Volume 24 (1872) (424 pages)

y 3, 1872.] SCIENTIFIC PRESS. <a to whose t they have afterward beeu yet of the committed. ‘The most serious disappointments occurring, of this kind, have grown out of the purchase of shares In certalu cornpanfea owulng In, and operating, inlnes at White Pine. Having been able to make a fair showlng, and to deciaro Ilberal uivWends for a few months at the start, the stock of these companies appreciated rapidly In the London market, edvancing, on thelr par valuc, several hundred per cent. in a short tue; buyers not stopplng to inquire whether these resutts were based on develupnients Indicating a Ikellhood of tvelr continuauce, ur whether they were merely accidental, or due, perhaps, to special efforts directed to that end. Naving reached extrome Ogures, these stocka svou after began todeciine. Evil tidings caine Irom the mines; the ore bodies, in the lower levela, began to show signs of oxhaustlon, baving, ln some cases, been already wholly de pleted; while nelther vertical nor lateral exploration always lead to such acw deposits as served to sustain former tates of production. The average grade of nililable ore also Ten somewhat lower than at first. Certain of the newlyerected mills were found to be at fault; break-downs occur: red, and some portions of the machinery proved defective; the water supply, guarautced by the vendors to he unfailing and abundant, proved Inauficlent; the tramway bullt, at a heavy expenditure, in the hope that it would greatly reduce the coat of transporting the ore from the nines to the willis, falled to perforinthat service effectively; wherefore the out: {urn of duillon fell off; divitends ceased, and shares weut down, falling, In somo cases, 40 or 80 per cent., and, In othem, almost to par, causing consternatlon among the shareholders generally, and entailing heavy foss on such as had purchased largely on a too buoyant market. To add to the dismay of our English friends, In this unhappy j lon of cliren an i mining englncer, engaged, about this time, in making an examination of certaln properties In that vicinity, having been Invoked for an opluloa as to the apparent value of the minesof those eoinpanles, expressed some doubts on tho score of their “probable permanence at greater depths, and the conaequent chances ol long: ore Ics, or, as he lent! stated the case, whilo he consldercd that further prespecting shvuld be done on these mines, he did not velleve very large guma stould be pald lor tbo priviloge of carrylng It on. And so these stocks have since remained depressed, notwithstanding a correctlon, meantlmo, of some of theso mistakea and errors, the partlal removal of others, and a marked Improvement In the conditlon and prospects of somo of the mines. In several of the clalms belonging to tbe Eborhard¢ and North Aurora Company, due dvodies of ore have lately been oret with, while, In the South Aurora, systematic exploration fs belug pushed with cuergy, a tunnel now belay to Course of excavation designed to pen It up te kreater dwyths, and with a gvod chuoce of developing now 121488¢8 Ol Ore, ‘This has, lrom the first, been one of the moat largely productive and promlsing mines on Treasure ilil!; and it seems hardly pussible, thut wu ore channel so vast, should, though marked hy some trregularities, the results, probably, of surtace disturbunco, fall in persistenco In depth, or scon becomo wholly cxhausted of Its metalllteruus contents. Should, however, the productive cnergles of thls mine becowe serlously Impulred. the vendors would, tbrough thelr penerous conduct in donatliy so large a sum toward defrayug the expense of further expioration, command ihe hearty syimpathy of the inlulny pubilc, aa they bave always been enutled to respect for their falr and honorable course In negotlating the salo of thla property. That the Tea ot ore at command In the mines on Treasure 111 will niways greatly fluctuate, unless exploratlon be kept wetl i advance of extraction, muy be oxpected, ay the oro channels here, while large and tertlle, have shown themselves to be of un extremely ccecentric character.: That the willls here need, wiih proper Precaution, never hein short supplyof ores,and that the latter wlll never wholly fail, aro opinions entertalucd tu very authoritative quarters. 1t is ponorally belleved, however, that the past experlenee of this locality may be accepted as foreshadowlng that to como—results will probably coutinue fiuetuating and uneveu, large masses of filgh-yrade ore alternating with barren ed ot considerable extent, imparting, 1s heretufore, to the operations carned on, abopetul, but, at tbo same tlme,a somewhat fitful and hazardous character. English Luvestments Elsewhere on thin Const. But whatever the mistakes made at White Pine, and however the Investments ot British capltalists may dnaliy result In that disirict, they have, undoubtedly, lared better, aud, lu Lact, alnost Invarlubly done well, lu their recent inyestwents elsewlicre on this Coast. Look where we will, and we flad that thoy haye become, in almost every important district, partial owners in, or tho sele proprietors et, seme ol the best mines tberc. In the Rvesc River country, la the Eureka, V’lnto, Mluerai 111, Troy, and several! other promlsIng districts in Central! Nevada, at a number ot points in Utah, In southern Idaho, and tbroughout the mlncral regions of Vallfornia, tuey have become propricturs, partial or exelusive, of many of the most valuable mines yet found in those localities; these parties havlug gonerally contined thelr purchases to well-proven and actively-productlye propertics, Going to the extreme southern portion of the metalliferous range In this Stato, and pussing to Its terminus, three hundred miles uorth,we fod Engiishinen ownlng and operating mines ln every county throughout thls entire distance. 