Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-16

when reduced by cold to a solid it is very
malleable and can be beaten out into sheets
| as thin as tissue paper.
Deposits of quicksilver have been discov-
cred recently in Utah. but nobody has
| tried to work them as yet The entire
product of this country comes from Cali
| fornia. Cinnabar, the ore from which it is
obtained, is sulphide of mercury. By
| heat the mercury is separated from the
sulphur in the form of gas, which. being
condensed, runs out of the distilling fur
mace III thin stream like a continuous
pencil Of molten silver.
Frequently the miner with stroke OF
his pick penetrates a cavity in the rock
that is filed with pure quicksilver, which
| runs out, sometimes much as a pint OF
| 1t. The ore is often filled with globules
| of mercury, and, when it is blasted, the
| high temperature created by the explosion
volatilizes the metal, which in the form OF
gas poisons the air. Workmen in the mines
eat without washing their hands, and in
these and other ways their systems be-
come saturated with quicksilver.
Symptoms of the Victims.
The first symptom of resulting trouble
| is usually exhibited by the nails, which
| become diseased. Later the teeth drop out.
| bone-rot of the jaw follows, and the I'M
fortunate is fairly eaten up by the poison.
| These troubles are avoided to great eX-
| tent by cleanliness. The men who work in
the quicksilver mines of Wales are the
cleanest people in the world; their skins,
| Unframed by sun, are white as snow. The
Mexican miners in California are dirty and
die fast, but after two or three generations
spent in the mines they last longer, their
constitutions becoming more tolerant or
mercury.
Vermilion is obtained from cinnabar The
| red paint on the bodies of Indians in Cali
fornia led to the discovery of the quick
silver mines. White men found out where
1t came from and began digging for ore of
mercury. The most familiar use of the
metal Is for thermometers. 1t is very valu-
able in medicine but 1t Is most largely
employed in gold mining because of its af-
| t1nity for gold, which it dissoives. Quick
silver is the most easily lost of all metals,
| finding its way back into the earth sooner
or later.
A queer sort of lemonade, made with sui
phuric acid instead of lemon juice, is drank
| by quicksilver miners. 1t has the effect of
neutralizing the mercury. In the lead mines
| the same mixture of sugar, water and acid
| is used as beverage. 1t precipitates, in
| the form of a sulphate, the lead absorbed
/ by the body; In that shape. being insoluble,
1t passes out of the system. The conse-
quences Of lead poisoning are dreadful. Not
| long ago 1t was found out that the spread
of certain mysterious diseases in parts OF
| England and elsewhere was due to Turkish
SNUFF adulterated with lead. Sailors and
| tourists brought the snuff home from Smyr-
| r and distributed it,
| The most picturesque use of lead Is for
making shot. Respecting this industry a
| remarkable delusion is curreut-namely,
| that the little pellets are made spherical by
falling from height through the air. The
! fact Is that perfect shot could be made by
! falling two feet just well by dropping
200 feet, If only they could cool quickly
! enough. The shot, when they are let fall
| Ga, H.
when they reach the bottom. 1t is neces-
/ sary that they shall drop a long distance in
| order that they may have time to cool and
/ harden before reaching the water well pro-
/ vided for receiving them gently.
The sheets of lead used for wrapping
| China tea are made in an odd fashion. They
are not rolled or hammered. The molten
metal Is poured out Upon a fiat stone, and
another fiat stone Is laid upon 1t. A thin
| layer of lead is thus formed between the
stones; 1t hardens quickly and Is removed
for a repetition of the process. The United
States produced nearly 100000 tons of lead
last year West of the Missouri river the
lead ore yields more less silver also.
Sometimes silver Is the more valuable pro-
duct of a lead mine. The crude mixture of
the two metals is called base bullion"
Extensive Production of Copper.
This country produces more than half of
the copper of the world. The metal comes
from the Lake Superior region. from Mon
W
Lake Superior mines alone yield metallic
copper in large quantities. There the stuff
is found in pure state. nuggets of it weigh
ing hundreds of pounds. These deposits
were worked extensively by the Indians for
centuries before Columbus, and the copper
they obtained was distributed widely by
barter. They left behind many large masses
of the metal because they could not break
them into pieces and were unable to carry
| them away bodily.
The United States can turn out 900 900 900
pounds of copper yearly. The mines at
Butte, Mont, are able alone to put on the
market 2OOOOO,OOO pounds per annum, all
of it obtained from a single small hill. OF
course. the worlds consumption of this
metal IS enormous. The waste is very great
So many cents are lost that the United
States mint at Philadelphia Is Obliged to
furnish ninety millions of those small coins
annually. The copper used for sheathing
the bottoms of ships is chemically de-
stroyed; 1t is the vrdigris. incidentally
formed. that kills the barnacles. Vast guam
Titles OF copper are consumed for making
brass and in electric wires.
me wonderful new metal, aluminium, now
costs only % cents pound by the ton The
latest uses of it are for billiard cues, dog
collars. hairpins and chair legs The Ger,
man army. having adopted 1t for canteens,
spoons ard forks has authorized its adop-
ton as material for TASKS and other YES
sells. In place Of glass. Experiments author
lied by the emperor proved that aluminium
was not affected by coffee tea and other
fluids. Powdered aluminium mixed with
chlorate of potash is now employed for
flash lights. instead of magnesium. One ad-
vantage that 1t has over the latter is that
II makes no smoke
The Deposits of Tin.
The geological survey has information of
the new discovery Of deposits of American
tin. which may be profitably worked
knowledge Of the facts being as yet in
complete no statement on the subject is
ready for publication. That there is plenty
of tin ore in this country has long been
known. Every hill of coarse granite is a
mine of it. The difficulty is to get the
metal out cheaply enough to pay. Thus far
the much-advertised prospects of tin in
the United States have failed to material
ize 1t Is hardly to be imagined that we
shall ever be able to compete with the
Straits Of Malacca, from which two-thirds
of the worlds supply of tin is obtained.
Mining for tin in the straits region is done
to great extent by the climate The ire
mendouS rain storms peculiar to that part
Of the world wash the metal out of the
rocks in the mountains and deposit IL in
the beds of streams. where it is found by
the natives in small, round nuggets. re-
sembling shot. Labor on the Malay PENN
sula costs only 81. 80 month, and no ma
ct.inery is required. In the United States
the tin must be got out of the hills by arti-
fetal hydraulic power. Expensive plants