domestic, mechanical, and steamship purposes, have induced many enterprising capitalists to embark in coal operations in the West. Companies have been and are now forming to open and work extensively the mines on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries; and there is no doubt that their labors will develop one of the most extensive coal regions on this continent, and at the same time afford those who engage in the business a profitable remuneration for their outlay of capital. At present the capital employed in mining is but trifling in comparison to the importance of the object, and the working has been confined generally to the upper strata. When the mines have been further worked, and more deeply penetrated, doubtless in many instances the coal yielded will be of a superior quality to that now taken from the surface. All the coal examined in the West burns remarkably free. The coal in the neighborhood of Pittsburgh is generally esteemed the best, and bears handling and transportation without crumbling-which is a characteristic of all western coal that came under their observation. One of the principal reasons why the Pittsburgh is esteemed the best, arises from the fact that the mines have been more extensively worked than any other in the Valley of the Mississippi. There is no doubt that the coal at other points on the Ohio and Mississippi and their tributaries, when the mines are properly developed, will be equal in every respect to what is known as Pittsburgh coal.

There are extensive coal fields in the neighborhood of Wheeling, in Virginia, on both sides of the Ohio river. The quality of the coal is not esteemed as highly as that of Pittsburgh, but answers for all domestic purposes as well as some branches of manufactures. The Pittsburgh coal is generally used at Wheeling for manufacturing purposes.

There is little or no coal shipped down the river from Wheeling.

At Pomeroy, in Ohio, coal is found in great abundance on the bank of the river, and workings are very extensive, supplying nearly all the passing steamboats.

The mines in connection with salt-works are owned by a company, who are said to realize large profits. The coal resembles that found in the neighborhood of St. Louis and in Illinois.

On the opposite side of the river in Kentucky, several workings of coal have been commenced. Of the character of the coal they had no opportunity of judging.

In the vicinity of Gallipolis, in Ohio, it is said coal of a superior quality is found in large quantities. A railroad is in progress of construction from the mines to the river. On the Elk River, in Virginia, is found pure cannel coal. Specimens are in the department and at the navy-yards in Norfolk and Washington.

The only obstacles to the introduction of this coal into general use is the difficulty encountered in getting it to market. When they were at Louisville, a boat-load of coal from that region arrived which had been eighteen months on the way. It commands in the market from two to three cents more per bushel than Pittsburgh or any other coal.

Near the region of the Kanawha River large deposits of coal are found, partaking of the character of that on the Elk River, which is a tributary of the Kanawha. The difficulty of getting it to market is a serious obstacle to its general use.

Arrangements are being made by capitalists to work these mines extensively. The Cannelton coal mines are on the Ohio River, in the State of Indiana. They examined several openings of these mines which have been worked at a royalty, or mining privilege of one cent per bushel. The strata are about four feet thick, and formed of two distinct kinds of coal-the upper part being a strong resemblance to the cannel coal, and the lower portions resembling the Pittsburgh deposits. The upper portion is a light, chaffy, free-burning coal, with little durability. Any quantity of the coal can be obtained with the greatest facility at the mines, at a price varying from five to six cents per bushel.

At Hawesville, Kentucky, opposite Cannelton, coal is found in great abundance, of the same description and quality as that of the Cannelton.

The mines are now being worked, and the passing steamers furnished with it. The Saline Coal Mines, in the State of Illinois, on the Saline River, two miles from the Ohio River, are most advantageously situated for the supply of passing boats, having a fine harbor.

The coal beds are said to be a portion of the great Illinois coal field. The character of the coal is said to be good; and the geological surveys represent six distinct strata, the lower one of which is seven feet thick.

The Mulford Mines, two miles above Trade Water Creek, in the State of Kentucky, are conducted on an extensive scale by the enterprising proprietors, and with great

system. The passing boats can get supplied with certainty, and large quantities are sent to New Orleans and other points.

These mines have the same distinct strata as those on the Saline River. In one of the mines there is a peculiar formation; sulphur is found in large lumps, almost pure. It is separated from the coal, and wasted with the slack, near the mouth of the

mine.

The mines of the Hon. John Bell on Trade Water Creek, in Kentucky, about one hundred and twenty miles above the mouth of the Ohio, are extensively worked, and yield a large profit.

The distinct strata developed at the Saline Mines are peculiar to these. The coal is of an excellent quality, and, from the tests to which it was subjected, it is considered well adapted for steaming and manufacturing purposes. There is a greater density about it than the Cannelton coal, and it makes a better hollow fire.

