii. (1825), containing an illustration of the Drawing Table invented +by him for large drawings; vol. xlvi. (1828), containing a series of +elaborate illustrations of his Prize Turning Lathe; and xlviii. 1829, +containing illustrations of his Self-adjusting Double Driver Centre +Chuck. + +[3] Transactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, vol. +xlix. p.157. + +[4] A complete account of the calculating machine, as well as of an +analytical engine afterwards contrived by Mr. Babbage, of still greater +power than the other, will be found in the Bibliotheque Universelle de +Geneve, of which a translation into English, with copious original +notes, by the late Lady Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron, was published +in the 3rd vol. of Taylor's Scientific Memoirs (London, 1843). A +history of the machine, and of the circumstances connected with its +construction, will also be found in Weld's History of the Royal +Society, vol. ii. 369-391. It remains to be added, that the perusal by +Messrs. Scheutz of Stockholm of Dr. Lardner's account of Mr. Babbage's +engine in the Edinburgh Review, led those clever mechanics to enter +upon the scheme of constructing and completing it, and the result is, +that their machine not only calculates the tables, but prints the +results. It took them nearly twenty years to perfect it, but when +completed the machine seemed to be almost capable of thinking. The +original was exhibited at the Paris Exhibition of 1855. A copy of it +has since been secured by the English government at a cost of 1200L., +and it is now busily employed at Somerset House in working out annuity +and other tables for the Registrar-General. The copy was constructed, +with several admirable improvements, by the Messrs. Donkin, the +well-known mechanical engineers, after the working drawings of the +Messrs. Scheutz. + +[5] History of the Royal Society, ii. 374. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +FOX OF DERBY--MURRAY OF LEEDS--ROBERTS AND WHITWORTH OF MANCHESTER. + +"Founders and senators of states and cities, lawgivers, extirpers of +tyrants, fathers of the people, and other eminent persons in civil +government, were honoured but with titles of Worthies or demi-gods; +whereas, such as were inventors and authors of new arts, endowments, +and commodities towards man's life, were ever consecrated amongst the +gods themselves."--BACON, Advancement of Learning. + + +While such were the advances made in the arts of tool-making and +engine-construction through the labours of Bramah, Maudslay, and +Clement, there were other mechanics of almost equal eminence who +flourished about the same time and subsequently in several of the +northern manufacturing towns. Among these may be mentioned James Fox +of Derby; Matthew Murray and Peter Fairbairn of Leeds; Richard Roberts, +Joseph Whitworth, James Nasmyth, and William Fairbairn of Manchester; +to all of whom the manufacturing industry of Great Britain stands in +the highest degree indebted. + +James Fox, the founder of the Derby firm of mechanical engineers, was +originally a butler in the service of the Rev. Thomas Gisborne, of +Foxhall Lodge, Staffordshire. Though a situation of this kind might +not seem by any means favourable for the display of mechanical ability, +yet the butler's instinct for handicraft was so strong that it could +not be repressed; and his master not only encouraged him in the +handling of tools in his leisure hours, but had so genuine an +admiration of his skill as well as his excellent qualities of +character, that he eventually furnished him with the means of beginning +business on his own account. + +The growth and extension of the cotton, silk, and lace trades, in the +neighbourhood of Derby, furnished Fox with sufficient opportunities for +the exercise of his mechanical skill; and he soon found ample scope for +its employment. His lace machinery became celebrated, and he supplied +it largely to the neighbouring town of Nottingham; he also obtained +considerable employment from the great firms of Arkwright and +Strutt--the founders of the modern cotton manufacture. Mr. Fox also +became celebrated for his lathes, which were of excellent quality, +still maintaining their high reputation; and besides making largely for +the supply of the home demand, he exported much machinery abroad, to +France, Russia, and the Mauritius. + +The present Messrs. Fox of Derby, who continue to carry on the business +of the firm, claim for their grandfather, its founder, that he made the +first planing machine in 1814,[1] and they add that the original +article continued in use until quite recently. We have been furnished +by Samuel Hall, formerly a workman at the Messrs. Fox's, with the +following description of the machine:--"It was essentially the same in +principle as the planing machine now in general use, although differing +in detail. It had a self-acting ratchet motion for moving the slides +of a compound slide rest, and a self-acting reversing tackle, +consisting of three bevel wheels, one a stud, one loose on the driving +shaft, and another on a socket, with a pinion on the opposite end of +the driving shaft running on the socket. The other end was the place +for the driving pulley. A clutch box was placed between the two +opposite wheels, which was made to slide on a feather, so that by means +of another shaft containing levers and a tumbling ball, the box on +reversing was carried from one bevel wheel to the opposite one." The +same James Fox is also said at a very early period to have invented a +screw-cutting machine, an engine for accurately dividing and cutting +the teeth of wheels, and a self-acting lathe. But the evidence as to +the dates at which these several inventions are said to have been made +is so conflicting that it is impossible to decide with whom the merit +of making them really rests. The same idea is found floating at the +same time in many minds, the like necessity pressing upon all, and the +process of invention takes place in like manner: hence the +contemporaneousness of so many inventions, and the disputes that arise +respecting them, as described in a previous chapter. + +There are still other claimants for the merit of having invented the +planing machine; among whom may be mentioned more particularly Matthew +Murray of Leeds, and Richard Roberts of Manchester. We are informed by +Mr. March, the present mayor of Leeds, head of the celebrated +tool-manufacturing firm of that town, that when he first went to work +at Matthew Murray's, in 1814, a planing machine of his invention was +used to plane the circular part or back of the D valve, which he had by +that time introduced in the steam-engine. Mr. March says, "I recollect +it very distinctly, and even the sort of framing on which it stood. +The machine was not patented, and like many inventions in those days, +it was kept as much a secret as possible, being locked up in a small +room by itself, to which the ordinary workmen could not obtain access. +The year in which I remember it being in use was, so far as I am aware, +long before any planing-machine of a similar kind had been invented." + +Matthew Murray was born at Stockton-on-Tees in the year 1763. His +parents were of the working class, and Matthew, like the other members +of the family, was brought up with the ordinary career of labour before +him. When of due age his father apprenticed him to the trade of a +blacksmith, in which he very soon acquired considerable expertness. He +married before his term had expired; after which, trade being slack at +Stockton, he found it necessary to look for work elsewhere. Leaving +his wife behind him, he set out for Leeds with his bundle on his back, +and after a long journey on foot, he reached that town with not enough +money left in his pocket to pay for a bed at the Bay Horse inn, where +he put up. But telling the landlord that he expected work at +Marshall's, and seeming to be a respectable young man, the landlord +trusted him; and he was so fortunate as to obtain the job which he +sought at Mr. Marshall's, who was then beginning the manufacture of +flax, for which the firm has since become so famous. + +Mr. Marshall was at that time engaged in improving the method of +manufacture,[2] and the young blacksmith was so fortunate or rather so +dexterous as to be able to suggest several improvements in the +machinery which secured the approval of his employer, who made him a +present of 20L., and very shortly promoted him to be the first mechanic +in the workshop. On this stroke of good fortune Murray took a house at +the neighbouring village of Beeston, sent to Stockton for his wife, who +speedily joined him, and he now felt himself fairly started in the +world. He remained with Mr. Marshall for about twelve years, during +which he introduced numerous improvements in the machinery for spinning +flax, and obtained the reputation of being a first-rate mechanic. This +induced Mr. James Fenton and Mr. David Wood to offer to join him in the +establishment of an engineering and machine-making factory at Leeds; +which he agreed to, and operations were commenced at Holbeck in the +year 1795. + +As Mr. Murray had obtained considerable practical knowledge of the +steam-engine while working at Mr. Marshall's, he took principal charge +of the engine-building department, while his partner Wood directed the +machine-making. In the branch of engine-building Mr. Murray very +shortly established a high reputation, treading close upon the heels of +Boulton and Watt--so close, indeed, that that firm became very jealous +of him, and purchased a large piece of ground close to his works with +the object of preventing their extension.[3] His additions to the +steam-engine were of great practical value, one of which, the +self-acting apparatus attached to the boiler for the purpose of +regulating the intensity of fire under it, and consequently the +production of steam, is still in general use. This was invented by him +as early as 1799. He also subsequently invented the D slide valve, or +at least greatly improved it, while he added to the power of the +air-pump, and gave a new arrangement to the other parts, with a view to +the simplification of the powers of the engine. To make the D valve +work efficiently, it was found necessary to form two perfectly plane +surfaces, to produce which he invented his planing machine. He was +also the first to adopt the practice of placing the piston in a +horizontal position in the common condensing engine. Among his other +modifications in the steam-engine, was his improvement of the +locomotive as invented by Trevithick; and it ought to be remembered to +his honour that he made the first locomotive that regularly worked upon +any railway. + +This was the engine erected by him for Blenkinsop, to work the +Middleton colliery railway near Leeds, on which it began to run in +1812, and continued in regular use for many years. In this engine he +introduced the double cylinder--Trevithick's engine being provided with +only one cylinder, the defects of which were supplemented by the +addition of a fly-wheel to carry the crank over the dead points. + +But Matthew Murray's most important inventions, considered in their +effects on manufacturing industry, were those connected with the +machinery for heckling and spinning flax, which he very greatly +improved. His heckling machine obtained for him the prize of the gold +medal of the Society of Arts; and this as well as his machine for wet +flax-spinning by means of sponge weights proved of the greatest +practical value. At the time when these inventions were made the flax +trade was on the point of expiring, the spinners being unable to +produce yarn to a profit; and their almost immediate effect was to +reduce the cost of production, to improve immensely the quality of the +manufacture, and to establish the British linen trade on a solid +foundation. The production of flax-machinery became an important +branch of manufacture at Leeds, large quantities being made for use at +home as well as for exportation, giving employment to an increasing +number of highly skilled mechanics.[4] Mr. Murray's faculty for +organising work, perfected by experience, enabled him also to introduce +many valuable improvements in the mechanics of manufacturing. His +pre-eminent skill in mill-gearing became generally acknowledged, and +the effects of his labours are felt to this day in the extensive and +still thriving branches of industry which his ingenuity and ability +mainly contributed to establish. All the machine tools used in his +establishment were designed by himself, and he was most careful in the +personal superintendence of all the details of their construction. Mr. +Murray died at Leeds in 1826, in his sixty-third year. + +We have not yet exhausted the list of claimants to the invention of the +Planing Machine, for we find still another in the person of Richard +Roberts of Manchester, one of the most prolific of modern inventors. +Mr. Roberts has indeed achieved so many undisputed inventions, that he +can readily afford to divide the honour in this case with others. He +has contrived things so various as the self-acting mule and the best +electro-magnet, wet gas-meters and dry planing machines, iron +billard-tables and turret-clocks, the centrifugal railway and the drill +slotting-machine, an apparatus for making cigars and machinery for the +propulsion and equipment of steamships; so that he may almost be +regarded as the Admirable Crichton of modern mechanics. + +Richard Roberts was born in 1789, at Carreghova in the parish of +Llanymynech. His father was by trade a shoemaker, to which he +occasionally added the occupation of toll-keeper. The house in which +Richard was born stood upon the border line which then divided the +counties of Salop and Montgomery; the front door opening in the one +county, and the back door in the other. Richard, when a boy, received +next to no education, and as soon as he was of fitting age was put to +common labouring work. For some time he worked in a quarry near his +father's dwelling; but being of an ingenious turn, he occupied his +leisure in making various articles of mechanism, partly for amusement +and partly for profit. One of his first achievements, while working as +a quarryman, was a spinning-wheel, of which he was very proud, for it +was considered "a good job." Thus he gradually acquired dexterity in +handling tools, and he shortly came to entertain the ambition of +becoming a mechanic. + +There were several ironworks in the neighbour hood, and thither he went +in search of employment. He succeeded in finding work as a +pattern-maker at Bradley, near Bilston; under John Wilkinson, the +famous ironmaster--a man of great enterprise as well as mechanical +skill; for he was the first man, as already stated, that Watt could +find capable of boring a cylinder with any approach to truth, for the +purposes of his steam-engines. After acquiring some practical +knowledge of the art of working in wood as well as iron, Roberts +proceeded to Birmingham, where he passed through different shops, +gaining further experience in mechanical practice. He tried his hand +at many kinds of work, and acquired considerable dexterity in each. He +was regarded as a sort of jack-of-all-trades; for he was a good turner, +a tolerable wheel-wright, and could repair mill-work at a pinch. + +He next moved northward to the Horsley ironworks, Tipton, where he was +working as a pattern-maker when he had the misfortune to be drawn in +his own county for the militia. He immediately left his work and made +his way homeward to Llanymynech, determined not to be a soldier or even +a militiaman. But home was not the place for him to rest in, and after +bidding a hasty adieu to his father, he crossed the country northward +on foot and reached Liverpool, in the hope of finding work there. +Failing in that, he set out for Manchester and reached it at dusk, very +weary and very miry in consequence of the road being in such a wretched +state of mud and ruts. He relates that, not knowing a person in the +town, he went up to an apple-stall ostensibly to buy a pennyworth of +apples, but really to ask the stall-keeper if he knew of any person in +want of a hand. Was there any turner in the neighbourhood? Yes, round +the corner. Thither he went at once, found the wood-turner in, and was +promised a job on the following morning. He remained with the turner +for only a short time, after which he found a job in Salford at lathe +and tool-making. But hearing that the militia warrant-officers were +still searching for him, he became uneasy and determined to take refuge +in London. + +He trudged all the way on foot to that great hiding-place, and first +tried Holtzapffel's, the famous tool-maker's, but failing in his +application he next went to Maudslay's and succeeded in getting +employment. He worked there for some time, acquiring much valuable +practical knowledge in the use of tools, cultivating his skill by +contact with first-class workmen, and benefiting by the spirit of +active contrivance which pervaded the Maudslay shops. His manual +dexterity greatly increased, and his inventive ingenuity fully +stimulated, he determined on making his way back to Manchester, which, +even more than London itself, at that time presented abundant openings +for men of mechanical skill. Hence we find so many of the best +mechanics trained at Maudslay's and Clement's--Nasmyth, Lewis, Muir, +Roberts, Whitworth, and others--shortly rising into distinction there +as leading mechanicians and tool-makers. + +The mere enumeration of the various results of Mr. Roberts's inventive +skill during the period of his settlement at Manchester as a mechanical +engineer, would occupy more space than we can well spare. But we may +briefly mention a few of the more important. In 1816, while carrying +on business on his own account in Deansgate, he invented his improved +sector for correctly sizing wheels in blank previously to their being +cut, which is still extensively used. In the same year he invented his +improved screw-lathe; and in the following year, at the request of the +boroughreeve and constables of Manchester, he contrived an oscillating +and rotating wet gas meter of a new kind, which enabled them to sell +gas by measure. This was the first meter in which a water lute was +applied to prevent the escape of gas by the index shaft, the want of +which, as well as its great complexity, had prevented the only other +gas meter then in existence from working satisfactorily. The water +lute was immediately adopted by the patentee of that meter. The +planing machine, though claimed, as we have seen, by many inventors, +was constructed by Mr. Roberts after an original plan of his own in +1817, and became the tool most generally employed in mechanical +workshops--acting by means of a chain and rack--though it has since +been superseded to some extent by the planing machine of Whitworth, +which works both ways upon an endless screw. Improvements followed in +the slide-lathe (giving a large range of speed with increased diameters +for the same size of headstocks, &c.), in the wheel-cutting engine, in +the scale-beam (by which, with a load of 2 oz. on each end, the +fifteen-hundredth part of a grain could be indicated), in the +broaching-machine, the slotting-machine, and other engines. + +But the inventions by which his fame became most extensively known +arose out of circumstances connected with the cotton manufactures of +Manchester and the neighbourhood. The great improvements which he +introduced in the machine for making weavers' reeds, led to the +formation of the firm of Sharp, Roberts, and Co., of which Mr. Roberts +was the acting mechanical partner for many years. Not less important +were his improvements in power-looms for weaving fustians, which were +extensively