Volume 15 (1867) (424 pages)

242 2 Gammunibeutions. ly TaTs Nepartwent we invite the rree prscussion of all subj ts alone being r for pores T he ideas and theorles they advance. Entered according to Act of Congressin the year 1866, by f F, A. Herring, lirthe Clerk’s Site of the Mistrict Court of the District of Callfornia.] Formation, Distribution and Age of Igneous Rocks. Continued from Page 210.1 If there was a period during which metalliferous qnartz was erupted in such quantities as the vast deposits of oldred sandstone would seem to indicate, the origin and formation of these deposits of hematite ore may be readily understood. Large bodies of erupted quartz carrying sulphuret of iron eoming in contact, while yet hot, with water, would greatly facilitate disintegration and decomposition, ‘The waters of the eruptive era, metalliferous quartz or old sandstone period, inust have been strongly impregnated with sulphate of iron, which was decomposed by the sulphuric acid comhining with lime, the iron being precipitated as a peroxide. Peroxide of iron seems only to have been deposited as the eoloring matter during the old red sandstone era. It was during this era that feldSpathie granite was intrnded in a plastic state along anticlinal lines forming cones and belts, frequently of great extent, and with the termination of the old red sandstone period, the intrusive granitic era may be said to have passed away. The eruptive era of metal bearing rock ended with the beginning of the carboniferous era or fifth period, and henceforth only such rock as contained little or no metal is brought to the surface in a fluid state by voleanic action. The igneous rocks, intrusive and eruptive, of the carhoniferous era, are all of the trap family. Trachytic trap is the eruptive rock, and is found interstratified, unchanged, with the formations of the carboniferoussystem. Ofalligneous rocks, those of the trachytic type are the least destruetihle, .They resist all ordinary chemieal action, and owing to their refractory nature, they are the earliest of the igneous rocks which are found interstratified with the aqueous formation. Theintrusive rocks are chiefiy greenstone, serpentine, soapstone and other magnesian rocks, dykes of which pass indiscriminately through the old red sandstone, magnesian limestone, and eoal measures, and are only found along some anticlinal axes of the carhoniferous era, At the heginning of the carhoniferous era the earth seems to have undergone a great change in its geological conditions. The erupted rock has now, owing to its power of resisting ehemical aetion, very little todo in giving character to the stratified deposits of this system. The carboniferons era began with the deposition of an immense body of limestone which was held in solution, and had been accumulating in the waters. All of the earhon that afterwards became fixed, existed in the atmosphere as earhonic acid gas, and of course the water was strongly impregnated with the gas, thus rendering it capable of holding a large quantity of lime in solution. During the old red sandstone period, the eapacity of the water for holding limestone in solution, was greatly increased by the carbouate of lime being attacked by the sulphuric acid contained in the sulphate of iron, which was so abundant, thus liberating a still larger proportion of earhonic acid, When the rank vegetation of the coal measures came into existence, this excess of carbonic acid in the water was appropriated, thus facilitating the deposition of the limestone, As the disintegrated granite furnishes the feldspar, quartz and mica of the gneiss and mica schist system, and from them again, with the erupted feldspathic granite and magnesian rocks, were obtained the materials for the clay slate and silurian rocks, so from all these, together with the old red saudstone, were derived the material for the carboniferous system. Two new rock substances made their appearance among the strata of this system—namely, coal and ironstone, The iron of the old red sandstone was disseminated through the mass as mere coloring matter—in the carhoniferous formation it is principally collected in layers or in nodules. Bodies of sulphuret of iron, which wereernpted during the old red sandstone period, and escaped decomposition hy heing snbmerged, were now upheaved together with contiguous deposits of lime. stone. The sulphuret of iron ore heing exposed to the atmosphere, would decompose, and the soluble sulphate would he carried to the depressions in the limestone. The sulphuric acid, combined with the iron, would attack the limestone, liherating the carhonie acid, and the hody of the limestone might pass away in solution to a new locality. Thus the reservoir in the limestone might go on increasing in hreadth and depth, andthe deposit of hematite ore would he limited in extent only by the supply of sulphnret of iron, On trying an experiment with a piece of marble and eopperas, each the size of a filhert, the copperas heing dissolved in water, I found the marble after being immersed a few hours, hecame so soft and friahle as to he easily