The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-10-29
z u j A SKI
BERTHA ZINC.
This Famous Metal is Used
Everywhere.
Roanoke TINES BUREAU,

ROANOKE TIMES BUREAU,
PULASKI, Oct. 20.
Did you know that in the plant of
the Bertha Zine Company. Pulaski, was
the greatest plant of tie kind in the
whole South, and that our product is
the purest zinc or spelter made in the
whole world? True, strictly and I'M
qualifedly true. From Lake Superior
copper and Bertha zinc Russia is to-day
making the brass for her cartridge
shells and her best art work.
The great Connecticut clock makers
evolve their brightest dreams OF ideal
ism into clock cases and surrounding
ornaments. Bertha zinc, Pulaski's
Bertha zinc, for there is no other of the
name or OF the quality, is alone used
for these castings. Uncle Sam trituates
the gold for his coin through solution
of Bertha zinc.
That settles it. Pulaski's big plant
alone can sell Uncle Sam. No politics
in that. The South is ''solid" on zinc.
The ore is brought to Pulaski from the
mines, twenty miles distant, directly
on the North Carolina extension.
Reaching the furnace it is analysed and
then roasted in open hearth furnaces
Ill,
goes to the furnace proper or the retort.
These are arranged in sets of 40,
each set being considered furnace.
we have ten furnaces. Before going
into the retorts the ore is mixed with
an equal amount of finely ground coal
The furnaces arc fed by great fires be-
low which bring the contents of every
retort to q heat that burns out the coal
and reduces the ore to fume that, strik-
ing against tho retort, falls as moulton
metal to the bottom of the retort
From there it ia drawn out into great
ladies' and poured into moulds which
give us cakes of zinc stamped Bertha
Pure Spelter, Pulaski, Va" These
cakes weigh 3316 pounds each.
1t takes twenty four hours to charge a
furnace and get full results, hence the
turnac CO men work twenty four hours and
then rest twenty-four. Each furnace
makes nearly 1900 pounds per day, and
the sLelter brings N cents pound on
the cars.
4 The Bertha Zinc Company was here
before Pulaski came. 1t wasn't set in
the.air, but there being no town the
spot was yclept Martins Tank. while
not set in thin air tho project pretty
nearly dissolved into thin air by reason
OF shortages of cash and Judgment in
The present company bought tho
whole lay out for n good many dollars
less than its present capitalization,
which Is So, 100000, but they had cash,
nerve and Judgment. with possibly the
best zinc maker in America, Thomas
Jones, who is still superintendent of
the works at well-earned aud fat sal
airy.
1t was the day after the election of
Garfield chat ground was broken for the
present plant. The company owns sew
eral thousand acres of coal lands,
reached by their own railroad, which ex-
tends to the fields, distance Of nearly
ten miles north OF Pulaski. Here is be-
ing worked a vein If low grade coal,
thirty feet thick, while q deposit of
pure anthracite lies deeper.
This Is the only company OF any size
In this country that works exclusively
it's own ores. We have virtually an in
exhaustible supply of lore. Indeed, all
2 question as 10 ore for all time to como
bids fair to be solved within a month,
when the company will put in operation
an open-hearth furnace, unlike any
zinc furnace on earth, though on the
principle of an arsenic factory. 1t is
the conception of Superintendent Jones,
and mas been brought to seeming per-
~ OViOh. Wy AnOmhS OOuCS, MS son,
chemist Of the company.
Blue pc ~der is a by-product in the
making of oxide of zinc. This invon.
It on looks to making blue powder en-
tirely, something that has never been
done, but from which the Messrs. Jones
have removed ali known difficulties.
The blue powder carries from 80 to S5
per cent. of metallic zinc. 1t will be
reduced in the upper sets of rstorts in
the present furnaces, as it requires less
heat and fuel than does the ore. Now
the lower retorts work out two charges
to one in the upper rows.
The now process proving a success,
the company will erect ten furnaces for
making blue powder, and the capacity
of the Bertha Zinc Works will be in
creased fifty per cent. thereby. One
can talk freely of this great company.
1t has plenty of money, no stock to sell
and no opposition. 1t pays q cash
dividend equal to ten per cent. on the
market value OF the stock
Hrt