1n Inyo, thoy ewn the Kellpse—probably the best mine, and including mill, water privilege, tramway, and other Improvements, by far the hest developed, well-conducted, and valuubie property In that sectlon of country. Alreudy forty stamps are in operation tbcre, with fitty more s00n te be added—tho whole driven by water, of which the eon pany have anample and unfalllng supply. Their mine, consisthig of a Janie vela of guld-bearlng, argentilerous galena, 13 well opened, there being already sufficlent reserves established to eee tholr mlils and furnaces running an entlre year. 1n Mariposa County, the Ferguson Mine, lately soldto Engllsh parties, ls opening auspiclously, Indicating that they obtained It at a figure greatly within Its real value. in Tuolumne, Caluveras, Amador, El Dorado, and Placer, we find lurther fortunate purchases made on Londen aecount, and cmoracing both gravel and quartz-mining properties. 1n Nevada County, sevcral such sales have heen effected, with negotiations lor others, promising to luure In still greater advantage to parchasers, still peuding. In huying the Birdseyo and Swectland Creek hydraulle gravel mines, our English brethren have dono well, as will svoa be demonstrated, now that the cmbargo so long placed va their productive capacities by the drought has been removed, The samo will prove true, and perhaps ina moro emlincot degree, of the North America yroup of gravel mines, algo reecntly transferred to English parties. And so we might preceed, inctuding in our Ist the Sierra Buttes and many other tolnes, until we had swelled It to much greater propertions; tho instances already enumerated helng sutflicicnt to indicate the goneral character ot the properties heretofore passed over to the proprictorahlp of foreign Investors. in thls connection, It may ho pertinent to supplement the ahle replies of Ross Drewne and others to tbe inquiry * Why our mluc-owners, having such good properties, are sc wiliIng to part with them?** by the further remark, tbat, under our Mberal jaws regulating the location and holding of mines, a singic Individual may, and, In fact, frequently does, hecome the owner of a great many properties ot this kind; and that, yory ofton, without having the means to develop or aiake any of theo: practically avallahle. Henee his desire to part with a portlon of hig interests, that hie may real ize somo ready cash, and be enabled, If he desire, to improve tbe remaloder. Nearly every miner, though a laboring man, 1s the owner of a claim of some Kind; and, If he sells It, knows just whero bo can go and take up another—a Knowledge that the capitallst does not always posscsg, nor, df he did, could he readily turn It to practlcai account. The other reasons that might be assigned, in answer to the above Snqulry, have already been so wel) stated, that they necd not be repeated bere. Our General Progress the Past Year. In further considering the progress mado in the departMout of mining and its collateral pursuits the past year, It may be observed, tbat the business ol prosnecting has been very extensively aod actively eoxaged In, leading to the discovery of new districts In all parts of the couutry, and the locatlon of many additional and some very valuable mines. The prinelpal field of these exertions and fortunate results has heen central Utah and eastern Nevada; though we have had some diseoverles ef this klud to record In this State, with a ereditahle ie ee made also ja other and More remote sactlons of the jaterior. MECHANICAL (Procress §clentiric ‘Progress. ‘Burnt Iron and Burnt Steel. Au Euglish chemist, says the J ale Cour. ant, W. Mattieu Williams, has recently made a sories of experiments to ascertain the condition which is induced in iron and steel hy ovorheating, and which is technically called ‘“‘ burning.” Burntiron is hrittle, has a short fracture, is crystalline, and is devoid of the fibrous structure and silky lustre of good iron. Mr. Williams finds that iron in this condition contains, diffnsed through it, small partieles of black oxide. Hence, to test the qtiestion, often important in practice, whether a given sample of iron is burut, he places about a decigram in a test-tube, and pours upon it three cubic centimetors of nitrie acid of sp. gr, 1.20. If the irou is burnt, these particles of black oxide are at first Isft undissolved, and, appearing in the liquid, rendor it dark and turbid. Their suhsequent solution distinguishes them from the carbon which may also be present in the saniple. Mr. Williams believes that the function of the small quantity of carhon always contained in good wrought iron is to prevont this hurning. When this carhon is removed, the iron partially oxidizes throughout as soon as heated, and becomes “burat.” Hence the impossibility of making merchantable iron by the Bessemer process, the iron, at this high temperatuco, begiuning to oxidize even when the carbon present is as much as 0.25 per cent. The Bessemer product is steel therefore, and contains 0.28 per cent, of carbon. Iron has its maximum toughness when the carbon is lowest. The elkill of the hlacksmith is shown therefore in exactly touching, in his work, the point at which the oxidation of the carbon ceases and that of the iron hegins, without passing it; thus attaining the hest result. Steel, on the other hand, when “ burnt,” is brittle, can no longer be tempered, and cannot be used