Volume 14 (1867) (436 pages)

290 . 5 Ghe Mining aul Scientific Dress, Gonmaninitions. In ae TiseaINyne we invite the rrez piscussion of A ts alone beiugr duende ideas and theories they advance. [Written for the Mining and Scientific Press.7 The Reese River Country and its , Mines., ‘ “D7 pe a. 3. HOWK, , a {Continued fionie: Page 274] UNION, DISTRICT. We are noW’ fifty-t -fiveniiles distant from Austin, ina south of sonthwest .direction, and again in a section of country stitring with life and enterprise. Ione, the principal town in this district, is the county seat. of Nye; but the :late Legislature has pro-_ yided for the removal of the county records, ou ‘the fifteenth of May next, to Belmont. This. is eastward, over two ranges, and a more central-part-of the county. . The first discovery of silver in this district was by Messrs. MeGee and MclIntize, jn-the summer of 1863., This was in the vicinity of Grantsyille, in the southern portion of tho district. In the month of November following, the northern portion, where Ione, is: situated, was. explored by Messrs, Haight, Carpenter and others. They were soon followed by other parties, who were rushing hither and thither over the country, from the older settlements. Early in the winter of that year, Upper Ione, contaiuiug forty or. fifty houses,.was rapidly built up. The site of this town is a beautiful spot, in a broad expansion of the caiion, the lower portion of which abounds with springs of most excellent water. The town was, to all appearances, completely shut in on every side by lofty pines. and hills, while at the lower outlet, leading to the Sinkayata Valley below, there rises an immense quartzite bluff, with walls nearly perpendicular and sixty or seventy feet in hight. NotWithstaudiug the many advantages and the natural beauty of the situation, “this town has now gone to decay, as it was subsequently found to be too distant from the principal belt: eontaining the mines. 'Threefourths of a mile further down, where the cafon again expands sufficicutly for a commodious street, with ample building room on either side, was built the present towu, which contains a hundred or more houses, and which, at one time, had a population of five or six hundred, but which is somewhat Jess at present—lone having furnished 2 large share of the population which has discovered and settled the rich districts by. which it is surrounded. It was at one time on the high road to prosperity; hut here again the bight following the insane policy of -mill building before the mine’ were opened, swept over the Tonians. Their pioneér mill of ten stamps, was completed in the spring of 1865, by Messrs. Stewart & Bragg, and found the miners utterly unprepared to supply it with ore; consequeutly, suits and executions followed, and the mill was olosed by the Sheriff, and remains‘so to this day. The miners became discouraged, neglecting their mines, rich as they are known to be. **During the short period this’ mill was in operatiou, the yield from such ore as they were able to obtain was abundantly satisfactory, and gave the imost positive evidence of the richness of the mines, which are situated i in the hill southeast from the town. They occur in syeuite, and are worked with the groatest facility; and, uotwithstanding they have yielded, and six or eight of the lodes are now yielding ore that works from $100 to $250 por ton, not a single shaft has yet reached the water line. The Northern Star, Crowu, Indiauopolis, Mouutain Brow and ‘Brown ‘odes, are among the many that have produced ore of a high grade, aud are all being worked at the PIES ent time. Now we come to another chapter of mismauagement and folly, During the summer of 1865, the Knickerbocket mill, a fine structure, of twenty stamps, was erected by Eastern capitalists at a probable cost of over $130, 000, ‘The mill is situated three miles ye y ‘. they may he able to keep on their ‘ south of Ione, and equally distant from the nearest, mines,“the company not owning,previous to its ‘complotion, a Single lode that had, or ever,,would, produce a ton of pay ore. ‘This. mhillawas conipleted iu the spring . of 1866, and is now rnnning on such ores as it can procure from Ione, ‘Mammoth Disstrict and Grantsville—the former three, and the latter respectively ten and sevou miles distant. Thisis their only salvation. Owing to the high grado’ of ore in this vicinity, ‘pins’ at the cost of hauling ore that distauce. This company purchased the Great Eastern mine, Grantsville, of P, A. Haven & Cd:; > nearly 4 & year ago, and are now driving a tunnel fo strike the lode at great depth. When -completed, they expect, to supply their mill from this mine alone, the surface ore having worked satisfactor ily. In'the southern ‘part of this district, also, on the western/slope of theShoshone Range, many fine lodes haye been partially opened, and the indications are that when the mines of this section are in readiness for reduction . works, its growth and progress. will be healthy and substantial, Iv the summer of 1865, the machinery for a twenty-stamp mill was freighted into this vicinity ; hut, by the prudence and foresight of