───────────┬────────┬───────┬─────────────────────┬───────────────────── │ │ │ HAND ROASTERS │ BROWN-O’HARRA │ │ │ │ MECHANICAL FURNACES │ TOTAL │ TONS ├──────┬──────┬───────┼──────┬──────┬─────── Month │ TONS │ROASTED│LABOR │ COAL │GENERAL│LABOR │COAL │GENERAL │ROASTED │PER DAY│ $ │ $ │EXPENSE│ $ │ $ │EXPENSE │ │ │ │ │ $ │ │ │ $ ───────────┼────────┼───────┼──────┼──────┼───────┼──────┼──────┼─────── January │ 5,691 │ 184 │ 1.47 │ 0.53 │ 0.80 │ 0.92 │ 0.80 │ 1.32 February │ 5,677 │ 203 │ 1.44 │ 0.44 │ 0.99 │ 0.72 │ 0.58 │ 1.01 March │ 5,821 │ 188 │ 1.51 │ 0.53 │ 0.64 │ 0.76 │ 0.64 │ 0.62 April │ 5,472 │ 182 │ 1.47 │ 0.47 │ 0.71 │ 0.80 │ 0.69 │ 0.87 May │ 5,444 │ 176 │ 1.55 │ 0.51 │ 0.84 │ 0.80 │ 0.69 │ 0.81 June │ 4,859 │ 162 │ 1.58 │ 0.48 │ 0.71 │ 0.90 │ 0.68 │ 1.17 July │ 5,691 │ 184 │ 1.59 │ 0.48 │ 0.75 │ 0.72 │ 0.56 │ 0.64 August │ 5,910 │ 191 │ 1.55 │ 0.46 │ 0.83 │ 0.72 │ 0.55 │ 0.75 September │ 5,677 │ 189 │ 1.55 │ 0.45 │ 0.74 │ 0.73 │ 0.55 │ 0.67 October │ 6,254 │ 202 │ 1.48 │ 0.49 │ 0.72 │ 0.65 │ 0.50 │ 0.60 November │ 6,291 │ 213 │ 1.42 │ 0.47 │ 0.80 │ 0.66 │ 0.53 │ 0.70 December │ 5,874 │ 198 │ 1.45 │ 0.48 │ 0.78 │ 0.79 │ 0.63 │ 0.81 ├────────┼───────┼──────┼──────┼───────┼──────┼──────┼─────── Average │ │ │ 1.50 │ 0.48 │ 0.77 │ 0.76 │ 0.62 │ 0.83 Total │ │ │ │ │ 2.75 │ │ │ 2.21 ───────────┴────────┴───────┴──────┴──────┴───────┴──────┴──────┴─────── _Cost of Smelting._—The lead-ore mixtures of the United States, in addition to lead, contain gold, silver and generally copper, and are treated to save these metals. The total cost of smelting is made up of a large number of items. The questions of locality and transportation, fuel, fluxes and labor are the principal factors, to which must be added the handling of the material to and from the furnace; the furnace itself, its size, shape, and method of smelting, the volume and pressure of blast, etc. The following table of costs, from 1887 to 1898, shows in a general way the great advance that has been made in the development of smelting, and the consequent reduction in cost per ton of ore treated: AVERAGE COST OF SMELTING, PER TON 1887 $4.644 1888 4.530 1889 4.480 1890 4.374 1891 4.170 1892 4.906 1893 3.375 1894 3.029 1895 2.786 1896 2.750 1897 2.520 1898 2.260 In connection with this table of smelting cost should be considered the changes developed during the interval 1887-1889, outlined as follows: CONDITIONS OF SMELTING IN 1886 AND 1899 CONTRASTED TO SHOW THE PROGRESS OF DEVELOPMENT