Ultima Thule; or, A Summer in Iceland. vol. 2/2

COST OF THE SICILIAN AND SPANISH SULPHUR COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE ICELANDIC.

Cost of Sicilian sulphur, according to Signor Parodi’s Report to the Italian Government, vouched by English engineers, viz.:

TO ENGLAND.

“Estimated cost of Spanish sulphur, from a Report by Mr J. Sopwith to the Hellin Sulphur Company:”

It takes six tons of Spanish ore to make one ton of sulphur.

“This sulphur should be worth, either in England or Marseilles, from £6 to £7 per ton.

“Flowers of sulphur would cost £6 per ton, and their value would be £10.”

Estimated Cost of Icelandic Sulphur.

Although from the fact of the deposits of the sulphur producing clay, sand, ashes, etc., in Iceland being on the surface, the working expenses of excavation (and from the closer proximity to the coalfields of England, the cost of extraction) must be far less than those of Sicily, yet it has been thought advisable to be on the safe side by taking the costs of excavation, extraction, and fusion, to be in each case the same.

The expenses of bringing the sulphur to this country will then be:

Estimated Profit on Icelandic Sulphur.

The market price of sulphur ranges from about £6, 5s. per ton for third quality to £8 for best. As by far the greater part of the Icelandic sulphur would be best quality, its average market price may be safely put at £7 per ton.

Estimated Profit per Annum.

Italy, in the year 1870, exported 52,546 tons. From the comparison between the relative formations, there is every reason to believe that as large a quantity can be exported from Iceland as from Italy; but, supposing that for the first year or two only one-third that quantity is exported, viz., 17,515 tons, at a profit of £4, 1s. 8d. per ton, the annual profit would amount to over £71,500.

NOTE I. TO SECTION V.

(Translation.)

Leasing Contract.

The undersigned, Andreas Frederik Krieger, His Majesty the King of Denmark’s Minister of Justice, Commander of the Dannebrog and Dannebrogsmand, Commander of the Order of the North Star, in virtue of the authority given him by a Royal Resolution of the 9th March 1872, hereby grants to Alfred G. Lock, of London, a lease of the sulphur mines belonging to the State, situated in the Thing Syssel in the North and East Provinces of Iceland, on the following conditions:

I. Exclusive right to work the above-mentioned mines is given to the lessee for the duration of the lease; they consist of the so-called Reykjahlidar, Krabla, and Fremri-Námar; on the other hand, the present contract gives the lessee no right to the use of, or to the possession of the land around the mines, which ground does not belong to the State. It must be remarked that the mines on the church lands at Theistareykir are not included in this leasing.

II. The lease is given for fifty years, reckoned from the 1st September 1872 to the 31st August 1922, without either of the contracting parties having the right to withdraw from it. Liberty, however, is conceded to Alfred G. Lock to withdraw from the contract at any time before the 31st August this year, date inclusive.

The lessee can make over his rights acquired by this present contract, together with his obligations, to other parties, against whose respectability and solvency no reasonable objection can be made, but he shall nevertheless be bound to communicate such transfer to the Ministry of Justice. His rights likewise shall at his death be transmitted to his heirs.

III. Full liberty is given to the lessee as regards the working of the mines. The sulphur, however, must not be washed in running waters which have their outlet in the sea, nor in fishing-waters, and as a matter of course the sulphur beds or mines must not be destroyed, with respect to which it is remarked that the earth during the diggings must not be trodden down into the warm beds, which are designated by a green colour in the maps attached to the contract, which in the year 1871 were made by J. F. Johnstrüp, Professor of Mineralogy at the Copenhagen University.

On the delivering over of the mines a survey will take place, at which the maps in question will be used as guides. On the delivering back of the mines a survey shall likewise take place.

IV. Neither the lessee nor the workmen he employs at the mines shall be subject to any extraordinary taxes or imposts by the State or the municipality, other than those imposed on the other inhabitants of the island; and he shall in this respect enjoy the same rights as natives; but, on the other hand, he shall not be exempted from the ordinary taxes and charges imposed by the general laws of the land.

V. The lessee shall be bound to allow the State authorities to inspect the mines whenever they may think fit to do so.

VI. The lessee shall pay an annual rental of £50 for the first year; £60 for the second year; £70 for the third year; £80 for the fourth year; £90 for the fifth year; and £100 for the sixth and for each of the succeeding forty-four years.

The rental shall be paid in advance to the Minister of Justice in Copenhagen in two half-yearly payments,—viz., on the 1st September and 1st March, each time with the half part of the yearly amount. The first time on the 1st September 1872, with £25, for the half-year from that day to the 28th February 1873.

The lessee shall, on the signing of this present contract, as security for the due payment of the rental and the proper working and redelivery of the mines in an uninjured condition, deposit a sum of 5000 rixdollars in the private bank of Copenhagen, in such manner that the Minister of Justice retains the certificate of deposit in his possession, and can, without trial or sentence, and without the lessee’s authority, take them out of the private bank, which institution shall be forbidden to return them to the lessee or others without the Justice Minister’s permission.

As long as the above-mentioned amount is deposited in the private bank the interest of the sum may, without let or hindrance from the Minister of Justice, be paid to the lessee or his representatives.