until it has been raised to a welding heat, rolled or hammered, and gradually cooled. Its fracture is coarse and granular, the facets of the granules heing conchoidal, by which the hurnt condition may ofteu be practically distingnished. Mr. W. finds that when eteel is heated, the carbon in it rapidly oxidizes, even throughout the mass. He explains “burnt” steel to be eteel in which, by suddenly solidifying it when in a viscous condition, carbonic oxide evolved by the oxidation of carbon, is imprisoned. By slower cooling this carbonic oxide would have heen expelled; hence the cavities or “‘toad’s eyes” in the steel; which may be removed by welding, which operation, os above stated, restores the steel. ** Burnt iron” and ‘‘ hurnt steel,” therefore, both owe their rottenness to intermiugled particles of combnstion-products; coming in the latter case, from the carbon; and in the former, from the iron itself. New Instrument FoR Mrasurine Sprep aT Sza.—The difficulties hitherto experienced in measuring the speed of ships, by any of the devices thus far produced, are said to be overcome by an ingeuions instrument called therhysimeter, lately invented in England. The indicator, which resemhles a barometer in size and appearance, is located in the captain’e cabin, a column of mercury showing constantly by its variations the speed which the vessel is making. Its accuracy is said to he perfect, there heing no appreciable interference by friction or otherwise; and as the machine is selfregistering, it may ho made to keep a complete record of the speed of the ship thioughout the voyage. The log and all suhstitutes for it heretofore employed have heen found unreliable, especially in changeable weather, or undera heavy sea in either direction. The rhysimeter is also designed for indieating the velocity of flowing liquids, which is in fact one of its most valuable uses, as it will greatly assist in the solution of many problems in practical hydraulies.— Zz. Norcaine Rarus.—The officers of several German railways have again reported on the necessity of notching the bottom flanges of rails, and it is stated by one railway company that on a line laid with cast steel rails without notched bases, a dangerous longitudinal shifting of the raile occurred. Generally, however, the practice is not found injurious, though it is thought preferable to have it done at the ends of the rails only, the corners of the notch to be carefully rounded off in all cases. Oxalic Acid and Plants, The frequent reference in agricultural and other journals to oxalic acid as a constituent of plants has awakened cousiderable inquiry regarding the history and natureof the substance. ‘The emineut Swedish chemist, Scheele, first discovered the acid, having found it in the jnice of the comnion sorrel, where it exists as a hinoxa: late of potask. It is generally kuown under the name of ‘‘salt of sorrel, and is very sour to the taste, and poisonous when taken internally. The crystals, in form and color, so closely resemhile those of tle sulphate of magnesia (Epsom Salts) that they have often been mistaken for them, and fatal cases of poisoning have resulted from the error. The name, oxalic acid, is derived from the Latin name of the common wood sorrel, Owalis acetosella, The field sorrel, so plenty and so troublesome to farmers, belongs to an entirely different family of plants, the Jizmes ucatosella, and is classified among the docks, ‘This contains considerable of the acid, as also do the lichens, in which it exists as oxalate of lime. Oxalie acid is the most highly oxidized of allcarhon compounds, with the one exceptiou of carbonic acid. It belongs low down in the list of organized products, and may well be regarded as constituting the last stage in the oxidation of carbonaceous substances before they pass into the dead, inorganie condition of carbonic acid, In plants, it eeems to he more the product of decay than of growth. In lichens, especially, this would appear to be true, as the oxalate of lime found in them forms nearly thirty-five per cent. of the weight of the plant, andit exists in them in its most in. soluble form. In garden rhubarb, the acid is found locked up with lime, and it is a significant fact. that itis more abundant in old, than in the new plants. We incline, so far as its connection with plants is concerned, to class it with lignin and some other hodies,— a material which the plant has no further use for, and therefore deposits in the cells in aninsoluble condition. All the vegetable acids are inactive agents in plant organisme. They do not appear to perform any leading part in vegetation, and in all their physical and chemical relations are widely different from the active soluhle salts and other bodies which are found dissolved in the sap. Its Artificial Producton. Osalic acid can be produced artificially with great facility, and it is manufactured and employed in thearts in large amounts. Itis curious thatin sawdust, an utterly waste product, we have a material from which this acid can be produced to any extent, and nearly all of the substance fouud in the market is now made from sawdust. The sawdust is placed in large vats and moistened with a lye made of caustic soda and potassa. It 1s then taken out and dried on plates of iron, and the dry mass is washed with warm water to dissolve out everything except the eparingly soluble oxalate of soda. The mother liquors are evaporated to dryness and ignited, to eave the potassa, which is used over again, The oxalate of soda is decomposed by boiling with caustic lime; the soda enters into solution and may also he used