NATIVE SILVER FROM LAKE SUPERIOR. We have seen a copy of a letter from R. M. Patterson, Esq., Director of the United States Mint at Philadelphia, to Hammond Whitney, Esq., of Boston, Clerk of the Lake Superior Copper Company. Mr. Whitney, it appears, forwarded a cake of native silver from Lake Superior to the United States Mint at Philadelphia, weighing six pounds ten ounces avoirdupois, or 96.80 ounces Troy. Mr. Patterson, in his letter to Mr. Whitney, acknowledging the receipt of the silver, gives the following analysis of its character:— To determine the fineness, pieces were taken from opposite ends, and their assay by cupellation gave an average of 950 thousandths pure silver. The humid assay was impracticable, from the presence of earthy matter. An ounce of the metal was then cut off from the two ends, and carefully melted, with a protective flux, which should remove all the earthy constituents and retain all the metallic, and the result was a loss in melting of five per cent The assay of the silver resulting proved to be 999 thousandths, or within a minute fraction of absolute purity. The two results confirm each other; since 96.80 ounces (original weight) at 950 fine, or 92 ounces (weight after melting) at 999 fine, give the same value within about three cents. The native metal or ore is therefore composed of 95 per cent silver. 5 " "earthy matter. 100 The value of the deposite, namely, $118 57, will be paid, in silver coins, to your order. endorsed on the enclosed receipt. The American Mining Journal considers it the finest specimen of native silver in the country, and we are gratified to learn from Mr. Patterson that it will occupy a conspicuous place in the Cabinet of the United States Mint. SUBSTITUTE FOR MARBLE. A memorial has been submitted to the United States Senate, from the "Hartford Argillo Manufacturing Company," asking an examination and test of a certain material manufactured by the Company, to be used in lieu of marble. This memorial states, "although this manufacture is in its infancy, it can now be furnished as cheaply as the finest marbles, which it is destined entirely to supersede. It is a preparstion of clay by chemical agency, of great durability and intense hardness, exhibiting the high polish and lustre of the precious stones, being susceptible of every variety of hue, is of unsurpassed and permanent brilliancy, and cannot be equalled in practical use. The memorialists ask no patronage from the government in advance, being convinced that, after examination and test, it will at once be introduced in all the public buildings in lieu of marble." The Springfield Republican says it resembles, in structure and appearance, the richest variegated agates. It is to be used for door knobs, pavements, table tops, and other articles. It surpasses in brilliancy any known variety of marble, and is equally cheap. The Hartford Whig speaks of it in the following terms: "No one who has not seen it, can form an idea of its beauty and illimitable variety of color. It is so hard as to resist any scratch except that of crystal or diamond. One of our exchanges states that Mr. Calhoun has introduced in the Senate a resolution, which passed instantly, to the effect, that all the floors in the public offices in the Capitol should be made of this beautiful material. mmense sum is said to have been offered for the entire patent. MANUFACTURE OF COTTON DUCK AT PATERSON. AL We learn from the " Farmer and Mechanic," that the Paterson Manufacturing Company, of which Mr. John Colt is President, was the first establishment in which cotton was ever made by power looms into duck-this kind of fabric having been only woven previously by means of hand looms. In fact, we believe that we are indebted principally, if not altogether, to the enterprise and ingenuity of Mr. J. Colt, for originating and bringing to the present state of perfection this article of manufacture. It was in the year 1822 that he first embarked in this undertaking, and up to the month of March, 1824, for the space of two years, he had succeeded in making only about 500 bales; but in the year 1825, the quantity was increased to 1,500; and in the next year to nearly 2,500; and in the year following to nearly 4,000; and the quantity has been gradually increasing, so that within the last 6 or 8 years, the Company have manufactured yearly not less than 10 or 12,000 bales of cotton duck. And even at the present rate or quantity made, we are not aware that the supply is equal to the demand, so much is the quality of this article approved by those that have adopted its use. There are in this establishment 4,372 spindles for spinning and twisting the cotton yarn, and 84 power looms for weaving it, employing altogether about 170 hands. They use annually about 831,800 pounds of cotton, from which they make about 12,000 bales, or 677,000 yards. RAILROAD, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS. NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD. THE loan advertised by the Erie Railroad for $500,000 has all been taken at par. The President of this road has recently published a statement of its condition, partly in reply to the statements made by parties in the street that the Company have not sufficient means to complete the road to Lake Erie, and partly to give that information to the stockholders which the Directors deem it right they should possess. The following statement exhibits the means in the possession of the Company to complete the road: There is due at this date, on stock subscriptions, over..... State Mortgage Bonds in hands of the Comptroller, not yet sold........... $450,000 2,250,000 162,433 $2,862,433 Total........ Besides which they have on hand available assets to pay off all existing liabilities for work done to 1st May, and for temporary loans, &c. In answer to a call of the Board upon the Chief Engineer for a careful estimate of the cost of completing the road to Binghampton, a report was submitted, by which it was found that taking the bonds at par, together with the amount due on stock subscriptions, there would be, after completing the road to Binghampton, a surplus of about $1,000,000. In relation to the large proportion of the means of the company to be expended this side of Binghampton, the President says: "A considerable amount has been expended in settlement of the old debts of the Company. The condition of the road in operation was such as imperatively demanded a large expenditure to make it safe and profitable. The motive power, cars and machinery, were entirely insufficient, being in a very bad condition; consequently a large amount was absolutely required to provide for this deficiency. The character of the road has been very greatly improved, by altering the grades and changing the line in many places, at a considerable cost to the company. The value of these improvements can hardly be over estimated, when the future working of the road is taken into account. When the subscriptions were obtained, the price of provisions and labor were very low, the question of location was settled; but when the Company were enabled to commence work, there was an advance of more than 50 per cent." The Board state that all the legislation that is deemed necessary has been obtained, both from our own State and Pennsylvania, to enable the Company to avail themselves of all the benefits of their charter. About one and a half millions of dollars have been expended on that part of the road between Port Jervis and Binghampton, a distance of about 127 miles, (by far the most difficult and expensive part of the road to the Lake.) The Company will commence laying the superstructure within a few weeks. The Board intend, and believe they will be enabled to open the road to Binghampton during the present year. The Board have just closed a very advantageous contract with a company of gentlemen of great wealth and respectability from the interior of the State, to grade the road from Binghampton to Elmira, a distance of about sixty miles, to lay the superstructure and to furnish all the materials, except the iron rails; that portion of the road between Binghampton and Owego to be finished within sixty days after the road is extended to Binghampton, and from Owego to Elmira within six months thereafter. And as a proof of their confidence in the productiveness of the road, they have agreed to receive their pay, principal and interest, solely from the nett earnings of the road. Payment of principal to be made out of nett earnings, in instalments of 20 per cent per annum in six, seven, eight, nine and ten years. This arrangement will secure the completion of the road to Elmira within fifteen or sixteen months from the present time, with the probability of a similar arrange. ment to extend it to Corning, sixteen miles farther west, within the same period. A short road from the head of Seneca Lake, to connect with the New York and Erie Railroad, at Elmira, a distance of some seventeen or eighteen miles, has been chartered. The route is now being located, and the capital stock is nearly subscribed. The President states that the nett earnings of the road now in use will probably exceed $150,000 the present year. Its gross earnings will doubtless exceed $300,000. Taking the most reliable sources of information, the lowest estimates that can be formed of the nett earnings of the road when it reaches Elmira, after paying interest on the State bonds and all issues of stock, and all other indebtedness, can hardly fail of leaving a nett surplus of $600,000 or $700,000, to be applied to the extension of the road to the lakes. From $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 will be required to complete the road to Lake Erie. The Company, when the road reaches Elmira, will by its charter have a balance of stock not issued, and the privilege of issuing from $4,000,000 to $5,000,000, which will secure the completion of the road to the Lake, and make ample provision for machinery, cars, &c., for running the road. This road, when completed, will cost the stockholders less per mile than any other road in the country, and not exceeding half the cost per mile of the Western Railroad from Albany to Boston. CAPE COD BRANCH RAILROAD. The American Railroad Gazette publishes an elaborate account of the opening of this road, from which we learn that a train of cars passed over its whole length for the first time on Friday, the 26th of May, 1848. These cars, twelve in number, left the depot of the Old Colony Road in Boston, at 9 o'clock on the morning of that day, occupied by a large party of