of those employed in the making of kegs and casks, the yearly cost of which, for material and labor, is from $8,000 to $10,000. Labor paid $1 per day. The white lead manufactured by this company stands high in the market. James McCullough, 159 Front street, New York, is president of the company, and agent for the sale of the white lead.

THE IRON MOUNTAINS OF MISSOURI.

IRON MOUNTAIN, MISSOURI, November, 17, 1846.

TO FREEMAN HUNT, Esq., Editor of the Merchants' Magazine :—

DEAR SIR,-Having promised you a few lines from some point of my journey, I think the present gives me sufficient inducements to send you this hasty sketch, for I can assure you that any man, without being a great enthusiast, like myself, and without having so great a predilection for studying nature's works and admiring them, cannot help being struck with surprise and awe at her stupendous deposit of one solid mineral,--the iron,which, for several miles, may be seen on the surface, and which, in one mountain, has been penetrated two hundred and fifty feet, and on the other ten feet, but to a much larger extent. Really, it is my opinion, that the Iron Mountain proper, and the Pilot Knob have enough material in their bowels to supply the world for a century. It is here that a furnace has been erected since last year. I then saw but one house, and now there are more than thirty already built, and the people in the neighborhood are flocking in for employment. The Iron Mountain is about six miles distant from the Pilot Knob, which is twice as high as the Iron Mountain proper, and I cannot help coming to the conclusion that both these mountains,although at present separated by a large valley or gulley, were at a remote period but one mountain, and that great volcanic actions have revolutionized this particular part of the country. On the side of the hill, or where at present the furnace stands, I observed, last year, at the depth of fifty feet, a bed of decomposed granite; but on travelling towards Mine la Motte, I perceived many small and large boulders, or erratic blocks of granite, some as large as twenty-five feet, scattered all over the wild forests, and some of them forming small mounds, with the moss and grass grown over them, and the iron itself presents to the eye of the observer irregular and angular pieces, very smooth on the surface, as if it were once passed through the fire, and having an external fused appearance, and burnished black on the outside, but of a steel-grey color on the inside,--the lumps varying from two inches to four feet,but not above,scattered promiscuously all over the surface of the mountain. On examining to the depth of ten feet, a little distance from the furnace,and more than half a mile from the summit, is found the same iron, of a smaller size, lying quite loose in the gravel. There cannot be found, in my view, a better example than this spot of the truth of the theory of Poulet Scrope,lately reproduced in the "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation,” (p. 34,) that the former shape of our globe being oval, and formed of granite, and that by the centrifugal fire the interior fused mass protruded and formed the volcanoes, and threw out with force most metals along with the granite, and were the first volcanic actions produced. I shall bring home with me some specimens of the iron ore and the granite, as I found them, lying separately in the loose grounds, and you will no doubt agree with me on this point.

Now, this Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob have enough material, as stated before, and furnish a better product than I have seen anywhere else. I perceived near the furnace, a pile of magnesian lime-stone, and a great. quantity of round baskets, filled with charcoal, which are required with the ore in the furnace, for producing the fusion into pigs; and I saw two kinds of metal lying before the furnace,-one kind is a solid white mass, equal to white metal, which is intended for forging purposes; and the other, a black heavy mass,for the use of foundries and machinery. The first is produced by an overcharge of mineral in the furnace, making it more compact; the latter by an increased heat. The material in

the Pilot Knob has never been used for casting purposes, but, some few years ago, edgetools were manufactured and forged from the crude ore. The quantity of pig iron produced at present is about ten tons per day, performed by four discharges in twenty-four hours, but the present furnace having given way, it must be replaced by a more substantial and larger one, which is estimated to produce twenty tons per day. The distance from the Iron Mountain to the landing on the Mississippi River, is 40 miles, and it costs but one-quarter of a cent per pound for transportation. I met twelve wagons, loaded with pig metal, each having four thousand pounds, and performing the trip in four days, at an expense of ten dollars each.

The Iron Mountain proper is about a mile and a half long, and about one mile broad--or rather more than a section of land; while the Pilot Knob is twice as high as the Iron Mountain, but has not so much surface. Here you travel upon nothing but iron lumps as far as the eye can reach; there you see the whole top of the mountain forming one sheet of iron. Here they have penetrated but ten feet into the ground-the surface iron being all too large lumps-while, at the Pilot Knob, they have penetrated, on the summit and at the base, at least two hundred and fifty feet. The iron ore found here is of the richest kind, it yields at least 60 per cent of pig metal, and I saw but very few slugs lying about the furnace. At St. Louis, they prefer the pig iron from the Iron Mountain, to that of Tennessee. The company intend making, in a short time, 20 tons per day, or 7,500 tons per annum. It would pay a profit to export the ore to other States for smelting, where fuel is more abundant. The supply of the ore in this region is inexhaustible.

The Iron Mountain is one mile broad, four hundred and forty-four feet high, and three miles long. The lumps of iron increase in size ascending towards the summit. The Pilot Knob is the highest peak of mountains in the whole neighborhood, and cannot be less than fifteen hundred feet high; it is said to be a mile from the base to the summit, but this appears highly incredible. The iron ore is a micaceous oxide of iron, but not a magnetic oxide, as some former writers have called it.

From a careful calculation which I have made of the cubic feet of ore imbedded in the mountains, the quantity of pig iron may be put down at six hundred millions of tons. I have examined all the lead districts, and several copper mines; have seen cobalt, nickle, zinc, calamine, manganese, barytes, and a great many valuable minerals which this State produces, which I may refer to in a future cemmunication.

I am, in haste, your friend,

AUSTRALIAN COPPER ORE.

LEWIS FEUCHTWANGER.

