Volume 28 (1874) (430 pages)

5A MINING AND SCI ENTIFIC PRESS. [January 24, 1874. Alfileritla, or Filere, and Its Kindred Plants. Erodium Cicularium, and Erodium Moschatum. By Rate Rampcres—For Roran Press. California is justly noted for the beauty and novelty of its native plants. Its flora -is no less . . remarkable for plants-that are useful, rather than oruamental. Of the various members of the latter claes, none are more widely distributed, more generally known, and more justly celebrated, than the pasture plant here descrihed and illustrated. Aljilerilla, or Fil-o-ré, as we really pronounce it, has heen ranked in a previous paper as the ‘prince among our pasture plants,” and we think it richly merits this distinction. Buneh-grass, salt grass, from which stock running loose, get all the salt they need; tule grase, burr clover, and many other epecice of clover, hoth native and introduced; the lupines and varioue other rich succulent plante, which are lavishly spread in spring over our mountain and hill sides, our valleye and onr river hottoms, furnish the richest and most varied food for the hundreds of thousands of sheep, cattle and horees that are annually pastured in our State. yen when dry and crisp, as most of the planteare from June till Decemher, they are deyonred as eagerly and seem ae nourishing as the hest of hay. Indeed, in many localitics, where this native growth is rankest, it is frequently mown and cured for hay. Entirely dried and lacking in snbstance, as it generally appears, etock feed upon it and are kept in the fineet condition during our severest wintere. Among all our flora, no plant is more valued for such purposes throughout the State, and more widely celebrated, than the plant of which our engraver has given ns most excellent likenessee from nature. Botanically, our alfilerilla, or, as we prefer to give it, fil-e-re, is an Erodium, as has heen frequently stated in descriptive works on California. This generic name is from the Greek erodios, meaning @ heron or crane, and is given on account of the close resemblance of its seed-pod and stem to the head, neck and hreast of that bird, ae can be readily seen by a moment’s inspection, Hence, in works on Botany ite common name is given as Heronspill, and eveu Storksbill. Its California name, alfilerilla, is a Spanish diminutive from filer, a pin, and literally means the litile pin. It is given because the long, tapering seed-pod is like a pin. For this reason it is frequently called a piu-plant. Its long and musical Spanish name is reduced by usage to the more convenient form filere, in that practical, characteristic style, which Californians have for findipg the quickest and shorteet way for doing everything. This plant ie frequently spoken of as a native of the Pacific Coast. So long has it heen known here, eo universally ie it distributed in our State, and so well doee it thrive on its adopted soil, that we do not wonder at this common error. It is not, however, a native of America. More than forty species of Hrodium are known and described hy hotanists, and a majority of them are natives of the shores and islands of the Mediterranean, Oue speciee ie described aea native of Siberia; another, of the Cape of Good Hope; one variety iefrom Numidia; and the two which are so commonin California, E, cicutarium and FE. moschatum, are given as natives of Great Britain. So, our familiar and valned friend, the filere, is an exotic from the Old World. -Aea pioneer, jt is even more venerable than a ‘‘749-er.’’ We do not know that history tells us when it first emigrated toits néwhome. It prohably came with some of the first shipments of wheat, and barley, and other seed that were bronght to our shores. Bnt like the millions of Europeans who have sought homes in America, ithas fonnd in California a soil and climate so congenial that it has taken entire possession, and it eeems so much at home, that we have come to look upon it ae among our ahorigines. And does this eeem strange, when we remcmber how eimilar our climate ie to that of portione of Sonthern Europe, Western Acia, and Northern Africa? Filere helonge to the geraninm family, which, hesides the eweet-scented and cultivated plants of that name, comprisee also the wood-sorrele, the balsams or touch-me-note, and the gardennasturtium, or ¢repwolum, one epecies of which (fT. majus,) a native of Peru, ie very remarkable for the following fact, which, we are told, wae ‘‘first discovered by the daughter of Linnaeue.’’