Wisconsin and Missouri Lead Region. 45 
worst circumstances in which a smelter can be placed; for with- 
out considering the highest wages that are paid, high board, and 
the heavy item of hauling ore, which may be much diminished 
with the distance, suppose ore to be raised on land owned by the 
smelter, discovered by others; he saves at once $829, and his 
monthly profits increase to $1, 063. Suppose him to have made 
the discoveries with his own hired miners on his own land, and 
he then saves $3,276, making his profits for the month, $3520. 
But this calculation is made rather to show what might happen 
than what has, or is likely to. It is one of the chances of the 
business in which to some extent, several smelters have been for- 
tunate ; but for the most part they would be glad now to obtain 
half the ore they require, off their own lands, as the result of the 
discoveries of others. 
The blast furnace is like those of the same name in general 
use in England; though coke is the only fuel there supposed to 
be suitable for i, charcoal has here been found equally good and 
is in general use. 
The following sketch (fig. 2) will give a general ide of one 
furnace, and a minute description of its parts with working sec- 
tions may be seen in Elié de Beaumont’s ‘‘ Voyage Metallurgique, 
&c.” The blast is raised by the simplest machinery—a crank 
on the end of the axle of the water-wheel working either the 
common double bellows or the cylindrical bellows; while another 
pair is often connected with the same wheel to. blow a sing itm | 
nace or a copper furnace, as at New Baltimore. 
‘Three hands at a time are required to work this furnace the 
head smelter, whose duties are not quite so. arduoiis as those those of 
the head smelter of a reverberatory, and whose pay is not so 
high; a “back-hand,” who assists the smelter by throwing in 
charcoal and wood and ore after he stirs the fire, and an assistant 
who prepares the materials. ‘They work one shift which ends 
when thirty pigs are made, and this requires from eight to ten 
hours. ‘Then another set of hands come on and work another 
shift. Some smelters however, employ but one set, still their 
day’s work is over when the thirty pigs are run. 
The process is this: a fire is made in the morning of billets of 
eed carefully arranged in the fireplace, the blast is put on, and 
charcoal added, as the wood burns away ; ore is then thrown on 
in small quantity, together with a little lime. The ore has first 
