BLAST FURNACE DATA AND ANNUAL PIG IRON PRODUCTION ═════╤══════════╤══════════╤══════════╤════════════════════════════════ Year │ Average │ Average │ Average │ Tons Pig Iron Produced During │Height[1] │ Cu. Ft. │ Daily │ Year │ of Blast │ Capacity │Output in │ │ Furnace │ of Blast │Tons Each │ │ │ Furnace │ │ ─────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┬──────────┬────────── „ │ „ │ „ │ „ │ United │ Great │ Germany │ │ │ │ States │ Britain │ and │ │ │ │ │ │Luxemberg ─────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼────────── 1850 │ 30′│ 2000│ 29│ 565,000│ │ 1860 │ │ │ │ 920,000│ │ 1870 │ │ │ │ 1,865,000│ 5,963,000│ 1,391,000 1880 │ 70′│ 8200│ 117│ 3,835,000│ 7,749,000│ 2,729,000 1890 │ 90′│ 18200│ 360│ 9,000,000│ 7,904,000│ 4,658,000 1900 │ 100′│ 24000│ 600│13,790,000│ 9,003,000│ 7,550,000 1905 │90 to 100′│ 24000│ 600│23,000,000│ 9,746,000│10,988,000 1910 │90 to 100′│ 24000│ 600│27,300,000│10,380,000│14,495,000 1912 │90 to 100′│ 24000│ 600│30,000,000│ 9,037,000│17,869,000 1913 │90 to 100′│ 24000│ 600│31,000,000│10,654,000│19,292,000 ─────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴────────── Footnote 1: No advantage has been found in furnaces having a height of over 110 feet. The chemical laboratory plays a very important rôle in iron making. Analyses made of each car or boat load of ore by the furnace chemists representing the buyer must check very closely the analyses made by the mine chemists for the seller, as the price of every ton of ore is based on its iron and its phosphorus contents and the percentages of certain other constituents present. In calculating the “burden” or charges for the furnace, each of these constituents is estimated in pounds actually present per charge, losses or gains during the journey through the furnace are allowed for, and by combining the various ores the charges are so made up that the resulting iron will be of certain desired composition. The closeness of actual composition obtained to calculated results is startling. Truly this is an age of efficiency.