? At night, its large orange flowers, shaped like those of the lark spur, or snapdragon, ‘‘emit spontaneously at certain intervals vivid sparks, like those of an electric maohine.” ; When any of our lady friends are tending their beautiful and valued pets, the rose geranjum and its kindred, which beantify their windowe, rooms and coneervatories, do they ever stop to think or have tbe time to learn, why this plant ie called geranium. You know tbere ie a reaeon for everything. Thie name and erodium are given for very similar reaeons, as seems natural when we think of the close relationship of the plauts to which they helong. Geranium ie from the Greek word geranos, a Crane, and the name is given, hecause the seedod bears some resemblance to a crane’e bill. or thie reacon, craneebill is a common name of the geranium among hotanists. “the two species, gives to the former the common In the engraving, Fig. 1 representean entire plant of E. cicuiarium, very much reduced from ite natural size, in order to give those unfamiliar with it, a correct idea of the general appearance of thie noted plant. Fig. 2 represents etem, leavee, flowere, seed-pods and seeds with their spirally twisted filaments, of this species in their natural size. Fig. 3ie a natural eized leaf of E. moschatum. The etriking difference hetween the leavee of name of fine-leaved filere, and to the latter, eoarse-leaved filere, by which our people most generally distingnieh them. The excellent object-teaching of the engraver makee any attempt at a minute description of these plants nnnecessary. We will, therefore, point out only a few of the different qualities which distinguish the species. A strong odor ie a mark of these plants, as it is of other membere of the geranium family. Mash the stem and leavee of fine-leaved filere, and they emit the odor of parenips very decidedly. Coarse-leaved filere, besides having coarser and rather shorter stems, leaves closer together and rather smaller flowers, has also a very strong odor of musk. Hence its specitic name, moschatum, or musky. The name, cicularium, from cicuia, meaning hemlock, is said to be given to the first spe. cies, because its leaves are finely divided, like . the leaves of that notorious plant. But we ALFILERILLA, must confess, it is not altogether agreeable to associate in any why with so nutritious and attractive a plant asis this general favorite, an herb, like hemlock, eo repulsive from its poisouous qualities, and with so black a historic record, if for no other reason than its being made an instrument of death for one of the uoblest of philosophers, by tbe sentence of his nujust and misgnided accusere. = ‘The flowers of both of these species are of a delicate pink or rose-color. Each has a fivecleft calyx, five petale, five stamens, and produces five-barhed secede, like the seeds of spear-graes. The appearance of these seed, when matured, aud the manner in which they are attached to the etem supporting them, is well indicated by the engraver. The tendency to twist, especially when exposed to the heat of the hand or sun, seeme to be a means which nature has provided to enable the seed to force its sharp pointe into loose soil and plant itself. After a wet winter, filere grows very rank on soil of any etrength. It sends out branches two and even three feet long, and form a very deuse herbage which makes the best of wild hay. Its steme are full of mucilage, and Indians are said to eat them with evident relish. These two are the only species of filere that the writer has been able to detect in San Joaquin valley. Possibly we also have a variety of E. cicutariwm ealled hipinnatum, becauseits leaves are very finely divided. Loudon says the latter variety is a native of Numidia. We may aleo have in some portious of California the species known as BE. romanum, so called because it is a native of Italy. Some epecies may have heen introduced into California by the early Jesuit missionaries. Future research will ehow whether we have other epecies. The filere is one of our earliest plants to flower, and one of the latest to remain green. _ Let ue try to make clear this bond of nnion among plants whicb would otherwiee seem far removed from each other. We will not say, at variance with each other, for, in the world of flowers, almost a nniversal harmony prevails. To have this tie understood, we must again call attention to the stamene of flowers, which, as we have previously explained, aré the male members of the vegetable kingdom. Took at the stamen of any flower, and you will find it oonsists of three parts, viz: a single thread or stem, called the filament; at the end of this a knob of various shapes, called the anther, and on this anther a fine duet, or pollen, the fructifying power of plant life. Now in all this class of plants just enumerated, and the members