328 IRON ORES OF NEW-YORK. 
In the northern part of the State of New- York, 
iron ore is abundantly distributed in the form of the 
magnetic and specular oxide, and bog iron ore ; 
and in Jefferson county, not even a mile can be 
travelled over without observing frequent indica- 
tions of this metal. The magnetic oxide occurs in 
beds, of from one to 500 feet in width, in granite and 
gneiss ; the beds being parallel to the direction of 
the mountain ranges, and in gneiss parallel to its 
apparent stratification. They dip, like the ;rock 
strata, at an angle of 70 or 80 degrees. Some idea 
may be formed of the immense quantity of iron in 
this region, when we state that at Newcomb, a 
few miles from the Hudson River, a bed has been 
traced more than a mile in length and 300 feet in 
width ; and about a mile north is another bed 500 
feet wide, which extends nearly a mile, and of an 
unknown depth. There is also a great abundance of 
timber and " water-power," and other facilities for 
the extensive manufacture of this metal; nothing 
being wanted but a railroad of 40 miles to trans- 
port it to the navigable waters of the Hudson. The 
whole of Franklin and St. Lawrence counties may 
be said to be iron districts, destined at no distant 
period to abound in extensive iron manufacturing 
establishments. There is already manufactured in 
Essex county 1500 tons ; in Clinton county, 3000 
tons (all of which latter is made directly into mal- 
leable iron, and converted into hooks, bolts, nails, 
anchors, chain cables, &c.) ; in Franklin county, 
600 tons ; in St. Lawrence county, 2000 tons ; and 
in Jefferson county, 450 tons of iron* annually. 
The value of the iron annually manufactured in the 
above-named counties is more than half a million 
of dollars annually. f When we consider the im- 
* Mr. Emmons's Report to the Legislature of New- York, 
1837. 
t In England, in the year 1828, there was manufactured 
732,000 tons of iron. 