the superintendent, its construction will be delayed until their mines, aro sufficiently developed to guarantee a supply of ore. . Iwo miles north of Ione we fiud Agate Hill, famous for its beantiful agates. This has beeu called, and with some truth, ¢ A MOUNTAIN OF AGATES, So abundant are they found. They occur in a belt about one hundred feet wide, erossing 9 a ridge which slopes gently to the east and. “abruptly to the west, covering a space of about an acre. In places on the surface where the soft gangue has been washed away by the rains, the agates are left in greatahundance, covering the gronnd five or six’ inches deep. By digging into the gangue, they are found thickly interspersed throughout. Ten miles further north, on the west afilt of the range, is situated NORTH UNION DISTRICT. Of the mines here but little can be said, they being entirely undevelopel. The lodes here were discovered early in the Spring of : 1865, aud are found mostly i in a gray slate formation., , The. characteristics of the. ore, as far as can be determined at the surface, ; Rppears to be green and blue carbonate of copper ; occasionally black oxide of copper and chiorido of silver. These lodes give considerable promise of eventually proving permanent and rich. The Hamilton Gold and Silver MiningCo., a Philadelphia organizatiou, own somes ten ‘or twelve of them, and it is possible that this distriet may he the scene of active operations duriug the coming summer, The unsurpassed milling facilities and abundance of timber will aid in inducing the early development of this district. This range of mountains is the line dividing the territory of the Shoshone Indiaus on the east fron that of the Piutes on the west, and on ordinary occasions is consid-. eredand occupied byhoth as nentyal ground. Neither trihe seems to make their residence here for long periods of time, merely visiting and remaining duriug the season for GATHERING PINE NUTS, Which usually begins in September. The nuts from the ‘*pifion,” which constitutes the principal part of the timber throughout nearly the whole of Nevada, afford the Indian tribes fully one-half their sustenance. The cone that produces the nut is similar in form to others of the “ conifera,” aud is from three to five inches in length; clustered around the center at the base of each lap or scale of the cone, are the nuts, twenty to thirty in each coue, and the trees in their hearing seasons are loaded with the latter, TheIndian method of harvesting is to gather the cones into large piles, mixed with light brush and dry leaves ; fire is then set to the piles, and the pitchy outside of the coueand dry hrush burns readily. When sufficiently roasted, the cones burst ‘open and the kernels are partially exposed, The pilo is then spread out and thrashed until the uuts are separated ; the coarser part is then raked off, aud the remaining mass winnowed by the squaws until the nuts are left quite cleau. The harvest is generally cached for future use near the spot where gathered. These Indiau womeu show considerable skill in the operation of winnowing. In this, as in all else pertaining to labor, they are the sole operators. The Indians assert that the forests of each mountain bear in turns ; but itis more probable that the production of the nut is bionnial. I have noticed that the cone is formed and attains a considerable size the year previous to its ripening. We have now visited all the principal districts on the western slope-of the Toiyehe ‘Rango and those of the . Shoshone Mountains. Across .the Sinkayata Valley, ten miles distant, we haye’a fino view from here of the Mammoth Range, with its. subdued and symmetrical rounded peaks, “black with its forests of pinon growing from the valley to the summit, and stretching north until the two ranges appear to blend, and south as far as our vision reaches. bed a [fo be Continued.] 5 {Written for the Mining and Scientific Press.) os Smelting a at Campo Beco. BY V. B. WESr.\ yy \ Eprrors Press re compliance with my promise, I give you a few items of my expe” lrience in copper smelting at’ Campo Seco. The works were Hpsbjedtaalt in May, 1865, and were designed to produco matie from the poor-grade ore of the Campo Seco mine. They were finished and running hy November of the same year. The improvements consisted of a railroad thrée-quarters of a mile long, connecting the mine with the smelting works, and deliveriug the ore upon platforms dug i in the side of the hill for the roasting kilns, a coal house, laboratory and a large building for smelting. The latter building was forty by sixty feet, and contained two cupolas and blower. Our cupolas were of sandstone, lined with the same, or soapstone, sometimes. I did uot find any great difference in the material ; neither of them lasted more than twenty days. Tho blower was McKenzie’s, driven by water power. The establishment was so arranged that the ore was contiuually carried down hill from the time it was hoisted from the mine until it was’ put into the furuaces. The slag was dumped into the Mokelumne river by wheeling it a few feet. In this way all unnecessary lahor was saved, and the work done in