August 24, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



179 



The most important of his published work 

 in genetics deals with wheat, but he also car- 

 ried on a long series of dog-breeding experi- 

 ments and, through the firm, made possible 

 the researches of Hagedoorn, Meunissier, 

 Mottet and other geneticists. He was largely 

 responsible for the Fourth International Con- 

 ference on Genetics, held in Paris in 1911. 

 As secretary, he did most of the work con- 

 nected with it; as financial guarantor, he fur- 

 nished most of the funds needed for it. The 

 large volume of Proceedings, which he edited 

 and published at his own expense, is a fitting 

 memorial to his zeal in the promotion of sci- 

 entific research. Paul Popenoe 



Washington, D. C. 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



THE PRODUCTION OF IRON ORE AND PIG IRON 



IN 1916 



The iron ore mined in the United States in 

 1916 reached a total of 75,167,672 gross tons, 

 the greatest annual output ever made. The 

 shipments from the mines in 1916 were 77,870,- 

 553 gross tons, valued at $181,902,277. The 

 quantity mined in 1916 was more than 19,600,- 

 000 tons greater than that mined in 1915. The 

 increases in quantity and in value of iron ore 

 shipped in 1916 amounted to about 40 and 80 

 per cent., respectively. The average value per 

 ton at the mines in 1916 was $2.34, as against 

 $1.S3 in 1915. These figures, which were com- 

 piled under the direction of E. F. Burchard, of 

 the United States Geological Survey, Depart- 

 ment of the Interior, include for 1916 only iron 

 ore containing less than 5 per cent, of man- 

 ganese. 



Iron ore was mined in 24 states in 1916 and 

 23 in 1915. Minnesota, Michigan and Ala- 

 bama, which have for many years produced the 

 largest quantities of iron ore, occupied in 1916 

 their accustomed places. 



The Lake Superior district mined nearly 85 

 per cent, of the total ore in 1916 and the Bir- 

 mingham district about 8 per cent. No other 

 district except the Adirondack mined as much 

 as 1,000,000 tons. The increase in production 

 in 1916 was especially marked in the Adiron- 

 dack and Chattanooga districts — 54 and 55 per 



cent, respectively — but every district showed 

 an increased output over that of 1915. 



All the ranges in the Lake Superior district 

 mined a larger quantity of iron ore in 1916 

 than in 1915, and the largest increases were in 

 the Gogebic and Menominee ranges — 54 and 

 43 per cent., respectively. The output of the 

 Cuyuna range exceeded 1,500,000 tons for the 

 first time. 



There were 13 mines in the United States 

 that produced more than 1,000,000 tons of iron 

 ore each in 1916, five more than in 1915. 

 First place in 1916 was held by the Hull-Eust 

 mine, at Hibbing, Minn.; second place by the 

 Eed Mountain group, near Bessemer, Ala.; 

 third place by the Fayal mine, at Eveleth, 

 Minn., and fourth place by the Mahoning 

 mine, at Hibbing, Minn. The production of 

 these mines in 1916 was, respectively, 7,658,- 

 201, 2,899,588, 2,252,008 and 2,215,788 tons. 

 The increase at the Hull-Eust was 232 per 

 cent., making the production of this one mine 

 more than one tenth of all the ore mined in 

 the United States in 1916. These records illus- 

 trate the rapidity with which the rate of out- 

 put of mines in the Lake Superior district 

 may be increased. None but open-pit mines 

 could be made to respond to demand to such a 

 degree. 



The production of pig iron, including ferro- 

 alloys, was 39,434,797 gross tons in 1916, com- 

 pared with 29,916,213 gross tons in 1915, an 

 increase of 32 per cent., according to figures 

 published by the American Iron and Steel In- 

 stitute, February 24, 1917. The pig iron, ex- 

 clusive of ferro-alloys, sold or used in 1915, 

 according to reports of producers to the United 

 States Geological Survey, amounted to 39,126,- 

 324 gross tons, valued at $663,478,118, compared 

 with 30,384,486 gross tons, valued at $401,409,- 

 604 in 1915, a gain of 29 per cent, in quantity 

 and 65 per cent, in value. The average price 

 per ton at furnaces in 1916 as reported to the 

 Survey was $16.96, compared with $13.21 in 

 1915, an increase of 28 per cent. 



RESEARCH IN AERONAUTICS 



The report of the British Advisory Com- 

 mittee for Aeronautics for 1916-17 is sum- 