gentlemen, invited guests for the occasion. This party, which on leaving Boston numbered about five hundred, was augmented on the route to nearly eight hundred. The distance to Sandwich, the extreme terminus, is sixty-two miles. The connexion between Boston and that point is formed by the Old Colony Road as far as South Braintree, about twelve miles, then by the Fall River Road from its junction at this place to Middleboro' Four Corners, about twenty-two miles, and then for the remaining distance by the Cape Cod Branch. The Cape Cod Branch Railroad was chartered in the spring of 1846. Under this charter a company was very soon organized, and, in the fall of that year, the road was com. menced. The character of the country through which it lies has been very favorable for its construction. There are no heavy embankments and no deep cuts the whole length of the road. The gradients generally are very light, the heaviest being forty feet to the mile on an extent of only about six miles, and the total rise and fall being but 481.19 feet. The curvatures, too, are few and slight, eighteen miles of the whole road being of a straight line. There is but little bridging, far less than is usual for the same distance. With these favorable circumstances the cost of the road has not been heavy. Fully complete, including equipment, its cost will not vary much from $20,000 per mile. This ranks it among the very cheapest of the New England roads. And yet it is most thoroughly and faithfully built. The bed is firm and solid,and the rail laid upon it weighs 56 pounds to the yard. It is a good road, and the future repairs that may be required cannot be many or expensive. STEAMERS BETWEEN NEW ORLEANS AND NEW YORK. The New Orleans Picayune has the following notice in reference to this new line of ocean steamers, the facts of which were derived from a gentleman connected with the enterprise : "Under the contract made by A. G. Sloo with the Navy Department, a semi-monthly line will commence running on the 1st of October. The steamers are being built in New York, and will be launched by the 10th of next month. They are under the superintendence of George Law, Esq., one of the most intelligent and successful builders of steamers in this country; and this fact is a sufficient guarantee that the vessels will not be surpassed by any that ever turned a wheel on the ocean. They are twenty-two hundred and fifty tons burthen, but, notwithstanding their immense size, will be of such light draught of wa ter as to be able at all times to get over the bar at the Balize and ascend to the city. They are to be fitted up in a style of magnificence unequalled in this or any other country. They can accommodate 260 cabin and 100 second class passengers. They have each two engines of immense power, and it is expected they will make the passage regularly, touching at Havana and Charleston, in less than seren days, being less time than any route now travelled between the two cities. "The contract with the government requires the company, under a heavy penalty, to have on two steamers by the 1st of October, making a semi-monthly line, and as soon thereafter as practicable two more, making a weekly line--the two last will undoubtedly be ready by the 1st of April next. "The same company have a contract with the government to run a steamer from Havana to Chagres, on the Isthmus of Darien, twice a month. At this point it is only 28 miles across to Panama, on the Pacific, from which place a line of steamers, of 1,000 tons each, under contract with the Navy Department, run regularly to Astoria. This line is also to commence on the 1st of October, and the vessels are nearly finished. The British government have a line from Panama to Valparaiso, which with our line to Oregon will make 6,000 miles of Pacific coast navigated by steamers. After the establishment of these lines, passengers can arrive at California or Oregon in less than one month from New York or this city, and it is believed that nearly all the emigration to the Pacific coast will be by this route. The expense will be much less than the outfit required for the overland route, and the immense fatigue and danger avoided. "We congratulate the people of New Orleans and the whole country on the certainty that in a short time they will have so important an addition to the many elements of prosperity which this city already possesses. We feel assured that this enterprise is in the hands of men of energy and ability, and will be carried out successfully." WILMINGTON AND RALEIGH RAILROAD COMPANY. The Charleston Mercury says "this company has increased the fare between Charleston and Weldon. This step has been forced upon them by the policy of the other railroads between Weldon and Baltimore. The Wilmington and Raleigh Company have been desirous that the fare between Baltimore and Weldon should be placed at so low a rate as to attract increased travel upon that route, and accordingly fixed the fare from Charleston, 330 miles, at $10, or a little over three cents per mile, while the companies further north charged $10 between Weldon and Baltimore, 249 miles, or at the rate of four cents a mile." This company, says the American Railroad Journal, charged less last year per mile than any other road at the south-about two and a half cents on through passengers. This was too low for that region, where there are but comparatively few way passengers -though quite high enough at the north. If they will allow us to make a through ticket from Charleston to New York, we would put it at about $24-the distance being 775 miles or about 3.1 cents per mile, to be divided between the roads in the following proportions, namely: New York to Philadelphia, 90 miles, 2 cents.. New York to Charleston, 770 miles........ $2.25 2.50 1 20 4 65 90 2 52 10 00 $24 02 Or $22 to Philadelphia, and $19 50 to Baltimore. This would ensure a large proportion of the travel to take this route. A NEW LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE. "A new locomotive engine," says the Railway Chronicle, "is nearly completed, under the superintendence of Mr. M'Connell, of the London and North-western Railway. It is expected to prove the most powerful narrow gauge engine ever yet built. The engine is on the outside cylinder principle, and the dimensions of the principal parts are stated to be as follows:-Distance between the centres of the cylinders 7 feet 6 inches; ditto between the driving wheel and the training wheel 10 feet 6 inches; height of the fire box 5 feet 5 inches; length the same; breadth 5 feet 9 inches-slightly overhanging the rails. Distance between the leading and driving wheels 6 feet 8 inches; the extreme bearing between the angles being 17 feet 2 inches. The driving wheels are of 6 feet diameter, the other wheels 3 feet 10 inches. The diameter of the boiler (outside) 4 feet 3 inches; length of tubes 12 feet 7 inches, of 2 inch inside diameter; number of tubes 190. The height of the top of the boiler to the level of the rails, we are assured, is 7 feet 9 inches. The cylinders are 18 inches. "The old plan of locomotion by stationary power up the Edinburgh and Glasgow incline has been resumed. The train being drawn by the iron rope, and the engine carried up at the same time, the process has the two-fold advantage of preventing delay and personal annoyance to the passengers. The working arrangements have given very general satisfaction." MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES. MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF BOSTON. THE Twenty-eighth Annual Report of this useful institution has been made public. It is a comprehensive, business-like document, exhibiting the affairs of the Association in a healthy and prosperous condition. The Library, the most prominent feature of the institution, has received its full share of attention during the past year. During the year, 670 volumes have been added; and the library, at the making up of the report, contained 5,725 volumes. The number of members who enjoy all its privileges at this time is 1,134. From the report of the Treasurer, it appears that the receipts during the year amounted to $3,773 16, and the expenditures to $3,163 19. Of the balance on hand, amounting to $669 53, the Trustees have invested $500. The Association is entirely free from debt, besides having invested, mostly in railroad stocks, $16,100. The course of lectures the past season proved successful, the gross receipts amounting to $1,566, defraying all expenses for halls, lectures, &c., and leaving a nett profit of $332 82. The tables of the reading-room are supplied with twenty-three of the leading American and English Magazines and Reviews, including, of course, the Merchants' Magazine. The Association has a valuable collection of coins and curiosities, which are appropriately arranged. The literary exercises of the members appear to have been conducted with great ability; and the members whose constant attendance has served to inspire the participants with a laudable > ambition to improve their talents, is the best comment upon the importance and interest of this peculiar feature of the institution. The classes of the members formed for the purpose of studying Book-keeping and French, are well attended. Warren Sawyer, the retiring President of the Association, in closing this report in behalf of the government, remarks: "In conclusion, the Government cannot retire from office without expressing to the members their heartfelt thanks for the generous confidence and kind support they have received during the year. This liberal aid and sympathy has lightened our duties, and cheered us in all our services. We have the satisfaction of surrendering the Association to our successors free from debt. In possession of central and commodious rooms, with an increasing Library, with its future financial prospects of the most gratifying character, with union and harmony among our numerous members, and the Association with a name and position among the public institutions of our city, which affords the best guaranty of its permanence and popular character." The following gentlemen constitute the board of officers for 1848-49 :— Thomas H. Lord, President; James Otis, Vice-President; Wm. H. Kennard, Corresponding Secretary; Henry P. Chamberlain, Recording Secretary; George H. Briggs, Treasurer. Directors: S. G. Wheelwright, John P. Ober, Jr., Charles P. Creasy, Irah Chase, Jr., Charles G. Hooker, Henry C. Allen, Samuel H. Millard, John D. Lovett. Trustees: D. N. Haskell, T. J. Allen, E. C. Cowdin, Warren Sawyer, Francis G. Allen. |