Wisconsin and Missouri Lead Region. 45s 



worst circumstances in which a smelter can be placed ; for with- 

 out considering the highest wages that are paid, high board, and 

 the heavy item of hauUng ore, which may be much diminished 

 with the distance, suppose ore to be raised on land owned by the 

 smelter, discovered by others ; he saves at once $829, and his 

 monthly profits increase to f 1,063. Suppose him to have made 

 the discoveries with his own hired miners on his own land, and 

 he then saves ,^3,276, making his profits for the month, $3520. 

 But this calculation is made rather to show what might happen 

 than what has, or is likely to. It is one of the chances of the 

 business in which to some extent, several smelters have been for- 

 tunate ; but for the most part they would be glad now to obtain 

 half the ore they require, off their own lands, as the result of the 

 discoveries of others. 



The blast furnace is like those of the same name in general 

 use in England ; thongh coke is the only fuel there supposed to 

 be suitable for it, charcoal has here been found equally good and 

 is in general use. 



The following sketch (fig. 2) will give a general idea of this 

 furnace, and a minute description of its parts with Avorking sec- 

 tions may be seen in Elie de Beaumont's " Voyage Metallurgique, 

 &c." The blast is raised by the simplest machinery — a crank 

 on the end of the axle of the water-wheel working either the 

 common double bellows or the cylindrical bellows ; while another 

 pair is often connected with the same wheel to blow a slag fur- 

 nace or a copper furnace, as at New Baltimore. 



Three hands at a time are required to work this furnace ; the 

 head smelter, whose duties are not quite so arduous as those of 

 the head smelter of a reverberator}'', and whose pay is not so 

 high ; a " back-hand," who assists the smelter by throwing in 

 charcoal and wood and ore after he stirs the fire, and an assistant 

 who prepares the materials. They work one shift which ends 

 when thirty pigs are made, and this requires from eight to ten 

 hours. Then another set of hands come on and work another 

 shift. Some smelters however, employ but one set, still their 

 day's work is over when the thirty pigs are run. 



The process is this : a fire is made in the morning of billets of 

 wood carefully arranged in the fireplace, the blast is put on, and 

 charcoal added, as the wood burns away ; ore is then thrown on 

 in small quantity, together with a little lime. The ore has first 



