Volume 17 (1868) (428 pages)

18 The Mining and Scientific Press. Volatility of Gold and Silver. NUMBER THREE. We resume the question of tho volatility of gold, If gold be actually volatile to the extent indicated by Mr. Napier’s experiments, it might be reasonably anticipated that some gold would be fouud in the fluedust of the melting furnace, aud that some of the precious metal might even fly ont into sthe atmosphere at the top of the chimney. In the experiments communicated to the Chemical Society of London by Mr. Napier, a digest of which was given in ourissuo of Jnne 13th, analyses of deposits taken from the top, middle, and hottom of a chimney about 35 feet high were given, A quantity of soot was also collected, as it escaped into the atmosphere, ahout four feet ahove the top of the chimney, which, on examination, was found to contain three per cent. of silver, with alsoa small portion of gold. Soot deposited on a wall against which the chimney stood, was fonnd to contain 4.2 per cent. of silver, also some gold. The most extraordinary feature in these analyses is the presence of gold in such large proportions; theamount being at least douhle that which originally existed in the alloy which was treated in the furnace, Mr. Napier hazards, in explanation of this curious result, tho view that this excess proportion of gold is carried off hy vaporized metallic copper, owing to the greater affinity of the latter for gold. In Mr. Napier’s second series of experiments, . which are also referred toin onr issue of the 23d ult.,. the melted metal was not, as in the preceding instance, covered with charcoal ; but a number of bone-ash cupels were kept floating upon the surface of the molten metal, for the purpose of absorhing smal] qnantities of lead, which were contained iu the silver operated upon, Here the loss was of very serious amount, while that of the silver was also quite alarming. These losses appear even more setious when we take into consideration the fact that it is only that portion of the metallic suhstances which lodges ou the sides of the chimney that has any chance of heing recovered. In Napier’s experiments the alloys melted contaiued gold as a minor constituent; in the case of the silver coin, the gold formed in this State aud Nevada; bnt only the and inthat of the metal for parting, presumahly only one-third or one-fourth of the componnd, and yet in both cases gold found its way into the flue-dust. With gold containing 96 per ceut. of the precious metal, would there be asensible loss from like causes? The correct answer to this question is, that the same kind of loss ocenrs ; analyses and examinations made with the deposits from the chimneys of numerous melting honses in Anstralia have always sbown the presence of gold in considerable proportion. Similar results have not unfrequently been obtained from the hreaking up or cleaning of melting establishments twelve-hundredth part of the alloy, for evident reasons, little has been said ahout it. Special care has been taken to keep such facts out of the papers. In melting the low grado product of many of our mines, which often assays as low as $14 per ounce the loss of gold must, judging from the above experiments, be much greater than when melting the product of those mines which yield very fine gold. This isa matter deserving of the most serious attention. Moreover, the abundant uso of nitre and corrosive Snblimate in toughening gold, as is sometimes done, occasions violent action in the melting pot; the use of these chemicals cansesan additional loss of gofd, presumably by mechanical projection, and the question of tho cause of the loss of gold in tho melter’s hand and of the state in which it escapes into the chimney hay hecome far more complex than in our early gold-melting days, when the alluvial gold of high quality was the ouly material operated upon; and when this, with the addition of alittlo . . borax, was simply melted and ponred once In some of tho larger melting houses iu Melbourne, Australia, there is 1 considerable length of fino between the furnaceand tho chimney-shaft, and in these flues, as well as in the shaft itself, a deposit of dust occurs. Jfrom fines of this description aud from the shaft of oue of theso establishments tho accumulated dust was receutly cleared out. ‘The dust from the flues afforded by assay for each pouud weight avoirdupois: Grains. Silver. VLAS4 Gold. 3 ell White alloy of gold and SiIVCP. cc cceceteeeeeeeeene 14,763 The dust from the shaft, similarly examined, afforded per pound avoirdupois : Silver. Gold. White alloy of gold and silver 1. 