The Colonization herald and general register

              Cftlotm
cwlfr
AND GENERAL REGISTER.
CONDUCTED  BY   THE   PENNSYLVANIA   AND  NEW  YORK   COLONIZATION   SOCIETIES
WHATSOEVER YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO TO YOU, DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM.
Vol. I.—NEW SERIES.
PHILADELPHIA,   WEDNESDAY,  APKIL   23,   1888
rso. 1
From the National Gazelle.
Philadelphia, April 4, 1838.
Nicholas Biddle, Esq., Philadelphia.
Dear Sir—You were kind enough to say that the
facts which I mentioned to you the other evening re¬
specting the importance of Coal and Iron to Pennsyl¬
vania, were of interest lo you; and you also expressed
a desire that 1 should commit them to paper, with any
other matters that I might think interesting in rela¬
tion to these minerals, chiefly in a commercial point of
view.
My principal object being to show how vital the de¬
velopment of these minerals will be to the prosperity of
this great state, I shall endeavor so to arrange the dif¬
ferent branches ofthe subject as to give you as clear
a notion of my views as possible.
First then, as to the extent of the coal fields with
which we are so pre-eminently blessed—that of the
bituminous coal extending from a point near to Tow-
anda, in a line nearly parallel to the boundary line of
the state of New York, as far as Warren, and thence
south west to Sharon, on tbe Ohio state boundary.
This forms very nearly the northern boundary of thi?
great co:il field in Pennsylvania. The southern boun¬
dary may be considered to stretch from the same start¬
ing point, through Lycoming county, north of Wil-
liamsport, to Farrandsvillo, and thence along the west¬
ern declivity of the Allegheny mountain to Cumberland
in Maryland. It will only be necessary to cast the
eye upon the map to perceive that, the area of this
boundary embraces nearly, if not quite, a third part of
the whole state. Besides this, we have bituminous
coal in a circumscribed space on Broad Top mountain
on the Rnystown Branch ofthe Juniata, and on Stoney
creek in Dauphin county.
The anthracite coal fields are comparatively small
when viewed in relation to that of the great bitumin¬
ous coal field, but they are of greater commercial im¬
portance at this time.
The first, or thnt of Pottsvillp, commences npar to
the Lehigh, on the Mauch Chunk Company's lands, and
filling up the valley between the Sharp and the Broad
mountains, terminates some miles east of the Susque¬
hanna, and is about sixty miles long, its greatest
breadth being about five miles. In lhe section of the
broadest part, which is at Pottsville, there are found
between ninety and a hundred beds, nearly the whole
of which it is likely will be found worth working. In
the southern part of this coal field are found the valu¬
able Red Ash beds.
The second anthracite coal field, or that of Shamo-
kin, commences near the Lehigh, at Bunk mountain,
and terminates at the point of junction of the Big and
Little Mahooy, and is, perhaps, about the same width
as the last.
The third anthracite coal field, or that of Wilkes¬
barre, commences near to Carbond-ile, and terminates
at the Susquehanna near Nescopeck.
Having defined the limits of our coal fields, I would
call your attention to the irnDortant agency this mine¬
ral has had in raising Great Britain to a state of pros¬
perity such as no other nation has perhaps ever seen.
Nenrlv all the British writers who have touched upon
this subject, have given their testimony as to its being
in fact the very basis ofthe wenl'h ofthe nation.
The following extracts are from M'Culloch, one of
the most recent writers on the subject, and whose
opinions have great weight:
" Ofthe different minerals (in Great Britain) that of
coal is by far the most important and valuable of them
all."
"lt is hardly possible to exaggerate the advantages
England derives from her vast beds of coal."
" Our coal mines are the principal sources and foun¬
dation of our manufacturing and commercial pros¬
perity."
