October 23, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



591 



amount of explosives used for the production of 

 coal in 1913 was 209,352,938 pounds, of which 

 about ten per cent, was of the permissible class 

 as compared with eight per cent, in 1912. The 

 use of permissible explosives in coal mining 

 has had gratifying results, and few, if any, 

 serious accidents can be attributed directly to 

 their use. 



The consumption of white arsenic in the 

 United States in 1913 amounted to about 

 Y,200 tons, valued at $5Y0,000, of which 2,513 

 tons, valued at $159,236, was produced in this 

 country as a by-product from copper and preci- 

 ous-metal smelters, and the remainder was im- 

 ported largely from European countries. For 

 the present imports of arsenic will probably be 

 seriously diminished and the American smelters 

 can save much more arsenic than they do now, 

 for the cheapness of the product has pre- 

 vented the saving of all that was practicable. 

 Works for the exclusive production of arsenic 

 have been erected at only two places in the 

 United States — Brinton, Va., and Mineral, 

 Wash. It is difficult for such plants to pro- 

 duce arsenic to be sold in competition with 

 the by-product of the smelters except in peri- 

 ods of high prices, such as may again prevail 

 if the industrial disturbances are long con- 

 tinued. 



The value of the mineral production of the 

 United States now exceeds $2,500,000,000 a 

 year, according to the United States Geological 

 Survey. Though this value falls far below that 

 of the country's farm products, the magnitude 

 and scope of our mineral industry may be best 

 measured by comparing our own mineral pro- 

 duction with that of other countries, no one 

 of which can compete with us in abundance 

 or variety of mineral resources. The United 

 States mines nearly 40 per cent, of the world's 

 output of coal and produced 65 per cent, of the 

 petroleum in 1913. Of the more essential 

 metals, 40 per cent, of the world's output of 

 iron ore is raised from American mines, and 

 the smelters of the United States furnish the 

 world with 55 per cent, of its copper and at 

 least 30 per cent, of its lead and zinc. These 

 are the raw materials on which has been 



founded a great metallurgical industry, but on 

 which can be built much more extensive chem- 

 ical and metal-working industries. 



According to statistics recently completed by 

 Ernest F. Burohard, of the United States Geo- 

 logical Survey, the production and shipments 

 of iron ore in the United States exceeded those 

 of any previous year. The crude iron ore 

 mined in the United States in 1913 amounted 

 to 61,980,437 long tons, compared with 55,150,- 

 147 tons mined in 1912 — an increase of 6,830,- 

 290 tons, or 12.38 per cent. The iron ore 

 shipped from the mines in the United States 

 in 1913 amounted to 59,643,098 long tons, 

 valued at $130,905,558, compared with 67,- 

 017,614 long tons, valued at $107,050,153, 

 marketed in 1912 — an increase in quantity 

 of 2,2625,484 long tons, or 4.60 per cent., 

 and in value of $23,855,405 or 22.28 per 

 cent. The average price of ore per ton for 

 the whole country in 1913 was $2.19, com- 

 pared with $1.88 in 1912. These quantities 

 of ore, both mined and marketed, include the 

 iron ore used for fluxing other metallic ores at 

 smelters in the Middle and Western states, but 

 do not include the iron ore sold for the manu- 

 facture of paint. The iron ore marketed for 

 paint in 1913 amounted to 16,950 long tons, 

 valued at $44,851. The ore reported as sold 

 for fluxing purposes other than in the manu- 

 facture of pig iron amounted to 62,842 long 

 tons, valued at $235,588, in 1913, compared 

 with 88,449 long tons, valued at $244,315, in 

 1912. The domestic iron ore actually mark- 

 eted for the manufacture of pig iron amounted 

 in 1913 to 59,580,256 long tons, valued at $130,- 

 669,970, compared with 56,929,165 long tons, 

 valued at $106,805,838, in 1912. Iron ore was 

 mined in 28 states in 1913, one more than in 

 1912. Idaho, Montana and Nevada produced 

 ores for fluxing only; part of Colorado's out- 

 put was used for fluxing and part for pig iron ; 

 a little magnetic ore mined in Utah was 

 shipped to a Salt Lake iron foundry for testing 

 a new method of reduction, and the remainder 

 of the Utah ore was used for fluxing. The 

 other states produced iron ore for blast-furnace 

 use only, except small quantities for paint 

 from Georgia, Michigan, New York and Wis- 



