TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION G. 863 



■costs more than three and a half times as much. No wonder that Cleveland mine- 

 owners find it difficult to compete, and that Cleveland hlast furnaces are being more 

 and more engaged in smelting foreign rather than native ores. 



The characteristics and habits of Spanish as compared with English miners are 

 then noticed. The former are said never to spend money in strikes, gambling, or 

 drunkenness, the three main sources of impoverishment to Englishmen of the same 

 class. They have their weaknesses, however, for whenever bull-fights take place 

 the mines must be closed. From the quarries the mineral is taken to deposits 

 beside railways, or to barges at the river side, by (1) mules and donkeys with pan- 

 niers ; (2) by bullock carts ; (3) by shoots; (4) by aerial tramways, and (5) by 

 inclines. The first and second methods are still popular with some mine-owners 

 and under special circumstances. The third is only occasionally applicable. The 

 fourth is much in use, as it is capable of conveying considerable quantities up or 

 down hill and over unequal ground without much interfering with the surface, 

 and at moderate outlay and working cost. Hodgson's and Bleichart's aerial tram- 

 way systems are then described ; about 2,000 tons per rope per week of seventy-two 

 hours being about the capacity of the former and nearly .3,000 tons of the latter. 

 The cost of Hodgson's system averages 2,000/. per mile, and Bleichart's 4,000/. 

 Hodgson's is inapplicable where tlie inclination exceeds one in four, on account of 

 the tubs slipping on the ropes in wet weather. Bleichart's, having a hauling as 

 well as a rumiing rope, has not this disadvantage, and if the incluiation exceeds 

 that mentioned it becomes self-acting. Plodgsou's system is the cheaper in mainten- 

 ance as well as in first cost. Both require powerful brakes. The cost of transport 

 is from 7^d. to l.s. per ton per mile in either case, which is much higher than on 

 well-arranged railways or self-acting inclines. 



Nine of the principal inclines by which mineral is brought down from mines to 

 deposits are then described. The steepest is that called San Fermin, where the 

 inclination is 80 per cent. The railway wagons are carried on wedge-shaped 

 trucks, running on to them at the top and otf at the bottom. The longest and 

 cheapest worked is the Orconera, an incline which is 1,199 yards in length, 1 metre 

 in gauge, with an inclination of 17 per cent. The daily traffic is here 1,500 tons, 

 and the approximate cost of working 6(7. per ton per mile. Except in one case all 

 the inclines are self-acting. The counterbalanced cradles devised by Mr. J. P. 

 Roe, of Consett, whereby the incline wagons are made to empty their contents 

 automatically into main-line wagons below, is much commended. 



The endless-chain system of working inclines, and especially the one made for 

 the Anita mine by Mr. George Lee, is then considered. In a length of 9,867 feet, 

 or nearly two miles, the fall is 1,130 feet. The line is a double one, divided into 

 sections, eachha^ing a separate chain ; and the direction is twice abruptly changed. 

 The gauge is 1' 7|", and the rails 25 lbs, per yard. On the descending line, tubs 

 holding 10 cwts. of ore run continuously at the rate of three per minute as long as 

 the chains work and are kept supplied ; and the empties ascend on the other line at 

 the same rate. The whole works automatically, the speed being controlled by a 

 fan fly, assisted, if necessary, by a powerful friction brake. The cost of working is 

 said to be only V261d. per ton per mile, and appears to be below that of any other 

 system. 



The six principal railways, whereby mineral is taken from the deposits along- 

 side them and put f.o.b. expoi't ship lying at the staithes in the river, are then 

 described. They extend in the aggregate to about 40 miles. They comprise four 

 distinct gauges, the metre gauge with 54 lb. rails and 7-ton bottom door wagons 

 being the most usual. They abound in tunnels, sharp curves, high retaining walls, 

 and gradients up to 1 in 33. The usual speed is from 7 to 14 miles per hour, with 

 trains varying fi-om 20 to 35 wagons each. The average cost of construction is 

 said to have been 50,000/. per mile. The charge for loading from deposits, convey- 

 ing and putting f.o.b. is about Is. 8d. per ton. The lines terminate at their river 

 ends in one or more staithes, generally at right angles to the river. The wagons 

 are made either with bottom or with end doors. They run one by one to the end 

 of the staith, and their contents are discharged into a shoot projecting at an 

 inclination into the ship's hold. Each wagon when emptied returns by gravity to 