On the expiry of this leasing contract and the redelivery of the sulphur mines in an uninjured state, the Minister of Justice shall be bound to return the certificate of deposit to the lessee or other duly authorised persons.

VII. Should the rental not be paid at the proper times, and should the lessee destroy the mines, he (the lessee) shall lose the rights conceded to him by this contract, and the Minister of Justice shall in such case be empowered to take from him the lease (eject him from the mines), and the deposit money be forfeited to the Iceland Land Fund (State Fund). Should, however, a breach of contract take place only through omission to pay the rental, and the collective amount of the rentals still to be paid be less than the deposit, the Minister of Justice will refund the difference.

VIII. Should the lessee not have removed, within two years from the expiry of this contract, or from the date of its annulment (see § 7), all buildings, machinery, and the like put up at the mines, they shall become the property of the State without indemnity.

IX. Disputes arising as to whether the lessee’s treatment of the mines is destructive to them, shall be settled by arbitration, each of the contracting parties choosing one man, and these latter in case of disagreement to choose an umpire. If from any cause an arbitration cannot be obtained, the parties at issue are empowered to appeal to the law courts; as likewise in all other disputes arising out of this contract, in which cases the Royal Supreme Court of Copenhagen shall be the proper tribunal; for which reason the lessee, on signing this contract, shall appoint a Copenhagen resident, who on his behalf shall receive summonses for his appearance. Should the Minister of Justice think fit to take law proceedings against him in Iceland, he (the lessee) shall be bound to receive summonses at the sulphur mines for his appearance at the Iceland courts.

X. The expense of drawing up this contract, with the stamped paper and registration, as well as the expense of surveys on the delivering over and the delivery back of the mines mentioned in this contract, shall be borne by the lessee.

The contract shall be drawn up in duplicate, of which the one copy is held by the Minister of Justice and the other by Mr A. G. Lock.

On the above conditions I, Alfred G. Lock, of London, have signed the present contract.

Copenhagen, 13th April 1872.

(Signed) Krieger.
(Signed)     { For Alfred G. Lock,
{     A. de C. Crowe.

Witnesses—

(Signed) Ricard.
( ” ) Poulsen.

The value of the stamp on this contract is calculated at 9 rigsd. to the pound sterling.

NOTE II.

Report of the Althing.

We, the undersigned, have, by the honourable “Althing,” been elected into a Committee, to state our opinion as to a memorial which about three years ago has been sent in to the Government by an English gentleman, Mr Lock, importing his wish to take lease of the sulphur mines in the north of Iceland, situated between 65° 20´ north latitude and the Arctic Sea, or, otherwise speaking, the mines lying on the said tract, east of “Myvatn” (Gnat Lake) and west of Jökulsá (Glacier River).

Before stating our opinion about this matter, we think it necessary that it should be clearly understood by the honourable Assembly—

1. How the matter now stands with the sulphur mines in question.

2. What right the Government has to lease out these mines without incurring some obnoxious consequences to the leaseholder, or to other parties concerned.

The sulphur mines that are at the disposal of the Government[202] are those of “Reykjahlid,” “Kráfla-námar” (the mines of the Krafla mountain), and “Fremri-námar” (the mines farthest from the coast), but “Theistareykja-námar” (the mines of Theistareykir) have never been Government property, although they apparently are lying in the tract of which the above-mentioned Mr Lock has wished to take lease.

As it is well known, from the excellent essay by the Right Reverend Hannes Finnson, Bishop of Iceland (see “Rit hins islendska lærdómslista-fèlags”—the Works of the Icelandic Society of Learning and Arts—vol. iv., p. 29), Mr Paul Stigsson, superintendent or governor of Iceland, bought of the Thorsteinssons, so called, in the presence of Mr Hans Nilsson and Mr Hans Lauritsson, on the behalf of his Majesty Frederik II., the mines of which there is no question here, with the exception of the Theistareykja mines, or more properly speaking, the right of digging sulphur in these mines. This bargain was made at Eyjafjord on the 15th of August 1563, and the said Thorsteinssons gave up the sulphur-diggings in “Fremri-námar,” “Kráfla-námar,” and “Heidar-[203] (heath) námar;” but it is nowhere on record, that any land or ground for house-building and road-making has been comprised in this bargain. As it appears, the Government of his Majesty Frederik II. has thought it sufficient to acquire the monopoly of the sulphur that was to be found there, for, as it appears, there has, as a rule, never been lack of persons willing to dig out the sulphur and to carry it, like other merchandise, down to the sea-coast.

In this manner the above-mentioned mines were worked in the time of his Majesty Frederik II., and a great quantity of sulphur was dug up there. It is said that the profit has sometimes, in the said period, amounted to 10,000 rixdollars (or upwards of £1100), and that the total export of sulphur has gone up to about 200 commercial lasts (or 400 tons) a year.

In the time of Christian IV. the working of the mines, which had answered so well in the time of his father, was almost discontinued; and the attempts of this king to let the mines, for a period of fifteen years, to Mr Jorgen Brochenhuus, of Wolderslev, and Mr Svabe, proved a complete failure. Thus, in the time of Christian IV., the mines were of little consequence for the Government and the country. This, the Right Reverend Hannes Finnson says, was a great drawback for the Danes, as it caused the scarcity of powder, which was one of the reasons why the Danes were defeated by the Swedes in Holstein in 1644.

