OMPARATIVE STRENGTH OF AMERICAN, ENGLISH, AND SWEDISH IRON-TREDGOLD'S TEST.

This test shows that the iron manufactured from Franklinite, is the strongest article of the kind now known; and it must command a ready sale, at high prices, for chaincables, railway axles, and all other purposes where great strength is required. The question with manufacturers is quality, and the price of little consequence in comparison. In a trial in casting water pipes, by mixing a portion of Franklinite with bog ores, it was found that in attempting to break the castings, the sledge hammer made quite, an indentation in the castings before it broke, showing some malleability in cast iron, a very important desideratum. Iron manufactured of Franklinite, drawn down from a bar about one inch square, and accurately gauged, required a weight equal to 77,000 lbs. per square inch, to tear it asunder. This shows it to be nearly fifteen per cent better than any other iron known to Commerce.

The annexed assay on a bar of iron made from Franklinite, sent to the national forges of the government of France, from the mines in New Jersey, is the best evidence of its importance and immense value:-

VALUATION OF FRANKLINITE IRON.

REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE, ADMINISTRATION DE LA MARINE, FORGER NATIONALES DE LA CHAUSADE.

The bar obtained by direct treatment of the ore in the Catalan forge, is 25 millimetres by 24.5 millimetres, and presents a section in square millimetres of 612, m. 50.

Charge under which bar began to stretch..

Kilograms. M.

Elastic force per millimetre...

Charge under which the bar broke...

Absolute tenacity per millimetre...

Elongation of the bar at the moment of fracture, per millimetre.

Aspect of the fracture, all nerves; the bar was imperfectly welded and contained fissures which diminished the real surface exposed to fraction, in consequence of the absolute tenacity. Had the bar been sound, would have been greater than here appears at the moment of fracture but little heat was disengaged.

The tensions of the hydraulic press of the national forges are given by means of an excellent apparatus, which indicates the results with the greatest precision. An immense number of experiments have been made with this press, not only upon all the irons of France, but upon the very best irons of England, Sweden, Spain, and Siberia. Never until the present assay has any bar been tried the absolute tenacity of which surpassed forty kilograms per millimetre.

(Signed,)

TH. BORNET, Chef des Travaux aux Forges Nationales de la Chaussade. This ore is found in inexhaustible quantities in Sussex county, New Jersey, and nowhere else in the world. As interesting and as conclusive as these experiments appear, we learn that, in the course of a few days, developments will be made that will, without doubt, astonish the iron manufacturers of every country. It is undoubtedly true that cheaper and poorer qualities of iron can be manufactured abroad, imported into this country, and sold at prices below what our manufacturers can afford; but for all purposes where a superior article is required, iron manufactured from the Franklinite must monopolize the demand. It has been asserted that the numerous accidents to the machinery of our ocean steamships were in consequence of the poor quality of the iron used. If that is the only cause, it is now in a fair way of being removed, As soon as arrangements have been perfected for manufacturing iron from the Franklinite ore, we shall have the best article in the world, at prices comparatively moderate. Millions upon millions of dollars have been paid annually for importations of iron for our railways, and for all other purposes, while we have had, within a few miles of this city, the most valuable and extensive mines of a most superior ore untouched, and, until within a few years, unknown. The time has, however, arrived for the most rapid development of the mineral wealth of this country. Capital is cheap and abundant, and it cannot be more profitably employed than in thoroughly working the numerous valuable mines which are known to contain inexhaustible quantities of the richest ores. Great Britain has become the wealthiest and most powerful commercial

country in the world, directly through the products of her mines, and there is no reason why we should not immeasurably eclipse her through the same agency. Of all minerals, iron ore is the most valuable for all practical purposes. Gold is nothing compared with it. Before the lapse of many years the mining interest of the United States will, without doubt, be greater than any other, and those who are the pioneers in the movement will reap the richest harvest.

