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ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



copper, or unless some discovery in the domain of physics which we do 

 not now foresee, furnishes a substitute for the omnipresent copper wire of 

 to-day, we may find ourselves face to face with some curtailment in these 

 modern aids to the easy conduct of life's affairs. If, in the course of 

 several centuries, the falling off in supply and the growth in population 

 should raise copper to relatively high figures, we may wonder if a return 

 in a way to the conditions of the middle ages will not result. Will copper 

 then become to a greater degree than now the basis of skilled handiwork ? 

 Will the by-gone craftsmanship be revived, and with a lessening total 

 output shall we see an advance in artistic skill? In fact, if the vast 

 development of machinery and the huge output of metallic objects at low 

 cost — a condition so characteristic of to-day — should be checked or cur- 

 tailed, would not hand-work on more valuable mediums of expression be 

 restored? It is not altogether unreasonable to anticipate fewer objects 

 and higher craft in their production. 



The cases of lead and zinc are even more emphatic than that of copper. 

 We have still fewer assured reserves, and the pinch of increasing cost may 

 manifest itself at an earlier date. The two metals are not, however, quite 

 such vital factors in modern life as is copper, and the larger effects would 

 be less apparent. Zinc is a necessary component in the manufacture of 

 brass, the industry which absorbs the greater part of the copper output. 

 A curtailment of either lead or zinc would cause inconvenience but would 

 scarcely occasion fundamental changes. 



Silver will be very seriously affected by a decrease in the output of 

 either copper or lead, ^old will feel these changes in an appreciable but 

 far less degree. There will always be sufficient, however, of each of the 

 precious metals for coinage, and beyond- this use their applications, except 

 perhaps in photography, concern luxuries rather than fundamental neces- 

 sities. We can not attribute to them any profound possibilities in their 

 influence upon civilization should the contributions of the mines decline. 

 In the recent past, we have been more apprehensive regarding a too great 

 supply of the precious metals, than regarding one too small. 



With the increasing interest in the discussions of the conservation of 

 natural resources, there has been an increasing disposition of the authori- 

 ties to assume supervisory powers over mining and metallurgical opera- 

 tions. The old-time idea that to the crown, or, as we are accustomed to 

 say, to the state, belongs the mineral wealth of the earth, is experiencing 

 something of a revival. The disposition to restrict the waste of valuable 

 metals or minerals in processes of manufacture is commendable, and after 

 careful demonstration that it is feasible and that it is just to the oper- 

 ating concerns, it may be wisely done. The rejected product of conceii- 