" Since the invention of the Steam Engine, coal has
become of the highest importance as a moving power ;
and no nation, however favorably situated in other re¬
spects, not plentifully supplied with this mineral, need
hope to rival those that are, in most branches of manu¬
facturing industry. To what is the astonishing in¬
crease of Glasgow, Manchester, &.c. and the compara¬
tively stationary or declining state of Canterbury,
Winchester, and other towns in the south of England
to be ascribed 1 It cannot be pretended with any show
of reason that the inhabitants of the former are any
more ingenious, enterprising or industrious than those
of the latter. Tbe abundance and cheapness of coal
in the north, and its scarcity in the south, is the real
•cause of this discrepancy. The citizens of Glasgow,
Manchester, «_c, are able at a small expense compara¬
tively, to put the most powerful and complicated ma-
•chinery in motion, and to produce results quite beyond
the reach of those who have not the same command
over coal, or as it hippily has been defined, ' hoarded
labor.'' Our coal mines have been sometimes called
the ' Black Indies,'' and it is certain that they have
conferred a thousand times more real advantage on us
than we have derived from the conquest ofthe Mogul
Empire, f.r than we should have reaped from the do¬
minion of Mexico or Peru."
Mr. Porter, author of " Progress of the Nation,"
says, "it cannot be necessary to point out the many
advantages which we derive from the possession of our
coal mines, the source of greater riches than ever is¬
sued from the mines of Peru, or from the diamond
grounds at the base of the Neela Mulla mountains.
But for our command of fuel, the inventions of Watts
and Ark wright would have been of small account, our
iron mines must have long since ceased to be worked,
and nearly every important branch of manufactures
which we now possess must have been rendered im¬
practicable, or at least have been conducted upon a
comparatively insignificant scale."
The author of an able work, entitled " Fossil Fuel,"
docs not overrate the importance of coal to England in
the following extract. "The expenditure of coal in
the generation of steam is an extremely interesting
feature of its history, regarded as an element in our
national capabilities, and, when speaking of industrial
resources ofthe p.irt which, by the econo.nical conver¬
sion of her abundantly argillaceous carbonate of iron
into cannon, Great Britain was enabled to take for
good or for evil, in the late wars of Europe ; and of the
agency of steam, in enabling us to undersell the world
in our manufactures, and to grow rich, despite a na¬
tional debt of 800,000,000 sterling, when speaking on
these and similar subjects, the essrntial consequence
of our commodious and all but exhaustless collieries, is
not always sufficiently taken into the account"
Professor Buckland, in the following extracts from
his able work of the Bridgevvater Treatises, seems
equally impressed with the importance of coal.    " The
amount of work done in England has been supposed to
be equivalent to that of 3 and 400,000,000 of men by
:;direct labor, and we are almost astonished at the in-
.fluence of coal and iron, and steam, upon the fate and
fcrtunes ofthe human race.    It is 1800 feet below the
'-earth's surface—it rows, it pumps, it excavates,it car¬
ries, it draws, it lifts, it hammers, it spins, it weaves,
it prints."    " We need no further evidence to 6how
that the presence of coal is, in an especial degree, the
Jlbundation of increasing population, riches and power,
and of improvement in almost every art which admin-j     It is now apparent to the most casual observer, that;     It cannot be doubted that the manufacture of iron , same principles, for we have "ot the same materials
isters to the necessities and comforts of mankind.    So  the increased trade in coal has added much within a ; in England has been a most important part in the pros-  that they have here."
admirably adapted to the benefit ofthe human race."   j very fevv years to the value of property in Philadel-  perity of that nation.    Where the ore of iron is found 	
An able writer in the Penny Magazine says, "it is  phia.    In  1825  the Schuylkill Navigation Company   with coal, there may be observed an ir.du-trious and ,__. poal
the chief source of our wealth and power, as the foun-; passed  through  their locks, 0.500 tons—in 1837 the | wealthy population, such as in South Wale-, Stafford-     °N THE 8MELTI!sa 0F IR0N WITH anthracite
dation of our manufacturing industry, and without such  amount was increased to 523,152 tons, being nearly  shire, Birmingham, Glasgow, &c.    This fact has in- Proceedings of the British Association.