crumhled with the fingers, and the hottom of the glass was covered with a hrown curly deposit. The formation of bog ore in our own era, occurs in the vicinity of mountains containing deeomposing snlphuret of iron. The intrusive era of metal bearing rock began with the sixth, or new red sandstone period. That some metallic veins are of comparatively receut origin, no one can douht who is familiar with their general appearance. Some veins and eones of metalliferons quartz, appear to have been intruded so reeently, that the geological features of} the adjacent country must have heen quite the same as they appear to-day. One vein of auriferous quartz which is five feet wide at) thesurface, gradually closes out to five inches . in width in twelve feet, at which depth the} country rock is schistose and solid, thus. showing that the soil was nearly or quite its present depth at the time the vein was intrnded in aplastic state. Sometimes ono side of a vein of intruded quartz is striated, showing it to have heen forced up in a plastic state. Profs. Rowlandson, Whitney, Blake and others eontend that auriferous veins are found enclosed within walls of rock which eontained moluscaof thejurassic age. Prof. Rowlandson says there is a vein of cinnahar in the Coast Range that must have heen formed as recently as the eocene period, That there are two periods during which metalliferous quartz was brought to the surface by voleanic action, isa general truth which applies alike to alligneous rock, The original surface igneous rock, hefore water rested upon the earth, we know, was granite, because the earliest deposited aqueous rock is altered granite or gnciss. As the original granite was everywhere over the earth’s surface, exposed to disintegrating agencies, the gneiss formation must originally have covered the whole earth with a stratum of varied thickness. Yet we not only find this deposit of altered granite, intersected hy dykes of grauite, hut veins and cones of granite along anticlinal lines, intersect and overlie the two following geological ages up and to the old red sandstone period. The clay slate system was deposited during the . eruptive eraof feldspathic granite, and veins of feldspathic granite intersect aJl the formations up to the carhoniferous system. Veins of granite, from a few feet to man yards in width, are found intersecting the clay slates flanking the Sierra Nevada. Veins of porphyry and greenstone, and other magnesian rocks, also intersect deposits of altered porphyry, hornhlende slates and other stratified magnesian deposits, and veins of metalliferous quartz intersect all the formations up to, and including the tertiary, and possibly later. I have seen auriferous quartz veins in such a position as to show most conclusively, to my mind at least, that they were very much more recently formed than the more ancient gold hearing gravel deposits, There isa cone of quartz belonging to a traceable vein situated near the junction of Slate creek and Yuba river, which, from its position and general appearauce, seems to have been intruded in a plastic slate at 2 period so recent that the geological features in its vicinity have undergone very little if any change since -its formation. Thechannel of the Yuba, which at this point must he near 2,000 feet in depth, cuts an ancient anriferous gravel most elevated ridge in the immediate vicinity. This cone of quartz is situated at lcast 1,500 feet down the steep hankof the canon and helow the gravel deposit, and its pecu-. liar form and the striations upon the quartz connty, which is only a few rods from the creek, and perhaps twenty feet above its bed. The Honcut ents the hlué cement deposit near Bangor, and the hed of the stream is near 20 feet below it. The croppings of this vein appear to have displaced the loose surface soil, aud ata ercater depth, as the disintegrated schistose rock becomes solid, the vein decreased in width, then showing the soil to have been quite its present depth at the time the quartz was intruded. In another locality there is « flattenecd hody of quartz, nearly cirenlar in form, resting upon the surface of the red soil, which is some twelve feet in depth, and within a few yards of a ravine situated near the summit of an elevated ridge flanking the Sierra Nevada. The snrface of this body of quartz dips at nearly the same angle as the bank of the ravine, and has every indication of having been intruded in » nearly congealed condition, at a period so recent as to show conclusively that even many of the little ravines upon the hillside remain unchanged. Bunt for thoso who are aequainted with the appearance of quartz veins iu the Sierra Nevada, there is no occasion to multiply instances of this character, which show that some auriferous veins are of comparatively recent origin. [To be Continned.} [Frum our Traveling Correspondent.} Mining in Nevada County. Litrir Yorr.