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10 IRON ORE PRODUCTION IN 1894. Advance sheets of the report by Mr, John Birkinbine on the iron ores of the United States, contributed to the “Mineral Resources’, volume 1895, give the following relative to the production during the past year. The record of iron ore production in the year 1894, amounting to 11,879,679 gross tons, shows a slight ad- vance (about 2% per cent) over the quantity mined in 1893, but notwithstanding this the year 1894 can prob- ably be recorded as the most unsatisfactory in the his- tory of iron oré mining in the United States. The re- turns for 1893 indicated the smallest output from domes- tic iron ore mines since statistics have been collected by the United States Geological Survey. The total reported valuation of the 11,879,679 gross tons-of iron ore produced in the year 1894 was $13,577,- 325, or an average of $1.14 per ton, showing a decrease from the low price of 1893 ($1.66 per ton) of 52 cents, or 31,33 per cent. The greatest falling off in price was apparently in those states embraced in the Lake Supe- rior region, the iron ore mined in Michigan being stated to be worth on an average $1 32, that in Minnesota 73 cents, and that in Wisconsin 92 cents per ton in 1894, as against $1.84, $1.55 and $1.33 in 1893, a decrease of 28.26 per cent, 52 90 per cent and 30.83 per cent respectively. The decline in values of Minnesota ores is especially remarkable, the price at the mines being less than one- half of what was reported in 1893. This is due to the cheap mining on the Mesabi range. and to the fact that in order to obtain a foothold in the market ‘it was thought wise to sell these comparatively little known ores at lower prices than the standard ores. While the reported value of Vermillion range iron ore of Minne- sota is lower than in 1893, it is considerably higher than that mined on the Mesabi range in the same state. In Alabama the average value of the iron ore in 1894 was slightly less than in 1893, being 83 cents per ton, against 86 cents in the previous year, a loss of but 3 cents, or 3.49 per cent. There is, however, more atten- tion being paid to the grading of ore which is used in the furnaces, and it is probable that the ores smelted in 1894 were better prepared than in previous years. Twenty-four states and territories produced 11,879,- 679 gross tons of iron ore during the year 1894, of which 9,347,434 tons, or 78.68 per cent, were red hematite; 1,472,748 tons, or 12.40 per cent, were*brown hematite; 972,219 tons or 8.18 per cent, were magnetite; and the balance, 0.74 per cent, was carbonate ore. Pennsvlyania, New York and Colorado are the only states which reported mining the four classes of iron ore in 1894; Virginia and West Virginia, Kentucky and the Western States furnished three kinds; Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and Missouri two kinds; the balance of the states are credited with one kind of ore only. In some cases ad- mixtures of the ores above mentioned were mined but not reported separately. In 1894 there were produced 14,804 tons of magnetically concentrated ore, and 72,312 gross tons of jigged and hand-sorted ore. The prevalence of red hematite ores in the Lake Su- perior region with a high percentage of iron has per- mitted mining and conveying them long distances with the exceptional appliances in use, while an abundance of less desirable red hematite close to fuel in Alabama and Tennessee has assisted in keeping this class of ore in favor. From some mines brown and red hematite, or red hematite and magnetite, or carbonate and brown hema- tite ores are obtained out of the same workings, the ex- tent to which ores are hydrated or weathered tranfer- ring them from one class to another; or different classes of oré are found intermixed or alternating in the same deposit. Wherever possible an attempt has been made in the statistical review to separate into classes the dif- ferent ores coming from the same workings, but in some instances this was impracticable, and the product is credited to the predominating character of ore mined. The aggregate production by states in 1894 was as follows: States, Gros; 'tons. Michigan......... se ey a Be So as Seger a ae 4,419,074 IRIE AOD eto ae ccna Cail ad ginibig.clt's sisisiels, ¢ Sons's © spienis stb ¢.$\0.0% » 2.968 463 PROAMED ee, cere eves cerctis recc~ekeecs vce: ee es ee LaOO BG: Virginia anc West Virginia,,... , 600 562 Pennsylvania pe 532,087 Wisconsin. , 347 601 ITCRA DRG ooo (ks nisms claGlars vib vine ve biae clewye's Sein pie vsinpiees 292 831 New Jersey BF iG rar EA PeiE a LES. cali obi ted wuter cbse 277.483 Roplorado. ee ie ee RRs A Siero. CAPELLA woe sive sip sacle 9 90isp* 250,199 DUGWPROR Is eee A eticeae csnset sete ree aerssevessscscescssacnsesis 242,759 Georgia a0S palaeth Cpe ling: Gb 6 8 Sikh call dc dacs pite'vpra bag) <pieeye tre 174,694 81 926 THE MARINE RECORD. OIG ns eae inn d scctdicin s Cab Gus Desks Epobin’s pelea eee feds Bale e Msp « terse y 58,493 Montana, New Mexico, Reais ANGsUtahess:” S. vs vice hotles iielwes.