a supply of fuel, our iron, lead,  tin  and copper ores  45 per cent, increase annually fo: 12 years.    Within i duced the aurhor of "Fossil Fuel," to say, that " the '     O" Monday, the first day ofthe meeting, the follow- .
must have remained in their beds." , this period a new population has sprung up in Schuyl- ; occurrence of the argillaceous carbonate' of iron  in   mE communication   "On the Smelting of Iron with
Bakewell, in his Geology, says, " I may be permit- kill county, the importance of winch is evinced in the immediate connection^ with coal seams, is a circum-! Anthracite Coal," was made by Mr. George Crane, of
ted to remark, that, however ancient lhe formation of fact that the Post Office at Pottsville has become the ! stance of immense importance as lyin<r at the f. unda-; ,ne Yniscedwin Iron Works, to the Chemical Section
coal and iron may have been, the frequent occurrence  third  in  importance within the state, being next  to \ tion of the manufacturing superiority of this country." ! ofthe British Association.
of these minerals together, both destint d in future time Pittsburgh. Already capitalists are in competition for, And the same writer says " so important is iron toman i The great extent ofthe deposite of that description
to give to man an extensive empire over the elements this trade from Pottsville by erecting an expensive j that it has been said that in proportion to the intelli- m" ^el called anthracite, or stone coal, in the Mineral
and to contribute largely to his means of civilization rail road nearly on the line of the canal. In the same gence and advancement of reason in nations is their Itosin of South Wales, accompanied as it is, with iron
and comfort, cannot fail to impress the reflecting mind ' ratio of increase for the next twelve years we would   iron works." j mine in great abundance, and of good quality, has long
with evidence of prospective designing intelligence."   j have 37,000,000 tons, an increase, however, quite im-!     In the United States we have but fevv places where, ', made it an object of great interest to parties connected
In the examination before the Committee of the j possible ; it may be in that period 1,500,000 or 2,000,- \ happilv, these minerals are situated in combination^ with that district, to discover some methoxl of applvi'g
House of Lords, in 1830, Mr. Buddie, who is said to  000. j The State of Pennsylvania in this respect is more lor-'. *•»** description of coal to smelting purposes.    One of
understand this subject better than any other man in j The importance of the coal trade to Philadelphia is! tunate than her neighbors,* as in the great western '■ Oie earliest patents enrolled in this country for this ob-
Europe, stated as his opinion that the manufacturing • so evident that it seems scarcely necessary to touch coal field we have frequently the argillaceous iron ores jec,« was that of Mr. Martin, in 1804. From the mode
interests of this country, colossal as is lhe fabric which | upon  that subject.    It might, however, be called lo | in connection with the beds of coah Karthaus,f Bloss-  detailed in his specification, there does not apP^^
not be said that the effect produced on private and do-1 sea ; the whole amount of coal skipped from there last and various iron ''ores have very recently been found ! years afterwards, for a mode of forming a conglome-
mestic comfort would be equally f'.ital with the dimi- year being 328.304 tons, by SjEfTO vessels—in fact ] in considerable qnantitv, nnd it is believed will lead to '< rate coke> composed partly of the small of lhe anthra-
nution of public wealth. We should lose many ofthe ; causing a new city to be built o.i the western front, j valuable results, there being two beds of coal of three ' ci,e veins, locally called culm, with a sufficient port on
advantages of our high civilization, and much of our ; while the line of the canal toPotUwille is kept in con- J and four feet, within ninemiles of the Susquehanna, (ofthe small of the bituminous, or binding veins, to cc-
cultivated grounds must be shaded with fbres's, to af-, stant motion by about 800 canal : oats.    To this trade  a short distance above that town. j ment the whole when coked in oven together; had
ford fuel for the remnant of our present population."    j chiefly we owe the gieat increase of the shipping of j     In regard to the quantity manufactured in the Uni- !t,,is la,ter V]an been attended with success, its appli-
Having given you the opinions of British geologists ; Philadelphia, the number of arrivals last year being | ted Stafes, we have the authority of' the Convention i caf'on would of course have been limited to those lo-
and political economists as to the vital importance of 8,185,* while during the two preceding years together, ' at New York in 1831 to state it at that time to have ' calities where the two descriptions of coal were to be
coal to the prosperity of that nation, let me cill your i it was only 8,187.    So far has tho importance of this j been 191,536 tons of pig iron  made in 239 furnaces i fGnnd near eac,> other.
