Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

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296 The Real Estate Record April 1,1882 to me there will be a great demand for houses ranging in price from §8,000 to $30,000 during the coming summer and autumn, as there is a good deal of money afloat just now, and neai'ly every¬ body prefers, when able, to purchase a home of his own to paying rent, which is always sub¬ ject to an advance. There are some persons who think that those in want of this class of realty will go to Brooklyn to live upon the completion of the new bridge, but I am not among the nujn- ber, for the vast majority of persons want to reside on Manhattan Island, and I believe they will prefer going into the annexed district to going to Brooklyn, and, again, it is by no means settled that the Brooklyn bridge, if completed, will be able to sustain any great amount of travel. It is somewhat strange that there has been so little building in the ' quadrilat¬ eral' north of One Hundred and Tenth street, and west of Fifth avenue, or rather in the lower portion of it, but the fact that there has been so little building there is peculiarly favorable to that locality, for I have often noticed that in any section of the city it is the property last built upon that holds the handsomest buildings, If a street is built up with tenements, those last erected contain more improvements than those previously built, so when the tide of building once sets in in this district, I believe the improve¬ ments will be of a substantial and ornamental character." MINING INFORMATION. Professor Rossiter Raymond is authority for the statement that the recent developments in the Chrysolite mine are really very promising. From the'details he gives it would really seem as if a second contact had been discovered in the Vulture property. The uninitiated will under¬ stand that ore bodies are usually found in fissures on mountains or their sides which run down into the earth. But the Leadville deposits have been called "fissures on their backs,"that is to say, the ore has been found in deposits or layers like coal, and is generally parallel with the surface of the earth. The mining in Leadville is so far shallow, aud only one layer has been found. These developments in the Chrysolite look as if there might be another layer, and if so the potential values of the Leadville mines are quadrupled. The Chrysolite management, however, discourages any extravagant es^pecta- tions, and Prof. Raymond warns the stockholders against any boom in Chrysolite. If this mine had the advantage of the present excellent man¬ agement from the start, what a splendid praperty it would have been; but its first managers were a pack of swindling rascals. The same scoundrels have had the curious luck of getting possession of some properties in New Mexico which are said to be really good, to promise, indeed, splendidly. But the reputation of the manipulators is so bad that they can get no one to trust them and so they will soon probably try to cheat one another. Our readers will bear witness that in these columns we have generally been bearish on all mining properties. In nine cases in ten the investor looses his money who risks it in mining shares. But we have said all along that there were certain districts in which there are great possibilities. One of them is the Bodie. Bul¬ wer, for instance, looks like a good "proposi¬ tion," as it is termed on the west coast. It has a mill worth $150,000, it has a surplus of nearly 8100,000 in the treasury and §35,000 worth of material. Its net income is over §8,000 a month. Whether the Standard mine continues or not Bulwer will always be a great customs mill in a growing district; then there is always a possi- biUty of discovering something in the mine, which in times past yielded liberally. The Standard has yielded nearly §8,000,000 in six years and its officers declare that it has three years dividends in sight. Bodie is a mine of great possibilities. Mono has only a stock value. The Noondays may yet see very high figures, for the developments are very important and it has a fine mill. Oro, Paris and Concordia will sometime be selling for very high figures. The Bodie district is in its infancy and has a verj promising future. About half the mines capital¬ ized, however, are worthless. It is in contem¬ plation to sink a great shaft far to the east, at the joint expense of the Standard, Tioga and Bodie. The Miner Boy is a good mine. Such is the in¬ formation given by a trustworthy person lately from Colorado. The listiug of the stock was the ruining of the property, as the sharps who had it in charge thought more of the stock deal than of the development of the mine.- It is the old story of a good mine tampered with by rascals to swindle the public. But the mine is there and it will be developed someday, but whether it will be worth anything to the owners of the stock is the ques¬ tion. Calaveras is selling higher, due to the report that the reservoir is full and that the hydraulic works are in play upon the great beds of gold- bearing gravel. Now that this property it worth something it is selling for $150,000. When it was not intrinsically worth one-third as much it com¬ manded $2 a share on 500,000 shares. The reports from the Bodie mine continue very good, and the price of the stock keeps advancing on apparent merit. They are sinVing a winze in a vein of ore in the old workings, which runs as high as $500 and $600 a ton. This vein has been uncovered at a length of 100 feet, and the winzej is down over 20 feet. Then the east cross cut from the 800 foot level is liable at any time to strike a rich ore body, the same the shaft went through on the 700 foot level. The Bobtail mine, near Central City, has aban¬ doned its lower workings, as the ore is too lean and the cost of sinking the water too heavy. But it is developing several above ground properties 500 feet below the top of the mountain, yet above the tunnel at Black Hawk. These may, in time, amount to something. The Union Pacific is do¬ ing what it can to ruin the mines in Gilpin County by its heavy freight charges. It de¬ mands $3 a ton for coal carried from Denver to Black Hawk, a distance of less than forty miles. The Big Pittsburg people are expecting good news, but there is nothing as yet to warrant the stock being quoted at its present figures. The property is still heavily in debt. The movement in Little Chief is not from devel¬ opment, but from the desire of a certain part of the stockholders to change, the management. There is some money to be divided in the treasury, after the disbureement of which tho mine will probably be abandaned. CISTERN WATER. We have received frequent inquiries regarding the use of cistern water for drinking purposes No general reply can be given that will hold good mall eases. Under certain conditions cistern water is found to be very pure, and excepting tor the flat, insipid taste, is preferable to mos7 well water. First, then, in considerinff w hethfr cistern water is fit to drink, we ask whether the roof on which it falls is of tin, woo I, Ipad -t slate. Are any injurious metals emplnv^d for gutters or leaders? Is the house surrounded hv overhanging trees, from which the leave.