the most economical manner possible. Our object was not to make pure copper, but only matto of thirty-five per cent. At that time matte was selling in San Francisco at’$3.25 per nnit. I therefore judged it to bo more profitable to smelt once aud make rich matte, than to go through the more diffienlt and tedious process of making copper, especially as our ore was a difficult one to treat, and I had no skilled labor. The character of the ore rendered it difiicult to work alone. It was an almost pure sulphide, seldom containing fivo per cent. sili¢a, ‘The average of sulphur was from 40 to 48 per cent. ; iron, 40 ; copper, 6 to 10. Tho better grades were all shipped. Any one “familiar with copper smelting ean judge of the difficulty of working this ore, It was almostentirely free from silica ; so I was obliged to add from fifteen to twenty per cent. pure quartz to flux the iron. The process of roastiug proved a difficult operation, the ore smelting down in the heap and forming #had comhination to smelt, again. The utmost care did not preyent sowe from beiug smelted’ I found the best preventive was to mix ten per cent. quartz or half-roasted ore with the heap. It is easy to give iustructions for: regulating the roasting of copper in heaps ; but to mauage an ore that conédins so little gangue and so much sulphur, is no easy matter. The ore smelted qnite easy; the only trouhle experienced was when the charge was too well roasted (too free from sulphur). The iron was apt to ‘‘salamander” in the furnace. The usual amonnt smelted per day was from eight to ten tons of 2,352 pounds per day, exclusive of fifteen to twenty per cent. finx. The average amount of coal was 250 bushels per day. Labor: two furnace men, two slag tenders, two feeders. There were other men employ: ed getting down ore, hreaking matte, and mixing the charge. ‘Tn an operation. hike copper smelting, some reliable men are necessary, but a majority of the work can he done by Chinese. Itis, however, absolutely necessary for the superinteudent to know, his business, and to have furnace men upou whom he cau depend. It is uo easy matter to run a furnace snecessfully ; changes occur that require coustant care and watehing. ‘This is especially the case where charcoal is used for fuel. It is not sufficient for him to know the requisites of o furnace only, but he should understand the 2s lurgy of copper. Many changes have occurred in connen since our works were started ; the prico of copper has gone down to a figure that hardly. ‘two aud one-half millions of dollars, could have been predicted. The smelter should, if possible, bring his expenses. to ° the lowest figure. I believe that even at the present price of copper in the Atlantic States and Europe, copper, can be produced from sulphurets profitably—that is Sif the shippers do not take the hon’s share: ’ My experience’ in the expensés of shipping matte lead me to believe that a smelter in’Califormis should prodnce only pig cop. per, or, perhaps, to 'a limited extent, for home consumption, a refined article. The expense of making pig copper will be more than counterbalanced’ by the extia expense of freight, sacks, and charges in San Fran‘eisco upon the matte, while the pig will he worth-a greater price perunit than, the matte. With proper management, a good article of copper can he made from carbonates, oxides or silicates with one smelting : but as usually conducted in this country, it contains antimony, arsenic or iron in too great quantities for general use in the arts. The consumption of manufactured copper in California is Jarge, aud I think the day . will soon come. when a refinery and rolling mill will be demanded. Such an establishment shonld be situated near San Francisco, to catch the matte and black copper produced in the interior. Mountain Rice. ~We made some reference a few weeks since, to a kind of wild rice, which grows lusuriantly on uplands in Northern Minnesota, Knowingthat it was a valuable‘article of food, easily cultivated in localities, entirely different from those in which tho ordinary rice of commerce is produced, we suggested that the Natioual Agricultural Burean should take some steps to securo its more general introduction throughout the country, as an agricultural product. We clip tho following paragraph from’ the Beaminer of, this city, in relation to the samo matter. The suggestions are well worth a careful considération : In Maryland and Virginia, a mountain rice has been‘cultivated, yielding, without irrigation, eighteen to twenty bushels to the acre. In "Northern Minnesota it grows wild, and the quantity gathered by the Indians is . estimated at over one million of dollars in value. A recent number of that valuahle journal, the Mintxe anp Scienriric Pruss of our city, called the attention of the Commissioner of Agriculturo: to procuring yarieties of the hardy species above referred to, for general distribution. Recently, an invoice of 400 barrels of xice was received in this market from Italy, and was soldat ten cents per pound. ‘This article was raised on the plains of Piedmont, by irrigation. That magnificent sheet ob ‘water called Clear Lake, is