attention to some of the facts which afford abundant (trade already gone beyond the calculations of tie most: in the previous year. ° One of the committee in-1 The Yniscedwin Iron Works, which are in my pos-
evidence to sustain such unqualified opinions.   ^ sanguine, that those which were deemed formerly the j forms   me  that it was supposed   that  two-tilths   of|8e88'on«  arp  placed upon  the  anthracite  formation.
As to the quantity used, and the value, M'Culloch j most extravagant nnd wild, are now left far behind by
stales the quantity of coal consumed and exported in | reality. Confidence in the Schuylkill Navigation Com-
1^36 tote 22.700,000 tons, valued at 7s.  per ton— j pany stock vvas i-o small as at one time to permit it to
7,945,000/.    This quantity, it has been stated some I be sold at 30 dollars per share, while now it sells for
months f-ince by Mr. Porter, from the chair of the Sta-j about 170 dollars, which is unquestionably
tislicnl Society of London, is much below the real j real value,
amount,  which he said he had  reason to believe vvas
30,00(1,000 tons.    This calculation, at two dollarsrper
this amount vvas made in Pennsylvania, and that the) Until I discovered the method of applying this particu-
quantity made in 1837 in all the stales miHit be fairly I lar description of fuel to the smelling of iron ore, 1
taken at 250,000 tons, giving to this stale lhe same ! was ohiiged to avail myself of the coal of the bituinin-
ibly below its
ratio as before,
The great superiority which Great Britain possesses
made.
ton, gives the enormous production of 60,000,000 dol¬
lars per annum.
The annual trade from the Tyne and the Wear, in¬
cluding the home consumption, is about4.200,000tons
supposed, 1000 ships constantly. The Sunderland
Herald has recently stated that there w:ere building at
that time at Sunderland and on the Wear, ninety-five
ships, some of them of very large tonnage.
It has been mentioned before, that all the Chief ma¬
nufacturing cities were situated in the coal fields.
The following table exhibits the large population and
the rapid increase of the cities dependent on coal for
manufactures:
lue. Several colliers at Pottsville, who were j over the United States in regard to the quantity
considered enthusiasts in the early part of the busi- arises from the fact, that bituminous coal (a very
nets, offered to guaranty to the Company the passage [ much cheaper fuel than charcoal) being used there,
of 10,000 tons through their locks per annum, provided i and by which the yield of such furnace Is "really in-
their tolls were reduced—that tonnage was last year j creased. In 1828, 278 furnaces in that country pro-
523,152 tons! I duced   703,184  tons,   being  48   tons  per   week  tor
In the coal  field/ we may naturally expect a very j each furnace, while in 1*30,239 furnaces in this coun-
tons  per
ic trade from  New Castle alone occupying, it is | large population.    '!'he  cheapness of fuel will induce I try produced  only 191,530 tons, being 151
1811.
1831.
Manchester,
98.573
182,812
Li veronal.
91,370
165.175
140.986
Birmingham,
85,7«3
Leeds,
62,534
123,393
Bristol,
76,433
117,016
Sheffield,
35,840
59.011
New Castle on Tyne,
27,587
42.760
Merthyr Tydvil,
15,720
22.068
Wolverhampton,
14,836
24,782
Many other places could be named, but it is only
neces-ary to draw a slightly undulating line from the
mouth of the Tees to Exmouth, and you will have on
the left the carboniferous rocks, and on the right the
superior strata. On the one side will be found all the
prosperous manufacturing towns, on the other scarcely
an improving one.
