Volume 12 (1866) (428 pages)

232 Gie Wining and Scientific Yreas, Wining aud Scientific Press. Web DAV ER) cceemtentetr eer seccsvscsr.scc +e SENIOR EDITOR. 0. W. MM, SMITH. WwW. B. EWER. A. T. DEWEY, DEWHLY & CoO. Publishers. Orrice—No. 605 Clay street, corner of Satisome, 2d floor. Perms of Subscription: One oopy, per annum, Inadvanee;..01 One aan six months, in adv: ia a+ 085 00 fee 0 ‘ance, aan Por sale by Carriers and Newsdealets. a6 ¥t fs Impossible for editors to know ate the merits and demerits of their correspondence, consequently the reader must not reccive the opinions of our contributors ag ourown. Intelilgent diseussion is invited upon all sides and the evidence of any error which may appear will be re ceivod In friendsbip and treated with respect. Americnn nnd Forelen Patents.—Letters Patent for Inventors can be secured in the United States and forelgit countries throuzh the Mining any Scientiric Press PATENT Acency. We offer applicants reasonable terms, and they can rest assured of a strict compilanee with our obligations, and afalthfui performance of allcontracts. For reference, we wili furnish the names of numerous parties for whom we have obtalned patents during the past two years. Vavorable to Inventors.—Persons holding new {nventions ot machinery and important improvements, can have the same illustrated and expiained in the Misina ann Sciextwic Press, free of charge, ifin our judgment the diseovery Is one of real merit, and of suifielent interest to our readers to warrant pubilcation. Payment in Advance.---This paper will not be sent tosubsertbers beyond tiie term pald for. The publishers well know that a good journal cannot be suatained on the oredit system. Mr, Wm. KR. Brndshaw, is our Special Correspond@ nt and Traveitng Agent, Ail favorsor asststance rendercd him in hls progress tbrough the country in behalf of our journal, will be duly acknowledged. San Francisco, Jan Ist, 1866. Mr, A. ©. Knox, is our fully authorized Traveling Agent, and all subscriptions, or other favors extended to him, will be duly acknowledged at this office. San Francisco, Jan 11th, 1866, Mr. ¥. N. Hudsen, 1s authorized to solicit subscriptions, advertising, etc., for the Mtnine anv ScienviFio Press, in San Francisco, and to receipt tor the same. a een San Francisco: Saturday Morning, April 14, 1866. Look Out for Illegal Advertising! All assessments of corporatioos levied on, or subsequent to, March 26tb, are governed by the new law approved on that day. We notice that some of our importaut mining companies are advertising their assessments illegally in tbe daily and weekly press of this State. As the new law is more liberal iu its provisions for advertising than tha Act of 1864, these companies have yet time to retrace their steps and begin anew and right. We speak of the matter for tbe benefit of all concerned. We have prepared a set of correct blank forms for ndvertising assessments. which we furnish free on application at nnr office, together with rules for advertising and copies of the new law. Tudicious Resolutions, Several nf our most substantial and judiciously managed mining corporations have passed resolutions, since the approval of the new asscesment law, requiring all notice of assessments and sales to be published in the Mryine anp Scrertirie Press, the only thorough (daily or weekly) mining journal on this coast. Our efforts to concentrate all mining advertisementsin one paper, for the economical convenience of charebolders and assessment payers, are meeting with decidcd success. ‘Those who helieve in eupporting the mining cause, should bear our paper in mind, and hring up this subject at the next trustee or ehareholders’ meeting. San Fraucisco, April 7th, 1866. Mining Laws of 1866. It ie our intention to issue, in cheap pamphiet form, previous to May lst, a full 20d correct copy of all laws relating to mining adopted hy tbe California and Nevada State Legislatures of 1866. Some of these Acts are of vital importance to every citizen interested in mining.— April ist, 1866. Atum Mines—The Clear Lake Times tells of the discovery of an alum nine, or deposit of alum, in that region. A correspondent writes to the Times: “I have about one pound of prre alum, beautitully crystalized, obtained from tbe imperfect wasbing of six or seven pounds of aluminous clay, which was taken froin the Kelsey Creek alum bank. ‘Che bank is most favorably located for working,” THE QUARTZ MINES OF GRASS VALLEY. . The magnitude of the quartz mining interest of California is just beginning to be approximately realized by eapitalists abroad. The unfortunate results of the early attempts at that description of mining in this State, particularly those in Mariposa county, where the advantages of ample capital, the highest