among us. For these and other reasons we have watched the progress of this enterprise with usual interest; and as those who have had the management of it have struggled on against every kind of difficulty, with undiminished ardor and confidence, we have given them our warmest sympathies; and now, when success has measurably crowned their efforts, we heartily congratulate them and the community, which has been, and will be, benefited by their enterprise and perseverance.

We were conducted over the mill by the intelligent and active superintendent, Gilbert Reed, Esq, who we learn has been instrumental in getting the establishment into its present admirable working condition, and who has brought the whole interior of this busy hive into system and order. While the mills at the North are running short time, or stopping work altogether, we are pleased to learn that the Charleston mill is driving every loom to its utmost capacity, and that its product per loom is now equal to the best mills in the country.

The goods manufactured at this mill are of very superior quality, having, during the last twelve months, been awarded three first class premiums; one from the Agricultural Society of South Carolina at the fair at Chester; one from the fair of the Franklin Institute at Philadelphia, and one from the fair of the South Carolina Institute held in Charleston.

This mill is one among many others which that eminent engineer, Gen. Chas. T. James, has erected within the last few years in the South and West. We learn with much satisfaction that his highly liberal offer to subscribe for half the stock of a $300,000 cotton mill, will insure at an early day the erection of a factory in our city on an enlarged scale, and which will compare favorably in style, finish and product, with any ever built in this country or Great Britian. The remarkably practical genius of Gen. James, his wide experience in all that concerns the cotton manufacture, and his careful study of all the questions connected with its successful introduction into the Southern States, give great value and interest to the conviction he has expressed and so strongly backed, in favor of the adaptation of Charleston for the prosecution of this great department of industry on an extensive scale. The extent to which he desires to identify himself with our manufactures is most gratifying proof of his perfect faith in their success, and may be considered as settling the question whether their profitable establishment is within our power.-Charleston Mercury.

2. COTTON FACTORIES IN THE WEST.

The following interesting statistics are on the authority of the Cincinnati Price Current:

We shall now notice the several cotton factories in the West, as far as we have information; and we believe, that, in making our inquiries, which we did by writing to the several parties, few were omitted; and as the facts presented were furnished chiefly by the proprietors of the mills, they may be relied upon as being very nearly correct.

In Cincinnati, Covington and Newport, there are five factories, viz: Franklin mill, of Harkness, Fosdick & Strader; Pierce, Gould & Co.; J. C. Giesendorf; Covington cotton factory, and Newport cotton factory.

The Franklin factory has 10,000 spindles, 220 looms, manufactures 42,000 yards of brown sheeting weekly, consumes 1,800 bales of cotton per year, and employs daily 250 hands; steam power.

Gould, Pierce & Co., 2,500 spindles, and 32 looms, produces 300,000 yards of sheeting per annum, and 150,000 pounds cotton yarn; consumes 600 to 700 bales of cotton yearly, and employs daily 60 hands; steam and water power. O'Shaughnessy & Co., 3,000 spindles, manufactures 13,500 yards 4-4 brown sheetings and 200 lbs. cotton yarns per week; consumes 900 bales cotton per year; employs daily 75 hands; steam power.

Covington cotton factory, R. Buchanan, agent, 2,600 spindles, makes yarn only; consumes 950 bales of cotton per annum; employs about 90 hands; steam

power.

J. C. Giesendorf, 100 spindles, produces 5,000 lbs. yarns, wick and batting, per week; consumes 500 bales of cotton yearly, and employs 30 hands; water and steam power.

The above spindles are all in operation, and in addition to these, Messrs. O'Shaughnessy & Co. intend to increase their number from 3,000 to 6,000; and Mr.

Giesendorf, who has just removed his machinery into a new building, purposes adding to the number of spindles, from time to time, until it is increased to 6 or 7,000.

The Cooper cotton factory, Dayton, 2,300 spindles, produces yarns; consumes 900 bales of cotton annually, and employs about 80 hands; water power.

Castalia manufacturing company, Castalia, Ohio, 1,700 spindles, 48 looms, 1,200 to 1,400 yards heavy brown sheetings made per day, consumes 312 bales of cotton annually; employs 35 to 40 hands.

Springfield cotton mill Springfield, Ohio, 500 spindles, produces 90,000 lbs. yarns, carpet warp and batting, and consumes 200 bales of cotton annually; employs about 20 hands.

Maysville, Ky, cotton mill, A. M. January & Co., runs 3,700 spindles, produces cotton yarns only, consumes 1,000 to 1,200 bales of cotton per annum, employs 85 to 1,00 hands; steam power.