4866 These results, which are reliable, must speak for themselves; they represent the average of what takes place in the ordinary operations of an assaying establishment, performing tho usual varieties of work. if a sample of this fine-dust be taken in the hand, aud closely inspected, neither gold nor silver will he seen, and if it be re-. washed down to a small hulk, the gold will be almost, or altogether, invisible to the. naked eye, or to the cye aided by a pocket lens ; but if, after washing a sample, we place the residne under a compound microscope with a magnifying power of abont) ninety diameters, we shall theu observe, lying among the stony particles, nnmerous spherical globules, and groups of crystals ot both gold and silver. The little golden spheres are, many of them, exceedingly brilliant, and perfect in form, and they may be readily distinguished as varying from the rich yellow of fine gold to the pale greenish yellow of alloys coutaining mnch silver, so that it can be certainly stated that these minnte particles widely differ from each other in fineness. If, again, a portion of dust be removed from the flues of a muffle-stovo which has been for some timo iu constant use, very similar results will be also obtained. After washing this dust, little amher-colored translucent spheres, apparently silicate of lead, may be observed under the microscope, and interspersed among these, countless metallic glohnles tolerably nniform in size bnt varying in color, and conseqnently in their proportions of gold and silver much as those in the fiue-dust of the wind furnace vary. Tf gold he cupelled with lead, but without silver, there is a notable loss of gold ; as often as we repeat the operation on the same piece of pure gold, so often we occasion a further loss of weight. Bnt iu the cupellation of gold with silver and lead, as conducted in the ordinary assay, there is a palpable loss of silver, bunt no apparent loss of gold; it appears as though the presence of the more volatile silver shielded the gold and prevented its loss. In reality the case is very different from what it appears, for hoth gold and silver are actually lost, hut as the resulting cornet is never pnre gold, bnt always contains a residue of silver, so the real loss of gold is covered and more than covered by the excess of silver which pertaius to the cornet after all the operations of the assay. To make this quito clear, we venture to give anexample. If 10 graimsof pure gold are cupelled with 30 grains of silver, .and 100 grains of pure lead, we shall obtain a cornet weighing a little over 10 grains—say 10.008, the excess of 8,000ths of a grain is considered as silver left in the gold, and an allowance for this surcharge, as it is called, is made in the common assay. Bnt if we now analyze the 10.008 grains of gold ohtained as onr result, we shall obtain more than 8,000ths of a grain of silver—say 12,000ths ; in this case the extra 4,000ths of of silver go to cover the loss of the same weight of gold during the cupellation, CONCLUSIONS. From these several resnlts we learn that . at very high temperatures gold is volatile ; that gold melted at the temperature of our common fnrnaces sniffers considerable loss; that the lossis apparently angmented hy the presence of other metals, especially by snch as are of a volatile naturo. We learn, too, that gold passes off in the assay muiile, and that it may be recognized in, and recovered from, the flue dust ; moreover, that it actualiy passes out of the chimney-top into the atmosphere. How far in these several instances it passes offin vapor, and how far it is mechanically swept away in the dranght as gold mist, if we may use sucha phrase, has yet to be determined ; for, although the . experiments of Napier are conclnsive as to the facts hronght forward, the deductions which he has made can scarcely be received as final or conclusive. <= A Brivurant Invention ror Burypine, Bureuars,—The carrying of weapons has long been forhidden in France to persons in civil life; bunt a brilliant Parisian invention has lately been made, which, while conforming with the law, is a partial aid as a means of defence against burglars and other night robbers. It consists of a horn, inserted in the end of a cane, which horn contains an electric battery and a small lamp with two powerful reflectors. The intensity of this light temporarily blinds any person at whom it is pointed. The. lamp is kindled at will by pressing a small knob at tho other end of the cane, which kuob communicates with an electric wire. Locomotives in Mining Tunnels. Eprrors Press.