scientific acquiremeuts and the most experienced skill attainable was freely brougbt to jbear, . produced such a discouraging effect upon the business, as for a time to quite deter any . further investment of foreign capital’ in that . direction. Even our own capitalists could not for a long tine thereafter be induced to look . witb ony considerable degree of favor upon quartz mining; and, upto the Washoe diseovery, the fact that a San Francisco merchant was known to be investing in quartz, was quite sufficient to ruin his credit throughout the entire mercantile community. In the meantime, bowever, a few men of meats in Nevada and Amador counties, quietly but perseveringly continued their operations, with varied success and under most discouraging circumstances, until by the gradual depreciatioo of labor and materials, the cost of raising and crushing rock was reduced to a paying basis. About the time this period in tbe history of the business had arrived, tbe world was suddenly startled by the wonderful silver discoveries on the Comstock lode in Washoe. Tbe extraordinary yield of the surface ores at the points first opened upon that lode, produced a complete revolution among tbe hitberto doubting, money-changers of San Francisco. The consequence was a general rush for the new mines—lorge fortunes foro few, and utter ruin for tbe many. Several years passed by and stocks whicb had gone up, under the excitement, to thousands cf dollars per foot, suddenly fell to as many hundreds; while the great majority of them became utterly valueless—not worth cveu tbe paper upou which they were printed. In the meantime, most of the old pioneer quortz men of Grass Valley, continued on in tbe quiet, even tenor of their way, working cautiously aod ecouomically, and going down gradually with their inclines, so fast only os the mines themselves would pay the way ; carefully eschewing assessments, and avoiding costly structures, for mill houses or superiotendents’ dwellings, and employing no managers ia either mill or mines, but men of experience and skill. The result of such a policy was tbat when the crasb came upon Washoe, tbe mines of Grass Valley sbone forth in their true colors, growing richer as tbe work progressed io depth, and exbibiting to the world a record of steady, onward progress, and a development of permauence nowhere exceeded in the whole bistory of' mining. All this was acconiplished, almost, without a dollar of foreign capital; that which has since gone there has been attracted thither by actual developments, and has been expended with the view of permanent and productive investment. In taking a geueral survey of tbe field of F qnartz operations throughout the State, the mines appear to be grouped togetber at intervals along a belt of country, extending about 400 milesin length and occupying the entire western flank of the Sierra Nevada mountaios, from their very suinmit quite down to tbe foothills. These groups, so far as preseut explorations have gone, are widely separated ; although it is far from certa.n that even the intervening country may not contain almost innumerable groupe of greater or less degree of value. The most valuable and thoroughly prospected of these groups is that at Grass Valley. ‘The altitude of those inines is about 2500 feet. Ybeir geological association is greenstone and syenite, with a beavy belt of serpentine on the uortb, eeparatiug it from the mines of Nevada, still further north, and which are mostly located in granite. So far as explorations bave been made, no other district in Californin, or elsewbere, has ever been found to equal this group In either the nuniber or tichuese of its mines. Asa general thing these veins have a . northerly and southerly direction; but the tule is far from universal. In fact some of the most valuable, as the Eureka, for instanee, is almost due east and west ; the Lucky, -Cambridge, North Star and otbers of equal value, are nearly so. They are all isolated, and ‘not continuous. When accurately delineated upon a map, o work which is now being done with great care and at much expense, they present every variety of direction, inclination, dip and angle. Oue, ‘in particular, and perhaps the ricbest of the group, presents walls ond dip almost like the walls of a bowl from whicb ahout one-third of its eircumference bas been removed. ‘We are led to infer from these facts, and contrary to the generally received opinion, that the peculiarities mentioued ure of no value whatever in determining the paying qualities ofa lode. The formation of the lodee, and the aggregation of the mineral is undoubtedly due to the character of the country rock. How they have been aggregated is a mere matter of speculation. Tbe most essential point is to find a group so aggregated