Mount Carbon Coal Mines, Jackson County, Illinois, are situated on Big Muddy River, a tributary of the Mississippi, about seventy miles above the mouth of the Ohio. They are not now in operation. The vein of these is about five feet thick, running into a side of a hill having a thinner vein above, and I think one below, the present opening.

The mines are fifty-six miles from Cairo by the Central Road, terminating at that point. A railroad, thirteen miles in length, would bring this coal to market at a navigable point on the Mississippi River in large quantities. The proprietors have not found it convenient to make this improvement. There is a small tract near the Mount Carbon Coal Fields, which is an out cropping of that vein. Two of the small veins in this tract are now worked, and the passing boats and the St. Louis market supplied, when the stage of water in the Big Muddy will allow it to be floated down.

In Calloway County, in the State of Missouri, there is a most remarkable coal field of cannel formation. The vein is reported to be of great thickness, inexhaustible, and is situated but a few miles from the river.

These coal lands are owned by a company of Eastern capitalists, who have built a railroad to the river, (Mississippi,) and will in a short time have the coal in market.

The coal about St. Louis, on both sides of the river, is of an inferior quality, and only used to a limited extent for domestic purposes.

The gas works and principal manufactories at St. Louis use the Pittsburgh coal, or that brought from the Big Muddy.

In consequence of the low stage of water, they could not visit the coal land in Tennessee, but, from all they could learn, the mines on the Cumberland River and at other points yield coal of the character and description generally found in the western country.

The transportation of coal on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and their tributaries is by flat-boats, containing from 10,000 to 12,000 bushels, or from 300 to 400 tons. These boats are floated in pairs to New Orleans and the intermediate points, when there is a high stage of water, which is generally in the spring and fall seasons.

Coal is usually sold at New Orleans by the barrel, the price varying from 30 cents to 75 cents per barrel, depending altogether upon the quantity in market and the demand. It can be delivered on ship board at New Orleans from $3 68 to $4 50 per ton. At Memphis they do not think the maximum cost would exceed $3 68 per ton. The cost of the transportation from New Orleans to Pensacola they had no positive means of ascertaining, but from the best information it would cost from $2 50 to $3 per ton.

The business of mining in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Tennessee is yet in its infancy. The proprietors of the coal lands are now fast becoming aware of their great value and importance.

MANUFACTURING LAW OF NEW YORK.

The following important amendment to the General Manufacturing Law of New York, was passed at the last session of the Legislature :

1. Section twenty-seven of chapter forty, of the laws of 1848, entitled "an Act to authorize the formation of corporations for manufacturing, mining, mechanical or chemical purposes," shall read as follows:

When any person or persons owning fifteen per cent of the capital stock of any company formed under the provisions of this act, shall present a written request to the treasurer thereof, that they desire a statement of the affairs of such company, it

shall be the duty of such treasurer to make a statement of the affairs of said company under oath, embracing a particular account of all its assets and liabilities in a minute detail, and to deliver such statement to the person who presented the said written request to the treasurer, within twenty days after such presentation, and he shall also at the same time, place and keep on file in his office for six months thereafter, a copy of such statement, which shall at all times during business hours, be exhibited to any stockholder of said company, demanding an explanation thereof. Such treasurer, however, shall not be required to deliver such statement in the manner aforesaid, oftener than once in six months. If such treasurer shall neglect or refuse to comply with any of the provisions of this act, he shall forfeit and pay to the person presenting said written request, the sum of fifty dollars, and the further sum of ten dollars for every twenty-four hours thereafter, until such statement shall be furnished, to be sued for and recovered in any court having cognizance thereof.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

IRON ORE IN VIRGINIA FOR IRON MANUFACTURES.

The Lynchburg Virginian commends the glowing account of the mineral resources of Montgomery County, in Virginia, given by a correspondent of the Christenburg Herald, to the attention of those engaged in, or designing to engage in the iron business. The ore referred to in the following communication is said to be in richness and purity equal to any in the world, and the editors of the Virginian state that there is no place in the State where it can be manufactured cheaper than in Montgomery. We trust it will not be long before the great and varied natural resources with which Virginia abounds will be fully developed, and devoted to the purposes for which nature intended them. We cheerfully transfer the communication to the pages of the Merchants' Magazine. The correspondent of the Christenburg Herald says:— There is iron ore enough in the city of Montgomery, Virginia, to build a railroad with a double track of heavy Trail, 210 tons to the mile, from Washington City to San Francisco. It is found at different points within from one to five miles of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. The ore is of the very best quality; rich enough to yield from 50 to 75 per cent of pure iron. This ore is so situated that it can be mined or gotten out at a cost of from 12 to 50 cents per ton, it being situated on gentle slopes in immense ledges, from which it can be blasted in large masses.