The city of Glasgow in 1831 contained 202,000 in¬
habitants, and consumed then 437,000 tons of coal. As
manufactures have greatly increased there since, par¬
ticularly that of iron, the consumption has no doubt
greatly increased, if not doubled, for Professor Thomp¬
son recently stated before the British Association at
Liverpool, that 200,000 tons of iron were made in the
vicinity of Glasgow within the previous twelve
months.
In Leith alone the glass houses consume 40,000
tons of coil annually.
The consumption of coal for gas in London is enor
manufacturers to erect their works near lo the mines,
and we may in time have there as industrious and
teeming a population as in the coul fields of England
and Walrs.f Pennsylvania, having about four-fifths
of the area of England and Wales, (the former having
43,950, and the latter 57.000 square miles,) and a soil
equal in its natural qualities, there can be no reason
why Pennsylvania might not in tine nearly equal the
present population of that kingdom.
IRON.
Having stated lhe importer'? r.;id extentofthe con]
nems or rennsyivanrrr, it mny ne ?aui wnn Truth tnat
iron is second only, as regards he. mineral wealth, to
coal. So widely are the various or s of iron diffused
over the state that 1 believe then are very few coun¬
ties which do not possets the means of making lhat
metal, where the fuel can be obtained. In this respect
nature has been more bountiful, it is believed, to our
state than to any other; and, accompanying it as she
has done with inexhaustible beds of coal, she has been
doubly bountiful.
The counties in which it seems most abundant are
Northampton, B-rks, Lancaster, York, Franklin, Co¬
lumbia, Lycoming, Clearfield, Centre, Huntingdon and
Fayette. In these it seems to have bet n worked most
advantageously, but, with the exception of lhe Clear¬
field Coke and Iron Company atlvurlhaus, only with
charcoal.
In every P^rt of the United States, however, the
manufacture of iron is comparatively in an infant state;
and although we make, it is supposed, in this state two-
fifths fif all that is made in the United Slates, it is not
more than is produced by two establishments in South
Wales, Crawshay & Co. and Guest & Co.,}: their fur¬
naces yielding together over 100,800 tons per annum.
The important influence which iron has in the pros¬
perity and civilization of nations is admitted.    In En-
ous veins, obtained from the adjoining parish of Ryl-
lybebil, for the supply of the blast furnaces at Ynis¬
cedwin. During the fourteen years in which I have
been engaged in the iron trade of South Wales, I have
had my attention anxiously directed to the application
of anthracite coal to smelting purposes; and at differ¬
ent periods, at a large outlay, tr ed a variety of plans,
but without success, until the idea occurred to me tl at
a hot blast, upon the principle of Mr. Neilsm's patent,
might, by its great power, enable me to complete the
week. The average of the British furnaces must now j combustion of this peculiar coal. I have now the ph a
be greatly increased, as those of the largest size in ""*rf reporting to this meeting, that I have com
South Wales are making over 100 tons, and it is said   P'etetj succeeded in the application of anthracite coal
in some cases as high as 100 tons per week ; the
introduction of the hot blast having been very instru¬
mental in the increased yield.
The recent discovery of Mr. Crane in South Wales,
where the Anthracite prevails, in making iron of su¬
perior quality with that coal, is of great importance,
and likely in a short time to create a very great change
in  the manufacturing of iron in Great Britain and In
to the smelting of iron stone and ore.