© 44,138 Kentucky LES. Da catSagaete aad Ate Cees heads ea SS ated 42 548 Connecticut and Massachusetts........5.ee0eecsetere ree tseeneeees 30,259 Texas mshi 15 361 Maryland 7915 Total 11,879 679 Although the restricted operations it the year 1894 affected the more prominent iron ore mines or mining operations, these were, as a rule, equipped with more improved machinery and labor-saving devices, and some of them commanded greater capital than the smaller mines; hence mining was continued, although in some instances considerable ore was stocked. The statistics show that in 1894 44 mines produced 9,134,207 gross tons, or 76.89 per cent. of the total iron ore output of the entire country in 1894. or BITUMINOUS COAL ANALYSIS. The relative rates of coal mining in the Pittsburg railroad district and in the Ohio and Indiana bituminous field has always been something of a knotty question. In connection with railroad rates on coal, this matter has brought out unlimited discussion. The following figures, showing a comparative analysis of the various coals in the districts mentioned, thickness of the seam worked, and other particulars collected by Mr. R. J. Bailey, are quite interesting in view of the circumstances mentioned : : Om n ge Be ee ele Le of logis] baat) e my ~ SravTe oR DIsTRIcT Bice ge * Es . go ? ¥ oe. ? rp ae : : Penn’a 444 | Pittsburg ........ | 57.88 | 38.40 2.68 | 1.04 | 1.25 = 4% | Pittsburg... 58.90 | 34.60 60s eee | 24.90 ‘s 4% || Pittsburg...,... 58.46 | 36.86 3.20 | .99 58 <s 5 Youghiogheny,.. | 61.14 | 35.51 1.88 | 1.47 | v.73 a 7 | Youghiogheny,.. | 55.70 | 35.12 8.14 | 1.04.) 1.49 xu 5 | Youghiogheny... | 57.67 | 48.80] 2.66 | 1.07} 0.60 we 7 Youghiogheny. .. 58.78 83.26 6.60 .86 99 if 6 Westmoreland... | 59.22 | 33.73 5.12 | 1.25 | 0.66 ie 6 Westmoreland... | 59.59 | 35.39 2.72 | 1.22 | 1.06 Ohio. 61%4| Nelsonville, . 59.80 | 31:30 2.70 | 6.20 |- 0.97 sf 6% | Nelsonville... 63.15 | 32.80 9.05 | 5.00 | 0,94 ba) 6% Haydenville. , 63.49 | 30,12 1.09 | 5.380 | 0.64 4 6% « 55.81 | 29.88 9.36 | 5.45 | 1.63 os 10 55.75 | 33.22 4.88 | 6.15 | 1.88 es 10 aE 47.51 | 33.89 | 11.05 | 3.05 |) 4.04 a 11 Old Strastsville.. | 59.41 | 32.15 2.44 | 6.00 | 0.50 a 1 Old Straitsville.. | 52.77 | 29.65 9.98 | 7.60 | 0.68 rs 10 New Straitsville. | 60.45 | 29.20 2.95 | 7.40 | 0,93 Ke 13% | Monroe,........ 53.50 | 28.80 | 13.30 | 4.90 | 0.79 ss 1144 | Sunday siaet .. | 6847) 31.40 5.09 | 6.34 | 0.88 caeeleeniar. blll; 62.66 32.58 1.16 | 3.60 0.85 : vee. | Briar Hill, 60.40 | 29.10 6.60 | 3.90 | 0.82 ts Trumbull County | 64.30 | 30.19 1.95 | 3.65 | 1.02 Indiana. see | Brazil Block.,... 53:99 38.76 1.80 | 5.46 0.75 West Va. | 7 Fairmont........ | 57.46 | 35.26 5.73 | 1.64 | 0.01 De 6% | Fairmont ...... - | 56.56 | 36.78 8.40 | 1.42 | 0.71 sf 7 Tucker Co,,..... | 67.18 | 26.84 3.50 | .80 | 1.16 y 7 Tucker Co....... 72.76 | 22.90 2:719.| .96 59 A 4 New River...... | 74.04 | 23.20 1.43 | .83 | 0.50 2 8% | Pocahontas,..... 74.25 | 18.81 5.19 | 1.01 | 0.73 ANOTHER RAPID PROPELLER. A propeller invented by Ambroy B. Smith, of St. Paul, which the inventor claims will enable a steamer equipped with it to attain a practically unlimited speed, is a very simple contrivance, yet a marvel of ingenuity. Old steamboat men who have examined it express the Opinion that the propeller will*no doubt send a steamer through the water at the rate of 50 and perhaps 75 n.iles an hour. There are three distinct inventions belonging to the propeller... First, there are the self-adjusting buckets or blades, so arranged that they have what are called a continuots pull, a square pull, and apush all at the same time, whether fully or partially submerged in the water. One or two wheelscan be applied on each side of a vessel amidships, connected like the drive wheels on the locomotive and one or two'wheels astern, although it is expected that one wheel on each side and one astern will produce a sufficiently high rate of speed. The shaft, journal and roller bearings are new de- vices and important factors, and will, it is predicted, come into general use upon all steamships where great power and high speed are desired, and also upon station- ary engines, locomotives, railway cars, street cars, etc. The pitman crank, etc., are also new features. All the improvements are being patented separately, but will belong to and be connected with the new propeller. 