capahle of furnishing the hrigating supply. needed by.a rice crop} for a population of twenty millions. Lake Bigler has a’ still greater irrigating capacity, and if from any reason our agriculturists dislike to raise rice, by their’ own or Chinese labor, on the’ swamp or overflowed lands, the plains and uplands can he made available from tho unfailing resources of these magnificent reservoirs. During the past few years wheat raising has yielded a vory small profit ; frequently the market has been overstocked, and even now, the good prices realized, are, to a large extent, only repaying. the logses of former years, Wearenow sending wheat and flour to New York and other ports, where they command as follows: 'Theformer five cents, the latter 744 cents, while rice hrings 10% cents. In wheat growing our farmers mush compete with the producers of the whole United States; in rice raising only with those of the Southern States. In the latter, the cotton, tohacco:and sugar crops will require all the available labor of that section, thus iusuring our State a more reliable crop for export, if wé engage in rice /cultivation, than any other staple-we can raise. We have a home demand of thirtysix millions of pounds; in value, nea may expect an equal demand for export from the older States; or a total in value of five millions of dollars for an article that it is in our power easily to produce. Let us try. = Foss Tusx.—Some workmen, says the Times, found sn immense tusk, last weels, while at work between Benicia and Bottle Hill. Being ignorant of its character, they destroyed nearly the whole of it. Dr, Hough, of Martinez, afterwards measured the cavity which it had oceupied, and found it to have been over fourteen feet in length and fourteen inches in diameter at the root.

290 . 5 Ghe Mining aul Scientific Dress, Gonmaninitions. In ae TiseaINyne we invite the rrez piscussion of A ts alone beiugr duende ideas and theories they advance. [Written for the Mining and Scientific Press.7 The Reese River Country and its , Mines., ‘ “D7 pe a. 3. HOWK, , a {Continued fionie: Page 274] UNION, DISTRICT. We are noW’ fifty-t -fiveniiles distant from Austin, ina south of sonthwest .direction, and again in a section of country stitring with life and enterprise. Ione, the principal town in this district, is the county seat. of Nye; but the :late Legislature has pro-_ yided for the removal of the county records, ou ‘the fifteenth of May next, to Belmont. This. is eastward, over two ranges, and a more central-part-of the county. . The first discovery of silver in this district was by Messrs. MeGee and MclIntize, jn-the summer of 1863., This was in the vicinity of Grantsyille, in the southern portion of tho district. In the month of November following, the northern portion, where Ione, is: situated, was. explored by Messrs, Haight, Carpenter and others. They were soon followed by other parties, who were rushing hither and thither over the country, from the older settlements. Early in the winter of that year, Upper Ione, contaiuiug forty or. fifty houses,.was rapidly built up. The site of this town is a beautiful spot, in a broad expansion of the caiion, the lower portion of which abounds with springs of most excellent water. The town was, to all appearances, completely shut in on every side by lofty pines. and hills, while at the lower outlet, leading to the Sinkayata Valley below, there rises an immense quartzite bluff, with walls nearly perpendicular and sixty or seventy feet in hight. NotWithstaudiug the many advantages and the natural beauty of the situation, “this town has now gone to decay, as it was subsequently found to be too distant from the principal belt: eontaining the mines. 'Threefourths of a mile further down, where the cafon again expands sufficicutly for a commodious street, with ample building room on either side, was built the present towu, which contains a hundred or more houses, and which, at one time, had a population of five or six hundred, but which is somewhat Jess at present—lone having furnished 2 large share of the population which has discovered and settled the rich districts by. which it is surrounded. It was at one time on the high road to prosperity; hut here again the bight following the insane policy of -mill building before the mine’ were opened, swept over the Tonians. Their pioneér mill of ten stamps, was completed in the spring of 1865, by Messrs. Stewart & Bragg, and found the miners utterly unprepared to supply it with ore; consequeutly, suits and executions followed, and the mill was olosed by the Sheriff, and remains‘so to this day. The miners became discouraged, neglecting their mines, rich as they are known to be. **During the short period this’ mill was in operatiou, the yield from such ore as they were able to obtain was abundantly satisfactory, and gave the imost positive evidence of the richness of the mines, which are situated i in the hill southeast from the town. They occur in syeuite, and are worked with the groatest facility; and, uotwithstanding they have yielded, and six or eight of the lodes are now yielding ore that works from $100 to $250 por ton, not a single