Brookville, Ind., J. Woods, runs 1,200 spindles, produces 600 lbs. yarns per week employs 30 hands; water power.

Steubenville, Ohio, G. E. & J. W. Warner, runs 4,700 spindles, produces 9,000 yards of brown sheetings and 15,000lbs. yarn per week, employs 180 to 200 hands. Zanesville cotton mill, Zanesville, Ohio, 1,744 spindles; produces 232,500 lbs. yarns, warps and batting per annum, consumes 250,000 lbs. cotton; steam power.

Miamisburg, Ohio, M. Cassady & Co., runs 500 spindles, produces 2,150 lbs. yarns, batting, &c., per week, and consumes 200 bales of cotton per year; employs 20 hands; water power.

Wellsville, Ohio, runs 2,000 spindles, produces yarns; consumes 750 bales of cotton per year.

Pittsburg Eagle factory, 6,000 spindles, produces yarns only; consumes 1,900 bales of cotton per annum.

Alleghany factory, 1,500 spindles, produces yarns, and consumes 600 bales of cotton per annum.

Penn mills 6,300 spindles, produces sheetings; consumes 1,500 bales of cotton per annum.

Star mills, 4,000 spindles, produces sheetings; consumes 1,200 bales of cotton per annum.

Wheeling manufacturing company, 2,000 spindles, produces sheetings; consumes 700 bales of cotton per annum.

Brighton, Pa., 1,000 spindles, produces sheetings, and consumes 400 bales of cotton per year.

Cannelton, Ind. (now receiving the machinery, and will be in operation about the 1st of May), capacity 10,800 spindles, estimated production 2,000,000 yards of No. 14 brown sheetings per annum.

There are, in addition to the above, mills at Bon Harbor, Lexington and Paris, Ky., Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, from which we have no statement, but from what we have been able to learn, their combined capacity is about 12,000 spindles.

It is seen by the above that we have in operation in this Western valley eighty nine thousand spindles; and the additions to be made to factories in this city and vicinity, will, in another year, swell the number to near one hundred thousand!*

The consumption of cotton is near 22,000 bales per annum, which, at present prices, would cost about $1,300,000.* There is, in addition, considerable cotton consumed in the manufacture of batting, which we have not included in our

statement.

The products of the mills noticed are all disposed of in the West. Those in and near this city find here a ready market for their cloth and yarns; and the demand, particularly for sheetings, is such that stocks do not accumulate. Considerable quantities of Pittsburg sheetings are also disposed of here; and still there is a market for Eastern sheetings, which are brought from Boston and sold as cheap as our own manufactures. This, however, does not pay, as Boston and Cincinnati prices are generally about the same.

Since the advance in cotton, manufacturers have been turning out their pro

* Subsequent statements of factories, not included in our first report, further increase the number of spindles to 100,220, and the consumption of cotton to 27,300 bales.

ducts at a loss, as the improvement in the price of the raw material is equal to about three cents per yard, while there has been only one cent per yard advance in the value of sheetings. This, of course, will not continue, as cotton must soon recede to its ordinary level; and the probability is, that, next season, the raw material will be lower than before the recent advance commenced, as the present high prices will stimulate growers to increase the productions to the ut

most extent.

In our notice we may have omitted some mill in the section of country includ ed in our statement; and if so, we shall feel obliged if some of our friends will advise us of the fact.

3. DOMESTIC MANUFACTURES.

We have before us samples of towels and table linen, manufactured in the Swedish colony, settled at Bishop Hill, Henry county, Illinois. They are really beautiful and valuable articles, just such as, we believe, every housekeeper would desire to possess. The ladies should inspect them, to appreciate their worth. They are made from flax grown in the colony; the thread is fine, even and well wove. Before us are samples of coarse and fine articles, and each is ornamented by a colored linen border of delicate and beautiful work.

In this society, they manufacture fine and coarse linens for all the purposes to which it is applied-for table covers, sheets, &c. We need not remind the housekeeper how much more durable and pleasant the domestic linen is for many purposes, than the imported article. At the same place, this industrious and thriving society are manufacturing a variety of articles, such as carpets, sacking, &c. The cholera, last year, carried off a number of the males almost before they had located themselves, and left a preponderance of widows, who employ themselves in needlework and ornamenting fabrics made for market.— Mo. Kepublican.

4. MINERAL RESOURCES OF ALABAMA.

We extracted, in our last, from the able railroad report of Mr. Troost, its internal improvement statistics, and now add to these extracts others upon the minerals of Alabama.

