ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY. 
349 
in heaps, in which the decomposition will go on, and be completed in the course of two or 
three years. Ores which were useless, and were in consequence thrown away, after lying 
exposed to rains and other atmospheric agents, became valuable. The fresh ores may there¬ 
fore be thrown into running water, where the soluble sulphates will be washed out as fast as 
formed; and after the process is completed, the ores will be suitable for the furnace. 
In this immediate neighborhood, other smaller beds of bog ore are known, but they are too 
unimportant to require a description. 
Bog ore frequently accumulates around springs in low swampy places. In these instances, 
its origin is different from that of the bed of which I have spoken above. Usually this ore is 
a mixture of the oxide and carbonate; and the water being charged with these substances, 
when it reaches the surface, deposits them in consequence of its diminished solvent powers, 
occasioned by parting with carbonic acid. The accumulation of ore in these places is usually 
too small in amount to be of any account in the manufacture of iron. 
Bog Ore of Brasher, Fowler, Gouverneur, ^c. 
The towns adjoining the St. Lawrence river, or those upon the lower levels, are favorably 
situated for the accumulation of bog ore, peat and marl. Accordingly many localities of each 
of these substances exist, and sometimes in the form of extensive deposits. In Brasher and 
the neighboring towns, bog ore has been discovered in sufficient abundance to supply several 
forges, and employ many workmen constantly in the iron business. The qualities of the ore, 
as it occurs in the lower level, is better than that in Hermon, which is derived immediately 
from the decomposition of the rock. The Brasher ores are free from pyrites, and make good 
castings or bar iron. The quantity of manufactured iron from one furnace in this place 
amounts to eight hundred tons annually. 
The beds in this place have been dug out partially twice : after the removal of the first crop 
of ore, the space is filled again in fifteen or twenty years. The ore rarely yields more than 
fifteen per cent; but it works remarkably easy, and forms a soft tough iron. 
The extent of the Brasher beds is greater than that of any others which have been disco¬ 
vered ; they are five or six miles long, and the average thickness is two feet. Several fur¬ 
naces are supplied with ore from these beds, namely, those of Brasher, Waddington and 
Norfolk, and one at Westville is also partly supplied therefrom. 
At Fowler, beds of bog ore have been discovered, and used in the furnace at Fullerville. 
In Gouverneur is a bed containing a great abundance of ore, in which there are large quan¬ 
tities of twigs, and branches and roots of trees of all the kinds which grow in the neighbor¬ 
hood. It contains too large a proportion of sulphuret of iron, to be used without roasting. 
In Canton, also, numerous deposits of this kind are known; but they are generally too 
limited in extent to become important. 
The above details are deemed sufficient to meet the objects of this report. They are mat¬ 
ters mostly entirely local; though upon a general view, they bring out more satisfactorily the 
resources and wealth of the county. 