^ collect in the gutters and are washed into the cistern ? Do pigeons or fowls frequent the roof, aud s-.it It? For these and other reasons it is not advis-ible to permit the first washings of the roof to enter the cistern. The cistern itself should he well made,carefully cemented,and thoroughly cleansed at least every two years. It should have f ,•< p access of pure air, not the air of a cellar, and ihe pump-pipe should not reach too near the bottom so as to stir up the sediment. It is well to throw into the cistern from time to time a p^ck of freshly burnt charcoal. One corner of the cis¬ tern may be walled off with porous brick, so as to strain the water that passes through, and the pump-pipe may be placed within this little cell Lead pipe must under no circumstances be placed m a cistern, because lead is attacked by soft water, and here both exterior and interior are exposed to its action. Iron is less objectionable,' but It is preferable to have it coated within and without with asphalt varnish, or, better yet, with india-rubber. When cistern water acquires a bad smell, stop using it, except for cooking or making tea. If It is during the dry season, when you cannot afford to pump it out and cleanse ifc, try the addition of charcoal and forcing air through it. Usterns out not to be in close proximity to drains and cess-pools, although they are much saf er than wells simUarly situated.—.Bosion, Journal of Gheimstry. ' .....■ ■ ■ ... r j THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE. Mr. W. A. Roebliiig, Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge, states in a recent report, in giving a detailed account of what has been done to strengthen the superstructure, that the aggre¬ gate strength of the wire composing each of the four cables, has been estimated to be 12,300 tons (of 2,00') pounds) and the elastic limit two-thirds of-that amount—namely, 8,200 tons. ,Mr. Roeb- ling gives the total weight of the bridge, includ¬ ing the transitory load, as 17,780 tons, from an¬ chorage to anchorage—3,460 feet. Mr. Roebling adds: "It being the wish of the board, as shown by the resolution annexed to the report of the committee, of which Mr. Kinsella was chair¬ man, on the 6th of May, 1878, that the bridge fehould be adequate to the passage of the Pullman car, it became incumbent upon me to provide the necessary truss power with which to transfer the concentrated loads and to check the increased deformation of the cables resulting therefrom." He explains in great detail what he has accom¬ plished, and finishes the report with the words: "The cables are strong enough to pull up the two anchorages."—Manufacturer and Builder. THE ASSESSMENT COMMISSION. New York, March 30. To the Editor of The Real Estate Recobd: I desire to call attention through your columns to the tardy action of the Assessment Com¬ mission. Instead of flnishing their labors in six months they: have already been granted two extensions of six months each. As there are but three kinds of work to be considered, viz: i-egu- lating, paving and grading, the labors of the Commission should be easily finished up. While the Commissioners are drawing $3,000 per annum, the unfortunate property owner, whose old assessments are still unacted upon, have their property so tied up that they can neither con- viently sell or improve their holdings. One of the Sufferers. LIABILITY OF LANDLORDS. Judge Barnard has decided, in the case of Mary McGuire against William Spence, that; the fact of property being occupied by tenants does not relieve the owners from liability from damages to life or limb that may result from any negli¬ gence upon their part, in not providing all proper precautions for the safety of foot passengers. It is interesting, and it may be instructive to some, to learn that certain kihds of wood, al¬ though of great durability in themselves, act upon each other in such a way as to produce mutual destruction. Experiments with cypress and walnut, abd cypress and cedar, prove that they will rot each other while joined together, but on separation the rot will cease, and the timbers reuiai'i perfectly sound for a long period. —Manufacturers^ Gazette. OUT kmm THE BUILDERS. R. Rosenstock is at work on the plans for ten four- story brown stone flats, 29x77x100, to be erected on the southwest and northwest corners of One Hundred and Twenty-flrst str<-et and Fourth avenue, five on each corner. Owner, Lotiie L. Dean. Cost, ShiO.OOO. Mr. Ro.senstock has also prepared plans, for the same owner, for the erection of six three-story brown stone houses on the north side of One Hundred and Twenty- flrst street, 10') feet west of Fourth avenue. They will be 14x6) each, and cost, $80,000. J. G. Houston propo.sea to erect six four-storj brown stone flats on the northwest corner of Oue Hundred and Twenty-third street and Fourth avenue. Tliere will be one 20x76, and four 30x70, fronting on the street, and one ou the avenue 81x55. The architect is R. Roaen.stock, and the cost of the improvement will be$l^,noo. Messrs. Carter & Ferdon have the plans in hand for a Gothic cottage, 30x38. with an extension, to be built at MoUnt Vernon by Mrs. Q. R. Richardson, at a cost of $4,000. The same architects are preparing plans fof a brick store, 30x45, for John .J. Fay, to be erected at the same place at a cost of $3,000. Mr. Moran proposes to build an extension and con¬ servatory to his house in One Hundred and Twentieth street, between First and Second avenues. Architects, Carter & Ferdon. G. Robinson, Jr., is preparing plans for the erection of fl.ve four-story brick and brown stone residences on the southwest corner of One Hundred and Twenty- seventh street and Madison avenue. These houses wiU be first class in eVery particular, and will ba of various dimensions, ranging, from 18 to 22 feet front, with a uniform depth of 50 feet and an extension of 12 feet. Owner, James Floy. Cost, $100,000. F. Schuck proposes to build three flve-story [flat houses on the north side Fifty-seventh street, 175 east Third avenue. They will be 26x61.6x100.5 each. Architect, John Brandt. Victor B. Dispiirris will build a seven-story apart¬ ment li9U?e, 53x71,5x75.5, on the southwest corner of