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By Edward Nichols

These deposits, which are found in James County, Tennessee, differ both in their mode of occurrence and in their chemical constitution from any other ores belonging to the same geological horizon which are known to the writer. Taylor's Ridge, or White Oak Mountain, is a long monoclinal ridge, which starts from a point near the Tennessee River in Meigs County, and, following a southwwt .course, extends unbrokenly into Cherokee County, Alabama, where it finally disappears. It is made up of strata of the Upper Silurian rocks, which dip to the southeast. To the eastward of this ridge, which is generally several hundred feet high, are a series of low foothills or knobs, composed of Clinton shales carrying seams of fossiliferous hematites. In the neighborhoud of the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad, where it crosses the ridges, considerable ore has been milred from these seams during the pst ten years. Most of the workings have been superficial, and the ores mined, with one exception,,carry a silicious and nod-calcareous gangue, and contain from fifty to sixty per ceut. of iron.

Jan 1, 1882

By S. F. Emmons

In the yew 1879, Congress, acting tinder the advice of tile National Acdemy of Sciences, discontinued the temporary surveys or explorations under Hayden, powell, and Wheeler, and established as a permanent organization the United States Geological Survey, making it a Bureau of the Interior Department. A great step was thus taken toward obtaining the greatest practical results from the expenditure of the public money for geological purposes. The recommendations of the National Academy also contemplated the consolidation of all the various organizations for the mensuration and mapping of the country—-such as the Coast, Engineer, and Land Office Surveys—under one single head; which, also, should assume the duty of providing the mays necessary as a basis fir the work of the Geological Survey. But this useful measure did not meet the approval of Congress, and the various mensuration surveys were left in statu quo. With the final establishment of a permanent Geological Survey of the United States, it became necessary to adopt a plan of work which would enable it in time to take the prominent rank among the older surveys of other civilized nations of the world, which is justified by the great, wealth and mineral resources of the country it is destintd to study. The somewhat vague wording of the organic law under which it was created, directing an examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the public domain, left the details of the policy to he pursued very largely a matter of discretion with its director. That adopted by Mr. Clarence King, the first director, as foreshadowed in his Annual Report to the Secretary of the Interior for 1880, was one whose distinguishing feature was the prominence that should be given to economical geology, or the practical application of geological investigations to the development of the mineral resources of the country. In earlier Government Surveys, which were topographical reconnoissances in a practically unknown region, geology occupied a secondary and unimportant position. With the Fortieth Parallel Survey, inaugurated in 1867, and its successors, the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler Surveys, geology became an essential object of the work, but owing to the want of already existing maps topography

Jan 1, 1882

By F. C. Blake

THE test of the English cupellation furnace should be so supported that the cupeller can change readily the elevation of the test, and at the same time watch the litharge channel. It is also important to raise or lower either side, independently of the other, in me of uneven wear of the side walls or of the breast. If the refined silver is poured from the test, it is much better to control the lowering of the test from the front than to raise the back by screws or a lever. In order to enable the cupeller to manipulate the test with one hand, when the litharge is running, and to pour the refined silver from the test without aid, I have altered the common support to the test, as shown in the accompanying drawing. The common method of supporting the test is by four screws, working in cross-bar nuts beneath the test. The points of the screws set, into the test plate upon which the test rests. These screws are usually worked by pounding or pulling upon the heads, which may be either small pulleys or straight bars, as shown on the back screws in the drawing. The screws are also worked by turning a crank, which is

Jan 1, 1882

By S. P. Sharples

HAVING occasion a few weeks ago to investigate the subject of black band iron ore in West Virginia, I was surprised at being met at the outset with a denial of its existence. One gentleman went so far as to offer one hundred dollars an acre for any land in West Virginia that contained a seam or vein of even a single foot in thickness, and when shown the ore he acknowledged that it was genuine, but declared it had been imported. That black band does occur in West Virginia is to-day well known to a number of persons. There is a seam on the Gauley River of about a foot in thickness of good ore, which I understand Mr. Lewis and others are making preparations to work. The great trouble with black band ores as heretofore found in this country has been their limited extent. At Fort Washington, for instance, they had a very fine show ing of ore, but it soon gave out. It has also been asserted that the black band ores of the Western Coal Measures were worthless in the furnace, and Fort Washington has been pointed out as an example of the fate of any one who should undertake to work them. But they have been successfully worked at Youngstown and in other parts of Ohio, and I am assured by old furnace-men from Ohio that there is not the slightest difficulty it working them if properly managed. The deposits to which I wish to call the attention of the Institute,

Jan 1, 1882

By Chas. A. Ashburnea

THE appliances which have been proposed, and the modifications in the construction of boiler-furnaces which have been made for the prevention of smoke, and the utilization of what are ordinarily called the waste products of combustion, have been innumerable.† †There is now open in London an exhibition "of apparatus of all kinds devised to prevent smoke."