There is stone coal of the very purest and best quality for iron manufacturing purposes, enough within from five to ten miles of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, (and to which a branch railroad will be built in 1855,) to supply the demands of the whole world for years. In short, an inexhaustible amount which is so situated that it can be mined at a cost from 50 to 75 cents per ton. There is on New River, Little River, and Roanoke, and their branches, in the county of Montgomery, convertible water-power equal to at least 10,000 horse-power.

The country, though fertile and productive, has still a very large proportion of heavily timbered forest, from which might be obtained immense quantities of charcoal and fuel.

The foregoing facts are strictly true; and yet, strange as it is, there has never been a ton of iron made in the present limits of the county of Montgomery.

THE PACIFIC MILL AT LAWRENCE.

According to the Lowell Journal, good authority, the Pacific Mill at Lawrence is the largest and most comprehensive mill in the world. It makes none but the finest kinds of goods, and the success of its operations is looked to with great interest by manufacturers. The floor surface of this immense structure is sixteen acres-the largest mill in England is eleven-and-a-half acres. There are now in operation 40,000 cotton spindles, and 10,000 worsted spindles; and these are to be increased to 80,000 and 20,000 respectively. There are 1,200 looms in operation, to be increased to 2,400. These, with 2,000 hands, produce 300,000 pieces of cloth per annum, one-half delaines The weekly consumption of cotton is 20,000 lbs., say 1,500,000 lbs. per annum, and 500,000 lbs. of wool. Once a month the 2,000 hands assemble at the cashier's office, where Mr. Clapp pays out to them $500,000 for wages, appropriating to each one the exact amount she has earned.

PRINTING FOR LACE AND MUSLIN.

Under the name of nature's own printing, says the Journal of Industrial Progress, Mr. Von Auer, of Vienna, has announced a peculiar method for obtaining impressions of the leaves of plants, &c. The process consists simply in taking two polished metal plates, one hard, the best substance being copper, and the other soft, as for example, a plate of lead, and laying the article to be copied between them, and passing the plates between the rollers of a press, such as lithographers use. By the great pressure exerted, a beautifully sharp and faithful copy of the article is produced on the leaden plate, from which impressions can be obtained, which can be employed for printing thousands of copies. The dried leaves of plants can be copied in this way, and by using gutta percha gently heated, even moist plants will give impressions. The chief use of this new art will, however, be the reproduction of lace, &c., for if a piece of lace, or of worked muslin, be placed between the plates instead of leaves, a beautiful intaglio copy will be produced, from which printed patterns can be provided. Such plates might be at once employed to print designs upon the muslin sent out to be worked. It is but just to remark, that a similar invention was made about twenty years ago by a Dane of Copenhagen, of the name of Peter Cyhl, who, having died before he perfected the art, the idea was lost sight of.

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.

COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE OF CALIFORNIA.

The Hon. Mr. McDOUGALL, member of Congress from the State of California, in a speech on the Pacific Railroad Bill, delivered in the House of Representatives, May 29th, 1854, presents in a condensed form the commercial progress and importance of the Gold State :

The State of California has now a population of 300,000 persons; and, from the fact that they are almost exclusively effective men, they may be considered fully equal to any other population of 700,000 in capacity either for labor or enterprise.

The city of San Francisco has a population of from 50,000 to 75,000 persons, and is already second only to New York in point of commercial importance, as we have before stated in the Merchants' Magazine, while in the amount of her tonnage she is competing with the second city in the Union.

It has been said that "money is power." The gold of California has been the master-power that by its force has seemed to realize the fabled birth of the ancient Tyre, said to have sprung perfect, with the palace and temple and busy mart, from the foam of "the great sea." The gold fields of California have proved rich beyond any known parallel. Within the last five years they have produced over $300,000,000. Within the past year over $80,000,000 in treasure, the products of our own rivers and mountains, have passed out of our golden gate. During the great currency controversy, about 1835 and 1836, the estimated amount of the entire specie basis of the currency of the United States was $80,000,000. The State of California contributes annually to the currency of the country an amount equal to the entire real currency of the whole Union eighteen years ago.

