The Placer herald., 1861-04-13
Extracting Silver from its Ores.

A new process, originally suggested by
Dr. Percy, F. Il. S, of the British Gov
ernment School of Mines, has lately been
carried out upon large scale by Won Pat
era, che of the most celebrated metalIurgi-
cal chemists of Austria. This process is
analogous to the fixing operation in photo
acted on 10y light is removed by alkaline sui
phites.
The ores which contain the silver. in COM
binaton with sui phur or with sulphur and
arsenic, are fist roasted with ropperas and
common salt, and by this means ch oride
of silver is produced which may be dissolv-
ell ont with solution of hyposulph The
silver is then preriptated 10y sulphde o. sod
ium, and falls down as sulphde of silver
All that is necessary to he done then is TO
heat the sui phde in a muffle exposed to the
air, when the sui phur escapes in tie form of
sulphurous acid and the silver remains in
the met allie s.ate it is then melted in plum
bago crucibles, and cast into ngots really
for mining. The ores which have been sub
jected to this process, as stated in the Socie-
ty Of Arts journal, contain from two to ten
per cent Of silver; the hyposulphte is used
weak and cold; its dissovng power is great
This solution may be used over and over
again and it it is continually renewed, and
this is peculiarity in the process The
precipitation of the silver from the hyposul-
phite is 10y the sulphide, or rather polysul
phide, which is prepare 10y calcining soda
with sulphur, then boiling it with sulphur
In this manner poIysulphde of sodium is
formed, which, when it is brought into con
tact with the atmosphere, some hyposuIphite
is generated, so that, when it is used to pre-
cipitale the silver, it also refreshes the bath
of hyposuIphte and may be used repeatedly
for the same purpose. BY this process Herr
Won Patera extracts 5000 lbs of silver per
annum from the ores of Joachimsthal, in
Bohemia. The expense of extracting a
pound of silver from the ore ny this meth
cd is 50 OF; by the old method of smelling
it cost $3 so. Scientific Am~ican.
The city of New York has population
of not less than 10000 residing within her
chartered limits, while her real population
that is, the number of persons sustained by
her industry and trade, is not less than 800
900. Her foreign commerce-tliat is her
imports from and ex orts to foreign coun
tries-rcaches an aggregate of some $40O,
100000 per annum, while her trade with
the various portions Of our own country
must largely exceed this amount. Though
but two centuries DID, and but half cen
tury the emporium of American commerce,
she is in business and importance already
the second city in the world, and will be the
first within another century.
The Army Register for this year shows
how the officers are paid. The 'saary" of
General Scott is $3,24O but his "alowance"
sums up to Sl5 $3.50; Gen. lIarney starts
with 81 240, and draws S5,49S Gen. Twiggs'
total was SS,450, and Gen. Wool's $5,SO6.
The extra pay comes in the allowance of ra
tions, horses, transportation, etc, according
to the officers rank and duty.
1t appears by letter of Mr.. Gowen, the
American engineer, who is engaged in rails.
ing the snnken Russian vessels in the harbor
Of SebastapoI, that the graveyards OF the
allies English and French) number three
hundred, and that they cover twenty square
miles of territory. Considering that the
war lasted less than two years, and
that these graves comprise the dead of but
one side, such a war, if continued, would ih
time have decimatcd the nations engaged.
A Merchant lately advertised for clerk
accustomed to confinement. A person ap.
piled who had been seven years in prison.