.

strong contrast.

In these improvements we have kept reasonable pace with the age, although we do not doubt that your intelligent association can suggest greater advances in mining, which will result to our advantage.

The first blast furnace erected in Salisbury was located in Lakeville, and was put in blast in 1763 or 1764. It was unquestionably the first one built in the State. In 1762, the site which it occupied was conveyed to Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary memory, and two other proprietors, who erected the furnace, and soon after sold it to the Caldwells, of Hartford, Connecticut. During our Revolutionary war the furnace was in the possession of Mr. Richard Smith, an English gentleman, who left it, and returned to his native country. The State of Connecticut, without confiscating the property, operated it for the manufacture of cannon and shot during the war. It was afterwards possessed by various other individuals until about the year 1814, when it became the property of Messrs. Holley & Coffing, who operated it for more than twenty years, and more successfully than any previous owners had done.

Subsequently, and at a considerably later period, five other furnaces were built in Salisbury, two of which are now in blast, I believe, and the others have been demolished. Of the twenty-seven furnaces which I now recall as having been built and operated within a radius of thirty miles of this village, exclusive of those on the Hudson River, one-half are either in operation, or in a condition to be put in operation at short notice, whenever the demand for iron will warrant their use.

For many years after the construction of these furnaces, one-half of them, at least, did not produce more than three tons of iron per day, and this was considered a fair product and quite satisfactory working. At present, and for some years past, furnaces of similar size and construction are made to produce from eight to twelve tons per day.

Among those that are thus productive are the Messrs. Gridley, Messrs. Miles, Mr. Maltby, and the Irondale Company, all in this Valley and State; the Lime Rock Iron Company and the Messrs. Landon, in Salisbury; the Canaan Iron Company, in South Canaan ; the Barnum-Richardson Company's three furnaces in North Canaan, and one in Sharon, all in Connecticut; and the Richmond Iron Company's furnaces in Van Deuzenville and Richmond, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts; making eleven furnaces in all.

The first forge constructed for making wrought iron was erected,

about the year 1734, at Lime Rock. The iron was produced. directly from the ore in small fires capable of yielding from 500 to 700 lbs. per day. This process was continued for some years, but was abandoned soon after pig iron came into the market, which was substituted for the ore in the forges, and forge fires were then multiplied to the number of thirty to forty within a radius of five or six miles of the Old Bed. These forges produced for many years large quantities of merchant bars, anchors, cotton screws, locomotive cranks and axles, besides furnishing large supplies of musket iron for the Government armories at Springfield and Harper's Ferry, and also for private armories.

The mines to which I have referred have furnished the ore not only for the furnaces above mentioned, but large quantities have been sent from several of them to Manhattan, Fishkill, Poughkeepsie, Hudson, Albany, and Troy; and they are capable of yielding large supplies to meet increased demand.

Mr. President, I am trespassing upon the forbearance of your association, and will only add that facilities will be furnished you, by our friends and our liberal railroad companies, for visiting many of these works and mines, where you will make personal examinations that will be more satisfactory than any description which I can give. We renew a cordial welcome, anticipating pleasure from your visit, and trust that it may be made agreeable to yourselves and of benefit to all parties.

Doctor T. Sterry Hunt, President of the Institute, after responding to the cordial welcome of Governor Holley, spoke at some length of the geological and geographical features of Eastern North America, adapting his remarks to the large general audience present. Professor T. Egleston, Chairman of the Committee on Gauges, then read the report of the committee.

The following papers were then read:

On Fluxing Silicious Ores, and On a New Method of taking Blast Furnace Sections, by T. F. Witherbee, of Port Henry, N. Y. Notes on the Salisbury (Conn.) Iron Mines and Works, by A. L. Holley, of New York City.

The second session was held on Wednesday afternoon, when the following papers were read:

Methods of Mining on Lake Superior, by Professor T. Egleston, School of Mines, New York City.

Tellurium Minerals of Colorado, by E. P. Jennings, of Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.

Description of a Form of Water-tube Boiler, by P. Barnes, of New York City.

Notes on the Iron Ores and Anthracite Coal of Rhode Island, by A. L. Holley, of New York City.

On a Graphic Method of keeping Blast Furnace Results, by Wm. Kent, of Pittsburgh, Pa.

On the so-called Buckshot Iron, by F. P. Dewey, of Dover, N. J.

The third session was held on Wednesday evening.

The President presented, on behalf of the Council, the following resolution for adoption:

Resolved, That the Museum Committee shall be empowered to make such disposition and instalment of the mineral and metallurgical collections of the Institute as will, in its judgment, be best for the Institute, and for the preservation of the collections, provided that no expenditure of the funds of the Institute be incurred.