In 1833 the entire exports of the United States of her own domestic products were but $69,000,000. Out of the golden gate we have exported within the past year more of the domestic products of California than was exported by the whole Union twenty years ago. As late as 1845 we exported of our domestic products but $98,000,000, including all articles of exportation, cotton, tobacco, sugar, and the fabrics of our manufactories. California exports nearly as much as the whole Union did eight years ago, just before our gold had entered into, stimulated, and swelled our commerce.

Again, during the year 1853 there was imported into San Francisco from the Atlantic seaboard 423,230 tons of merchandise for its own and its independent markets; amounting in value to not less than $100,000,000. It must be understood that the market of San Francisco is not limited by the State of California. It embraces the entire coast from Acapulco to the Russian possessions, and all the islands that 49

VOL. XXXI.-NO. VI.

possess a commerce as far as the coasts of Asia. The market of San Francisco is as large a market for the Atlantic coast as the whole foreign market of the United States eight years ago.

While upon this subject Mr. McDougall states a fact incident to the commerce of California, which will serve somewhat to disabuse members of Congress of the impression that California is a burden upon the Federal treasury. For the last four years the customs collected at San Francisco have averaged $2,500,000; during the year 1851 over $3,200,000 was paid for customs at that port. These amounts have been principally paid upon direct importations from abroad, while more than twothirds of our foreign merchandise pays duty in the Atlantic cities; so that the people of the State of California have in fact paid annually into the Federal treasury over $7,000,000. While the people of the Atlantic States pay two dollars per capita per annum into the Federal treasury, the people of California pay over twenty dollars. As liberal as the Federal Government has been to California, it should be remembered that while in her infancy, just sprung out of chaos, with scarce her wings adjusted, she has returned more than she ever received from the parental bounty; besides having poured out upon all these States treasures of wealth that have given an impulse and a support to agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, felt everywhere, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Northern lakes.

While the mineral wealth of California has heretofore constituted its most marked feature, it must not be understood that the treasures of the mine constitute its only claim to consideration. No part of the Union, not even the rich bottoms of the Mississippi, equals in fertility the valleys of that State. We know of no other soil that yields such rich returns to the labors of the husbandman. And this soil is not confined, as many have supposed, to a few scattered valleys, but constitutes a large proportion of the superficial area of the entire country. With a fertile soil there is a uniform, invigorating, and salubrious climate, a better climate than that in which were bred the men of old Rome, a better climate than that of Italy.

Far-seeing and intelligent men for the past century have there located (the Great Bay of San Francisco) the point where was to grow up a great city, which would hold the keys of the Commerce of the Pacific, and command the rich commerce not only of that great ocean, but of the ancient East. In five short years the foundations of that city have been laid, and already vessels freighted to and from her wharves are to be found upon every sea and in almost every port of the civilized world.

HOW TO COMMENCE BUSINESS.

Well, boys, we doubt not that you would like to rise high in the world, and become good farmers, merchants, &c. Here is a good motto for you-Begin at the lowest round on the ladder and keep climbing; and here is a story which will illustrate just what we want to say. One of the wealthiest merchants of New York city tells us how he commenced business. He says:

I entered a store and asked if a clerk was not wanted. "No," in a rough tone, was the answer, all being too busy to bother with me-when I reflected that if they did not want a clerk, they might want a laborer; but I was dressed too fine for that. I went to my lodgings, put on a rough garb, and the next day went into the same store and demanded if they did not want a porter, and again "No, sir," was the responsewhen I exclaimed, in despair almost, "a laborer? Sir, I will work at any wages. Wages is not my object-I must have employ, and I want to be useful in business." These last remarks attracted their attention; and in the end I was hired as a laborer in the basement and subcellar at a very low pay, scarcely enough to keep body and soul together. In the basement and subcellar I soon attracted the attention of the counting-house and chief clerk. I saved enough for my employers in little things wasted to pay my wages ten times over, and they soon found it out. I did not let anybody about commit petty larcenies, without remonstrance and threats of exposure, and real exposure if remonstrance would not do. I did not ask for any ten hour law. If I was wanted at 3 A. M., I never growled, but told everybody to go home," and I will see everything right." I loaded off at daybreak packages for the morning boats, or carried them myself. In short, I soon became indispensable to my employers, and I rose, and rose, until I became head of the house, with money enough, as you see, to give me any luxury or any position a mercantile man may desire for himself and children in this great city.