—There are two gravel mills in this place, owned hy Messrs, Buckman & Curran. Their lead promises well, and douhtless when further developed, will af-) ford a fair dividend to its proprietors, Mr. Gardner is running a hydraulic claim, whieh is said to pay very well. With the exception of these enterprises the town is rather dull; its citizens appear to he mostly engaged in quartz euterprises at Meadow Lake, the famous U. 8S. Grant [claim, and other lodes having heen discovered and loeated hy citizens of this place. You Ber is running ahout fifty stamps, crushing blue gravel, and making times comparatively lively, The writer visited five mills, all in active operation, and apparently doing well. Messrs. Neece & West are working the lower end of the lead, while three inills, owned hy Mallory, Brown and Hydeliff, respectively, are working the upper end of the same chanuel. Mr. E. Williams also has a fine little mill, hetween this place and Red Dog, which is working heautifully and said to be paying very well, At Hunt’s Hill, two miles above Red Dog, there are alsotwo mills—Gonge Eye Co. and the Easton Co.—both at work, taking out and erushing some of the best looking gravel seen in the county, specimens of which are often found completely spattered with the precious metal. Nevapa Crry.—The Manzanita mine, owned hy Marcellus & Co. is quite extensive. It is a hill claim, and pays from ‘‘orass roots” to ‘‘bed-rock.” It is worked by hydranlic, ground sluice and stamps, The latter eonsists of 2 15-stamp mill, driven hy hydraulic hurdy-gurdy power, crushing Y . ahout eighty tons per twenty-four hours, at an expense not to exceed $1 per ton, ineluding the entire cost of inining and milling, The ore crushed consists of quartz gravel and houlders, taken from the lower strate of the mine, Many of these boulders are rich, showing the free metal and considerahle sulphurets, Theyield of the mine and mill appears perfectly satisfactory to the owners, a3 evidence of which they are not for sale. Star Spangled Banner Ledge, Tisdale & Co., are erecting new machinery to enlarge their crushing facilities. They have a first elass mine, affording good $30 rock, with prospects of realizing more as soon as they avail themselves of all the improvements in working sulphurets. Qhe Wigham, Merritt & Co., San Francisco, Nevada Co’s mine, and the Cornish mines are all evidently doing well and prospering. The California, Pattee & Co., also the Providence, Dingley & Co., are apparently good mines, with good mills attached. : f if . The California mill, especially, is 2 model deposit, or old river hed, which caps the}! arrangement of convenience and néatness, . worthy the examination of any one contemplating the construction of crushing and hoisting workr. Both these mines will doubtless resume operations in dne time. Grass Vauizy.—This place, as every one . of other similarly situated veins, shows the) knows, affords some of the best paying vein matter to have heen intrudedin a nearly congealed state. mines of the State. The Eureka, Watt Bros. part owners and exclusive managers, quartz mine, This mine runs a 20-stamp mill, and could run as much more if desired, erushing two tons per stamp, the rock averaging $45 to $50 per ton, and taken from a vein not less than four feet average width. The Watts are considered the most experienced and best practical quartz miners in the State; they know how to run the “‘machine.” ; The North Star, 2 San Franciseo Co,, W. H. Rodda, Superintendent, affords remarkably rich ore, and is considered a first class mine. It also cost a first class price, $450,000. It employs a vast number of men and does a glittering business. The Ophir is rattling away with its beantiful 30-stamp mill, apparently doing a fine business, and crushing good looking ore. The Wisconsin is an extraordinary rich vein of quartz, varying from twelve to eighteen inches in width, showing large amounts of free gold throughout the entire ‘‘breast” of 100 feet on the line of the ledge. The ore is judged to be good $90 rock. At present, the company only have machinery sufficient to work the mine ; hut will douhtless erect a 10-stamp hattery in time for another season. The Lucky, G. V. Barher & Co., have a fine ledge of from fifteen to twenty-four inches in width; supplying 2 15-stamp mill {hattery and blanket process), and crushing twenty-five tons per day, with an average yield of $15 per ton. The Cambridge, James Powning, Superinteudent, is preparing to rush matters very soon, Mr. Powning expresses confideuco that he has ‘‘got it,” and will soon he able to ‘show it.” There are numerous other mines that are heing prospected with cousiderable vigor, some of which are presenting very favorahle developments, showing clearly that Grass Valley and vicinity has not uncovered one-half of the rich mineral veins with which it ahounds. Hydraulic Mining, commencing at French Corral and extending in an almost continuous line throngh Birechville, Sweetland, Sevastopol to North San Jnan, is here carvied on with more thoroughness and enterprise than in any other portion of the State, There are quite a number of rich claims that have paid the preseut proprietors amply in piping off the top; hut the owners are not, or do not feel themselves able to eonstruct an outlet sufiiciently low to work the bottom, the