Shortly after the middle of the seventeenth century, or in the year 1665, a certain “assessor,” Gabriel Marsilius by name, acquired a concession of digging sulphur and exporting it from Iceland; and it is said that he has exported from here a very great quantity of sulphur with considerable profit. Since that time, or since 1676, little is said of the sulphur-mining in Iceland until the first part of the eighteenth century; then, in 1724, two foreigners, Mr Sechmann and Mr Holtzmann, acquired a concession of exporting sulphur from Iceland; and it is said that they exported a great quantity of sulphur for a period of five years; but this export was again discontinued, owing to the death of Mr Holtzmann, who was the leader of the business, and to the apparent unwillingness of Mr Sechmann to repair to Iceland.

In the year 1753 the sulphur-mining was recommenced in Iceland by the Government. First it was commenced in the south, and afterwards, or in 1761, in the north (see “Eptirmæli 18 aldar”—“Review of the Events of the Eighteenth Century”). The author of this work, the late Mr Stephensen, says, that both the mines, the southern and northern, have been worked with considerable profit, adding, that the produce of the mines has amounted to 1400 rixdollars (or upwards of £155) a year; and in 1772 the profit of the sulphur mines in the north, according to the same author, was estimated at 1260 rixdollars (or about £140). After 1806 the Danish Government leased out the sulphur mines in the north to some merchants there for a trifling yearly rent, which in no way was a sufficient indemnity for the deterioration of the mines during the time of the lease.

For ten years ago it was a general opinion that the brimstone in the Icelandic sulphur mines for the most part was embedded in the layer that covers the “live mines,” and which must be considered a “sublimate” product of the so-called sulphur pits or caldrons; it had, however, been observed that in the “Fremri-námar,” so called, “dead mines” also existed where the sulphur stratum sometimes was a foot thick. The sulphur digging at Krisuvik last year has proved that these strata can be a good deal thicker, as it has also been ascertained that most sulphur mountains contain a considerable quantity of sulphur earth, clayish and ferruginous sulphur; all of which might yield from twenty-five to fifty per cent. of clean sulphur, if managed in the right manner.

When the three naturalists, Mr Steenstrup, Mr Schythe, and Jonas Hallgrimson, travelled through Iceland in 1840, they calculated that the sulphur mines in the north might yield 10,000 rixdollars a year; but Dr Hjaltalin, who, ten years later, was sent to examine these mines, disavows this statement, adding that the mines, as the matter then stood, could by no means yield so much, for the “live mines” were then in a state of deterioration, and that it would be impossible exactly to say how many “dead mines” were to be found till it is ascertained by successive examinations; on the other hand, he is convinced that the mines of Krisuvik might be able to yield 100 commercial lasts (or 200 tons) of clean sulphur a year, and the experience of the recent time has proved this to be no exaggeration; for during the last winter (1868-69) about 250 commercial lasts (or 500 tons) of raw sulphur have been dug up, which must make a good deal more than 100 lasts of clean sulphur at least; further, Dr Hjaltalin observes, that copper ore of rather a good quality is to be found there, and a more recent experience has rendered it likely that there is a considerable quantity of this mineral.

On the other hand, the sulphur must, no doubt, have accumulated to a considerable degree in the mines of the north for the last twenty years they have not been worked; it is, therefore, pretty certain that they might now yield a considerable quantity of sulphur if they were worked in the right manner; but as it must always be borne in mind that no mines are so liable to deterioration as sulphur mines, it must in consequence be very precarious to make them over to foreigners. A French geologist, Mr Eugène Robert, who travelled here in 1835, and afterwards has written treatises on the geology of Iceland in the French language, has also called attention to this point. He says, that care ought to be taken not to lease out to the Englishmen (who then were applying for the lease) the mines in the north, as they might be of great consequence, the sulphur mines of Sicily having begun to fall off.

As pointed out by the history of the country, and sufficiently proved by the experience, the produce of the mines in the north, if worked in the right way, ought to outweigh by far the lease-rent offered by Mr Lock; it would consequently be a downright loss to the country now to lease out those mines to this foreigner, who would not be able to give any satisfactory guarantee for his working the mines in the right manner, but might, after a lapse of several years, return them so spoiled that the country might, for a long time at least, miss the profit which it ought to have by these mines: indeed the lease-rent offered by the memorialist seems to be comparatively high when compared to what was paid for the mines in the beginning of the present century, but when it is taken into consideration that the rent now offered is only the tenth part of the net profit which the mines yielded in the sixteenth century, the offer is by no means advantageous, neither is it desirable that foreigners should be allowed for many years to import into this country a great number of foreign workmen, as this might lead to the Icelanders being deprived of a profitable business in their own native land.[204]

The population of Iceland is, as it is well known, constantly increasing, but several branches of trade are rather in a state of decadence. Nothing could, therefore, be more beneficial to this country, than if here were to be found profitable mines, in which labourers might work in all sorts of weather, and this may be done in sulphur and other mines, as the experience showed at Krisuvik last winter; ten and sometimes upwards of twenty labourers were at work there, almost the whole winter, earning good daily wages. There is nevertheless no security to be had, that the inhabitants shall be able to benefit by this, if the mines are made over to strangers, neither can it be controlled that they shall not destroy the mines altogether, and render them completely useless after a lapse of some years.

