Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-05-30
HOJB' TO SEARCH FOR .MRT.aLS.

For Copper. copper ores, after ex-
posure, or after being dipped in vinegar,
are almost invariably green on the surface.
they are most abundant near trap-dykes.
The pyrtes are generally found in lead
mines, and in granite and clay slate. Cop
per very rarely occurs in new formations,
as along the Atlantic and Gulf borders,
and in the Mississippi valley south OF
Cairo.
For Ledd.-Lcad is seldom discovered
in the surface soil. 1t is also in vain to
look for it in the coal region and along the
coast. 1t must be sought in steep hills, in
limestone or steep rocks. A surface cut
by frequent ravines, or covered by vegeta-
tion in lines, indicates mineral crevces.
The galena from the slate is said to contain
more silver than that from the limestone.
The purest specimens of galena are poorest
in silver; the small veins are richest in the
more precious metal. A lead vein is thick
er in limestone, thinner in sandstone, and
thinnest in slate.
For Siiper.-This metal is usually found
with lead ore and native copper. States
and sand-stones intersected by igneous
rocks, as trap and porphyry, are good To-
calities. Pure silver is oflen found in or
near iron ores and the dark brown zinc
blend. The Colorado silver lodes are por-
GUS at the surface and colored more or less
red or green. Any rock suspected of con-
tanning silver should be powdered and dis
solved in nitric acid. Pour of the liquid
and add 10 it solution of salt If white
Iar c,ll lo To ha hot xyhi iol,
posure turns black, there is silver in it.
Silver mines increase in value as in depth,
whereas gold diminishes as we descend.
For Gotd.-The paying localities Of gold
deposits are the slopes of the Rocky and
Allegheny Mountains. Gold need not be
looked for in the anthracite and bitnminous
coal fields, nor in limestone rock. 1t is
seldom found in the beds of rivers. The
thing itself is the surest indication of its
existence. If soil or sand is washed aud
the particles of gold are not heavy enough
to remain at the bottom, but float away, the
bed will not pay.
Among the streams rather high up in the
mountains, and in the eravelly drilt cover
ing the slope of the valley below, are the
best prospects. Where the stream meets
an obstacle in its path, or makes a bend, or
has deep holes, there we may look for
pockets" of gold. Black or red sands are
usually the richest. Collaborating rock Is
a slate or granite abounding in rusty look
ing quartz veins, the latter containing iron
pyrites or cavities. Almost all iron pyrites
and silver ores may be worked for gold.
When the quartz veins are thin and nu-
merous, rather than massive, and lie near
the surface, they are considered most prof
table. Few veins can be worked with
profit very far down. As traces Of gold
may be found everywhere, no one should
indulge in speculation before calculating
the percentage and the cost Of extraction.
Gold hunting, after all, is lottery, with
more blanks than prizes.
For substance most frequently mistaken
for gold are iron pyrites, coppersspyrites
and mica. The precious metal is easily dis
tinguished from these by its malleability
(hattening under the hammer) and its great
weight, sinking rapidly in water.
For Iron.-Any heavy mineral ofa black,
brown, red or yellow color may be suspect
cd to be iron. To prove 1t, dissolve some
in oil OF vitrol and pour in an infusion of
nut gall or oak bark IL 1t turns black, iron
is present. II a ton of rich magnetic ore
costs more than 81 at the furnace, good
hematite more than So and poor ores moro
than $3.50 or 81, they are too expensive TO
pay, unless iron is unusually high. Deep
mining for iron is not profitable. General
ly speaking, bed of good iron ore, a foot
thick, will repay the cost of stripping II of
soil, etc., twelve feet thick. Red and vel
Magnetic ore is easily found by Compass.
Underground Treasures, by PROF. Ortoa.