ABSTRACT
The first intimation of the discovery of a method of eliminating phosphorus from impure ores was made at a meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute, in May, 1878, by Sidney G. Thomas. Sidney G. Thomas, however, on that occasion limited himself to the declaration that he had succeeded in reducing the then objectionable metalloid named to a mere trace in the Bessemer converter. The natural tendency of all more expensive processes is to be displaced by less costly methods. The crucible-steel industry, which was almost the only one of any real importance forty years ago, has been gradually superseded by one or other of the newer systems of Siemens and Bessemer. The manufacture of the steel available prior to the Bessemer process was both tedious and expensive. The crucible-steel industry embraces a large number of so-called special steels, varying according to the percentage of carbon, tungsten, wolfram, manganese, or other alloying material employed.
