USA > Pennsylvania > A geography of Pennsylvania : containing an account of the history, geographical features, soil, climate, geology, botany, zoology, population, education, government, finances, productions, trade, railroads, canals &c. of the state : with a separate description of each county, and questions for the convenience of teachers : to which is appended, a travellers' guide, or table of distances on the principal rail road, canal and stage routes in the state > Part 15
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The Beaver meadow, Hazelton and other mines in the same neighbourhood are worked by incorporated companies, who send their coal by rail roads to the Lehigh navigation, and thence to the Delaware canal. In the Mahanoy district, mines are opened near the Pottsville and Danville rail road, in the vicinity of Girardville, from which the coal can be sent to the Schuylkill at Pottsville; or when this rail road shall be completed it may be sent westward to the Susquehanna. At Shamokin, near the present termination of the western section of the Pottsville and Danville rail road, a num- ber of mines are in operation, yielding various qualities of coal, the product of which is sent by that road to Sunbury, and thence down the Susquehanna canal to the towns along the river, or to Baltimore.
The northern, or Wyoming and Lackawana coal field, is of nearly equal extent with each of the others, being about sixty-five miles in length and from one to five or six in breadth. Like the others it contains numerous beds of coal from one to thirty feet in thickness, which are exposed in many places by the deep channels and ravines among the hills. Mining operations in this region are mostly carried on by individual enterprise. Below Wilkesbarre, in the neighbourhood of Nanticoke, and in Plymouth, several pro- ductive mines are worked near the river, as well as others in the
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PRODUCTIONS.
vicinity of Wilkesbarre. The mine of the Baltimore company is about three miles above Wilkesbarre, where a solid bed of coal about 24 feet thick is opened; and which in other places in the valley is said to be found 32 feet. This field extends up the valley of the Lackawana to Carbondale, at which place are the mines be- longing to the Hudson and Delaware canal company, who send their coal by their own rail road and canal to Rondout on the Hudson river, and thence to New York, Albany, and other places. This company transport no coal upon their improvements except that mined by themselves, and consequently prevent individuals from operating in this neighbourhood.
The soil of the northern coal field presents a striking contrast with that of the middle and southern, being generally a beautiful and fertile valley, and forming a highly productive agricultural region ; while the others present a thin, barren, sterile soil, only small portions of which are susceptible of cultivation. In the favoured valley of Wyoming, the same acre of land may furnish employment for both the agriculturist and the miner. While one is occupied upon the surface in ploughing the soil or reaping the grain, the other may be engaged far beneath in mining and bring- ing forth the hidden treasures of the earth, stored away for count- less ages and intended for the future use and convenience of man.
These three great deposits of anthracite coal have been calcu- lated to contain about 975 square miles, or 624,000 acres. It is estimated that each cubic yard of coal in the ground yields a ton when mined, so that a horizontal stratum of coal but three feet thick, extending over a space of one acre, would afford 4,840 tons, and proportionably more according to the steepness of the dip or inclination. Now when we consider the great number of coal beds each lying over the other, and that some of them reach the enor- mous thickness of fifty or sixty feet, we can scarcely bring the mind to conceive, much less to calculate the vast quantity of this most valuable and indispensable article, which is so justly the pride and boast of Pennsylvania; nor how much it must in future years add to the wealth and importance of our State.
With a view of showing the present value of our coal trade, yet in its infancy, we shall annex the quantity produced from each of the mining districts in 1841 and 1842, amounting to more than a million tons of anthracite in each year, of which about 800,000 tons are annually exported to other States.
Lehigh, Beaver Meadow, &c.
1841. 142,821 tons. 584,692 66
1842.
Schuylkill,
272,126 tons. 540,892
Swatara,
17,653
32,381
66
Lyken's Valley,
4,379
4,864
66
Shamokin,
21,463
66
10,000
Wyoming,
53,315
47,346
Lackawana,
192,270
205,253
66
Total,
1,016,593
1,112,862
60
In 1820 only 365 tons of anthracite coal were sent to market. In
11
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GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
1830 the quantity had reached 174,737 tons : and in 1840, 865,414 tons.
Bituminous coal. The bituminous coal region of Pennsylvania lies principally west of the Allegheny mountain, and though oc- cupying the same geological situation in the series of rock forma- tions as the anthracite, differs from it not only in quality, but in the position of its beds. These, instead of dipping like the an- thracite strata, at every angle of inclination, according to the dis- turbed position of the accompanying rock strata, are found extend- ing through the hills in nearly horizontal planes, or with occasional gentle rolls or undulations. Those irregularities called by the miners faults and troubles are seldom met with, and the bituminous coal beds, together with the rocks in which they are contained, are found in a position which shows that they have not been sub- ject to those mighty convulsions which have so disturbed the an- thracite region.
