GERMAN COAL IN FRANCE.

Something akin to consternation has been caused in coal circles in this part of France by the bold and determined efforts of the Germans to capture the market for steam and forge coal. Some six or eight months ago the English and French concerns which have heretofore almost exclusively controlled the fine market of Nantes and the entire region of the Lower Loire entered into some sort of an agreement or trust by which they sought to put up prices and at the same time to continue their hold upon the business. The price of fuel coal at Nantes, in pursuance of this agreement, was at once advanced some 14 francs ($2.70) a ton, and the combine was about to put up the price of steam coal when the Germans appeared upon the scene and began to bid actively for the business at much lower prices than the French and English dealers had dreamt of. The result was that they began to get the business then, and are still getting it, much to the consternation of their French and English competitors. The greatest gain the Germans have yet scored was reached last week when they secured from the State railroad a contract for 8,000 tons of steam coal at 23 francs ($4.44) per ton delivered on board the cars at the seaport of La Palisse, near La Rochelle. The next lowest bidder was the Compagnie Charbonniere de l'Ouest, of Nantes and Paris, which handles in France the products of certain large Welsh mines. This company is reported to have bid 23-75 francs ($4.59), this being 75 centimes (1434 cents) per ton above the German price.

As above stated, this German invasion has caused something very close to a panic in French and English coal circles, and the situation is made more serious by the fact that the German coal, which comes from the Ruhr country, has given excellent results at several large factories in Nantes and is preferred by those who have examined and used it to either the French or English coal.

It is stated that at a trial made at the manufactory of the Pilon Brothers some weeks ago 4,500 kilograms (9,900 pounds) of German steam coal gave the same results as 5,760 kilograms (12,672 pounds) of Swansea coal. It is rather the question of price than quality that is hurting the English and French dealers, and they admit that they can not, without loss, undersell the Germans at the prices now quoted by the latter. In explanation of the successful German invasion, it is freely declared at Nantes that the German coal importers are now accorded an export bounty by the German Government on coal exported to France, but as far as I can learn here there is no positive.

authority for this statement.

It is also stated here that the purpose

of the Germans is to compel the French and English, who have heretofore controlled this market, to take them into their combine and share the business at equal prices.

It was believed two years ago, when American coal began to arrive here, that a big market for that product would be created throughout this great industrial region, but after sending about 15,000 tons in 1901 and some 5,000 tons in 1902 the American exporters disappeared entirely from the market, and during the present year not a single ton of our coal has arrived at Nantes—a fact, of course, which is easily explained by the great strike in the United States.

The following table shows the imports of coal at Nantes and St. Nazaire during the years 1900-1902:

From the official report of the minister of mines of British Columbia, I glean the following:

For the first time since mining became an industry of the Province, the gross value of the mineral production for the year just closed is less than that of the year preceding. Various causes produced this result-among them a shortage of water supply for placer mining; a terrible explosion, which crippled the principal coal mine. in the Crow's Nest region, followed by protracted strikes; and the low prices which have prevailed for copper, silver, and lead.

The following summarizes the total mineral production of the Province up to the end of 1902 and shows what amounts are credited to the various mineral products. The wealth thus created by the mineral industry amounts to the grand total of $189,728,538, of which some $86,677,415 was derived from gold-the chief product. of the Province-and $58,989,572 from coal and coke, with silver and copper following next in order of importance.

The total production for each year since 1899 has been:

22, 049, 732 18, 475, 882

IO, 447, 521 12, 256, 219 58,989, 572 2, 800, 000 81, 929

189, 728, 538

1900........

1901.

1902....

$16, 344, 751

20, 086, 780

17, 486, 550

The next table gives a statement in detail of the quantity and value of the different mineral products for the years 1901 and 1902. Statistics regarding building stone, lime, bricks, tiles, etc., are estimated.

The copper production shows a decrease in value, on account of the low market price of the metal during the year. In the quantity. of fine copper produced, however, the year 1902 really shows an increase of 7.4 per cent over the previous year.

The minerals produced by the different districts of the Province during the past three years were:

The following table shows the number of mines in each district that shipped ore during the year 1902 (not including coal mines), with the number of men employed:

Returns have been secured from 44 nonshipping mines, and these employed a total of 342 men-158 above ground and 184 belowmaking the total number of men employed in the mines of the Province, as so far reported: Below ground, 2,403; above ground, 1,284; total, 3,687.

The combined placer and lode gold output of the Province for 1902 reached a total value of $5,961,409, the highest yet made, being an increase over 1901 of $642,706, or about 12 per cent.

The coal-mining industry shows no appreciable decrease. The gross output of coal for 1902 was 1,641,626 tons, of which 244,232 tons were converted into coke, leaving a net output of 1,397,394 tons of coal and 128,015 tons of coke, a slight decrease in the coal output and a slight increase in the coke production as compared with Of this net output, Vancouver Island collieries produced 1,173,893 tons of coal and 20, 178 tons of coke, a decrease of 87,851 tons of coal and an increase of 4,780 tons of coke compared with the previous year.

1901.

Iron ore has been mined on the coast during the past year, but the only shipments made have been from Texada Island, from which some 6,290 tons of magnetic-iron ore-running over 50 per cent ironwere sent to the iron furnace at Irondale, Wash. From the iron

mines at Cherry Creek, near Kamloops, some 3,727 tons of magnetite were shipped to Nelson for use there in the smelter as a flux.

There was some $190 worth of platinum produced from the Similkameen district this past year. This is the only locality where

the metal is saved.

VICTORIA, June 8, 1903.

ABRAHAM E. Smith,

Consul.

NEW CONTROLLER OF BOILER WATER.

As several inquiries have of late reached this office (Rotterdam) from the United States on the subject of machinery to prevent incrustatio of boilers, I think that a description of a comparatively recently invented apparatus, which is used largely on Dutch steamers and in Dutch factories, where carbonate of soda is added to the water to prevent incrustation, will be of interest.

My attention was called to the apparatus by Messrs. Van der Laan & Co., owners of the American showrooms of this city, who have also provided me with the data for the description. The apparatus in question, the "Erfmann boiler-water controller," controls the composition of the boiler water and indicates the amount of carbonate of soda to be added to it.

As will be seen from the accompanying cuts, the apparatus consists of two graduated vessels, marked, respectively, 1 and 2 (fig. 1, with a pipette or inner tube), and a base containing a filter. are fitted in a case (fig. 2) as shown in the cut. The case also contains three drop bottles (two for chemicals and one for boiler water), a box of filter papers, and a cleaning brush, compactly fitted for use under any conditions and especially handy for use on steamships.

On opening the case the directions for use are found inside of the cover. By following these failure is said to be impossible. The base of the apparatus slides into two dovetail catches and is easily removable. All the other parts are provided with proper receptacles to insure safety and to minimize the risk of breakage.

Bottle I contains a yellow liquid and bottle 2 a colorless liquid. The bottles are made in such a way that the flow of liquid can be regulated to a nicety by the finger tip on the air inlet.

To operate the apparatus one has only to observe the directions, as follows:

Place a piece of filter paper in the filter (above the perforated plate, to avoid tearing). Vessel is then placed in position, with cock closed, and filled to mark A with hot water taken from the boiler. The yellow liquid is then added to the height of mark B and the contents shaken to mix them properly.

Next, vessel 2 is