over again. The oxalate of lime in turn is decomposed hy sulphuric acid, and the liquor decanted from the insoluble sulphate of lime, which upon concentration yields crystals of oxalice acid. : This is a brief, imperfect description of an interesting chemical process, and serves to illnstrate how science triumphs over obstacles, and produces substances peculiar to vegetables from waste materials. The cost of production is very small, not exceeding a few cents a pound, and if the acid would act upon feldspar, and liberate the potash it contains, as eome suppose, its employment might supply acheap method of procuriug this most valuable plant food. But this idea is erroueous, as we have endeavored to show in some former statements, If the acid is at any time swallowed by mistake, an antidote to the poison is found in any substance containing carbonate of lime, or caustic lime; as such, wheu hrought into its presence, conyert it into insoluble oxalate of lime, a substance which is harmless. Chalk, whiting, or plaster from the walls of a room, will serve a good purpose, and either one of thesein quantity equal to the amount of acid taken, should be stirred in water and drank as speedily as possible.— Journal of Chemistry. Another Achievement of the Spectroscope, A uew and another most wonderful achievement of that remarkable instrument, the spectroscope, has just been announced by a German astronomer—Dr, Vogel, who has successfully applied this instrument to the measurement of the sun's rotation. The form of instrument used by him was that known as a reversion spectroscope. As originally constrneted, it consisted of two direct vision prisms, with their refracting angles facing opposite ways. Hence a heam of light falling upon them produces two speetra, one of which has the colorsahove the other, and in an inverse order. The object-glass being divided horizontally, and each half being movable micrometrically, it is possihle not only to juxtapose, hut even to superpose the spectra, and to measure the distances of the lines with great accuracy. The instrument was devised for the purpose of measuring the direction and velocity ofastronomical motions,one of the problems proposed by the inventor being the very one now solved by Dr. Vogel. If the two spectra in the instrument represent, as they may be mado to do, different and opposite limhs of the sun, then, since one is approaching us and the other is receding from us, there ought to he a difference in the position of certain spectrum lines. The differeuce in velocity is ahout a mile per second; an amount which Zéllner says ought to change the position of the sodium lines hy a quantity equal to 1-80th of the distance hetween them. With his instrument as originally constructed, he was unable to observe any displacement; but with a more powerful insfrument, consisting of a circular train of five highly dispersive prisms thus arranged, which he furnished at Kiel, Dr. Vogel has been able to detect a displace ment of the fine line F of the solar epectrum, hy an amount which gives a velocity of rotation of 2 miles per second. Suhsequent observations, made with more care and with a higher dispersive power, have reduced this number to 1.52 miles per second, ‘This is only 1.28 miles more than the velocity given by Carrington’s ohservations on the spots, which was 1.24 miles per second; an approximation which is remarkable. Patina oF Bronzz.—The term ‘‘patina” is used to designate a beautiful greenish coating which forms naturally upon the surface of bronze, under the influence of air and moisture; consisting in most cases of a carhonate of copper which adheres very closely, and not only imparts as beautiful appearance to the metal, hut also protects it from further oxidation. The formation of this patina proceeds with varying degrees of rapidity in different localities. In some places, especially in large cities where coal is burned in considerable quantity, it does not develop itself, the metal assuming the appearance rather, of a dirty cast iron. The difference in this respect has received the attention of a scientific hody in Prussia, under the direction of which, numerous experiments have been made; and it has heeu ascertained that the formation of a good patina was not dependent upon the composition of the bronze, although the time required for this development may have something to do with the percentage of the different ingredients, It was furthermore discovered that hy occasionally washing articles of bronze, exposed to the atmosphere, applying oil, and afterwards rubhing off with a soft rag all of this that could he removed, in the course of a few years a patina of the finest quality is developed irrespective of the location; and in this way the desired result can be, and actually has heen produced on objects that had long refused to put on this desired exterior.—Yale Courant. Sugstiture ror LirsocRaPHio SToNE.— Itis now proposed, but with doubtful promise, to substitute ordinary lithographic stone hy the use of a smooth block of wood coated with glue or other gelatinous matter, or with a solution of eilicate of soda uud biehromate of potash, exposed to sunlight and washed. An ink or pigment is made with gelatinous matter dissolved in a saturated solution of bichromate of potash, with or without chrome, alum, and with a emall quantity of ivory-black to render the ink visible. On the prepared block or slab the desired picture or other work is made with this ink, and when dry, exposed to sunlight. After exposure, the surface is covered with gum or glycerine, and is then ready for the printer,—American Artizan,