adopted. But by far the most famous of his inventions was +unquestionably his Self-acting Mule, one of the most elaborate and +beautiful pieces of machinery ever contrived. Before its invention, +the working of the entire machinery of the cotton-mill, as well as the +employment of the piecers, cleaners, and other classes of operatives, +depended upon the spinners, who, though receiving the highest rates of +pay, were by much the most given to strikes; and they were frequently +accustomed to turn out in times when trade was brisk, thereby bringing +the whole operations of the manufactories to a standstill, and throwing +all the other operatives out of employment. A long-continued strike of +this sort took place in 1824, when the idea occurred to the masters +that it might be possible to make the spinning-mules run out and in at +the proper speed by means of self-acting machinery, and thus render +them in some measure independent of the more refractory class of their +workmen. It seemed, however, to be so very difficult a problem, that +they were by no means sanguine of success in its solution. Some time +passed before they could find any mechanic willing so much as to +consider the subject. Mr. Ashton of Staley-bridge made every effort +with this object, but the answer he got was uniformly the same. The +thing was declared to be impracticable and impossible. Mr. Ashton, +accompanied by two other leading spinners, called on Sharp, Roberts, +and Co., to seek an interview with Mr. Roberts. They introduced the +subject to him, but he would scarcely listen to their explanations, +cutting them short with the remark that he knew nothing whatever about +cotton-spinning. They insisted, nevertheless, on explaining to him +what they required, but they went away without being able to obtain +from him any promise of assistance in bringing out the required machine. + +The strike continued, and the manufacturers again called upon Mr. +Roberts, but with no better result. A third time they called and +appealed to Mr. Sharp, the capitalist of the firm, who promised to use +his best endeavours to induce his mechanical partner to take the matter +in hand. But Mr. Roberts, notwithstanding his reticence, had been +occupied in carefully pondering the subject since Mr. Ashton's first +interview with him. The very difficulty of the problem to be solved +had tempted him boldly to grapple with it, though he would not hold out +the slightest expectation to the cotton-spinners of his being able to +help them in their emergency until he saw his way perfectly clear. +That time had now come; and when Mr. Sharp introduced the subject, he +said he had turned the matter over and thought he could construct the +required self-acting machinery. It was arranged that he should proceed +with it at once, and after a close study of four months he brought out +the machine now so extensively known as the self-acting mule. The +invention was patented in 1825, and was perfected by subsequent +additions, which were also patented. + +Like so many other inventions, the idea of the self-acting mule was not +new. Thus Mr. William Strutt of Derby, the father of Lord Belper, +invented a machine of this sort at an early period; Mr. William Belly, +of the New Lanark Mills, invented a second; and various other +projectors tried their skill in the same direction; but none of these +inventions came into practical use. In such cases it has become +generally admitted that the real inventor is not the person who +suggests the idea of the invention, but he who first works it out into +a practicable process, and so makes it of practical and commercial +value. This was accomplished by Mr. Roberts, who, working out the idea +after his own independent methods, succeeded in making the first +self-acting mule that would really act as such; and he is therefore +fairly entitled to be regarded as its inventor. + +By means of this beautiful contrivance, spindle-carriages; bearing +hundreds of spindles, run themselves out and in by means of automatic +machinery, at the proper speed, without a hand touching them; the only +labour required being that of a few boys and girls to watch them and +mend the broken threads when the carriage recedes from the roller beam, +and to stop it when the cop is completely formed, as is indicated by +the bell of the counter attached to the working gear. Mr. Baines +describes the self-acting mule while at work as "drawing out, twisting, +and winding up many thousand threads, with unfailing precision and +indefatigable patience and strength--a scene as magical to the eye +which is not familiarized with it, as the effects have been marvellous +in augmenting the wealth and population of the country." [5] + +Mr. Roberts's great success with the self-acting mule led to his being +often appealed to for help in the mechanics of manufacturing. In 1826, +the year after his patent was taken out, he was sent for to Mulhouse, +in Alsace, to design and arrange the machine establishment of Andre +Koechlin and Co.; and in that and the two subsequent years he fairly +set the works a-going, instructing the workmen in the manufacture of +spinning-machinery, and thus contributing largely to the success of the +French cotton manufacture. In 1832 he patented his invention of the +Radial Arm for "winding on" in the self-acting mule, now in general +use; and in future years he took out sundry patents for roving, +slubbing, spinning, and doubling cotton and other fibrous materials; +and for weaving, beetling, and mangling fabrics of various sorts. + +A considerable branch of business carried on by the firm of Sharp, +Roberts, and Co. was the manufacture of iron billiard-tables, which +were constructed with almost perfect truth by means of Mr. Roberts's +planing-machine, and became a large article of export. But a much more +important and remunerative department was the manufacture of +locomotives, which was begun by the firm shortly after the opening of +the Liverpool and Manchester Railway had marked this as one of the +chief branches of future mechanical engineering. Mr. Roberts adroitly +seized the opportunity presented by this new field of invention and +enterprise, and devoted himself for a time to the careful study of the +locomotive and its powers. As early as the year 1829 we find him +presenting to the Manchester Mechanics' Institute a machine exhibiting +the nature of friction upon railroads, in solution of the problem then +under discussion in the scientific journals. In the following year he +patented an arrangement for communicating power to both driving-wheels +of the locomotive, at all times in the exact proportions required when +turning to the right or left,--an arrangement which has since been +adopted in many road locomotives and agricultural engines. In the same +patent will be found embodied his invention of the steam-brake, which +was also a favourite idea of George Stephenson, since elaborated by Mr. +MacConnell of the London and North-Western Railway. In 1834, Sharp, +Roberts, and Co. began the manufacture of locomotives on a large scale; +and the compactness of their engines, the excellence of their +workmanship, and the numerous original improvements introduced in them, +speedily secured for the engines of the Atlas firm a high reputation +and a very large demand. Among Mr. Roberts's improvements may be +mentioned his method of manufacturing the crank axle, of welding the +rim and tyres of the wheels, and his arrangement and form of the +wrought-iron framing and axle-guards. His system of templets and +gauges, by means of which every part of an engine or tender +corresponded with that of every other engine or tender of the same +class, was as great an improvement as Maudslay's system of uniformity +of parts in other descriptions of machinery. + +In connection with the subject of railways, we may allude in passing to +Mr. Roberts's invention of the Jacquard punching machine--a self-acting +tool of great power, used for punching any required number of holes, of +any pitch and to any pattern, with mathematical accuracy, in bridge or +boiler plates. The origin of this invention was somewhat similar to +that of the self-acting mule. The contractors for the Conway Tubular +Bridge while under construction, in 1848, were greatly hampered by +combinations amongst the workmen, and they despaired of being able to +finish the girders within the time specified in the contract. The +punching of the iron plates by hand was a tedious and expensive as well +as an inaccurate process; and the work was proceeding so slowly that +the contractors found it absolutely necessary to adopt some new method +of punching if they were to finish the work in time. In their +emergency they appealed to Mr. Roberts, and endeavoured to persuade him +to take the matter up. He at length consented to do so, and evolved +the machine in question during his evening's leisure--for the most part +while quietly sipping his tea. The machine was produced, the +contractors were enabled to proceed with the punching of the plates +independent of the refractory men, and the work was executed with a +despatch, accuracy, and excellence that would not otherwise have been +possible. Only a few years since Mr. Roberts added a useful companion +to the Jacquard punching machine, in his combined self-acting machine +for shearing iron and punching both webs of angle or T iron +simultaneously to any required pitch; though this machine, like others +which have proceeded from his fertile brain, is ahead even of this +fast-manufacturing age, and has not yet come into general use, but is +certain to do so before many years have elapsed. + +These inventions were surely enough for one man to have accomplished; +but we have not yet done. The mere enumeration of his other inventions +would occupy several pages. We shall merely allude to a few of them. +One was his Turret Clock, for which he obtained the medal at the Great +Exhibition of 1851. Another was his Prize Electro-Magnet of 1845. +When this subject was first mentioned to him, he said he did not know +anything of the theory or practice of electro-magnetism, but he would +try and find out. The result of his trying was that he won the prize +for the most powerful electro-magnet: one is placed in the museum at +Peel Park, Manchester, and another with the Scottish Society of Arts, +Edinburgh. In 1846 he perfected an American invention for making +cigars by machinery; enabling a boy, working one of his cigar-engines, +to make as many as 5000 in a day. In 1852 he patented improvements in +the construction, propelling, and equipment of steamships, which have, +we believe, been adopted to a certain extent by the Admiralty; and a +few years later, in 1855, we find him presenting the Secretary of War +with plans of elongated rifle projectiles to be used in smooth-bore +ordnance with a view to utilize the old-pattern gun. His head, like +many inventors of the time, being full of the mechanics of war, he went +so far as to wait upon Louis Napoleon, and laid before him a plan by +which Sebastopol was to be blown down. In short, upon whatever subject +he turned his mind, he left the impress of his inventive faculty. If +it was imperfect, he improved it; if incapable of improvement, and +impracticable, he invented something entirely new, superseding it +altogether. But with all his inventive genius, in the exercise of +which Mr. Roberts has so largely added to the productive power of the +country, we regret to say that he is not gifted with the commercial +faculty. He has helped others in their difficulties, but forgotten +himself. Many have profited by his inventions, without even +acknowledging the obligations which they owed to him. They have used +his brains and copied his tools, and the "sucked orange" is all but +forgotten. There may have been a want of worldly wisdom on his part, +but it is lamentable to think that one of the most prolific and useful +inventors of his time should in his old age be left to fight with +poverty. + +Mr. Whitworth is another of the first-class tool-makers of Manchester +who has turned to excellent account his training in the workshops of +Maudslay and Clement. He has carried fully out the system of +uniformity in Screw Threads which they initiated; and he has still +further improved the mechanism of the planing machine, enabling it to +work both backwards and forwards by means of a screw and roller motion. +His "Jim Crow Machine," so called from its peculiar motion in reversing +itself and working both ways, is an extremely beautiful tool, adapted +alike for horizontal, vertical, or angular motions. The minute +accuracy of Mr. Whitworth's machines is not the least of their merits; +and nothing will satisfy him short of perfect truth. At the meeting of +the Institute of Mechanical Engineers at Glasgow in 1856 he read a +paper on the essential importance of possessing a true plane as a +standard of reference in mechanical constructions, and he described +elaborately the true method of securing it,--namely, by scraping, +instead of by the ordinary process of grinding. At the same meeting he +exhibited a machine of his invention by which he stated that a +difference of the millionth part of an inch in length could at once be +detected. He also there urged his favourite idea of uniformity, and +proper gradations of size of parts, in all the various branches of the +mechanical arts, as a chief means towards economy of production--a +principle, as he showed, capable of very extensive application. To +show the progress of tools and machinery in his own time, Mr. Whitworth +cited the fact that thirty years since the cost of labour for making a +surface of cast-iron true--one of the most important operations in +mechanics--by chipping and filing by the hand, was 12s. a square foot; +whereas it is now done by the planing machine at a cost for labour of +less than a penny. Then in machinery, pieces of 74 reed +printing-cotton cloth of 29 yards each could not be produced at less +cost than 30s. 6d. per piece; whereas the same description is now sold +for 3s. 9d. Mr. Whitworth has been among the most effective workers in +this field of improvement, his tools taking the first place in point of +speed, accuracy, and finish of work, in which respects they challenge +competition with the world. Mr. Whitworth has of late years been +applying himself with his accustomed ardour to the development of the +powers of rifled guns and projectiles,--a branch of mechanical science +in which he confessedly holds a foremost place, and in perfecting which +he is still occupied. + + + +[1] Engineer, Oct. 10th, 1862. + +[2] We are informed in Mr. Longstaffe's Annals and Characteristics of +Darlington, that the spinning of flax by machinery was first begun by +one John Kendrew, an ingenious self-taught mechanic of that town, who +invented a machine for the purpose, for which he took out a patent in +1787. Mr. Marshall went over from Leeds to see his machine, and agreed +to give him so much per spindle for the right to use it. But ceasing +to pay the patent right, Kendrew commenced an action against him for a +sum of nine hundred pounds alleged to be due under the agreement. The +claim was disputed, and Kendrew lost his action; and it is added in +Longstaffe's Annals, that even had he succeeded, it would have been of +no use; for Mr. Marshall declared that he had not then the money +wherewith to pay him. It is possible that Matthew Murray may have +obtained some experience of flax-machinery in working for Kendrew, +which afterwards proved of use to him in Mr. Marshall's establishment. + +[3] The purchase of this large piece of ground, known as Camp Field, +had the effect of "plugging up" Matthew Murray for a time; and it +remained disused, except for the deposit of dead dogs and other +rubbish, for more than half a century. It has only been enclosed +during the present year, and now forms part of the works of Messrs. +Smith, Beacock, and Tannet, the eminent tool-makers. + +[4] Among more recent improvers of flax-machinery, the late Sir Peter +Fairbairn is entitled to high merit: the work turned out by him being +of first-rate excellence, embodying numerous inventions and +improvements of great value and importance. + +[5] EDWARD BAINES, Esq., M.P., History of the Cotton Manufacture, 212. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +JAMES NASMYTH. + + "By Hammer and Hand + All Arts doth stand." + Hammermen's Motto. + + +The founder Of the Scotch family of Naesmyth is said to have derived +his name from the following circumstance. In the course of the feuds +which raged for some time between the Scotch kings and their powerful +subjects the Earls of Douglas, a rencontre took place one day on the +outskirts of a Border village, when the king's adherents were worsted. +One of them took refuge in the village smithy, where, hastily +disguising himself, and donning a spare leathern apron, he pretended to +be engaged in assisting the smith with his work, when a party of the +Douglas followers rushed in. They glanced at the pretended workman at +the anvil, and observed him deliver a blow upon it so unskilfully that +the hammer-shaft broke in his hand. On this one of the Douglas men +rushed at him, calling out, "Ye're nae smyth!" The assailed man seized +his sword, which lay conveniently at hand, and defended himself so +vigorously that he shortly killed his assailant, while the smith +brained another with his hammer; and, a party of the king's men having +come to their help, the rest were speedily overpowered. The royal +forces then rallied, and their temporary defeat was converted into a +victory. The king bestowed a grant of land on his follower "Nae +Smyth," who assumed for his arms a sword between two hammers with +broken shafts, and the motto "Non arte sed Marte," as if to disclaim +the art of the Smith, in which he had failed, and to emphasize the +superiority of the warrior. Such is said to be the traditional origin +of the family of Naesmyth of Posso in Peeblesshire, who continue to +bear the same name and arms. + +It is remarkable that the inventor of the steam-hammer should have so +effectually contradicted the name he bears and reversed the motto of +his family; for so far from being "Nae Smyth," he may not +inappropriately be designated the very Vulcan of the nineteenth +century. His hammer is a tool of immense power and pliancy, but for +which we must have stopped short in many of those gigantic engineering +works which are among the marvels of the age we live in. It possesses +so much precision and delicacy that it will chip the end of an egg +resting in a glass on the anvil without breaking it, while it delivers +a blow of ten tons with such a force as to be felt shaking the parish. +It is therefore with a high degree of appropriateness that Mr. Nasmyth +has discarded the feckless hammer with the broken shaft, and assumed +for his emblem his own magnificent steam-hammer, at the same time +reversing the family motto, which he has converted into "Non Marte sed +Arte." + +James Nasmyth belongs to a family whose genius in art has long been +recognised. His father, Alexander Nasmyth of Edinburgh, was a +landscape-painter of great eminence, whose works are sometimes +confounded with those of his son Patrick, called the English Hobbema, +though his own merits are peculiar and distinctive. The elder Nasmyth +was also an admirable portrait painter, as his head of Burns--the best +ever painted of the poet--bears ample witness. His daughters, the +Misses Nasmyth, were highly skilled painters of landscape, and their +works are well known and much prized. James, the youngest of the +family, inherits the same love of art, though his name is more +extensively known as a worker and inventor in iron. He was born at +Edinburgh, on the 19th of August, 1808; and his attention was early +directed to mechanics by the circumstance of