Itmaybementionedinpassing,thatwhileZincisfusibleat3degreesofWedgwood’spyrometer,Silverat22degrees,Copperat27degrees,andGoldat32degrees,CastIronisonlyfusibleat130degrees。TinoneoftheconstituentsoftheancientbronzeandLeadarefusibleatmuchlowerdegreesthanzinc。
Butitisprincipallyincombinationwithotherelementsthatironissovaluablewhencomparedwithothermetals。Thus,whencombinedwithcarbon,invaryingproportions,substancesareproduced,sodifferent,buteachsovaluable,thattheymightalmostberegardedinthelightofdistinctmetals,——such,forexample,ascast-iron,andcastandbarsteel;thevariousqualitiesofironenablingittobeusedforpurposessooppositeasasteelpenandarailroad,theneedleofamariner’scompassandanArmstronggun,asurgeon’slancetandasteamengine,themainspringofawatchandanironship,apairofscissorsandaNasmythhammer,alady’searringsandatubularbridge。
Thevarietyofpurposestowhichironisthuscapableofbeingapplied,rendersitofmoreusetomankindthanalltheothermetalscombined。Unlikeiron,goldisfoundpure,andinanalmostworkablestate;andatanerlyperiodinhistory,itseemstohavebeenmuchmoreplentifulthanironorsteel。Butgoldwasunsuitedforthepurposesoftools,andwouldserveforneitherasaw,achisel,anaxe,norasword;whilsttemperedsteelcouldanswerallthesepurposes。Hencewefindtheearlywarlikenationsmakingthebacksoftheirswordsofgoldorcopper,andeconomizingtheirsteeltoformthecuttingedge。ThisisillustratedbymanyancientScandinavianweaponsinthemuseumatCopenhagen,whichindicatethegreatestparsimonyintheuseofsteelataperiodwhenbothgoldandcopperappeartohavebeencomparativelyabundant。
Theknowledgeofsmeltingandworkinginiron,likemostotherarts,camefromtheEast。Ironwasespeciallyvaluedforpurposesofwar,ofwhichindeeditwasregardedasthesymbol,beingcalled”Mars”bytheRomans。*
[footnote……
TheRomansnamedtheothermetalsafterthegods。ThusQuicksilverwascalledMercury,LeadSaturn,TinJupiter,CopperVenus,SilverLuna,andsoon;andourownlanguagehasreceivedacolouringfromtheRomannomenclature,whichitcontinuestoretain。
WefindfrequentmentionofitintheBible。OneoftheearliestnoticesofthemetalisinconnexionwiththeconquestofJudeabythePhilistines。TocompletethesubjectionoftheIsraelites,theirconquerorsmadecaptiveallthesmithsoftheland,andcarriedthemaway。ThePhilistinesfeltthattheirholdofthecountrywasinsecuresolongastheinhabitantspossessedthemeansofforgingweapons。Hence”therewasnosmithfoundthroughoutallthelandofIsrael;forthePhilistinessaid,LesttheHebrewsmakethemswordsorspears。ButtheIsraeliteswentdowntothePhilistines,tosharpeneverymanhisshare,andhiscoulter,andhisaxe,andhismattock。”*
[footnote……
I。Samuelxiii。19,20。
Atalaterperiod,whenJerusalemwastakenbytheBabylonians,oneoftheirfirstactswastocarrythesmithsandothercraftsmencaptivestoBabylon。*
[footnote……
II。Kingsxxiv。16。
Deprivedoftheirarmourers,theJewswererenderedcomparativelypowerless。
Itwastheknowledgeoftheartofiron-forgingwhichlaidthefoundationoftheoncegreatempireoftheTurks。GibbonrelatesthatthesepeoplewereoriginallythedespisedslavesofthepowerfulKhanoftheGeougen。Theyoccupiedcertaindistrictsofthemountain-ridgeinthecentreofAsia,calledImaus,Caf,andAltai,whichyieldedironinlargequantities。ThismetaltheTurkswereemployedbytheKhantoforgeforhisuseinwar。Aboldleaderaroseamongthem,whopersuadedtheironworkersthatthearmswhichtheyforgedfortheirmastersmightintheirownhandsbecometheinstrumentsoffreedom。
Sallyingforthfromtheirmountains,theysetuptheirstandard,andtheirweaponssoonfreedthem。Forcenturiesafter,theTurkishnationcontinuedtocelebratetheeventoftheirliberationbyanannualceremony,inwhichapieceofironwasheatedinthefire,andasmith’shammerwassuccessivelyhandledbytheprinceandhisnobles。
Wecanonlyconjecturehowtheartofsmeltingironwasdiscovered。
Whofirstappliedfiretotheore,andmadeitplastic;whodiscoveredfireitself,anditsusesinmetallurgy?Noonecantell。
TraditionsaysthatthemetalwasdiscoveredthroughtheaccidentalburningofawoodinGreece。Mr。Mushetthinksitmoreprobablethatthediscoverywasmadeontheconversionofwoodintocharcoalforculinaryorchamberpurposes。”Ifamassofore,”hesays,”accidentallydroppedintothemiddleoftheburningpileduringaperiodofneglect,orduringtheexistenceofathoroughdraught,amixedmass,partlyearthyandpartlymetallic,wouldbeobtained,possessingductilityandextensionunderpressure。Butiftheconjectureispushedstillfurther,andwesupposethattheorewasnotanoxide,butrichiniron,magneticorspicular,theresultwouldinallprobabilitybeamassofperfectlymalleableiron。I
haveseenthisfactillustratedintheroastingofaspeciesofiron-stone,whichwasunitedwithaconsiderablemassofbituminousmatter。Afterahightemperaturehadbeenexcitedintheinteriorofthepile,platesofmalleableironofatoughandflexiblenaturewereformed,andundercircumstanceswheretherewasnofuelbutthatfurnishedbytheoreitself。”*