That I have used no other fuel in a cupola blast fur¬
nace since the 7th of February last, and that the suc¬
cess of the experiment in the combination of hot, or
heated air, with the coal in question, as fully detailed in
the specification of my patent of improvement, enrolled
in March last,hasbeen in every respect of *o satisfactory
a description, whether with regard to the quantity of iron
ndnceri. the uunlitv of such iron, and the economy of
*ix__.„__.__**.„   _i_ ."■  i—;-.g _.rj -  ________ __ _;,  , i aroducerf. ihe uunlitv of such iron, and tt:e economy oi
for the last year making from thirty-five to forty tons j ",e processes, that l am now, ami mtv, uetM, *»i wro .««-.
mous, being about 230,000 tons, yielding 2,400,000,-1 gland this metal vvas worked at an early period, but
it was not until during the 17th century that the quan¬
tity vvas so far diminished by the want of wood, as to
require very large importations. So early as in 1619
attempts were made to smelt iron with bituminous coal,
and Edward Lord Dudley in that year obtained a pa¬
tent for the purpose; but his works were d< stroyedby
000 cubic feet of gas, the light being equal to 160,
000,000 pounds of mould candles.
In 1834, England exported to foreign countries
615,255 tons, 40,000 of which came to the United
States.
The great amount of tonnage necessary for the
transportation of coal has a highly beneficial effect on
the commerce of Great Britain. It is that which
makes the port of New Castle of so much importance,
it being, according to M'Culloch "second in rank as a i by Coke at Colebrookdale, the quantity made in En
per week, establishes the success of this desideratum
Should it ever happen, a thing not at all likely, that
that Anthracite of Pennsylvania could not be made to
answer, still there cannot be a doubt but that the most
ample supply may be obtained by the use of our inex¬
haustible beds of bituminous coal.
Reviewing the foregoing fact, I think we may come
safely to the conclusion thnt the destiny of Pennsyl¬
vania is a brilliant one. Nature certainly has done
every thing for her, and it will depend upon the wisdom
of her own citizens whether the period of her prosper¬
ity shall be retarded or accelerated.
Very truly your's, &c.
Isaac Lea.
From the United States Gazette.
ON SMELTING  IRON   WITH  ANTHRACITE
COAL.
Mr. Editor—So many abortive attempts have been
made to smelt ore with anthracite coal, that the prac-
' three months,actively engaged in making theneces-ary
preparations for the introduction of anthracite coal, in¬
stead of the coke of the bituminous veins, upon the
whole of the blast furnaces which I at present have
(three in number) at the Yniscedwin Iron Works:
that I have renewed all mineral takings in the anthra¬
cite part of t'ie basin for ninety-nine years, and that I
have made arrangements in contemplation for a lar^e
extension of the work, in consequence of the perfect
success which has resulted from the experiment.
One of the three furnaces at present on my es'a-
blishment, is a small cupola furnace, which we call
No. 2, built from the top to the hearth with firebricks
only; this cupola is of the following dimensi. ns:—
Forty-one feet in its whole height, ten feet and a half
across the boshes, and the walls of the thickness of two
nine-inch bricks; the hearth three feet six inches
square, and five feet deep. The two other furnaces
which we call No. 1 and No. 3, are thick stone-walled
furnaces. Some years since I found that this cupola
furnace, No. 2, had on an average of a long period, (I
concluded from the smallness of its dimensions and the
the mob who were opposed to improvements such as  operations, would be of inestimable advantage to Pen:
they supposed likely to deprive them of work.    It was I sylvania, by throwing open another wide field for the
ticability of doing it, on a large scale, profitably, has i ,
been by many persons considered verv doubtful I thickness of its walla) taken so large an excess of min-
It may not, therefore, be uninteresting to your read-! evrals t0 lh° ,on, °f ir0" Produced' when compared with
ersto lay before them the information" contained ffl J*^*1** taken on the average of the same period
the extracts herewith given-merely premising that fe*^ st°npe.WEl cdt i™0' ho-\ landing within
the letter from which one of the extracts is taken, is I ?** feet of .?■ ** ' ,determ,ncd to. e™ct a secont
from a plain, practical man, whom the writer of this
communication well knows, and in whose statement
he has entire reliance.
The introduction of Mr. Crane's successful plan
furnace, similar to the latter one, in lieu of it.