this being one of his +father's hobbies. Besides being an excellent painter, Mr. Nasmyth had +a good general knowledge of architecture and civil engineering, and +could work at the lathe and handle tools with the dexterity of a +mechanic. He employed nearly the whole of his spare time in a little +workshop which adjoined his studio, where he encouraged his youngest +son to work with him in all sorts of materials. Among his visitors at +the studio were Professor Leslie, Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, and +other men of distinction. He assisted Mr. Miller in his early +experiments with paddle-boats, which eventually led to the invention of +the steamboat. It was a great advantage for the boy to be trained by a +father who so loved excellence in all its forms, and could minister to +his love of mechanics by his own instruction and practice. James used +to drink in with pleasure and profit the conversation which passed +between his father and his visitors on scientific and mechanical +subjects; and as he became older, the resolve grew stronger in him +every day that he would be a mechanical engineer, and nothing else. At +a proper age, he was sent to the High School, then as now celebrated +for the excellence of its instruction, and there he laid the +foundations of a sound and liberal education. But he has himself told +the simple story of his early life in such graphic terms that we feel +we cannot do better than quote his own words:--[1] + +"I had the good luck," he says, "to have for a school companion the son +of an iron founder. Every spare hour that I could command was devoted +to visits to his father's iron foundry, where I delighted to watch the +various processes of moulding, iron-melting, casting, forging, +pattern-making, and other smith and metal work; and although I was only +about twelve years old at the time, I used to lend a hand, in which +hearty zeal did a good deal to make up for want of strength. I look +back to the Saturday afternoons spent in the workshops of that small +foundry, as an important part of my education. I did not trust to +reading about such and such things; I saw and handled them; and all the +ideas in connection with them became permanent in my mind. I also +obtained there--what was of much value to me in after life--a +considerable acquaintance with the nature and characters of workmen. +By the time I was fifteen, I could work and turn out really respectable +jobs in wood, brass, iron, and steel: indeed, in the working of the +latter inestimable material, I had at a very early age (eleven or +twelve) acquired considerable proficiency. As that was the pre-lucifer +match period, the possession of a steel and tinder box was quite a +patent of nobility among boys. So I used to forge old files into +'steels' in my father's little workshop, and harden them and produce +such first-rate, neat little articles in that line, that I became quite +famous amongst my school companions; and many a task have I had excused +me by bribing the monitor, whose grim sense of duty never could +withstand the glimpse of a steel. + +"My first essay at making a steam engine was when I was fifteen. I +then made a real working; steam-engine, 1 3/4 diameter cylinder, and 8 +in. stroke, which not only could act, but really did some useful work; +for I made it grind the oil colours which my father required for his +painting. Steam engine models, now so common, were exceedingly scarce +in those days, and very difficult to be had; and as the demand for them +arose, I found it both delightful and profitable to make them; as well +as sectional models of steam engines, which I introduced for the +purpose of exhibiting the movements of all the parts, both exterior and +interior. With the results of the sale of such models I was enabled to +pay the price of tickets of admission to the lectures on natural +philosophy and chemistry delivered in the University of Edinburgh. +About the same time (1826) I was so happy as to be employed by +Professor Leslie in making models and portions of apparatus required by +him for his lectures and philosophical investigations, and I had also +the inestimable good fortune to secure his friendship. His admirably +clear manner of communicating a knowledge of the fundamental principles +of mechanical science rendered my intercourse with him of the utmost +importance to myself. A hearty, cheerful, earnest desire to toil in +his service, caused him to take pleasure in instructing me by +occasional explanations of what might otherwise have remained obscure. + +"About the years 1827 and 1828, the subject of steam-carriages for +common roads occupied much of the attention of the public. Many tried +to solve the problem. I made a working model of an engine which +performed so well that some friends determined to give me the means of +making one on a larger scale. This I did; and I shall never forget the +pleasure and the downright hard work I had in producing, in the autumn +of 1828, at an outlay of 60L., a complete steam-carriage, that ran many +a mile with eight persons on it. After keeping it in action two +months, to the satisfaction of all who were interested in it, my +friends allowed me to dispose of it, and I sold it a great bargain, +after which the engine was used in driving a small factory. I may +mention that in that engine I employed the waste steam to cause an +increased draught by its discharge up the chimney. This important use +of the waste steam had been introduced by George Stephenson some years +before, though entirely unknown to me. + +"The earnest desire which I cherished of getting forward in the real +business of life induced me to turn my attention to obtaining +employment in some of the great engineering establishments of the day, +at the head of which, in my fancy as well as in reality, stood that of +Henry Maudslay, of London. It was the summit of my ambition to get +work in that establishment; but as my father had not the means of +paying a premium, I determined to try what I could do towards attaining +my object by submitting to Mr. Maudslay actual specimens of my +capability as a young workman and draughtsman. To this end I set to +work and made a small steam-engine, every part of which was the result +of my own handiwork, including the casting and the forging of the +several parts. This I turned out in such a style as I should even now +be proud of. My sample drawings were, I may say, highly respectable. +Armed with such means of obtaining the good opinion of the great Henry +Maudslay, on the 19th of May, 1829, I sailed for London in a Leith +smack, and after an eight days' voyage saw the metropolis for the first +time. I made bold to call on Mr. Maudslay, and told him my simple +tale. He desired me to bring my models for him to look at. I did so, +and when he came to me I could see by the expression of his cheerful, +well-remembered countenance, that I had attained my object. He then +and there appointed me to be his own private workman, to assist him in +his little paradise of a workshop, furnished with the models of +improved machinery and engineering tools of which he has been the great +originator. He left me to arrange as to wages with his chief cashier, +Mr. Robert Young, and on the first Saturday evening I accordingly went +to the counting-house to enquire of him about my pay. He asked me what +would satisfy me. Knowing the value of the situation I had obtained, +and having a very modest notion of my worthiness to occupy it, I said, +that if he would not consider 10s. a week too much, I thought I could +do very well with that. I suppose he concluded that I had some means +of my own to live on besides the 10s. a week which I asked. He little +knew that I had determined not to cost my father another farthing when +I left-home to begin the world on my own account. My proposal was at +once acceded to. And well do I remember the pride and delight I felt +when I carried to my three shillings a week lodging that night my first +wages. Ample they were in my idea; for I knew how little I could live +on, and was persuaded that by strict economy I could easily contrive to +make the money support me. To help me in this object, I contrived a +small cooking apparatus, which I forthwith got made by a tinsmith in +Lambeth, at a cost of 6s., and by its aid I managed to keep the eating +and drinking part of my private account within 3s. 6d. per week, or 4s. +at the outside. I had three meat dinners a week, and generally four +rice and milk dinners, all of which were cooked by my little apparatus, +which I set in action after breakfast. The oil cost not quite a +halfpenny per day. The meat dinners consisted of a stew of from a half +to three quarters of a lb. of leg of beef, the meat costing 3 1/2d. +per lb., which, with sliced potatoes and a little onion, and as much +water as just covered all, with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper, by +the time I returned to dinner at half-past six furnished a repast in +every respect as good as my appetite. For breakfast I had coffee and a +due proportion of quartern loaf. After the first year of my employment +under Mr. Maudslay, my wages were raised to 15s. a week, and I then, +but not till then, indulged in the luxury of butter to my bread. I am +the more particular in all this, to show you that I was a thrifty +housekeeper, although only a lodger in a 3s. room. I have the old +apparatus by me yet, and I shall have another dinner out of it ere I am +a year older, out of regard to days that were full of the real romance +of life. + +"On the death of Henry Maudslay in 1831, I passed over to the service +of his worthy partner, Mr. Joshua Field, and acted as his draughtsman, +much to my advantage, until the end of that year, when I returned to +Edinburgh, to construct a small stock of engineering tools for the +purpose of enabling me to start in business on my own account. This +occupied me until the spring of 1833, and during the interval I was +accustomed to take in jobs to execute in my little workshop in +Edinburgh, so as to obtain the means of completing my stock of +tools.[2] In June, 1834, I went to Manchester, and took a flat of an +old mill in Dale Street, where I began business. In two years my stock +had so increased as to overload the floor of the old building to such +an extent that the land lord, Mr. Wrenn, became alarmed, especially as +the tenant below me--a glass-cutter--had a visit from the end of a +20-horse engine beam one morning among his cut tumblers. To set their +anxiety at rest, I went out that evening to Patricroft and took a look +at a rather choice bit of land bounded on one side by the canal, and on +the other by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. By the end of the +week I had secured a lease of the site for 999 years; by the end of the +month my wood sheds were erected; the ring of the hammer on the smith's +anvil was soon heard all over the place; and the Bridgewater Foundry +was fairly under way. There I toiled right heartily until December +31st, 1856, when I retired to enjoy in active leisure the reward of a +laborious life, during which, with the blessing of God, I enjoyed much +true happiness through the hearty love which I always had for my +profession; and I trust I may be allowed to say, without undue vanity, +that I have left behind me some useful results of my labours in those +inventions with which my name is identified, which have had no small +share in the accomplishment of some of the greatest mechanical works of +our age." If Mr. Nasmyth had accomplished nothing more than the +invention of his steam-hammer, it would have been enough to found a +reputation. Professor Tomlinson describes it as "one of the most +perfect of artificial machines and noblest triumphs of mind over matter +that modern English engineers have yet developed." [3] + +The hand-hammer has always been an important tool, and, in the form of +the stone celt, it was perhaps the first invented. When the hammer of +iron superseded that of stone, it was found practicable in the hands of +a "cunning" workman to execute by its means metal work of great beauty +and even delicacy. But since the invention of cast-iron, and the +manufacture of wrought-iron in large masses, the art of hammer-working +has almost become lost; and great artists, such as Matsys of Antwerp +and Rukers of Nuremberg were,[4] no longer think it worth their while +to expend time and skill in working on so humble a material as +wrought-iron. It is evident from the marks of care and elaborate +design which many of these early works exhibit, that the workman's +heart was in his work, and that his object was not merely to get it out +of hand, but to execute it in first-rate artistic style. + +When the use of iron extended and larger ironwork came to be forged, +for cannon, tools, and machinery, the ordinary hand-hammer was found +insufficient, and the helve or forge-hammer was invented. This was +usually driven by a water-wheel, or by oxen or horses. The tilt-hammer +was another form in which it was used, the smaller kinds being worked +by the foot. Among Watt's various inventions, was a tilt-hammer of +considerable power, which he at first worked by means of a water-wheel, +and afterwards by a steam engine regulated by a fly-wheel. His first +hammer of this kind was 120 lbs. in weight; it was raised eight inches +before making each blow. Watt afterwards made a tilt-hammer for Mr. +Wilkinson of Bradley Forge, of 7 1/2 cwt., and it made 300 blows a +minute. Other improvements were made in the hammer from time to time, +but no material alteration was made in the power by which it was worked +until Mr. Nasmyth took it in hand, and applying to it the force of +steam, at once provided the worker in iron with the most formidable of +machine-tools. This important invention originated as follows: + +In the early part of 1837, the directors of the Great Western +Steam-Ship Company sent Mr. Francis Humphries, their engineer, to +consult Mr. Nasmyth as to some engineering tools of unusual size and +power, which were required for the construction of the engines of the +"Great Britain" steamship. They had determined to construct those +engines on the vertical trunk-engine principle, in accordance with Mr. +Humphries' designs; and very complete works were erected by them at +their Bristol dockyard for the execution of the requisite machinery, +the most important of the tools being supplied by Nasmyth and Gaskell. +The engines were in hand, when a difficulty arose with respect to the +enormous paddle-shaft of the vessel, which was of such a size of +forging as had never before been executed. Mr. Humphries applied to +the largest engineering firms throughout the country for tenders of the +price at which they would execute this part of the work, but to his +surprise and dismay he found that not one of the firms he applied to +would undertake so large a forging. In this dilemma he wrote to Mr. +Nasmyth on the 24th November,1838, informing him of this unlooked-for +difficulty. "I find," said he, "there is not a forge-hammer in England +or Scotland powerful enough to forge the paddle-shaft of the engines +for the 'Great Britain!' What am I to do? Do you think I might dare to +use cast-iron?" + +This letter immediately set Mr. Nasmyth a-thinking. How was it that +existing hammers were incapable of forging a wrought-iron shaft of +thirty inches diameter? Simply because of their want of compass, or +range and fall, as well as power of blow. A few moments' rapid thought +satisfied him that it was by rigidly adhering to the old traditional +form of hand-hammer--of which the tilt, though driven by steam, was but +a modification--that the difficulty had arisen. When even the largest +hammer was tilted up to its full height, its range was so small, that +when a piece of work of considerable size was placed on the anvil, the +hammer became "gagged," and, on such an occasion, where the forging +required the most powerful blow, it received next to no blow at +all,--the clear space for fall being almost entirely occupied by the +work on the anvil. + +The obvious remedy was to invent some method, by which a block of iron +should be lifted to a sufficient height above the object on which it +was desired to strike a blow, and let the block fall down upon the +work,--guiding it in its descent by such simple means as should give +the required precision in the percussive action of the falling mass. +Following out this idea, Mr. Nasmyth at once sketched on paper his +steam-hammer, having it clearly before him in his mind's eye a few +minutes after receiving Mr. Humphries' letter narrating his +unlooked-for difficulty. The hammer, as thus sketched, consisted of, +first an anvil on which to rest the work; second, a block of iron +constituting the hammer or blow-giving part; third, an inverted +steam-cylinder to whose piston-rod the block was attached. All that +was then required to produce by such means a most effective hammer, was +simply to admit steam in the cylinder so as to act on the under side of +the piston, and so raise the block attached to the piston-rod, and by a +simple contrivance to let the steam escape and so permit the block +rapidly to descend by its own gravity upon the work then on the anvil. +Such, in a few words, is the rationale of the steam-hammer. + +By the same day's post, Mr. Nasmyth wrote to Mr. Humphries, inclosing a +sketch of the invention by which he proposed to forge the "Great +Britain" paddle-shaft. Mr. Humphries showed it to Mr. Brunel, the +engineer-inchief of the company, to Mr. Guppy, the managing director, +and to others interested in the undertaking, by all of whom it was +heartily approved. Mr. Nasmyth gave permission to communicate his +plans to such forge proprietors as might feel disposed to erect such a +hammer to execute the proposed work,--the only condition which he made +being, that in the event of his hammer being adopted, he was to be +allowed to supply it according to his own design. + +The paddle-shaft of the "Great Britain" was, however, never forged. +About that time, the substitution of the Screw for the Paddle-wheel as +a means of propulsion of steam-vessels was attracting much attention; +and the performances of the "Archimedes" were so successful as to +induce Mr. Brunel to recommend his Directors to adopt the new power. +They yielded to his entreaty. The great engines which Mr. Humphries +had designed were accordingly set aside; and he was required to produce +fresh designs of engines suited for screw propulsion. The result was +fatal to Mr. Humphries. The labour, the anxiety, and perhaps the +disappointment, proved too much for him, and a brain-fever carried him +off; so that neither his great paddle-shaft nor Mr. Nasmyth's +steam-hammer to forge it was any longer needed. + +The hammer was left to bide its time. No forge-master would take it +up. The inventor wrote to all the great firms, urging its superiority +to every other tool for working malleable iron into all kinds of forge +work. Thus he wrote and sent illustrative sketches of his hammer to +Accramans and Morgan of Bristol, to the late Benjamin Hick and Rushton +and Eckersley of Bolton, to Howard and Ravenhill of Rotherhithe, and +other firms; but unhappily bad times for the iron trade had set in; and +although all to whom he communicated his design were much struck with +its simplicity and obvious advantages, the answer usually given +was--"We have not orders enough to keep in work the forge-hammers we +already have, and we do not desire at present to add any new ones, +however improved." At that time no patent had been taken out for the +invention. Mr. Nasmyth had not yet saved money enough to enable him to +do so on his own account; and his partner declined to spend money upon +a tool that no engineer would give the firm an order for. No secret +was made of the