of itefamiliee are couuted by thonsands, the filaments of the etamene are more or less closely nnited at their hases in one body, and they encirele in various ways the pistils, which, you know, are the female memDere in the world of flowers. All these plants, Linnans combined in his 16th Class, and called it Afonadelphia, from two Greek words meaning one brotherhood. OR FILERE. Iu this brotherhood, is one of the moet noted treee in the world, the baobah, or monkeybread tree of Africa (Adansonia digitata). Its leaves and flowers are quite eimilar to those of somo kinds of paseion-Hower. Ou the banks of the Senegal, specimens of this tree are now growing which many naturalists, believe to be the oldest trees in tho world, certainly as old asonr giant redwoods, perhaps older. they say. According tothe best means of calculating known to botanists, the age of oneie estimated to be over 6,000 years! Yet, they do not attain a great hight. About 60 feet is their maximum. Their breadth ie immense, in proportion to their hight. The estimated diameter of the largeet is 25 feet. Some trunks are not more than 12 or 15 feet high, with a circumference of 60 or 70 feet. Their hranches, like huge trees, are 40 or 50 feet long, with their smaller hrauches touching the ground. Some of their roots exposed by the washing of the river hanks, are more than 100feetlong. Their fruitis gourd-shaped, from 9 to 12 inches long, and 4 inchesin diameter, of a pleasant acid taste. Hence a common uame for this treo ie Sour gourd. This tree fille in the household economy of the Africane of, Senegal, almost ae important a place, as the reindeer does for the Laplander and Esquimanx. While the fruit furnishes a refreshing and nouriehing article of diet when ripe, they aleo make of this gourd various vessels for domestic use. From its bark, they make thread and ropes, andcloth. From the latter, these dusky savages clothe themselves and families, and very economically too, on account of the small amount of material needed to meet the eize of their patterns. When food is ecarce, they eat the emall leaves. With the large onee they cover their houses. With the ashee of the leaves they make a very fair soap. Both leaves and hark are nsed medicinally. Such is this great Linnean brotherhood of plants to which our humble and beautiful filere belongs. This principle of oneneee, discovered hy Linnaus, can then unite by a common tie plaute so remote in place and eeemingly so unlike in nature, as to include in the same vast family our eimple pasture plant and 'the odd monkey-hread of Africa. San Joaquin Valley, Jan., 1874. What Becomes of the Quicksilver? At the New Almaden quicksilver works, some years ago, it hecame necessary to pull down a portion of the old retorting furnaces to make room for other machinery. Upon investigation it was discovered that the ground where the furnaces had stood was completely saturated with quicksilver. The company set a hody of hands to work upon the spot with hydraulic pipes, and the amount of quicksilver which was sluiced out in a short epace of time was prodigious. The deeper the work proceeded the richer wae the yield of merenry. Points were reached where the liquid metal could be dipped up with ladles, and it waeascortained that even the bed rock—a soft tertiary. sandstone—wae completely saturated with the liquid mineral. Much of thie poréus rock was qnarried and retorted, but at length the coet of the work exceeded the profit, and tbe work was abandoned. The present cousumption of quicksilver in reducing the ores of the Comstock is about 800 flasks per month, or ahout three-fourths of a million of pounds per annum. The entire amount consumed in the Stateis ahout 1,100 flasks per month, or nearly 1,000,000 pounds per annum. In former years, the amount of mercury consumed wae notso great, nor the price so high as itis now, but during the past ten years many millions of dollars’ worth of this valuable substance have heen lost in onr silver reduction works. As mercury ie indestructible, and cau only lose ics metalic character hy being chemically combined with other suhstances, the query naturally arises, where does it all go to ? The bed rocks in this region are not porous like the miocene. rocke at New Almaden, but they are all voleanic in character, and therefore hard and compact. There are douhtlese many spots in the trachytic greenstone—the principal superficial rock of this locaity—which are broken into minute fissnres, but the main mase of tho rock is solid and impervious even to water, and there muet be reservoire of pure quicksilver eomewhere in Gold Gation and aleo iu Six-mile Cafion. As quicksilver is now worth more than one dollar per pound, the discovery of a hig deposit of the precious suhstance wonld be better than finding a lich gold lode.