richest portion of their ground. Of this character of claims, many of them could be purchased in a body together, at very reasonable rates, affording in the judgment of many experienced miners the very hest chances for investment of capital. There are some few of the present owners who have joined their means together, for the purpose of runnings tunuol, —making an outlet sufficiently low to work their whole ground jointly. This range of ground is certainly well worthy of investi-gation by capitalists, having a view to extensive and highly remunerative investment. Among the many paying claims that are now being worked, the writer will only mention two—the Buckeye and the American. The former, Gen. O, Evans, principal owner, recently made a clean up of $22,000 from twenty-eight days run. The latter, owned by Brown & Co., have two mills on their claim, one crushing gravel— the other grinding and amalgamating sand from the ‘funder current.” ‘This is called the most extensive, as well as the best paying mine in the whole range. From Columhia Hill via Humhug to Moore’s Flat, the same complaint exists, viz., the want of capital to cut an outlet. Millions of money lie huried in these channels, which cannot he reached hy individuals, or in any other way except by heavy organized companics, who are willing to expend from $50 to $150,000 in opening up a tract of mining ground that will unquestionably reward the adventurers with dividends heretofore unparalleled in the history of placer mining. By the way, it is reported that a New York eompany is about making an extensive purchase near Columhia Hill. Should this be effected, something interesting may be looked for, as the writer knows the parties purchasing—and whatever they undertake, is based upon sound practical jndgment and experience, At Humhug, a San Francisco French Company have made a purchase, also made a very fair heginning; yet it is feared by many of the kuowing ones, that they are not low enongh in their maiu outlet to work all of their ground. Mr. Chas. Beaver is superintendiug, and douhtless knows what he is ahout. At Moore’s Flat, several extensive hydraulie claims are now heing worked very successfully. The principal ones are Pinte and Eagle, Illinois, Pioneer, Paradise, Buckeye, Blne Banks and XIX. Mr, W. D. Long will favor the Press with statisties There is another vein of qnartz situated. stands first, and is without douht, asfar as. and items of this place from time to time, on the bank of the north Honcut in Butte! known, the ‘Ne plus Ulira’ of a California! More next week. B.

242 2 Gammunibeutions. ly TaTs Nepartwent we invite the rree prscussion of all subj ts alone being r for pores T he ideas and theorles they advance. Entered according to Act of Congressin the year 1866, by f F, A. Herring, lirthe Clerk’s Site of the Mistrict Court of the District of Callfornia.] Formation, Distribution and Age of Igneous Rocks. Continued from Page 210.1 If there was a period during which metalliferous qnartz was erupted in such quantities as the vast deposits of oldred sandstone would seem to indicate, the origin and formation of these deposits of hematite ore may be readily understood. Large bodies of erupted quartz carrying sulphuret of iron eoming in contact, while yet hot, with water, would greatly facilitate disintegration and decomposition, ‘The waters of the eruptive era, metalliferous quartz or old sandstone period, inust have been strongly impregnated with sulphate of iron, which was decomposed by the sulphuric acid comhining with lime, the iron being precipitated as a peroxide. Peroxide of iron seems only to have been deposited as the eoloring matter during the old red sandstone era. It was during this era that feldSpathie granite was intrnded in a plastic state along anticlinal lines forming cones and belts, frequently of great extent, and with the termination of the old red sandstone period, the intrusive granitic era may be said to have passed away. The eruptive era of metal bearing rock ended with the beginning of the carboniferous era or fifth period, and henceforth only such rock as contained little or no metal is brought to the surface in a fluid state by voleanic action. The igneous rocks, intrusive and eruptive, of the carhoniferous era, are all of the trap family. Trachytic trap is the eruptive rock, and is found interstratified, unchanged, with the formations of the carboniferoussystem. Ofalligneous rocks, those of the trachytic type are the least destruetihle, .They resist all ordinary chemieal action, and owing to their refractory nature, they are the earliest of the igneous rocks which are found interstratified with the aqueous formation. Theintrusive rocks are chiefiy greenstone, serpentine, soapstone and other magnesian rocks, dykes of which pass indiscriminately through the old red sandstone, magnesian limestone, and eoal measures, and are only found along some anticlinal axes of the carhoniferous era, At the heginning of the carhoniferous era the earth seems to have undergone a great change in its geological conditions. The erupted rock has now, owing to its power