invention, and, excepting to its owner, it did not seem +to be worth one farthing. + +Such was the unpromising state of affairs, when M. Schneider, of the +Creusot Iron Works in France, called at the Patricroft works together +with his practical mechanic M. Bourdon, for the purpose of ordering +some tools of the firm. Mr. Nasmyth was absent on a journey at the +time, but his partner, Mr. Gaskell, as an act of courtesy to the +strangers, took the opportunity of showing them all that was new and +interesting in regard to mechanism about the works. And among other +things, Mr. Gaskell brought out his partner's sketch or "Scheme book," +which lay in a drawer in the office, and showed them the design of the +Steam Hammer, which no English firm would adopt. They were much struck +with its simplicity and practical utility; and M. Bourdon took careful +note of its arrangements. Mr. Nasmyth on his return was informed of +the visit of MM. Schneider and Bourdon, but the circumstance of their +having inspected the design of his steam-hammer seems to have been +regarded by his partner as too trivial a matter to be repeated to him; +and he knew nothing of the circumstance until his visit to France in +April, 1840. When passing through the works at Creusot with M. +Bourdon, Mr. Nasmyth saw a crank shaft of unusual size, not only forged +in the piece, but punched. He immediately asked, "How did you forge +that shaft?" M. Bourdon's answer was, "Why, with your hammer, to be +sure!" Great indeed was Nasmyth's surprise; for he had never yet seen +the hammer, except in his own drawing! A little explanation soon +cleared all up. M. Bourdon said he had been so much struck with the +ingenuity and simplicity of the arrangement, that he had no sooner +returned than he set to work, and had a hammer made in general +accordance with the design Mr. Gaskell had shown him; and that its +performances had answered his every expectation. He then took Mr. +Nasmyth to see the steam-hammer; and great was his delight at seeing +the child of his brain in full and active work. It was not, according +to Mr. Nasmyth's ideas, quite perfect, and he readily suggested several +improvements, conformable with the original design, which M. Bourdon +forthwith adopted. + +On reaching England, Mr. Nasmyth at once wrote to his partner telling +him what he had seen, and urging that the taking out of a patent for +the protection of the invention ought no longer to be deferred. But +trade was still very much depressed, and as the Patricroft firm needed +all their capital to carry on their business, Mr. Gaskell objected to +lock any of it up in engineering novelties. Seeing himself on the +brink of losing his property in the invention, Mr. Nasmyth applied to +his brother-in-law, William Bennett, Esq., who advanced him the +requisite money for the purpose--about 280L.,--and the patent was +secured in June 1840. The first hammer, of 30 cwt., was made for the +Patricroft works, with the consent of the partners; and in the course +of a few weeks it was in full work. The precision and beauty of its +action--the perfect ease with which it was managed, and the untiring +force of its percussive blows--were the admiration of all who saw it; +and from that moment the steam-hammer became a recognised power in +modern mechanics. The variety or gradation of its blows was such, that +it was found practicable to manipulate a hammer of ten tons as easily +as if it had only been of ten ounces weight. It was under such +complete control that while descending with its greatest momentum, it +could be arrested at any point with even greater ease than any +instrument used by hand. While capable of forging an Armstrong +hundred-pounder, or the sheet-anchor for a ship of the line, it could +hammer a nail, or crack a nut without bruising the kernel. When it +came into general use, the facilities which it afforded for executing +all kinds of forging had the effect of greatly increasing the quantity +of work done, at the same time that expense was saved. The cost of +making anchors was reduced by at least 50 per cent., while the quality +of the forging was improved. Before its invention the manufacture of a +shaft of 15 or 20 cwt. required the concentrated exertions of a large +establishment, and its successful execution was regarded as a great +triumph of skill; whereas forgings of 20 and 30 tons weight are now +things of almost every-day occurrence. Its advantages were so obvious, +that its adoption soon became general, and in the course of a few years +Nasmyth steam-hammers were to be found in every well-appointed workshop +both at home and abroad. Many modifications have been made in the +tool, by Condie, Morrison, Naylor, Rigby, and others; but Nasmyth's was +the father of them all, and still holds its ground.[5] + +Among the important uses to which this hammer has of late years been +applied, is the manufacture of iron plates for covering our ships of +war, and the fabrication of the immense wrought-iron ordnance of +Armstrong, Whitworth, and Blakely. But for the steam-hammer, indeed, +it is doubtful whether such weapons could have been made. It is also +used for the re-manufacture of iron in various other forms, to say +nothing of the greatly extended use which it has been the direct means +of effecting in wrought-iron and steel forgings in every description of +machinery, from the largest marine steam-engines to the most nice and +delicate parts of textile mechanism. "It is not too much to say," +observes a writer in the Engineer, "that, without Nasmyth's +steam-hammer, we must have stopped short in many of those gigantic +engineering works which, but for the decay of all wonder in us, would +be the perpetual wonder of this age, and which have enabled our modern +engineers to take rank above the gods of all mythologies. There is one +use to which the steam-hammer is now becoming extensively applied by +some of our manufacturers that deserves especial mention, rather for +the prospect which it opens to us than for what has already been +actually accomplished. We allude to the manufacture of large articles +in DIES. At one manufactory in the country, railway wheels, for +example, are being manufactured with enormous economy by this means. +The various parts of the wheels are produced in quantity either by +rolling or by dies under the hammer; these parts are brought together +in their relative positions in a mould, heated to a welding heat, and +then by a blow of the steam hammer, furnished with dies, are stamped +into a complete and all but finished wheel. It is evident that +wherever wrought-iron articles of a manageable size have to be produced +in considerable quantities, the same process may be adopted, and the +saving effected by the substitution of this for the ordinary forging +process will doubtless ere long prove incalculable. For this, as for +the many other advantageous uses of the steam-hammer, we are primarily +and mainly indebted to Mr. Nasmyth. It is but right, therefore, that +we should hold his name in honour. In fact, when we think of the +universal service which this machine is rendering us, we feel that some +special expression of our indebtedness to him would be a reasonable and +grateful service. The benefit which he has conferred upon us is so +great as to justly entitle him to stand side by side with the few men +who have gained name and fame as great inventive engineers, and to whom +we have testified our gratitude--usually, unhappily, when it was too +late for them to enjoy it." + +Mr. Nasmyth subsequently applied the principle of the steam-hammer in +the pile driver, which he invented in 1845. Until its production, all +piles had been driven by means of a small mass of iron falling upon the +head of the pile with great velocity from a considerable height,--the +raising of the iron mass by means of the "monkey" being an operation +that occupied much time and labour, with which the results were very +incommensurate. Pile-driving was, in Mr. Nasmyth's words, conducted on +the artillery or cannon-ball principle; the action being excessive and +the mass deficient, and adapted rather for destructive than impulsive +action. In his new and beautiful machine, he applied the elastic force +of steam in raising the ram or driving block, on which, the block being +disengaged, its whole weight of three tons descended on the head of the +pile, and the process being repeated eighty times in the minute, the +pile was sent home with a rapidity that was quite marvellous compared +with the old-fashioned system. In forming coffer-dams for the piers +and abutments of bridges, quays, and harbours, and in piling the +foundations of all kinds of masonry, the steam pile driver was found of +invaluable use by the engineer. At the first experiment made with the +machine, Mr. Nasmyth drove a 14-inch pile fifteen feet into hard ground +at the rate of 65 blows a minute. The driver was first used in forming +the great steam dock at Devonport, where the results were very +striking; and it was shortly after employed by Robert Stephenson in +piling the foundations of the great High Level Bridge at Newcastle, and +the Border Bridge at Berwick, as well as in several other of his great +works. The saving of time effected by this machine was very +remarkable, the ratio being as 1 to 1800; that is, a pile could be +driven in four minutes that before required twelve hours. One of the +peculiar features of the invention was that of employing the pile +itself as the support of the steam-hammer part of the apparatus while +it was being driven, so that the pile had the percussive action of the +dead weight of the hammer as well as its lively blows to induce it to +sink into the ground. The steam-hammer sat as it were on the shoulders +of the pile, while it dealt forth its ponderous blows on the pile-head +at the rate of 80 a minute, and as the pile sank, the hammer followed +it down with never relaxing activity until it was driven home to the +required depth. One of the most ingenious contrivances employed in the +driver, which was also adopted in the hammer, was the use of steam as a +buffer in the upper part of the cylinder, which had the effect of a +recoil spring, and greatly enhanced the force of the downward blow. + +In 1846, Mr. Nasmyth designed a form of steam-engine after that of his +steam-hammer, which has been extensively adopted all over the world for +screw-ships of all sizes. The pyramidal form of this engine, its great +simplicity and GET-AT-ABILITY of parts, together with the circumstance +that all the weighty parts of the engine are kept low, have rendered it +a universal favourite. Among the other labour-saving tools invented by +Mr. Nasmyth, may be mentioned the well-known planing machine for small +work, called "Nasmyth's Steam Arm," now used in every large workshop. +It was contrived for the purpose of executing a large order for +locomotives received from the Great Western Railway, and was found of +great use in accelerating the work, especially in planing the links, +levers, connecting rods, and smaller kinds of wrought-iron work in +those engines. His circular cutter for toothed wheels was another of +his handy inventions, which shortly came into general use. In +iron-founding also he introduced a valuable practical improvement. The +old mode of pouring the molten metal into the moulds was by means of a +large ladle with one or two cross handles and levers; but many dreadful +accidents occurred through a slip of the hand, and Mr. Nasmyth +resolved, if possible, to prevent them. The plan he adopted was to fix +a worm-wheel on the side of the ladle, into which a worm was geared, +and by this simple contrivance one man was enabled to move the largest +ladle on its axis with perfect ease and safety. By this means the work +was more promptly performed, and accidents entirely avoided. + +Mr. Nasmyth's skill in invention was backed by great energy and a large +fund of common sense--qualities not often found united. These proved +of much service to the concern of which he was the head, and indeed +constituted the vital force. The firm prospered as it deserved; and +they executed orders not only for England, but for most countries in +the civilized world. Mr. Nasmyth had the advantage of being trained in +a good school--that of Henry Maudslay--where he had not only learnt +handicraft under the eye of that great mechanic, but the art of +organizing labour, and (what is of great value to an employer) +knowledge of the characters of workmen. Yet the Nasmyth firm were not +without their troubles as respected the mechanics in their employment, +and on one occasion they had to pass through the ordeal of a very +formidable strike. The manner in which the inventor of the +steam-hammer literally "Scotched" this strike was very characteristic. + +A clever young man employed by the firm as a brass founder, being found +to have a peculiar capacity for skilled mechanical work, had been +advanced to the lathe. The other men objected to his being so employed +on the ground that it was against the rules of the trade. "But he is a +first-rate workman," replied the employers, "and we think it right to +advance a man according to his conduct and his merits." "No matter," +said the workmen, "it is against the rules, and if you do not take the +man from the lathe, we must turn out." "Very well; we hold to our +right of selecting the best men for the best places, and we will not +take the man from the lathe." The consequence was a general turn out. +Pickets were set about the works, and any stray men who went thither to +seek employment were waylaid, and if not induced to turn back, were +maltreated or annoyed until they were glad to leave. The works were +almost at a standstill. This state of things could not be allowed to +go on, and the head of the firm bestirred himself accordingly with his +usual energy. He went down to Scotland, searched all the best +mechanical workshops there, and after a time succeeded in engaging +sixty-four good hands. He forbade them coming by driblets, but held +them together until there was a full freight; and then they came, with +their wives, families, chests of drawers, and eight-day clocks, in a +steamboat specially hired for their transport from Greenock to +Liverpool. From thence they came by special train to Patricroft, where +houses were in readiness for their reception. The arrival of so +numerous, well-dressed, and respectable a corps of workmen and their +families was an event in the neighbourhood, and could not fail to +strike the "pickets" with surprise. Next morning the sixty-four +Scotchmen assembled in the yard at Patricroft, and after giving "three +cheers," went quietly to their work. The "picketing" went on for a +little while longer, but it was of no use against a body of strong men +who stood "shouther to shouther," as the new hands did. It was even +bruited about that there were more trains to follow! It very soon +became clear that the back of the strike was broken. The men returned +to their work, and the clever brass founder continued at his +turning-lathe, from which he speedily rose to still higher employment. + +Notwithstanding the losses and suffering occasioned by strikes, Mr. +Nasmyth holds the opinion that they have on the whole produced much +more good than evil. They have served to stimulate invention in an +extraordinary degree. Some of the most important labour-saving +processes now in common use are directly traceable to them. In the +case of many of our most potent self-acting tools and machines, +manufacturers could not be induced to adopt them until compelled to do +so by strikes. This was the ease with the self-acting mule, the +wool-combing machine, the planing machine, the slotting machine, +Nasmyth's steam arm, and many others. Thus, even in the mechanical +world, there may be "a soul of goodness in things evil." + +Mr. Nasmyth retired from business in December, 1856. He had the moral +courage to come out of the groove which he had so laboriously made for +himself, and to leave a large and prosperous business, saying, "I have +now enough of this world's goods; let younger men have their chance." +He settled down at his rural retreat in Kent, but not to lead a life of +idle ease. Industry had become his habit, and active occupation was +necessary to his happiness. He fell back upon the cultivation of those +artistic tastes which are the heritage of his family. When a boy at +the High School of Edinburgh, he was so skilful in making pen and ink +illustrations on the margins of the classics, that he thus often +purchased from his monitors exemption from the lessons of the day. Nor +had he ceased to cultivate the art during his residence at Patricroft, +but was accustomed to fall back upon it for relaxation and enjoyment +amid the pursuits of trade. That he possesses remarkable fertility of +imagination, and great skill in architectural and landscape drawing, as +well as in the much more difficult art of delineating the human figure, +will be obvious to any one who has seen his works,--more particularly +his "City of St. Ann's," "The Fairies," and "Everybody for ever!" +which last was exhibited in Pall Mail, among the recent collection of +works of Art by amateurs and others, for relief of the Lancashire +distress. He has also brought his common sense to bear on such +unlikely subject's as the origin of the cuneiform character. The +possession of a brick from Babylon set him a thinking. How had it been +manufactured? Its under side was clearly marked by the sedges of the +Euphrates upon which it had been laid to dry and bake in the sun. But +how about those curious cuneiform characters? How had writing assumed +so remarkable a form? His surmise was this: that the brickmakers, in +telling their tale of bricks, used the triangular corner of another +brick, and by pressing it down upon the soft clay, left behind it the +triangular mark which the cuneiform character exhibits. Such marks +repeated, and placed in different relations to each other, would +readily represent any number. From the use of the corner of a brick in +writing, the transition was easy to a pointed stick with a triangular +end, by the use of which all the cuneiform characters can readily be +produced upon the soft clay. This curious question formed the subject +of an interesting paper read by Mr. Nasmyth before the British +Association at Cheltenham. + +But the most engrossing of Mr. Nasmyth's later pursuits has been the +science of astronomy, in which, by bringing a fresh, original mind to +the observation of celestial phenomena, he has succeeded in making some +of the most remarkable discoveries of our time. Astronomy was one of +his favourite pursuits at Patricroft, and on his retirement became his +serious study. By repeated observations with a powerful reflecting +telescope of his own construction, he succeeded in making a very +careful and minute painting of the craters, cracks, mountains, and +valleys in the moon's surface, for which a Council Medal was awarded +him at the Great Exhibition of 1851. But the most striking discovery +which he has made by means of big telescope--the result of patient, +continuous, and energetic observation--has been that of the nature of +the sun's surface, and the character of the extraordinary light-giving +bodies, apparently possessed of voluntary motion, moving across it, +sometimes forming spots or hollows of more than a hundred thousand +miles in diameter. + +The results of these observations were of so novel a character that +astronomers for some time hesitated to receive them as facts.