The meeting will shortly understand why I am giv-
ing these details, which may appear not to be very in¬
teresting particulars. This cupola furnace, No. 2 not
being at work when I arrived at the determination to
tiy the experiment of the combination ofthe hot blast
ley supposea UKeiy io aeprive inem or work,    it was , »/"-«-ji -j -u.wwm-^ _~-». .__»_--  -__.i_c.umji  me        ,      .,       -t„ rnai nnnn tilf> ur„p =„_iQ . t,
not until 120 years after this period that iron was made   P"*^ employment of her labour and capital, ^l^^^SehTtmSm^L^s' r   *'f
hv Coke at Colebrookdale. the onan.itv made  in Fn-   would be the means of pouring into the lap of this ! ™^J^J*&*^J&JP** ** -*
shipping port immediately after London."
The influence that coal has on the prosperity of
Great Britain may be further illustrated by the im¬
mense number of machines it keeps in motion." " It
has been calculated" Professor Buckland says, " that
there are about 15,000 steam engines daily at work,
and one of them is in Cornwall of 350 horee power
and would require 1000 horses to be kept to produce
the same work." In July 1^35 there were 527 steam
vessels belonging to her ports all of which were of
course worked bv coal.    The number of ships which
gland having then been reduced to 17.000 tons, about
twice that quantity being imported. From this period
it increased agreeably to the following table:
17,000 tons
22,000 "
68,000 "
125,000 »
250,000 "
400,000 "
703,000 "
700,000   "
In 1710,
In 1750,
In 1788,
In 1796,
In 1806,
In 1*20,
In 1828,
would be the means of pouring into the lap of this!""""*"._** 'V"1- ""-" '"'""^ £"• "ia6t ">r the pur-
state-tribute from her sister states, for her iron- \ ?7e' r,atl,er tha" lo >n'ei fere with the usual progress
perhaps even as great as that she will receive from her I ?.f.mLun!1"e!!_bLeX^^m!"!.al,I_Z1"?Jn *_** of' the
coal trade; and what that will probably be, in its ma¬
turity, we may form some idea of from its develop¬
ments now, in its infancy. R. M. L
April 10, 1838.
I two olher furnaces. The cupola furnace, No. 2 from
the causes which I have before explained, had on the
average of a long period taken cokes, the produce of
five tons three cwt. of coal to the ton of pitr jrori when
the stone-walled furnaces had not required cokes to
Extract of a letter, dated j the ton of metal produced quite equal to four tons of
" Bangor, Wales, Feb. 7, 1838.     j coal.    The consumption of iron stone and limestone
" I am  now just returned from South  Wales.    I   l)ad been Skater in the former than in the latter de-
went to see Mr. George Crane's iron works, at  Yni-: scription of furnace, but not to so great an extent,
scedwin—making  iron  with anthracite coal.      The;     l Wl11 make one other explanatory remark on this
(coal is pure anthracite, it  burns into gray ash, and   Part ofthe su4ect- .._£hetwo descriptions of furnaces
In 1836,
arrived with coal in London in 1829 was 7021, the I according to M'Culloch
wages of the masters and men being 55,640/.   Since j    This last estimate is however.js.ipposed to be mate- , makes a      d fire in a      t(,     yr Crarf „-      ki d,
that year the trade has materially increased ! rially short of the real amount.   .Mr. Porter president | received bm        d took\,,     ins wilh        io ^wini
Mr. Buddie stated during his examination that 21,-  of the Statistical Society of London, states the quant.- j _,, ^ differenl department; of tlis u-orks> and requ,sf.
000 persons were engaged in the collieries on the (ty to be at least 1,000,000 tons, and we can scarcely   ed me to      „        » ,iis wnrkm       and ask u>eil\
l'yne and the Wear doubt this when we find that in South \V ales there ; questionsethat I thought proper.
