Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1858-04-15

in the State, yet many are not aware that
this iron is made from the carbonate ore,
smelted with coke and hot blast. y. r. Les
lev. ESQ.,, Zone of the highest authorities In
the country.) in his Manual of Coal Up. iol
saws. ssThe carbonate OF iron Is as valuable
as the sulphuret is worthless. When fused
alone Il Yields one of the best metals IN the
,,orld. as Is now shown at the Cambria Works
in Pennsylvania" 1t may startle some to be
told that the ore in the ridges near Lewistown
is the same exactly with that used at the Cam
bria Iron Works, but such Is the lndlsputable
fact. They are both cdr6onates Of iron, and
must be treated precisely in the same way IN
a blast furnace (See Rogers Report lS4O,
.. $685. Whatever has been done in the
manufacture of iron at the Cambria Works
can be done at Lewistown. We haze the ore
in exhaustless quantities; hills of limestone
of the best quality, and o heavy stratum ef
excellent fire clay close to the town and an
admirable water power in the kishacoquillas
creek, large and steady stream. 1t is true.
We have not the Allegheny coke, but we have
what is far superior, the pure, porous and
tceiqhty coke of the semi anthracite of Broad
Top, an unequaled fuel, destined III no distant
day ts reyolutionize the manufacture Of iron
in this State. 1t is an admitted fact that
charcoal and coke are better fuels for making
iron than anthracite. Overman Up. 20ol says:
"Soft, open fuel and heated air form carDonic
oxyde, the agent in the reduction of the ore,
more readily than hard coal and we may
conclude that charcoal and coke are more
useful than anthracite coal in the manufacture
of IRON" The great end to be sought is pure
and weighty coke, and this never can be made
from light and sulphurous coal--neyer. No
mode of burning can thoroughly expel from
such coal that deadly eRemy of iron, sulphur,
or give to the coke weight and body sufficient
to bear the blast necessary to produce heavy
Yield. We must find coal free from sulphur,
of an 0athTacit0uS character, and yet with
bitumen enough to yield an open coke. What
then is the relative character Of the dnthrdci-
tous coal Of Broad Top and the hituminous
Goals of the Allegheny coal field? The weight
of bituminous coal is about 2400 lbs. to the
cubic yard, while Broad Top weighs 2S68 lbs.
to the cubic yard! within one pound of Broad
Mountain, the heaviest anthracite in Pennsyl-
vania (Taylor's Statistics of Coal, .. So, In
PRODUCTION. Mr.. Henry King, of Pittsburgh.
who has had great experience in the iron
trade, has recently manufactured pig metal
Of most admirable quality with Broad Top
coke, at Lemnos Furnace, on Yellow creek,
Bedford county, in small charcoal stack
the ore being the hematite of formation and
we must come 1t contains every required
condition for the reviving Of iron ia the most
successful manner-in quality pure as to
leave scarce a trace Of sulphur, open and
'ceighty-;n price, chedp-in quantity, iaer
houstibie.
From the foregoing | think we may con.
clude, lst. That the ore of the long range of
ridges traversing Lewistown valley is true
carbonate Of iron, its Outcrop being the per.
oxyde Of iron I'd. That it is stratified ore,
and is present in great force and true position.
Sd. That at is precisely identical in chemi
cal character with the nJdular and plate ores
Of the shales of the coal formation" 4th. That
il yields one Of the finest metals in the W 1rld
5th. That it MUST be roasted with care and
broken in sDlaU pieces before it is charged.
9th. That the temperature Of the hot blast
must not be very high, and Tth. That coke,
and that alone, is the true fuel to produce
heavy yield Of excellent metal, and that this
unrivalled fuel is within easy distance Of Us
by canal and railroad.
| close this article with an extract from
Lesley, who s more thoroughly eouversant
with the coal formation of Broad Top than
any living geologist and whose sp9tless rep
utation and exalted attainments give great
force TO his opinions. Speaking of the sup
posed discoveries of the black band ore he
says: I'VE may therefore convert our repeat
ed disappointment at its published discoveries
in this country into hearty congratulations
that il scarcely ertsts in our coal measures /;
for while it has created enormous personal
fortunes, and stimulated for time the local
iron trade Of Scotland and England, it has
deteriorated iron on both sides Of the Allan
tic; rhereas the time has fully come for the
successful and profitable treatment ot tie COM
mon carbonate at iHnunaerdbie points, either
pare or rniced ,oith the bog oryde, or icih The
Aematites, or ,cah the fossil ore, fused a0ith the
rae semi-aHttracites Of .Stamokin, Broad Top
ard Citmbcrld,,d or the cooked bit,tB,inouS codks
Of the great ,ceSt." Manual Of Conl, p. 90.
Such testimony from such source is cOnclu
sive. But if the r0U semi-anthracite will
produce good iron, how much the more sue
cessful must the mineral charcoal or coke
prepared from it be-when cveTy impurity has
been expelled by careful preparation, and its
treatment in the furnace is regulated by the
light of experience and practical scientific
knowledge?
| submit the foregoing to your readers that
such facts, so important and so fully estab-
lished may turn their reflections and inqui-
ries to the only true source of permanent
prosperity to this community-the Development
Of the uast, the iRcdlcutdble mineral depoSiteS
Which lie among the hills traUersing the railey
Of LeCisto,oR.
Respectfully yours,
w. ii. IRWIN.