fame.

Half a century ago, the inducements to enter upon an industrial career
were much more limited than they are at the present day. The industries
of the West of Scotland were then few and comparatively uninviting. The
iron trade was in its infancy, and those engaged in it lacked the
resources for the acquisition of wealth that were evolved from the
discovery of blackband mineral deposits by Mushet, the application of
the hot blast by Neilson, and the introduction of other more economical
modes of working. Mr. James Baird did more than any other ironmaster in
Scotland to carry out to its full and perfect development the principle
of hot blast, and he greatly aided the success of Mr. Neilson's
invention by designing appliances which enabled the air to be heated to
a high temperature without destroying the apparatus. Many other
important improvements, which rendered iron-making much more easy and
simple, were soon afterwards carried out under Mr. Baird's auspices,
including the adoption of the modern shape of the blast furnace, which
is very much less in bulk and first cost than the furnaces used in the
early history of the trade. We believe that Mr. Baird was the very first
to introduce the modern shape of the blast furnace. It was a
distinguishing feature in Mr. Baird's character that he excelled in
suggesting and applying different modes of saving labour in every
department, and so thoroughly skilled was he in all the various
processes of manufacture, that every workman with whom he came in
contact regarded him as a master of his handicraft. More than any other
member of his family, Mr. Baird exercised practical authority over all
structural and mechanical arrangements as well as over the mineral
workings leased by or belonging to the firm. So late as the year 1830,
the total number of blast furnaces in Scotland was only seven, and their
capacity of production did not exceed 10,000 tons per annum. Last year,
the total production of the 154 furnaces in Scotland was 1,164,000 tons,
representing an aggregate value of not less than L3,000,000! A single
glance at these figures will convey an adequate idea of the progress
made in the interval; they require neither note nor comment. The Messrs
Baird had little prospect before them other than that afforded by the
pursuit of agriculture, in which their forefathers had engaged. But
William, with characteristic enterprise, resolved that he would not be
tied to the soil. Comme