WORKSHOPS.
In addition to the ordinary blacksmithy, which is a necessity, the modern tendency has been to elaborate the shops on mines to cover machine-work, pattern-making and foundry-work, in order that delays may be minimized by quick repairs. To provide, however, for such contingencies a staff of men must be kept larger than the demand of average requirements. The result is an effort to provide jobs or to do work extravagantly or unnecessarily well. In general, it is an easy spot for fungi to start growing on the administration, and if custom repair shops are available at all, mine shops can be easily overdone.
A number of machines are now in use for sharpening drills. Machine-sharpening is much cheaper than hand-work, although the drills thus sharpened are rather less efficient owing to the difficulty of tempering them to the same nicety; however, the net results are in favor of the machines.