Jan 1, 1882

By Stuart M. Buck

The term "splint" seems to have been adopted to describe the fracture of the hard bituminous coals of West Virginia. It is not a scientific name, but rather a trade term, and does not indicate a correspondence with English splint. At present it is a popular word, and is very loosely applied to coals of various qualities, in the desire & improve their sale. The Kanawha splint is distinguished by its hardness, dull lustre, coarse fibrous structure, its purity, and especially its resistance to atmospheric influence. It kindles very readily, burns with a bright flame, but does not cake, so that a lump when half consumed, may be broken by a slight blow in its plane of cleavage, though it will resist a strong blow in any other direction. I have seen pieces that have been exposed to frost and sun

Jan 1, 1882

By T. M. Drown, P. W. Shimer

The precipitation of phosphoric with titanic acid, by boiling an iron solution which had been reduced to the ferrous condition by sulpharetted hydrogen or sulphurous acid, was first noticed by E. H. Bogardus in 1874.* Since that time, as far as we are aware, not much has been published on the relation of these two acids to each other, and to silicic acid, in the ordinary course of analysis of iron ores. The following investigation may perhaps aid in clewing up some of the obscure points in the analysis of titaniferous ores. THE DETERMINATION OF PHOSPHORUS. From two to five grams of the finely powdered ore are weighed into a beaker and treated with about 50 c.c. of hydrochloric acid (sp. gr. 1.12), evaporated to dryness, and heated ih an air-bath for

Jan 1, 1882

By O. B. Harden

In working out the geological structure of a complicated district, where the problems are difficult to solve by the ordinary methods in use, a model, upon which all the geological and topographical data may be put, will be found of great value, bringing, as it does, all the facts in their proper relationship at once under the eye. In the teaching of structural geology, also, a model is of great value, since the student can thus have before him, in miniature, a representation of the rocks, as he would see them in place. Topographical models may often be useful in suits at law for damages in railroad accidents, or for trespass against mining companies, etc., in order

Jan 1, 1882

By John C. Smock

The question of the proper valuation of mines of iron ore was suggested to me by the difficulties experienced in getting answers for the United States Census Office, while I was engaged in the work of collecting the statistics of mines in New Jersey and New York. The answers to the questions relating to values of real estate of mine properties varied so greatly that it was necessary to revise them according to some general principles of valuation. Generally the returns of mine proprietors seemed to be too low. There were, however, examples of what would be termed excessive valuation. The subject appeared to be of practical importance, and led to the paper here presented. The following table of selected mine statistics is given, prefacing the discussion of the principles of valuation. It is in part made up of census returns and partly of data obtained directly from mine owners and managers. The mines which were selected for the several groups and mining districts include nearly all of those from which the more full and carefully filled returns were received, and are also representative of their respective districts. Hence the averages obtained from them become good types of these groups or districts. The mines of New Jersey appear in six groups, each containing from three to eleven mines, or, in all, thirty-four mines. The magnetic iron ores of New York are in four well-marked groups, and there are twenty-six mines in them. Then follow the red hematite mines of St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties; and, lastly, the brown hematite groups of Dutchess and Columbia counties, and those of the adjacent parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts. The whole number of mines represented by the table is eighty-eight, of which twenty-eight are hematite mines. The first column gives the value of the real estate; the second that of the plant; the third is the sum of these two, or the capital invested. Then follow the number of men employed, the amount of wages paid during the census year, and the value of materials used in mining and preparing the ores for market." The seventh column gives the total expendi-

Jan 1, 1882

By Ashbel Welch

Gentlemen of the American Institude of Mining Engineers.—As you well know an application is about to be made to Congress, by the American Society of Civil Engineers, for the appointment of a cornmission composed of persons skilled in the production and use of iron, steel, and other structural materials, whose duty it shall be to test the strength, elasticity, and other quatities of such materials ; not simply the substances used as such, but the members of large structures composed of such materials, of the forms and sizes in which they are actually used. As I understand, the papers that will be read here to- night will have for their object to show the necessity for such tests, and therefore the necessity for the commission asked for. As the representative of the Society of Civil Engineers, I have to thank you, gentlemen of the Mining Engineers, for the great zeal with which yon have taken up this subject, and seconded the efforts of the Civil Engineers; or, perhaps I ought rather to say, initiated the efforts to get a suitable commission appointed to obtain most vitally important information which it is admitted on all hands we do not now posses. In drawing up the memorial to Congress, in connection with some of the ablest and best informed of our Society, and in all the discossions on the subject, I have been struck with the emphasis with which the confession is made, that so little is known of the strength of the larger-sized members constantly used in building structures of the magnitude which the present requirements of the country now demand. I presume the remarks made to-night will bring this out very prominently. This is no disgrace, for with the means here-

