“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.