shaft has yet reached the water line. The Northern Star, Crowu, Indiauopolis, Mouutain Brow and ‘Brown ‘odes, are among the many that have produced ore of a high grade, aud are all being worked at the PIES ent time. Now we come to another chapter of mismauagement and folly, During the summer of 1865, the Knickerbocket mill, a fine structure, of twenty stamps, was erected by Eastern capitalists at a probable cost of over $130, 000, ‘The mill is situated three miles ye y ‘. they may he able to keep on their ‘ south of Ione, and equally distant from the nearest, mines,“the company not owning,previous to its ‘complotion, a Single lode that had, or ever,,would, produce a ton of pay ore. ‘This. mhillawas conipleted iu the spring . of 1866, and is now rnnning on such ores as it can procure from Ione, ‘Mammoth Disstrict and Grantsville—the former three, and the latter respectively ten and sevou miles distant. Thisis their only salvation. Owing to the high grado’ of ore in this vicinity, ‘pins’ at the cost of hauling ore that distauce. This company purchased the Great Eastern mine, Grantsville, of P, A. Haven & Cd:; > nearly 4 & year ago, and are now driving a tunnel fo strike the lode at great depth. When -completed, they expect, to supply their mill from this mine alone, the surface ore having worked satisfactor ily. In'the southern ‘part of this district, also, on the western/slope of theShoshone Range, many fine lodes haye been partially opened, and the indications are that when the mines of this section are in readiness for reduction . works, its growth and progress. will be healthy and substantial, Iv the summer of 1865, the machinery for a twenty-stamp mill was freighted into this vicinity ; hut, by the prudence and foresight of the superintendent, its construction will be delayed until their mines, aro sufficiently developed to guarantee a supply of ore. . Iwo miles north of Ione we fiud Agate Hill, famous for its beantiful agates. This has beeu called, and with some truth, ¢ A MOUNTAIN OF AGATES, So abundant are they found. They occur in a belt about one hundred feet wide, erossing 9 a ridge which slopes gently to the east and. “abruptly to the west, covering a space of about an acre. In places on the surface where the soft gangue has been washed away by the rains, the agates are left in greatahundance, covering the gronnd five or six’ inches deep. By digging into the gangue, they are found thickly interspersed throughout. Ten miles further north, on the west afilt of the range, is situated NORTH UNION DISTRICT. Of the mines here but little can be said, they being entirely undevelopel. The lodes here were discovered early in the Spring of : 1865, aud are found mostly i in a gray slate formation., , The. characteristics of the. ore, as far as can be determined at the surface, ; Rppears to be green and blue carbonate of copper ; occasionally black oxide of copper and chiorido of silver. These lodes give considerable promise of eventually proving permanent and rich. The Hamilton Gold and Silver MiningCo., a Philadelphia organizatiou, own somes ten ‘or twelve of them, and it is possible that this distriet may he the scene of active operations duriug the coming summer, The unsurpassed milling facilities and abundance of timber will aid in inducing the early development of this district. This range of mountains is the line dividing the territory of the Shoshone Indiaus on the east fron that of the Piutes on the west, and on ordinary occasions is consid-. eredand occupied byhoth as nentyal ground. Neither trihe seems to make their residence here for long periods of time, merely visiting and remaining duriug the season for GATHERING PINE NUTS, Which usually begins in September. The nuts from the ‘*pifion,” which constitutes the principal part of the timber throughout nearly the whole of Nevada, afford the Indian tribes fully one-half their sustenance. The cone that produces the nut is similar in form to others of the “ conifera,” aud is from three to five inches in length; clustered around the center at the base of each lap or scale of the cone, are the nuts, twenty to thirty in each coue, and the trees in their hearing seasons are loaded with the latter, TheIndian method of harvesting is to gather the cones into large piles, mixed with light brush and dry leaves ; fire is then set to the piles, and the pitchy outside of the coueand dry hrush burns readily. When sufficiently roasted, the cones burst ‘open and the kernels are partially exposed, The pilo is then spread out and thrashed until the uuts are separated ; the coarser part is then raked off, aud the remaining mass winnowed by the squaws until the nuts are left quite cleau. The harvest is generally cached for future use near the spot where gathered. These Indiau womeu show considerable skill in the operation of winnowing. In this, as in all else pertaining to labor, they are the sole operators. The Indians assert that the forests of each mountain bear in turns ; but itis more probable that the production of the nut is bionnial. I have noticed that the cone is formed and attains a considerable size the year previous to its ripening.