Jan 1, 1882

By J. M. Silliman

Isometrical drawing and clinographic projection are generally preferred to perspective drawings for representation of small objects or complicated mechanisms, as they present to the eye a sufficiently accurate picture of the object, while they possess great advantages over perspective in the simplicity and rapidity of execution, and the facility they give for taking measurements directly from the drawings.

Jan 1, 1882

Jan 1, 1882

By N. S. Keith

No one of the live subjects of the day, to which the attention of the mining engineer and metallurgist should be turned, is of greater practical interest to him than electricity in its applications to various mechanical, chemical, and metallurgical operations. The object of this paper is to call the attention of my fellow-members and associates of the Institute to various new, as well as comparatively old, developments in the science and art of electricity which seem to promise results of advantage. Too many of the comparatively old applications have been neglected by the mining engineer, which; if he had given them a place among his appliances, would have assisted him greatly. The telegraph may be noticed as one. Its. use is, however, confined to a person having skill in the. manipulations of the key, the reading of the alphabet, and familiarity with the sounder. One of the simpler forms-the call-bell-has a range of application far greater as to distance and convenience than the old wire-pull, or the hoarse voice of the windlass-man or the bucket-dumper. A few Leclanehé cells, two or more electric bells, and a mile or more of wire judiciously placed will put the superintendent, at his office, in communication with the foremen of his mills and mines, so that by the aid of a code of signals, great advantages may be gained without necessitating a knowledge of the Morse alphabet, or of the mechanical voice of the sounder. The telephone furnishes a means of communication be-

Jan 1, 1882

By Augustus J. Bowie

THE discovery of the auriferous cement gravel deposits in and near Deadwood Gulch, Lawrence County, Dakota Territory, in 1876, created a mining excitement, and rush to the Black Hills. Numerous ten and twenty-stamp mills were built on Deadwood Gulch ; Central City and the town of Deadwood sprang into existence, and became the centres of the mining industry of the Hills. Gold quartz deposits were subsequently discovered and located on a so-called mineral belt, extending from Whitewood Creek on the south, to Deadwood Gulch on the north. A northerly group of these quartz locations was purchased in December, 1877, by parties in San Francisco,, who formed a company, incorporated under the name of the Father de Smet Consolidated Gold Mining Company. This company immediately commenced the work of exploration. The deposits were proved to be extensive, and easily mined, but it was found that the ore, on an average, would not. yield more than $10.00 per ton* of 2000 pounds. At this time the cost of supplies and materials in the Hills was high. Miners' wages were $3.50 per diem, and custom mills charged $6:00. per ton. The successful working of mines on "the belt" necessitated cheap milling. The ores being of so low grade,† this could be accomplished only with large and economically running mills. To insure the greatest possible economy, the Father,& Smet mill * Up to December 31st, 1879; the de Smet mine had produced bullion of the value of $718,211.68 from 76,155 tons of ore, being an average value of $9.41 per ton. During the year ending December 31st, 1879, the mine produced 46,344 tons, which yielded $425,360.42, or $9.18 per ton. The total gross cost of working for the corresponding period, including deadwork, exchange, legal expenses, fete., wits $219,914.82. The yield of the mine for the year 1880 (Engineering and Mining Journal, February 5th, 1881), was $600,011, with total expenses of mining and milling, of $313,108. † The first 4083 tons extracted from the de Smet mine, were selected, yielding $62,783.97. The next 25,728 tons produced $230,067.24. The total 29,811 tons were weighed, and worked at custom mills. The yield of the first 409 tons from tine Golden Terra Mine was $11.44 per-ton.