Long as coal has been m-ed in England, (a duty of, were 355,000 tons made in tha year, and as we are ,M _ stopped there to see them cast  twice out of the ' cwt- of calcined iron mine, of the descriptions obtained
Od vvas laid in 13/9) its real value has not until with- j assured by Professor 1 hompson, that 200,000 tons are I ,a ^where ,)e USC(J anlhracite for smPilln(T the iron I in  my neighborhood, according  to the kind of iron
in fifty years been properly appreciated. In 1582 El.za-; made m the vicinity of G asgow per annum. i sUme<    The b,nst ig nea(ed m ho, that Jt      ^ ,_ad __ , which I was desirous of producing, the same barrow
beth obtained a lease of all the mines of Durham for |     M Culioch estimates the exportation of iron from ! Rl)on afl it is anolied to the „iace that i. left for trvin.r I °f cokes in the No. 2 cupola, or ^in-walled fur
have worked in so different a manner with the n
rals of my neighborhood, that whilst the barrow of
cokes, weighing about three and a half cwt. would
take, when consumed in either of the 6tone-walle 1
furnaces, a charge or burden of five to five and a half
South W ales, but as the quantity of iron alone made , &c., was about the middle of the last century, an ins.g-,     • Af Cumberland in Maryland, these minerals are found       U, -* \eS"d to the quantity of iron produced   the
there in 1^36 vvas 3oo,000 tons, it certa^ lhat in Vi   inia  result which I have to report is equallj' satisfactorl
ly to be less than 4,000,000 tons. Mr. Coffin stated m- that in 1765 the land and mines for several miles round   near Richmond a large bed of ore has been found conve-   l m,jst not> however, omit to mentioni that fi.r .£
1S29 that " twenty years previous there were hardly \ the village, the seat ofthe great works mentioned   nient to the coal greater convenience of filling this cupola fur TV
any coals shipped in Newport, perhaps not a thousand , above, were let for ninety-nine years for 200/. per an-      * in tne section ofthe stratification of hill at Karthaus,  2, from an adjacent gallery, previous to the comml
tons in the course of the year, whereas, at the period  num.    In 1831 the population of Merthyr was 22,000.   wrjich is five hundred feet high from the surface of the   ment of my anthracite experiment, I raised it in I    T"
named, the  shipment amounted collectively in that    river, we have, in the first three hundred feet from top,   from thirty-six feet six inches to forty-one feet    tl
port alone, to nearly 1500 tons a day." j     * A part of this increase is oving to a new mode of  sjx seams of bituminous coal, making seventeen feet (one   might have had some effect upon reducina th
After what has been said above, it will not I think  entry atjihe Custom House. Beam being six feet)—of iron ore, five seams, in the ag-   ofthe consumption of fuel when cn-nn.«5        excess
 *-  -.:.,«,<•„„. „;„u. :„„k„„    i; ._   .u._„ <•..„.        ..hi^l, h«A i.^n «!„«„;„ -u_ _T    - "m****  With  that
and might have
my blast of one
be denied that coal has been the important agent in I f StafTordshire( about 90 squaie miles has 200,000 gregate nine feet eight inches—lime stone, three feet— which had taken place in the No 1
placing Great Britain in her present pre-eminently | souls, nearly all of whom are engaged in mining or manu- f,re clay, two seams of four feet—fire stone, two feet, increased its power of srneltino- wjtn
prosperous state, and we may, I think, draw the con-, factoring. Land which was formerly an open common, The remaining two hundred feet, and the stratification quarter pound upon the square inch
elusion that Pennsylvania will owe in a great measure is now, in some cases, selling for .000 pounds per acre. i)eiow tne water level, have not been examined. The from its former average of twentv tw ?re?sure' only
her future prosperity to the abundant resources she: * This firm has recently refusid £800,000 for their above sections prove that the various minerals so essential four. Since I have adopted the us f ^to twenty-
possesses in  the extent of her domain of the same j W0/k^T-     ,_   „ _,_   ,. L .   _  t   _\_. ___, ___ to the cheap manufacture of iron, are nearly the  same j combined with hot air, my make    *
§ Nearly all Swedish iron, for miking steel, &c. &c.     ■ here as those which exist at Merthyr.
™---« W.H, mm. air, my make in the No. 2 cunola
furnace, with the ;_«_e pressure of bias? only^a.