The San Francisco call., 1897-05-30

little, reddish, irregular, dirty bits OF crystal
line formation which have been guessed to be
diamonds. They have sometimes shared in
the ancient and general but erroneous
popular idea that true diamond is
so hard that it can hardly be broken, and so
have used hammer for testing. diamonfV
however. has lines OF cleavage, and may ofte -
be split on the edge of knife or cracked alongf
its regularly arranged lines of cleavage with
smart and not very heavy blow. The most
ready test is to rub it on little emery wheel,
and If it perfectly resiss the emery it is apt to
be diamond. Ii diamond discoveries of value
are ever made in California, they will likely
accompany the development of drift mining,
which is yet in Its infancy i'll this State. In
the museum of the State Mining Bureau are
several interesting uncut California diamonds
contributed by the late ]. 2. Davis, president of
the board of trustees who had deep interest
in the dia Almonds OF this State.
The new trouble with the Anti-Debris Asso-
citation bids fair to be peacefully settled,
thereby preserving the vitality important
spirit OF cooperation between the miners and
the farmers, which has already resulted in
partial resumption of hydraulic mining and
stems to improve the lower Sacramento, and
which is needed to secure further Federal as
sistance The executive committee of the
President j. H. Neff Tirey l.. Ford and Andrew
Corrigan to confer with the special committee
of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce.
These committees will institute an impartial
expert investigation OF the mines against
which injunctions have been asked. The other
evening the Nevada City Board OF Trade
unanimously ratified the action OF the Miners
Association, expressed confidence that the
matter was in competent and impartial
hands md adC Cod rO.0naratlOQ fOI a peaceful
settlement Meanwhile the officers of the
Anti-Debris Association have abandoned their
activity, and ss a majority of the valley popu-
lation are now cordially interested in the re-
vival of mining prosperity, in which they in
directly share, and as strong business 1nfu-
ences in Sacramento are interested In presery-
ing the trade and good will OF the mining
communities above, it is likely that the unex-
pected campaign against ground-sluicing will
be quietly dropped.
Governor Budd is expected to announce
right away the new board of trustees OF the
State Mining Bureau, which 1t Is time for him
to appoint The members left after the death
of President J. q. Davis are w. s. Keyes ]. E.
Doolittle, Thomas B. Bishop and w. S. Pyle.
The Governor has an appointment of more
practical mpor tance to make and that is the
State Debris Commissioner. The term of the
Republican incumb bent, John E. Kiuder of
Grass Valley, will expire June L, and several
mining engineers want the place without stir
ring up any talk about 1t. This Office is just
about to assume its proper Importance. as
$500, 600 is soon TO be spent on big restraining
dams on the Yuba, Feather, American and
Bear rivers The $250,0O0 appropriated by
this State and now available, is to be spent
according to plans of the Government engi-
neers, to be approved by the State Debris
Commissioner and paid out on warrants
drawn by him.
An important question as to what consti-
| tutes hydraulic mining" has been raised ty
| the manager of the Anti-Debris Association In
an effort to induce the Government engi-
| neers composing the California Debris Com
| mission to assume control of all mining in
| which gr avel or tailings are washed through
| sluices by water the watersheds OF navi-
] gable streams
| 1t has been enormously stated in some
| newspapers that the Commis sioners have ruled
that sluicing in any form is hydraulic mining
| within the meaning of the Caminetn act. III
fact the commission has decided that the
sluice-working of banks of tallings by the hy-
draulic process is hydraulic mining, and
within their jurisdiction, but this official ex
tension of the definition is at present of only
theoretical Importance, as only one miner in
the State has worked beds OF tailings that way,
and he has got through.
The Tracy Gold Mining and Milling Com
PAM has been formed in this City to develop
the Tracy-tormerly the G. A R.-mine, near
| Angels Camp, in Calaveras County. The mi ne
is on the same vein of the mother lode as the
| Utica, and displays wide ledge of good ore,
| with development of only eighty feet Prepa
rations for sinking 5OO-foot shaft are beine
| made.-The Kirkham quartz mine at Nevadf
Company, which bonded it some time ago. Ex
tensive work will be done at once.