[6] Yet +so eminent an astronomer as Sir John Herschel does not hesitate now to +describe them as "a most wonderful discovery." "According to Mr. +Nasmyth's observations," says he, "made with a very fine telescope of +his own making, the bright surface of the sun consists of separate, +insulated, individual objects or things, all nearly or exactly of one +certain definite size and shape, which is more like that of a willow +leaf, as he describes them, than anything else. These leaves or scales +are not arranged in any order (as those on a butterfly's wing are), but +lie crossing one another in all directions, like what are called spills +in the game of spillikins; except at the borders of a spot, where they +point for the most part inwards towards the middle of the spot,[7] +presenting much the sort of appearance that the small leaves of some +water-plants or sea-weeds do at the edge of a deep hole of clear water. +The exceedingly definite shape of these objects, their exact similarity +one to another, and the way in which they lie across and athwart each +other (except where they form a sort of bridge across a spot, in which +case they seem to affect a common direction, that, namely, of the +bridge itself),--all these characters seem quite repugnant to the +notion of their being of a vaporous, a cloudy, or a fluid nature. +Nothing remains but to consider them as separate and independent +sheets, flakes, or scales, having some sort of solidity. And these +flakes, be they what they may, and whatever may be said about the +dashing of meteoric stones into the sun's atmosphere, &c., are +evidently THE IMMEDIATE SOURCES OF THE SOLAR LIGHT AND HEAT, by +whatever mechanism or whatever processes they may be enabled to +develope and, as it were, elaborate these elements from the bosom of +the non-luminous fluid in which they appear to float. Looked at in +this point of view, we cannot refuse to regard them as organisms of +some peculiar and amazing kind; and though it would be too daring to +speak of such organization as partaking of the nature of life, yet we +do know that vital action is competent to develop heat and light, as +well as electricity. These wonderful objects have been seen by others +as well as Mr. Nasmyth, so that them is no room to doubt of their +reality." [8] + +Such is the marvellous discovery made by the inventor of the +steam-hammer, as described by the most distinguished astronomer of the +age. A writer in the Edinburgh Review, referring to the subject in a +recent number, says it shows him "to possess an intellect as profound +as it is expert." Doubtless his training as a mechanic, his habits of +close observation and his ready inventiveness, which conferred so much +power on him as an engineer, proved of equal advantage to him when +labouring in the domain of physical science. Bringing a fresh mind, of +keen perception, to his new studies, and uninfluenced by preconceived +opinions, he saw them in new and original lights; and hence the +extraordinary discovery above described by Sir John Herschel. + +Some two hundred years since, a member of the Nasmyth family, Jean +Nasmyth of Hamilton, was burnt for a witch--one of the last martyrs to +ignorance and superstition in Scotland--because she read her Bible with +two pairs of spectacles. Had Mr. Nasmyth himself lived then, he might, +with his two telescopes of his own making, which bring the sun and moon +into his chamber for him to examine and paint, have been taken for a +sorcerer. But fortunately for him, and still more so for us, Mr. +Nasmyth stands before the public of this age as not only one of its +ablest mechanics, but as one of the most accomplished and original of +scientific observers. + + + +[1] Originally prepared for John Hick, Esq., C.E., of Bolton, and +embodied by him in his lectures on "Self Help," delivered before the +Holy Trinity Working Men's Association of that town, on the 18th and +20th March, 1862; the account having been kindly corrected by Mr. +Nasmyth for the present publication. + +[2] Most of the tools with which he began business in Manchester were +made by his own hands in his father's little workshop at Edinburgh, He +was on one occasion "hard up" for brass with which to make a wheel for +his planing machine. There was a row of old-fashioned brass +candlesticks standing in bright array on the kitchen mantelpiece which +he greatly coveted for the purpose. His father was reluctant to give +them up; "for," said he, "I have had many a crack with Burns when these +candlesticks were on the table." But his mother at length yielded; +when the candlesticks were at once recast, and made into the wheel of +the planing machine, which is still at work in Manchester. + +[3] Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts, ii. 739. + +[4] Matsys' beautiful wrought-iron well cover, still standing in front +of the cathedral at Antwerp, and Rukers's steel or iron chair exhibited +at South Kensington in 1862, are examples of the beautiful hammer work +turned out by the artisans of the middle ages. The railings of the +tombs of Henry VII. and Queen Eleanor in Westminster Abbey, the hinges +and iron work of Lincoln Cathedral, of St. George's Chapel at Windsor, +and of some of the Oxford colleges, afford equally striking +illustrations of the skill of our English blacksmiths several centuries +ago. + +[5] Mr. Nasmyth has lately introduced, with the assistance of Mr. +Wilson of the Low Moor Iron Works, a new, exceedingly ingenious, and +very simple contrivance for working the hammer. By this application +any length of stroke, any amount of blow, and any amount of variation +can be given by the operation of a single lever; and by this +improvement the machine has attained a rapidity of action and change of +motion suitable to the powers of the engine, and the form or +consistency of the articles under the hammer.--Mr. FAIRBAIRN'S Report +on the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1855, p. 100. + +[6] See Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of +Manchester, 3rd series, vol. 1. 407. + +[7] Sir John Herschel adds, "Spots of not very irregular, and what may +be called compact form, covering an area of between seven and eight +hundred millions of square miles, are by no means uncommon. One spot +which I measured in the year 1837 occupied no less than three thousand +seven hundred and eighty millions, taking in all the irregularities of +its form; and the black space or nucleus in the middle of one very +nearly round one would have allowed the earth to drop through it, +leaving a thousand clear miles on either side; and many instances of +much larger spots than these are on record." + +[8] SIR JOHN HERSCHEL in Good Words for April, 1863. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +WILLIAM FAIRBAIRN. + +"In science there is work for all hands, more or less skilled; and he +is usually the most fit to occupy the higher posts who has risen from +the ranks, and has experimentally acquainted himself with the nature of +the work to be done in each and every, even the humblest department." +J. D. Forbes. + + +The development of the mechanical industry of England has been so +rapid, especially as regards the wonders achieved by the machine-tools +above referred to, that it may almost be said to have been accomplished +within the life of the present generation. "When I first entered this +city," said Mr. Fairbairn, in his inaugural address as President of the +British Association at Manchester in 1861, "the whole of the machinery +was executed by hand. There were neither planing, slotting, nor +shaping machines; and, with the exception of very imperfect lathes and +a few drills, the preparatory operations of construction were effected +entirely by the hands of the workmen. Now, everything is done by +machine-tools with a degree of accuracy which the unaided hand could +never accomplish. The automaton or self-acting machine-tool has within +itself an almost creative power; in fact, so great are its powers of +adaptation, that there is no operation of the human hand that it does +not imitate." In a letter to the author, Mr. Fairbairn says, "The +great pioneers of machine-tool-making were Maudslay, Murray of Leeds, +Clement and Fox of Derby, who were ably followed by Nasmyth, Roberts, +and Whitworth, of Manchester, and Sir Peter Fairbairn of Leeds; and Mr. +Fairbairn might well have added, by himself,--for he has been one of +the most influential and successful of mechanical engineers. + +William Fairbairn was born at Kelso on the 19th of February, 1787. His +parents occupied a humble but respectable position in life. His +father, Andrew Fairbairn, was the son of a gardener in the employment +of Mr. Baillie of Mellerston, and lived at Smailholm, a village lying a +few miles west of Kelso. Tracing the Fairbairns still further back, we +find several of them occupying the station of "portioners," or small +lairds, at Earlston on the Tweed, where the family had been settled +since the days of the Solemn League and Covenant. By his mother's +side, the subject of our memoir is supposed to be descended from the +ancient Border family of Douglas. + +While Andrew Fairbairn (William's father) lived at Smailholm, Walter +Scott was living with his grandmother in Smailholm or Sandyknowe Tower, +whither he had been sent from Edinburgh in the hope that change of air +would help the cure of his diseased hip-joint; and Andrew, being nine +years his senior, and a strong youth for his age, was accustomed to +carry the little patient about in his arms, until he was able to walk +by himself. At a later period, when Miss Scott, Walter's aunt, removed +from Smailholm to Kelso, the intercourse between the families was +renewed. Scott was then an Edinburgh advocate, engaged in collecting +materials for his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, or, as his aunt +described his pursuit, "running after the auld wives of the country +gatherin' havers." He used frequently to read over by the fireside in +the evening the results of his curious industry, which, however, were +not very greatly appreciated by his nearest relatives; and they did not +scruple to declare that for the "Advocate" to go about collecting +"ballants" was mere waste of time as well as money. + +William Fairbairn's first schoolmaster was a decrepit old man who went +by the name of "Bowed Johnnie Ker,"--a Cameronian, with a nasal twang, +which his pupils learnt much more readily than they did his lessons in +reading and arithmetic, notwithstanding a liberal use of "the tawse." +Yet Johnnie had a taste for music, and taught his pupils to SING their +reading lessons, which was reckoned quite a novelty in education. +After a short time our scholar was transferred to the parish-school of +the town, kept by a Mr. White, where he was placed under the charge of +a rather severe helper, who, instead of the tawse, administered +discipline by means of his knuckles, hard as horn, which he applied +with a peculiar jerk to the crania of his pupils. At this school +Willie Fairbairn lost the greater part of the singing accomplishments +which he had acquired under "Bowed Johnnie," but he learnt in lieu of +them to read from Scott and Barrow's collections of prose and poetry, +while he obtained some knowledge of arithmetic, in which he proceeded +as far as practice and the rule of three. This constituted his whole +stock of school-learning up to his tenth year. Out of school-hours he +learnt to climb the ruined walls of the old abbey of the town, and +there was scarcely an arch, or tower, or cranny of it with which he did +not become familiar. + +When in his twelfth year, his father, who had been brought up to +farm-work, and possessed considerable practical knowledge of +agriculture, was offered the charge of a farm at Moy in Ross-shire, +belonging to Lord Seaforth of Brahan Castle. The farm was of about 300 +acres, situated on the banks of the river Conan, some five miles from +the town of Dingwall. The family travelled thither in a covered cart, +a distance of 200 miles, through a very wild and hilly country, +arriving at their destination at the end of October, 1799. The farm, +when reached, was found overgrown with whins and brushwood, and covered +in many places with great stones and rocks; it was, in short, as nearly +in a state of nature as it was possible to be. The house intended for +the farmer's reception was not finished, and Andrew Fairbairn, with his +wife and five children, had to take temporary refuge in a miserable +hovel, very unlike the comfortable house which they had quitted at +Kelso. By next spring, however, the new house was ready; and Andrew +Fairbairn set vigorously to work at the reclamation of the land. After +about two years' labours it exhibited an altogether different +appearance, and in place of whins and stones there were to be seen +heavy crops of barley and turnips. The barren years of 1800 and 1801, +however, pressed very hardly on Andrew Fairbairn as on every other +farmer of arable land. About that time, Andrew's brother Peter, who +acted as secretary to Lord Seaforth, and through whose influence the +former had obtained the farm, left Brahan Castle for the West Indies +with his Lordship, who--notwithstanding his being both deaf and +dumb--had been appointed to the Governorship of Barbadoes; and in +consequence of various difficulties which occurred shortly after his +leaving, Andrew Fairbairn found it necessary to give up his holding, +whereupon he engaged as steward to Mackenzie of Allengrange, with whom +he remained for two years. + +While the family lived at Moy, none of the boys were put to school. +They could not be spared from the farm and the household. Those of +them that could not work afield were wanted to help to nurse the +younger children at home. But Andrew Fairbairn possessed a great +treasure in his wife, who was a woman of much energy of character, +setting before her children an example of patient industry, thrift, +discreetness, and piety, which could not fail to exercise a powerful +influence upon them in after-life; and this, of itself, was an +education which probably far more than compensated for the boys' loss +of school-culture during their life at Moy. Mrs. Fairbairn span and +made all the children's clothes, as well as the blankets and sheeting; +and, while in the Highlands, she not only made her own and her +daughters' dresses, and her sons' jackets and trowsers, but her +husband's coats and waistcoats; besides helping her neighbours to cut +out their clothing for family wear. + +One of William's duties at home was to nurse his younger brother Peter, +then a delicate child under two years old; and to relieve himself of +the labour of carrying him about, he began the construction of a little +waggon in which to wheel him. This was, however, a work of some +difficulty, as all the tools he possessed were only a knife, a gimlet, +and an old saw. With these implements, a piece of thin board, and a +few nails, he nevertheless contrived to make a tolerably serviceable +waggon-body. His chief difficulty consisted in making the wheels, +which he contrived to surmount by cutting sections from the stem of a +small alder-tree, and with a red-hot poker he bored the requisite holes +in their centres to receive the axle. The waggon was then mounted on +its four wheels, and to the great joy of its maker was found to answer +its purpose admirably. In it he wheeled his little brother--afterwards +well known as Sir Peter Fairbairn, mayor of Leeds--in various +directions about the farm, and sometimes to a considerable distance +from it; and the vehicle was regarded on the whole as a decided +success. His father encouraged him in his little feats of construction +of a similar kind, and he proceeded to make and rig miniature boats and +ships, and then miniature wind and water mills, in which last art he +acquired such expertness that he had sometimes five or six mills going +at a time. The machinery was all made with a knife, the water-spouts +being formed by the bark of a tree, and the millstones represented by +round discs of the same material. Such were the first constructive +efforts of the future millwright and engineer. + +When the family removed to Allengrange in 1801, the boys were sent to +school at Munlachy, about a mile and a half distant from the farm. The +school was attended by about forty barefooted boys in tartan kilt's, +and about twenty girls, all of the poorer class. The schoolmaster was +one Donald Frazer, a good teacher, but a severe disciplinarian. Under +him, William made some progress in reading, writing, and arithmetic; +and though he himself has often lamented the meagreness of his school +instruction, it is clear, from what he has since been enabled to +accomplish, that these early lessons were enough at all events to set +him fairly on the road of self-culture, and proved the fruitful seed of +much valuable intellectual labour, as well as of many excellent +practical books. + +After two years' trial of his new situation, which was by no means +satisfactory, Andrew Fairbairn determined again to remove southward +with his family; and, selling off everything, they set sail from +Cromarty for Leith in June, 1803. Having seen his wife and children +temporarily settled at Kelso, he looked out for a situation, and +shortly after proceeded to undertake the management of Sir William +Ingleby's farm at Ripley in Yorkshire. Meanwhile William was placed +for three months under the charge of his uncle William, the parish +schoolmaster of Galashiels, for the purpose of receiving instruction in +book-keeping and land-surveying, from which he derived considerable +benefit. He could not, however, remain longer at school; for being of +the age of fourteen, it was thought necessary that he should be set to +work without further delay. His first employment was on the fine new +bridge at Kelso, then in course of construction after the designs of +Mr. Rennie; but in helping one day to carry a handbarrow-load of stone, +his strength proving insufficient, he gave way under it, and the stones +fell upon him, one of them inflicting a serious wound on his leg, which +kept him a cripple for months. In the mean time his father, being +dissatisfied with his prospects at Ripley, accepted the appointment of +manager of the Percy Main Colliery Company's farm in the neighbourhood +of Newcastle-on-Tyne, whither he proceeded with his family towards the +end of 1803, William joining them in the following February, when the +wound in his leg had sufficiently healed to enable him to travel. + +Percy Main is situated within two miles of North Shields, and is one of +the largest collieries in that district. William was immediately set +to work at the colliery, his first employment being to lead coals from +behind the screen to the pitmen's houses. His Scotch accent, and +perhaps his awkwardness, exposed him to much annoyance from the "pit +lads," who were a very rough and profligate set; and as boxing was a +favourite pastime among them, our youth had to fight his way to their +respect, passing through a campaign of no less than seventeen pitched +battles. He was several times on the point of abandoning the work +altogether, rather than undergo the buffetings and insults to which he +was almost a daily martyr, when a protracted contest with one of the +noted boxers of the colliery, in which he proved the victor, at length +relieved him from further persecution. + +In the following year, at the age of sixteen, he was articled as an +engineer for five years to the owners of Percy Main, and was placed +under the charge of Mr. Robinson, the engine-wright of the colliery. +His wages as apprentice were 8s. a week; but by working over-hours, +making wooden wedges used in pit-work, and blocking out segments of +solid oak required for walling the sides of the mine, he considerably +increased his earnings, which enabled him to add to the gross income of +the family, who were still struggling with the difficulties of small +means and increasing expenses. When not engaged upon over-work in the +evenings, he occupied himself in self-education. He drew up a scheme +of daily study with this object, to which he endeavoured to adhere as +closely as possible,--devoting the evenings of Mondays to mensuration +and arithmetic; Tuesdays to history and poetry; Wednesdays to +recreation, novels, and romances; Thursdays to algebra and mathematics; +Fridays to Euclid and trigonometry; Saturdays to recreation; and +Sundays to church, Milton, and recreation. He was enabled to extend +the range of his reading by the help of the North Shields Subscription +Library, to which his father entered him a subscriber. Portions of his +spare time were also occasionally devoted to mechanical construction, +in which he cultivated the useful art of handling tools. One of his +first attempts was the contrivance of a piece of machinery worked by a +weight and a pendulum, that should at the same time serve for a +timepiece and an orrery; but his want of means, as well as of time, +prevented him prosecuting this contrivance to completion. He was more +successful with the construction of a fiddle, on which he was ambitious +to become a performer. It must have been a tolerable instrument, for a +professional player offered him 20s. for it. But though he succeeded +in making a fiddle, and for some time persevered in the attempt to play +upon it, he did not succeed in producing any satisfactory melody, and +at length gave up the attempt, convinced that nature had not intended +him for a musician.