Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1872-04-29

will feel it quickly. We asked an old |
man how long the pile had been burning
which he was then shoveling up, and he |
said with his rich Irish brogue, About
three months, sir.
When thus roasted it turns reddish
color, the sulphur being burned ont, and
it is ready for the furnace. Red ochre
is formed during this process, and it
made the soil of the beds decidedly red.
Paint from it could be made From
these beds the ore isdrawn down on the
tramway, three or four hundred yards,
to the furnaces. Down to these we now
went to see the work there The ore is
shoveled into the furnaces from above,
equal quantities of coke or peat being
put in with it. They do not use much
peat just now, for coke is cheaper. Peat
costs them about ten dollars ton and
coke eight. But awhile ago coke cost
twice as much as now and then peat was
used. The peat is taken from bed two
miles east of the mine, owned by the
company. The way they prepare it is
to dig it from the bed. run it through
mill similar to that used in mixing
mortar for bricks, turned by horse pow
er, and the peat thus run out is dried on
rocks in the sun, and when dry is ready
for use. It becomes harder and heavier
than one would think The hlacksnAi tlae
SAID that hundred pounds of peat
charred were fully equal, for their pur-
poses, to the same amount Of stone coal.
Blast is furnished to the furnaces by
an engine and water power combined
| Two of these furnaces are run at a time,
for two weeks, and then allowed to cool
off and two others set going. So intense
is the heat that they are much damaged
inside during this fiery ordeal, and after
each heat have to be repaired. This is
done with fire brick and mortar of pc
culiar ingredients. Rock quartz is burn
ed like lime, pounded under heavy
iron stamps and mixed with heavy Jersey
pipe clay, and these with a few other in
gradients make mortar much nearer
fire. proof than common mortar Even
with this and fire bricks, the inside Of
each furnace is badly injured, as | saw
myself One was just cleared of the ash
es, cinders and "clingers.' giving sad
proof Of the intense heat that alone could
melt and refine the copper.
From these two furnaces the melted
metal is drawn off ON one side of the fur
mace front, and the melted stone another
way-this, called 'slag." Is drawn off in
iron basins and thrown out of the way
The copper from this heat Mr. d. called
metal" in distinction from that in q
more refined form It's brittle, and bro
ken in fine pieces is taken to some kiln:
in another part of the buildings, anC
then burnt over and over four or five
times for two weeks. A layer of woot
is put in the bottom of the kilns, anC
, then the metal piled up in masses of fv,
tons to kiln, and the wood set on fire
By this repeated burning. the remains
of sulphur which are left even after tn,
rOasVng ana furnace process, are uuuaIr.
, burned out From these kilns the re
fined metal is taken back into the mail
furnace building and put into anothe
, blast furnace for final smelling Out o
) these the copper runs into basins in tn
, sand, from which it is ladled into larg
molds, each holding about two hundred
r and twenty-five pounds. When cold i
. is ready for market. On the bottom o
> each pig of copper is nodded V. C. Mg
f Co.-"Vershire Copper Mining Compa
4 ny" Copper is now selling at abou
irty-three cents per pound, with a
e upward tendency. Last year it wa
e about twenty-five cents. Its manufac
0 ture costs the company twenty-five cent
D a pound, so that just now their profit
a are good NJ. V. B. K.