Grass Valley telegraph., 1856-02-12

| pIOP01 mCbnOuo Vi NOIhIHS SIlFef mlneS w
shall close this article, the length of which
nothing but its Importance will justify, will
the following paper, by Guido Kustel, trans
lated for the San Francisco Chronicle from
the German Journal of that city:
" Silyer mining will become much NOR,
| important interest in the future of Californi:
than at present, because it is beyond doub
| that the. mountains, particularly in the south
eFn part of Kthe State, contain many silver
mines. However, the discovery and digging
o. silver sOres are more difficult than those O
gold. SilycTis less widely ditfused, and ir
many of f firms is mot easily to be recog
rllked.- Tolaf issessily discovered, on account
ofkits dissefaiRAtionlh gold districts, and q
kinG Alp earahce, HAlnss in .cenhina
Ftiohwith lidFidfff Uf SAblybdanuin. The
spaR soon tel the gold miner what he can
him as A Fein. When he seeks the
Quarry sh canl nleasily know whether it con-
ta4bs goldR .Blt itsfs different with silver. Ii
skruet thu in a small plain in Peru pure sill
veg was fodnd just. below the surface of the
son, and WAS found clinging to the grass
roots on fe.sod but that was really silver
placer. sPure silver has likewise been found
! in their leaves, in connection with some ores
of iron but'generallt it's natural state is in
an ore. he whoewould seek for silver ore,
should examine the geological formations OF
stone, which will often furnish information
of what is to be expected. The extraction OF
silver fromSthe orerequires an exact knowl-
edge of the nature of the metal and of the
substancesin connection with which it is
found in tJe ore, before the miner can decide
upon the best method Of handling his ma
terial.
Nearly every silver mine yields, besides the
ore, mineral which is too poor to be direct
ly worked up and yet too rich to be thrown
away. Agood method of working is almost
indispensable. In some quartz mines of Mar
iposa couTttia glittering red ore, rich in a
clayish sil1eE appears with the gold but for
the want Of good working process, it is left
to the will flood.
The meting, however, is applicable to sill
yer ore only under peculiar circumstances.
Amalgamttion is more usual and cheaper,
but it is tfeson1e, and the ore must, in most
cases, be previously roasted with common
salt to prGare it for amalgamation.
The new methods of obtaining silver from
copper ore are of much importance, because
they are much cheaper than ANAL gamation
One is called Augustins' method Where
there is cDride of silver he casts it into
strong solution of common salt, and the SOL
luton dissplves the silver, which is then pre-
cipitated with copper. For this purpose
peculiar form Of copper Cement kupfer,)
which is Obtained by precipitating it from
natural solution of sulphate of copper with
the aid of iron, is used. The other method is
Ziervogel's and is grounded on the fact that
oXyde of silver is unaltered by certain de-
gree of high temperature, which changes sui
phate of copper and iron to oxides By waste
ing oxides of silver with the sulphate of cop
per or iron, the sulphuric acid leaves the bas-
er metal and joins the silver. The sulphate
of silver is then dissolved in water and pre-
cipitated with copper. By this method only
from five to eight per cent. of silver is lost,
and it is undoubtedly the best method in use.
The specific gravity of silver is 1850. 1t is
found in state of nature, pure, in combna-
ton with sulphor alone, with sulphur and
other metals, with chlorine alone with iron,
with antimony, with arsenic and antlmony,
and seldom with iodine, bromine or quicksil-
yer.
Silver ores are found almost exclusively in
veine in gneiss, mica, graywacke, and clay
slate, and sometimes in greensboro, transition
limestone and the latter limestones. Tie
veins are principally Of quartz, hornstoHe;
lime and brounspar barytes and ROnrspar.
TELEGRAPHIC FEATs-The Morse line was
occupied eight and one quarter hours in
transmitting the Presidents Message from
Washington to New York. The House tele-
graph consumed two hours in sending one
third of the document the like distance. The
California State Line Telegraph, although
greatly embarrassed owing to the unpropiti-
GUS weather, forwarded the entire message
from San Francisco to Sacramento, in eight
hours and six minutes.
IRON SHIPs.-Tbe experiments in iron ship
building is yetin infancy bnt experience is
rapidly developing the superiority of this
snaterial over Timber for that purpose The
Liverpool mail" speaking of the ship Rich
ard C Cobden,Ehich was built twelve years
Livefbeo SIS sbeen twelve
Sdin thar Iieds+Spd has not
ha9lthe slightest repairs, done to her; has
never leaked:a drop, and will, to all appear
,anee, last an unlimited length Of time"
The Los Angeles Star says. there is no
question that coffee and pine apple plants
can be raised, in our mild climate to the
greatest perfection, and to the pecuniary adj
vantage of the cultivator.
Henry Smith, the razor strap man. has
published card, in which he denies any
sympathy for, or connection with, the Free
Lovers in New York. He sayshs bas wife,
and doesn't believe there is another of the
same sort left.
NAVIGATION OF THE AMAzoN.-The Amazon
Navigation Co., an American Company, have
now JfUe steamers on the waters of that river.
A bill has been presented to the Legisla-
ture of Tennessee, levying tax of five dol
lars on every gentleman who wears a nous
tache. and fine of five dollars unon evorz