30 The Ottawa Naturalist. [May 



percentage of sulphur which necessitates a roasting process 

 before it is sent to the smelter. As a consequence the demand 

 for these ores has of late years largely fallen off. The same 

 association of sulphur is found in some of the deposits along the 

 Kingston and Pembroke Railway, and seriously impairs their 

 value as smelting ores, so that the hopes which were raised in 

 regard to their speedy utilization by the building of the Hamil- 

 ton smelter have not yet been realized. All the ores in this 

 district are not, however, affected in this way, and there are some 

 large deposits of excellent quality ; but on the other hand these 

 are sometimes so far removed from convenient shipment that 

 the price obtainable will not repay the cost of hauling to railway 

 and the subsequent freight to the smelter. It can be easily seen 

 therefore., that though there may be a very large amount of raw 

 material available, this is not always in such a shape as to yield 

 profitable returns. This condition of affairs is unfortunate, and 

 many persons unacquainted with the actual conditions, often 

 wonder why mining is not pursued with greater vigour in certain 

 directions. Investors of small capital, however, generally wish to 

 see some chance of realizing on their investments when once 

 mining operations are commenced, unless as is sometimes un- 

 fortunately the case, such investments are made on a limited 

 scale with simply a view to speculation. Such schemes cannot, 

 however, be classed under the head of legitimate mining, and the 

 last investor generally has the experience obtained as his share 

 of the profits. 



Improvements are constantly being made in the process of 

 iron smelting, and therefore we may hope that with greater 

 facilities for shipment and reduced expenses in smelting, the 

 greater part ot these ores will some day become valuable assets. 

 At present the great barrier to the successful development of 

 the blast furnace industry in this district, is the cost of fuel, and 

 it is to be hoped that some day in the not too distant future, the 

 successful manufacture of compressed peat will go far to solve 

 this difificulty. Smelting with peat fuel has been carried on 

 successfully for many years in Norway and Sweden and also in 