A vessel arrived in London, from Port Adelaide and the Cape of Good Hope, respectively, brought, in addition to a very extensive cargo, the large quantity of 600 tons weight of copper ore from the Australian port first mentioned, the production of the place. It is stated that there is a conical hill of copper near Mount Arden, in South Australia, which is reported to be literally a mass of copper that it would take ages to remove.

EXTRACTING SILVER FROM LEAD.

The mines of Wanlockhead, in Scotland, the property of his Grace, the Duke of Buccleuch, are now wrought with spirit and enterprise by the noble proprietor. At the smelt mills, refining apparatus for separating the silver from the lead ore has been erected. It was set in motion on October 12th, 1846, for the first time, when a plate of silver, 104 pounds weight, was extracted from the lead. The yield averages from 7 to 13 ounces of silver to one ton of lead, and the ore that yields the latter quantity may be considered among the richest specimens in Scotland.

ROCHESTER FLOUR MANUFACTURE AND TRADE.

The Rochester Daily Democrat furnishes the following statement of the quantity of flour shipped East from the city of Rochester, on the Erie Canal, for three seasons, as follows:

The increase of the shipments in 1846 over 1845, is 21,814 barrels ; over 1844, 139,854 barrels. The quantity sent forward by railroad before the opening of navigation, and the amount that will go forward between the 1st of December and the 1st of January, together with the quantity consumed by 27, 000 inhabitants, wil! show an aggregate of over 600,000 barrels manufactured in Rochester during the year.

Eighteen flouring mills, containing 92 run of stone, were employed in the season of 1846. This force will be increased in 1847 by the addition of two new mills, and eight run of stone. Horace P. Smith has nearly completed a new mill, 65 feet by 45, and four stories high, on the site of the old Smith mills-which were destroyed by fire two or three years ago-which will be ready for operation early in the Spring of 1847. Mr. Thorn has commenced the erection of a new flourishing-mill on the river, in rear of Barton & Belden's edge-tool factory, which will also be ready for business in the Spring. The amount of capital invested, and used directly in the flour business, cannot be less than $3,500,000. The State derives an annual revenue from this branch of manufactures of over $135,000. The following is a list of the mills, with the names of their occupants

LEAD MINES AND TRADE OF THE WEST.

Dr. Owen, who was appointed by the government to make an examination of the mineral lands of Iowa and Wisconsin, states, as the result of his inquiries, that the region produces at this moment nearly as much lead as the whole of Europe, with the exception of Great Britain, and that it has indisputable capacities of producing as much lead as all Europe, Great Britain included.

The arrivals at New Orleans, annually, have been as follows, viz:—

The lowest price obtained for lead sold in New York, within ten years, was 24 cents, twelve months credit, and the highest 8 cents, sixty days-the former in 1830, and the latter in 1836.

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MANUFACTURE OF RAILROAD IRON IN THE UNITED STATES.

It is stated in the Miners' Journal, that during the year 1844, the first bar of railroad iron was manufactured in the United States. We also learn, from the same source, that the following establishments are in operation, or almost completed:

"Of the above-mentioned works, all are in operation, except four or five, which are now in process of construction, and nearly finished. It will be seen that they are of sufficient capacity to make 119,000 tons of railroad iron per annum, equal to 2,288 tons per week, or 382 tons per day. For a mile of railroad, with a heavy track, about ninety tons of iron are required. It will be seen, therefore, that iron enough can be manufactured in the United States to lay four miles per day, or twelve hundred miles per year. When we reflect that only two years have elapsed since the first ton of railroad iron was made in this country, it seems almost incredible that so much has been accomplished in so short a time.

"In producing the amount of railroad iron mentioned above, 300,000 tons of iron ore are used. It is impossible to state accurately the number of hands employed in maufacturing the iron from the time the ore is dug, until the rails are finished at the rolling mill.

Many thousands, however, are engaged in this department, and its prosperity is intimately connected with that of a large portion of the laboring classes in the State, and while it is estimated that five tons of coal are used in the manufacture of every ton of railroad iron, giving an aggregate of 595,000 tons of coal used for this purpose, nearly all of which is anthracite, the fact is sufficient to show the important relation which this branch of the iron business holds to the anthracite coal trade of Pennsylvania, and how disastrous would be the effects upon that trade, if these establishments should, from any cause, be compelled to suspend operations."

VOL. XVLNO, I.

7

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.

STATISTICS OF THE AMERICAN WHALE FISHERY.

THE following statistics, &c., of the American Whale Fishery, carefully prepared by HENRY P. HAVES, Esq. of New London, Conn, may be relied upon for their general accuracy. The information was elicited by certain inquiries propounded for the consideration of that gentleman by WM. H. STARR, Esq., of New York, with the view of its publication in the Merchants' Magazine; and to the interest which Mr. Starr takes in our Journal, as the organ of the commercial interests, as well as in the industrial pursuits of our country, our readers are indebted for the present statement.

The whaling fleet of the United States consisted, on the 1st November, 1846, of 668 ships and barks, 27 brigs, 19 schooners, and 1 sloop, with a total tonnage of 228,757 tons, owned in the following places :—

668

27

19 & 1 sl. 715

228,757

Total....... In this statement are included 2 ships at New Bedford, 3 at Sag Harbor, and 1 at Edgartown, which have heretofore been in the whaling business, but are now (perhaps temporarily) employed in the merchant service. Also, the ship Jane, of Warren, considered as a missing ship-last reported full, bound home, in Nov, 1845. Of this large fleet, only 58 vessels were in port on the 1st of Nov. 1846; 6 are in the merchant service, 1 in the Davis Straits fishery, and the remainder, 650, now at sea, in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.