y 3, 1872.] SCIENTIFIC PRESS. <a to whose t they have afterward beeu yet of the committed. ‘The most serious disappointments occurring, of this kind, have grown out of the purchase of shares In certalu cornpanfea owulng In, and operating, inlnes at White Pine. Having been able to make a fair showlng, and to deciaro Ilberal uivWends for a few months at the start, the stock of these companies appreciated rapidly In the London market, edvancing, on thelr par valuc, several hundred per cent. in a short tue; buyers not stopplng to inquire whether these resutts were based on develupnients Indicating a Ikellhood of tvelr continuauce, ur whether they were merely accidental, or due, perhaps, to special efforts directed to that end. Naving reached extrome Ogures, these stocka svou after began todeciine. Evil tidings caine Irom the mines; the ore bodies, in the lower levela, began to show signs of oxhaustlon, baving, ln some cases, been already wholly de pleted; while nelther vertical nor lateral exploration always lead to such acw deposits as served to sustain former tates of production. The average grade of nililable ore also Ten somewhat lower than at first. Certain of the newlyerected mills were found to be at fault; break-downs occur: red, and some portions of the machinery proved defective; the water supply, guarautced by the vendors to he unfailing and abundant, proved Inauficlent; the tramway bullt, at a heavy expenditure, in the hope that it would greatly reduce the coat of transporting the ore from the nines to the willis, falled to perforinthat service effectively; wherefore the out: {urn of duillon fell off; divitends ceased, and shares weut down, falling, In somo cases, 40 or 80 per cent., and, In othem, almost to par, causing consternatlon among the shareholders generally, and entailing heavy foss on such as had purchased largely on a too buoyant market. To add to the dismay of our English friends, In this unhappy j lon of cliren an i mining englncer, engaged, about this time, in making an examination of certaln properties In that vicinity, having been Invoked for an opluloa as to the apparent value of the minesof those eoinpanles, expressed some doubts on tho score of their “probable permanence at greater depths, and the conaequent chances ol long: ore Ics, or, as he lent! stated the case, whilo he consldercd that further prespecting shvuld be done on these mines, he did not velleve very large guma stould be pald lor tbo priviloge of carrylng It on. And so these stocks have since remained depressed, notwithstanding a correctlon, meantlmo, of some of theso mistakea and errors, the partlal removal of others, and a marked Improvement In the conditlon and prospects of somo of the mines. In several of the clalms belonging to tbe Eborhard¢ and North Aurora Company, due dvodies of ore have lately been oret with, while, In the South Aurora, systematic exploration fs belug pushed with cuergy, a tunnel now belay to Course of excavation designed to pen It up te kreater dwyths, and with a gvod chuoce of developing now 121488¢8 Ol Ore, ‘This has, lrom the first, been one of the moat largely productive and promlsing mines on Treasure ilil!; and it seems hardly pussible, thut wu ore channel so vast, should, though marked hy some trregularities, the results, probably, of surtace disturbunco, fall in persistenco In depth, or scon becomo wholly cxhausted of Its metalllteruus contents. Should, however, the productive cnergles of thls mine becowe serlously Impulred. the vendors would, tbrough thelr penerous conduct in donatliy so large a sum toward defrayug the expense of further expioration, command ihe hearty syimpathy of the inlulny pubilc, aa they bave always been enutled to respect for their falr and honorable course In negotlating the salo of thla property. That the Tea ot ore at command In the mines on Treasure 111 will niways greatly fluctuate, unless exploratlon be kept wetl i advance of extraction, muy be oxpected, ay the oro channels here, while large and tertlle, have shown themselves to be of un extremely ccecentric character.: That the willls here need, wiih proper Precaution, never hein short supplyof ores,and that the latter wlll never wholly fail, aro opinions entertalucd tu very authoritative quarters. 1t is ponorally belleved, however, that the past experlenee of this locality may be accepted as foreshadowlng that to como—results will probably coutinue fiuetuating and uneveu, large masses of filgh-yrade ore alternating with barren ed ot considerable extent, imparting, 1s heretufore, to the operations carned on, abopetul, but, at tbo same tlme,a somewhat fitful and hazardous character. English Luvestments Elsewhere on thin Const. But whatever the mistakes made at White Pine, and however the Investments ot British capltalists may dnaliy result In that disirict, they have, undoubtedly, lared better, aud, lu Lact, alnost Invarlubly done well, lu their recent inyestwents elsewlicre on this Coast. Look where we will, and we flad that thoy haye become, in almost every important district, partial owners in, or tho sele proprietors et, seme ol the best mines tberc. In the Rvesc River country, la the Eureka, V’lnto, Mluerai 111, Troy, and several! other promlsIng districts in Central! Nevada, at a number ot points in Utah, In southern Idaho, and tbroughout the mlncral regions of Vallfornia, tuey have become propricturs, partial or exelusive, of many of the most valuable mines yet found in those localities; these parties havlug gonerally contined thelr purchases to well-proven and actively-productlye propertics, Going to the extreme southern portion of the metalliferous range In this Stato, and pussing to Its terminus, three hundred miles uorth,we fod Engiishinen ownlng and operating mines ln every county throughout thls entire distance. 