Jan 1, 1882

Jan 1, 1882

By T. Egleston

The works of the Ore Knob Copper Company are situated in the county of Ashe in the northwestern part of the State of North Carolina, about ten miles from the Virginia line, at an elevation of 4600 feet above the sea. The nearest railroad station is at Marion, Smythe County, Virginia, about forty-five miles distant. The roads from the railroad to the works have been constructed by the company for the transportation of their material, and are very hilly, and in certain seasons of the year in bad repair. Transportation is therefore always limited and never easy, although it is done by contract at a very low price. The main difficulty with the transportation is not so much its cost as the fact that it puts a limit to the production of the works. These unfavorable conditions make it necessary for the owners of the mine to smelt their ores and to send to market nothing except the metal, which alone will bear the cost of transportation. The mine was opened previous to 1860, but has only been worked systematically during the last five or six years. The vein is a fissure vein from ten to twenty feet in thickness in the gneiss of the

Jan 1, 1882

By O. B. Harden Harden

IN working out the geological structure of a complicated district, where the problems are difficult to solve by the ordinary methods in use, a model, upon which all the geological and topographical data may be put, will be found of great value, bringing, as it does, all the facts in their proper relationship at once under the eye. In the teaching of structural geology, also, a model is of great value, since the student can thus have before him, in miniature, a representation of the rocks, as he would see them in place. Topographical models-may often be useful in suits at law for damages in rail-road accidents, or for trespass against mining companies, etc., in order

Jan 1, 1882

By Magnus Troilius

SINCE the discussion on steel rails in America has forcibly drawn attention to the value of chemical analysis, if not as a necessary stipulation, at least as a guide to control the usual mechanical tests, some doubt has been thrown upon the accuracy of the analytical results obtained by different chemists. To any one having the least acquaintance with chemistry, it is quite clear that if exactly similar results are to be obtained from the same borings of steel, exactly the same methods must be used by the different analysts. Hence the necessity (if complications are to be avoided) of establishing what I may call standard or normal methods, to be used both by the inspectors and by the chemists at the works. Remembering that the application of chemistry to steelrail inspection is yet in its infancy, it is of great importance to possess a perfect acquaintance with the best methods in use. Being myself a grateful pupil of Professor Eggertz, of the School of Mines in Sweden, it occurred to me, two years ago, that I could not do better than start a laboratory of my own, and engage one of his pupils, Mr. Troilius, for the purpose of analyzing the steel borings from mechanically-tested rails, so that I might thus obtain without delay thoroughly accurate determinations. Moreover, in order to carry on the operations in perfect accordance with the methods used at the steel works in England and Germany, where I had to control the manufacture, I deemed it desirable to allow Mr. Troilius to go through a course of training at these works; and I gladly seize this opportunity of expressing my grateful acknowledgments to several works in England and in Germany for affording every facility for such an exchange of information as mas found necessary in arriving at the best analytical methods to be used.

Jan 1, 1882

By F. P. Dewey

RICH HILL is situated in the famous car-wheel iron region of Southwestern Virginia, and although it contains many iron ores, this paper will be devoted chiefly to its car-wheel ore. Geologically, Rich Hill is somewhat difficult to describe, as the strata of the region are seriously folded and contorted. It lies at the base of one of the primordial spurs of the Blue Ridge, the ore appearing as a sedimentary deposit on the limestone No. 2, sometimes showing an imperfect stratification, but generally being an

Jan 1, 1882

By G. W. Maynard

In this paper I desire to embody the results of some personal observations of the working of the Siemens direct process as I witnessed it for a part of three days at the works of the Siemens-Anderson Company, in Pittsburgh. This preliminary investigation was to have been followed up by one extending over a considerable period of time, and would have embraced analytical and physical tests. Circumstances over which I had no control, resulting in the temporay suspension of work, have postponed the presentation of a complete paper. If the opportunity is afforded me, I purpose doing this at a future meeting of the Institute. To those interested in the development of the process, reference is made to the papers of Dr. Siemens in the Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute for the years 1873 and 1877, and to the paper of our late lamented brother, Holley, in the 8th volume of the Transactions of our owu Institute. Dr. Siemens, in the introduction to his paper "On the Manufacture of Iron and Steel by Direct Process," read before the Iron and Steel Institute in september, 1877, says: " In mixing comparatively rich iron ore in powder with about 25 per cent. of its weight of pounded coal, and in exposing this mixture for some hours to the heat of a common stove or of a smith's fire, metallic iron is formed, which, on being heated to the welding-point on the same smith's hearth, may be forged into a horseshoe of excellent quality. The admixture with the ore of some fluxiug materials, such as lime or clay, will, in most cases, be of advantage to rid the iron of adherent slog." This is the keynote of the Siemens direct process. Dr. Siemens says further: " If we regard the production of wrought iron from an abstract point of view, we perceive that we have to accomplish two things, viz., the deoxidation of the ore, arid the fusion of the earthy matter mixed with it; and if we calculate the amount of carbon necessary to accomplish this end, weshall rind that in using, say, hematite ore, consisting of peroxide of iron with from 10 to 15 per cent. of silica, we shall require barely 40 per cent. of carbonsceous matter per ton of iron contained in the ore to effect its reduction, and also the fusion of the slag."

Jan 1, 1882