and well filled with mineral. The explorations already made ore such as to set at rest all doubts ae to their permanence; and to warrant the most liberal outlay of capital in providing machinery to follow them down toan indefinite depth. The lowest point yet rencbed in Grass Valley is a little over 300 fect; but the Eureka mine, in Amador county, has been followed down more than 1000 feet in depth, at which point this, as well as all the dcep mines in Grass Valley, is found to pay equally well as at any poiat above, while the constant decrease in the cost of working, by the diminution in the price of labor and the improvement in machinery and skill for saving the precious metal, more than compensates for the increased cost of miuing at o greater depth. One of the most. noticcable and important features in Grass Valley is tbe fact that not a single failure has occurred to find pay ore where any considerable depth has been attained; and nearly every mine has paid its own way from the start. The mines of Grase Valley have becn developed without any of the cumbrous machinery necessary to incorporated companies, with their salaried officers and monthly or quarterly calls for assessments. There is not another locality on the globe, ia whicb so much mining’ has been done, where the same record can be shown. These sinsple facte are sufficicut to establish the pre-emiuence of Grass Valley over all other localities as a place for tbe permanent investment of capital. Tn saying thus much of that locality, we ore not aware that we are speaking disparnogingly of any other quartz mining sectiou iu California. Ifweare not mistaken, there is nota quartz mine in the entire State, whicb bas been opened to the depth of tbe deepest mines in Grass Valley—say three bundred feet— which is not to-day a paying mine. These facts—nnd we believe they ae facts—ought to open the miuds of capitalists everywhere, to the value of tbe gold mines of California as an illimitable field for the permanent investment of capital. Hunter's Concentrator.—Mr. Hunter, of this city, has recently spent scveral months in’ Grass Valley, giving his machiue for concentrating sulphurets,a thorough practical test. The result of his experiments has been several important modifications and improvements over the, machine, as hitherto constructed, by which its efficiency is said to be eobanced, while its cost has been greatly decrensed. He is now constructing scveral of these machines which are to be placed in the new mill of the Empire Company, now in process of erection at Grass Valiey. We may shortly give a full and illustrated description of this concentrator, with the latest improvements and niodifications. The commercial importance of Cincinnati may be figured from the value of some of tbe leading reports of 1865, as follows: Iron, $5,405,936; cotton, $32,103,470; coal, $6bat petroleum, $1,120,350 ; salt, $1 ,184,OIL WELLS IN BURMA, It is quite well known tbat the Europeao market hae heen supplied with petroleum or rock oil from Burmab for mony eenturies ; bat tbe impression bas generally prevailed that the supply bas been derived from springs. Such, however, ie not the case. Oil wells, similar to wells dug for water, bave heen used from time immemorial for supplying the market with this useful substance, which, huwever, until quite recently, has generally been used in ita crude state. The Rev. Howard Malcom, who visited the vicinity of some of the wells situated near a village in the river Irrawaddy, and some 300 miles from its mouth. gives a very interesting and probably the most reliable account of them ever published. 28th, 1836, some twenty years anterior to the sinking of the first oil well in Penusylvania ; Tbe wells are two miles from the village, Tbe road to them is well beaten by bullock carts, often crossing the bed of the torrent (uow dry) whence the village derives its name. A more rugged ond Gesolate region cun scarcely be imagined. he rocks are sandstone, puddingstone and petrifactions ; the soil, sand and blue clay. Sninoll hills on every side rise abraptly, like waves in a chaffed sea, sterile and uosightly. The wells are very nnmerous, said to be more than 400, occupying a space of about twelve square miles. ‘They are from 200 to 300 feet decp, of small calibre, ond sustained by seantling. ‘Tbe temperature of the oil when first raised to the top is 89°. Men do uot go down, but an earthen pot is lowered in ond drawn up over a beam across the month, by two men runving off with the rope. ‘The pot is emptied into o little pool, where the water with which it is largely mixed subsides, and the oil is drawn off pure. It is exported in eartben jars containing about thirty pounds. The price now, including the pots, is about o tical for 234 viss, or