1n Inyo, thoy ewn the Kellpse—probably the best mine, and including mill, water privilege, tramway, and other Improvements, by far the hest developed, well-conducted, and valuubie property In that sectlon of country. Alreudy forty stamps are in operation tbcre, with fitty more s00n te be added—tho whole driven by water, of which the eon pany have anample and unfalllng supply. Their mine, consisthig of a Janie vela of guld-bearlng, argentilerous galena, 13 well opened, there being already sufficlent reserves established to eee tholr mlils and furnaces running an entlre year. 1n Mariposa County, the Ferguson Mine, lately soldto Engllsh parties, ls opening auspiclously, Indicating that they obtained It at a figure greatly within Its real value. in Tuolumne, Caluveras, Amador, El Dorado, and Placer, we find lurther fortunate purchases made on Londen aecount, and cmoracing both gravel and quartz-mining properties. 1n Nevada County, sevcral such sales have heen effected, with negotiations lor others, promising to luure In still greater advantage to parchasers, still peuding. In huying the Birdseyo and Swectland Creek hydraulle gravel mines, our English brethren have dono well, as will svoa be demonstrated, now that the cmbargo so long placed va their productive capacities by the drought has been removed, The samo will prove true, and perhaps ina moro emlincot degree, of the North America yroup of gravel mines, algo reecntly transferred to English parties. And so we might preceed, inctuding in our Ist the Sierra Buttes and many other tolnes, until we had swelled It to much greater propertions; tho instances already enumerated helng sutflicicnt to indicate the goneral character ot the properties heretofore passed over to the proprictorahlp of foreign Investors. in thls connection, It may ho pertinent to supplement the ahle replies of Ross Drewne and others to tbe inquiry * Why our mluc-owners, having such good properties, are sc wiliIng to part with them?** by the further remark, tbat, under our Mberal jaws regulating the location and holding of mines, a singic Individual may, and, In fact, frequently does, hecome the owner of a great many properties ot this kind; and that, yory ofton, without having the means to develop or aiake any of theo: practically avallahle. Henee his desire to part with a portlon of hig interests, that hie may real ize somo ready cash, and be enabled, If he desire, to improve tbe remaloder. Nearly every miner, though a laboring man, 1s the owner of a claim of some Kind; and, If he sells It, knows just whero bo can go and take up another—a Knowledge that the capitallst does not always posscsg, nor, df he did, could he readily turn It to practlcai account. The other reasons that might be assigned, in answer to the above Snqulry, have already been so wel) stated, that they necd not be repeated bere. Our General Progress the Past Year. In further considering the progress mado in the departMout of mining and its collateral pursuits the past year, It may be observed, tbat the business ol prosnecting has been very extensively aod actively eoxaged In, leading to the discovery of new districts In all parts of the couutry, and the locatlon of many additional and some very valuable mines. The prinelpal field of these exertions and fortunate results has heen central Utah and eastern Nevada; though we have had some diseoverles ef this klud to record In this State, with a ereditahle ie ee made also ja other and More remote sactlons of the jaterior. MECHANICAL (Procress §clentiric ‘Progress. ‘Burnt Iron and Burnt Steel. Au Euglish chemist, says the J ale Cour. ant, W. Mattieu Williams, has recently made a sories of experiments to ascertain the condition which is induced in iron and steel hy ovorheating, and which is technically called ‘“‘ burning.” Burntiron is hrittle, has a short fracture, is crystalline, and is devoid of the fibrous structure and silky lustre of good iron. Mr. Williams finds that iron in this condition contains, diffnsed through it, small partieles of black oxide. Hence, to test the qtiestion, often important in practice, whether a given sample of iron is burut, he places about a decigram in a test-tube, and pours upon it three cubic centimetors of nitrie acid of sp. gr, 1.20. If the irou is burnt, these particles of black oxide are at first Isft undissolved, and, appearing in the liquid, rendor it dark and turbid. Their suhsequent solution distinguishes them from the carbon which may also be present in the saniple. Mr. Williams believes that the function of the small quantity of carhon always contained in good wrought iron is to prevont this hurning. When this carhon is removed, the iron partially oxidizes throughout as soon as heated, and becomes “burat.” Hence the impossibility of making merchantable iron by the Bessemer process, the iron, at this high temperatuco, begiuning to oxidize even when the carbon present is as much as 0.25 per cent. The Bessemer product is steel therefore, and contains 0.28 per cent, of carbon. Iron has its maximum toughness when the carbon is lowest. The elkill of the hlacksmith is shown therefore in exactly touching, in his work, the point at which the oxidation of the carbon ceases and that of the iron hegins, without passing it; thus attaining the hest result. Steel, on the other hand, when “ burnt,” is brittle, can no longer be tempered, and cannot be used until it has