In the bituminous coal field there appear to be not less than ten separate layers or beds of coal of sufficient capacity for mining, and which vary in thickness from three to ten feet. The same bed is not, however, of uniform dimensions wherever found, and, in its range over a wide extent of country, may prove to have in- creased or diminished materially in thickness at different places where it is opened. Neither is the perpendicular distance of the coal seams from each other always the same, the rock strata be- tween them being also subject to similar variations in thickness.
The area of the bituminous coal region in Pennsylvania has been estimated at 21,000 square miles, or 13,440,000 acres. This, however, is probably much beyond the real area containing coal, for it should be recollected that in a portion of this territory, even the lowest coal beds have been swept from the valleys and are only found in the elevated grounds. But throughout this vast range of country coal is mined to a greater or less extent, and is almost universally used for fuel and manufacturing purposes; and being almost literally found at every man's door it is preferred to wood, even in those parts of the country where timber is so abundant as to cost nothing but the trouble of cutting. Being thus freely used by the whole population of the region where it abounds, for almost every purpose requiring artificial heat, it is impossible to form a correct estimate of the quantity annually consumed. Its great abundance and cheapness have given rise to the vast and widely extended manufacturing establishments of the west, where enterprise and industry flourish in the smoky atmo- sphere produced by the thousands of fires which it feeds.
It has been computed that in the city of Pittsburg and its suburbs nearly eight millions of bushels, or 260,000 tons of coal, are annually consumed. Vast quantities are also used in the salt works on the Allegheny, Kiskiminetas, Conemaugh and other streams, amounting probably to not less than five millions of bushels. If in addition to these we consider the quantity used in furnaces, rolling mills, and other manufacturing establishments in different places, that consumed in steamboats and stationary en-
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PRODUCTIONS.
gines, together with the vast consumption for domestic and house- hold purposes, as well as that sent to other States, we may pro- bably safely estimate the quantity of bituminous coal mined annually in Pennsylvania at two millions of tons. About nine tenths of this amount is consumed within the State, and near 200,000 tons shipped down the Ohio.
The increase in the consumption of this coal must in future years be very great, from the multiplication of furnaces, iron works, steam engines and large manufacturing establishments, as well as the natural increase of the population. The diminution of wood on the western waters must before long render coal the common fuel for steam engines on the Ohio and Mississippi, and for the same reason the consumption of coal in the towns along these rivers must at no distant day be very great. The quantity already used in Cincinnati alone is estimated at two millions of bushels, or about 70,000 tons annually, which is principally sup- plied from the beds on the Monongahela and Youghiogeny in Pennsylvania, and from the neighbourhood of Wheeling.
Iron Ores .- The iron ores of Pennsylvania are entensively dif- fused throughout the State, and consist of several varieties, of which we shall briefly describe some of those most commonly used. The proportions of metallic iron mentioned as being con- tained in them are those yielded by chemical analysis, and some- what exceed the quantity actually produced by the furnace. This is owing probably to the specimens analyzed having been rather purer than the general mass yielded from the mine, and also partly to the superiority of the laboratory over the furnace in effecting a com- plete separation of the iron from its attendant impurities in the ore.
1. The magnetic oxide of iron is found chiefly in the primary rocks of the South mountain, between the Delaware and the Sus- quehanna, or near some of the trap dikes in the south-eastern part of the State. The colour of this ore is usually a dull iron black; it is very heavy; its structure imperfectly crystallized, granular, or laminated; lustre metallic; and commonly possesses magnetic polarity. It yields from 60 to 70 per cent. of metallic iron.
2. The brown and yellowish argillaceous, or hematite and pipe ores, which occur principally in and along the borders of most of the limestone valleys in the State, are abundant and extensively worked. The colour of this ore is usually a reddish or yellowish brown; its structure various, being compact, cellular, laminated, fibrous or stalactitic, and its cavities commonly filled with yellow ochreous or clayey matter. When the different varieties of this ore are analyzed, they are found to contain from 45 to 60 per cent. of metallic iron.
