THE .MINERAL DEPTHS 



these implements being found literally by cart loads in 

 some places. 



The great progress in mining methods, however, 

 as in the case of most other mechanical arts, began 

 with the introduction of steam as a means of utiliz- 

 ing energy; and another revolution is in rapid progress 

 owing to the perfection of electrical apparatus for 

 furnishing power, heat, and light. Methods of mining 

 a hundred years ago were undoubtedly somewhat in 

 advance of the methods used by the ancients; but the 

 gap was not a wide one, and the progress made by 

 decades after the introduction of steam has been 

 infinitely greater than the progress made by centuries 

 previous to that time. 



This progress, of course, applies to all kinds of mines 

 and all phases of mining; but steam and electricity 

 are not alone responsible for the great nineteenth- 

 century progress. Geology, an unknown science a 

 century ago, has played a most active and important 

 part; and chemistry, whose birth as a science dates 

 from the opening years of the nineteenth century, is 

 responsible for many of the great advances. 



Obviously a very important feature of any mine 

 must be its location, and the determination of this 

 must always constitute the principal hazard in prac- 

 tical mining. Prospecting, or exploring for suitable 

 mining sites, has been an important occupation for 

 many years, and has in fact become a scientific one 

 recently. Formerly mines were frequently stumbled 

 upon by accident, but such accidental discoveries are 

 becoming less and less frequent. The prospector 



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