1 <- — ———— — THE four books of ‘‘Sailing .Directions,’’ published by the Hydrographic Office, covering Lake Superior and St. Mary’s River, Lake Michigan and the Straits of Mackinac and Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair with Detroit and St. Clair Rivers, north channel of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, can be had at the office of THE MarINE RECORD, 144 Superior street, Cleveland. Price, $1.00 each. QUEER LAND AND WATER BOAT. A natitical architect who bears the very appropriat name of Channel has invented a ship that he says wil slip through the water at the rate of 75 miles an hour and will fly along over a good straight country road at arate of 100 miles per hour. ‘The sanguine inventor’s full name is B. F, Channel, and he is a resident of Cam- bridgeport, Mass. He was born in England 35 years ago, but for some time has been a resident of this coun- try. He has been engaged in the shipbuilding business since early boyhood and is confident that he is by no means a novice in the construction of water craft. The model of his wonderful craft resembles a sidewheel steamship, the wheels of which are immense and very powerful. These wheels are to be 25 feet in diameter, — and their lower rims are even with the keel of the ship. They:also project so far from the vessel on each side that Channel is confident they will steady it and pre- serve its equilibrium no matter what speed sais be as tained. The wheels, Channel believes, will give the ship at extraordinary speed. They are 75 feet in circumfer- ence, are operated by two engines propelling separate shafts and may be made to revolve 100 times a minute, thus giving the ship a speed in the water of 7,500 feet per minute. On land, where the friction will be so much less, the inventor believes the speed will be greatly increased. A broad level turnpike, Channel says, may be utilized when his ship is sprinting across country at a mile and a half a minute, and when a curve is reached the inner wheel will be stopped, and the outer one wi cause the ship to make the turn in safety. The wheels are rigged with paddle blades for use when the novel ship attempts the conquest of nature’s domain. Channel believes the war and navy departments — should be greatly interested in his invention. The — ordinary man-o’-war has to go half a mile to turn round, while Channel’s boat can spin around like a top, ~ delivering first one broad side and then the other. <a oo ati A NEW SUBSIDIZED LINE. The legislation of the Austrian Government for the encouragement of shipping has practically led to the establishment of a new line of steamers from New Orleans to Austria. _ Steamships sailing under the — Austrian flag are at present entitled to a subsidy which is calculated by the ton, and which in the case of a ves- sel of, say 1,500 tons, would amount to about £1,000. When, however, such vessels are employed, in a service which is acknowledged by the government to be of im- portance to the country they receive a further subsidy for every mile run, which in the case of a ship of the size required for this service would amount to about 42,000 a year. Thus vess2ls employed in the cotton trade of the American Gulf ports would be entitled toa subsidy of something like £3,500 per annum. The gov- ernment admitted that a line such as was proposed be- tween New Orleans and Trieste would come within the terms of the subvention clause. Several Austrian shipowners pressed the matter further by asking for an additional subsidy for these steamers to run between New Orleans and Fiume, and in this they have been successful, EE De EE EXAMINING THE COLUMBIA. At the New York Navy Yard the board of survey ap- pointed to exemine the Columbia in the Gry-dock to ascertain what damage, if any, she sustained from faulty-dry-docking while abroad, has been busy at work. The board consists of Commo. T. O. Selfridge, Chief Engr. R. Farmer and Naval Constr. F. T. Bowles, and finished its labors on Wednesday last. The finding of the board is not known, but the opinion is that the injury was found to be trivial and confined to some indentures in the keel between the frames of the hull. A second board, it is expected, will be appointed to determine how long it will take tomake the defects good. How long the Columbia will remain in dry-dock was not known at last accounts, but the opinion was. expressed that it would be some little time if repairs to her keel are to be made. On the other hand, if the report of the board who examined the keel of the vessel finds nothing of a serious nature, then she will probably join the squadron under Adml. Bunce in a few days. Repairs to her rud der were being made on Aug. 15, and new grate bars were being put in her furnaces.