about filty cents for ten pounds. A well yields about 400 or 500 viss per doy, and is worked hy three or four men. Sometiines 700 are obtained» Hach well gives a daily average of 150 gallons. ‘The gross annual product is eighty million pounds. This uost useful oil is very extensively used for lamps and torches, and is exported to all parts of Europe where it can be taken by water. It is also used for preserving wood, mat partitions, palm-leaf books, ete., from insects and from the weather, aud is an admirable article for these purposes. Even white ants will not attack wood whicb has been brushed with it. A boat’s bottom kept properly in order with it is about as safe as if coppered. It would appear, from the above, that the oil regions of Burmah are very similar in choracter to those of California. Flowing wells do not appear to have been found there; buta great number of openings are made hy sinking wells into the oil strata, into which the oil percolates with the water, aud trom which botb are drawn up and separated as above described. Such wells resemble what are here called “pumping wells.” Present developments appear to indicate tbat a eimilar mode of operation wiil have to be adopted in California for obtainiug petroleum; pumps will, however, be employed bere instead of the primitive mode of raising the water employed in Burmah, and the ongur will be used instead of the shovel for sinking the wells. The wells of Burmah have been worked for centuries, and therc is every reasou for believiug that those of California will be equally permanent. There con be no doubt but tbat with our superior appliances they can be made profitable. It iy not neces sary that we sbould find flowiug wells here to make the business pay, albeit such developments would be most welcome to tbe oilseekers. > Burtron rrom Rerse River.— We learn from the Reveillc that tbe amount of bullion shipped by Wells, Fargo & Co., from Austin, Reese River, during the month of March, was was $33,980 in valuc, weighing 1.926 pounds. The National Bank of Austin shipped during the same time bullion to the amount of $35,113. Rica Rocx.—aA single blast was let off a few days since in the Euterprise claim, Excelsior district, which threw out seven tons of og rich rock as is often seeu in any part of the couotry. So says the Virgioia Entenprise. We give the following ; extract from one of his letters, dated June

232 Gie Wining and Scientific Yreas, Wining aud Scientific Press. Web DAV ER) cceemtentetr eer seccsvscsr.scc +e SENIOR EDITOR. 0. W. MM, SMITH. WwW. B. EWER. A. T. DEWEY, DEWHLY & CoO. Publishers. Orrice—No. 605 Clay street, corner of Satisome, 2d floor. Perms of Subscription: One oopy, per annum, Inadvanee;...01 One aan six months, in adv: ia a+ 085 00 fee 0 ‘ance, aan Por sale by Carriers and Newsdealets. a6 ¥t fs Impossible for editors to know ate the merits and demerits of their correspondence, consequently the reader must not reccive the opinions of our contributors ag ourown. Intelilgent diseussion is invited upon all sides and the evidence of any error which may appear will be re ceivod In friendsbip and treated with respect. Americnn nnd Forelen Patents.—Letters Patent for Inventors can be secured in the United States and forelgit countries throuzh the Mining any Scientiric Press PATENT Acency. We offer applicants reasonable terms, and they can rest assured of a strict compilanee with our obligations, and afalthfui performance of allcontracts. For reference, we wili furnish the names of numerous parties for whom we have obtalned patents during the past two years. Vavorable to Inventors.—Persons holding new {nventions ot machinery and important improvements, can have the same illustrated and expiained in the Misina ann Sciextwic Press, free of charge, ifin our judgment the diseovery Is one of real merit, and of suifielent interest to our readers to warrant pubilcation. Payment in Advance.---This paper will not be sent tosubsertbers beyond tiie term pald for. The publishers well know that a good journal cannot be suatained on the oredit system. Mr, Wm. KR. Brndshaw, is our Special Correspond@ nt and Traveitng Agent, Ail favorsor asststance rendercd him in hls progress tbrough the country in behalf of our journal, will be duly acknowledged. San Francisco, Jan Ist, 1866. Mr, A. ©. Knox, is our fully authorized Traveling Agent, and all subscriptions, or other favors extended to him, will be duly acknowledged at this office. San Francisco, Jan 11th, 1866, Mr. ¥. N. Hudsen, 1s authorized to solicit subscriptions, advertising, etc., for the Mtnine anv ScienviFio Press, in San Francisco, and to receipt tor the same. a een San Francisco: Saturday Morning, April 14, 1866. Look Out for Illegal Advertising! All assessments of corporatioos levied