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rails. The people of Alabama, and especially the stockholders of incomplete lines, would save vast sums of money by manufacturing their rails at home. The amount which might be saved may be estimated when we reflect that we find iron ore all along the Selma & Rome Railroad in Bibb, Shelby, Talladega and Calhoun counties. These deposits are very rich, and they are well provided for by the Selma & Rome Railroad. The principal amount of iron ore in Alabama lies in the Red Mountain and its spurs, commencing at a point twenty-five miles east of Tuscaloosa, and running uninterruptedly in a northeast direction near Elyton and Ashville, to Gadsden, a distance of nearly one hundred miles, and in patches in Cherokee county, on to the Georgia line. The N. E. & S. W.'Railroad is located along and near the Red Mountain, and will furnish the most convenient arrangement for developing the greatest iron interest of the State that could possibly be devised. Crossing as it does, says Mr. Milner, the proposed line of the South & North Railroad, near Elyton, which runs directly through both the Warrior and Cahaba coal fields, the necessary elements in the economical manufacture of iron, coal, and the rich ores from the Red Mountain can be as cheaply brought together as at any other place in the United States. From an estimate, made in 1857, by the agent appointed by the N. E. & S. W. Railroad Company, it was found that the cost of railroad iron manufactured in Jefferson county, Alabama, was at that time forty-three dollars per ton.

Professor Mather, State Geologist of Ohio, estimated, in 1857, the cost of manufacturing rails in that State as follows:

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It sold in Pennsylvania, before the war, at from forty to fifty dollars per ton.

The following extract, from a statement of Hon. Mark A. Cooper, of Georgia, is of interest in this connection:

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The iron products of Pennsylvania are annually twenty-two millions of dollars.

"This employs a capital of five millions of dollars. It also gives employment and subsistence to five thousand workmen, and as many more women and children. The cotton crop of Georgia is estimated at twenty five millions of dollars.

“There are made in the United States, about eight hundred thousand tons of iron, which costs the consumers sixty millions of dollars. This much, and five hundred thousand tons more, of foreign iron, is consumed in the United States. A total of one million three hundred thousand tons consumed at a cost to the consumers of eighty-seven millions five hundred thousand. Of this, there is consumed in the Southern States one half-forty millions of dollars worth. They produce comparatively but little, suppose ten millions of dollars worth. This leaves thirty millions of dollars to be annually paid by the South for iron made by others. It is paid out of the cotton crop, directly or indirectly. The cotton crop is equal to one hundred and fifty millions of dollars. Of this, thirty million goes to pay for iron alone."

Every cent of this amount is just so much thrown away!

LOCALITIES OF ALABAMA WHERE IRON IS FOUND.

Red ore of Bibb county and Wills' Valley-The Red Mountains-St. Clair county-Limestone county-Cost of bloomeries-Shelby county -Calhoun county-Oxide of zinc-Jefferson county-Walker county -Analysis of specimens, etc.

FROM Tuomey's Geology of Alabama we abstract, for more convenient reference, the passages referring to the locations of iron and coal deposits within the State:

"The principal iron ores of the State have been examined, and numerous deposits added to those already known. The red or fossiliferous ore is now known to extend almost without interruption from a point two miles and a half below Pratt's Ferry, in Bibb county, to the upper end of Wills' Valley, DeKalb county; and on the east, in Cherokee, to the northern part of the county. On the west it runs up to Murphree's Valley. The thickness is variable, being in some localities twenty to thirty feet, and in others thinning down to one foot.

"Northeast of Greensboro', and on the northwest side of the Red Mountains, a bed occurs ten feet in thickness. Southeast of Elyton the ore continues for a distance of three miles. It caps the mountain, and is fifteen feet in thickness. About Trussville beds of brown hematite occur, not far from the red ore beds. On the spurs of Cedar Mountain red ore is found, with numerous joints of crinoidal stems-hence the name button rock applied to the ore.

"In St. Clair county, southwest of Springville, the ore occurs in a stratum fifteen feet thick, but varying in quality in different parts of the bed. At Pierson's Mill, in the same county, the orc is about seven fect thick. The orc is composed of large glazed grains; the composition is as follows:

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"In Murphree's Valley the ore is found in a bed seven to eight feet in thickness. There is also a bed of brown hematite near this locality, one mile in length, composed of irregular masses.

"At Hanby's, on Turkey Creek, there is a bed of this ore, which is a continuation of the Murphree's Valley ore. It is about twenty feet in thickness, and as it occurs on the side of the mill-pond, it can be transported by water to the falls of the creek, where an admirable site for a furnace may be found.

