NA TURE 



[June 30, 1904 



Clement Le Neve Foster died, and it has therefore not 

 had the advantage of his exceptional technical linow- 

 ledge, literary skill, and critical acumen in its final 

 revision. His loss to the Home Office is a serious one, 

 and it will be difficult to find an editor with his wide 

 acquaintance with foreig'n mining literature to fill his 

 place. 



The information given in the report deals with the 

 number of persons employed, the quantity and value 

 of minerals produced, and the loss of life from 

 accidents in mines and quarries throughout the world. 

 The statistics given in this concise, intelligible and 

 inexpensive form are of the greatest importance from 

 a commercial point of view. In the United Kingdom 

 alone the value of the minerals produced in 1902, the 

 year under review, was 107,104,884?., and the vast sums 

 representing British capital invested in mines in all 

 parts of the world will be readily appreciated. Some 

 indication of the growth of the mining industry during 

 recent years is indicated by the following comparison 

 of the world's output of metals in 1889 and in 1902 : — 



Iron 

 Gold . 



.Silver 

 Copper . 

 Lead . 

 Zinc 

 Tin 



In 1902 the world produced 803,157,000 tons of coal, 

 22,869,000 tons of petroleum, and 13,279,000 tons of 

 salt. Of the coal supply, 34 per cent, was furnished 

 by the United States, 29.5 per cent, by the United 

 Kingdom, and 19.4 per cent, by Germany. Although 

 the United States outstripped Great Britain in pro- 

 duction, the value of the British product was 

 93,521,000/., whilst that of the American was 

 75.373.000/. 



-As gold producers, the British possessions take the 

 first place, furnishing more than half the world's 

 supply. Australia supplied 24 per cent., the Transvaal 

 12 per cent., and Canada 7 per cent, of the total. The 

 United States contributed 27 per cent. The value of 

 the total production exceeds 60,000,000/. Nearlv one- 

 fourth of the world's salt and three-fifths of the tin 

 are produced by the British Empire. On the other 

 Iiand, the production of copper, lead, petroleum, silver, 

 and zinc is small in comparison with the world's out- 

 put. Of copper, the United States, with the enormous 

 output of 299,000 tons, produce more than half the 

 copper of the world, and Spain and Portugal together 

 about one-tenth. The United States also produce 

 most lead, 30 per cent, of the world's total, Spain and 

 Germany following. Russia and the United States 

 are the two great petroleum producers. In the British 

 Empire, Canada and Burma are the onlv oil regions, 

 and their production is comparativelv' small. Of 

 silver, the United States again are the largest pro- 

 ducers, followed closely by Mexico. The "German 

 Empire, with its rich Silesian mines, is the leading 

 zinc-producing country, furnishing one-third of the 

 world's^ supply. The United State's take second place 

 in the list. Of other valuable minerals raised in 1902, 

 diamonds to the value of 4,950,000/. were produced in 

 Cape Colony. Italy has no equal for its sulphur (value 

 1,706,000/.), Chili for its nitrate of soda (value 

 9,500,000/.), Germany for its potassium salts (value 

 2,000,000/.), Spain for its mercury (value 173,000/.), and 

 the United States for their phosphates (value 

 1,000,000/.). 



Any strictly accurate comparison between the number 

 of persons employed in the mining industries of the 

 various countries is impossible. The figures collected 



are, however, sufficient to give a general idea of the 

 relative importance of mining in each country. The 

 total number of persons engaged in mining and quarry- 

 ing throughout the world may be taken at 4,500,000, 

 of whom one-fifth are employed in the United Kingdom 

 and one-third in the British Empire. More than half 

 the total number were employed in mining coal. 

 Great Britain employing 750,000, the United States 

 and Germany each 500,000, France 165,000, Belgium 

 135,000, Austria 123,000, and India 100,000. 



The accident statistics are not so complete as might 

 be wished. For coal mines, the figures show that 

 the death rate from accidents in mines and quarries 

 per 1000 persons employed is 1.24 in the United 

 Kingdom, 1.46 in the British Empire, 1.09 in France, 

 1-93 in Germany, and 3.25 in the United States. The 

 death rate for foreign countries generally is 2.20. It 

 is evident that mining is conducted in Great Britain 

 with a far smaller risk of accident to the workers than 

 in most other countries. 



The first part of the general report on mines and 

 quarries for 1903 has also been issued. It contains 

 statistics of the number of persons employed, the output 

 of minerals, and the number of accidents in tile United 

 Kingdom. The British production in 1903 included 

 230,334,469 tons of coal, 16,198,021 tons of clavs and 

 shale, and 13,715,645 tons of iron ore. 



B. H. B. 



NOTES. 



In the long list of birthday honours published on Friday 

 last, we notice that Mr. Charles Booth, F.R.S., has been 

 made a Privy Councillor ; and that the honour of knight- 

 hood has been conferred upon Prof. J. Dewar, F.R.S., 

 and Dr. T. Stevenson, scientific analyst to the Home Office. 

 The Colonial Office list includes the name of Prof. W. 

 Baldwin Spencer, F.R.S., who has been appointed a Com- 

 panion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George 

 (C.M.G.). 



H.R.H. Princess Henrv of B.^ttenberg will privately 

 inaugurate the annual exhibition of the Beni Hasan 

 excavations committee at the rooms of the Society of Anti- 

 quaries in Burlington House. The exhibits include the 

 antiquities discovered at Beni Hasan and Xegada by Mr. 

 John Garstang, reader in Egyptian archa;ology in the 

 University of Liverpool, and paintings by Mr. Harold Jones, 

 artist to the expedition. The exhibition will be open from 

 July 8-23 inclusive. 



The French Society of Civil Engineers has this year 

 awarded its prizes as follows : — the annual prize to M. J. 

 Bernard for his work on the installation in the Red Sea 

 of three lighthouses in circumstances of especial difficulty. 

 The Michel .Alcan prize was awarded to M. L. Guillet for 

 his researches on the composition of steel, and the 

 F. Coignet prize went to M. V. Picou for his work on the 

 regulation of dynamos. K prize was awarded to Prof. E. 

 Hospitaller for his works on the study of phenomena which 

 by their rapidity and frequency baffle ordinary methods of 

 analysis. 



H.R.H. THE Prince of Wales has consented to become 

 patron of the Royal Meteorological Society. 



The twenty-second congress of the Sanitary Institute will 

 be held in Glasgow from July 25-30, under the presidency of 

 Lord Blythswood. Sir Richard Douglas Powell, Bart., 

 K.C.V.O., will deliver the lecture to the congress on " The 

 Prevention of Consumption." It appears from the pro- 

 gramme that 250 authorities, including several county 



NO. 1009, VOL. 70J 



