TRACES OF A VANISHED INDUSTRY. 829 



nous sandstone or conglomerate is formed, which is the principal 

 building stone of the region. In contact with decomposing organic 

 materials, ferric oxide, the insoluble reddish coloring matter in the 

 hills, is reduced to ferrous oxide, which combines with carbonic 

 acid to form a carbonate of iron, which is soluble in water con- 

 taining an excess of carbonic acid. Thus it is carried by the 

 water to the bogs, where the carbonic-acid gas is exchanged for 

 oxygen and the iron is precipitated in the form of ferric oxide ; 

 but, if there is a large quantity of decomposing peat present, it is 

 deposited in the form of ferrous carbonate. Thus the so-called 

 " bog iron ore " is formed. 



The " raising " of this ore and the manufacture of iron there- 

 from was the leading industry of South Jersey during the early 

 part of this century. Charcoal was the fuel used and coalings 

 were common throughout the " Pines." An active coaling is now 

 seldom seen. Shells were hauled by wagon or rowed and poled 

 by scow from the seashore for a flux, the oyster then being of 

 more value for that purpose than for food. Better oysters could 

 be picked from those shell heaps than can be bought at the stands 

 to-day. In a memorandum kept by the " master ore-raiser " for 

 one of the largest furnaces there are many interesting notices of 

 large quantities of clams and rum bought and sold, but the oyster 

 is never mentioned. These account-books were decorated with 

 the pictures of soldiers and warships, showing well the prevailing 

 thought of those days. 



There was then an extensive trade between South Jersey and 

 the West Indies, exchanging lumber and iron for rum, sugar, and 

 molasses, in spite of the pirates who were ever at home in the 

 thoroughfares, bays, and crooked channels of the coast. Scattered 

 here and there along these streams are the remains of what were 

 once centers of a flourishing industry. In some places the furnaces 

 and forges have been completely obliterated and forgotten ; in 

 others only bits of black slag remain ; while in others the ruins are 

 still standing. At the head of the Tuckahoe River there is a 

 crumbling stack, at Allaire there are ruins, and at Weymouth the 

 course of a canal may be traced by which the ore was brought to 

 the furnace from the bog. 



The places were connected by stage routes, along which at 

 regular intervals were the famous " jug taverns " of old, the ruins 

 of which in many localities may still be seen. They are now in 

 the midst of the forest, and, like the remains of the forges and 

 furnaces, are sad reminders of more prosperous days. To-day 

 one may wander for miles along these old overgrown roads with- 

 out seeing a single human habitation. 



In 1766 a furnace was built at Batsto, one of the first and at 

 one time the largest in this country. Batsto is in the heart of the 



