14 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



very attractive to lovers of the beauti- 

 ful. Minerals seem especially avail- 

 able for those who desire to make col- 

 lections, and we agree with Dana that, 

 "every one who desires to really learn 

 mineralogy must have a collection of 

 his own to examine and experiment 

 upon." We further agree with that 

 talented scientist that, "no subject is 

 better fitted to cultivate the powers of 

 observation and at the same time to 

 excite active interest than that of min- 

 eralogy." 



No subject is also better adapted to 

 the work of the Chapters of The Agas- 

 siz Association, to which we call the 

 attention of all our new friends. "We 

 have Chapters of all ages and all de- 

 grees of proficiency. No efforts will be 

 spared to make "Mineralogy" one of 

 our best features. 



Cordially yours, 



Edward F. Bigexow. 



Introductory. 



In beginning this department, let 

 me say that I shall endeavor to make 

 it both attractive and instructive, and 

 that I shall do my best to make the 

 magazine itself even more successful 

 than it is. To do these things I must 

 have the cooperation of all interested 

 in minerals. Let me know what you 

 would like to have described. Send 

 me notes of your trips or of collecting 

 fields in your vicinity. If you are 

 puzzled about anything on this subject, 

 write to me. If you have the leisure 

 write a short article on some miner- 

 alogical subject that interests you and 

 send it to me. If you come across 

 any interesting items in print send 

 them, with name and date of the paper 

 in which they appeared. We want 

 every subscriber to feel that he is part 

 owner of this magazine and to take 

 just as much pleasure as I shall in 

 making it successful. Let us all be 

 like one happy family, each striving 

 to do the most to help the others. 

 Honing that I may be the means of 

 adding many new subscribers to The 

 Guide to Nature, and of adding many 

 new students to my beloved study of 

 the mineral world, I am. 



Your humble servant, 



Arthur Chamberlain. 



How Sluice Mining Originated. 



Colonel Eddy, of Nevada, claims the 

 credit of having originally introduced 

 the sluice-box for mining purposes ; the 

 invention owing its origin to an ac- 

 cidental discovery. 



He gives the following account of 

 his connection with this important dis- 

 covery. In the spring of 1850, when all 

 operations were being carried on by 

 the aid of "long torn" and the "rocker," 

 he located a claim in the ravine just 

 above the Catholic Church in Eureka. 

 There were several claims below him, 

 the holders of which refused to permit 

 him to run tailings on their grounds. 

 So he made a trough leading from his 

 location through theirs and to a point 

 below. On the bottom of the sluice, 

 wherever the different sections joined, 

 he nailed w r ooden cleats to keep the 

 w r ater and gravel from leaking through. 



At the lower end of the sluice he 

 placed a rocker and for one day ma- 

 nipulated the dirt that came down it. 

 At the end of the day he found that 

 the rocker had saved very little gold. 

 Going along up the sluice he found 

 behind each of the cleats numerous 

 sparkling particles of gold that had 

 lodged there. He abandoned the use 

 of the rocker, increased the number of 

 cleats and then commenced what he 

 said was the first sluice mining ever 

 carried on, so far as he knows. 



The sluice and riffles soon became 

 popular, causing the price of lumber to 

 advance rapidly. The colonel says 

 the only thing he regrets about his 

 discovery is that he did not have it 

 patented and thus win fame and 

 fortune. 



Stones That Will Swim in the Human 

 Eye. 



Eyestones are really portions of the 

 covering of certain shellfish. They 

 are found at the opening of the shell 

 and serve to close the entrance when 

 the animal draws itself within. They 

 are of various kinds, but those used as 

 eyestones are hard, stony bodies about 

 the size of split peas, one-third to one- 

 sixth of an inch in diameter, a little 

 longer than broad, having one surface 

 plane and the other convex. 



