The story of Dud. Dudley, as told by Mr. Smiles in his “Iron-workers and Tool-makers,” is one of surpassing interest. It is worthy the careful perusal not only of every school-boy but of the philosophic student in search of the lessons of history, for it affords fresh evidence of the truth of the proposition that the progress of civilization depends upon progress in invention and discovery.
Under the influence of ignorance, prejudice, and superstition the iron industry of England continued to decline until the beginning of the eighteenth century, when the British people imported their pots and kettles. Fifty years later, at the Coalbrookdale iron-works in Shropshire, when the furnaces had consumed all the wood in the neighborhood and a fuel famine was imminent, smelting with mineral coal was successfully resumed, and in 1766 two workmen of the “works”—the brothers Cranege—invented the reverberatory furnace, which added immensely to the application of coal to smelting purposes.
But while we are discussing the history of coal we are consuming coal to little purpose, for the blast is on and the furnace fires glow like miniature volcanic craters. Let us to work. Before the black-board, chalk in hand, the instructor stands and gives out the lesson. He presents it in the form of drawings, complete and in detail. It may involve only the single process of “drawing,” or it may involve several processes, as “drawing,” “bending,” and “welding.” The first sketch, for example, represents a flat bar of iron, the counterpart of the bars resting against the several forges. The second sketch shows the bar wrought into the form of a cylinder. The third sketch shows it “drawn” or lengthened, and hence reduced in size. The fourth sketch presents two rods the united lengths of which equal the length of the original rod. The fifth sketch represents the two rods “bent” into the form of chain-links, and a sub-sketch shows the proper shape of the ends of the links for “welding.” The sixth sketch shows the two links joined and welded.
The black-board illustrations may be omitted if the school is provided with a complete set of samples. The school of mechanic arts of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a hundred samples representing the successive steps in blacksmithing manipulation, including welding, and the welding samples consist of two parts, the first representing the details of the piece prepared for welding, and the second the welded piece. These samples are part of a collection of three hundred and twenty pieces of exquisite workmanship, covering every department of a complete manual training course, presented to the Institute in 1877 by the Emperor of Russia.
COURSE IN THE FORGING LABORATORY.
The black-board illustrations or the samples having been exhibited and explained as clearly as is possible in words, the instructor takes his place at one of the forges, and, surrounded by the class, goes through with the successive steps of any manipulation contained in the lesson which has not been actually wrought out in some previous lesson.
If the manipulation is a simple one the silence is only broken by the sound of the blast and the stroke of the hammer—the students understand every turn of the iron and every blow struck by the instructor—but if the manipulation is complicated, involving a fresh principle, the instructor is saluted by a volley of questions, and he often pauses to answer them. It is the time for questions; the more questions now, the fewer questions when all the blasts shall be on, and all the sledges flying through the air and making music on the anvils. A question now may lead to the enlightenment of twenty-four students; a question later is sure to cost the time of twenty-four students, and the answer to it may enlighten only one student.
At last the instructor drops the sledge, straightens up to his full height, and wipes the sweat from his brow. If the students respect the instructor they will respect labor, and they will respect the instructor if he is worthy of respect.