— Virginia Chronicle. Denver Branch Mint. The following is a full statement of the Mint receipts during the year 1873, closing today, as furnished hy Rodney Curtie, Esq., Chief Clerk: Month, No. Deposits. Oz3., Gold Value, Bullion. TADUALTY. cee ceccsereces 73 2,066 79 $34,008 09 February. a tee 2,003 45 83,261 15 March. 2,211 07 36,755 89 April. 1,788 10 29,862 77 May. 3,190 88 54,421 94 June. 3,914 73 65,579 38 July 4,122 42 69,968 56 Augusi 5,526 66 94,404 24 Septemb 6,959 88 118,197 17 October. 5,318 37 69,610 25 Noveuwber.. ne 6,004 33 84,238 12 December (est)..180 5,000 00 81,000 00 Thus it will be seen that the total gold deposits for the first quarter of the year, were 216, valued at $104,025.13; for the second quarter, 800, valned at $149,864.09; for the third quarter, 520, valued at $282,469.98; and for the fourth quarter, 439, valued at $257,848,36; making a grand total of gold deposite for the year, of 1,475, valued at $794,207.56. Additional to the above were tow silver deposite in June, value $1,220.54; one in July, value $582.09; five in Angnst, value $3,365.21; thirteen in Septemher, valne $11,041.01; making a total of 16 deposits, valued at $14,988.31. — Denver Tribune. Mixiine Suaristics.— We glean the following particulars concerning the operations of the Brunswick mill from the annual report of the Superintendent. This mill, owned by Messre. Jonee & Hayward, is one of the finest in the world. It is situated, it wili he remembered, on the Carson River, a short distance east of Empire City. It hae 56 stamps, and ie run by water power, ite full working capacity heing 160 tone per day. It is supplied with ore entirely from the Crown Point mine. During the year 1873 the quantity of ore cruched at this mill amounted to 34,500 tone. The cost of labor, including construction, was $59,231. The number of cords of wood nsed wae 971; quicksilver used, 56,7382 pounds, at a cost of $54,216; coet of castings, 44,796; sulphate of eopper used, 42,420 pounds; miscellaneous expenses, $23,000; amount of hnilion produced, 64,200 pounds, The capacity of the two other mills in the neighborhood, the Morgan and Mexican, is respectively 80 and 110 tons per day.—Gold Hill_News,

5A MINING AND SCI ENTIFIC PRESS. [January 24, 1874. Alfileritla, or Filere, and Its Kindred Plants. Erodium Cicularium, and Erodium Moschatum. By Rate Rampcres—For Roran Press. California is justly noted for the beauty and novelty of its native plants. Its flora -is no less . . remarkable for plants-that are useful, rather than oruamental. Of the various members of the latter claes, none are more widely distributed, more generally known, and more justly celebrated, than the pasture plant here descrihed and illustrated. Aljilerilla, or Fil-o-ré, as we really pronounce it, has heen ranked in a previous paper as the ‘prince among our pasture plants,” and we think it richly merits this distinction. Buneh-grass, salt grass, from which stock running loose, get all the salt they need; tule grase, burr clover, and many other epecice of clover, hoth native and introduced; the lupines and varioue other rich succulent plante, which are lavishly spread in spring over our mountain and hill sides, our valleye and onr river hottoms, furnish the richest and most varied food for the hundreds of thousands of sheep, cattle and horees that are annually pastured in our State. yen when dry and crisp, as most of the planteare from June till Decemher, they are deyonred as eagerly and seem ae nourishing as the hest of hay. Indeed, in many localitics, where this native growth is rankest, it is frequently mown and cured for hay. Entirely dried and lacking in snbstance, as it generally appears, etock feed upon it and are kept in the fineet condition during our severest wintere. Among all our flora, no plant is more valued for such purposes throughout the State, and more widely celebrated, than the plant of which our engraver has given ns most excellent likenessee from nature. Botanically, our alfilerilla, or, as we prefer to give it, fil-e-re, is an Erodium, as has heen frequently stated in descriptive works on California. This generic name is from the Greek erodios, meaning @ heron or crane, and is given on account of the close resemblance of its seed-pod and stem to the head, neck and hreast of that bird, ae can be readily seen by a moment’s inspection, Hence, in works on Botany ite common name is given as Heronspill, and eveu Storksbill. Its California name, alfilerilla, is a Spanish diminutive from filer, a pin, and