The Icelandic sulphur mines are in such a condition as not to be worse for waiting, on the contrary they will improve by it, and it would be greatly beneficial to them, not to be worked for the present.

The sulphur mining at Krisuvik has shown that these mines are better and richer than had been expected; and this may be the case too with the mines in the north, which have most frequently been deemed richer and more extensive than those of Krisuvik.

When sulphur trade has been carried on in this country, both in past centuries and at present, the mode of proceeding has been very inappropriate and unpractical, for partly the sulphur has been carried, with all the dross in it (which often goes up to forty per cent. or more), down to the sea-coast, and from there to Copenhagen; partly the method of cleaning has been so unsatisfactory and inappropriate, as to render the cost of cleaning the double of what is needful. It appears from the writings of the late Bishop Hannes Finsson, that in the time of King Frederick II., the sulphur was cleaned by means of train-oil, and this method has been continued down to the middle of the present century. This was sheer insanity, as it made the cleaning many times more expensive than was necessary, and than it was at the same time in other countries, where sulphur was then cleaned by means of sublimation. But this was not all, the grease moreover that got into the sulphur, rendered it unfit for powder manufacture, as may be seen from the writings of Mr Jón Eiríksson and others. Of late a new method has been hit upon in France, namely, to clean the sulphur by condensing hot steam, and as hot springs are to be found in the neighbourhood of all the Icelandic sulphur mines, this might now be turned to a good account for the sulphur trade; besides it would make the cost of transport by far less heavy, if the sulphur could be carried down to the sea-coast and marketed in a clean state.

It results from all this that Mr Lock’s offer is by no means so acceptable as some might suppose, for the local government (when established here) might, with the greatest facility, make the mines in the north many times more profitable than they would be if Mr Lock’s offer were to be accepted; moreover, the mines being at the disposal of the said government, a sufficient control may be had that they shall not be overworked or destroyed.

Were the Danish Government, therefore, to grant the request of the memorialist, as it is framed, this might easily, as the matter now stands, lead to suits of law between the Government itself and him, on the one hand, and between the said Government and some private landowner, on the other; for it is quite certain that the Government has no right whatever over the sulphur trade in all the localities pointed out by the memorialist. As clearly evinced by the late Bishop Hannes Finsson, the sulphur trade in Iceland can, in no way, be considered as a “regale;” and, accordingly, the Government ought to be very circumspect in this matter, lest it hurt the right of private landowners.

From the above-mentioned motives, it seems to the Committee that it is unadvisable to accept the offer of the memorialist, and, consequently, submits to the honourable “Althing” to dissuade the Government altogether from granting the concession requested by Mr Lock.

But as some members of the Committee have uttered the opinion that it might be considered as partiality, altogether to exclude foreigners from the sulphur trade in Iceland, provided that it could be sufficiently controlled, that this should neither be detrimental to the country in general, or to the mines in special, the Committee has thought it its duty, if this consideration should prevail in the honourable assembly, to submit a secondary or modified proposal, to the effect that it shall be requested of the Government to make the concession dependent on the following conditions:

Reykjavik, the 14th August 1869.

(Signed) Jón Hjaltalín. Jón Sigurðsson.
Chairman and Reporter, Benedikt Sveinsson.
Tryggir Gunnarsson.
Secretary, Grímur Thomsen.

In a most humble petition of the “Althing,” dated the 7th September 1869, addressed to His Majesty the King, the said assembly has altogether adopted the considerations and proposals of the Committee, as specified above.

Thus, in the first place, the “Althing” begs that the Government of His Majesty shall not accept Mr Lock’s offer to take lease of the sulphur mines in the north, but, on the contrary, refuse altogether to lease them out for the present; and in case His Majesty’s Government should not think fit to follow this advice, the “Althing,” in the second place, begs that the concession, if granted at all, may be made dependent on such conditions as are specified in the above report under heads 1 to 8.

The only difference between the conditions contained in the Report of the Committee and those in the petition of the “Althing” is: that under head 5 is added a clause to the effect that the lease-holder, besides the yearly rent, shall pay £10 a year to the clergyman of “Myvatns-thing” (or district of Myvatn).[205]

SECTION VI.

Sulphur in Sicily.

The kindness of Mr Consul Dennis of Palermo enables me to offer the following sketch of sulphur in Sicily.

Sulphur, it is well known, forms the most important branch of Sicilian commerce and exportation. Found, as in Iceland, in the blue marl which covers the central and the southern parts of the island, its area extends over 2600 square miles; fresh mines are always being discovered, and there is no symptom of exhaustion. In 1864 Sicily worked about 150 distinct diggings, whose annual yield exceeded 150,000 tons; in 1872 these figures rose to 550 and nearly 2,000,000 of quintals, or cantars. The latter contains 100 rotoli (each 0·7934 kilogrammes = 1¾ lb. Eng. avoir.), or 79·342 kilogrammes = 175 lbs. Eng. avoir. The richest in 1864 were those of Gallizze, Sommatine, and Favara: their respective yearly production showed 100,000, 80,000, and 60,000 quintals.