The carboniferous and silurian beds in Alabama, are exceedingly rich in their useful rocks and metals.

There are four extensive coal fields in Alabama, in striking distance of your railroad. They may be designated as follows: The "Tuscaloosa coal field," which is the greatest in area, lies in the valleys of the Warrior and its tributaries. The "Cahawba coal field," the southern boundary of which is at Centerville and Montevallo, occupies the valley of the Cahawba and its tributaries. The "Coosa coal field" is on the west side of the Coosa river, in the vicinity of Broken Arrow creek-and the fourth coal field is in DeKalb and Marshall counties, between the Tennessee and the Coosa rivers. The coal strata on the Warrior and its tributaries, ten of which have been discovered, are from ten to forty-eight inches thick, and are slightly inclined toward the valley of the river; those on the Cahawba, are from two to eight feet thick and are highly inclined, while those on Broken Arrow creek and in DeKalb and Marshall counties, are said to be from four to ten feet thick.

The coal, all of which is bituminous, of the three first-mentioned fields, has proved to be of an excellent quality, having been tested in steamships, gas works, founderies, factories, &c., and from the examinations which have been made there can be no doubt of its abundance.

Each and all of these coal fields are convenient and accessible to your railroad, particularly those on the Cahawba river and Broken Arrow creek, and in DeKalb and Marshall counties. The coal measures of the Cahawba will be in from 60 to 75 miles; of the Broken Arrow of from 120 to 130 miles; and of DeKalb and Marshall counties of from 170 to 195 miles of Selma by your railroad, with branch lines of from 5 to 15 miles long. The Warrior beds may be reached by a branch of 30 to 40 miles long, making their total distance to Selma from 80 to 90 miles.

In close proximity to the coal measures are inexhaustible and extensive beds of iron ore of the finest quality. In fact the counties of Bibb, Shelby Talladega, Benton, Cherokee, St. Clair, Jefferson and Tuscaloosa, abound in deposits of

iron ore, not excelled in richness and extent. The ore has been tested and yields an excellent quality of iron. Notwithstanding the difficulties experienced for the want of suitable means of transportation to market [the cost of transportation to a navigable river being from $3 to $12 per ton], the ore is manufactured into iron in several localities with profit.

Another highly important material, which abounds in localities convenient to your railroad, throughout the carboniferous and silurian rocks, is the limestone. Some of the limestone of these beds furnish marble of excellent quality, and of beautifully variegated colors. Several varieties of blue and gray marble occur in Shelby county; in Talladega county a jet black marble; in Cherokee a buff-colored marble; and in Benton county a dove-colored marble has been found. These varieties of marble take a very fine polish, dress well, and will become very useful for building and ornamental purposes. A large portion of this limestone when burned, yields quick lime, equal in strength and whiteness to the Thomaston lime. Large beds of gypsum have likewise been found. This article, so useful in agriculture, will also swell the freight. There are other productions of these formations deserving notice, such as hydraulic limestone, mill stones, whetstones, flag stones, lead and manganese.

In the metamorphic rocks in Talladega and Coosa counties, we find a beautiful and highly valuable white marble, and granite well adapted for building. The marble quarries of Dr. Gantt, situated in the southern part of Talladega county, convenient to the projected route of your road, are particularly worthy of being mentioned on account of the pure white saccharine marble which they yield in masses of great size.

A large quantity of iron is already produced in this portion of Alabama. The great cost of transportation at the present time, is a serious check upon this business.

The coal fields of Alabama must supply the Gulf of Mexico, which is soon to become the seat of a commerce vastly greater than what it now enjoys. Our recent acquisitions on the Gulf and on the Pacific will bring into that great in land sea the commerce of every part of the world.

5. IRON MANUFACTURE IN EAST MISSISSIPPI.

"EAST MISSISSIPPI IRON.-We were recently shown, by our old friend Judge Killen, specimens of fine looking iron, extracted from ore found in the vicinity of his residence, in Neshoba county. The Judge assured us that it was of the best quality, and that the ore existed in quantities which would be almost inexhaustible."-Eastern Clarion.

We had intended, at an earlier day, offering some remarks upon the above, from our excellent cotemporary, who has done, and is doing, much to develop the rich resources of the East.

The great difficulty presented to the manufacturing of iron, in Mississippi, is the absence of mineral coal. The first process is to reduce the iron ore into a metallic state, by means of a furnace, which is charged from the top with certain proportions of iron ore, coke and limestone. The limestone is used as a flux to the ore, and to promote its fusion. For fifteen tons of roasted iron ore, there are required twenty-two and a half tons of coke, and about six tons of limestone, which must be all intimately mixed together.