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY DURING THE LAST AND PRESENT CENTURIES. [From a Lecture delivered at the Manchester Mechanics' Institution, England, by W. Fairbairn, Esq.] If we take-I will not say a statistical-but a cursory view of the recent position of Manchester and the surrounding districts, and compare it with what it was at the close of the last and the commencement of the present century, we shall find that at that period the useful and industrial arts were comparatively of little importance. We shall also find that the gems of a new and, above all others, an important branch of manufacturing industry were springing into existence. I have no returns of the state of our manufacturing industry at that period, but the writings of one of our earliest and most intelligent spinners, to whom this country is indebted for many improvements in machinery-Mr. John Kennedy-informs us that the spinning of cotton yarn antecedent to the year 1798 was of an exceedingly limited description. That gentleman, in his account of the rise aud progress of the cotton trade, states that the hand-loom, as a machine, remained stationary for a great number of years, without any attempt at improvements until 1750, when Mr. John Kay, of Bolton, first introduced the fly-shuttle, and that the spinning of cotton yarn from that period and for many years previous, was almost entirely performed by the family of the manufacturer, at his own house. This united and simple process went on till it was found necessary to divide their labors, and to separate the weaving from the spinning, and that again, from the carding and other preparatory processes. This division of labor, as Mr. Kennedy truly says, led to improvements in the carding and spinning "by first in troducing simple improvements in the hand instruments with which they performed these operations, till at length,they arrived at a machine which, though rude and ill-constructed, enabled them considerably to increase their produce." Thus it was that improvements and the division of labor first led to the factory system, and that splendid and extensive process which at the present moment, and for many years to come, will affect the destinies of nations. From 1750 to 1770, when Mr. Hargreaves, of Blackburn, first introduced his spinning jenny (by means of which a young person could work from ten to twenty spindles instead of one,) there was little or no change; but a very material alteration took place shortly after the introduction of these improvements, which were immediately followed by Mr. Arkwright's machinery for carding and roving. These, accompanied by the introduction of Mr. Crompton's mule, in 1780, may be justly considered to constitute the origin of the factory system, which has now grown to such colossal dimensions, as to render it one of the most important and most extensive systems of manufacture ever known in the history of ancient or modern times. "Mr. Arkwright built his first mill at Cromford, in Derbyshire-(again quote from Mr. Kennedy)-in 1771. It was driven by water; but it was not till 1790, or some time after, when the steam-engine of Watt came into use, that the cotton trade advanced at such an accelerated speed as to render its increase and present magnitude almost beyond conception. This immense extension is not only a subject of deep interest to the philosopher and statesman, but one which is likely to furnish a large field of observation for the future historian of his country. I will not trouble you with the statistics of the cotton trade, as it now exists, but simply observe-as many of you are doubtless better informed on this subject than myself that I am within the mark when I state that not less than 31,500 bales of cotton are consumed weekly in the two kingdoms, England and Scotland; that nearly 21,000,000 spindles are almost constantly in motion, spinning upwards of 105,000,000 hanks, or 50,000,000 miles of ya n per day-in length sufficient to circumscribe the globe 2,000 times. Out of this im mense production, about 131,000,000 yards of yarn are exported; the remainder is converted into cloth, lace, and other textile fabrics. This marvelous increase, this immense extent of production, could not be effected without considerable changes in the prospects of the moral, as well as the physical, condition of society. It has entirely changed the position of the resident population of the district, and the secluded valleys, farm-houses, and neat cottages-the beauties of Lancashire landscape of the last generation are rapidly giving way to the conversion of villages into populous towns,

VOL. XXVII.-NO. II.

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with innumerable erections, which resound with the busy hum of the spindle and the shuttle. Along with these changes we see a new generation springing into existence, factories, steam-engines, and tall chimneys rising in every direction, and the noise and smoke which meet the eye and the ear of the stranger at every step, give evidence of the activity and prosperity of the industrious hive, which at some future time in English history will announce to succeeding generations the inventions and discoveries of the nineteenth century.

In this attempt to place before you a short account of the use and progress of our national industry, I must not forget that yarn, however finely and dexterously spun, is not cloth; and here we enter upon another and equally ingenious process The yarn must be woven before it is fit for use; and we shall find weaving one of the most interesting as well as elaborate operations of the useful arts. I need not inform you the ancient Hindoos, Egyptians, and probably the early Chinese, converted their yarn into cloth. The Indian and Oriental department of the Great Exhibition exhibited the mode and primitive character of their looms and other implements, which have been handed down from generation to generation from the earliest periods, without change or improvement, till the present day. Looms of this rude construction were introduced into Europe during the first glimpses of civilization, and for many centuries even the most advanced nations were content to use the same instruments, almost without improvement, until the introduction of the flying shuttle, and the subsequent invention of Hall and Arkwright opened a new and untrodden field for im provements in every department of art and manufacture. Power-looms at that period were unknown, and although attempts were made by Mr. Cartwright, as early as 1774, to convert the hand-loom into a machine to be moved by power, it was not until the beginning of the present century that the power-loom assumed its present form, and presented that intelligence of structure which rendered it self-acting, and enabled it to compete with the hand-loom weaver. From that time (about 1810 or 1812,) we may date the commencement of that increase to which that important branch of our manufacture was extended. The improvements introduced by Mr. Bennett Woodcroft and others, for weaving twills and similar fabrics, created new expedients and applications, and greatly increased the demand for this description of manufactures; whilst the inventions of Jacquard for weaving figured cloth, startled every one with their extreme ingenuity and beauty, and accomplished the perfection of machinery for the production of textile fabrics. The increase and extent of cloth manufactured from power-looms may be estimated from official returns kindly furnished me by Mr. Leonard Horner. There are now at work in the United Kingdom above 250,000 power-looms. Now, as each loom will, upon the average, produce from five to six pieces of cloth per week, each 28 yards long, say 25 yards a day per loom, we have 250,000, which, multiplied by 25, gives 6,250,000 yards or 3,551 English miles of cloth per day; the distance between Liverpool and New York. Only think of the importance and extent of a manufacture that employs upwards of 12,000 hands in weaving alone, supplying from that source (the power-loom) an annual produce of cloth that would extend over a surface, in a direct line, of upwards of 1,000,000 miles.