“The visitor to a sulphur mine,” says Mr Goodwin, late H.M.’s Consul, Palermo, “usually descends by a plane or staircase of high inclination to the first level, where he finds the half-naked miner picking sulphur from the rock with a huge and heavy tool; boys gathering the lumps together, and carrying them to the surface; and if water be there, the pump-men at work draining the mine. A similar scene meets his eye in the lower or second level. Above ground the sulphur is heaped up in piles, or fusing in kilns.” This passage well shows the superior facility of collecting sulphur in Iceland, where it lies in profusion upon the surface.

The ore thus obtained by fusion, after hardening into cakes, is carried to the coast by mules and asses, or by carts where there are roads. When the new network of railways covers the island, of course there will be greater facility for transport, but the expense will increase with equal proportion.

The number of hands in 1844 was estimated at 4400—i.e., 1300 pick-men, 2600 boys, 300 burners, and 200 clerks and others, to whom must be added 2600 carters, and 1000 wharfingers, raising the total to 8000, out of a population (January 1, 1862) of 2,391,802, inhabiting an area of 10,556 square miles.

The following translation, or rather an abbreviation of an article, “Lo Zolfo,” in the journal Il Commercio Siciliano (March 4, 1873), gives the latest statistics:

“The Committee of Industrial Inquiry, during its recent sessions at Palermo, Messina, and Catania, has collected valuable information upon the general conditions of the island, and upon its principal articles of commerce.

“We will begin with the chief branch, sulphur, whose exportation in the raw state during the last decade is shown by these figures:

In 1862, = 1,433,000 quintals = 250,775,000 Eng. lbs. avoir., or 125,387 tons of 2000 lbs.

“Sicily may be considered the monopolist of the trade in natural sulphur. Other solfataras exist in Croatia, Gallicia, and Poland; at Vaucluse in France, at Murcia in Spain, and in Egypt on the Red Sea;[206] but the production may be considered unimportant. Even the Zolfare of the Romagna cannot be compared with those of Sicily, as we see by the following figures of exportation:

“The annual production of the Romagna mines reaches only 120,000 quintals, including the less important diggings of Latera Scrofaro, Volterra, Grosseto, and Avellino. Sulphurous earth covers all the Sicilian provinces of Caltanissetta (Kal’ at el Nisá, the fort of women) and Girgenti,[208] and a part of Catania; whilst there are two isolated ridges (lembi) at Lercara de’ Freddi of Palermo, and at Ghibellina of Trapani. Those actually worked exceed 550.

“Experts greatly differ in opinion concerning the supply still remaining for exportation; we have determined that the diggings at the actual rate of exportation may last another hundred years.[209]

“Mining property, according to Sicilian law, belongs to the soil; and public opinion, as well as vested interests, would strenuously oppose the legislation which prevails in upper Italy. Yet the present conditions are highly unsatisfactory. Working upon a small scale in fractionary estates has diminished profits, and in many cases has caused mines to be abandoned. And the evil is ever increasing with the greater depths of the diggings where the inflow of water offers fresh difficulties. The only remedy would be the combination of small farmers, and the massing of the less important diggings under a single ‘cultivator.’

“As yet there are only two such associations; and their success in working properties so subdivided as not to pay, recommends them to societies and capitalists. One is at the Croce group of Lercara, where many owners have joined to subscribe for machinery to raise the mineral (macchina di eduzione). The other is at the Madore group, also of Lercara; here a considerable part of the very small diggings has of late been let to one and the same ‘cultivator.’ At Aggira, in the province of Catania, there are two bodies of workmen, called Gabellotti, because they unite to pay the annual Gabella (rent-price) to the proprietor. Of these the large and the more successful is at Assaro in the territory of Calascibetta; it has collected eighteen members who formerly injured one another by the mismanagement of the deep diggings and by jealous competition in securing hands. It is a civil society with unlimited liability; some of the associates receive only half shares, which reduces the whole number of actionnaires to sixteen. The works are directed by a resident member, and the exportation by another at Catania. It is a good instance of how valueless mines may be made to pay.

“But Sicily, under her present law, has to contend not only against the excessive division of property, but also with the normal conditions of leasing it. Of these, the most injurious is the short term of the Gabella, which averages six, and which seldom passes nine, years. This period, far too brief to permit the use of machinery, which, demanding unusual outlay, secures a much greater amount of production.

“The Gabella is generally defrayed in kind, that is, in sulphur at the mouth of the pit. Only one case of money payment is known; in 1868 the Prince of Sant ‘Elia, owner of the Zolfara di Grottacalda, leased his property to an anonymous French society, which, besides advances of capital à fonds perdus, can afford a high yearly rent. Before this agreement was concluded, the Gabelle did not exceed 30 per cent. of the total production; now they have risen to 36, and even to 40. But in this case longer leases were conceded.

“Several of the most important diggings have been let to French and English companies.

“Nothing can be ruder than the mode of working. Where the usual outward signs of sulphur present themselves, steeply inclined galleries called Buchi a Scale are driven, and the ore is brought to grass, without any of those preparatory measures which demand time and money, but which afterwards yield so well. The underground works are longitudinal tunnels following the inclination of the sulphur bank, and so cut by cross galleries that the prospect suggests a cavern supported by stalactite columns. The metal, detached with picks, is carried up the rude flights of stairs by children whose ages vary from seven to fifteen, and it is disposed about the pit mouth in a peculiar way, so as to facilitate measurement and distribution.