3. The fossiliferous ore from the variegated shale formation (V,) is found near Danville in Columbia county, and also at various places in Union, Juniata, Huntingdon, Bedford, and other coun- ties where that formation extends. This ore, though easily recog- nized by a practised eye, is somewhat variable in its appearance and external character. The softer varieties have a dull brown colour, an open, porous or cellular structure, usually break into
124
GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA
irregular rhomboidal masses, and frequently contain scales of mi- caceous oxide of iron, with the impressions and casts of shells and other fossil remains. When rubbed with a pointed piece of metal or other hard substance, a mark or streak is left upon the ore of a rich deep-red or purplish colour. The harder varieties have usu- ally a red colour, are compact in texture, calcareous or silicious, also contain fossils, and have altogether a more compact and mas- sive character than the soft variety. As a general rule the soft and porous kinds of this ore are found nearest the surface, where they have been most exposed to the decomposing action of atmospheric agents; while that from greater depths is commonly more com- pact, contains a larger proportion of carbonate of lime in its com- position, and works less easily in the furnace than the soft ore. The proportion of metallic iron contained in different varieties of this ore is from 40 to 60 per cent.
4. The iron ores of the coal regions are usually found in nodular concretions and kidney-shaped masses in the slates and shales ac- companying the coal seams, or often in flat bands and layers be- tween the slates. Ore is found both in the anthracite and bitumi- nous regions, and varies in character and quality according to its local position or other circumstances. It is usually in the state of an argillaceous proto-carbonate of iron, though much of that which lies on or near the surface has become so much oxidized as greatly to change its external character. When found in its original posi- tion, in the solid beds of slate, this ore is generally in hard com- pact rounded masses, with a close fine-grained texture, though sometimes appearing arenaceous, granular, or sub-oolitic ; colour dark slate blue or grayish. After having been for some time ex- posed to the atmosphere, these masses show a tendency to separate into concentric layers, the colour changes to reddish or yellowish brown by the process of oxidation, and the whole external character becomes so much altered by long exposure that many of the speci- mens found in the surface soil resemble the brown argillaceous ore on the borders of the limestone valleys. The ore of our coal region is of the same character as the " clay iron stone" which is so largely used in the manufacture of iron in England and Wales ; and superior in quality to much of that which is smelted in those countries. It yields from 30 to 50 per cent. of metallic iron, and from its general dissemination throughout that part of the State where the other ores are not found, is becoming highly useful and important.
5. Bog ore, which generally occurs in beds of limited extent and of inconsiderable depth, is found, less or more, in almost every county in the State. These beds have mostly been deposited by springs and small streams, the waters of which, passing through a ferruginous soil, have carried away a portion of the iron, which on exposure to the air becomes oxidized and is slowly deposited on the low grounds over which the water has flowed. But few of these deposits are worth working; not being in general sufficiently extensive to warrant the erection of furnaces in their vicinity, they are only useful as auxiliary to other ores. Bog ore is externally
125
PRODUCTIONS.
of a yellow or reddish brown colour; structure open, porous or cellular; brittle, friable or earthy; and frequently contains roots and vegetable fibres from trees and plants growing in or near it. Good varieties of this ore yield from 40 to 55 per cent. of metallic iron.
The quantity of iron ore annually mined and smelted in Penn- sylvania may be ascertained with tolerable accuracy. According to returns made by the County Commissioners to the Secretary of the commonwealth in 1839, there were mined in the 699 town- ships which made returns, 334,151 tons. Only part of the town- ships in Berks, York and other counties made reports, while seve- ral counties known to be productive in iron ore, such as North- ampton, Lebanon, Mifflin, Juniata, Westmoreland, Venango, Fayette, &c., made no returns. If, therefore, we assume for the remaining 361 townships, the same ratio of production as those reported, we shall have as follows:
Quantity of iron ore mined in 699 townships, 334,151 tons.
66 estimated for the remaining 361 townships, 172,573 56
Total mined annually in the State, 506,724
The accuracy of this statement is corroborated by the report of a committee to the Home Industry Convention, held at Harrisburg in 1842. This committee, which was appointed for the purpose of obtaining statistic information relative to the iron interest of Pennsylvania, state that in the 213 furnaces in Pennsylvania there are annually produced 190,000 tons of iron. Now if we estimate the average yield of ore in the furnace at 37} per cent., which is allowing 23 tons of ore to make a ton of metal, we shall find that to produce these 190,000 tons of iron will require an annual con- sumption of 506,666 tons of ore, which is within 58 tons of the quantity stated above, as actually mined in the State in 1839.
