227 



It is, however, an established fact that the weight of the same kind of 

 timber varies in different soils, though not very essentially. 



The ores of this State have been tested elsewhere in a blast furnace,, 

 and the following may be reUed upon as the true result. The furnace 

 was chai'ged as follows : 



ibs. 



To Lake Superior ore, (raw, as taken from the mine,) 400 



Bituminous coal, (raw, as taken from the mine,) 500 



Limestone, 80 



Furnace cinder, _.... 70 



Under this treatment, upwards of 20 tons of pig was made, and the 

 yield was seventy-eight and a half per cent, of metal upon the weight 

 of ore put into the furnace. It is not pretended that the above are the 

 proper amounts of ore, fuel, &c. ; on the contrary, it was asceitained 

 that the proportions of coal and hme-stone were too large. The exper- 

 iment is given as it actually occurred. The production of metal was 

 rapid and of excellent quahty for its variety. The manager of the fur- 

 nace stated to the writer that with the Lake Superior ore, the daily pro- 

 duction of the furnace, with the same fuel and labor, was nearly double 

 what it was when using their own ore, (Mercer county. Pa.,) and the 

 metal greatly superior. 



So far as the manufacture of charcoal pig iron is concerned, it is 

 quite clear that it can be produced here at as small cost as at^ any other 

 place in the country, and in the abundance of timber for fuel, this State 

 is without a rival. The incidental advantages to the city and State/ v 

 arising from the establishment of works of this kind, it would be diffi- 

 cult to estimate. But can money be made in the business ? This is 

 the question of questions. But is it not ah-eady aaswered? Do not^ 

 the people and corporations of this State pay a huge sum for simple 

 profits on pig metal every year ? and do they not, in addition, pay 

 freights, charges and insurance ? This paper, however, exhibits a much 

 more direct and convincing fact to the superficial observer, bearing upoa 

 the affirmative. A blast furnace, the metal from which is partly sold 

 in this market, at a profit, is here shown to have produced nearly 100 

 per cent greater quantity of metal, with the same labor and fuel, from 

 the ore obtained in this State, than it was able to do from its own. But 

 the true inquiiy for the manufacturer is — are my faciUties such that I 



