The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1849-02-19

water. If the water in the receiver gets warm, let
it be changed The mercury will thus all be dis
TILED off as vapor and condensed in its original form
with bat small loss, and saving the constitutions
| and lives of our fellow men. Let us next look az
the other modes of washing. That adopted by the
| mint for their yearly sWeepingS, in which dirt Is
mixed with much gold is round tin bowl like
wash bowl ,cithom the ring the bottom, tchich
as usual IN Tin ,Dash-bdsins, but that employed by
them is half deeper, say like half hollow
! globe. In this you could rock and wash the gold
| either with without mercury, still on small
scale, but more than you could in frying pan.
| The chief method and most effectual adopted in
| Georgia and the Carolinas, is the rocker
! cradle made as follows: [See also plaie:l Saw off
seven or eight feet of large poplar tree, or any
other suitable wood Cut off the upper third the
whole myth, and then hollow out a trough per-
fectly smooth and round inside. Put stays across
like thwarts a boat, at equal distances, to give
strength TO the fabric. Let two boards, of six inches
wide, flanges be nailed on each side of the top,
the whole length, to prevent water washing over
the side. Put on three rockers, diminishing IN size,
so that the whole machine may gently incline
slope downwards at one end The upper end is to
be stopped up with board nailed on. Then two
feet below you nail sheet of iron or copper, perio
rated with holes the the board covering the
end in shape, but this y to come inside, you will
readily perceive it is accomplished by turning up
the edge, and by that edge you nail it on all round.
In this part you throw the dirt, previously sitted in
a coarse sieve, 10 separate large stones. You then
pour water on it in continuous stream posi-
ble and all the finer portions and gold dust
to pass into the body of the rocker, which you keep
in agitation all the time. Whatever gold is in
Jumps you will doubtless be sharp enough to pick
up place of throwing away with the large gravel
The copper iron plate may have perforaons in
it of one-eighth of an inch in size and as did not
wish TO puzzle with too many directions at once,
now come TO the description of the body of the
rocker. First then, one foot below the copper d.
VISION put cleat rib, two and a half or three
inches high, to go round equally, same as lining
of hoop, and each foot below put another cleat of
two inches high, making five or six ceats, accord
ing to the length of your rocker On the upper side
of these ribs bars the gold deposits by its weight
If quicksilver is to be used, two pounds on the first
bar one and half on the second, one on the third,
and half pound on the fourth, would be enough
for large quantity of gold and its color and con-
sistencv would show when it was saturated This
machine could be made in this city, either out of
sheet iron entirely and of small size, or full size out
of narrow wooden plank, ploughed and grooved,
and put together on arrival out. These could be
tied together, and carried ont as baggage by sea.
The other end is often left open, but recommend
gate or suce to be fitted on that after rocking
time and letting 1t have time for the finer gold
to subside, much more might be saved. Then add
ing a little fresh water, finish the washing in hand
basins or frying pans.
Stamping Mill Machinery and Rockers.
This mill is, of course for rock in which gold is
a stream, which is damned across and goes by
water power. 1t is a building of one story, the
wheel being next the river. At the back is a
sloping place inclined plane, to carry down the
ore already reduced by hammer or roasting to
small size directly under the stampers, which are
six in number, weighing with their shoe of iron
800 pounds each. These are large square posts of
heavy wood, with square ends OF iron foot or
more in depth They stand in a row, and are
guarded above and below with cross beams, and
of course quite loose excepting that each two
come into strong iron box with a bed of solid |
iron. They are raised up by large shaft running
round, forced by the waterwheel, and encircled
by row of large wooden pegs, corkscreW fashion, |
spray. peg on each stamper, at a proper |
height, the stampers to be lifted up In success
sion. and they fall by their own weight and crush
the ore. Any familiar with the Irish linen |
beetng mills must see that they the same
principle. Directly in front of each two stampers,
is sheet of iron perforated, which, when water is
let on by sluice, admit, by sloping wide spout
the fine sand TO the rockers. The rockers are 20
feet long, and such as have been described,
cept that You will see that the first compartment in
the hand rocker is not wanted. The rockers are |
three in number, and are put in motion by move |
able crank the shaft, so that pushing them
out of gear their motion be stopped 1t is very
rapid from side to side and when the whole mill is
in motion it makes considerable racket, the water
splasbng up, but being forced back by the fanges
does not come over the side. There are three bars
in each rocker. In the first is deposited pounds
of quicksilver; in the second, 2 pounds and the
third one. These work on an axle pivot at each
end, many of the GeOrgi and Carolina ones do
the hand ones resting two short posts. Many or
the hand ones are rocked by treadles, others by
pole, sloping angularly, fastened securely at the
back, and going through hole in the centre OF the
bottom, which gives power over the whole ma
chine, if not too large
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