The resolution was unanimously adopted.

The President communicated to the Institute the following action of the Council:

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to consider and recommend amendments to the rules of the Institute, if any change therein is deemed advisable, relating,

1st. To the number and times of the general meetings of the Institute to be held in each year.

2d. To the arrangement of the order of reading, discussion, and publication of papers presented to the Institute, and of the exercises at the general meetings

thereof.

The Committee shall report to the Council at the February meeting, so that notice of such amendments as the Council may approve may be given to the Institute at that time, in order that definite action thereon may be had at the annual meeting, May, 1878.

The President mentioned that it was the wish of the Council that members and associates would send to the Secretary their views on the subjects embodied in the resolution.

The following papers were then read :

On an Edgestone for grinding Analytical Samples: and, On a Jet Pump as a Filter Pump and a Blower, by Prof. R. H. Richards, of Boston, Mass.

The Eureka Lode, of Eureka, Eastern Nevada, by W. S. Keyes, of San Francisco, Cal.

The Eureka-Richmond Case, by Dr. R. W. Raymond, of New York City.

The Ore Deposits in the Vicinity of Eureka, Nevada, by Prof. W. P. Blake, of New Haven, Conn.

The fourth and concluding session was held on Thursday evening. The following persons, duly proposed and approved by the Council, were elected members and associates of the Institute:

On recommendation of the Council, Mr. Robert W. Hall was changed from associate to member.

The following resolutions, adopted by the Council, were then communicated to the Institute:

WHEREAS, On May 28th, 1877, the Scientific Publishing Company gave notice of its desire to discontinue the existing arrangement regarding the publication of the papers of the Institute.

Resolved, That the Institute gratefully acknowledges the important aid and service of its publication, the Engineering and Mining Journal, both within and beyond the terms of the contract.

Resolved, That the Institute accepts the notice of the Scientific Publishing Company, to take effect December 31st, 1877.

Resolved, That the Institute will not enter, at present, into an arrangement with any technical newspaper regarding publication.

Resolved, That the Secretary is hereby authorized to print the papers accepted by the Council for distribution to members, exchanges, and otherwise as authorized by the Committee on Publications, the said papers to be issued in pamphlet form, bearing the words "subject to revision," and that after such time for revision shall have elapsed as the Committee on Publications may prescribe, the papers shall be published in the Transactions.

The following papers were then read:

The Electrolytic Deposition of Copper, by N. S. Keith, of New York City.

The Goderich Salt Deposit, by Oswald J. Heinrich, of Goderich, Canada.

The Missing Ores of Iron, by Prof. P. Frazer, Jr., of Philadelphia.

What is a Pipe Vein? by Dr. R. W. Raymond, of New York City. The following papers were read by title:

The New Dressing Works at Clausthal, by J. C. Randolph, of New York City.

The Cost of Boilers erected at the Edgar Thomson Steel Works during the years 1873, 1874, 1875, by P. Barnes, of Plainfield, N. J.

Results of Analyses of Blast Furnace Gases, by C. A. Colton, School of Mines, New York City.

The Stone Hill Copper Mine, Alabama, by R. P. Rothwell, of New York City.

On Accurate Measurements of Base Lines for Triangulation with Steel Tapes, by Prof. H. S. Munroe, School of Mines, New York City.

The following resolution of thanks was then passed :

RESOLVED, That the thanks of the Institute are hereby presented to the following gentlemen and companies for the cordial reception which they extended to the Institute, and for the excursions which they have provided:

First, and most heartily, to Mr. J. F. Lewis, who has conducted with rare ability the arrangements and excursions of the meeting, through mines and works, and over railroads occupying a large territory, and has thereby contributed most largely to the success, profit, and pleasure of the meeting.

Also, to the citizens of Amenia for their kind reception and entertainment; to the Manhattan Iron Company, represented by Mr. J. F. Lewis; to Messrs. N. Gridley & Son, proprietors of the Gridley Mine and Wassaic Furnace, and to their mining superintendent, Mr. John M. Haskins; to the Borden Condensed Milk Company, represented by Mr. Noah Bishop and Mr. Miles K. Lewis, for their very acceptable entertainment; to Gen. Walter Phelps, manager of the Irondale Furnace of the Millerton Iron Company; to Mr. Frederick Miles, proprietor of the Copake Iron Works, for his cordial reception at his works, also for transportation to Mount Washington and hospitable entertainment there; to Mr. George Williams, lessee of the Weed Ore Bed; to Mr. C. S.