of resisting ehemical aetion, very little todo in giving character to the stratified deposits of this system. The carboniferons era began with the deposition of an immense body of limestone which was held in solution, and had been accumulating in the waters. All of the earhon that afterwards became fixed, existed in the atmosphere as earhonic acid gas, and of course the water was strongly impregnated with the gas, thus rendering it capable of holding a large quantity of lime in solution. During the old red sandstone period, the eapacity of the water for holding limestone in solution, was greatly increased by the carbouate of lime being attacked by the sulphuric acid contained in the sulphate of iron, which was so abundant, thus liberating a still larger proportion of earhonic acid, When the rank vegetation of the coal measures came into existence, this excess of carbonic acid in the water was appropriated, thus facilitating the deposition of the limestone, As the disintegrated granite furnishes the feldspar, quartz and mica of the gneiss and mica schist system, and from them again, with the erupted feldspathic granite and magnesian rocks, were obtained the materials for the clay slate and silurian rocks, so from all these, together with the old red saudstone, were derived the material for the carboniferous system. Two new rock substances made their appearance among the strata of this system—namely, coal and ironstone, The iron of the old red sandstone was disseminated through the mass as mere coloring matter—in the carhoniferous formation it is principally collected in layers or in nodules. Bodies of sulphuret of iron, which wereernpted during the old red sandstone period, and escaped decomposition hy heing snbmerged, were now upheaved together with contiguous deposits of lime. stone. The sulphuret of iron ore heing exposed to the atmosphere, would decompose, and the soluble sulphate would he carried to the depressions in the limestone. The sulphuric acid, combined with the iron, would attack the limestone, liherating the carhonie acid, and the hody of the limestone might pass away in solution to a new locality. Thus the reservoir in the limestone might go on increasing in hreadth and depth, andthe deposit of hematite ore would he limited in extent only by the supply of sulphnret of iron, On trying an experiment with a piece of marble and eopperas, each the size of a filhert, the copperas heing dissolved in water, I found the marble after being immersed a few hours, hecame so soft and friahle as to he easily crumhled with the fingers, and the hottom of the glass was covered with a hrown curly deposit. The formation of bog ore in our own era, occurs in the vicinity of mountains containing deeomposing snlphuret of iron. The intrusive era of metal bearing rock began with the sixth, or new red sandstone period. That some metallic veins are of comparatively receut origin, no one can douht who is familiar with their general appearance. Some veins and eones of metalliferons quartz, appear to have been intruded so reeently, that the geological features of} the adjacent country must have heen quite the same as they appear to-day. One vein of auriferous quartz which is five feet wide at) thesurface, gradually closes out to five inches . in width in twelve feet, at which depth the} country rock is schistose and solid, thus. showing that the soil was nearly or quite its present depth at the time the vein was intrnded in aplastic state. Sometimes ono side of a vein of intruded quartz is striated, showing it to have heen forced up in a plastic state. Profs. Rowlandson, Whitney, Blake and others eontend that auriferous veins are found enclosed within walls of rock which eontained moluscaof thejurassic age. Prof. Rowlandson says there is a vein of cinnahar in the Coast Range that must have heen formed as recently as the eocene period, That there are two periods during which metalliferous quartz was brought to the surface by voleanic action, isa general truth which applies alike to alligneous rock, The original surface igneous rock, hefore water rested upon the earth, we know, was granite, because the earliest deposited aqueous rock is altered granite or gnciss. As the original granite was everywhere over the earth’s surface, exposed to disintegrating agencies, the gneiss formation must originally have covered the whole earth with a stratum of varied thickness. Yet we not only find this deposit of altered granite, intersected hy dykes of grauite, hut veins and cones of granite along anticlinal lines, intersect and overlie the two following geological ages up and to the old red sandstone period. The clay slate system was deposited during the . eruptive eraof feldspathic granite, and veins of feldspathic granite intersect aJl the formations up to the carhoniferous system. Veins of granite, from a few feet to man yards in width, are found intersecting the clay slates flanking the Sierra Nevada. Veins of porphyry and greenstone, and other magnesian rocks, also intersect deposits of altered porphyry, hornhlende slates and other stratified magnesian deposits, and