been raised to a welding heat, rolled or hammered, and gradually cooled. Its fracture is coarse and granular, the facets of the granules heing conchoidal, by which the hurnt condition may ofteu be practically distingnished. Mr. W. finds that when eteel is heated, the carbon in it rapidly oxidizes, even throughout the mass. He explains “burnt” steel to be eteel in which, by suddenly solidifying it when in a viscous condition, carbonic oxide evolved by the oxidation of carbon, is imprisoned. By slower cooling this carbonic oxide would have heen expelled; hence the cavities or “‘toad’s eyes” in the steel; which may be removed by welding, which operation, os above stated, restores the steel. ** Burnt iron” and ‘‘ hurnt steel,” therefore, both owe their rottenness to intermiugled particles of combnstion-products; coming in the latter case, from the carbon; and in the former, from the iron itself. New Instrument FoR Mrasurine Sprep aT Sza.—The difficulties hitherto experienced in measuring the speed of ships, by any of the devices thus far produced, are said to be overcome by an ingeuions instrument called therhysimeter, lately invented in England. The indicator, which resemhles a barometer in size and appearance, is located in the captain’e cabin, a column of mercury showing constantly by its variations the speed which the vessel is making. Its accuracy is said to he perfect, there heing no appreciable interference by friction or otherwise; and as the machine is selfregistering, it may ho made to keep a complete record of the speed of the ship

thioughout the voyage. The log and all suhstitutes for it heretofore employed have heen found unreliable, especially in changeable weather, or undera heavy sea in either direction. The rhysimeter is also designed for indieating the velocity of flowing liquids, which is in fact one of its most valuable uses, as it will greatly assist in the solution of many problems in practical hydraulies.— Zz. Norcaine Rarus.—The officers of several German railways have again reported on the necessity of notching the bottom flanges of rails, and it is stated by one railway company that on a line laid with cast steel rails without notched bases, a dangerous longitudinal shifting of the raile occurred. Generally, however, the practice is not found injurious, though it is thought preferable to have it done at the ends of the rails only, the corners of the notch to be carefully rounded off in all cases. Oxalic Acid and Plants, The frequent reference in agricultural and other journals to oxalic acid as a constituent of plants has awakened cousiderable inquiry regarding the history and natureof the substance. ‘The emineut Swedish chemist, Scheele, first discovered the acid, having found it in the jnice of the comnion sorrel, where it exists as a hinoxa: late of potask. It is generally kuown under the name of ‘‘salt of sorrel, and is very sour to the taste, and poisonous when taken internally. The crystals, in form and color, so closely resemhile those of tle sulphate of magnesia (Epsom Salts) that they have often been mistaken for them, and fatal cases of poisoning have resulted from the error. The name, oxalic acid, is derived from the Latin name of the common wood sorrel, Owalis acetosella, The field sorrel, so plenty and so troublesome to farmers, belongs to an entirely different family of plants, the Jizmes ucatosella, and is classified among the docks, ‘This contains considerable of the acid, as also do the lichens, in which it exists as oxalate of lime. Oxalie acid is the most highly oxidized of allcarhon compounds, with the one exceptiou of carbonic acid. It belongs low down in the list of organized products, and may well be regarded as constituting the last stage in the oxidation of carbonaceous substances before they pass into the dead, inorganie condition of carbonic acid, In plants, it eeems to he more the product of decay than of growth. In lichens, especially, this would appear to be true, as the oxalate of lime found in them forms nearly thirty-five per cent. of the weight of the plant, andit exists in them in its most in. soluble form. In garden rhubarb, the acid is found locked up with lime, and it is a significant fact. that itis more abundant in old, than in the new plants. We incline, so far as its connection with plants is concerned, to class it with lignin and some other hodies,— a material which the plant has no further use for, and therefore deposits in the cells in aninsoluble condition. All the vegetable acids are inactive agents in plant organisme. They do not appear to perform any leading part in vegetation, and in all their physical and chemical relations are widely different from the active soluhle salts and other bodies which are found dissolved in the sap. Its Artificial Producton. Osalic acid can be produced artificially with great facility, and it is manufactured and employed in thearts in large amounts. Itis curious thatin sawdust, an utterly waste product, we have a material from which this acid can be produced to any extent, and nearly all of the substance fouud in the market is now made from sawdust. The sawdust is placed in large vats and moistened with a lye made of caustic soda and potassa. It 1s then taken out and dried on plates of iron, and the dry mass is washed with warm water to dissolve out everything except the eparingly soluble oxalate of soda. The mother liquors are evaporated to dryness and ignited, to eave the potassa, which is used over again, The oxalate of soda is decomposed by boiling with caustic lime; the soda enters into solution and may also he used over again. The