Formerly charcoal was used in the place of coke, but, since the abundance of mineral coal, and its greater cheapness, it is generally dispensed with. Where anthracite can be purchased at three dollars per ton, charcoal at five cents per bushel, and wood at two dollars per cord, to manufacture iron with coke, made from anthracite coal, would cost just half as much as charcoal or wood. We could not, then, compete with the North; and any attempt to avail ourselves of the rich deposits of iron ore in our State, would result in a failure to the capitalists who might embark in the enterprise.

Here are the obstacles to be met. If our friends in Neshoba can overcome them, iron may be made as well in Mississippi as in any other State in the Union. They can only be overcome by reducing the price of wood coal; for, so far as our observation goes, there is no mineral coal in Neshoba which can be profitably coked for the manufacture of iron. Wood, at fifty cents per cord, would make coal at two cents per bushel. If this cost is attained, iron may be manufactured at $30 per ton, and, as it cannot be shipped here from the North,

or Europe, at less than about $45 dollars, we should make a profit of $15 per ton. Ten dollars profit per ton would make a productive investment. Say that 1,500 tons were made per annum, this would yield $15,000, at a profit of $15 per ton, the net average would be $22,500. These figures are evidently under the mark, and we are satisfied that, if the fuel can be obtained at the rates we have named, the capitalist who invests his money in the Neshoba iron will make a fortune. We speak from what we learn of the quality of the iron. The ore is represented to us as being very rich.

6. AMERICAN MANUFACTURES.

There has lately taken place at Paris, in one of the rooms of the Exchange, an exposition of American cotton fabrics; and an examination of these tissues may give an idea of the competition with which our French products are threatened by the manufacturers of the Union. One of our principal merchants, M. Lefort Gonsselin, after examining these specimens, has declared that American industry has made immense progress, and that that country bids fair to supplant, in the various markets of the world, France, England, and all the European States, in the sale of cotton fabrics. Nevertheless, if the Americans, having the advantage of possessing the raw article, can afford to sell cheaper than other nations, they are still an immense distance behind the French, as respects good taste, beauty of patterns, the shade and durability of dyes. They will succeed, perhaps, in driving us from the market, for the sale of ordinary articles, for which we have, already, such formidable competitions in the English. But it is the French manufacturers who will continue to supply whatever is intended for the consumption of the easy classes. In 1849, American fabrics consumed 517,000 bags; that is to say, 127,000 bags more than the French manufacturers used during the same year. In the United States the cotton manufacture is concentrated in six States-Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. These States count 729 establishments, in active operation, containing 60,546 looms, and 1,313,629 spindles. The hours of labor vary from eleven hours twenty-four minutes the minimum, to twelve hours forty-five minutes the maximum. These establishments are organized in the most perfect manner. Regularity, order and comfort, of which we have no conception in France, prevail in them. The working rooms are almost like convents. Most particular care is taken to remove the slightest idea of insubordination and immorality. Instruction and health are provided for with incessant watchfulness, and every individual who neglects his duty, or becomes addicted to intemperance, is rigorously and promptly excluded. From this results a double advantage. The persons exployed become rapidly rich, and the employers find themselves indemnified for the high prices they pay for labor, by the steadiness and intelligence of that labor.-From the Paris Presse.

7. THE GOLD PEN.

There has appeared an article, of some length, in the New York Tribune, headed The Gold Fen, its History and Manufacture, which we find to be curious and interesting, and of which (not being able to find room for the whole of it in our paper) we must be satisfied with laying, before our readers a synopsis, which will put them in possession of the most material facts belonging to that branch of our national manufactures-the gold pen,

Mr. John Isaac Hawkins, a citizen of the United States, though long a resident of different European countries, chiefly of England, claims to be the inventor of what is called the gold pen, which, howeve, is rather a misnomer, it will be seen-the importaut part and feature of it, the point or nib, not being of gold. It was thought long ago, by Mr. Hawkins, that a pen might be manufactured of some lasting material, so as to be almost indestructible; that is, that it could be used without being worn out, or impaired, for an indefinite period a life time or longer. To discover this material, and to make it available, was the desideratum, and he dedicated nearly thirty years of his life to this object, trying, in the mean time, a great many substances, which were subjected to a great many experiments. The diamond being the hardest known substance, was first fried; but it could not be made to answer, the difficulty being to fasten, or solder it to the gold, so as to make it keep its place permanently. This could not be done,