IRON MANUFACTURE. 495 
cord an acre, so that at 45 years the original 40 cords to the acre would 
be reached; this rate, however, will hardly hold to that extent. 
The third crop is more rapid than the second, owing probably to 
the fact that the second crop comes largely from the seed, while the 
third comes from the stump. The above statements were kindly 
furnished by Mr. John Campbell and Mr. Johnson, of Ironton, whose 
long experience in charcoal iron smelting makes their statements of 
especial value. 
The charcoal is delivered at the furnace by the burners, who are 
paid by the load. The charcoal bushel of the Hanging rock region is | 
of 2,688 cubic inches, and 200 bushels nominally make a load. These 
burners cut the timber either on their own or on the company’s land 
during the fall and winter, from about October to April, and they 
burn during the summer. The universal mode of burning is in piles 
or “meilers.”” The charcoal burner employs the laborers and conducts 
the whole operation, having no connection with the company. The 
pile is built on a level piece of ground, the sticks cut about 4 feet 
long, being placed on end, and fitted as closely as possible, all inter- 
-stices being filled with small wood; the pile is made usually in two 
layers, and when complete is covered with damp leaves and earth. The 
burning occupies 10 to 12 days, the building about a week, and the 
-drawing, which is done a little at a time to avoid fire, about 5 or 6 days 
more. 
The charcoal delivered at the furnace is measured by the load. 
“The wagons being guaged are filled level, a load being about 200 
bushels. 
The charcoal of most of the furnaces is measured, not weighed, into 
the furnaces, it being claimed by the men that this method serves better, 
_as the variation in dampness of the charcoal does not affect the quantity 
used in the furnace, as would be the case were the charcoal weighed. 
“This practice makes it difficult to ascertain fairly the working of the 
furnaces, owing to the want of certainty as to how much a bushel of 
charcoal weighs. At Pine Grove furnace, near Ironton, the coal 
-charged is, however, weighed, and taking the sum of the charges for 
the year, and the coal received in loads, the average weight then was 23 
Ibs. to the bushel of 2,688 cubic inches. This weight includes the 
*“brands” or partly charred wood, butt-ends of sticks near the bottom of 
the charcoal pile ; these brands are received with the charcoal, provided 