—The ineclosed calculations and queries are sent with the reqnest that they be published in the Miytne anp Screntiric Press, for the purpose of obtaining the facts in regard to the feasibility of rnnning engines in tunnels for mining purposes at a reasonable degree of expense. If that could be done, it would add much to the valne of Sierra County; and of course, to all places where gravel deposits lie far back into the hills. The conditions of the calenlations apply to all companies just begining to operate in this immediate locality; hut hefore they gct worked ont, they will have to car at least a mile. If you publish the communication, please make such notice or comment in regard to it as you may_see fit. The companies are all anxions to know if engines can be used iu carrying. Trnly yours, J. F. Coun. The following are the calculations and qneries above referred to: Company A employs five carmen on a main track tnnnel, 2,500 feet in length, with an ontward descent of six inches per hnndred feet, or abont twenty-eight feet per mile, running at the rate of sixteen trips each, on a shift, with loaded cars weighing 3,000 pounds each. The cost of that carrying for a year wonld be, for five men by day and five by night, ten men working, say 300 days each, at $324 per day, $10,500. If a locomotive could be used the cost . per year would he— Cost of locomotive and apparatus. Ap IETESt and i rye ue Engineer. amount of cost first year Balance In favor of locomotiy. $3,150 Baltnee, sceond year. 6.450 third ‘a 6.450 fourth * 6,459 Saved In four years..:escseceneeee $22,800 Suppose two companies aro situated so that the same locomotive could be used hy both, and instead of performing tho work of ten men per year, it could do the work of twenty men, with the above conditions; then the estimates would be the labor of twenty carmen for 800 days each, at $34 per day, $21,000, Cost ot engine per year, $7,050. Balance in favor of engine first year Balance ln favor of cnyine secottd 5¢ Balance In favor of engine thi year. Balance jn fuyor of engine tourth year. Amount saved in four years.-.----..0.005The importance of the following queries are manifest and positive: Can an engine be used in a tunuel threc and one-half teet wide by tive feet high, with ample ventilation, so that the heat and steam will not iuterfere? What kind of fuel could he best employed—coal, petroleum, oil, charcoal, coke, or what? Cau the smoke be condensed or consumed, or a jet of steam be employed to destroy its uoxious qnalities ? How many empty cars, weighing 1,000 pounds each, conld a 40-cwt. engine draw up a grade of forty feet per mile, at a maximum rate of five miles an hour? Have locomotives ever beeu used in tunnels; and if not, why not, where the operations are extensive enough to justify the ontlay ? Answers to any one or all of the above queries, through the columns of the Press, are respectfully solicited. Could engines he used in caring, they would add untold wealth to the State. There are large tracts that would unquestionahly pay, if the caring cost, at the outside, sufficiently less than hy ordinary means, Table Rock, Sierra Co., June 28, 1868. dl, dB, (Ce In place of according to Mr. Colo’s inquiry the customary hrief observations which only can he afforded by the limited space at our disposal iu the column set apart to Notices to Correspondents, we have preferred to publish his letter in extenso, deeming the inquiries of sufficient importauce. The subject matter of inquiry is not one on which we can pass any opinion, so far as personal experience is conderned. We have, however, made some inqniries on the subject, and one gentleman states that iu South Wales, the iron ore, raised in such immense quantities iu that district, is iu several places drawn in cars through tunnels hy 2 small locomotive. This, he states, has been the casofor many years, and is given from his own positive knowledgo, Coals, he states, as he has been informed, have also heen withdrawn in a similar manner. He also states that rails, three feet tion of an ordinary railroad of some length jua hilly district_of North Wales, an account of which was recently published in the Mrnine anp Screntiric Pruss. We think, however, tho party allnded to, conenrs in the opinion, that a hight of five feet wonld scarcely snflice to render the inconvenience of the waste steam from becoming very troublesome and annoying, ‘To remedy this drawback, the gentleman named suggests that for the purpose of ohtaining tractive power, in place of employing a locomotive, an endless rope might he nsed, worked by a revolving drum, set in motion by a stationary engine at the mouth of the tunnel. The tunnels in England have been worked in this way since the opening of the Manchester and Liverpool Railway, in 1830, one tunnel heing abonta mile and a half, and another a mile in length. Ross Browne's First Report. We are indebted to Prof. W. P, Blake for some advance sheets of J, Ross Browne’s second and final report upon the ‘Mineral Resonrees of the States and ‘Territories west of the Rocky Monntaius.” The sheets before ns comprise 176 pages, ‘The Professor writes us that at the date of mailing the imperfect copy sent, the entire volume, which contains 700 pages, was already ont of the press, and in the hands of the binders, so that we onght to receive the balance of the work soon. Upon tho first of the pages before us, we find the following as the heads of the various points to which special attention is given in the report: 1. The origin of gold mining on the.Pacific Coast and present condition of that iuterest, as tending to show the progress of settlement and civilization. 