ELABORATION OF THE ORE.
We have seen that the workman who has charge of the fire contents himself with putting charcoal and ore alternately into the crucibles, and that too according to the aspect of the flames, without making any examination in the interior, in order to judge whether the work is proceeding well. The bloom forms gradually beneath the nozzle of the tuyere, in the center of the bed of sand and charcoal, and is surrounded on every side with an exceedingly pasty mass, formed of silicates of iron and manganese (Fig. 7). It is only at the end of the operation that the workman, by means of a rod, causes the burning coal to drop and verifies the proper position of the bloom by breaking the layer of scoriæ that surrounds it. This coating he breaks off, removes the bloom with a hook, and agglutinates with his rod the different bubbles that it exhibits, and the assistant then carries it to the hammer.