literally means the litile pin. It is given because the long, tapering seed-pod is like a pin. For this reason it is frequently called a piu-plant. Its long and musical Spanish name is reduced by usage to the more convenient form filere, in that practical, characteristic style, which Californians have for findipg the quickest and shorteet way for doing everything. This plant ie frequently spoken of as a native of the Pacific Coast. So long has it heen known here, eo universally ie it distributed in our State, and so well doee it thrive on its adopted soil, that we do not wonder at this common error. It is not, however, a native of America. More than forty species of Hrodium are known and described hy hotanists, and a majority of them are natives of the shores and islands of the Mediterranean, Oue speciee ie described aea native of Siberia; another, of the Cape of Good Hope; one variety iefrom Numidia; and the two which are so commonin California, E, cicutarium and FE. moschatum, are given as natives of Great Britain. So, our familiar and valned friend, the filere, is an exotic from the Old World. -Aea pioneer, jt is even more venerable than a ‘‘749-er.’’ We do not know that history tells us when it first emigrated toits néwhome. It prohably came with some of the first shipments of wheat, and barley, and other seed that were bronght to our shores. Bnt like the millions of Europeans who have sought homes in America, ithas fonnd in California a soil and climate so congenial that it has taken entire possession, and it eeems so much at home, that we have come to look upon it ae among our ahorigines. And does this eeem strange, when we remcmber how eimilar our climate ie to that of portione of Sonthern Europe, Western Acia, and Northern Africa? Filere helonge to the geraninm family, which, hesides the eweet-scented and cultivated plants of that name, comprisee also the wood-sorrele, the balsams or touch-me-note, and the gardennasturtium, or ¢repwolum, one epecies of which (fT. majus,) a native of Peru, ie very remarkable for the following fact, which, we are told, wae ‘‘first discovered by the daughter of Linnaeue.’’? At night, its large orange flowers, shaped like those of the lark spur, or snapdragon, ‘‘emit spontaneously at certain intervals vivid sparks, like those of an electric maohine.” ; When any of our lady friends are tending their beautiful and valued pets, the rose geranjum and its kindred, which beantify their windowe, rooms and coneervatories, do they ever stop to think or have tbe time to learn, why this plant ie called geranium. You know tbere ie a reaeon for everything. Thie name and erodium are given for very similar reaeons, as seems natural when we think of the close relationship of the plauts to which they helong. Geranium ie from the Greek word geranos, a Crane, and the name is given, hecause the seedod bears some resemblance to a crane’e bill. or thie reacon, craneebill is a common name of the geranium among hotanists. “the two species, gives to the former the common In the engraving, Fig. 1 representean entire plant of E. cicuiarium, very much reduced from ite natural size, in order to give those unfamiliar with it, a correct idea of the general appearance of thie noted plant. Fig. 2 represents etem, leavee, flowere, seed-pods and seeds with their spirally twisted filaments, of this species in their natural size. Fig. 3ie a natural eized leaf of E. moschatum. The etriking difference hetween the leavee of name of fine-leaved filere, and to the latter, eoarse-leaved filere, by which our people most generally distingnieh them. The excellent object-teaching of the engraver makee any attempt at a minute description of these plants nnnecessary. We will, therefore, point out only a few of the different qualities which distinguish the species. A strong odor ie a mark of these plants, as it is of other membere of the geranium family. Mash the stem and leavee of fine-leaved filere, and they emit the odor of parenips very decidedly. Coarse-leaved filere, besides having coarser and rather shorter stems, leaves closer together and rather smaller flowers, has also a very strong odor of musk. Hence its specitic name, moschatum, or musky. The name, cicularium, from cicuia, meaning hemlock, is said to be given to the first spe. cies, because its leaves are finely divided, like . the leaves of that notorious plant. But we ALFILERILLA, must confess, it is not altogether agreeable to associate in any why with so nutritious and attractive a plant asis this general favorite, an herb, like hemlock, eo repulsive from its poisouous qualities, and with so black a historic record, if for no other reason