“When the bank is exhausted, the pillars are attacked, and thus the abandoned portions readily fall in. Accidents at times occur from the pressure of the ground, and these have often caused loss of life; they usually result from the negligence and ignorance of the overseers (Capimaestri), men who ignore everything but ‘rule of thumb.’ The Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce has wisely drawn out a project of mining laws, intended to secure the safety of the workmen by giving information to the directors, and by facilitating works of common interest to those concerned. It is evident that the State can remove the obstacles of sub-divided property, and that its duty is to look after the condition and the health of its subjects who are working 80 to 100 metres underground. Already the ministry has founded a superior school of mines at Palermo, and a second at the Zolfare of Caltanissetta. Let us hope that its term of office may last long enough for carrying out the instruction which alone can develop the sulphur supply of Sicily.

“Here, as elsewhere, the miners’ deadliest enemy is water. Of the various draining systems applied to the tunnels, the favourite is a long cut through the gallery, carried to the surface; and its principal merit is the saving of labour where wages are, as in this island, unusually high. But as the disposition of the ground often causes drains to become long and expensive works, there is a general use of pumps. The latter, till the last few years, were made of wood, and worked by hand; metal has become more common, but steam machinery is almost confined to the foreign concessions. As regards hauling up, shafts, or vertical wells, are almost unknown, although they have been strongly recommended for mines which have reached 50 metres, and a majori for those 100 metres deep.

“The metal, when brought to grass, is freed from its earthy matters principally by fusion; the system being founded upon the different degrees of caloric required to liquefy ore and dross. The operation most in vogue is that called dei Calcaroni: the heaps are covered with a layer of earth, and the heat is kept up chiefly by burning the sulphur itself. As those kilns are built upon inclined surfaces, the melted matter flows into wooden forms, where it cools and solidifies. The great loss, calculated at about one-third, has led to a variety of improvements; many have been adopted by private cultivators, few have been more extensively applied, and none can boast of complete success. The best hitherto produced is the so-called ‘vapour-fusion’ invented by a certain Sig. Thomas, and patented to the Società privilegiata per la fusione dello Zolfo in Italia, an anonymous body, whose headquarters are at Milan. The essential part of the process is to separate the ore by ordinary fuel, using for the transmission of caloric water-steam at the tension corresponding with the temperature which fuses sulphur. The Society established its apparatus at several mines, which paid a proportion of raw sulphur as bonus to the patentees; the remainder went to the ‘cultivator’ as remuneration for the mineral which he provided. Many were disused after a few months, the reason alleged being that they were of use only when applied to poor ores and gypseous gangues. Lercara is the only place which still works by ‘vapour-fusion.’

“The sulphur is exported either in lumps (ballate[210]), as it comes from the moulds, or it is refined to suit the intended object. That used for vines is ground before exportation; there are mills at all the ports, and the expense per quintal reaches only a few centimes. The powder is stored in sacks.

“Sicilian sulphur is sufficiently pure, as a rule, to be directly adopted in many chemical and industrial processes. For the pharmacy, however, for gunpowder, and for other specialties of technology, further refining is necessary. This operation is limited on the island by the high price of fuel; there are only two or three usines at Catania and at Porto Eurpedoch; moreover, these work irregularly, and on a small scale. Thus the refinery of Sicilian and Romagna sulphurs is carried on almost exclusively abroad.

“The principal exporting places are Catania, Licata, Palermo, Porto Eurpedoch, Terranova, and Messina. The following are the approximate figures of the respective harbours:

Palermo offers great advantages of freight by means of return colliers, but the distance of land transport is fatal to all but the sulphur of Lercara.[211] Messina exports only to the United States; sulphur forms the heavy cargo, the lighter being composed of rags, oil, and agrumi (sour fruits, lemons, etc.). But if there is little shipping of the mineral at Messina, she may be called the headquarters of the sulphur trade. Embarkation takes place at other harbours, though there are often badly protected roads; the only reason being their neighbourhood to the mines. Messina[212] urged upon the Committee a reduction of tariffs on the railways which connect it with Catania and Leonforte; but it would be hardly fair thus to protect one city when its rivals, besides being favoured by topographical position, are industriously improving their means of embarkation, and are making efforts to protect shipping during winter.

“At all the harbours there are merchants who make the export their specialty; they buy up the produce of the smaller mines, store it in their magazines, and ship it when the prices are most likely to pay. The principal ‘cultivators,’ however, have established their own deposits, and export on their own account without using middle-men.

“An intelligent merchant at Messina assured the Committee that two-thirds of the total consumption took place in winter and the rest in summer, whilst the exportation during the latter season is by far the greatest on account of the superior ease and safety of navigation. But, as the melting is mostly in September, the results to cultivators and to exporters are, that a large part of the year passes away in inaction, accumulating interest upon cargoes and seriously checking profits.

“It is greatly to be desired that some company with large capital should be formed to make advances of money, thus setting free the modest means of ‘cultivators’ and merchants, and enabling them to lay out more upon the mines.[213]

“The actual medium price (March 4, 1873) of sulphur in the Sicilian ports is represented by twelve lire (or francs) per quintal; and the following are the approximate items which make up this figure:

“After a few years, when the network of railways shall have been finished, when embarkation is improved, and perhaps when the production is rendered easier and safer, we may hope to see the figure L.12 fall to L.11, and even to L.10.50.

