In 1873 the company operated 8 blast furnaces and 97 puddling furnaces. The monarch has also been noticed puddling at an oil stain on pavement. The process begins by preparing the puddling furnace. In 1783 he patented the puddling process for refining iron ore. For wet puddling, scrap iron and/or iron oxide is also charged. But iron was expensive to produce until Henry Cort patented the puddling process in 1784. Cort developed two significant iron manufacturing processes&colon; rolling in 1783 and puddling in 1784. The Romans started panning and puddling for gold. This was the ideal material to charge to the puddling furnace. It does not survive trampling and puddling. The advantage of puddling was that it used coal, not charcoal as fuel. When this is done with clay, it is known as puddling. Cort is now generally regarded as the 'inventor' of puddling. The process of puddling was the occupation's chief responsibility. Puddling was backbreaking and extremely hot work.