on, or subsequent to, March 26tb, are governed by the new law approved on that day. We notice that some of our importaut mining companies are advertising their assessments illegally in tbe daily and weekly press of this State. As the new law is more liberal iu its provisions for advertising than tha Act of 1864, these companies have yet time to retrace their steps and begin anew and right. We speak of the matter for tbe benefit of all concerned. We have prepared a set of correct blank forms for ndvertising assessments. which we furnish free on application at nnr office, together with rules for advertising and copies of the new law. Tudicious Resolutions, Several nf our most substantial and judiciously managed mining corporations have passed resolutions, since the approval of the new asscesment law, requiring all notice of assessments and sales to be published in the Mryine anp Scrertirie Press, the only thorough (daily or weekly) mining journal on this coast. Our efforts to concentrate all mining advertisementsin one paper, for the economical convenience of charebolders and assessment payers, are meeting with decidcd success. ‘Those who helieve in eupporting the mining cause, should bear our paper in mind, and hring up this subject at the next trustee or ehareholders’ meeting. San Fraucisco, April 7th, 1866. Mining Laws of 1866. It ie our intention to issue, in cheap pamphiet form, previous to May lst, a full 20d correct copy of all laws relating to mining adopted hy tbe California and Nevada State Legislatures of 1866. Some of these Acts are of vital importance to every citizen interested in mining.— April ist, 1866. Atum Mines—The Clear Lake Times tells of the discovery of an alum nine, or deposit of alum, in that region. A correspondent writes to the Times: “I have about one pound of prre alum, beautitully crystalized, obtained from tbe imperfect wasbing of six or seven pounds of aluminous clay, which was taken froin the Kelsey Creek alum bank. ‘Che bank is most favorably located for working,” THE QUARTZ MINES OF GRASS VALLEY. . The magnitude of the quartz mining interest of California is just beginning to be approximately realized by eapitalists abroad. The unfortunate results of the early attempts at that description of mining in this State, particularly those in Mariposa county, where the advantages of ample capital, the highest scientific acquiremeuts and the most experienced skill attainable was freely brougbt to jbear, . produced such a discouraging effect upon the business, as for a time to quite deter any . further investment of foreign capital’ in that . direction. Even our own capitalists could not for a long tine thereafter be induced to look . witb ony considerable degree of favor upon quartz mining; and, upto the Washoe diseovery, the fact that a San Francisco merchant was known to be investing in quartz, was quite sufficient to ruin his credit throughout the entire mercantile community. In the meantime, bowever, a few men of meats in Nevada and Amador counties, quietly but perseveringly continued their operations, with varied success and under most discouraging circumstances, until by the gradual depreciatioo of labor and materials, the cost of raising and crushing rock was reduced to a paying basis. About the time this period in tbe history of the business had arrived, tbe world was suddenly startled by the wonderful silver discoveries on the Comstock lode in Washoe. Tbe extraordinary yield of the surface ores at the points first opened upon that lode, produced a complete revolution among tbe hitberto doubting, money-changers of San Francisco. The consequence was a general rush for the new mines—lorge fortunes foro few, and utter ruin for tbe many. Several years passed by and stocks whicb had gone up, under the excitement, to thousands cf dollars per foot, suddenly fell to as many hundreds; while the great majority of them became utterly valueless—not worth cveu tbe paper upou which they were printed. In the meantime, most of the old pioneer quortz men of Grass Valley, continued on in tbe quiet, even tenor of their way, working cautiously aod ecouomically, and going down gradually with their inclines, so fast only os the mines themselves would pay the way ; carefully eschewing assessments, and avoiding costly structures, for mill houses or superiotendents’ dwellings, and employing no managers ia either mill or mines, but men of experience and skill. The result of such a policy was tbat when the crasb came upon Washoe, tbe mines of Grass Valley sbone forth in their true colors, growing richer as tbe work progressed io depth, and exbibiting to the world a record of steady, onward progress, and a development of permauence nowhere exceeded in the whole bistory of' mining. All this was