"Ore from Hanby's.-The ore is oolitic, with shining surfaces on the recent fracture. It is stratified.

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"Since this was written I have received a series of specimens from this locality, taken from an excavation in the bed. They show a great improvement in the ore, when compared with the specimen analyzed, which was taken from the surface. The results of their examination will appear in a future report.

"I have not attempted to enumerate all the localities where this ore is found in quantity; it so happens that it belongs to one of the most persistent formations in the State, one which extends from the north

eastern boundary of the State to Pratt's Ferry, on the Cahawba, and it seems only necessary to describe those beds most likely to come first

into use.

"The means of comparing this ore, both in quantity and composition, with similar ores from Pennsylvania and New York, will be found on page 31 of my first report.

"Brown Hematites.-In my first report I stated that it was probable that all the brown ores belonged to true beds, interstratified with the other rocks. A more extended observation has satisfied me that this is not the case with all the ores of this character in the State. The ores of Bluff Creek, North Alabama, and indeed all those in that part of the State, belong to the newer deposits, as may be seen from their admixture with the pebbles of the surface, and from their unconformable position. This fact is not so easily observed in the great iron deposits of Roup's Valley and Shelby, for here there are no pebbles, the ore being mixed with, and completly enveloped in a red loam; and what makes this the more puzzling, these deposits follow, in direction very nearly the strike of the rocks. In Roup's Valley, for example, the ore is found occupying a narrow belt, six to eight miles in length, having a course nearly northeast and southwest, almost co-incident with that of the underlying rocks. This is the case with the beds from which the bloomaries on Shoal Creek are supplied. The deposits on Shelby's Creek,. as well as those in Talladega, are also disposed in a similar manner. "Brown Hematite, Bluff Creek, Limestone County.-The ore is compact, with irregular cavities, and has a fibrous structure.

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"It will be seen from this analysis, that the ore on Bluff Creek compares favorably with the ores of the State of the same variety. And there is only this difference, that it will require greater care in the selection, for reasons already pointed out.

"Riddle's Bloomery. The ore used here is from Mr. Seay's bed, al-ready described. Mr. Seay informed me that the cost of 3,000 lbs. of

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ore delivered at the works was $4 50. The distance was about six miles.

"The following account of the works, furnished to Mr. Lieber by Mr. Riddle, will show the cost of production at these works.

"The works of J. Riddle were commenced by J. M. Moore, Esq., in 1836. The Eagle Forge was erected by Messrs. Rersue and Williamson, in 1846, and is now owned by G. M. Riddle and Whiley Saunders. Rob Roy was built by John Moore and G. M. Riddle, in 1852, and is now offered for sale. A little forge, not now in operation, was built by Silas Garregus, near Chinebee, on Horse Creek.

"In these forges there are four stamps of 50 lbs. each. There are two furnaces at each forge, and in ordinary years the Talladega Creek will drive the blast for nine months. It requires fourteen to fifteen hands to attend to a forge. The working force is divided thus: One (sometimes two) hammerman."

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Working at forge.

"The cost of putting up such works, exclusive of dwelling houses, roads, etc., is from $2,500 to $3,000.

"The charge of the furnace is usually 5 lbs. of ore to 1 lb. of iron. The charcoal used is 700 bushels to the ton (of 2,000 lbs.) of bar iron. The weight of the loup of iron produced, varies from 100 to 135 lbs., and is made in three hours, so that four loups are the result of a full day's work. A loup of 125 lbs. yields 100 lbs. of bar iron. This is worth $5 50 per 100 lbs., at the works. The pound of iron ought not to cost the manufacturers more than three cents.

"All the ore is now obtained from the Chinebee bed, at Seay's, 25 cents being paid for the privilege of hauling a load of 3,500 pounds of ore. For raising the ore and piling it at the bank, 25 cents are given, while the hauling amounts to $1 per 1,000 pounds. The Chinebee bed has now been worked thirteen or fourteen years."

"Small, irregular pieces of iron are formed during the working of the loup, which are found troublesome. On being dissolved in sulphuric acid, they give a considerable amount of phosphorus and quartz, chemically combined. It is probable, therefore, that these are portions of the iron, rendered hard by such impurities.

"Weir&Scott's Bloomeries.--Shoal Creek, Shelby county, furnishes some fair sites, an abundant power for iron works of far greater extent than

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