The Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1863-1886, 1865-12-21
Iron.

nloLOIg iS the nlntOryf vi clVllIuHOb.
for as men have progressed in the
knowledge Of its manifold properties,
they have advanced mall the arts that
grace the highest cnltnre. From the
days of Tubal Cain to the present time,
this has been true, and when we trace
the material from its rude lead, where,
like q giant, it has been in undisturb-
ed repose for countless ages. up thr'o
all the manipulations Of crt, and the
appliances Of science, and find trami.
flying through every department of
life, and intimately connected with
every effort oiipdustry, we are lost in
wonder at tho versatility OF its uses,
and the magical perfection of its man
ufacture. 1t is once delicate fabric
fneas gossamcr, and the ponderous
cugine offabulous power--tbe Archi-
medean lever, and the cambria needle
the cbild's toy. and The mnn's IRON
clad engine of destruction The ro-
nance of the forge, and the epic Of
Iron will yet be written, but we have
neither time, talent, nor the will to
undertake the task, and will wait the
advent Of the genius who can do JUS
tice to it. We propose to call atten-
tiOn to the more material and substan-
tial properties of the metal; those
which we are perhaps too prone to
consider in regard to almost any in
terest of life -tbe commercial proper
ty. What will it payYraJ a 3ill a
The census report Of 1860 shows
that there were produced, in chat year,
8S4 ,474 tuns ofpig iron, valued at Sl9,-
487,790, and of manufactured iron
405 ,298 tuns, valued at S22,248,796;
and these figuses exhibit an increase
over the production of 1850, of more
than forty per cent. Al the present
prices of iron, the above figures ofval
ue would have heen about eighty mil
lions Of dollars. r' .n esn. e4,
| We have no means of ascertaining
the increase in the production of iror
throughout the United States, since
the above figures were ascertained
but recent sojourn in the rich min
eral region of Lake Superior led US tt
make some inquiries relative to tht
production in that section, and its in
crease since 1860, from which some es
innate can be made of the aggregate
increase throughout the country h
| To the careless tourist, or one ben
on pleasure alone, the little village o
Marquette, Michigan, presents butlit
tie OF interest beyond its contiguity
to the lake, and its beautiful harbor
but the political economist, or th'
com mercial traveller, when he learn
that about one eighth of all the irol
mined in the United States in 1856
was shipped from that point, become
i'm pressed with its Importance, ant
makes further inquiry. This inquiry
will develop the fact that ten year
ago o piece of Lake Superior iron or
was curiosity to our practical met
J allurgists, and only to be found in tn
cabinet of the adventurous geologisl
Prior to the completion of the shi
} canal at the mouth of Lake Superior
: a few tons Of this ore had been carte
around the portage at the Sault ST.
, Marie, and a test had proven its grea
value, so that on tho opening of tn
canal projects were set on foot for th
development O. the mines in that re
, gion. The first year thereafter brough
,445 tons to market. In 1860 ther
were 116, ,948 tons, and in 1864, 235
!, 1913 tons were brought from Marquet'
i. alone, and in tho ten years endin
. with 1864, 1874, ,534 tons were shippe
D from Marquette Bay. nr..fs..
: Marvellous as has been the develol
J, ment of this traffic, tho increase Of I'll
S next decade, with a reasonable libel
9 atty towards home industry by Coz
I gress, must be still greater, proportion
D atoly. Much Of the ore is made int
:, pig iron in the immediate neighbol
! hood Of tho mines. The export ofth
Q pig iron in 1864 was 1882 tons, an
in the seven years ending with 1856
Q it amounted to 58,845 tons. The e,
!. port for 1864 was moro than that
d Massachusetts and Connecticut for I'll
$ same year, and sixty per cent. MOI
8 than the production in New York
$ 1850. In ore and metal together Ma
b quote county sent to market, in 1856
D three. fifths as much as the total pr
duction of pig iron in the Unite
}, States in 1850, and, as we have state
d above, one e.eighth of all the pig ire
=, produced in the United States.
d 1864. r,g @ .'. a.. ra a..
Wehave said that the production
d tho next ten years will show q great
n ratio of increase than that OF tho tt
). years Just passed. This opinion
!, formed after an examination of the r
r. sources of that country, and the met
is cd heretofore pursued in working Il
# mines. Nothing like thorough sy
o TEN Of working has yet been adopte
l. and little more than surface diggil
- has produced the marvellous resul
named above. Enough has been dor
!. however to develop the fact that IN
:. ny millions Of tons exist in two
n three of the oldest mines, while u
4 mineral deposit of that region must
q. practically inexhaustiblc.-At hu
\. dreds OF points the richest magnet
at ores and hematites have been disco
~ cred, and mines are being commenc
II in many localities. The process
r. r. mining is simple in the extreme, co
Of sistingin blasting from,the solid mou
Of tain or ledge of ore, and the snbseque
:. breaking or blasting of the detach
masa Al one mine hole eiphte