than its being made an instrument of death for one of the uoblest of philosophers, by tbe sentence of his nujust and misgnided accusere. = ‘The flowers of both of these species are of a delicate pink or rose-color. Each has a fivecleft calyx, five petale, five stamens, and produces five-barhed secede, like the seeds of spear-graes. The appearance of these seed, when matured, aud the manner in which they are attached to the etem supporting them, is well indicated by the engraver. The tendency to twist, especially when exposed to the heat of the hand or sun, seeme to be a means which nature has provided to enable the seed to force its sharp pointe into loose soil and plant itself. After a wet winter, filere grows very rank on soil of any etrength. It sends out branches two and even three feet long, and form a very deuse herbage which makes the best of wild hay. Its steme are full of mucilage, and Indians are said to eat them with evident relish. These two are the only species of filere that the writer has been able to detect in San Joaquin valley. Possibly we also have a variety of E. cicutariwm ealled hipinnatum, becauseits leaves are very finely divided. Loudon says the latter variety is a native of Numidia. We may aleo have in some portious of California the species known as BE. romanum, so called because it is a native of Italy. Some epecies may have heen introduced into California by the early Jesuit missionaries. Future research will ehow whether we have other epecies. The filere is one of our earliest plants to flower, and one of

the latest to remain green. _ Let ue try to make clear this bond of nnion among plants whicb would otherwiee seem far removed from each other. We will not say, at variance with each other, for, in the world of flowers, almost a nniversal harmony prevails. To have this tie understood, we must again call attention to the stamene of flowers, which, as we have previously explained, aré the male members of the vegetable kingdom. Took at the stamen of any flower, and you will find it oonsists of three parts, viz: a single thread or stem, called the filament; at the end of this a knob of various shapes, called the anther, and on this anther a fine duet, or pollen, the fructifying power of plant life. Now in all this class of plants just enumerated, and the members of itefamiliee are couuted by thonsands, the filaments of the etamene are more or less closely nnited at their hases in one body, and they encirele in various ways the pistils, which, you know, are the female memDere in the world of flowers. All these plants, Linnans combined in his 16th Class, and called it Afonadelphia, from two Greek words meaning one brotherhood. OR FILERE. Iu this brotherhood, is one of the moet noted treee in the world, the baobah, or monkeybread tree of Africa (Adansonia digitata). Its leaves and flowers are quite eimilar to those of somo kinds of paseion-Hower. Ou the banks of the Senegal, specimens of this tree are now growing which many naturalists, believe to be the oldest trees in tho world, certainly as old asonr giant redwoods, perhaps older. they say. According tothe best means of calculating known to botanists, the age of oneie estimated to be over 6,000 years! Yet, they do not attain a great hight. About 60 feet is their maximum. Their breadth ie immense, in proportion to their hight. The estimated diameter of the largeet is 25 feet. Some trunks are not more than 12 or 15 feet high, with a circumference of 60 or 70 feet. Their hranches, like huge trees, are 40 or 50 feet long, with their smaller hrauches touching the ground. Some of their roots exposed by the washing of the river hanks, are more than 100feetlong. Their fruitis gourd-shaped, from 9 to 12 inches long, and 4 inchesin diameter, of a pleasant acid taste. Hence a common uame for this treo ie Sour gourd. This tree fille in the household economy of the Africane of, Senegal, almost ae important a place, as the reindeer does for the Laplander and Esquimanx. While the fruit furnishes a refreshing and nouriehing article of diet when ripe, they aleo make of this gourd various vessels for domestic use. From its bark, they make thread and ropes, andcloth. From the latter, these dusky savages clothe themselves and families, and very economically too, on account of the small amount of material needed to meet the eize of their patterns. When food is ecarce, they eat the emall leaves. With the large onee they cover their houses. With the ashee of the leaves they make a very fair soap. Both leaves and hark are nsed medicinally. Such is this great Linnean brotherhood of plants to which our humble and beautiful filere belongs. This principle