Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts c23.s5.t9: Quality of the Iron
Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts c23.s5.t9
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Quality of the Iron
c23.s5.t9.1
The iron was made over to Captain Presgrave of the Sagar Mint (an officer very capable of judging with regard to its quality). He wrought it up into bars and rods for an iron suspension bridge on which he was then employed and the following is his report to understand which it is necessary to refer to the note below.⁸
c23.s5.t9.2
The first six marks, afford bar iron (as far as my knowledge allows me to judge) of most excellent quality, possessing all the desirable properties of malleability, ductility at different temperatures and of tenacity for all of which I think it cannot be surpassed by the best Swedish iron; the second description consisting of the three last numbers in the accompanying statement has produced very good bars, but in forging and working it up, the iron appears somewhat harder, probably from it still containing a portion of carbon; the different marks varied in yielding from 50 to 60¼ per cent in bars, the average from the whole being rather more than 55¾ per cent.
c23.s5.t9.3
It is necessary to add that the bar iron mentioned above, is not⁹ common bar iron—but highly wrought bars, for use in a suspension bridge; the hardness alluded to in the three last numbers, was evidently occasioned by the metal ‘still retaining a portion of carbon’, and it is worthy of remark that this quality was confined to those specimens, the ore of which had been roasted.¹⁰