Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1871-01-27

road. The value of the Sunday creek
valley as a coal field can not be overes-
timated.
We measured the interior section of
a mine, on the edge of Monroe town
ship, and found it over twelve feet in
thickness, but that point is not material,
since a coal bed FIVE feet in thickness is /
workable and convenient. Mr.. An
drews well says: rThe value of the Up
per Sunday Creek Valley as a coal field
can not be overestimated.
Describing this field, the Professor
continues:
at viii be seen that the Nelsonville
seam of coal, which has been traced in
to Muskingum county, has very ex-
tensive range. It has been already
traced over a belt of country forty miles
long, and averaging twelve miles wide.
To the northwest the coal rises on the
hills, and disappears. To the east and
southeast It dips below all the valleys.
The deeper the valley, the greater the
southeastern extension of the coal. Be
fore a perfect outline of this remarkable
belt of coal can be made, it will be nee
essary to have a careful typographical
map of the region prepared. Then a
this and other seams of coal, iron ores,
limestones, &c, so that every land
owner might, by inspection, determine
the probable mineral value of his prop
erty.'
But the quantity of coal in any locality
is not more important than the qualify,
and in this instance the quality is all i'm
portant; because if we can get dry
burning coal (which is the best for
flrnaces) in Southern Ohio we shall in
crease immensely the iron manufacture,
and the manufacturing facilities of Gin
cinnati. The Professor says:
'rThe coal IS properly Classed among
the dry-burning Goals. The tendency to
melt and cake is slight, and the free cir
culation of air secures the best possible
combustion. Although not as highly
bituminous as some other varieties of
coal, yet the flame is considerable, and
the coal makes very cheerful parlor
fire"
This is sufficient; and, beyond doubt,
if iron can be had there in quantity and
kind suitable for manufactures, then this
district will have the same advantages
with those of the Mahoning Valley.
Mr.. Andrews furnishes several tables |
of analyses of Goals, by Professor
Wormsley, of Marietta College. Who
ever compares these tables will find that |
there is no perceptible difference between
the quality of the coal on Sunday creek |
and that Of Brier Hill.
OF iron, Mr. Andrews shows several |
varieties (the carbonate, imonite, kid |
ney, limestone nodules, &c, found on
Sunday creek, which he describes, and |
all of which we saw ourselves when |
there. The following is his comparison:
For the purpose of general compari- |
son, l give from Bauerman' s MetalluEgy |
of Iron the average richness in iron of |
the ores used in the famous Cleveland /
iron district in England. This average, !
for four samples from different localities, |
is $3.50 per cent. of metallic iron, while |
the average of six samples from our coal !
field is 36.57 per cent. In this number
/ include one sample of ore taken from |
above the great seam of coal on Sun
day creek. In freedom from the delete |
rious element, phosphoric acid, the Ohio
ores are far superior.
To understand this testimony and its
the reader should know
what the Cleveland Iron District IS.
The Cleveland Iron District is at pres
ent the best iron distriCtin Great Britain,
or perhaps in Europe. It is exactly the
cause of our present decline in ship
building, and it is the real competitor
with American iron We have free
trade in ships, and it is a fine example
of what free trade would do Iron and
labor are very cheap on the Clyde, and
for twenty miles the Clyde is lined with
and factories. How is Con-
gress to lesislate against that? F.? But to
hat fI7aI 0ff he
day creek region is fully equal to that of
he Cleveland region of Great Britain.
If so, and there be the best of coal there,
why should not that section be full of
fortunes Mr.. Andrews cautiously says
hat the quantity of iron can not be
known. This is true. We know the
fact that iron crops out in the hills and
valleys of that section, and that it looks
very abundant. At the same time, who
ever invests capital in furnaces should
examine the iron strata carefully, and,
doubtless, they will. But it is not diff
cult to ascertain, and unless all the signs
Of nature fail, the iron strata there will
be found quite as abundant as those Of
Jackson and Lawrence counties
In the former article we remarked
hat Ohio had come now to point in
which it could not grow without great
increase of manufactures. The rural
population has come almost to a stand.
Nearly the whole increase of popula-
ion in Ohio is in the towns. The farm
ng land is almost taken up, and the
lumber of farms will not increase. Even
he towns can not increase without new
At the same time that we
lave this state of things, we have the
most and the best materials for manu-
actures of any State in this country. AS
yet we have scarcely touched the surface
If coal, iron, stone, oil and other miner
lis, which cover thousands of square
niles in this State. Capital is slow to
invest in the primary manufactures, be-
,ause few people understand them, and
because capital is cautious of new things.
Yet, we venture to say that if half the
;apital put in gold and silver mines had
oeen put in the manufactures of the
lonely metals the profit would have
country would have been increased in
happiness and virtue. When
Pennsylvania had arrived at the same
stage that Ohio now is, the capitalists Of
began that series of enter
1rises in coal, iron and railroads, which
las given Philadelphia without foreign
65o, 900 inhabitants Penn
ylvania, 3, 900, 600; and will probably
make her the first State of the American \
Union, for Pennsylvania is gaining on
Iew York. We know that neither laws
Tor arguments will hasten these things
md know the causes which lie back of |
he prosperity of States. E. D. M.
CINCINNATI, January II 1871.