[1] + +In due course of time our young engineer was removed from the workshop, +and appointed to take charge of the pumps of the mine and the +steam-engine by which they were kept in work. This employment was more +to his taste, gave him better "insight," and afforded him greater +opportunities for improvement. The work was, however, very trying, and +at times severe, especially in winter, the engineer being liable to be +drenched with water every time that he descended the shaft to regulate +the working of the pumps; but, thanks to a stout constitution, he bore +through these exposures without injury, though others sank under them. +At this period he had the advantage of occasional days of leisure, to +which he was entitled by reason of his nightwork; and during such +leisure he usually applied himself to reading and study. + +It was about this time that William Fairbairn made the acquaintance of +George Stephenson, while the latter was employed in working the +ballast-engine at Willington Quay. He greatly admired George as a +workman, and was accustomed in the summer evenings to go over to the +Quay occasionally and take charge of George's engine, to enable him to +earn a few shillings extra by heaving ballast out of the collier +vessels. Stephenson's zeal in the pursuit of mechanical knowledge +probably was not without its influence in stimulating William Fairbairn +himself to carry on so diligently the work of self-culture. But little +could the latter have dreamt, while serving his apprenticeship at Percy +Main, that his friend George Stephenson, the brakesman, should yet be +recognised as among the greatest engineers of his age, and that he +himself should have the opportunity, in his capacity of President of +the Institute of Mechanical Engineers at Newcastle, of making public +acknowledgment of the opportunities for education which he had enjoyed +in that neighbourhood in his early years.[2] + +Having finished his five years' apprenticeship at Percy Main, by which +time he had reached his twenty-first year, William Fairbairn shortly +after determined to go forth into the world in search of experience. +At Newcastle he found employment as a millwright for a few weeks, +during which he worked at the erection of a sawmill in the Close. From +thence he went to Bedlington at an advanced wage. He remained there +for six months, during which he was so fortunate as to make the +acquaintance of Miss Mar, who five years after, when his wanderings had +ceased, became his wife. On the completion of the job on which he had +been employed, our engineer prepared to make another change. Work was +difficult to be had in the North, and, joined by a comrade, he resolved +to try his fortune in London. Adopting the cheapest route, he took +passage by a Shields collier, in which he sailed for the Thames on the +11th of December, 1811. It was then war-time, and the vessel was very +short-handed, the crew consisting only of three old men and three boys, +with the skipper and mate; so that the vessel was no sooner fairly at +sea than both the passenger youths had to lend a hand in working her, +and this continued for the greater part of the voyage. The weather was +very rough, and in consequence of the captain's anxiety to avoid +privateers he hugged the shore too close, and when navigating the +inside passage of the Swin, between Yarmouth and the Nore, the vessel +very narrowly escaped shipwreck. After beating about along shore, the +captain half drunk the greater part of the time, the vessel at last +reached the Thames with loss of spars and an anchor, after a tedious +voyage of fourteen days. + +On arriving off Blackwall the captain went ashore ostensibly in search +of the Coal Exchange, taking our young engineer with him. The former +was still under the influence of drink; and though he failed to reach +the Exchange that night, he succeeded in reaching a public house in +Wapping, beyond which he could not be got. At ten o'clock the two +started on their return to the ship; but the captain took the +opportunity of the darkness to separate from his companion, and did not +reach the ship until next morning. It afterwards came out that he had +been taken up and lodged in the watch-house. The youth, left alone in +the streets of the strange city, felt himself in an awkward dilemma. +He asked the next watchman he met to recommend him to a lodging, on +which the man took him to a house in New Gravel Lane, where he +succeeded in finding accommodation. What was his horror next morning +to learn that a whole family--the Williamsons--had been murdered in the +very next house during the night! Making the best of his way back to +the ship, he found that his comrade, who had suffered dreadfully from +sea-sickness during the voyage, had nearly recovered, and was able to +accompany him into the City in search of work. They had between them a +sum of only about eight pounds, so that it was necessary for them to +take immediate steps to obtain employment. + +They thought themselves fortunate in getting the promise of a job from +Mr. Rennie, the celebrated engineer, whose works were situated at the +south end of Blackfriars Bridge. Mr. Rennie sent the two young men to +his foreman, with the request that he should set them to work. The +foreman referred them to the secretary of the Millwrights' Society, the +shop being filled with Union men, who set their shoulders together to +exclude those of their own grade, however skilled, who could not +produce evidence that they had complied with the rules of the trade. +Describing his first experience of London Unionists, nearly half a +century later, before an assembly of working men at Derby, Mr. +Fairbairn said, "When I first entered London, a young man from the +country had no chance whatever of success, in consequence of the trade +guilds and unions. I had no difficulty in finding employment, but +before I could begin work I had to run the gauntlet of the trade +societies; and after dancing attendance for nearly six weeks, with very +little money in my pocket, and having to 'box Harry' all the time, I +was ultimately declared illegitimate, and sent adrift to seek my +fortune elsewhere. There were then three millwright societies in +London: one called the Old Society, another the New Society, and a +third the Independent Society. These societies were not founded for +the protection of the trade, but for the maintenance of high wages, and +for the exclusion of all those who could not assert their claims to +work in London and other corporate towns. Laws of a most arbitrary +character were enforced, and they were governed by cliques of +self-appointed officers, who never failed to take care of their own +interests." [3] + +Their first application for leave to work in London having thus +disastrously ended, the two youths determined to try their fortune in +the country, and with aching hearts they started next morning before +daylight. Their hopes had been suddenly crushed, their slender funds +were nearly exhausted, and they scarce knew where to turn. But they +set their faces bravely northward, and pushed along the high road, +through slush and snow, as far as Hertford, which they reached after +nearly eight hours' walking, on the moderate fare during their journey +of a penny roll and a pint of ale each. Though wet to the skin, they +immediately sought out a master millwright, and applied for work. He +said he had no job vacant at present; but, seeing their sorry plight, +he had compassion upon them, and said, "Though I cannot give you +employment, you seem to be two nice lads;" and he concluded by offering +Fairbairn a half-crown. But his proud spirit revolted at taking money +which he had not earned; and he declined the proffered gift with +thanks, saying he was sorry they could not have work. He then turned +away from the door, on which his companion, mortified by his refusal to +accept the half-crown at a time when they were reduced almost to their +last penny, broke out in bitter remonstrances and regrets. Weary, wet, +and disheartened, the two turned into Hertford churchyard, and rested +for a while upon a tombstone, Fairbairn's companion relieving himself +by a good cry, and occasional angry outbursts of "Why didn't you take +the half-crown?" "Come, come, man!" said Fairbairn, "it's of no use +crying; cheer up; let's try another road; something must soon cast up." +They rose, and set out again, but when they reached the bridge, the +dispirited youth again broke down; and, leaning his back against the +parapet, said, "I winna gang a bit further; let's get back to London." +Against this Fairbairn remonstrated, saying "It's of no use lamenting; +we must try what we can do here; if the worst comes to the worst, we +can 'list; you are a strong chap--they'll soon take you; and as for me, +I'll join too; I think I could fight a bit." After this council of +war, the pair determined to find lodgings in the town for the night, +and begin their search for work anew on the morrow. + +Next day, when passing along one of the back streets of Hertford, they +came to a wheelwright's shop, where they made the usual enquiries. The +wheelwright, said that he did not think there was any job to be had in +the town; but if the two young men pushed on to Cheshunt, he thought +they might find work at a windmill which was under contract to be +finished in three weeks, and where the millwright wanted hands. Here +was a glimpse of hope at last; and the strength and spirits of both +revived in an instant. They set out immediately; walked the seven +miles to Cheshunt; succeeded in obtaining the expected employment; +worked at the job a fortnight; and entered London again with nearly +three pounds in their pockets. + +Our young millwright at length succeeded in obtaining regular +employment in the metropolis at good wages. He worked first at +Grundy's Patent Ropery at Shadwell, and afterwards at Mr. Penn's of +Greenwich, gaining much valuable insight, and sedulously improving his +mind by study in his leisure hours. Among the acquaintances he then +made was an enthusiastic projector of the name of Hall, who had taken +out one patent for making hemp from bean-stalks, and contemplated +taking out another for effecting spade tillage by steam. The young +engineer was invited to make the requisite model, which he did, and it +cost him both time and money, which the out-at-elbows projector was +unable to repay; and all that came of the project was the exhibition of +the model at the Society of Arts and before the Board of Agriculture, +in whose collection it is probably still to be found. Another more +successful machine constructed By Mr. Fairbairn about the same time was +a sausage-chopping machine, which he contrived and made for a +pork-butcher for 33l. It was the first order he had ever had on his +own account; and, as the machine when made did its work admirably, he +was naturally very proud of it. The machine was provided with a +fly-wheel and double crank, with connecting rods which worked a cross +head. It contained a dozen knives crossing each other at right angles +in such a way as to enable them to mince or divide the meat on a +revolving block. Another part of the apparatus accomplished the +filling of the sausages in a very expert manner, to the entire +satisfaction of the pork-butcher. + +As work was scarce in London at the time, and our engineer was bent on +gathering further experience in his trade, he determined to make a tour +in the South of England and South Wales; and set out from London in +April 1813 with 7L. in his pocket. After visiting Bath and Frome, he +settled to work for six weeks at Bathgate; after which he travelled by +Bradford and Trowbridge--always on foot--to Bristol. From thence he +travelled through South Wales, spending a few days each at Newport, +Llandaff, and Cardiff, where he took ship for Dublin. By the time he +reached Ireland his means were all but exhausted, only three-halfpence +remaining in his pocket; but, being young, hopeful, skilful, and +industrious, he was light of heart, and looked cheerfully forward. The +next day he succeeded in finding employment at Mr. Robinson's, of the +Phoenix Foundry, where he was put to work at once upon a set of +patterns for some nail-machinery. Mr. Robinson was a man of spirit and +enterprise, and, seeing the quantities of English machine-made nails +imported into Ireland, he was desirous of giving Irish industry the +benefit of the manufacture. The construction of the nail-making +machinery occupied Mr. Fairbairn the entire summer; and on its +completion he set sail in the month of October for Liverpool. It may +be added, that, notwithstanding the expense incurred by Mr. Robinson in +setting up the new nail-machinery, his workmen threatened him with a +strike if he ventured to use it. As he could not brave the opposition +of the Unionists, then all-powerful in Dublin, the machinery was never +set to work; the nail-making trade left Ireland, never to return; and +the Irish market was thenceforward supplied entirely with English-made +nails. The Dublin iron-manufacture was ruined in the same way; not +through any local disadvantages, but solely by the prohibitory +regulations enforced by the workmen of the Trades Unions. + +Arrived at Liverpool, after a voyage of two days--which was then +considered a fair passage--our engineer proceeded to Manchester, which +had already become the principal centre of manufacturing operations in +the North of England. As we have already seen in the memoirs of +Nasmyth, Roberts, and Whitworth, Manchester offered great attractions +for highly-skilled mechanics; and it was as fortunate for Manchester as +for William Fairbairn himself that he settled down there as a working +millwright in the year 1814, bringing with him no capital, but an +abundance of energy, skill, and practical experience in his trade. +Afterwards describing the characteristics of the millwright of that +time, Mr. Fairbairn said--"In those days a good millwright was a man of +large resources; he was generally well educated, and could draw out his +own designs and work at the lathe; he had a knowledge of mill +machinery, pumps, and cranes, and could turn his hand to the bench or +the forge with equal adroitness and facility. If hard pressed, as was +frequently the case in country places far from towns, he could devise +for himself expedients which enabled him to meet special requirements, +and to complete his work without assistance. This was the class of men +with whom I associated in early life--proud of their calling, fertile +in resources, and aware of their value in a country where the +industrial arts were rapidly developing." [4] + +When William Fairbairn entered Manchester he was twenty-four years of +age; and his hat still "covered his family." But, being now pretty +well satiated with his "wandetschaft,"--as German tradesmen term their +stage of travelling in search of trade experience,--he desired to +settle, and, if fortune favoured him, to marry the object of his +affections, to whom his heart still faithfully turned during all his +wanderings. He succeeded in finding employment with Mr. Adam +Parkinson, remaining with him for two years, working as a millwright, +at good wages. Out of his earnings he saved sufficient to furnish a +two-roomed cottage comfortably; and there we find him fairly installed +with his wife by the end of 1816. As in the case of most men of a +thoughtful turn, marriage served not only to settle our engineer, but +to stimulate him to more energetic action. He now began to aim at +taking a higher position, and entertained the ambition of beginning +business on his own account. One of his first efforts in this +direction was the preparation of the design of a cast-iron bridge over +the Irwell, at Blackfriars, for which a prize was offered. The attempt +was unsuccessful, and a stone bridge was eventually decided on; but the +effort made was creditable, and proved the beginning of many designs. +The first job he executed on his own account was the erection of an +iron conservatory and hothouse for Mr. J. Hulme, of Clayton, near +Manchester; and he induced one of his shopmates, James Lillie, to join +him in the undertaking. This proved the beginning of a business +connection which lasted for a period of fifteen years, and laid the +foundation of a partnership, the reputation of which, in connection +with mill-work and the construction of iron machinery generally, +eventually became known all over the civilized world. + +Although the patterns for the conservatory were all made, and the +castings were begun, the work was not proceeded with, in consequence of +the notice given by a Birmingham firm that the plan after which it was +proposed to construct it was an infringement of their patent. The +young firm were consequently under the necessity of looking about them +for other employment. And to be prepared for executing orders, they +proceeded in the year 1817 to hire a small shed at a rent of 12s. a +week, in which they set up a lathe of their own making, capable of +turning shafts of from 3 to 6 inches diameter; and they hired a strong +Irishman to drive the wheel and assist at the heavy work. Their first +job was the erection of a cullender, and their next a calico-polishing +machine; but orders came in slowly, and James Lillie began to despair +of success. His more hopeful partner strenuously urged him to +perseverance, and so buoyed him up with hopes of orders, that he +determined to go on a little longer. They then issued cards among the +manufacturers, and made a tour of the principal firms, offering their +services and soliciting work. + +Amongst others, Mr. Fairbairn called upon the Messrs. Adam and George +Murray, the large cotton-spinners, taking with him the designs of his +iron bridge. Mr. Adam Murray received him kindly, heard his +explanations, and invited him to call on the following day with his +partner. The manufacturer must have been favourably impressed by this +interview, for next day, when Fairbairn and Lillie called, he took them +over his mill, and asked whether they felt themselves competent to +renew with horizontal cross-shafts the whole of the work by which the +mule-spinning machinery was turned. This was a formidable enterprise +for a young firm without capital and almost without plant to undertake; +but they had confidence in themselves, and boldly replied that they +were willing and able to execute the work. On this, Mr. Murray said he +would call and