Marble and Limestone .- Marble of several kinds and different varieties of colour is found in various parts of the State, but it has not been quarried to much extent except in Montgomery and Chester counties. In the neighbourhood of Downingtown a supe- perior white marble is produced, of which large quantities have been conveyed to Philadelphia, and employed in the construction of many public and private edifices. East of the Schuylkill, below Norristown, are several extensive quarries which yield marble of various shades of colour, white, dark blue, and variegated; from which the city has been supplied with a vast amount of material, not only for building, but for many of the ornamental purposes for which this stone is used. The variegated breccia, commonly called Potomac marble, is found in many places along the northern and southern margins of the red shale formation which crosses several of the south-eastern counties, particularly where this red shale borders on a limestone. This rock, when susceptible of a fine polish, forms a beautiful material for ornamental work; but has not yet been brought into use to any considerable extent. 11*
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GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
It is scarcely possible to form an estimate of the incalculable ad- vantages derived by Pennsylvania from the limestones so exten- sively diffused throughout the State. They impart fertility to the soil wherever found; they are used as a building stone for houses, barns, bridges, canal locks, &c., and they constitute an indispen- sable article of use in our furnaces for smelting iron ores. When burned into lime they yield a necessary ingredient in the mortar for stone-masons and bricklayers, for whitewashing, and for seve- ral purposes in manufactures and the arts. But it is from the benefits derived to our agriculture from the use of lime as a ma- nure for the soil, that our State is destined to be most enriched by this important article of her productions. In those districts where its value as a manure has been tested by experience and is properly understood, the intelligent farmer needs no argument to convince him that a quarry of good limestone on the border or within reach of a region where the soil is thin and unproductive, is of much more value to him than a mine of lead or silver, because the ex- pense of working it is trifling and the product sure. At several points on our canals and rail roads, vast quantities of limestone are quarried and transported to places where it is required for use ; and from the rapidly increasing demand it is becoming a consider- able item in the tolls upon our public works.
Slate. This material is found in a number of places, sufficiently fissile and of such quality as to afford a good article for the manu- facture of roofing slates. In the range of slate-hills which crosses the Susquehanna from Lancaster into York county, it occurs abundantly near Peach Bottom, where quarries have been worked on both sides of the river. The largest amount is, however, now produced at the works about three miles west of Peach Bottom.
Extensive quarries are also opened at several places in the slate formation which stretches along the south-eastern side of the Blue Mountain. At the works below the Delaware Water Gap, in Northampton county, an excellent roofing slate is produced, and school slates of superior material and workmanship are manu- factured to a considerable amount. Slate quarries are also worked near Nazareth, and on the west side of the Lehigh above Allen- town.
In addition to the valuable mineral products already mentioned, a rock yielding excellent hydraulic cement is found abundantly in the neighbourhood of several of our limestone formations, and has been used in the construction of canal locks and for other purposes where this article is required. Brick and potters' clay of good quality occur in almost every part of the State; and accompanying many of our coal beds is that variety of clay shale from which fire bricks are made. Connected with the primary rocks in the south-eastern part of the State, are serpentine and soap stone, accompanied by chrome and magnesia. From the southern part of Lancaster county the last mentioned materials have been ob- tained for use in the manufactories of paints and Epsom salts in Baltimore.
Ores of copper, zinc, and lead have been discovered in various
127
PRODUCTIONS.
places within the State, but have not yet been found to exist in sufficient quantity to render the working of them an object of profit.
IV. Productions of the Forest.
About two thirds of the surface of Pennsylvania is yet covered with timber, and though our primitive forests, except in some of the less inhabited parts of the State, have been thinned by the woodman's axe, enough still remains to render our woodland pro- ducts valuable and important for many future years. On the rocky, but tree-clad mountain, in the dark and unfrequented pine swamp, and through the wild and wide forest ranges in the in- terior counties, are immense inasses of timber which will long resist the slow but sure process of destruction to which our forests seem to be doomed.
The productions of our timber lands are numerous and import- ant. They yield an incalculable amount of fuel for domestic and manufacturing purposes, including the charcoal used for making and manufacturing iron in our furnaces, forges, foundries, and smith-shops ; they supply our saw-mills with the logs which are sawved into boards, and other lumber for buildings, cabinet-makers, and various other mechanical purposes; they furnish the tougher and stronger kinds of wood from which our farming utensils are made, as well as the vast amount required for fences in our agri- cultural districts. The quantity used in ship and boat building is considerable; staves and shingles are manufactured to a large amount annually,-and of all the multiplied uses to which wood is applied, but few can be named which may not be supplied from the forests of Pennsylvania.
