The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1888-11-22
Recent Rapid Growth OF the Southern
KrOIs Industry

cial report the Mineral Resources of III
United States, now in press.
The activity in the development of tn
splcuous in the latter half of 1885 and il
1885 was continue d in 1887 and during tn
first half of 1883. This activity has beer
chiefly displayed in the erection of bias
furnaces for the manufacture Of pig iron
Since the beginning OF 1856 there hav,
been built III the States south of the POto
mac and the Ohio rivers 2l large and wei
equipped furnaces, and IA furnaces wert
in course of erection in those States OF
July l.. 1883. Fifteen of the completed
furnaces have been finished in 1885, Oh
the u completed furnaces IS were built tt
use coke and to use charcoal as fuel: Of
the IA building 10 will use coke and vii
use charcoal as fuel. These 50 new fur
naces, built and building, are situated in
the following States: Alabama, Is coke
furnaces built and 10 coke and charcoal
furnaces building; Virginia, 3 coke far
naces built; Tennessee, coke and 8 char.
Sotsi ArtA hesSSo Cullu. (CkO VI
mace built;t Georgia, l charcoal furnace
building. Preparations are also being
made to remove coke furnace from Mis-.
souri, to Kentucky. All of these new fur.
naces are of large capacity. and most of
them rank among the best in the country.
Oiscarding all abandoned furnaces, the
total number of completed furnaces in the
States south of the Potomac and the Ohio,
not including Missouri, which were in
blast on July l., 1888, or in a condition to
be readily put in blast. was 100, and. as
above stated, IA furnaces were in course
Of erection in those States on that date.
Of the completed furnaces 81 use coke and
81 use charcoal as fuel. They are situated
in the following States: Alabama, % coke
and 10 charcoal furnaces Virginia, -
coke and q charcoal furnaces land | of
the charcoal furnaces is being changed to
a coke furnace; Tennessee, 10 coke and
10 charcoal furnaces; West Virginia, 6
coke and 8 charcoal furnaces: Kentucky.
4 coke and 3 charc oal furnaces; Georgia,
coke and charcoal furnaces; North
Carolina, 2 charcoal furnaces; and Texas.
charcoal furnace. In the whole country
there were on the LIST of January, 1888, 583
completed furnaces, not counting aban-
doned furnaces.
In addition to the foregoing enumera-
tlon there are two entirely new and large
coke furnaces now in course of erection
at SparroW's Point, On the Patapsco river,
few miles below Baltimore, Maryland,
which may be elassed among Southern
iron enterprises. These furnaces will be
completed this year. Two additional fur
naces at the same place are contemplated.
A year ago there was much comment in
Southern newspapers concerning the prob
atle scarcity OF a supply of good coke for
the new Southern furnaces the construc-
tion OF which had then been contemplated
or undertaken, and the prediction was
freely made that some OF the new fur
naces would be compelled to remain idle
until new coal fields could be found or
fields already discovered could be deyel-
oped. With the lapse of time it has been
found that the supply of good coke from
Southern coal fields has fairly if not en-
tirely kept pace with the increasing de-
mand for this fuel for furnace use, New
coke ovens have heen built in connection
with newly opened coal mines, and the
quality of coke obtained from the coal of
some Of the older mines has been i'm
proved by more careful methods of select
ing the coal and making the coke. There
is particularly no longer any apprehension
OF scarcity OF coke for tha supply of the
furnaces at Birmingham and in it's vicin !.
ity. There is still room, however, for
further improvement i'll the quality of
much Southern coke.
One of the most promising signs of an
abundant supply of coke for Southern fur
naces is seen in the success which has at
tended the coklng of the celebrated New
River coal in West Virginia and the no
less celebrated Pocahontas coal in Vir-
ginia. The coke from these fields has
been shipped to Carondeles, Missouri. and
| Joliet and Chicago, Illinois, at all of which
places it has been used in blast furnaces
ID competition with ConnelIsville coke.
New River coke has also been shipped as
far west as the silver mines Of New Mex
leo. We stated year ago that railroad
facilities in the South are being so per-
fected that but little Inconvenience need
be experienced IN taking good coke from
| where it is made to where it is wanted as,
for instance. from Southwestern Virginia
to Eastern Tennessee and the shipping
of New River and Poeahontas coke to the
points above named illustrates the faculty
and economy with which Southern coke
may be taken long distances for furnace
| use.
| During 1887 the South made some pro.
gress in the development of her steel in
| dustry, but not much. Two small Besse
! mer steel works were completed in the
| South in that year. The works of the
Roane Iron Company, at Chattanooga
| Tennessee, made their first blow on May
r. 1857, and on that day the first Bessemer
steel rail eyer made in the South outside
| of Wheeling was successfully rolled at
these works. which have since continued
| in operation. On October 10, 1887, the
works Of the Old Dominion Iron and Nal
| Works Company, at Richmond, Virginia
made their first blow. They did not, how
over, continue in operation, as necessity
| rose for changing the plans upon which
| they had been constructed At BiFmlng.
ham, Ala, the Henderson Steel and Man
ufaeturing Company built an expert.
mental Henderson open hearth steel fur
mace in 1887, to use pig iron made from
native Alabama ores above the Bessemer
limit in phosphorus, and on the 9th Of
February, 1888, the first steel ever pros
i1ced in Alabama was successfully made
at these works. The erection of larger
furnace is contemplated. But the manu-
facture of Bessemer steel by the basic pro
cess in the South has not yet been at
tempted.
In the manufacture into finished forms
of the pig iron produced within her Dor
ders the South has made considerable
progress since we last referred to thi
subject At Nashville, South Pittsburg
Chattanooga, Knoxville, Birmingham
; Admission, and other points in the Sout
bo pdrio -,