INDUSTRIES 



engine and ' tilt-pole ' were brought into use, 

 and later, during the year 1873, the diamond 

 boring system was introduced by Mr. John 

 Vivian, C.E., and largely carried on in 

 Cumberland. This method of boring, al- 

 though considerably more costly per fathom 

 of ground bored, has decided compensating 

 advantages both in saving of time and in 

 securing solid cores of the various strata passed 

 through. It is still most successfully carried 

 on by Messrs. Vivians' Boring and Exploration 

 Co. Ld. of Whitehaven ; and Mr. Vivian, 

 the managing director of the company, has 

 devoted much time and attention to improve 

 the system, with the result that its capa- 

 bilities for producing a perfect cylindrical core 

 from over 3,000 feet are unsurpassed. The 

 apparatus consists of a crown head screwed on 

 to a cylindrical core tube, which head is set 

 on the face with diamonds (carbon or bort). 

 This is caused to revolve and cuts an annular 

 ring in the rock, leaving a solid core for 

 withdrawal in the core tube ; water is used 

 for flushing away the debris from the crown 

 face and keeping it cool. The Diamond 

 Boring Co. have put down 165 boreholes in 

 Cumberland, the total depth bored being 

 103,833 feet. The aggregate thickness of 

 hzmatite passed through was 1,159^ feet. 



In 1871 a remarkable upward movement 

 in the iron trade of the country occurred, 

 largely owing to the then increasing trade in 

 iron with America. The ' boom ' was at its 

 height in 1873, when the highest prices 

 obtained for hematite and haematite iron 

 were 371. dd. and 195*. respectively. Capital 

 was freely spent in extensive boring, sinking 

 and drifting operations ; in fact, the greatest 

 activity known in the history of the industry 

 prevailed in the various districts, and as a 

 result, the total output of haematite was 

 largely augmented. The culminating effect 

 of this increased expenditure in development 

 work was not however fully realized until 

 1880, when, for that and the following three 

 years, the aggregate output of Cumberland 

 haematite amounted to 6,309,605 tons, or an 

 average of 1,577,401 tons per annum. The 

 maximum total yearly output was reached in 

 1872, when 1,725,478 tons were raised. 



The following table, giving the number of 

 furnaces built and in blast in Cumberland, 

 reflects the great activity in the iron trade 

 during the early part of the ' seventies.' Up 

 to the year 1869, seventeen furnaces had 

 been built, of which only nine were in blast. 

 During the following year (1870) ten more 

 furnaces were erected, making a total of 

 twenty-seven, of which twenty-four were in 

 blast. 



389 



It will be seen from the foregoing schedule 

 that the average yield per furnace in blast was 

 16,285-85 tons per annum. 



For a few years at this time the com- 

 petition for the acquirement of good haematite 

 royalties in Cumberland was very keen. As 

 an instance, it may be mentioned that when 

 the Jacktrees royalty in Cleator parish was 

 advertised to let, the tonnage royalties 

 offered ranged from Js. 6d. to 14*. per ton, 

 and a lease of the royalty was actually taken 

 and the ore worked at the latter figure. 

 Prior to the year 1870, leases were obtained 

 at royalty rates ranging from is. to is. 6d. 

 per ton, while, after the ' boom ' of the 

 early ' seventies ' had passed, one sixth of 

 the selling price of haematite, with a mini- 

 mum of from is. 6d. to 2s., was considered a 

 fair average royalty. This rate, unfortunately 

 for the welfare of the mining interests of the 

 county, was not by any means universally 

 adopted, as higher rates were in some cases 

 exacted, and this fact has undoubtedly had an 

 apathetic effect (especially during the pre- 

 vailing low prices of the last decade) in the 

 development of new districts along the belt of 

 low-lying land between the seacoast and the 

 more mountainous parts of the Lake District, 

 extending from Egremont in the north to 

 Millom in the south. The condition of the 

 iron trade in 1872 and 1873 was such that 

 confident predictions were made that the 

 price of haematite would not fall below 20*. 

 per ton for many years to come. A study 

 however of the average selling prices given in 

 tables Nos. II., III. and IV. will show the 

 fallacy of such reasoning. 



Previous to the introduction of dynamite 

 in 1871, blasting powder was almost exclu- 

 sively used in the working of haematite, but 

 for many years past dynamite has been in 

 great demand for this class of mining, and 



