Prof. Milne — Across Europe and Asia. 
395 
noticeable in the mines where new explorations kave led to tke 
modification and alteration of many preconceived ideas. 
Tke great feature in Tagil is its iron works. Tke largest 
of these, which are named after tke family ky wkom they are 
possessed, are tke Demidoff. At tkese works 2500 men and 
350 korses are employed. Many of tke skops and foundries are 
ligkted ky gas, wkick is made from wood, — 200 cukic feet of wood 
giving about 800 cukie feet of gas. Tke roots of pine and tke rind 
of kirck furnisk tke largest quantity of gas. Tke ligkt from tkis 
gas is poor as compared witk tkat made from coal, tke former 
keing equivalent to about ten candles, wkilst the latter is equal to 
akout fourteen. It is kowever, ckeap, one jet costing half a kopec 
(one-sixth of a penny) per hour. 
Wkilst walking over tke works, I saw several things in various 
stages of completion, wkick, if I speak of them as they were described 
to me, will sound quite transatlantic. First, there was a turbine 
being cast witk a wkeel 24 feet in diameter. Tken tkere was a new 
iron furnace being built ; tkis was elliptical in form, 56 feet in 
keigkt, and was intended to kave a capaeity of some 8500 cubic 
feet. To keep tkis going a blowing engine was almost complete, 
tke blast cylinders of wkick were seven feet in diameter. Tkis 
turbine, the blast furnace, and tke blowing engine, I was assured, 
were tke largest in tke world. As regards tke turbine, tkis oß’-hand 
Statement may perkaps be true, but larger examples of blast furnaces 
and blowing engines may be seen at hörne, as at Middlesborougk. 
Tke sand wkick is used for casting is derived from a weathered 
greenstone ; but as tkis is somewkat calcareous, it is not so good as 
migkt be wisked. Every year tke manufactured steel, iron plates, 
bars and otker materials are transported in Waggons over tke Urals 
to the River Chesovoi, 1 wkere they are placed in boats, eack carrying 
about 400,000 lbs. About 150 boats are used annually. From 
tke iron works I walked over to tke Copper Hütte. From tke 
commencement of tke mine kere in 1814, up to tke year 1874, 
152,671,193 pouds (1 poud = 36 lbs.) of ore, wkick yielded 
5,001,016 pouds of copper, kave been extracted. Tke yield of 
copper from tke extracted ore kas been therefore about tkree per 
cent. Close by tkese works tkere is a museum, wkere specimens 
of the raw and manufactured materials wkick are produced in Tagil 
can be seen. An interesting object in tkis museum was a large 
natural magnet, wkick supported about 10 pouds (400 lbs.). 
Before describing wkat I saw of tke mines, I will give tke 
following as a short general geological description of tke country 
around Tagil, in wkick these mines are situated. Tke information 
enabling me to do tkis I derived from a local topograpkical map, 
coupled witk wkat I saw and wkat was kindly told me by a resident 
mining engineer. 
All the country around Tagil, as I kave before said, is very killy. 
Tke kigkest of tkese hills look down upon tke town from tke west. 
1 Spelt Tchmovaya in Keith Johnston’s Atlas. 