But although much has been done, much has yet to be accomplished before the supply equals the demand. It must appear obvious to those who have studied and watched the unwearied invention and continued advancement which have signalized the exertions of our engineering and mechanical industry. But neither difficulties nor dangers, however formidable, can stand against the indomitable spirit, skill, or perseverance of the English Engineer; nor will it be denied that the ingenuity and neverfailing resources of our mechanical population are not only the sinews of our manufacture, railways, and steamboats, but the pride and glory of our own country. It is for this important class that I have ventured to address you, and I trust that the time is not far distant when we shall witness establishments suitable for their education; such as will teach them to reason and to think, and to impart that knowledge essential to a more correct acquaintance with physical truth, and a clearer conception of the varied manipulation of those arts in which consist the true interests of the country.

THE LEAD MINES OF ARKANSAS.

To FREEMAN HUNT, Esq,, Editor of the Merchants' Magazine, etc.:—

The object of the present paper is to give an account of the argentiferous lead mines of Arkansas, and the reasons for believing them to be worthy of attention. These

"

have excited considerable attention for several years past; and various, and somewhat contradictory statements and reports, have been made, from time to time, concerning them. The consequence is, that the public mind has become quite skeptical as to their character for productiveness, if not of their very existence.

The writer has spent much time in investigating them, and watching their developments, as far as it has proceeded, during the past two years; and in comparing them with other mines of a similar character elsewhere, which have been longer worked, and whose character for productiveness has been established beyond a doubt, the result is a thorough conviction that they do not fall behind those of any other part of our country in any of the essential characteristics which indicate an abundance of mineral.

When any tract of country is first discovered to contain mineral, it is always the first inquiry, both of practical miners and scientific men, what is the mode of its existence,—that is, whether it exists in regularly formed veins or lodes, or in disconnected, isolated patches.

As soon as it is ascertained that there is a regular system of veins or lodes, especially if they run nearly east and west, no one, who is either practically or scientifically acquainted with mining, has any doubt of their capacity for productiveness, whenever they are judiciously and energetically worked. There is a correspondence running throughout all the works of nature, that when certain characteristics are found, others are sure to follow, as day and night, seed-time and harvest. The farmer, in judging of the capabilities of a certain soil, does not ask to see a crop growing upon it before he will believe it capable of producing one. When he sees what he knows to be the essential characteristics of a good soil, he knows, without further evidence, that if he uses the proper degree of industry, with a genial season, the labor of his hands is sure to be rewarded.

The Creator has made the world for man-its mineral as well as its agricultural resources; and He has not placed the indications of mineral wealth before us to mock our curiosity, or to entice us into ruinous enterprises, but as guides or indexes to point us to the places of their deposit.

The principal difficulties that have hitherto attended mining operations in our country, have been from the want of sufficient capital, and of that steady and patient perseverance which is requisite, in every kind of business, to insure success. There are few examples in our country, as yet, where men have engaged in mining with the persevering energy that we witness in every other pursuit. They are too much, or too little excited-too hot, or too cold; they have the most extravagant expectations of immediate wealth, or else they are totally faithless of any success in mining enterprises.

Now, it is not reasonable, nor is it good sense, for one to expect that he is going to make his fortune in a day at mining, or in a month, or a year. But it is reasonable and according to the dictates of good sense and sound judgment, to expect that where the essential characteristics of a good mineral region exist, the patient and persevering prosecution of mining operations, guided by the aids which experience and science afford, will as certainly be productive of a satisfactory reward, as that of the farmer, the mechanic, or the manufacturer.

Nor is this all. In large operations like mining, which require much capital, as well as a rare kind of scientific and practical skill, the business is not over-done, like those pursuits which are within the reach of the generality of mankind; consequently the profits are usually much greater.