2. Geological formation of the great mineral belts and general characteristics of the placer diggings and quartz lodes, 3. Different systems of mining, machinery used, processes of redncing the ores, percentage of waste, and net profits. 4. Population engaged in wining, exelnsively and in-part, capital and labor employed, value of improvements, number of mills and steam engines in operation, yield of the mines, average of dividends and losses. : 5. Proportion of agricultural and mineral landsin each district, quantity of woodland, facilities for obtaining fnel, numher and extent. of streams, and water privileges, 6. Salt beds, deposits of soda and horax, and all other valuable mineral deposits, 7. Alt.tude, character of climate, mode and cost of living, cost of all kinds of material, cost of lahor, ete. 8. Population of the mining towns, number of hanks and banking institutions in them, facilities for assaying, melting and refining bulliou; charges upon the same for transportation and insurance. 9. Communicatiou with the mines and principal towns, postal and telegraphic lines; stage routes ; cost of travel; probable benetits likely to resnlt from constrnetion of the Pacific railroad and its proposed branches, 10, Necessity for assay offices and public depositories ; what financial facilities may tend to develop the country and euhance its products, 11. Copies of local mining laws, and customs regulating the holding and working of claims. 12. Number of ledges opened, numher claimed, character of the soil in the mining districts, and its adaptation to the support of a large population. The 176 pages Lefore us, after a few preliminary remarks, are entirely devoted to the consideration of so much of the first point enumerated as relates to California. In presentiug the present condition of the mining interest of this State, each county is considered separately, and each of the ptincipal mines in the several counties is separately examined and reported npon., The report is evidoutly very claborate, and we have no doubt it will fnrnish a large amount of valuable information—far more than will be considered commensnrate with its cost. We shall speak more fully of it . when wehave the eutire docnment before us. six inches apayt, would amply suffice for. Since the above wasiu type, Mr. Browne the purpose, or possihly even of narrower . has laid upon our table the report comgange; as railroads of that narrow gange . plete, but too late for further examination have been fonnd well adapted for the forma-. this week,

18 The Mining and Scientific Press. Volatility of Gold and Silver. NUMBER THREE. We resume the question of tho volatility of gold, If gold be actually volatile to the extent indicated by Mr. Napier’s experiments, it might be reasonably anticipated that some gold would be fouud in the fluedust of the melting furnace, aud that some of the precious metal might even fly ont into sthe atmosphere at the top of the chimney. In the experiments communicated to the Chemical Society of London by Mr. Napier, a digest of which was given in ourissuo of Jnne 13th, analyses of deposits taken from the top, middle, and hottom of a chimney about 35 feet high were given, A quantity of soot was also collected, as it escaped into the atmosphere, ahout four feet ahove the top of the chimney, which, on examination, was found to contain three per cent. of silver, with alsoa small portion of gold. Soot deposited on a wall against which the chimney stood, was fonnd to contain 4.2 per cent. of silver, also some gold. The most extraordinary feature in these analyses is the presence of gold in such large proportions; theamount being at least douhle that which originally existed in the alloy which was treated in the furnace, Mr. Napier hazards, in explanation of this curious result, tho view that this excess proportion of gold is carried off hy vaporized metallic copper, owing to the greater affinity of the latter for gold. In Mr. Napier’s second series of experiments, . which are also referred toin onr issue of the 23d ult.,. the melted metal was not, as in the preceding instance, covered with charcoal ; but a number of bone-ash cupels were kept floating upon the surface of the molten metal, for the purpose of absorhing smal] qnantities of lead, which were contained iu the silver operated upon, Here the loss was of very serious amount, while that of the silver was also quite alarming. These losses appear even more setious when we take into consideration the fact that it is only that portion of the metallic suhstances which lodges ou the sides of the chimney that has any chance of heing recovered. In Napier’s experiments the alloys melted contaiued gold as a minor constituent; in the case of the silver coin, the gold formed in this State aud Nevada; bnt only the and inthat of the metal for parting, presumahly only one-third or one-fourth of the componnd, and yet in both cases gold found its way into the flue-dust. With gold containing 96 per ceut. of the precious metal, would