The Nevada Democrat., 1859-12-21
Iron and 4. Us.ful Applications.


The United States has iron 10 unlimited sbun-
dance +; and iron is, Of all metals, che most I'M
portant. Better be without our gold mines
than our iron mines In fact, We may almost
estimate a nations might BY the quantity OF
iron it consumes. II enters into the compost
ton of almost every thing, and without II Meth
ing substantial can be effected. The farmers
plowshare, the woodman's AZ, the instruments
OF agriculture, the wheels Of carriages, the
shoes Of horses, the mnltferm machinery OF
manufactures, aud the tools OF every trade-to
say nothing OF the railroad and the steam en-
gine-al these powerful auxillaries Of man are
chiefly composed Of iron. We have not an ar
tcle Of utility 10 the household which Is not de-
pendent in great measure upon this metal.
While iron Is the source of our prosperity IN
peace, it forms also the very nerves aud slnews
of our strength In war the cannon balls, the
sabre and the bayonet-those terrible instru-
ments of destructon--are ell composed Of this
same metal Upon the sea II is equally omni-
present there, in the shape OF steamship, II
forms the vessel Of war, The most formidable
agent which has been yet employed BY man.
Thus, no subject eau abound in deeper interest
to all nations thau that Of iron /; aud the great.
er the facility with which any land can produce
and employ Il, the more does she possess within
herself the true elements of wealth. No nation,
however, should be content with the mere
knowledge that nature has enriched its territo-
ry with the elements from which this metal can
be produced. Her people must also be instruct-
ed in the most economical methods by which
the buried treasure may be drawn from the
bowels of the earth and transformed into arti-
cles subservlent to the use Of man. All nations
accordingly which have made any considerable
advance in civilization, have devoted large
amount of time to the study Of the art of max
ing and working iron. This most valuable
metal Is so abundant In the earth, and Is pro-
dueed 30 cheaply, that TO compete In the pro-
duction, not only the ore but the lime and fuel
for working it must be had and as these are
required in so large quantity, the three must
be found in close proximity. Each ton of the
ore requires one ton Of coal aud one-third Of q
ton of lime. In many portions Of the Western
States iron is found in horizontal beds with sim
liar beds of coal and lime, all cropping out In
the ravineS which have been cut.by the action
OF the water through the strata, SO that all three
are quarried by drifting In horizontally from
the ravine. Along the shores Of Lake Erie aud
in many portions of New England, furnaces are
employed In smelling bog iron ore. 1t has long
been known that this kind of ore increases in
quantity. or grows. After oil the ore was once
removed from bog, in few years ii would be
found to be filled with fresh supply. II has
been ascertained that this iron is brought into
the bog dissolved in water aud in some cases
il is simply deposited, while In others il forms
the coating or shields of microscopic animals.
Though the little beings are so small as to be
individually invisible to the naked eye, they
exist 10 such innumerable mulutudes that great
furnaces are employed for years in melting
down their shields into cast iron.-Scienttfc
american.