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

QUANTITIES. OF what ne supposed 10 De
meteorites in a ravine. They were COM
posed chiefly of nickel; meteorites ordi-
narily contain more or less nickel. But the
notion that rains of meteoriteS occurred
In that region was disposed OF by 1nVestl-
cation, which proved that the alleged mes
sengers from space were in reality nuggets
CO FRIED by water from some mass OF ore
bearing rock in the path of a stream.
Besides its usefulness in coinage, nickel
is valuable as non-corrosive plating and
for making German silver II is now being
utilized in the manufacture of armor for
ships, as an alloy with steel. Though rot
hard itself, ii makes the steel harder. why
this is nobody knows. Metals are queer
things. A single patch of five acres in Bur-
nett county, Texas. contains more metallic
elements than are to be found in any other
known place in the world In that little
space are found not only nickel, gold, silver,
lead and tin, but large variety of the very
rare metals, such as cerum, ianthanum,
erbirum, thorium and uranium. Cerium is
used in medicine to check the nausea OF
pregnancy.
The Extent of Aluminium.
Seven per cent of the earth's crust is
aluminium. 1t is the only metal that is
more plentiful than iron. The latter is the
chief cause of color to earth and rock. 1t
enters into almost all substances, circulat-
ing in the blood of animals and pervading
the juices Of plants. II is d valuable medi-
cine, and is the only metal that is not
poisonous to the human system. One of
the oldest things about it is that it is never
found in pure state except in met2oriteS.
1t was known in the time of Moses. 1900
b. 6. On the coast of Long Island, and
elsewhere, it has been extracted from sea
sand by the use of magnets. The small
black specks to be observed in any handful
of beach sand are metallic iron ore.
Most of the iron in the United States is
produced in tho Lake Superior region.
Among the richest mines in the world are
of fhn
built few years ago for the purpose of
fetching the ore from those mountains
made a cut through the Mesabi range. This
cut revealed the greatest iron deposit in ex-
istence. but the ore appeared in such an
unfamiliar shape that it was not recognized
Tor long time. 1t is a soft gravelly stuff,
which now is dug out with steam shovels.
Almost every swamp contains more or less
bog iron. deposited from water. This ore
has been much used in New England, but
1t is only suitable for foundry purposes.
The discovery of deposits of platinum in
this country would be as welcome as the
finding of diamond mine At present the
+ metal costs nearly half much as gold,
| having risen greatly in price within the
last three years. 1t is absolutely indispens-
able for many purposes, being non-corro-
siVe ana resisting acids. 1t is utilized for
chemical apparatus, scientific instruments
and incandescent lamps. There is some
platinum in the beach sands of Oregon but
not enough to pay for mining Small guam
tltieS ol IL nave Deen discovered recently in
the copper mines of Canada, where ii oc-
ours in new combination with arsenic.
Two-thirds of the worlds supply of plat
mum comes from two Siberian mines in the
Cral mountains. The metal is obtained
there as a by-product of gold mining. The
mining is done by scooping holes in the
ground to a depth of about fifteen feet and
then burrowing rat fashion in all directions
Twenty-Five hundred carloads of earth are
required to yield fifteen pounds of platinum.
The biggest nugget ever found was about
the size of a tumbler. Now the gold is get
ting scarce. and the laborers have been
drawn off TO build the great trans-Siberian
railway. Hence the increased cost of plat
mum, which, unless new deposits are found.
is likely never to be cheaper than 1t is at
present.
Miners SuperstitiOns.
Miners in all parts of the world have
many odd superstitions. The mines of Ger
many are supposed to be haunted by little
old men. not over two feet high, dressed as
miners. Sometimes they are malevolent
and sometimes otherwise. Goblin miners,
known as Knockers" inhabit the mines Of
Wales. They make strange noises, and the
tapping of their picks can be heard in ore
bodies not yet reached by the human work
men. The dreaded Ladder Dwarf is a mali
cious hunchback of frightful appearance
who kicks out the rungs of ladders in mines
just before an accident occurs. Vegetables
growing in mines are believed to have tai
ismanic virtues. In Sardinia an ancient
lead mine has been deserted and permitted
to NIL up with water for dread of a small
and venomous species of spider that in
habits it.