there be asensible loss from like causes? The correct answer to this question is, that the same kind of loss ocenrs ; analyses and examinations made with the deposits from the chimneys of numerous melting honses in Anstralia have always sbown the presence of gold in considerable proportion. Similar results have not unfrequently been obtained from the hreaking up or cleaning of melting establishments twelve-hundredth part of the alloy, for evident reasons, little has been said ahout it. Special care has been taken to keep such facts out of the papers. In melting the low grado product of many of our mines, which often assays as low as $14 per ounce the loss of gold must, judging from the above experiments, be much greater than when melting the product of those mines which yield very fine gold. This isa matter deserving of the most serious attention. Moreover, the abundant uso of nitre and corrosive Snblimate in toughening gold, as is sometimes done, occasions violent action in the melting pot; the use of these chemicals cansesan additional loss of gofd, presumably by mechanical projection, and the question of tho cause of the loss of gold in tho melter’s hand and of the state in which it escapes into the chimney hay hecome far more complex than in our early gold-melting days, when the alluvial gold of high quality was the ouly material operated upon; and when this, with the addition of alittlo . . borax, was simply melted and ponred once In some of tho larger melting houses iu Melbourne, Australia, there is 1 considerable length of fino between the furnaceand tho chimney-shaft, and in these flues, as well as in the shaft itself, a deposit of dust occurs. Jfrom fines of this description aud from the shaft of oue of theso establishments tho accumulated dust was receutly cleared out. ‘The dust from the flues afforded by assay for each pouud weight avoirdupois: Grains. Silver.. VLAS4 Gold.. 3 ell White alloy of gold and SiIVCP.. cc cceceteeeeeeeeene 14,763 The dust from the shaft, similarly examined, afforded per pound avoirdupois : Silver. Gold. White alloy of gold and silver 1. 4866 These results, which are reliable, must speak for themselves; they represent the average of what takes place in the ordinary operations of an assaying establishment, performing tho usual varieties of work. if a sample of this fine-dust be taken in the hand, aud closely inspected, neither gold nor silver will he seen, and if it be re-. washed down to a small hulk, the gold will be almost, or altogether, invisible to the. naked eye, or to the cye aided by a pocket lens ; but if, after washing a sample, we place the residne under a compound microscope with a magnifying power of abont) ninety diameters, we shall theu observe, lying among the stony particles, nnmerous spherical globules, and groups of crystals ot both gold and silver. The little golden spheres are, many of them, exceedingly brilliant, and perfect in form, and they may be readily distinguished as varying from the rich yellow of fine gold to the pale greenish yellow of alloys coutaining mnch silver, so that it can be certainly stated that these minnte particles widely differ from each other in fineness. If, again, a portion of dust be removed from the flues of a muffle-stovo which has been for some timo iu constant use, very similar results will be also obtained. After washing this dust, little amher-colored translucent spheres, apparently silicate of lead, may be observed under the microscope, and interspersed among these, countless metallic glohnles tolerably nniform in size bnt varying in color, and conseqnently in their proportions of gold and silver much as those in the fiue-dust of the wind furnace vary. Tf gold he cupelled with lead, but without silver, there is a notable loss of gold ; as often as we repeat the operation on the same piece of pure gold, so often we occasion a further loss of weight. Bnt iu the cupellation of gold with silver and lead, as conducted in the ordinary assay, there is a palpable loss of silver, bunt no apparent loss of gold; it appears as though the presence of the more volatile silver shielded the gold and prevented its loss. In reality the case is very different from what it appears, for hoth gold and silver are actually lost, hut as the resulting cornet is never pnre gold, bnt always contains a residue of silver, so the real loss of gold is covered and more than covered by the excess of silver which pertaius to the cornet after all the operations of the assay. To make this quito clear, we venture to give anexample. If 10 graimsof pure gold are cupelled with 30 grains of silver, .and 100 grains of pure lead, we shall obtain a cornet weighing a little over 10 grains—say 10.008, the excess of 8,000ths of a grain is considered as silver left in the gold, and an allowance for this surcharge, as it is called, is made in the common assay. Bnt if we now analyze the 10.008 grains of gold ohtained as onr result, we shall obtain more