come back.

About one hundred and fifty families left the city during the last six months. Most of the population (Armenians) are looking for an opportunity to leave. Property owners are selling what they can. Merchants have reduced their usual stock orders to less than half, keeping as much cash as they can, some with the intention of leaving the country forever, and others through fear of earthquakes, which seem to be frequent in this region since 1901.

The imports into Erzerum during the first six months of 1903 amounted to only $178,970. The countries contributing thereto

The exports during the same period amounted to $40, 700, composed of dry beef, barley, and sheep sent to Turkish provinces.

VITAL OJALVO,

ERZERUM, TURKEY IN ASIA, July 6, 1903.

Vice-Consul.

WORLD'S IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTION.

[Prepared in the Bureau of Statistics, Department of Commerce and Labor.]

Sir A. E. Batemen, president of the commercial labor and statistical department of the Board of Trade of the British Empire, submitted an elaborate report recently, through the Board of Trade, to the British Government. The report is a "return" to an order of the House of Commons. It is interesting to the United States as an industrial and commercial nation. From it the following excerpts

have been taken:

The tables which follow are intended to give a survey of the production and consumption of iron ore and of pig iron during the twelve years 1890-1901, inclusive, in those countries of the world in which iron-ore mining and the production of pig iron have assumed important dimensions. The countries included in these tables are the United Kingdom, Germany (including Luxemburg), the United States, France, Russia, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, and Austria-Hungary. The figures for Austria and Hungary are grouped together, as the existing customs union renders it impossible to separate the foreign trade of the two countries. For the same reason the figures for Luxemburg are included with those for Germany.

The figures given in the tables with regard to iron ore and pig iron are in nearly every case extracted directly from, or based on, the published official returns of the countries concerned, the principal exceptions being those giving the production of iron ore in Russia, which are taken from the mineral statistics of Sweden,* and The figures

*See "Bidrag till Sveriges Officiela Statistik (C) Bergshandteringen" for 1901, p. 23. for 1898 and 1899 are, however, taken directly from the Russian Mining Report for 1899.

those giving the production of pig iron in Spain, which are taken from the successive reports of the United States Geological Survey.

To these tables are appended a short table, giving such particulars as are available of the production of steel in the countries named, the particulars being obtained from various sources, including those collected by the representative associations of iron and steel manufacturers in certain countries.

The quantity of pig iron produced outside the countries named is only very small, and probably amounts altogether to less than 1,000,000 tons. A certain quantity of iron ore is, however, mined in other countries and exported, to a large extent, to one or other of the principal iron-smelting countries. A short table is given in the appendix dealing with the production and export of iron ore in certain of these countries, of which the most important are Newfoundland, Greece, Algeria, Canada, Cuba, and Italy (mainly the island of Elba). Such particulars are given as are available for the last three years for each of these minor producing countries, whose total production amounts to about 3,000,000 tons.

IRON ORE.

The total output of iron ore in the world probably amounted in 1901 to between 85,000,000 and 90,000,000 tons, the principal producers being the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain, in the order given, these countries among them accounting for about three-fourths of the total output of the world.

The following statement shows the total output of iron ore in the principal countries in which it is mined, or in which the smelting of iron is an important industry, in each of the years 1899-1901, together with the proportionate amount produced per head of population in each country:

* Metric tons of 2,204 pounds, except in the case of the United Kingdom and the United States, for which the particulars are given in tons of 2,240 pounds.

It will be observed that relatively to the population both Sweden and Spain have a production of iron ore considerably in excess of the other countries included above, amounting to about half a ton per head of population; in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany the production amounts to about one-third of a ton per head; while in France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Belgium the proportionate production per head is much less.

The quantity of iron ore mined in the countries included above was less by about 4,000,000 tons in 1901 than in 1900, there being a large falling off in the United Kingdom (where the quantity mined was less than in any year since 1893) and in Germany and a considerable increase in the United States. At the beginning

of the period included in the tables, i. e., in 1890, the quantity mined in the United Kingdom was slightly greater than in Germany, though less than in the United States.

The maximum output in this country [England] was reached in 1882, when it amounted to over 18,000,000 tons. The greatest proportionate increase of production during the twelve years has taken place in Sweden, the quantity mined at present being nearly three times as great as in 1890 and 1891.

As stated above, about 3,000,000 tons of iron ore are produced in countries other than those given in the preceding table, the greater part of which is destined for exportation.

The following statements show the quantity produced in the more important of these countries and British colonies in the years 1899-1901:

*Metric tons, except in the case of Newfoundland and Canada, for which the particulars are given in tons of 2,240 pounds.

