WAYNE COUNTY. 
419 
Bog and Argillaceous Iron. 
About one mile east of Lockville, bog iron occurs, covering about an acre ; it is in large 
solid masses near the surface, and is frequently turned up by the plough. 
A stratum or bed of argillaceous oxide of iron extends through Wayne county, parallel to 
and at the distance of about two miles from the lake. Furnaces for the reduction of this ore 
have been constructed in the towns of Wolcott, Sodus and Ontario. It has been ground for 
paint, and hence receives the name of paint ore. It belongs to the lenticular variety of mi¬ 
neralogists. It is always accompanied by greenish argillaceous shales and thin layers of shell 
limestone, and the ore itself seems to be composed chiefly of marine shells and other fossils, 
similar to those in the shales and limestones above and below. 
The argillaceous ore makes a hard, brittle iron. When melted without any flux, it is too 
sharp, i. e. the cinder is equally as fluid as the iron, from which it does not separate, but will 
sometimes run to the end of the mould. The melted mass is too thin, and therefore it is ne¬ 
cessary to mix loam with the ore. At the Wolcott furnace, Mr. Hendrick uses one part of 
sandy loam to two parts of ore, upon which the cinder separates, and perfect castings are pro¬ 
duced. Mixed with the rock ore, or magnetic oxide from Canada, in equal parts, and also in 
the proportion of two parts of argillaceous to one of magnetic ore, a softer and' better iron is 
produced. 
The argillaceous oxide requires a high heat for melting, and consumes one-third more char¬ 
coal than the harder ores. There is always produced considerable carburet of iron in thin 
bright scales or leaves, exactly resembling plumbago ; we have also seen this substance formed 
from the magnetic ores of iron at a high heat. 
When casting plough irons,, they run them upon a hardener (which is a piece of cold 
iron), so that for two inches on the edge, which is liable to wear, the castings are hardened 
like steel. The effect is, to change the usual granular texture of the casting into one that is 
lamellar, like bismuth. This difference is perceptible, and the line of demarcation is also 
very evident when the casting is broken. 
Ontario furnace is situated upon Bear creek, about two miles north of the ridge. The ar¬ 
gillaceous iron ore is extracted in two places in the immediate vicinity of the furnace ; it 
is a continuation of the same stratum that is explored in the towns of Sodus and Wolcott. 
The layer of iron ore is situated about fifty feet above the surface of Lake Ontario. Solid 
ore occurs about three feet thick, and to a greater extent mixed with rock ; it is clean, of a 
bright red color, exhibits its fossils very distinctly, and its characters are generally simi¬ 
lar to those of the Wolcott ore. It is said to yield from 33 to 35 per cent of metallic 
iron. The iron which it forms is brittle, and is employed for large castings, as potash kettles, 
ploughshares, etc. Bog ore improves it. The ore is quarried and delivered at the furnace 
for $1.50 per ton. There were formerly manufactured at this furnace 300 tons of iron per 
annum. This ore was first dug during the last war, carried to Auburn, and ground for paint, 
of which it is said to form a good article with the addition of a little red lead. 
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