than 8,000ths of a grain of silver—say 12,000ths ; in this case the extra 4,000ths of of silver go to cover the loss of the same weight of gold during the cupellation, CONCLUSIONS. From these several resnlts we learn that . at very high temperatures gold is volatile ; that gold melted at the temperature of our common fnrnaces sniffers considerable loss; that the lossis apparently angmented hy the presence of other metals, especially by snch as are of a volatile naturo. We learn, too, that gold passes off in the assay muiile, and that it may be recognized in, and recovered from, the flue dust ; moreover, that it actualiy passes out of the chimney-top into the atmosphere. How far in these several instances it passes offin vapor, and how far it is mechanically swept away in the dranght as gold mist, if we may use sucha phrase, has yet to be determined ; for, although the . experiments of Napier are conclnsive as to the facts hronght forward, the deductions which he has made can scarcely be received as final or conclusive. <= A Brivurant Invention ror Burypine, Bureuars,—The carrying of weapons has long been forhidden in France to persons in civil life; bunt a brilliant Parisian invention has lately been made, which, while conforming with the law, is a partial aid as a means of defence against burglars and other night robbers. It consists of a horn, inserted in the end of a cane, which horn contains an electric battery and a small lamp with two powerful reflectors. The intensity of this light temporarily blinds

any person at whom it is pointed. The. lamp is kindled at will by pressing a small knob at tho other end of the cane, which kuob communicates with an electric wire. Locomotives in Mining Tunnels. Eprrors Press.—The ineclosed calculations and queries are sent with the reqnest that they be published in the Miytne anp Screntiric Press, for the purpose of obtaining the facts in regard to the feasibility of rnnning engines in tunnels for mining purposes at a reasonable degree of expense. If that could be done, it would add much to the valne of Sierra County; and of course, to all places where gravel deposits lie far back into the hills. The conditions of the calenlations apply to all companies just begining to operate in this immediate locality; hut hefore they gct worked ont, they will have to car at least a mile. If you publish the communication, please make such notice or comment in regard to it as you may_see fit. The companies are all anxions to know if engines can be used iu carrying. Trnly yours, J. F. Coun. The following are the calculations and qneries above referred to: Company A employs five carmen on a main track tnnnel, 2,500 feet in length, with an ontward descent of six inches per hnndred feet, or abont twenty-eight feet per mile, running at the rate of sixteen trips each, on a shift, with loaded cars weighing 3,000 pounds each. The cost of that carrying for a year wonld be, for five men by day and five by night, ten men working, say 300 days each, at $324 per day, $10,500. If a locomotive could be used the cost . per year would he— Cost of locomotive and apparatus. Ap IETESt and i rye ue Engineer.. amount of cost first year Balance In favor of locomotiy. $3,150 Baltnee, sceond year. 6.450 third ‘a 6.450 fourth * 6,459 Saved In four years....:escseceneeee $22,800 Suppose two companies aro situated so that the same locomotive could be used hy both, and instead of performing tho work of ten men per year, it could do the work of twenty men, with the above conditions; then the estimates would be the labor of twenty carmen for 800 days each, at $34 per day, $21,000, Cost ot engine per year, $7,050. Balance in favor of engine first year Balance ln favor of cnyine secottd 5¢ Balance In favor of engine thi year.. Balance jn fuyor of engine tourth year. Amount saved in four years..-.----...0.005The importance of the following queries are manifest and positive: Can an engine be used in a tunuel threc and one-half teet wide by tive feet high, with ample ventilation, so that the heat and steam will not iuterfere? What kind of fuel could he best employed—coal, petroleum, oil, charcoal, coke, or what? Cau the smoke be condensed or consumed, or a jet of steam be employed to destroy its uoxious qnalities ? How many empty cars, weighing 1,000 pounds each, conld a 40-cwt. engine draw up a grade of forty feet per mile, at a maximum rate of five miles an hour? Have locomotives ever beeu used in tunnels; and if not, why not, where the operations are extensive enough to justify the ontlay ? Answers to any one or all of the above queries, through the columns of the Press, are respectfully solicited. Could engines he used in caring, they would add untold wealth to the State. There are large tracts that would unquestionahly pay, if the caring cost, at the outside, sufficiently less than hy ordinary means, Table Rock, Sierra Co., June 28, 1868. dl, dB, (Ce In place of according to Mr. Colo’s inquiry the customary