[footnote……
PapersonIronandSteel,363-4。
Themetaloncediscovered,manyattemptswouldbemadetogivetothatwhichhadbeentheeffectofaccidentamoreunerringresult。
Thesmeltingoforeinanopenheapofwoodorcharcoalbeingfoundtediousandwasteful,aswellasuncertain,wouldnaturallyleadtotheinventionofafurnace;withtheobjectofkeepingtheoresurroundedasmuchaspossiblewithfuelwhiletheprocessofconversionintoironwasgoingforward。ThelowconicalfurnacesemployedatthisdaybysomeofthetribesofCentralandSouthernAfrica,areperhapsverymuchthesameincharacterasthoseadoptedbytheearlytribesofallcountrieswhereironwasfirstmade。Smallopeningsatthelowerendoftheconetoadmittheair,andalargerorificeatthetop,would,withcharcoal,besufficienttoproducetherequisitedegreeofheatforthereductionoftheore。Tothisthefoot-blastwasadded,asstillusedinCeylonandinIndia;andafterwardsthewater-blast,asemployedinSpainwhereitisknownastheCatalanforge,alongthecoastsoftheMediterranean,andinsomepartsofAmerica。
Itisworthyofremark,thattheruderthemethodemployedforthereductionoftheore,thebetterthequalityoftheironusuallyis。
Wheretheartislittleadvanced,onlythemosttractableoresareselected;andascharcoalistheonlyfuelused,thequalityofthemetalisalmostinvariablyexcellent。Theorebeinglongexposedtothecharcoalfire,andthequantitymadesmall,theresultisametalhavingmanyofthequalitiesofsteel,capableofbeingusedforweaponsortoolsafteracomparativelysmallamountofforging。
Dr。LivingstonespeaksoftheexcellentqualityoftheironmadebytheAfricantribesontheZambesi,whorefusetouseordinaryEnglishiron,whichtheyconsider”rotten。”*
[footnote……
Dr。LivingstonebroughtwithhimtoEnglandapieceoftheZambesiiron,whichhesenttoaskilledBirminghamblacksmithtotest。
Theresultwas,thathepronouncedthemetalasstronglyresemblingSwedishorRussian;bothofwhichkindsaresmeltedwithcharcoal。
TheAfricanironwasfound”highlycarbonized,”and”whenchilleditpossessedthepropertiesofsteel。”
DuChaillualsosaysoftheFans,that,inmakingtheirbestknivesandarrow-heads,theywillnotuseEuropeanorAmericaniron,greatlypreferringtheirown。ThecelebratedwootzorsteelofIndia,madeinlittlecakesofonlyabouttwopoundsweight,possessesqualitieswhichnoEuropeansteelcansurpass。OutofthismaterialthefamousDamascussword-bladesweremade;anditsuseforsolongaperiodisperhapsoneofthemoststrikingproofsoftheancientcivilizationofIndia。
TheearlyhistoryofironinBritainisnecessarilyveryobscure。
WhentheRomansinvadedthecountry,themetalseemstohavebeenalreadyknowntothetribesalongthecoast。Thenativeshadprobablysmelteditthemselvesintheirrudebloomeries,orobtaineditfromthePhoeniciansinsmallquantitiesinexchangeforskinsandfood,ortin。Wemust,however,regardthestoriestoldoftheancientBritishchariotsarmedwithswordsorscythesasaltogetherapocryphal。Theexistenceofironinsufficientquantitytobeusedforsuchapurposeisincompatiblewithcontemporaryfacts,andunsupportedbyasinglevestigeremainingtoourtime。Thecountrywasthenmostlyforest,andtheroadsdidnotasyetexistuponwhichchariotscouldbeused;whilstironwastooscarcetobemountedasscythesuponchariots,whenthewarriorsthemselveswanteditforswords。TheoratorCicero,inalettertoTrebatius,thenservingwiththearmyinBritain,sarcasticallyadvisedhimtocaptureandconveyoneofthesevehiclestoItalyforexhibition;butwedonothearthatanyspecimenoftheBritishwar-chariotwaseverseeninRome。
Itisonlyinthetumulialongthecoast,orinthoseoftheRomano-Britishperiod,thatironimplementsareeverfound;whilstintheancientburyingplacesoftheinteriorofthecountrytheyarealtogetherwanting。HerodiansaysoftheBritishpursuedbySeverusthroughthefensandmarshesoftheeastcoast,thattheyworeironhoopsroundtheirmiddlesandtheirnecks,esteemingthemasornamentsandtokensofriches,inlikemannerasotherbarbarouspeoplethenesteemedornamentsofsilverandgold。Theironlymoney,accordingtoCaesar,consistedofpiecesofbrassoriron,reducedtoacertainstandardweight。*
[footnote……
HOLINSHED,i。517。IronwasalsothecurrencyoftheSpartans,butithasbeenusedassuchinmuchmorerecenttimes。AdamSmith,inhisWealthofNationsBookI。ch。4,publishedin1776,says,”thereisatthisdayavillageinScotlandwhereitisnotuncommon,Iamtold,foraworkmantocarrynails,insteadofmoney,tothebaker’sshoporthealehouse。”
Itisparticularlyimportanttoobserve,saysM。Worsaae,thatalltheantiquitieswhichhavehithertobeenfoundinthelargeburyingplacesoftheIronperiod,inSwitzerland,Bavaria,Baden,France,England,andtheNorth,exhibittracesmoreorlessofRomaninfluence。
[footnote……
PrimevalAntiquitiesofDenmark。London,1849,p。140。