THE WEST SHORE.
203
first-class brands of which are delivered in San Fran
cisco, and even in Portland, fur littln nver IfJO.OO nnr
ton. The works have been in operation about ton of the
twenty years that have elapsed nine their completion,
Hhil have linilortrntiA mnnv nliinwtna Tim Avnrnirn Ml.
B j . - - " o
nuul nrodnction dnrintr Min twriiuiu nf Aollvitv liiut been
about fifteen hundred tons, worth au average of about
per ton. ior example, there were fourteen hun
dred and sixty-five tons, worth t.r.!2!l00. shiooed in
the year ending June 30, 18811, and for the next year,
fifteen hundred and fortv tons, valued at $'2'.).'274.00.
Oregon does not apjwar in tho census statistics of 1870
as a producer of iron, but in 18S0 the state ( moaning, of
course, the Oswego furnace) is crediUnl with au output
of thirtv-two hundred tons, which entitles Oreuon to
rank as the twontv-eiuhrh state of the Union in point of
production of iron. It may not le amiss U remark that
the total product of the United States for the same year
was seven million two hundred and sixty-five thousaud
one hundred and forty tons.
The decline in the nrice of iron and steel has been
universal, charcoal iron keeping pace with it, so that tho
metal from Osweiro sells for aliout half what it com
manded twolve years ago whou tho above estimate of
cost was made. But as iron has fallen so, too, has the
cost of producing it Labor is somewhat cheaper, tho
ore can not possibly cost half as much as there stated,
eh-ircottl in laree ouantities can certainly l procured
for half of nine cents per bushel, and limestone, costing
0 00 ner ton in 1874. was but i.00 ill 1870, and could
probably be furuiBhed now at a dollar or Uo less, lle
ui.1..a Mm nroducinu Dowers of tho plant have been
largely increased in late years until it is now regarded
as one of the lest equipH and most effectivo establish
mania 111 Mia country. Its nrodiict is quoted now in Hun
i'21.00 oer ton. while various brands of
S,h.h tiir. bronifht as ballast in wleat shiiw bring from
$19.00 to rilOO per ton. It apisnf Uiat tho Oswego
pig does not have the advantage of Wing made from a
mixture of ores in scientifically proportiomxl charges,
ilnents are of known oomixwitiou as deter-
mined by chemical analysis-in other words, chemis
,,,iu,iwlmit rK)wers are not brought to loar upon
i,o ,.lnm nf making the best out of whatever materi-
als are at hand at Oswego. It is thought by some that
I. a tnnmtntlrt mill Orft of Gold Hill, Jackson county,
might lie prof.Ud.ly shipH for reduction with the lime-
stone of Clackamas county, tne uont n.u m "'k
of exceptional purity. The exHriment is well worth
It. O. LANO.
vryiiiij.
HEALTHFUL INFLUENCE OF BATHINO.
Hathing for healUi an.l comfort is a practice long
tri.nl, sanctioned by many nations, and condemned by
none. The ancient Grecians and Itomans, onoe the
i l-.th nhvsical and nienUl suieriority,
L i Utile villus very exis-novo public Irntlis
connected with their gymi,aiuui and libraries, u4 to
all sutwequent agea able and intelligent people have eon
tinned this valuable appliance, until now the letter class
of Europeans deem the absence of a well equipped liatli
rmiiu iu auy residence almost a disgrace to the owner.
It is said " the bath is common in turkey, r.gypt ami
Pernio, aniono all classes, from the crowned head to the
poorest peasant" And "in all Russia, Finland, Upland,
Sweeden and Norway, no hut is so poor as U lie tiesti
tuto of a family bath." To these proofs of the utility of
bathing, science adds volumes of explanatory items of
fact
"The skin of the human Isxly is made up, to a largo
extent 't excretory and secretory glands, of minute
blood vessels and million of branches of the prinoiml
nerves of sensation. In Wilson " Treatise on 1 lealiny
Skin," we are told there are about two thousand eight
hundred jxires to the square inch of surface, and on tho
entire body several millions, which are but tne owning
into miles of minute tubing, little channels or intercourse
between the outer world and inner life. Is anything
unhealthy lw retained iu these ohannels, and disease and
death results. To keep them free to act there is nothing
equal to complete immersion in water of a temperature
varied to auit the temperament and condition of differ-
cut persons and different seasons in lite, whether coin,
tepid, warm or comparatively hot, as cxcrionce ami
good judgment may suggest, tho immersion being at
tended or followed by friction or running.
People in every variety of business vocation, sun in
almost every condition of life, have rejieaUKlly given tes.
timony to the healthful ami happy results of approprl-
ate bathing. Gardeners, florists, horticulturist, farm
ers, tillers of the soil, need a bath, ('rude earth limy
nourish vegetation, but not man, and when mixed with
glutinous inspiration it forms an unhealthy, aim.mi
poisonous oomK.und, which calls for the cleansing of
feet of the lsitli. The engineer, brickmaker, machinist,
housebuilder, blacksmith, shoemaker, saddler, harm-
moker, every kind of mechanic needs a Uth. I Just ami
grease may not injure their work, but they do not lm
prove the aptMarsnce or health of any person, and they
effectually clog tho ores or the skin. Ail moorers cum
in contact more or less, with unclean suUtane., and
all of them should have access to a ooiivi.ient bath; ami
there is another class of men who nowi a imiu, n imu.i.
for iU happy effect on their nerve as i..r m,i
liness; the studious scholar, the prof.-sional teacher,
the magiHlrate, the serilH tho clergyman, the dealer hi
fabric, all ii.d.s.r workers, and especially mental
workers, need not only the cl.-ansing but Invigorating
and happifyiug elTm-U of a g.ssl Imth. And Iwt, but
not least Ip ' ,,i"h ,,tU'n "M'IH"W 'r
least exiectt as In cholera, cuoiera iu""h i 7
. 1 . . .i ll i- . ..1 ..I.I.. ly.rtnliln liatli
ami numisiriess ouier Muini-, r""""' "',,, :
which require but little water, ready jujl at the right
moment may aavo some precious life, r inally, every
house should contain convenient i ""K -n-
au.l every mcmW of tho househo d shouM use it at
blastonci a week. A g-ssl, ,,r5ticl ,;ortble ths
are a-lvertis.l for sale at a merely nominal oriee, no one
net.l be without o nteiui an itrni:i.', "" " : ,
iu health m inestimable m sicnuwsv-iiwom