hrief observations which only can he afforded by the limited space at our disposal iu the column set apart to Notices to Correspondents, we have preferred to publish his letter in extenso, deeming the inquiries of sufficient importauce. The subject matter of inquiry is not one on which we can pass any opinion, so far as personal experience is conderned. We have, however, made some inqniries on the subject, and one gentleman states that iu South Wales, the iron ore, raised in such immense quantities iu that district, is iu several places drawn in cars through tunnels hy 2 small locomotive. This, he states, has been the casofor many years, and is given from his own positive knowledgo, Coals, he states, as he has been informed, have also heen withdrawn in a similar manner. He also states that rails, three feet tion of an ordinary railroad of some length jua hilly district_of North Wales, an account of which was recently published in the Mrnine anp Screntiric Pruss. We think, however, tho party allnded to, conenrs in the opinion, that a hight of five feet wonld scarcely snflice to render the inconvenience of the waste steam from becoming very troublesome and annoying, ‘To remedy this drawback, the gentleman named suggests that for the purpose of ohtaining tractive power, in place of employing a locomotive, an endless rope might he nsed, worked by a revolving drum, set in motion by a stationary engine at the mouth of the tunnel. The tunnels in England have been worked in this way since the opening of the Manchester and Liverpool Railway, in 1830, one tunnel heing abonta mile and a half, and another a mile in length. Ross Browne's First Report. We are indebted to Prof. W. P, Blake for some advance sheets of J, Ross Browne’s second and final report upon the ‘Mineral Resonrees of the States and ‘Territories west of the Rocky Monntaius.” The sheets before ns comprise 176 pages, ‘The Professor writes us that at the date of mailing the imperfect copy sent, the entire volume, which contains 700 pages, was already ont of the press, and in the hands of the binders, so that we onght to receive the balance of the work soon. Upon tho first of the pages before us, we find the following as the heads of the various points to which special attention is given in the report: 1. The origin of gold mining on the.Pacific Coast and present condition of that iuterest, as tending to show the progress of settlement and civilization. 2. Geological formation of the great mineral belts and general characteristics of the placer diggings and quartz lodes, 3. Different systems of mining, machinery used, processes of redncing the ores, percentage of waste, and net profits. 4. Population engaged in wining, exelnsively and in-part, capital and labor employed, value of improvements, number of mills and steam engines in operation, yield of the mines, average of dividends and losses. : 5. Proportion of agricultural and mineral landsin each district, quantity of woodland, facilities for obtaining fnel, numher and extent. of streams, and water privileges, 6. Salt beds, deposits of soda and horax, and all other valuable mineral deposits, 7. Alt.tude, character of climate, mode and cost of living, cost of all kinds of material, cost of lahor, ete. 8. Population of the mining towns, number of hanks and banking institutions in them, facilities for assaying, melting and refining bulliou; charges upon the same for transportation and insurance. 9. Communicatiou with the mines and principal towns, postal and telegraphic lines; stage routes ; cost of travel; probable benetits likely to resnlt from constrnetion of the Pacific railroad and its proposed branches, 10, Necessity for assay offices and public depositories ; what financial facilities may tend to develop the country and euhance its products, 11. Copies of local mining laws, and customs regulating the holding and working of claims. 12. Number of ledges opened, numher claimed, character of the soil in the mining districts, and its adaptation to the support of a large population. The 176 pages Lefore us, after a few preliminary remarks, are entirely devoted to the consideration of so much of the first point enumerated as relates to California. In presentiug the present condition of the mining interest of this State, each county is considered separately, and each of the ptincipal mines in the several counties is separately examined and reported npon., The report is evidoutly very claborate, and we have no doubt it will fnrnish a large amount of valuable information—far more than will be considered commensnrate with its cost. We shall speak more fully of it . when wehave the eutire docnment before us. six inches apayt, would amply suffice for. Since the above wasiu type, Mr. Browne the purpose, or possihly even of narrower . has laid upon our table the report comgange; as railroads of that narrow gange . plete, but too late for further examination have been fonnd well adapted for the forma-. this week,