veins of metalliferous quartz intersect all the formations up to, and including the tertiary, and possibly later. I have seen auriferous quartz veins in such a position as to show most conclusively, to my mind at least, that they were very much more recently formed than the more ancient gold hearing gravel deposits, There isa cone of quartz belonging to a traceable vein situated near the junction of Slate creek and Yuba river, which, from its position and general appearauce, seems to have been intruded in a plastic slate at 2 period so recent that the geological features in its vicinity have undergone very little if any change since -its formation. Thechannel of the Yuba, which at this point must he near 2,000 feet in depth, cuts an ancient anriferous gravel most elevated ridge in the immediate vicinity. This cone of quartz is situated at lcast 1,500 feet down the steep hankof the canon and helow the gravel deposit, and its pecu-. liar form and the striations upon the quartz connty, which is only a few rods from the creek, and perhaps twenty feet above its bed. The Honcut ents the hlué cement

deposit near Bangor, and the hed of the stream is near 20 feet below it. The croppings of this vein appear to have displaced the loose surface soil, aud ata ercater depth, as the disintegrated schistose rock becomes solid, the vein decreased in width, then showing the soil to have been quite its present depth at the time the quartz was intruded. In another locality there is « flattenecd hody of quartz, nearly cirenlar in form, resting upon the surface of the red soil, which is some twelve feet in depth, and within a few yards of a ravine situated near the summit of an elevated ridge flanking the Sierra Nevada. The snrface of this body of quartz dips at nearly the same angle as the bank of the ravine, and has every indication of having been intruded in » nearly congealed condition, at a period so recent as to show conclusively that even many of the little ravines upon the hillside remain unchanged. Bunt for thoso who are aequainted with the appearance of quartz veins iu the Sierra Nevada, there is no occasion to multiply instances of this character, which show that some auriferous veins are of comparatively recent origin. [To be Continned.} [Frum our Traveling Correspondent.} Mining in Nevada County. Litrir Yorr.—There are two gravel mills in this place, owned hy Messrs, Buckman & Curran. Their lead promises well, and douhtless when further developed, will af-) ford a fair dividend to its proprietors, Mr. Gardner is running a hydraulic claim, whieh is said to pay very well. With the exception of these enterprises the town is rather dull; its citizens appear to he mostly engaged in quartz euterprises at Meadow Lake, the famous U. 8S. Grant [claim, and other lodes having heen discovered and loeated hy citizens of this place. You Ber is running ahout fifty stamps, crushing blue gravel, and making times comparatively lively, The writer visited five mills, all in active operation, and apparently doing well. Messrs. Neece & West are working the lower end of the lead, while three inills, owned hy Mallory, Brown and Hydeliff, respectively, are working the upper end of the same chanuel. Mr. E. Williams also has a fine little mill, hetween this place and Red Dog, which is working heautifully and said to be paying very well, At Hunt’s Hill, two miles above Red Dog, there are alsotwo mills—Gonge Eye Co. and the Easton Co.—both at work, taking out and erushing some of the best looking gravel seen in the county, specimens of which are often found completely spattered with the precious metal. Nevapa Crry.—The Manzanita mine, owned hy Marcellus & Co. is quite extensive. It is a hill claim, and pays from ‘‘orass roots” to ‘‘bed-rock.” It is worked by hydranlic, ground sluice and stamps, The latter eonsists of 2 15-stamp mill, driven hy hydraulic hurdy-gurdy power, crushing Y . ahout eighty tons per twenty-four hours, at an expense not to exceed $1 per ton, ineluding the entire cost of inining and milling, The ore crushed consists of quartz gravel and houlders, taken from the lower strate of the mine, Many of these boulders are rich, showing the free metal and considerahle sulphurets, Theyield of the mine and mill appears perfectly satisfactory to the owners, a3 evidence of which they are not for sale. Star Spangled Banner Ledge, Tisdale & Co., are erecting new machinery to enlarge their crushing facilities. They have a first elass mine, affording good $30 rock, with prospects of realizing more as soon as they avail themselves of all the improvements in working sulphurets. Qhe Wigham, Merritt & Co., San Francisco, Nevada Co’s mine, and the Cornish mines are all evidently doing well and prospering. The California, Pattee & Co., also the Providence, Dingley & Co., are apparently good mines, with good mills attached. : f if . The California mill, especially, is 2 model deposit, or old river hed, which caps the}! arrangement of convenience and néatness, . worthy the examination of any one contemplating the construction of crushing and hoisting workr. Both these mines will doubtless resume operations in dne time. Grass Vauizy.