that it was said by the proprietors of some other fur-
naces that they could not afford to employ a chemist.
Had they known the truth then, they would have
known that they could not afford to be without one.
Looking back it seems pardonable to record that we
were the first to employ a chemist at blast furnaces -
something our competitors pronounced extravagant.

The Lucy Furnace became the most profitable branch
of our business, because we had almost the entire monop-
oly of scientific management. Having discovered the
secret, it was not long ( 1872) before we decided to erect
an additional furnace. This was done with great economy
as compared with our first experiment. The mines which
had no reputation and the products of which many
firms would not permit to be used in their blast fur-
naces found a purchaser in us. Those mines which were
able to obtain an enormous price for their products,
owing to a reputation for quality, we quietly ignored.
A curious illustration of this was the celebrated Pilot
Knob mine in Missouri. Its product was, so to speak,
under a cloud. A small portion of it only could be used,
it was said, without obstructing the furnace. Chemistry
told us that it was low in phosphorus, but very high in
silicon. There was no better ore and scarcely any as rich,
if it were properly fluxed. We therefore bought heavily
of this and received the thanks of the proprietors for
rendering their property valuable.

It is hardly believable that for several years we were
able to dispose of the highly phosphoric cinder from the
puddling furnaces at a higher price than we had to pay
for the pure cinder from the heating furnaces of our
competitors -- a cinder which was richer in iron than the
puddled cinder and much freer from phosphorus. Upon
some occasion a blast furnace had attempted to smelt

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