We have now visited all the principal districts on the western slope-of the Toiyehe ‘Rango and those of the . Shoshone Mountains. Across .the Sinkayata Valley, ten miles distant, we haye’a fino view from here of the Mammoth Range, with its. subdued and symmetrical rounded peaks, “black with its forests of pinon growing from the valley to the summit, and stretching north until the two ranges appear to blend, and south as far as our vision reaches. bed a [fo be Continued.] 5 {Written for the Mining and Scientific Press.) os Smelting a at Campo Beco. BY V. B. WESr.\ yy \ Eprrors Press re compliance with my promise, I give you a few items of my expe” lrience in copper smelting at’ Campo Seco. The works were Hpsbjedtaalt in May, 1865, and were designed to produco matie from the poor-grade ore of the Campo Seco mine. They were finished and running hy November of the same year. The improvements consisted of a railroad thrée-quarters of a mile long, connecting the mine with the smelting works, and deliveriug the ore upon platforms dug i in the side of the hill for the roasting kilns, a coal house, laboratory and a large building for smelting. The latter building was forty by sixty feet, and contained two cupolas and blower. Our cupolas were of sandstone, lined with the same, or soapstone, sometimes. I did uot find any great difference in the material ; neither of them lasted more than twenty days. Tho blower was McKenzie’s, driven by water power. The establishment was so arranged that the ore was contiuually carried down hill from the time it was hoisted from the mine until it was’ put into the furuaces. The slag was dumped into the Mokelumne river by wheeling it a few feet. In this way all unnecessary lahor was saved, and the work done in the most economical manner possible. Our object was not to make pure copper, but only matto of thirty-five per cent. At that time matte was selling in San Francisco at’$3.25 per nnit. I therefore judged it to bo more profitable to smelt once aud make rich matte, than to go through the more diffienlt and tedious process of making copper, especially as our ore was a difficult one to treat, and I had no skilled labor. The character of the ore rendered it difiicult to work alone. It was an almost pure sulphide, seldom containing fivo per cent. sili¢a, ‘The average of sulphur was from 40 to 48 per cent. ; iron, 40 ; copper, 6 to 10. Tho better grades were all shipped. Any one “familiar with copper smelting ean judge of the difficulty of working this ore, It was almostentirely free from silica ; so I was obliged to add from fifteen to twenty per cent. pure quartz to flux the iron. The process of roastiug proved a difficult operation, the ore smelting down in the heap and forming #had comhination to smelt, again. The utmost care did not preyent sowe from beiug smelted’ I found the best preventive was to mix ten per cent. quartz or half-roasted ore with the heap. It is easy to give iustructions for: regulating the roasting of copper in heaps ; but to mauage an ore that conédins so little gangue and so much sulphur, is no easy matter. The ore smelted qnite easy; the only trouhle experienced was when the charge was too well roasted (too free from sulphur). The iron was apt to ‘‘salamander” in the furnace. The usual amonnt smelted per day was from eight to ten tons of 2,352 pounds per day, exclusive of fifteen to twenty per cent. finx. The average amount of coal was 250 bushels per day. Labor: two furnace men, two slag tenders, two feeders. There were other men employ: ed getting down ore, hreaking matte, and mixing the charge. ‘Tn an operation. hike copper smelting, some reliable men are necessary, but a majority of the work can he done by Chinese. Itis, however, absolutely necessary for the superinteudent to know, his business, and to have furnace men upou whom he cau depend. It is uo easy matter to run a furnace snecessfully ; changes occur that require coustant care and watehing. ‘This is especially the case where charcoal is used for fuel. It is not sufficient for him to know the requisites of o furnace only, but he should understand the 2s lurgy of copper. Many changes have occurred in connen since our works were started ; the prico of copper has gone down to a figure that hardly. ‘two aud one-half millions of dollars, could have been predicted. The smelter