The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1857-02-13

II
have engaged in muirg for gold request that you give
/, publicity through the Globe S, far as the practical sp
picAtion Of hydraulic power in the mentionedn
the correspondence has been tried in CALIFORNIA; II has
come fully ND to the results claimed for IL by Mr. Cling
man and the calculations reported by Mr. Elet will BE-
ound of great value TO persons DESTROYS OF corrsc a
nation on the force and powers oil water when thus at
Piled and the natural laws by which It's goterned Th
system is now very extensively used IN the placer mneo
California and wherever 1t can be applied has superseded
all others. " "; phH'hh
To the EDITOR THE GLOHG
HOUSE, OF REPRESENTATIVE,
January 8, 1851.
Ny DEAR SIR Since the conversation bad with you Il
has struck that the subject of such consequence
those engaged in gold mining by thai process as 10
Justify my making additional inquiries of you
might perhaps satisfy myself ey an invssgaon "a. you
ton seek hope that you will consider this request
one OF the many which gentlemen Of science
fre% time to time called on 70 pay 70 'ne ps s 49,
particular inquiries below, it is perhaps proper that
should make preliminary statement
You doubtless we'll OF the fact that most OF the
gold obtained both in the Atlantic States aud in California
has been gotten from the original veins but from
ondary repositories where Left after the breaking
down of the wins in former geological ages n what
called suIfcs mines the gold in grains and dust is found
mixed with the earth at the surface and for few feet be-
low along the slopes and sides Of the hills The depos
which rest the frat rock called without regard to It's
character satep by the miners In this layer of gravel
commonly less than foot in thickness, but sometimes
more gold Is found in the greatest abundance Usually
the surface earth is rich enough to pay for washing by
the old processes Most Of the gold obtained therefore, has
been gotten by removing the top EARTH and then washing
the deposit gravel TO separate the gold When this
of gravel is covered BY only few feet Of top earth
it may pay well the expense Of stripping and working but
it frequently happens that the richest gravel covered by
ear to the depth of fifteen twenty more feet that
will pay expenses to the earth BY shoveinR
away get at the deposits In fact familiar with
the gold region Of North Carolina and Georgia supposes
hundreh part of the gold there has yet been obtained
The proc of which spoke TO you the other evening
usually cAll,d the ahydraulicbosc process consists Of
continuance BY which water used 70 do the work that
formerly done by the pick and shovel and it does
vastly eeciuAlly la fact with the aid of In
this mode hand will in localities do as much
work twenty would under the old system of operation
Such is my opinion from observing the effect of this mode
of working in my district and from reading carefully
ports of operations in California. While the Pacific
the deposits nay be rather richer than in our Atlantic
States there circumstances which, perhaps, than
counterbaance this difference There is scarce and
only to be obtained when obtanabe at ALL at great cost
the gold belt of North Carolina and Georgia well
waered any country in the world AS it lies contigu-
TO the Allegheny range its streams have rapid fall
and hence proper head OF water be obtained for
trihng expense. The outay Of few thousand dollars
there will afford much wa.er-power could be obtain.
ed in California at the cost of million Again, the labor
of be had at this time in the mines of my dis
tric at fifty cents per day while in California ii ID worth
much three four dollars Hence il mine there
should yield only three four dollars day the hand
it would of necessity be abandoned while similar yield
with would at the end of the year. and with large
number of hands, pay profits. In fact expe-
rience in my district shows that the actual yield much
more than this rate There is too in North Carolina and
Georgia. ground rich in gold and commanded by abun
dant water power sufficient to yield dozen millions an
| nually probably for the next halt century.
What is called the hydrauichose process consists simply
in the water in canals bitches and over val
eys IN fumes supported tressework the place where
the gold deposits lie The water should be from forty
hundred feet above the ground TO be washed II is let
down in wooden trunks for part of the way and then
discharged through hose pipes from ori6ce of about
inch in diameter The who holds the end of the
flexible pipe directs against the earth to be washed IN
der pressure of fifty sixty feet the shoots
with great force and with surprising rapdity down
the compact clay and the softer rock and car
RES them away with IT'S leaving The gold along the
aud from which is easily taken out Though the bed Of
erth above the deposit may be than twenty
thick il presents serious obstacles The stream from
the pipe is directed It's base Just where it rests on h.
rock and as il cuts away the foundation the supescum
bent mass falls down. and crumbng under the force OF the
e is rapidly dissolved and carried away By this means
not only the gold in the deposit of gravel is obtained
likewise all contained in the everything of earth which
was entirely lost under the old of working
gle pipe in the hands of boy of fifteen years of age will
in this way generally do the work of twenty ableboded
men operating as formerly with the pick ana shovel
This system, however only be put in practice where
sufficient supply Of water at the proper elevation be
had
This imperfect description of the modus operand will en-
able you, dear sir to the object of my asking
the questions which follow Suppose that the water you
expect to il hundred feet above the ground
be worked but that it is miles distant il your bitches
should have descent eight feet to the mile then when
water reached the place of deposit it would be only
twenty feet above the ground to be worked IL descent
of only four feet to the mile should be allowed then the
bitches fumes &c being larger to convey the
rent OF water would cost Hence with reference to
localities where the is nconv nent it becomes i'm
poraut TO ascertain that volume will be conveyed in
ditch for example three feet wide and many deer with
descents to the mile of two four and eight respc
lively Again, jet OF water discharged from ori6ce
inch in diameter under pressure of seventy eighty feet
will be much effective than similar let driven by
pressure of only thirty forty feet is also true how
ever that larger quantity Of win be discharged in
given time by the former than by the latter so that in
determining the efficiency Of body of water its greater
waste must also be taken into in comparing the
efficiency OF high head with lower one Hence 1t
desirab 10 know how much water will be discharged from
such orce under the several pressures of thirty forty
fifty sixty seventy and eighty feet and also how much It's
effective power is increased above the ratio of the waste OF
water. Again, il is very desirable know how many
pipes be used under these will be
supplied by stream Of water which would flow along
ditch of given capacity, with fall of four or eight
feet &C.
Again, the leather pipes are liable to burst under
high head and instead Of letting the water fall perpen
diculary through them from the reservoir ID is more
yenient in practice allow il TO flow along the slopes
the hlls how much is it liable to be retarded from that
circumstance and how much force is thereby lost II the
pipes be large, then the great pressure is likely to burst
them and when they smaller the friction is increased
thereby. Hence it becomes necessary to inquire:
!. what quantity OF water be conveyed along