—This place, as every one . of other similarly situated veins, shows the) knows, affords some of the best paying vein matter to have heen intrudedin a nearly congealed state. mines of the State. The Eureka, Watt Bros. part owners and exclusive managers, quartz mine, This mine runs a 20-stamp mill, and could run as much more if desired, erushing two tons per stamp, the rock averaging $45 to $50 per ton, and taken from a vein not less than four feet average width. The Watts are considered the most experienced and best practical quartz miners in the State; they know how to run the “‘machine.” ; The North Star, 2 San Franciseo Co,, W. H. Rodda, Superintendent, affords remarkably rich ore, and is considered a first class mine. It also cost a first class price, $450,000. It employs a vast number of men and does a glittering business. The Ophir is rattling away with its beantiful 30-stamp mill, apparently doing a fine business, and crushing good looking ore. The Wisconsin is an extraordinary rich vein of quartz, varying from twelve to eighteen inches in width, showing large amounts of free gold throughout the entire ‘‘breast” of 100 feet on the line of the ledge. The ore is judged to be good $90 rock. At present, the company only have machinery sufficient to work the mine ; hut will douhtless erect a 10-stamp hattery in time for another season. The Lucky, G. V. Barher & Co., have a fine ledge of from fifteen to twenty-four inches in width; supplying 2 15-stamp mill {hattery and blanket process), and crushing twenty-five tons per day, with an average yield of $15 per ton. The Cambridge, James Powning, Superinteudent, is preparing to rush matters very soon, Mr. Powning expresses confideuco that he has ‘‘got it,” and will soon he able to ‘show it.” There are numerous other mines that are heing prospected with cousiderable vigor, some of which are presenting very favorahle developments, showing clearly that Grass Valley and vicinity has not uncovered one-half of the rich mineral veins with which it ahounds. Hydraulic Mining, commencing at French Corral and extending in an almost continuous line throngh Birechville, Sweetland, Sevastopol to North San Jnan, is here carvied on with more thoroughness and enterprise than in any other portion of the State, There are quite a number of rich claims that have paid the preseut proprietors amply in piping off the top; hut the owners are not, or do not feel themselves able to eonstruct an outlet sufiiciently low to work the bottom, the richest portion of their ground. Of this character of claims, many of them could be purchased in a body together, at very reasonable rates, affording in the judgment of many experienced miners the very hest chances for investment of capital. There are some few of the present owners who have joined their means together, for the purpose of runnings tunuol, —making an outlet sufficiently low to work their whole ground jointly. This range of ground is certainly well worthy of investi-gation by capitalists, having a view to extensive and highly remunerative investment. Among the many paying claims that are now being worked, the writer will only mention two—the Buckeye and the American. The former, Gen. O, Evans, principal owner, recently made a clean up of $22,000 from twenty-eight days run. The latter, owned by Brown & Co., have two mills on their claim, one crushing gravel— the other grinding and amalgamating sand from the ‘funder current.” ‘This is called the most extensive, as well as the best paying mine in the whole range. From Columhia Hill via Humhug to Moore’s Flat, the same complaint exists, viz., the want of capital to cut an outlet. Millions of money lie huried in these channels, which cannot he reached hy individuals, or in any other way except by heavy organized companics, who are willing to expend from $50 to $150,000 in opening up a tract of mining ground that will unquestionably reward the adventurers with dividends heretofore unparalleled in the history of placer mining. By the way, it is reported that a New York eompany is about making an extensive purchase near Columhia Hill. Should this be effected, something interesting may be looked for, as the writer knows the parties purchasing—and whatever they undertake, is based upon sound practical jndgment and experience, At Humhug, a San Francisco French Company have made a purchase, also made a very fair heginning; yet it is feared by many of the kuowing ones, that they are not low enongh in their maiu outlet to work all of their ground. Mr. Chas. Beaver is superintendiug, and douhtless knows what he is ahout. At Moore’s Flat, several extensive hydraulie claims are now heing worked very successfully. The principal ones are Pinte and Eagle, Illinois, Pioneer, Paradise, Buckeye, Blne Banks and XIX. Mr, W. D. Long will favor the Press with statisties There is another vein of qnartz situated. stands first, and is without douht, asfar as. and items of this place from time to time, on the bank of the north Honcut in Butte! known, the ‘Ne plus Ulira’ of a California! More next week. B.