REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
31 
Proximate constituents of Dodge Co. Iron Dre, from Sterling — Prof. Cassels. 
Peroxide of Iron,. 
Silica,. 
Clay,... 
Sesqnioxide of Manganese, 
W a ter,. 
Loss,. 
rjp f 53.72 Iron. 
* K w \ 23.00 Oxygen. 
10.00 
4.00 
1.05 
6.00 
, 2.21 
100.00 
Owing to this small amount of silex the labor of smelting is 
very much diminished, no flux, other than the clay Tvhich ac¬ 
companies it, being necessary to the process. Indeed in some 
cases the introduction of water-washed sand, for the purpose 
of retarding the process of smelting, has been found advanta¬ 
geous. 
Two or three companies were organized some years since for 
the working of these mines and the manufacture of iron, but 
owing to the want of proper tariff protection, and perhaps, also 
a lack of adequate capital, their operations have never been 
very extensive. 
The Wisconsin Iron Company established the first stack fur¬ 
nace erected in Wisconsin, at Mayville, where the business has 
since been carried on upon a moderate scale. They obtained 
their ore at a cost of 50 cents a ton, delivered at the fur¬ 
nace, which, together with the excellent water power available 
for driving their machinery, and the heavy surrounding forests 
of timber, would seem to leave but little to be desired for the 
economical production of iron. At last accounts this, the 
Hartford and one or two other furnaces were turning out about 
O 
four tons each of good metal per day. 
There are also indications of valuable deposits of iron at 
several places in Sauk and Crawford counties. The mines in 
Sauk have been for some time w r orked by Mr. Tower, proprie¬ 
tor of Ironton Iron Works, and metal of excellent quality is 
furnished therefrom for the manufacture of castings at the 
Sauk City Foundry. 
It will thus appear that Wisconsin has a rich endowment of 
several of the most valuable economic minerals, including lead, 
zinc, copper and iron. A few words, in conclusion, upon this 
branch of the subject, in relation to 
