The National tribune., 1883-02-22
OUR GROWING COUNTRY.
Its Industrial. Commercial, Railroad,
and Agricultural Development.
FINANCE AND TR DE.
Latest Reports from Leading
Business Centres.

fast steamship line of American-built vessels to
ply between this country and Great Britain,
which excited so much attention when first
made public about year ago. The intention
was to have vessels start from Fort Pond Bay,
at the easterly end of Long Island, and go to
Milford Haven. Passengers were to be con-
veyed in swift express trains from New York to
Fort Pond Bay. and from Milford Haven to
London was to occupy less than six days. 1t is
stated, however that the route which the
American Express Line was to have used, from
Fort Bond Bay tc Milford Haven, is to be
utilized by the recently organized British and
American Express Steamship Company, linn
tied, whose vessels are at present building on
the CLYDE. The British and American Steam
ship Company is composed of American and
English capitalists. Its capital stock is 42,000,
600. The company proposes to carry passen-
gers between New York and London in six
days by vessel and rail The principal differ
ence between the British and American Line
and the abandoned American Express Line is
that the former will sail English ships and will
carry steerage passengers and freight as other
lines are now doing The gain in sailing dis
tance by the new route is about 40 miles at
the other end, avoiding the inclosed waters and
currents of st. Georges channel; and 1lSmiles
at this end, avoiding the dangerous coasts of
of Long Island and New Jersey.
The failure is announced of Herbert c. Aver,
ities of nearly 100000 Herbert c. Aver is
a heavy stOckholder in the incorporated COM
pany known as Brown. BOnnell u CO., of
Youngstown, Ohio, manufacturers of merchant
iron and pig iron and operators in coal. This
company operates the largest rolling mills IN the
Mahoning valley, and has here the largest sheet
mill in the United States. The capital stock
of Brown, BonneH & Co. is 81 100000, Herbert
c. Aver owning 100000 Mr.. Aver is presi-
dent of the corporation. In their several roll
ing mills, blast furnaces, and coal banks they
employ 5000 men. Besides their rolling mills
and furnaces at Youngstown they operate the
Struther's furnace at Struther's Station, three
miles from that city; the Leadville coal bank,
near the city. and the Mahoning coal bank in
Trumbull county. The banking institutions
of Youngstown do not lose heavily by the fail
ure, as nearly all of the cOmpany's paper was
discounted in the larger cities. Leading capt.
talists assert that the tinzering with the tariff
was the prime cause ofJhe failure.
Puget Sound is considered one of most re-
markable bodies of water in the world. II is
surrounded by continuous forests that reach
back to the SUBMITS of the Cascade ard Olympic
ranges The streams that come down from the
mountains on every side have fertile Valleys
some of them are already occupied and well
cultivated. Puyallup and White Rivers and
their afduents are well settled, but there is an
abundant room for settlers on the SnOqualmie,
SnOhomish, Squak, Szagit, and Nootsack, as
well as on a yakey in Whatcom county, where
Fraser's River once flowed. 1t was once be-
ieyed that the land around the sound was
worthless, and that its forests stood on rock
without soil; but time has demonstrated that
this is only true of a small extent of country
near the sound, and that all the upland between
the streams, and extending to the mountains is
rieh, deep soil :lisa4 will produce anything that
will grow THAT climate.
Mr.. Leonard Hodges, who superintended the
tree planting along tnlN st. Paul and Manitoba
road, and is also to hf se charge of the same
work on the Northern 2acific, advises the
planting Of two parallel belSacf young timber
on the northern side Of the tracks and one belt
ON the southern side. The white willow he
has found TO be the cheapest and hS@diest tree
for the purpose. A fence of this wii9aw viii
grow to an average height of twelve feet III four
years from the time of planting the cuttings.
The soil, however, has to be prepared for plant
ing by narrowing, and sometimes the prairie
soil is so bad that two or three years must be
spent in preparing ii, but the result is thought
TO be worth the labor Other hardy trees rec
commended for the purpose above mentioned
are the box elder, the cottonwood, and the
green ash.
The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, is
arranging for an international electrical ex-
hibition to be held in that city about wear
from now. The exact time has not been fixed,
though leading managers of the institute are in
favor of holding il in. May or June, 1884 A
Joint resolution, modelled after the resolution
Of June, 1874, which admitted free of duty
goods intended for the centennial exhibition,
has just been passed by Congress. With this
encouragement before them, the managers of
the institute feel confident that the necessary
money to assure the success of the undertaking
can be raised.
The cost Of American railroads, according to
the census report, is over four thousand mil
lions, or an average of S47, 600 mile. Their
gross earnings in 1850 were $3.50, ,450, ,594 and
the net Sis, ,344, ,597, or less than per cent Oh
their cost Their dividends amounted to a
little more than seventy millions, or about %
per cent on the capital. The average number
Of passengers 10 train was forty-five, and the
number Of men employed by all the railroads
in the country was 41s,957.
4 formal application for the termination of
the Philadelphia and Reading receiyership was
made by counsel for the company TO Judge
Butler in the United States Circuit Court at
Philadelphia on the 14th inst. There was no
opposition, and decree was made by the court
ordering the receivers 10 hand over TO the
Union Trust Company, as trustee. all the roll
ingNStOck and equipments Of the Reading COM
panies;Nto be held until certain obligations shall
be met, WBem - receivership viii be finally
: =: : :; :. Il: :. q: !:
bales, dist 9 IS "a of bales, as fol-
lows ySESSS arolina Asp, South
Carolina Eseke lorida 81 Alabama
1926, ArsSkSS fennessee 337, Missouri
25, other tss 81. Ez. 1t is probable that about
seventeen per cent. of the crop still remains in
farmers hands.
Lumber is now being manufactured from
straw, the standard size being thirty-two inches
in width, twelve feet in length, and the thick
ness the same as the average of surfaced boards
One ton of any kind of straw will Weld LOCO
feet of boards that may be handled as ordinary
ones. This lumber can be produced and sold in
competition with wide walnut at about one
half the price Of the latter.
Some very fine specimens Of asbestos are
being found in Nevada. The fibre of the speci-
mems shown is from four to six inches in length.
and is soft and silky. A strand of IL can be
tied into knot the same as fax fibre 1t is
found in what from the description given.
appears 10 be serpentine rock and nof rerv far