Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-11-06
IRON AND OYSTERS.

Two American Products i'm EnGla nd
Drcaaacnco OF the British Iron
Trade.
London Correspondence Of the Cincinnati Com
merci2l.
With every prospect before us of a
severe winter, it will not be discouraging
to the great iron miners to read the
recent statement that 100 tons of Amer
lean iron have just been sold to a
Liverpool firm at ELL, los, thus under
selling the English iron market. This
iron is guaranteed equal to that of Stat
fordshire. 1t explains the marked de
crease of the American and Canadian
demand for English iron, and it also
comes at moment of some alarm, too,
in the iron trade, partly due to the SELL
ing out of one or two firms, and partly
to the peremptory demand made by
the Stafordshire workmen this week
for higher wages. Mr.. Crawshay, the
most celebrated iron-master in Wales,
has sold his vast works at Merthyr
Tyd6l for 81, $50, 900. Mr.. Crawshay's
father came to London from Northum-
berland, riding upon a donkey-that
animal being his entire earthly estate.
In London he met with man who
offered to give him employment in
some iron-works at Merthyr, and he
sold his donkey to obtain the means of
reaching that city. His son, Robert
Crawshay, now realizes the above sum
for the works which gradually fell into
his fathers hands. He lives in mag
nificert castle-Cyfarthia Castle-owns
various estates, and is probably worth
to-day nearly 24,OOO,OOO. His leaving
the business is due to his disgust at
the annoyance he suffered during the
great strike of last year, which was
never satisfactorily settled, and which
is likely soon to be followed by an
other.
But while the item about the impor-
tation of Iron from America shows that
the United States can compete with
Staffordshire IN that important article,
there is another importation which !
regret to say, has proved failure. I
refer to oysters Two companies un-
dertook to import oysters from New
York to this country last year. The
one planted theirs near Conway, in
Wales, and brought them from time to
time to London, but this speculation
""O 0pOOuAy uA0COAV4UuCO> UA1C OtuCA
company brought better article, and
planted large beds of them near Shore
ham. Still these were not the large
New York Bay oysters which might
have eclipsed the English natives, but
the Providence Bay oyster, which is
more hardy. These oysters throve
finely at Shoreham, and there is a con-
siderable number there. But 1 am
told by their principal seller-Scott, in
the Haymarket-that they cannot CON-
pete even with the English seconds"
and that no more will be imported.
The best English natives are always
scarce now, selling at three shillings
per dozen, and not likely to become
cheaper. The seconds !" are selling
at Is Sd. per dozen-an increase of I'd
over last season. The American sell at
Is Cd. per dozen. This is remarkable
instance of how, by long habit, the
taste Of people raay be formed so that
they will call bitter sweet and sweet
bitter. I suppose no American would
for an instant touch the best English
oysters If he could get the Shoreham
Americans instead--and yet these cost,
now as they are becoming scarce, only
half the price,