IRON AND STEEL. 



ITALY. 



405 



The production in recent years of cast or 

 pig iron in the various iron-producing coun- 

 tries of the world has heen as follows: 



The total number of Bessemer works and 

 converters in Europe at the beginning of 1877 

 was as follows : 



The annual producing capacity of these works 

 is estimated at over 2,000,000 tons. Including 

 the 11 establishments and 22 converters in the 

 United States, with an annual capacity of 500,- 

 000 tons, the total for the world becomes 94 

 establishments, and 311 converters, capable of 

 producing 2,500,000 tons of steel annually. 



Iron in Brazil. From its abundance and 

 good quality, iron constitutes one of the most 

 important elements of the wealth of this Em- 

 pire. In some places the ore is found under 

 the most favorable conditions. Incalculable 

 quantities exist in Minus Geraes, and a large 

 part of some of the mountains is composed of 

 oligistic, magnetic, and micaceous iron. In the 

 northern provinces, as well as in some of the 

 others, there are enormous quantities of iron, 

 more or less decomposed, in the argillaceous 

 deposits which cover the plains and the slopes 

 of the hills. In a comprehensive report on 

 the condition of the Empire, published in 1876, 

 it was asserted that in Brazil there are iron 

 mines which, owing to the complete absence 

 of pyrites, are incontestably superior to the 

 famous mines of Sweden. 



The magnetic ore of Brazil contains 72.5 

 per cent, of iron; the oligistic, the martite, 

 and the best micaceous, 70 per cent. ; the pro- 

 portion falling in the inferior qualities as low 

 as 25 and 20 per cent. In general the de- 

 posits can be easily and economically worked, 



being for the most part near extensive forests, 

 which, when cut down, spring up again in from 

 six to ten years, and which, therefore, always 

 furnish excellent fuel, near abundant streams 

 and falls, which provide immense water-power 

 for working machinery. Taking advantage of 

 these favorable circumstances, many persons 

 have obtained very profitable results from iron 

 mining. The most important iron works in 

 South America are on the banks of the small 

 river Ypanema, one of the affluents of the 

 Sorocaba. This establishment possesses valu- 

 able resources : ore of excellent quality, car- 

 bonate of lime for fluxes, refractory clay for 

 building furnaces, sufficient water-power for 

 the more important machinery, and very good 

 forests, which can furnish a daily supply of 

 fifteen metrical tons of charcoal a quantity 

 sufficient to keep the furnace constantly at 

 work. By obtaining machinery and some 

 skilled workmen from Europe, the Brazilian 

 Government is doing its utmost to make this 

 establishment a successful one. 



ISMAIL PASHA, the Khedive or Viceroy of 

 Egypt, and the most powerful of the Sultan's 

 vassals, was born in 1830. He is the second 

 son of Ibrahim Pasha, and grandson of Me- 

 hemet Ali. He was educated in Paris, and suc- 

 ceeded his uncle, Said Pasha, in 1863. During 

 his reign he has introduced great improve- 

 ments, and has brought his country to virtual 

 independence of Turkey. In 1866 he made the 

 beginning of a parliamentary form of govern- 

 ment by calling an assembly of the nobility. 

 In 1866 he also made an important step toward 

 obtaining his independence of Turkey, by re- 

 ceiving the sanction of the Sultan to make the 

 law of succession hereditary in the direct line 

 of Ismail, in accordance with the laws prevail- 

 ing among the Christian Powers of Europe, 

 and in 1867 the Sultan conferred upon him the 

 higher title of Khedive. The opening of the 

 Suez Canal, in 1864, although of the utmost im- 

 portance to all the nations of Europe, was an 

 event which promised to add greatly to the 

 resources and the power of Egypt. The con- 

 quests made during his reign by his generals 

 in Central Africa, raising Egypt in point of 

 territorial extent to the seventh rank among 

 the nations of the earth, also tended to give 

 him a position which only needed his indepen- 

 dence to be recognized in the council of nations. 

 It was a matter of wonder that he, of all the 

 vassals of Turkey, should not seize the oppor- 

 tunity of the Turkish war with Russia to pro- 

 claim himself independent, but should even fur- 

 nish Turkey with auxiliaries. But he was cer- 

 tainly opposed by England in any designs that 

 he may have entertained, as England's interests 

 were thought to demand at this time a preser- 

 vation of the Turkish Power. The heir-appar- 

 ent is the Khedive's oldest son, Prince Mo- 

 hammed Tewfik, born in 1852. 



ITALY,* a kingdom of Southern Europe. 



* For an account of the movement of population, Bee Air- 

 NUAL CYCLOP .SWA for 18T6. 



