Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1908-04-30
THE EARTH's RICHES.



Features.
DR.. David T. Day, chief mineraloRist
of the United States geological survey,
has been appointed by the Atlanta ex-
position management to take charge of
the whole mineralogic exhibit in the
mining building. The mineral exhibit
at the exposition promises, according
to the Washington Post, to be one Of
the most interesting ever assembled in
this country. While it may not be quite
SO large as that at the worlds fair, it
will have many novel features that
were wanting in that exhibit, and the
main collection will be assembled on a
systematic plan that will make it a
very valuable object lesson to visitors.
DIR. Day in planning the exhibit, has
been given larger powers than were
held by the managers of the mining
building at the worlds fair, and he has
SO far chosen to exercise it by calling
upon exhibitors for certain materials
to complete the systematic collection
rather than to leave it to individuals
and companies to send what they
chose.
This plan is rather relished by the
exhibitors than otherwise, as it saves
them the trouble of formulating a plan
of their own for their particular ex-
hibit, while DIR. Day, from his personal
knowledge Of the mineral resources Of
the country, is enabled to put his hand
ON just the material he needs that can
be furnished by the producers Of the
various sections. The great feature of
the systematic exhibit will be the ar
rangement of mineral products from
the Appalachian system, which really
includes in greater or less quantities
everything from gold and diamonds to
coal and sulphur.
A number of special features Of inter.
est are now being negotiated for. On
DR.. Days desk in the survey building
is slender shaft Of parti-colored min
eral that looks almost as though it
might be good to cat. This is small
specimen Of rock salt and potash salts
from the famous Sassfurt beds of Ger
many, which will form an important
feature in the contemplated collection
and will be of very general interest to
the south.
The potash salts are one Of the chief
constituents of corn and tobacco fertil-
izers that are used almost exclusively
in the southern states. Nearly all of
this variety of fertilizer comes from the
Sassfurt mines of Germany, where the
potash salt was discovered by accident.
The Sassfurt beds form one Of the
greatest rock salt mines OF the world
and have been worked by the German
government for years. Some time ago
deep drillings were made to ascertain
how deep the salt deposit extended.
Far down below the surface it was
found that the rock salt abruptly
changed TO potash salt, an immense bed
of which formed the foundation of the
mine. The dcmarkation is as sharp as
in block of harlequin ice cream, and
the specimen on Dr. Days desk is a Sec
ton of the drill core where it passed
from one deposit TO the other.
Another feature of the exhibit will
be a complete collection of southern
gem stones. Though it is not general
ly known, North Carolina produces al
most every variety of precious stone in
monds to hiddcaite, which is found no.
where else in the world. The largest
crys.al of this very rare stone, by the
way. l. owned in Washington, and will
probably be secured to grace the At
lana collection.
Ono of the big diamonds Of the world
will also be shown there. 1t is the
Cogswell, not the largest stone, though
well up in the front rank, being about
the size of . big hickory nut, but in
crystalline formation and purity one
OF the very finest gems that has ever
been found. This stone is product of
the South African fields.
All the foreign governments will be
invited to exhibit, and the wonder.
full Eussian iron castings that were
such an attraction at the worlds fair
will probably be secured for Atlanta.
The Russians excel in this class of
work, and what are undoubtedly the
most beautiful art castings in iron in
the whole. world come from little ST.
berian furnace one hundred and eighty
miles from railroad. The work turned
out by these wcrlsmen equals high-class
die work. These castings, il the ex-
hibit is secured, will be made on the
ground as souvcniers.
Returning to the native products of
the south, there will be classified ex-
hibit of petroleum.. shown with refer
ence to its geology, from the fields of
Kentucky and Tennessee. and from the
better known and more fully developed
regions of West Virginia.
Sulphur from the recently discovered
deposits in Louisiana will also be shown.
This deposit is very remarkable in it's
location, being underneath bed of
quicksand. There is plenty of it there,
and u novel method of mining it is now
being tried. Superheated steam Is sent
down In pipes, and the melted sulphur
Is then pumped out to the surface
The contribution of the geological
survey to the exposition will be col
umn OF cubes representing the mineral
products ct the south. Each cube will
represent the amount of that mineral
produced in one minute by the com
bined southern mines. The base Of the
column on this scale will be q cube of
southern coal fifty tons in weight.
Besides this the survey will contrib.
ute classified collection Of the mineral
products of the United States. In con-