The following is the comparative power of a few different metals, to sustain weights by suspension, according to Mr. Rennie's experiments, in bars one quar ter of an inch square : The.
A cast-Iron bar, bor. sustained 1166 A ditto, vertical 1213 A cast steel bar previously tilted 8391 A blister-steel bar, reduced by hammering 8322 A shear-steel bar, ditto 7977 A Swedish iron ditto, ditto 4504 An English iron ditto, ditto 8492 A hard gun-metal bar 2273 A wrought-copper bar 2112 A cast-copper ditto 1192 A fine yellow brass bar 1123 A cast-tin bar 296 A cast-lead bar 134 Pennsylvania is the largest iron manu facturing State ; it does not manufacture of late years as much as previously, owing to the low price of imported iron. The following statistics are taken from the Scientific American : It appears that out of 62 counties which the State embraced at the date of the last report, 45 contain iron works, and 9 of the remaining 17 contain abundance of iron and coal—though, owing to the ab Bence of any cheap road to market, they yet remain untouched-leaving only 8 counties in the State not adapted to the manufacture of iron.
There are 304 blast furnaces and bloom cries in the State, with an invested capi tal of $12,921,576; their present capacity is for the making of 550,959 tons per an num; in 1847, they made 389,350 tons ; in 1849, 253,370 tons ; in 1850, their pro bable make is estimated at 198,813 tons. Of the above furnaces 57 use anthracite coal ; have a capital of $3,221,000, and a present capacity for making 221,400 tons ; in 1847, they made 151,331 tons ; in 1849, 109,168 tons, and the estimated product of 1850 is 81,351 tons. The furnaces using bituminous coal are 7 in number, with a capital of $223,000, and a present capacity for making 12,600 tons. In 1847, they made 7,800 tons ; in 1849, 4,900 tons ; in 1850, the make will probably be 8,900 tons. Four furnaces use coke, have a capital of $800,000, and a present ca pacity for making 12,600 tons, per an num; in 1847, they made 10,000 tons. Eighty-five are charcoal hot blast furna ces, with an investment of capital of $6, 478,500, and a capacity for making 130, 705 tons per annum. The make of 1847 was 94,519; 1849, 58,302; in 1850, it will be 42,555. The charcoal cold blast fur naces number 145, with a capital of $5, 170,376, and a capacity for making 173, 654 tons per annum. The make of 1847,
was 125,155; 1849, 80,655; in 1850, it will be 70,727. There are 6 bloorneries, with a capital of $28,700, and a capacity for producing 600 tons per annum. The product for 1847 was 545 ; 1848, 335 ; probable product of 1850, 280. The esti mate for 1850, is obtained by deducting from the product of 1349 the amount made by such furnaces as are now idle. Of the 298 furnaces in the State, 149 or exactly one-half are in blast this year, and of these about one-third are making no preparations to blow during the next ysar. The estimate for 1850 shows a de crease of 190,537 since 1847, or 49 per cent. in three years. Should there be no change in the aspect of affairs, the make of 1851 will not exceed 100,000 tons.
The number of forges and rolling mills in the State is 200, with a capital of 580,500, with 402 forge fires, and 43.6 puddling furnaces, and a capacity to make 224,650 tons per annum. Their ac tual make for 1847 was 202,727 tons, and 1849, 136,853 tons. Of the above there are 121 charcoal forges, with an invest ment of capital amounting to $2,026,300.
These forges have 402 fires, with a capa city of 125 tons per fire, per annum, or a total of 50,250 tons. In 1847, they made 89,997 tons, and in 1849, 28,495 tons. The rolling mills number 79, with a capi tal of $5,554,200. They contain 436 pud dling furnaces, which, at 400 tons per furnace, gives a total capacity of 174,400 tons per annum. Their make in 1847, was 163,760 tons ; and in 1849, 108,358 tons.
There are 606 nail machines in the State, the annual product of which is 606,000 kegs, or 30,300 tons ; being an average of 1,000 kegs, of 100 lbs. each, to a single machine. There are 13 works engaged in the conversion of iron into steel, making annually 6,078 tons. Five of these works are in Philadelphia, one in Pittsburg, one in Lancaster, and one in York. The whole number of iron works in the State is 504, with a capital of $20,502,076 invested in lands and ma chinery, employing immediately 30,103 men, and 13,562 horses, besides 11,518 laborers not in the pay of the iron mas ters, but directly dependent on the iron works for support ; making a total of 41, 616 men. Allowing five persons to each laborer, and we have as the population dependent on the iron work, 208,080, or about one-tenth of the population of the State.