+ Not available. The exports during the twelve months ended June 30, 1902, amounted to 470,000

NOTE. The figures for the production of Finland are taken from the Swedish Official Mining Re. port. Those for the production of the other foreign countries included and for the production of Newfoundland and British India are taken from the general reports on mines and quarries issued by the home office.

* Exports to places outside the Australian Commonwealth.
+Twelve months ended June 30 of years following those stated.
Twelve months ended March 31 of years following those stated.
§ Including a small quantity of iron pyrites.

The iron ores used for smelting are of very various chemical constitution, and occur in several different geological formations. They are also of very different richness, the quantity of iron they yield ranging from as little as 20 per cent of their weight to as much as 60 per cent.

The area from which iron ore is produced is often only a small portion of the country in which it is found. Thus, in the United States nearly three-fourths of the total output (20,764,000 tons in 1901 out of a total of 28,887,000 tons) is derived from the States of Michigan and Minnesota. In France about four-fifths is derived from the single Department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. In Germany the iron mines are spread over a rather wider area, but are mainly found in the western portion of the Empire (Alsace-Lorraine, Westphalia, and Rhenish Prussia) and in Luxemburg. In Spain the three extreme northern Provinces of Vizcaya, Santander, and Oviedo account for the greater part of the output, although a certain quantity is mined in the south (Seville and Huelva).

In the United Kingdom the iron-ore mines and quarries occur mainly in three groups, Cleveland or North Yorkshire producing a variety of clay ironstone; Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and Leicestershire producing brown iron ore, rather poor in iron, mainly from open workings; and Cumberland and Lancashire producing red hematite, the richest ore in the country.

At the opposite poles, with regard to iron production, stand Spain and Belgium. The former exports almost the whole of her output, while the latter imports almost the whole of the iron ore she requires for the purposes of her iron and steel industries. Of the remaining countries Sweden exports the major portion of her production. In the case of both Austria-Hungary and Russia, the exports are slightlythough very slightly-in excess of the imports. The United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States are all importing countries, though in different degrees. The first derives about one-third of the ore she utilizes from abroad, her exports being only trifling. The exports from France are also small, and from onefourth to one-third of the ore smelted is derived from abroad. The exports from Germany are more considerable, but are exceeded by the imports. The United States imports and exports but little, and her consumption is only slightly in excess of her production.

The following statement shows the total quantity of iron ore consumed in each of the countries named, together with the proportionate amount consumed per head of population:

It will be seen that the total consumption of iron ore in these countries exceeds by about 2,000,000 tons the production of the same countries, the balance being made up of imports from one or other of the minor producing countries, shown in "the additional table" under "production."

In 1901, for the first time, the consumption of iron ore in Germany exceeded that of the United Kingdom.

Of the 5,500,000 tons imported into the United Kingdom in 1901, 4.750,000 tons were derived from Spain, 304,000 tons from Greece, and 189,000 tons from Algeria.

Relatively to its population, the weight of iron ore consumed is greater in the United Kingdom than in any other country, the United States taking the second and Germany the third place in this respect.

In considering these figures in connection with those given below for the production of pig iron, it must be recollected that no allowance is made for other ironproducing materials which are occasionally made use of by smelters. Of these, one of the principal is roasted pyrites, a mineral mined primarily for sulphur extraction, a certain amount of copper as well as small quantities of gold and silver being also obtained therefrom. In this country, especially, a quantity of cupreous iron pyrites is imported from Spain, and the refuse of the sulphur and metal extraction works, known as purple ore, is utilized in the blast furnaces. The total quantity of purple ore so used in the United Kingdom amounts to about 500,000 tons. A certain amount of mill and forge and other descriptions of cinder is also utilized, but the total quantity of all these materials is probably not large.

On the other hand, a certain quantity of iron ore is used, not in the production of pig iron, but in connection with the open-hearth process of steel manufacture.

PIG IRON.

The total quantity of pig iron produced in the world in 1901 probably amounted to about 40,000,000 tons, the principal producers being the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany in the order named, these countries between them accounting for about three-fourths of the total output.

The figures given in the tables include in some cases a small quantity of castings obtained directly from the blast furnaces.

The following statement shows the total output of pig iron in the countries for which particulars as to iron ore mined and consumed have already been given in each of the years 1899 to 1901, together with the proportionate amount produced per head of population in each country:

* Preliminary figures can also be given for the production of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany in 1902, which amounted to 17,821,000, 8,518,000, and 8,403,000 tons, respectively.