This is proved by the most abundant and reliable documents from all the principal mining countries on the globe. One of the principal sources of the overgrown wealth of England has been her mines. Whatever may be said of the fate of their operatives, their employers have grown rich almost beyond example. Mexico and South America have filled the world with silver; and yet their ores are, on an average, no richer than those of Arkansas. The only doubt is as to the quantity. But those who have seen both the Mexican and Arkansas mines, declare that the surface signs of the latter are as promising as those of the former, but the Mexicans are down from 1,000 to 1,800 feet, while we are scarcely down 100. The English obtain their lead principally from 300 to 600 feet deep. They scarcely expect to find more than enough to guide them in their course for the first 200 feet. The same is true of their copper and tin mines; the principal part of these ores are obtained from 1,500 to 1,800 feet below the surface.

Disastrous failures have sometimes occurred in mining, yet what business is there where they have not! But when we come to inquire into the causes of them, we

shall find them to be the same that they are in every other kind of business. Sometimes a failure is owing to the want of a proper knowledge of the business, and sometimes to a lack of energy and skill in its prosecution, or more likely to both of them combined. Another cause of failure in mining is the incompetency, or the untrustworthiness of the Superintendent; but the most common of all, and the one most to be dreaded, is the practice of gambling. When failures occur in mining, they are almost always attributable to some one, or all of the above causes, though the impression generally is that they are the result of some inherent difficulty or uncertainty in the business itself. But the truth is that there is no inherent uncertainty about it; when it is conducted with skill and energy, and persevering industry, it is certain to reward the outlay of labor and capital as any other business is. The difficulty, when there is any, is almost always in the ignorance, or bad management, or wickedness of the men engaged in it. B. LAWRENCE, Geologist.

THE IRON TRADE OF ENGLAND.

At a meeting of the Society of Art in London, Mr. Blackwell delivered a lecture on the Iron Making Resources of the United Kingdom. The following extract of Mr. Blackwell's Lecture, which we copy from a late London Journal, will interest a portion of the readers of the Merchants' Magazine.

In opening his lecture Mr. Blackwell alluded to the Exhibition building itself as one, the conception and construction of which illustrated in the most striking degree the extensive iron-making resources of the country.

In glancing at the rise and progress of the iron manufactures of the country, the course pursued was to divide its history into two epochs, the first extending from the earliest historical notice existing to the period of the first introduction of fuel as an article used in smelting; and the second, bringing down its history to the present time. Many of the more extensive workings now known were, in all probability, known in the earliest periods; and it appeared certain that the mineral fields recently discovered in the county of Northampton were known and worked by the Romans. The quantity of iron manufactured in this country had proceeded rapidly in extent since 1740, until in the last year the quantity manufactured was not less than 2,500,000 tons, and the total value of all descriptions of goods was not less than £10,424,000. The great increase in this branch of industry was mainly to be attributed to the near proximity of the fuel with the ore, an advantage possessed to so great an extent by no other country, not even by the United States. The sources of supply were obtained from the two divisions, the argillaceous and carbonaceous iron-stone, and the ore was found in part composed of, or combined with, in greater or less proportions, the oxides of iron, alumina, silica, manganese, magnesia, soda, potash, crystals of nickel and znee, copper, and lead. Among recent improvements in the manufacture of iron, the most important were undoubtedly the discovery of the hot blast, and the application of the waste gases of the furnaces. Having described the varied localities where the mineral was found, it was stated that the entire area of the formations in which iron ore could be found was about 5000 square miles; but that, notwithstanding the immense quantities that were annually raised, there appeared to be every reason for believing that the iron-making coal fields of the country were not even approaching to exhaustion. Most important and valuable discoveries of extensive deposits had within the last few years been made in the north of England, at Middlesborough, which could be worked with the greatest economy; and also an extensive district in Northamptonshire, in the immediate neighbourhood of the route of the Northampton and Peterborough Railway. Ireland contained several extensive deposits of ore, but at present no iron manufactures were carried on in that country. The results of the varied improvements in the manufacture, although strongly opposed at first, and the removal of protective duties upon iron, had effected a most extraordinary reduction in the price, and one equally extraordinary in its consumption. The Museum of Practical Geology, recently established, was calculated to produce a vast amount of good by the diffusion of instruction upon subjects connected with mining and metallurgy. The number of hands employed in all branches of the iron manufacture was not less than 500,000. They were generally well paid, and, though hitherto completely neglected, were now rapidly rising to a position of equality with that of any other portion of the laboring population of the United Kingdom. It is impossible, said the lecturer, after completing an interesting survey of our iron-making resources,