“The Committee has hitherto considered only the produce of Sicily per se, and this appears the place to notice its future production and its employment in the general commerce of the world. Many have indulged in exaggerated hopes and fears upon this subject. While some fear that our mineral may be superseded by other substances, others hope that the reduced cost of Sicilian sulphur may enable it to serve the purposes for which pyrites are now generally used.

“An attentive examination of the question proves that, in the actual state of industry, sulphur and pyrites have nothing to fear from each other.

“Several industries, especially the manufactures of sulphuric acid, do not require pure sulphur in the free state; they find it more economical to extract that contained in metallic sulphures, especially in iron pyrites. On the other hand, it is well known that extracting pure sulphur from the sulphures and manufacturing sulphuric acid from pure sulphur are practically impossible; the former could never contend against the Sicilian mines, nor can the latter rival the cheap produce of pyrites. As the uses of the two are different, so will be their sources of supply; and it is hard to believe that any change of price can cause concurrence between the two.[215]

“A fair proof is the concurrent development of both articles. Between 1832 and 1872 the produce of the Sicilian mines has quadrupled; and this was exactly the time when pyrites began to be used, and successfully took their place in the manufacture of sulphuric acid.

“These considerations should silence the arguments which contend for the abolition of export duties upon sulphur, in order to make it compete with pyrites. The State draws an annual revenue of some two million lire (2,000,000 francs = £80,000); and it cannot be expected to yield so legitimate a source of income, until at least assured by competent persons that the impost is a weight upon, and a damage to, Italian industry and commerce.”

To this very fair report Mr Consul Dennis adds: “I have no notion that the supply of Sicilian sulphur is nearly exhausted; more deposits are known than can be worked. There are many spots in the heart of the island which abound in the mineral, but it must lie useless, for as yet there are no means of conveying it to the coast for shipment. The export of sulphur has been increasing greatly, it is true, from 100,000 tons (= £400,000) in 1855 to 200,000 (= £1,000,000) in 1871, but the export is regulated rather by the demand in foreign markets than by the supply. The large quantity made from iron pyrites of late years in many European countries has, of course, much lowered the demand on Sicily. In 1871 the quantities fell to 180,000 tons (= £956,000), but in 1872 they rallied to 192,000 tons. This quantity was thus distributed:

“I should remark that the quantities stated above are from the official returns of the custom-house; they are probably understated to the extent of 25 to 50 per cent., few exporters declaring the full quantity or value, and the Doganieri having scant interest to verify the declarations. The amount exported last year (1873) was probably not much under 300,000 tons.

“The great rise of prices in the necessaries of life of late years, and the increased demand for labour, consequent on the construction of railways, harbours, and other public works, have doubled the price of sulphur in Sicily. But when the network of railways with which it is proposed to intersect the island is completed, when the country roads are laid out to feed them, and when the ports of Girgenti, Licata, and Catania, are enlarged and deepened, so as to accommodate vessels of large size, then it will soon be ascertained what treasures of sulphur Sicily still contains.”

In conclusion I would observe that this age of national armies and bloated armaments is not likely to allow decline in the use and the value of sulphur, and that nothing can be more unwise than to rely upon a single source of supply, Sicily, which might at any time be closed to us by a Continental war.

Richard F. Burton.

Note on the Compagnie Soufrière of the Red Sea.

Schweinfurth (“Heart of Africa”), when passing down the Red Sea, speaks of the Sulphur Company at Guirsah. Its concession extends over 160 miles of coast southwards from Cape Seid. The ore is obtained from gypseous schiste; and all the fresh water for the workmen, of whom there are over 300, must be brought from the Nile.

I need hardly remark that if sulphur is found to pay under these circumstances, we may expect great things from Iceland.

SECTION VII.

Sulphur in Transylvania.

According to Mr Charles Boner (p. 312, “Transylvania: its Products and its People,” London: Longmans, 1865), the whole district round Büdös contains rich deposits of sulphur; and yet Hungary draws her supplies from the Papal States and Sicily; yielding, as the latter has hitherto done, a million and a half hundredweights per annum. So with sulphuric acid which has played so important a part in raising the industry of Europe to its present state. A single commercial house in Kronstadt employs nearly 300 cwts., and would probably use more were its price not so high. The sulphuric acid factory at Hermannstadt, the only one in the province, uses 300 to 400 cwts. annually. The custom-house returns for Transylvania vary from 300 cwts. to 3000 cwts., as the article comes sometimes from Trieste, sometimes from Vienna, where the duty has already been paid. In 1863, the amount of sulphur produced in the Austrian monarchy was 35,085 cwts., at an average price of 6fl. 44kr. per cwt. The consumption has regularly augmented owing to the increase in the number of soda factories: in 1858, the import from foreign states was 71,337 cwts.; in 1859, it was 86,673. Mr Boner has profited in the following remarks by two reports made by M. Brem, director of a chemical factory at Hermannstadt, and by Dr F. Schur, professor at Kronstadt:

