1865.] Mining, Mineralogy, and Metallurgy. 683 



difficulties which accompany the mining for deep coal, and con- 

 sequently increasing slowly but certainly the cost of production. 

 With the increase of the price of coal to the manufacturer, there must 

 of necessity ensue an advance of price to the consumer of the manu- 

 facture, whatsoever it may be. It therefore becomes a necessity to 

 economize the consumption of coal in every direction, and to en- 

 courage the invention of machinery, by which the cost of " getting " 

 coal may be, as much as possible, reduced. 



Since we noticed in former numbers of the ' Journal of Science ' 

 the introduction of machines for cutting coal, several modified forms, 

 of those of which we gave drawings, have been introduced, but there 

 is not sufficient novelty in any of them to lead us, at present, to any 

 special description of them. There is no doubt much ingenuity in 

 several of those machines, but we delay noticing them until they have 

 been perfected by experience in the coal pit. 



Our iron produce is certainly next in importance" to the coal. 613 

 Iron furnaces were in blast during 1864. To supply those, 10,064,890 

 tons of iron ore were required and obtained from our iron mines. From 

 this, and some small parcels of Foreign ore imported, there were smelted 

 4,767,951 tons of pig-iron. This was distributed over 6,338 puddling 

 furnaces, and by the gigantic aid of 705 rolling mills it was converted 

 into merchant, bar, and other iron. In addition to this, we imported 

 53,918 tons of iron, most of which was employed in the manufacture 

 of steel ; and nearly 8,000 tons of steel of Foreign manufacture were 

 also brought into the country. 



In the present number of the Journal a paper appears on British 

 gold. That paper contains the statistics of the production of this 

 precious metal ; we have therefore only to state in this place that 2,887 

 ounces of gold were procured last year from 2,336 tons of quartz, 

 which were mined from the slate rocks of Merionethshire. 



Our Cornish and Devonshire mines produced 15,211 tons of tin 

 ore, which yielded of metallic tin 10,108 tons. This is in excess of 

 any former year. It is surprising that, in the face of the evident 

 accumidation of this metal in the hands of the smelters, and con- 

 sequently, of a constantly falling price, so large a quantity of tin ore 

 (black tin) should be forced upon the market. It is no doubt owing 

 to the very unsatisfactory manner in which our mines are worked, and, 

 to the necessity which exists, for the purpose of maintaining the price 

 of shares, in the mining markets of London, and our other large towns. 



The copper mines of the United Kingdom produced 214,604 tons 

 of ore, which gave 13,302 tons of metallic copper. The copper 

 mines of this country are showing evident indications of decline. The 

 quantity of ore sold in 1863 was slightly in excess of 1864, but the 

 metal obtained from it was less, proving that poorer ores are being 

 sent into the market. Our importations of this metal were 93,304 

 tons, of copper ore and regulus 10,015 tons in bricks and pigs, and 

 14,924 tons in bars. Of this, by far the largest portion was from 

 Chili and Cuba. 



The British lead mines gave 94,433 tons of lead ore, and from this 

 there were obtained 67,081 tons of lead and 641,088 ounces of silver, 

 vol. ii. - 3 a 