should, if possible, bring his expenses. to ° the lowest figure. I believe that even at the present price of copper in the Atlantic States and Europe, copper, can be produced from sulphurets profitably—that is Sif the shippers do not take the hon’s share: ’ My experience’ in the expensés of shipping matte lead me to believe that a smelter in’Califormis should prodnce only pig cop. per, or, perhaps, to 'a limited extent, for home consumption, a refined article. The expense of making pig copper will be more than counterbalanced’ by the extia expense of freight, sacks, and charges in San Fran‘eisco upon the matte, while the pig will he worth-a greater price perunit than, the matte. With proper management, a good article of copper can he made from carbonates, oxides or silicates with one smelting : but as usually conducted in this country, it contains antimony, arsenic or iron in too great quantities for general use in the arts. The consumption of manufactured copper in California is Jarge, aud I think the day . will soon come. when a refinery and rolling mill will be demanded. Such an establishment shonld be situated near San Francisco, to catch the matte and black copper produced in the interior. Mountain Rice. ~We made some reference a few weeks since, to a kind of wild rice, which grows lusuriantly on uplands in Northern Minnesota, Knowingthat it was a valuable‘article of food, easily cultivated in localities, entirely different from those in which tho ordinary rice of commerce is produced, we suggested that the Natioual Agricultural Burean should take some steps to securo its more general introduction throughout the country, as an agricultural product. We clip tho following paragraph from’ the Beaminer of, this city, in relation to the samo matter. The suggestions are well worth a careful considération : In Maryland and Virginia, a mountain rice has been‘cultivated, yielding, without irrigation, eighteen to twenty bushels to the acre. In "Northern Minnesota it grows wild, and the quantity gathered by the Indians is . estimated at over one million of dollars in value. A recent number of that valuahle journal, the Mintxe anp Scienriric Pruss of our city, called the attention of the Commissioner of Agriculturo: to procuring yarieties of the hardy species above referred to, for general distribution. Recently, an invoice of 400 barrels of xice was received in this market from Italy, and was soldat ten cents per pound. ‘This article was raised on the plains of Piedmont, by irrigation. That magnificent sheet ob ‘water called Clear Lake, is capahle of furnishing the hrigating supply. needed by.a rice crop} for a population of twenty millions. Lake Bigler has a’ still greater irrigating capacity, and if from any reason our agriculturists dislike to raise rice, by their’ own or Chinese labor, on the’ swamp or overflowed lands, the plains and uplands can he made available from tho unfailing resources of these magnificent reservoirs. During the past few years wheat raising has yielded a vory small profit ; frequently the market has been overstocked, and even now, the good prices realized, are, to a large extent, only repaying. the logses of former years, Wearenow sending wheat and flour to New York and other ports, where they command as follows: 'Theformer five cents, the latter 744 cents, while rice hrings 10% cents. In wheat growing our farmers mush compete with the producers of the whole United States; in rice raising only with those of the Southern States. In the latter, the cotton, tohacco:and sugar crops will require all the available labor of that section, thus iusuring our State a more reliable crop for export, if wé engage in rice /cultivation, than any other staple-we can raise. We have a home demand of thirtysix millions of pounds; in value, nea may expect an equal demand for export from the older States; or a total in value of five millions of dollars for an article that it is in our power easily to produce. Let us try. = Foss Tusx.—Some workmen, says the Times, found sn immense tusk, last weels, while at work between Benicia and Bottle Hill. Being ignorant of its character, they destroyed nearly the whole of it. Dr, Hough, of Martinez, afterwards measured the cavity which it had oceupied, and found it to have been over fourteen feet in length and fourteen inches in diameter at the root.