American Forest Congress 375 



As to the cost of transportation, that, too, is invari- 

 ably increased, other things being equal, by the scarcity 

 of wood. If the bringing in of supplies and the taking 

 out of ores is done by wagon, the high price of labor 

 above referred to brings up the cost of haulage ; if by 

 rail, the heavy cost of ties for the road-bed and fuel 

 for locomotives renders a high scale of charges una- 

 voidable. 



The cost of reduction is, for a given quality of ore, 

 almost entirely dependent upon wood and water. In 

 many a somewhat remote mining district, if wood can 

 be obtained for running a mill, the ore is profitable ; if 

 not, the enterprise must be abandoned. At the desert 

 camp of Silver Peak, in Nevada, vast quantities of 

 fair-grade gold ore exist, suitable for stamp milling 

 and amalgamation ; enough water is available for such 

 mills, but the great cost of fuel has hitherto stunned 

 mining operations. When an occasional mill-run is 

 made, in an old mill in this locality, the high neigh- 

 boring mountains are scoured for scrubby pine, much 

 of which is brought miles on the backs of burros, with 

 the result that after a run the balance is as apt to be 

 on the loss side as on the profit. Such deposits in a 

 wooded country like California would form the foun- 

 dation of a great mining industry. 



The miner has a great and vital interest in the per- 

 manent preservation of the forests and in their intel- 

 ligent utilization, second only to that of the irrigation 

 farmer. He should be one of the strongest supporters 

 of the Government in its attempt to preserve our 

 woodlands and make them useful to all interests. 



The saving of the wood of the living forests by the 

 utilization of the lignites formed of the forests of 

 Tertiary time is desirable if it can be done, and I have 

 little doubt that it can and will be done; it is only a 