of oneneee, discovered hy Linnaus, can then unite by a common tie plaute so remote in place and eeemingly so unlike in nature, as to include in the same vast family our eimple pasture plant and 'the odd monkey-hread of Africa. San Joaquin Valley, Jan., 1874. What Becomes of the Quicksilver? At the New Almaden quicksilver works, some years ago, it hecame necessary to pull down a portion of the old retorting furnaces to make room for other machinery. Upon investigation it was discovered that the ground where the furnaces had stood was completely saturated with quicksilver. The company set a hody of hands to work upon the spot with hydraulic pipes, and the amount of quicksilver which was sluiced out in a short epace of time was prodigious. The deeper the work proceeded the richer wae the yield of merenry. Points were reached where the liquid metal could be dipped up with ladles, and it waeascortained that even the bed rock—a soft tertiary. sandstone—wae completely saturated with the liquid mineral. Much of thie poréus rock was qnarried and retorted, but at length the coet of the work exceeded the profit, and tbe work was abandoned. The present cousumption of quicksilver in reducing the ores of the Comstock is about 800 flasks per month, or ahout three-fourths of a million of pounds per annum. The entire amount consumed in the Stateis ahout 1,100 flasks per month, or nearly 1,000,000 pounds per annum. In former years, the amount of mercury consumed wae notso great, nor the price so high as itis now, but during the past ten years many millions of dollars’ worth of this valuable substance have heen lost in onr silver reduction works. As mercury ie indestructible, and cau only lose ics metalic character hy being chemically combined with other suhstances, the query naturally arises, where does it all go to ? The bed rocks in this region are not porous like the miocene. rocke at New Almaden, but they are all voleanic in character, and therefore hard and compact. There are douhtlese many spots in the trachytic greenstone—the principal superficial rock of this locaity—which are broken into minute fissnres, but the main mase of tho rock is solid and impervious even to water, and there muet be reservoire of pure quicksilver eomewhere in Gold Gation and aleo iu Six-mile Cafion. As quicksilver is now worth more than one dollar per pound, the discovery of a hig deposit of the precious suhstance wonld be better than finding a lich gold lode.— Virginia Chronicle. Denver Branch Mint. The following is a full statement of the Mint receipts during the year 1873, closing today, as furnished hy Rodney Curtie, Esq., Chief Clerk: Month, No. Deposits. Oz3., Gold Value, Bullion. TADUALTY. cee ceccsereces 73 2,066 79 $34,008 09 February.. a tee 2,003 45 83,261 15 March.. 2,211 07 36,755 89 April. 1,788 10 29,862 77 May. 3,190 88 54,421 94 June. 3,914 73 65,579 38 July 4,122 42 69,968 56 Augusi 5,526 66 94,404 24 Septemb 6,959 88 118,197 17 October. 5,318 37 69,610 25 Noveuwber... ne 6,004 33 84,238 12 December (est)....180 5,000 00 81,000 00 Thus it will be seen that the total gold deposits for the first quarter of the year, were 216, valued at $104,025.13; for the second quarter, 800, valned at $149,864.09; for the third quarter, 520, valued at $282,469.98; and for the fourth quarter, 439, valued at $257,848,36; making a grand total of gold deposite for the year, of 1,475, valued at $794,207.56. Additional to the above were tow silver deposite in June, value $1,220.54; one in July, value $582.09; five in Angnst, value $3,365.21; thirteen in Septemher, valne $11,041.01; making a total of 16 deposits, valued at $14,988.31. — Denver Tribune. Mixiine Suaristics.— We glean the following particulars concerning the operations of the Brunswick mill from the annual report of the Superintendent. This mill, owned by Messre. Jonee & Hayward, is one of the finest in the world. It is situated, it wili he remembered, on the Carson River, a short distance east of Empire City. It hae 56 stamps, and ie run by water power, ite full working capacity heing 160 tone per day. It is supplied with ore entirely from the Crown Point mine. During the year 1873 the quantity of ore cruched at this mill amounted to 34,500 tone. The cost of labor, including construction, was $59,231. The number of cords of wood nsed wae 971; quicksilver used, 56,7382 pounds, at a cost of $54,216; coet of castings, 44,796; sulphate of eopper used, 42,420 pounds; miscellaneous expenses, $23,000; amount of hnilion produced, 64,200 pounds, The capacity of the two other mills in the neighborhood, the Morgan and Mexican, is respectively 80 and 110 tons per day.—Gold Hill_News,