see them at their own workshop, to satisfy himself that +they possessed the means of undertaking such an order. This proposal +was by no means encouraging to the partners, who feared that when Mr. +Murray spied "the nakedness of the land" in that quarter, he might +repent him of his generous intentions. He paid his promised visit, and +it is probable that he was more favourably impressed by the individual +merits of the partners than by the excellence of their +machine-tools--of which they had only one, the lathe which they had +just made and set up; nevertheless he gave them the order, and they +began with glad hearts and willing hands and minds to execute this +their first contract. It may be sufficient to state that by working +late and early--from 5 in the morning until 9 at night for a +considerable period--they succeeded in completing the alterations +within the time specified, and to Mr. Murray's entire satisfaction. +The practical skill of the young men being thus proved, and their +anxiety to execute the work entrusted to them to the best of their +ability having excited the admiration of their employer, he took the +opportunity of recommending them to his friends in the trade, and +amongst others to Mr. John Kennedy, of the firm of MacConnel and +Kennedy, then the largest spinners in the kingdom. + +The Cotton Trade had by this time sprung into great importance, and was +increasing with extraordinary rapidity. Population and wealth were +pouring into South Lancashire, and industry and enterprise were +everywhere on foot. The foundations were being laid of a system of +manufacturing in iron, machinery, and textile fabrics of nearly all +kinds, the like of which has perhaps never been surpassed in any +country. It was a race of industry, in which the prizes were won by +the swift, the strong, and the skilled. For the most part, the early +Lancashire manufacturers started very nearly equal in point of worldly +circumstances, men originally of the smallest means often coming to the +front--work men, weavers, mechanics, pedlers, farmers, or labourers--in +course of time rearing immense manufacturing concerns by sheer force of +industry, energy, and personal ability. The description given by one +of the largest employers in Lancashire, of the capital with which he +started, might apply to many of them: "When I married," said he, "my +wife had a spinning-wheel, and I had a loom--that was the beginning of +our fortune." As an illustration of the rapid rise of Manchester men +from small beginnings, the following outline of John Kennedy's career, +intimately connected as he was with the subject of our memoir--may not +be without interest in this place. + +John Kennedy was one of five young men of nearly the same age, who came +from the same neighbourhood in Scotland, and eventually settled in +Manchester as cottons-pinners about the end of last century. The +others were his brother James, his partner James MacConnel, and the +brothers Murray, above referred to--Mr. Fairbairn's first extensive +employers. John Kennedy's parents were respectable peasants, possessed +of a little bit of ground at Knocknalling, in the stewartry of +Kirkcudbright, on which they contrived to live, and that was all. John +was one of a family of five sons and two daughters, and the father +dying early, the responsibility and the toil of bringing up these +children devolved upon the mother. She was a strict disciplinarian, +and early impressed upon the minds of her boys that they had their own +way to make in the world. One of the first things she made them think +about was, the learning of some useful trade for the purpose of +securing an independent living; "for," said she, "if you have gotten +mechanical skill and intelligence, and are honest and trustworthy, you +will always find employment and be ready to avail yourselves of +opportunities for advancing yourselves in life." Though the mother +desired to give her sons the benefits of school education, there was +but little of that commodity to be had in the remote district of +Knocknalling. The parish-school was six miles distant, and the +teaching given in it was of a very inferior sort--usually administered +by students, probationers for the ministry, or by half-fledged +dominies, themselves more needing instruction than able to impart it. +The Kennedys could only attend the school during a few months in +summer-time, so that what they had acquired by the end of one season +was often forgotten by the beginning of the next. They learnt, +however, to read the Testament, say their catechism, and write their +own names. + +As the children grew up, they each longed for the time to come when +they could be put to a trade. The family were poorly clad; stockings +and shoes were luxuries rarely indulged in; and Mr. Kennedy used in +after-life to tell his grandchildren of a certain Sunday which he +remembered shortly after his father died, when he was setting out for +Dalry church, and had borrowed his brother Alexander's stockings, his +brother ran after him and cried, "See that you keep out of the dirt, +for mind you have got my stockings on!" John indulged in many +day-dreams about the world that lay beyond the valley and the mountains +which surrounded the place of his birth. Though a mere boy, the +natural objects, eternally unchangeable, which daily met his eyes--the +profound silence of the scene, broken only by the bleating of a +solitary sheep, or the crowing of a distant cock, or the thrasher +beating out with his flail the scanty grain of the black oats spread +upon a skin in the open air, or the streamlets leaping from the rocky +clefts, or the distant church-bell sounding up the valley on +Sundays--all bred in his mind a profound melancholy and feeling of +loneliness, and he used to think to himself, "What can I do to see and +know something of the world beyond this?" The greatest pleasure he +experienced during that period was when packmen came round with their +stores of clothing and hardware, and displayed them for sale; he +eagerly listened to all that such visitors had to tell of the ongoings +of the world beyond the valley. + +The people of the Knocknalling district were very poor. The greater +part of them were unable to support the younger members, whose custom +it was to move off elsewhere in search of a living when they arrived at +working years,--some to America, some to the West Indies, and some to +the manufacturing districts of the south. Whole families took their +departure in this way, and the few friendships which Kennedy formed +amongst those of his own age were thus suddenly snapped, and only a +great blank remained. But he too could follow their example, and enter +upon that wider world in which so many others had ventured and +succeeded. As early as eight years of age, his mother still impressing +upon her boys the necessity of learning to work, John gathered courage +to say to her that he wished to leave home and apprentice himself to +some handicraft business. Having seen some carpenters working in the +neighbourhood, with good clothes on their backs, and hearing the men's +characters well spoken of, he thought it would be a fine thing to be a +carpenter too, particularly as the occupation would enable him to move +from place to place and see the world. He was as yet, however, of too +tender an age to set out on the journey of life; but when he was about +eleven years old, Adam Murray, one of his most intimate acquaintances, +having gone off to serve an apprenticeship in Lancashire with Mr. +Cannan of Chowbent, himself a native of the district, the event again +awakened in him a strong desire to migrate from Knocknalling. Others +had gone after Murray, James MacConnel and two or three more; and at +length, at about fourteen years of age, Kennedy himself left his native +home for Lancashire. About the time that he set out, Paul Jones was +ravaging the coasts of Galloway, and producing general consternation +throughout the district. Great excitement also prevailed through the +occurrence of the Gordon riots in London, which extended into remote +country places; and Kennedy remembered being nearly frightened out of +his wits on one occasion by a poor dominie whose school he attended, +who preached to his boys about the horrors that were coming upon the +land through the introduction of Popery. The boy set out for England +on the 2nd of February, 1784, mounted upon a Galloway, his little +package of clothes and necessaries strapped behind him. As he passed +along the glen, recognising each familiar spot, his heart was in his +mouth, and he dared scarcely trust himself to look back. The ground +was covered with snow, and nature quite frozen up. He had the company +of his brother Alexander as far as the town of New Galloway, where he +slept the first night. The next day, accompanied by one of his future +masters, Mr. James Smith, a partner of Mr. Cannan's, who had originally +entered his service as a workman, they started on ponyback for +Dumfries. After a long day's ride, they entered the town in the +evening, and amongst the things which excited the boy's surprise were +the few street-lamps of the town, and a waggon with four horses and +four wheels. In his remote valley carts were as yet unknown, and even +in Dumfries itself they were comparative rarities; the common means of +transport in the district being what were called "tumbling cars." The +day after, they reached Longtown, and slept there; the boy noting +ANOTHER lamp. The next stage was to Carlisle, where Mr. Smith, whose +firm had supplied a carding engine and spinning-jenny to a small +manufacturer in the town, went to "gate" and trim them. One was put up +in a small house, the other in a small room; and the sight of these +machines was John Kennedy's first introduction to cotton-spinning. +While going up the inn-stairs he was amazed and not a little alarmed at +seeing two men in armour--he had heard of the battles between the Scots +and English--and believed these to be some of the fighting men; though +they proved to be but effigies. Five more days were occupied in +travelling southward, the resting places being at Penrith, Kendal, +Preston, and Chorley, the two travellers arriving at Chowbent on Sunday +the 8th of February, 1784. Mr. Cannan seems to have collected about +him a little colony of Scotsmen, mostly from the same neighbourhood, +and in the evening there was quite an assembly of them at the "Bear's +Paw," where Kennedy put up, to hear the tidings from their native +county brought by the last new comer. On the following morning the boy +began his apprenticeship as a carpenter with the firm of Cannan and +Smith, serving seven years for his meat and clothing. He applied +himself to his trade, and became a good, steady workman. He was +thoughtful and self-improving, always endeavouring to acquire knowledge +of new arts and to obtain insight into new machines. "Even in early +life," said he, in the account of his career addressed to his children, +"I felt a strong desire to know what others knew, and was always ready +to communicate what little I knew myself; and by admitting at once my +want of education, I found that I often made friends of those on whom I +had no claims beyond what an ardent desire for knowledge could give me." + +His apprenticeship over, John Kennedy commenced business[5] in a small +way in Manchester in 1791, in conjunction with two other workmen, +Sandford and MacConnel. Their business was machine-making and +mule-spinning, Kennedy taking the direction of the machine department. +The firm at first put up their mules for spinning in any convenient +garrets they could hire at a low rental. After some time, they took +part of a small factory in Canal Street, and carried on their business +on a larger scale. Kennedy and MacConnel afterwards occupied a little +factory in the same street,--since removed to give place to Fairbairn's +large machine works. The progress of the firm was steady and even +rapid, and they went on building mills and extending their +business--Mr. Kennedy, as he advanced in life, gathering honour, +wealth, and troops of friends. Notwithstanding the defects of his +early education, he was one of the few men of his class who became +distinguished for his literary labours in connexion principally with +the cotton trade. Towards the close of his life, he prepared several +papers of great interest for the Literary and Philosophical Society of +Manchester, which are to be found printed in their Proceedings; one of +these, on the Invention of the Mule by Samuel Crompton, was for a long +time the only record which the public possessed of the merits and +claims of that distinguished inventor. His knowledge of the history of +the cotton manufacture in its various stages, and of mechanical +inventions generally, was most extensive and accurate. Among his +friends he numbered James Watt, who placed his son in his establishment +for the purpose of acquiring knowledge and experience of his +profession. At a much later period he numbered George Stephenson among +his friends, having been one of the first directors of the Liverpool +and Manchester Railway, and one of the three judges (selected because +of his sound judgment and proved impartiality, as well as his knowledge +of mechanical engineering) to adjudicate on the celebrated competition +of Locomotives at Rainhill. By these successive steps did this poor +Scotch boy become one of the leading men of Manchester, closing his +long and useful life in 1855 at an advanced age, his mental faculties +remaining clear and unclouded to the last. His departure from life was +happy and tranquil--so easy that it was for a time doubtful whether he +was dead or asleep. + +To return to Mr. Fairbairn's career, and his progress as a millwright +and engineer in Manchester. When he and his partner undertook the +extensive alterations in Mr. Murray's factory, both were in a great +measure unacquainted with the working of cotton-mills, having until +then been occupied principally with corn-mills, and printing and +bleaching works; so that an entirely new field was now opened to their +united exertions. Sedulously improving their opportunities, the young +partners not only thoroughly mastered the practical details of +cotton-mill work, but they were very shortly enabled to introduce a +series of improvements of the greatest importance in this branch of our +national manufactures. Bringing their vigorous practical minds to bear +on the subject, they at once saw that the gearing of even the best +mills was of a very clumsy and imperfect character. They found the +machinery driven by large square cast-iron shafts, on which huge wooden +drums, some of them as much as four feet in diameter, revolved at the +rate of about forty revolutions a minute; and the couplings were so +badly fitted that they might be heard creaking and groaning a long way +off. The speeds of the driving-shafts were mostly got up by a series +of straps and counter drums, which not only crowded the rooms, but +seriously obstructed the light where most required for conducting the +delicate operations of the different machines. Another serious defect +lay in the construction of the shafts, and in the mode of fixing the +couplings, which were constantly giving way, so that a week seldom +passed without one or more breaks-down. The repairs were usually made +on Sundays, which were the millwrights' hardest working days, to their +own serious moral detriment; but when trade was good, every +consideration was made to give way to the uninterrupted running of the +mills during the rest of the week. + +It occurred to Mr. Fairbairn that the defective arrangements thus +briefly described, might be remedied by the introduction of lighter +shafts driven at double or treble the velocity, smaller drums to drive +the machinery, and the use of wrought-iron wherever practicable, +because of its greater lightness and strength compared with wood. He +also provided for the simplification of the hangers and fixings by +which the shafting was supported, and introduced the "half-lap +coupling" so well known to millwrights and engineers. His partner +entered fully into his views; and the opportunity shortly presented +itself of carrying them into effect in the large new mill erected in +1818, for the firm of MacConnel and Kennedy. The machinery of that +concern proved a great improvement on all that had preceded it; and, to +Messrs. Fairbairn and Lillie's new system of gearing Mr. Kennedy added +an original invention of his own in a system of double speeds, with the +object of giving an increased quantity of twist in the finer +descriptions of mule yarn. + +The satisfactory execution of this important work at once placed the +firm of Fairbairn and Lillie in the very front rank of engineering +millwrights. Mr. Kennedy's good word was of itself a passport to fame +and business, and as he was more than satisfied with the manner in +which his mill machinery had been planned and executed, he sounded +their praises in all quarters. Orders poured in upon them so rapidly, +that they had difficulty in keeping pace with the demands of the trade. +They then removed from their original shed to larger premises in +Matherstreet, where they erected additional lathes and other +tool-machines, and eventually a steam-engine. They afterwards added a +large cellar under an adjoining factory to their premises; and from +time to time provided new means of turning out work with increased +efficiency and despatch. In due course of time the firm erected a +factory of their own, fitted with the most improved machinery for +turning out millwork; and they went on from one contract to another, +until their reputation as engineers became widely celebrated. In +1826-7, they supplied the water-wheels for the extensive cotton-mills +belonging to Kirkman Finlay and Company, at Catrine Bank in Ayrshire. +These wheels are even at this day regarded as among the most perfect +hydraulic machines in Europe. About the same time they supplied the +mill gearing and water-machinery for Messrs. Escher and Company's large +works at Zurich, among the largest cotton manufactories on the +continent. + +In the mean while the industry of Manchester and the neighbourhood, +through which the firm had risen and prospered, was not neglected, but +had the full benefit of the various improvements which they were +introducing in mill machinery. In the course of a few years an entire +revolution was effected in the gearing. Ponderous masses of timber and +cast-iron, with their enormous bearings and couplings, gave place to +slender rods of wrought-iron and light frames or hooks by which they +were suspended. In like manner, lighter yet stronger wheels and +pulleys were introduced, the whole arrangements were improved, and, the +workmanship being greatly more accurate, friction was avoided, while +the speed was increased from about 40 to upwards of 300 revolutions a +minute. The fly-wheel of the engine was also converted into a first +motion by the formation of teeth on its periphery, by which a +considerable saving was effected both in cost and power. + +These great improvements formed quite an era in the history of mill +machinery; and exercised the most important influence on the +development of the cotton, flax, silk, and other branches of +manufacture. Mr. Fairbairn says the system introduced by his firm was +at first strongly condemned by leading engineers, and it was with +difficulty that he could overcome the force of their opposition; nor +was it until a wheel of thirty tons weight for a pair of engines of +100-horse power each was erected and set to work, that their +prognostications of failure entirely ceased. From that time the +principles introduced by Mr. Fairbairn have been adopted wherever steam +is employed as a motive power in mills. + +Mr. Fairbairn and his partner had a hard uphill battle to fight while +these improvements were being introduced; but energy and perseverance, +guided by sound judgment, secured their usual reward, and the firm +became known as one of the most thriving and enterprising in +Manchester. Long years after, when addressing an assembly of working +men, Mr. Fairbairn, while urging the necessity of labour and +application as the only sure means of self-improvement, said, "I can +tell you from experience, that there is no labour so sweet, none so +consolatory, as that which is founded upon an honest, straightforward, +and honourable ambition." The history of any prosperous business, +however, so closely resembles every other, and its details are usually +of so monotonous a character, that it is unnecessary for us to pursue +this part of the subject; and we will content ourselves with briefly +indicating the several further improvements introduced by Mr. Fairbairn +in the mechanics of construction in the course of his long and useful +career. + +His improvements in water-wheels were of great value, especially as +regarded the new form of bucket which he introduced with the object of +facilitating the escape of the air as the water entered the bucket +above, and its readmission as the water emptied itself out below. This +arrangement enabled the water to act upon the wheel with the maximum of +effect in all states of the river; and it so generally recommended +itself, that it very soon became adopted in most water-mills both at +home and abroad.