110 Chronicles of Science. | Jan., 
heavy matter, tin ore, is disentangled from the earthy mixture ; 
the lighter portion flowing towards the middle of the buddle, is 
gradually brought under the influence of an increasing flow of water 
and carried away. Of course in this “ buddle ” all the rich portion 
is found around the edges of the trough. It is stated that a saving 
of from 30 to 40 per cent. is effected by the use of Borlase’s 
machine. 
In a “ Tin stream ” at Mudian Vean, in St. Martin’s, to the south 
of the Helford river, in Cornwall, there has been recently found 
associated with tin and titaniferous iron (Menachanite) some small 
pieces of gold. 
A remarkable discovery of Silver ores has been made in 
California. It is of so startling a character that English capitalists 
have sent out competent persons to investigate all the conditions. 
Silver Peak is situated east of San Francisco, on the eastern 
side of the Sierra Nevada, and nearly one degree south of the city 
of Austin. From an American journal we obtain information from 
which we make our abstract.* Silver Peak is an old extinct 
crater 5,000 feet above the sea level; near it is an extensive deposit 
of salt, and not far distant a large accumulation of sulphur. At 
first the searchers after the precious metals confined themselves 
to the Pacific side of the Sierra Nevada, but discoveries in New 
Mexico, Arizona, and Virginia city induced a thorough examination 
of the east side of that range. This proved a great success, and 
much wealth was obtained in the neighbourhood of Austin, a city 
which has sprung up within three years and which is now said to 
contain a population of 10,000 people. Twelve exceedingly rich 
lodes or “ ledges,” as the Californian miners call them, have been 
found near Castle Mount. The specimens brought to New York 
by Colonel Catherwood are remarkable for their richness. “If 
there is no mistake,” says the ‘Journal of Commerce, “a new 
deposit, superior even to the Cornstock lode, which has furnished so 
many millions of silver, is about to pour into our market its limitless 
supply of this precious metal.” We shall watch the result with 
much interest. 
Mr. A. Blatchley, mining engineer of Austin, has made a 
rather extensive report on the whole of that district, of which the 
Reese river is the centre. He informs us that all the useful metals, 
as gold, silver, copper, lead, antimony, mercury, arsenic, manganese, 
and iron, are found in abundance, and tin in small quantities. 
Only five years have elapsed since the first silver was worked in 
this district, and last year the amount shipped from Nevada nearly 
equalled the amount produced in Mexico, and the production of this 
year will, it is said, nearly double that of last. ‘The value of the 
* «New York Journal of Commerce.’ 
