﻿Prof. Milne — Across Europe and Asia. 395 



noticeable in tlie mines where new explorations have led to the 

 modification and alteration of many preconceived ideas. 



The great feature in Tagil is its iron works. The largest 

 of these, which are named after the family by whom they are 

 possessed, are the Demidoff. At these works 2500 men and 

 350 horses are employed. Many of the shops and foundries are 

 lighted by gas, which is made from wood, — 200 cubic feet of wood 

 giving about 800 cubic feet of gas. The roots of pine and the rind 

 of birch furnish the largest quantity of gas. The light from this 

 gas is poor as compared with that made from coal, the former 

 being equivalent to about ten candles, whilst the latter is equal to 

 about fourteen. It is however, cheap, one jet costing half a kopec 

 (one-sixth of a penny) per hour. 



Whilst walking over the works, I saw several things in various 

 stages of completion, which, if I speak of them as they were described 

 to me, will sound quite transatlantic. First, there was a turbine 

 being cast with a wheel 24 feet in diameter. Then there was a new 

 iron furnace being built ; this was elliptical in form, 56 feet in 

 height, and was intended to have a capacity of some 8500 cubic 

 feet. To keep this going a blowing engine was almost complete, 

 the blast cylinders of which were seven feet in diameter. This 

 turbine, the blast furnace, and the blowing engine, I was assured, 

 were the largest in the world. As regards the turbine, this off-hand 

 statement may perhaps be true, but larger examples of blast furnaces 

 and blowing engines may be seen at home, as at Middlesborough. 



The sand which is used for casting is derived from a weathered 

 greenstone ; but as this is somewhat calcareous, it is not so good as 

 might be wished. Every year the manufactured steel, iron plates, 

 bars and other materials are transported in waggons over the Urals 

 to the Eiver Chesovoi,^ where they are placed in boats, each carrying 

 about 400,000 lbs. About 150 boats are used annually. From 

 the iron works I walked over to the Copper Hiitte. From the 

 commencement of the mine here in 18 14, up to the year 1874, 

 152,671,193 pouds (1 poud = 36 lbs.) of ore, which yielded 

 5,001,016 pouds of copper, have been extracted. The yield of 

 copper from the extracted ore has been therefore about three per 

 cent. Close by these works there is a museum, where specimens 

 of the raw and manufactured materials which are produced in Tagil 

 can be seen. An interesting object in this museum was a large 

 natural magnet, which supported about 10 pouds (400 lbs.). 



Before describing what I saw of the mines, I will give the 

 following as a short general geological description of the country 

 around Tagil, in which these mines are situated. The informatioa 

 enabling me to do this I derived from a local topogi'aphical map, 

 coupled with what I saw and what was kindly told me by a resident 

 mining engineer. 



All the country around Tagil, as I have before said, is very hilly. 

 The highest of these hills look down upon the town from the west. 



^ Spelt Tchusovaya in Keith Johnston's Atlas. 



