46 The Ottawa Naturalist. [May 



mineral rod, so implicitly believed in by many persons, as an 

 agent in mineral discovery, have yet to be proved. There are, 

 however, many people who place the utmost confidence in its 

 working, and who claim to be able to infallibly locate the 

 different kinds of minerals by its use, as well as to determine the 

 extent and value of the ore beds and the depth at which these 

 will be reached. In many cases where the information so re- 

 vealed has been followed up, dire misfortune has been the result 

 and the money so invested has been wasted. 



There is without doubt much wealth hidden in the rocky 

 strata of the Ottawa district, but it requires care in the investi- 

 gation, and capital and strict business methods in the develop- 

 ment, to, in most cases, ensure profitable returns. It is not, as a 

 rule, a profitable thing for men not trained to this line of work, 

 to throw aside their ordmary legitimate business, vvhether of 

 farming or the mechanical pursuits, to rush after what, in many 

 cases, is a merely chimerical attempt to obtain wealth, by dig- 

 ging out the various ores of copper, gold, silver or iron, when 

 there are surer sources of income nearer home. Ultimate 

 success in mining requires the application of skill and capital, 

 often in almost unlimited amount, and the attempt by the 

 j-ndividual, which would almost certainly result in failure, is often 

 attended with success when undertaken by properly organized 

 and equipped companies, working in the right direction and with 

 proper methods. 



Under the title " Flora of Ontario " the Education Depart- 

 ment of Ontario has issued a list of the flowering plants and 

 vascular cryptogams known to occur in the Province of Ontario. 

 The typographical work and general arrangement of, the list 

 could not be improved upon, and its convenient size enables 

 one to carry it into the field. 



No more useful or convenient Botanical list has ever been 

 published in Canada. ^ . 



/^^^ 



