272 TRANS. ST. LOUIS ACAD. SCIENCE. 



coke-works is undoubtedly near each mine, because no freight 

 lias then to be paid on the large percentage of dirt which the 

 slack often contains, nor on the volatile substances which are 

 separated from the coal in coking. Often, however, the produc- 

 tion of slack at a coal mine is not large enough to feed a separate 

 coking establishment : therefore, coke-works may also be estab- 

 lished in such places where they can with facility draw their raw 

 material from a number of mines. Such works should generally 

 be located as near as possible to the furnaces that use the coke, 

 and for such establishments East St. Louis is undoubtedly a favor- 

 able locality. 



I will add a few remarks on the Grand Tower district of Illi- 

 nois. This district receives the ores for the manufacture of pig- 

 iron almost exclusively from Missouri, especially from the Iron 

 Mountain district (Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob) and from 

 Central Missouri. The ores are shipped over the Iron Mountain 

 Railroad to a point on the Mississippi River south of the city 

 of St. Louis, and are thence taken by boat to Grand Tower. The 

 latter place is situated in Jackson County, Ills., immediately on 

 the river, and is connected by the Grand Tower and Carbondale 

 Railroad with the extensive beds of excellent coal, which have 

 been opened and worked for some time, at several points along the 

 Big Muddy Creek and north of it, and which are known to extend 

 considerably towards the north and east. The coal is of such a 

 quality that it may be used in the blast-furnace raw, while at the 

 same time it is well adapted for coking, and makes a pretty good 

 furnace-coke. 



There are at present two iron works at Grand Tower, namely, 

 the Grand Tower Iron Works, consisting of two blast-furnaces 

 and one coking establishment ; and the Big Muddy Iron Works, 

 consisting of one blast-furnace. Both are situated close to the 

 Mississippi River, and are m immediate connection with the 

 railroad-net of Illinois through the Grand Tower and Carbondale 

 line, which latter intersects the Big Muddy cOal-field. 



CONCLUSION. 



From the general review just given it may be seen that the iron 

 industry of Missouri, although not unimportant at present, is capa- 

 ble of considerable further development. Let us hope that a time 

 favorable for this will soon come. 