acconiplished, almost, without a dollar of foreign capital; that which has since gone there has been attracted thither by actual developments, and has been expended with the view of permanent and productive investment. In taking a geueral survey of tbe field of F qnartz operations throughout the State, the mines appear to be grouped togetber at intervals along a belt of country, extending about 400 milesin length and occupying the entire western flank of the Sierra Nevada mountaios, from their very suinmit quite down to tbe foothills. These groups, so far as preseut explorations have gone, are widely separated ; although it is far from certa.n that even the intervening country may not contain almost innumerable groupe of greater or less degree of value. The most valuable and thoroughly prospected of these groups is that at Grass Valley. ‘The altitude of those inines is about 2500 feet. Ybeir geological association is greenstone and syenite, with a beavy belt of serpentine on the uortb, eeparatiug it from the mines of Nevada, still further north, and which are mostly located in granite. So far as explorations bave been made, no other district in Californin, or elsewbere, has ever been found to equal this group In either the nuniber or tichuese of its mines. Asa general thing these veins have a . northerly and southerly direction; but the

tule is far from universal. In fact some of the most valuable, as the Eureka, for instanee, is almost due east and west ; the Lucky, -Cambridge, North Star and otbers of equal value, are nearly so. They are all isolated, and ‘not continuous. When accurately delineated upon a map, o work which is now being done with great care and at much expense, they present every variety of direction, inclination, dip and angle. Oue, ‘in particular, and perhaps the ricbest of the group, presents walls ond dip almost like the walls of a bowl from whicb ahout one-third of its eircumference bas been removed. ‘We are led to infer from these facts, and contrary to the generally received opinion, that the peculiarities mentioued ure of no value whatever in determining the paying qualities ofa lode. The formation of the lodee, and the aggregation of the mineral is undoubtedly due to the character of the country rock. How they have been aggregated is a mere matter of speculation. Tbe most essential point is to find a group so aggregated and well filled with mineral. The explorations already made ore such as to set at rest all doubts ae to their permanence; and to warrant the most liberal outlay of capital in providing machinery to follow them down toan indefinite depth. The lowest point yet rencbed in Grass Valley is a little over 300 fect; but the Eureka mine, in Amador county, has been followed down more than 1000 feet in depth, at which point this, as well as all the dcep mines in Grass Valley, is found to pay equally well as at any poiat above, while the constant decrease in the cost of working, by the diminution in the price of labor and the improvement in machinery and skill for saving the precious metal, more than compensates for the increased cost of miuing at o greater depth. One of the most. noticcable and important features in Grass Valley is tbe fact that not a single failure has occurred to find pay ore where any considerable depth has been attained; and nearly every mine has paid its own way from the start. The mines of Grase Valley have becn developed without any of the cumbrous machinery necessary to incorporated companies, with their salaried officers and monthly or quarterly calls for assessments. There is not another locality on the globe, ia whicb so much mining’ has been done, where the same record can be shown. These sinsple facte are sufficicut to establish the pre-emiuence of Grass Valley over all other localities as a place for tbe permanent investment of capital. Tn saying thus much of that locality, we ore not aware that we are speaking disparnogingly of any other quartz mining sectiou iu California. Ifweare not mistaken, there is nota quartz mine in the entire State, whicb bas been opened to the depth of tbe deepest mines in Grass Valley—say three bundred feet— which is not to-day a paying mine. These facts—nnd we believe they ae facts—ought to open the miuds of capitalists everywhere, to the value of tbe gold mines of California as an illimitable field for the permanent investment of capital. Hunter's Concentrator.