“The sulphur-deposits are situated at the south and west of Büdös,[217] and not on the mountain itself. The places are Kis Soosmezö, also Vontala Feje Búlványos, and a little above the chalet Gál András. Thirty different diggings were undertaken in a circuit of at least eighteen miles; but the extent of the ground where the deposits are, is more than three times this size. The deposits run in unequal strata of from one to nine inches under the mould, which varies in thickness from one to three feet. The soil was everywhere saturated with sulphur, and in this permeated earth pieces of pure sulphur were found. They were of pale-yellow colour, fine-grained, and with a strong smell of sulphuretted hydrogen. Here and there only was a sort found with a certain hardness (cohesion), and even this, when dried, became brittle and ticturable. All this shows that the mineral is a true volcanic sulphur, and that the deposits will continue as long as the inner activity of Mount Büdös lasts. A careful analysis gives as result, in the earth taken in one place, 63·96 per cent.; in a second spot, 61·00 per cent; and in a third, 41·01 per cent. of sulphur.” [218]

“The district whence the earth was taken is a space of 16,000,000 square fathoms. Allowing for interruptions in the deposits, and taking these at an average thickness of three inches instead of nine, 200 lbs. of sulphur might be obtained from every square fathom, even if we suppose the earth to contain only 50 per cent. of the mineral. But we have seen that it has 61 per cent., and, in some cases, nearly 64 per cent. of sulphur. Continuing the calculation, the district would contain 16,000,000 cwts. of the precious commodity. Ten years ago, raw sulphur from Sicily and the Papal States (viâ Trieste) cost, in Hermannstadt, 9½ florins per cwt. Competent authorities are of opinion that it might be produced here for 5 florins per cwt., inclusive of the carriage from Büdös to Kronstadt. Sulphur costs more than this in the places where it is produced in Poland, Slavonia, and Bohemia. Every year the demand for the article increases, for almost each year brings with it new appliances, and shows how indispensably necessary it is in the daily life of civilised communities. We all know what are the profits arising from chemical fabrications; and I think the facts here given will hardly fail to attract the attention of those who are willing to turn their knowledge and spirit of enterprise to account. For Transylvania at large, but for Kronstadt especially, it would be of the greatest advantage to obtain the article in question at a cheaper rate; for not only might undertakings, which, as yet, are but projects, be called into existence, but others already thriving be considerably enlarged.”

SECTION VIII.

Extracted from “Adventures and Researches among the Andaman Islanders.” By Frederic J. Mouat, M.D., F.R.C.S., etc., etc., etc. Hurst & Blackett, Publishers, London, 1863.

The sulphur on the top of the cone occurs in such quantity in the cracks and fissures, often lining them to the thickness of more than half-an-inch, that the question naturally arises whether the sulphur could not be worked with advantage.

Although in the immediate neighbourhood of the crater, where the fissures are numerous, the ground seems to be completely penetrated with sulphur; this is so evident in other parts, only a few feet lower, where the surface is unbroken. There are, however, some reasons which seem to promise that a search might be successful. In eruptive cones, like that of Barren Island, there is always a central tube or passage, connecting the vent in the crater with the volcanic action in the interior. In this tube the sulphur, generally in combination with hydrogen, rises in company with the watery vapour, and is partly deposited in the fissures and interstices of the earth near the vent, the remainder escaping through the apertures.

If in the present case we admit the sensible heat of the ground of the upper third of the cone to be principally due to the condensation of steam—a process of which we have abundant evidence in the stream of hot water rushing out from underneath the cold lava—it is not improbable that the whole of the upper part of the interior of the cone is intersected with spaces and fissures filled with steam and sulphurous vapour, these being sufficiently near the surface to permit the heat to penetrate. It is therefore not unlikely that at a moderate depth we should find sulphur saturating the volcanic sand that covers the outside of the cone.

I only speak of the outside, as we may conclude from the evidence we have in the rocks of lava in the crater, and those bulging out on the side, that the structure of the cone is supported by solid rock nearly to its summit, the ashes covering it only superficially.

From what has been said above, the probability of sulphur being found near the surface, disposed in such a way as to allow of its being profitably exhausted, will depend on the following conditions:

First, That the communication of the central canal, through which the vapours rise, with its outlets, be effected not through a few large but through many and smaller passages, distributed throughout the thickness of the upper part of the cone.

Second, That some of these passages communicate with the loose cover of ashes and stones which envelops the rocky support of the cone.

Although I have mentioned some facts which seem to indicate the existence of such favourable conditions, and which are moreover strengthened by an observation by Captain Campbell, who saw vapour issuing, and sulphur being deposited near a rocky shoulder, about two-thirds of the height, on the eastern descent of the cone; still their presence can only be ascertained satisfactorily by experimental digging....

If a preliminary experiment should make it appear advantageous to work the cone regularly, the material about the apex, after being exhausted of the sulphur that is present, could, by blasting and other operations, be disposed in such a way as to direct the jets of vapour in the most convenient manner through uncharged portions of ground. If the sulphur should aggregate in periods of not too long duration, it would be possible to carry on the work of filling up new ground on one side, and taking away saturated earth on the other at the same time—so that, after working round the whole circumference, the earth that had been first put on would be ready to be taken away.

If the periods should prove too long to allow the work permanently to be carried on, an interval of time might be allowed to pass before resuming operations.

Water for the labourers could always be obtained from the warm spring at the entrance of the island.

The distilling, or melting, of sulphur, to separate it from adherent earth, is a matter of comparatively little expense or trouble. If the sulphur be abundant, it might be effected as in Sicily, by using a part of it as fuel. It is not necessary to do it on the spot; it might be done at any place where bricks and fuel are cheap.