[6] His labours were not, however, confined to his own +particular calling as a mill engineer, but were shortly directed to +other equally important branches of the constructive art. Thus he was +among the first to direct his attention to iron ship building as a +special branch of business. In 1829, Mr. Houston, of Johnstown, near +Paisley, launched a light boat on the Ardrossan Canal for the purpose +of ascertaining the speed at which it could be towed by horses with two +or three persons on board. To the surprise of Mr. Houston and the +other gentlemen present, it was found that the labour the horses had to +perform in towing the boat was mach greater at six or seven, than at +nine miles an hour. This anomaly was very puzzling to the +experimenters, and at the request of the Council of the Forth and Clyde +Canal, Mr. Fairbairn, who had already become extensively known as a +scientific mechanic, was requested to visit Scotland and institute a +series of experiments with light boats to determine the law of +traction, and clear up, if possible, the apparent anomalies in Mr. +Houston's experiments. This he did accordingly, and the results of his +experiments were afterwards published, The trials extended over a +series of years, and were conducted at a cost of several thousand +pounds. The first experiments were made with vessels of wood, but they +eventually led to the construction of iron vessels upon a large scale +and on an entirely new principle of construction, with angle iron ribs +and wrought-iron sheathing plates. The results proved most valuable, +and had the effect of specially directing the attention of naval +engineers to the employment of iron in ship building. + +Mr. Fairbairn himself fully recognised the value of the experiments, +and proceeded to construct an iron vessel at his works at Manchester, +in 1831, which went to sea the same year. Its success was such as to +induce him to begin iron shipbuilding on a large scale, at the same +time as the Messrs. Laird did at Birkenhead; and in 1835, Mr. Fairbairn +established extensive works at Millwall, on the Thames,--afterwards +occupied by Mr. Scott Russell, in whose yard the "Great Eastern" +steamship was erected,--where in the course of some fourteen years he +built upwards of a hundred and twenty iron ships, some of them above +2000 tons burden. It was in fact the first great iron shipbuilding +yard in Britain, and led the way in a branch of business which has +since become of first-rate magnitude and importance. Mr. Fairbairn was +a most laborious experimenter in iron, and investigated in great detail +the subject of its strength, the value of different kinds of riveted +joints compared with the solid plate, and the distribution of the +material throughout the structure, as well as the form of the vessel +itself. It would indeed be difficult to over-estimate the value of his +investigations on these points in the earlier stages of this now highly +important branch of the national industry. + +To facilitate the manufacture of his iron-sided ships, Mr. Fairbairn, +about the year 1839, invented a machine for riveting boiler plates by +steam-power. The usual method by which this process had before been +executed was by hand-hammers, worked by men placed at each side of the +plate to be riveted, acting simultaneously on both sides of the bolt. +But this process was tedious and expensive, as well as clumsy and +imperfect; and some more rapid and precise method of fixing the plates +firmly together was urgently wanted. Mr. Fairbairn's machine +completely supplied the want. By its means the rivet was driven into +its place, and firmly fastened there by a couple of strokes of a hammer +impelled by steam. Aided by the Jacquard punching-machine of Roberts, +the riveting of plates of the largest size has thus become one of the +simplest operations in iron-manufacturing. + +The thorough knowledge which Mr. Fairbairn possessed of the strength of +wrought-iron in the form of the hollow beam (which a wrought-iron ship +really is) naturally led to his being consulted by the late Robert +Stephenson as to the structures by means of which it was proposed to +span the estuary of the Conway and the Straits of Menai; and the result +was the Conway and Britannia Tubular Bridges, the history of which we +have fully described elsewhere.[7] There is no reason to doubt that by +far the largest share of the merit of working out the practical details +of those structures, and thus realizing Robert Stephenson's magnificent +idea of the tubular bridge, belongs to Mr. Fairbairn. + +In all matters connected with the qualities and strength of iron, he +came to be regarded as a first-rate authority, and his advice was often +sought and highly valued. The elaborate experiments instituted by him +as to the strength of iron of all kinds have formed the subject of +various papers which he has read before the British Association, the +Royal Society, and the Literary and Philosophical Society of +Manchester. His practical inquiries as to the strength of boilers have +led to his being frequently called upon to investigate the causes of +boiler explosions, on which subject he has published many elaborate +reports. The study of this subject led him to elucidate the law +according to which the density of steam varies throughout an extensive +range of pressures and atmospheres,--in singular confirmation of what +had before been provisionally calculated from the mechanical theory of +heat. His discovery of the true method of preventing the tendency of +tubes to collapse, by dividing the flues of long boilers into short +lengths by means of stiffening rings, arising out of the same +investigation, was one of the valuable results of his minute study of +the subject; and is calculated to be of essential value in the +manufacturing districts by diminishing the chances of boiler +explosions, and saving the lamentable loss of life which has during the +last twenty years been occasioned by the malconstruction of boilers. +Among Mr. Fairbairn's most recent, inquiries are those conducted by him +at the instance of the British Government relative to the construction +of iron-plated ships, his report of which has not yet been made public, +most probably for weighty political reasons. + +We might also refer to the practical improvements which Mr. Fairbairn +has been instrumental in introducing in the construction of buildings +of various kinds by the use of iron. He has himself erected numerous +iron structures, and pointed out the road which other manufacturers +have readily followed. "I am one of those," said he, in his 'Lecture +on the Progress of Engineering,' "who have great faith in iron walls +and iron beams; and although I have both spoken and written much on the +subject, I cannot too forcibly recommend it to public attention. It is +now twenty years since I constructed an iron house, with the machinery +of a corn-mill, for Halil Pasha, then Seraskier of the Turkish army at +Constantinople. I believe it was the first iron house built in this +country; and it was constructed at the works at Millwall, London, in +1839." [8] + +Since then iron structures of all kinds have been erected: iron +lighthouses, iron-and-crystal palaces, iron churches, and iron bridges. +Iron roads have long been worked by iron locomotives; and before many +years have passed a telegraph of iron wire will probably be found +circling the globe. We now use iron roofs, iron bedsteads, iron ropes, +and iron pavement; and even the famous "wooden walls of England" are +rapidly becoming reconstructed of iron. In short, we are in the midst +of what Mr. Worsaae has characterized as the Age of Iron. + +At the celebration of the opening of the North Wales Railway at Bangor, +almost within sight of his iron bridge across the Straits of Menai, +Robert Stephenson said, "We are daily producing from the bowels of the +earth a raw material, in its crude state apparently of no worth, but +which, when converted into a locomotive engine, flies over bridges of +the same material, with a speed exceeding that of the bird, advancing +wealth and comfort throughout the country. Such are the powers of that +all-civilizing instrument, Iron." + +Iron indeed plays a highly important part in modern civilization. Out +of it are formed alike the sword and the ploughshare, the cannon and +the printing-press; and while civilization continues partial and +half-developed, as it still is, our liberties and our industry must +necessarily in a great measure depend for their protection upon the +excellence of our weapons of war as well as on the superiority of our +instruments of peace. Hence the skill and ingenuity displayed in the +invention of rifled guns and artillery, and iron-sided ships and +batteries, the fabrication of which would be impossible but for the +extraordinary development of the iron-manufacture, and the marvellous +power and precision of our tool-making machines, as described in +preceding chapters. + +"Our strength, wealth, and commerce," said Mr. Cobden in the course of +a recent debate in the House of Commons, "grow out of the skilled +labour of the men working in metals. They are at the foundation of our +manufacturing greatness; and in case you were attacked, they would at +once be available, with their hard hands and skilled brains, to +manufacture your muskets and your cannon, your shot and your shell. +What has given us our Armstrongs, Whitworths, and Fairbairns, but the +free industry of this country? If you can build three times more +steam-engines than any other country, and have threefold the force of +mechanics, to whom and to what do you owe that, but to the men who have +trained them, and to those principles of commerce out of which the +wealth of the country has grown? We who have some hand in doing that, +are not ignorant that we have been and are increasing the strength of +the country in proportion as we are raising up skilled artisans." [9] + +The reader who has followed us up to this point will have observed that +handicraft labour was the first stage of the development of human +power, and that machinery has been its last and highest. The +uncivilized man began with a stone for a hammer, and a splinter of +flint for a chisel, each stage of his progress being marked by an +improvement in his tools. Every machine calculated to save labour or +increase production was a substantial addition to his power over the +material resources of nature, enabling him to subjugate them more +effectually to his wants and uses; and every extension of machinery has +served to introduce new classes of the population to the enjoyment of +its benefits. In early times the products of skilled industry were for +the most part luxuries intended for the few, whereas now the most +exquisite tools and engines are employed in producing articles of +ordinary consumption for the great mass of the community. Machines +with millions of fingers work for millions of purchasers--for the poor +as well as the rich; and while the machinery thus used enriches its +owners, it no less enriches the public with its products. + +Much of the progress to which we have adverted has been the result of +the skill and industry of our own time. "Indeed," says Mr. Fairbairn, +"the mechanical operations of the present day could not have been +accomplished at any cost thirty years ago; and what was then considered +impossible is now performed with an exactitude that never fails to +accomplish the end in view." For this we are mainly indebted to the +almost creative power of modern machine-tools, and the facilities which +they present for the production and reproduction of other machines. We +also owe much to the mechanical agencies employed to drive them. Early +inventors yoked wind and water to sails and wheels, and made them work +machinery of various kinds; but modern inventors have availed +themselves of the far more swift and powerful, yet docile force of +steam, which has now laid upon it the heaviest share of the burden of +toil, and indeed become the universal drudge. Coal, water, and a +little oil, are all that the steam-engine, with its bowels of iron and +heart of fire, needs to enable it to go on working night and day, +without rest or sleep. Yoked to machinery of almost infinite variety, +the results of vast ingenuity and labour, the Steam-engine pumps water, +drives spindles, thrashes corn, prints books, hammers iron, ploughs +land, saws timber, drives piles, impels ships, works railways, +excavates docks; and, in a word, asserts an almost unbounded supremacy +over the materials which enter into the daily use of mankind, for +clothing, for labour, for defence, for household purposes, for +locomotion, for food, or for instruction. + + + +[1] Long after, when married and settled at Manchester, the fiddle, +which had been carefully preserved, was taken down from the shelf for +the amusement of the children; but though they were well enough pleased +with it, the instrument was never brought from its place without +creating alarm in the mind of their mother lest anybody should hear it. +At length a dancing-master, who was giving lessons in the +neighbourhood, borrowed the fiddle, and, to the great relief of the +family, it was never returned. Many years later Mr. Fairbairn was +present at the starting of a cotton mill at Wesserling in Alsace +belonging to Messrs. Gros, Deval, and Co., for which his Manchester +firm had provided the mill-work and water-wheel (the first erected in +France on the suspension principle, when the event was followed by an +entertainment). During dinner Mr. Fairbairn had been explaining to M. +Gros, who spoke a little English, the nature of home-brewed beer, which +he much admired, having tasted it when in England. The dinner was +followed by music, in the performance of which the host himself took +part; and on Mr. Fairbairn's admiring his execution on the violin, M. +Gros asked him if he played. "A little," was the almost unconscious +reply. "Then you must have the goodness to play some," and the +instrument was in a moment placed in his hands, amidst urgent requests +from all sides that he should play. There was no alternative; so he +proceeded to perform one of his best tunes--"The Keel Row." The +company listened with amazement, until the performer's career was +suddenly cut short by the host exclaiming at the top of his voice, +"Stop, stop, Monsieur, by gar that be HOME-BREWED MUSIC!" + +[2] "Although not a native of Newcastle," he then said, "he owed almost +everything to Newcastle. He got the rudiments of his education there, +such as it was; and that was (something like that of his revered +predecessor George Stephenson) at a colliery. He was brought up as an +engineer at the Percy Main Colliery. He was there seven years; and if +it had not been for the opportunities he then enjoyed, together with +the use of the library at North Shields, he believed he would not have +been there to address them. Being self-taught, but with some little +ambition, and a determination to improve himself, he was now enabled to +stand before them with some pretensions to mechanical knowledge, and +the persuasion that he had been a useful contributor to practical +science and objects connected with mechanical engineering."--Meeting of +the Institute of Mechanical Engineers at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1858. + +[3] Useful Information for Engineers, 2nd series, 1860, p. 211. + +[4] Lecture at Derby--Useful Information for Engineers, 2nd series, p. +212. + +[5] One of the reasons which induced Kennedy thus early to begin the +business of mule-spinning has been related as follows. While employed +as apprentice at Chowbent, he happened to sleep over the master's +apartment; and late one evening, on the latter returning from market, +his wife asked his success. "I've sold the eightys," said he, "at a +guinea a pound." "What," exclaimed the mistress, in a loud voice, +"sold the eightys for ONLY a guinea a pound! I never heard of such a +thing." The apprentice could not help overhearing the remark, and it +set him a-thinking. He knew the price of cotton and the price of +labour, and concluded there must be a very large margin of profit. So +soon as he was out of his time, therefore, he determined that he should +become a cotton spinner. + +[6] The subject will be found fully treated in Mr. Fairbairn's own +work, A Treatise on Mills and Mill-Work, embodying the results of his +large experience. + +[7] Lives of the Engineers, vol. iii. 416-40. See also An Account of +the Construction of the Britannia and Conway Tubular Bridges. By +William Fairbairn, C.E. 1849. + +[8] Useful Information for Engineers, 2nd series, 225. The mere list +of Mr. Fairbairn's writings would occupy considerable space; for, +notwithstanding his great labours as an engineer, he has also been an +industrious writer. His papers on Iron, read at different times before +the British Association, the Royal Society, and the Literary and +Philosophical Institution of Manchester, are of great value. The +treatise on "Iron" in the Encyclopaedia Britannica is from his pen, and +he has contributed a highly interesting paper to Dr. Scoffern's Useful +Metals and their Alloys on the Application of Iron to the purposes of +Ordnance, Machinery, Bridges, and House and Ship Building. Another +valuable but less-known contribution to Iron literature is his Report +on Machinery in General, published in the Reports on the Paris +Universal Exhibition of 1855. The experiments conducted by Mr. +Fairbairn for the purpose of proving the excellent properties of iron +for shipbuilding--the account of which was published in the Trans +actions of the Royal Society eventually led to his further experiments +to determine the strength and form of the Britannia and Conway Tubular +Bridges, plate-girders, and other constructions, the result of which +was to establish quite a new era in the history of bridge as well as +ship building. + +[9] House of Commons Debate, 7th July, 1862. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Industrial Biography, by Samuel Smiles + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INDUSTRIAL BIOGRAPHY *** + +***** This file should be named 404.txt or 404.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/404/ + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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