—Mr. Hunter, of this city, has recently spent scveral months in’ Grass Valley, giving his machiue for concentrating sulphurets,a thorough practical test. The result of his experiments has been several important modifications and improvements over the, machine, as hitherto constructed, by which its efficiency is said to be eobanced, while its cost has been greatly decrensed. He is now constructing scveral of these machines which are to be placed in the new mill of the Empire Company, now in process of erection at Grass Valiey. We may shortly give a full and illustrated description of this concentrator, with the latest improvements and niodifications. The commercial importance of Cincinnati may be figured from the value of some of tbe leading reports of 1865, as follows: Iron, $5,405,936; cotton, $32,103,470; coal, $6bat petroleum, $1,120,350 ; salt, $1 ,184,OIL WELLS IN BURMA, It is quite well known tbat the Europeao market hae heen supplied with petroleum or rock oil from Burmab for mony eenturies ; bat tbe impression bas generally prevailed that the supply bas been derived from springs. Such, however, ie not the case. Oil wells, similar to wells dug for water, bave heen used from time immemorial for supplying the market with this useful substance, which, huwever, until quite recently, has generally been used in ita crude state. The Rev. Howard Malcom, who visited the vicinity of some of the wells situated near a village in the river Irrawaddy, and some 300 miles from its mouth. gives a very interesting and probably the most reliable account of them ever published. 28th, 1836, some twenty years anterior to the sinking of the first oil well in Penusylvania ; Tbe wells are two miles from the village, Tbe road to them is well beaten by bullock carts, often crossing the bed of the torrent (uow dry) whence the village derives its name. A more rugged ond Gesolate region cun scarcely be imagined. he rocks are sandstone, puddingstone and petrifactions ; the soil, sand and blue clay. Sninoll hills on every side rise abraptly, like waves in a chaffed sea, sterile and uosightly. The wells are very nnmerous, said to be more than 400, occupying a space of about twelve square miles. ‘They are from 200 to 300 feet decp, of small calibre, ond sustained by seantling. ‘Tbe temperature of the oil when first raised to the top is 89°. Men do uot go down, but an earthen pot is lowered in ond drawn up over a beam across the month, by two men runving off with the rope. ‘The pot is emptied into o little pool, where the water with which it is largely mixed subsides, and the oil is drawn off pure. It is exported in eartben jars containing about thirty pounds. The price now, including the pots, is about o tical for 234 viss, or about filty cents for ten pounds. A well yields about 400 or 500 viss per doy, and is worked hy three or four men. Sometiines 700 are obtained» Hach well gives a daily average of 150 gallons. ‘The gross annual product is eighty million pounds. This uost useful oil is very extensively used for lamps and torches, and is exported to all parts of Europe where it can be taken by water. It is also used for preserving wood, mat partitions, palm-leaf books, ete., from insects and from the weather, aud is an admirable article for these purposes. Even white ants will not attack wood whicb has been brushed with it. A boat’s bottom kept properly in order with it is about as safe as if coppered. It would appear, from the above, that the oil regions of Burmah are very similar in choracter to those of California. Flowing wells do not appear to have been found there; buta great number of openings are made hy sinking wells into the oil strata, into which the oil percolates with the water, aud trom which botb are drawn up and separated as above described. Such wells resemble what are here called “pumping wells.” Present developments appear to indicate tbat a eimilar mode of operation wiil have to be adopted in California for obtainiug petroleum; pumps will, however, be employed bere instead of the primitive mode of raising the water employed in Burmah, and the ongur will be used instead of the shovel for sinking the wells. The wells of Burmah have been worked for centuries, and therc is every reasou for believiug that those of California will be equally permanent. There con be no doubt but tbat with our superior appliances they can be made profitable. It iy not neces sary that we sbould find flowiug wells here to make the business pay, albeit such developments would be most welcome to tbe oilseekers. > Burtron rrom Rerse River.— We learn from the Reveillc that tbe amount of bullion shipped by Wells, Fargo & Co., from Austin, Reese River, during the month of March, was was $33,980 in valuc, weighing 1.926 pounds. The National Bank of Austin shipped during the same time bullion to the amount of $35,113. Rica Rocx.—aA single blast was let off a few days since in the Euterprise claim, Excelsior district, which threw out seven tons of og rich rock as is often seeu in any part of the couotry. So says the Virgioia Entenprise. We give the following ; extract from one of his letters, dated June