224 
[Assembly 
Fig. 13. 
a, ore; rock. 
Before closing my remarks on this species of ore, I desire to mention 
the fact, that it is reduced at a lower temperature in the forge than any 
ore I have met with. This is a matter of great consequence, when it 
is considered that in the interior of Essex the soft woods are the most 
abundant, and must be relied upon in the reduction of it. From trials 
which were made at Mclntyre this last season, it was settled, conclu- 
sively, that the ore may be perfectly reduced wdth spruce coal alone, 
and that it possessed advantages over the coal of hard wood, indepen- 
dent of the facility of obtaining the former. In addition to this, I will 
add one more fact which may be of some interest to those who are en- 
g"aged, or who may be hereafter engaged, in the manufacture of iron, in 
relation to the value of an ore, independent of its richness or location; 
I will therefore state, that the value of an ore depends on two condi- 
tions: 1st. its freedom from sulphuret of iron, and other injurious mine- 
rals, as the phosphates of lime, iron, &c., the effects of which are well 
known; and 2d. on the facility of reducing the ore to a powder. The 
latter condition is one w^hich is very likely to be overlooked, as the in- 
quiries usually embrace those only w^hich relate to its richness, or the 
quantity of iron it will produce, and its quality; whereas, it is plain 
that if the ore cannot be broken up and reduced to powder, it will be 
quite difficult to work it, so that although it may be rich and free from 
injurious minerals, yet, when tough and unyielding to the hammer, the 
expense and trouble of bringing it into a suitable state of subdivision 