The timber most in demand for boards and shingles is white pine, which is still abundant in some of the northern counties, and forms a valuable portion of their products, being floated down the Delaware, Susquehanna and Allegheny rivers to a market. Spruce or hemlock is sawed into lumber for buildings and fences ; yellow or pitch pine and oak, for purposes requiring greater strength and durability. Cherry is used chiefly for cabinet work, maple and poplar for bedsteads, chair-makers, and various other purposes. Chesnut is much valued for fences, and locust for posts and other uses where a less durable wood would be subject to speedy decay. White-oak and hickory, being strong and tough, are used by wheelwrights in the manufacture of wagons and farming imple- ments ; other kinds of oak are made into staves ;- and it may be said that scarcely a tree grows in our woods which is not adapted to some useful purpose.
Of the annual value of our forest productions it is not easy to form a correct estimate. There are in the State 5,389 saw mills, producing about 400,000,000 of feet of lumber ; and the value of the unsawed timber, shingles and staves sent to market, is probably not less than $500,000. To this is to be added the amount re- quired for home consumption, as well as the value of the timber used for other purposes, of which no calculation can be made.
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GEOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
In addition to the timber which our forests afford, they yield us annually more than two millions of pounds of maple sugar, about 2,000 barrels of tar, pitch, turpentine and rosin, and nearly 300 tons of pot and pearl ashes.
Under what four general divisions may the productions of Pennsylvania be considered ? Why are the census returns supposed to be generally less than the real amount ? For what branch of domestic industry is this State distinguished ? What are the characteristics of Pennsylvania agriculture ? Describe the system of crops generally pursued. What kinds of grain are chiefly produced ? Mention some of the other agricultural productions. What is said of the various modes of culture in different parts of the State ? What kinds of fruit are produced ? What is said of the general condition of the farmers of Pennsylvania ?- Of their buildings ?- Of the horses ? What other animals are used for labour? What is said of the stock of cat- tle ?- Of the sheep ?- Of the swine ? Can you tell the number of each de. scription of live stock in Pennsylvania ? The amount of each kind of agri- cultural product named ?
Which is the most important production of our manufactures ? What is said about the indispensable utility of iron ? In which counties is it most abundantly produced ? How many furnaces are in the State, and what is the quantity of iron manufactured ? How many forges, rolling mills, &c., and what is the amount of their produce ? What is the capital invested, and how many persons are employed and supported by the iron works ? How many mills of each kind, and what is the value of their productions ? (Similar questions may be asked respecting each branch of manufactures.)
What is said of the mineral wealth of Pennsylvania ? Why are mines of coal and iron considered of more value to a country than those of the pre- cious metals ? What nations are mentioned as examples of the truth of this opinion ? What has been the effect of an abundant supply of coal and iron in Great Britain ? What is said of our advantages in this respect, com- pared with that country ? Describe the situation of the anthracite coal of our State. What is the thickness of the beds of coal, and how are they ex- posed ? Describe the usual mode of mining coal. Into what mining dis- tricts is the southern coal field divided ? Describe the mines of the Lehigh district. What subdivisions of the Schuylkill district are mentioned ? What is said of the mining operations in them, and of the varieties of coal pro- duced ? Where is the Swatara district, and by what route is its coal sent to market ? What is said of its mines, and of the quality of the coal ? Men- tion the two divisions of the Susquehanna district, and the places where mines are worked. How is the middle coal field situated, and what mining districts are in it ? What is said of the difference in the quality of its coal ? By what route is the Beaver Meadow and Hazelton coal sent to market ?- Also that from the Mahanoy and Shamokin mines ? What is the extent of the Wyoming and Lackawana coal field compared with each of the others ? What is said of its beds of coal, and at what places mined ? By what route is the coal at Carbondale sent to market ? How does the soil of this coal field compare with that of the others ? What is the extent of our anthracite coal deposits, and what is said of the quantity contained in them ? What amount of anthracite was produced in each of the years 1841 and 1842, and how much in each mining district ? What was the amount in each of the years 1820, '30, and '40 ? In what part of the State is most of the bitumi- nous coal found ? In what particulars of situation does it differ from the an- thracite ? What is said of the number of its beds, their thickness, &c. ? What is the supposed area of the bituminous coal region in Pennsylvania ? What is said of the general use of coal over this extent of country ? What has resulted from the abundance of coal in the western part of the State ? At what places is it largely used for manufacturing purposes ? What quan- tity is supposed to be annually consumed, and how much mined ? What is said of the probable increase in its consumption ?
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