oxalate of lime in turn is decomposed hy sulphuric acid, and the liquor decanted from the insoluble sulphate of lime, which upon concentration yields crystals of oxalice acid. : This is a brief, imperfect description of an interesting chemical process, and serves to illnstrate how science triumphs over obstacles, and produces substances peculiar to vegetables from waste materials. The cost of production is very small, not exceeding a few cents a pound, and if the acid would act upon feldspar, and liberate the potash it contains, as eome suppose, its employment might supply acheap method of procuriug this most valuable plant food. But this idea is erroueous, as we have endeavored to show in some former statements, If the acid is at any time swallowed by mistake, an antidote to the poison is found in any substance containing carbonate of lime, or caustic lime; as such, wheu hrought into its presence, conyert it into insoluble oxalate of lime, a substance which is harmless. Chalk, whiting, or plaster from the walls of a room, will serve a good purpose, and either one of thesein quantity equal to the amount of acid taken, should be stirred in water and drank as speedily as possible.— Journal of Chemistry. Another Achievement of the Spectroscope, A uew and another most wonderful achievement of that remarkable instrument, the spectroscope, has just been announced by a German astronomer—Dr, Vogel, who has successfully applied this instrument to the measurement of the sun's rotation. The form of instrument used by him was that known as a reversion spectroscope. As originally constrneted, it consisted of two direct vision prisms, with their refracting angles facing opposite ways. Hence a heam of light falling upon them produces two speetra, one of which has the colorsahove the other, and in an inverse order. The object-glass being divided horizontally, and each half being movable micrometrically, it is possihle not only to juxtapose, hut even to superpose the spectra, and to measure the distances of the lines with great accuracy. The instrument was devised for the purpose of measuring the direction and velocity ofastronomical motions,one of the problems proposed by the inventor being the very one now solved by Dr. Vogel. If the two spectra in the instrument represent, as they may be mado to do, different and opposite limhs of the sun, then, since one is approaching us and the other is receding from us, there ought to he a difference in the position of certain spectrum lines. The differeuce in velocity is ahout a mile per second; an amount which Zéllner says ought to change the position of the sodium lines hy a quantity equal to 1-80th of the distance hetween them. With his instrument as originally constructed, he was unable to observe any displacement; but with a more powerful insfrument, consisting of a circular train of five highly dispersive prisms thus arranged, which he furnished at Kiel, Dr. Vogel has been able to detect a displace ment of the fine line F of the solar epectrum, hy an amount which gives a velocity of rotation of 2 miles per second. Suhsequent observations, made with more care and with a higher dispersive power, have reduced this number to 1.52 miles per second, ‘This is only 1.28 miles more than the velocity given by Carrington’s ohservations on the spots, which was 1.24 miles per second; an approximation which is remarkable. Patina oF Bronzz.—The term ‘‘patina” is used to designate a beautiful greenish coating which forms naturally upon the surface of bronze, under the influence of air and moisture; consisting in most cases of a carhonate of copper which adheres very closely, and not only imparts as beautiful appearance to the metal, hut also protects it from further oxidation. The formation of this patina proceeds with varying degrees of rapidity in different localities. In some places, especially in large cities where coal is burned in considerable quantity, it does not develop itself, the metal assuming the appearance rather, of a dirty cast iron. The difference in this respect has received the attention of a scientific hody in Prussia, under the direction of which, numerous experiments have been made; and it has heeu ascertained that the formation of a good patina was not dependent upon the composition of the bronze, although the time required for this development may have something to do with the percentage of the different ingredients, It was furthermore discovered that hy occasionally washing articles of bronze, exposed to the atmosphere, applying oil, and afterwards rubhing off with a soft rag all of this that could he removed, in the course of a few years a patina of the finest quality is developed irrespective of the location; and in this way the desired result can be, and actually has heen produced on objects that had long refused to put on this desired exterior.—Yale Courant. Sugstiture ror LirsocRaPHio SToNE.— Itis now proposed, but with doubtful promise, to substitute ordinary lithographic stone hy the use of a smooth block of wood coated with glue or other gelatinous matter, or with a solution of eilicate of soda uud biehromate of potash, exposed to sunlight and washed. An ink or pigment is made with gelatinous matter dissolved in a saturated solution of bichromate of potash, with or without chrome, alum, and with a emall quantity of ivory-black to render the ink visible. On the prepared block or slab the desired picture or other work is made with this ink, and when dry, exposed to sunlight. After exposure, the surface is covered with gum or glycerine, and is then ready for the printer,—American Artizan,