1064 Transactions of thb American Institute. 



^ Mr. Dibbin said the mining interests of onr western country is now 

 in much better shape tlian formerly. They have unfortunately been 

 neglected till within a few years, and now the people of that country 

 are not so anxious to have settlers come there. The minino- resour- 

 ces of both Colorado and Nevada, are being developed to a laro-e 

 extent. Nearly every season we have new discoveries, some of them 

 no doubt, exaggerated, but still showing wonderful progress and activ- 

 ity of the people there. Sometimes curious formations of veins in 

 the mountains of the Sierra Nevada are met with, the causes of which 

 are somewhat obscure. In the same geological formation wliich on 

 this island has an angle of forty-five degrees, there the same rocks are 

 m a vertical line, and across this strata are deposits of valuable met- 

 als, such as copper and gold, usually found as sulphides. (Mr Dib- 

 bins here made a diagram, on the black-board, showing the forma- 

 tions of the veins, and the point at which the sulphides are deposi- 

 ted.) The climate is not cold, yet is much milder than here ; and we 

 have the phenomena of having frozen snow and ice at a depth of 

 1,100 feet. The same causes that lets the snow remain durino- the 

 winter, prevents its thawing in the summer. Everv season it freezes 

 a httle deeper, and in time ice of immense thickness will be formed 

 All this is caused by the peculiar shape of the mountains 

 which prevent the rays of the sun from melting the ice • 

 the temperature there, is about fifty degrees. One hyaro- 

 metric peculiarity is that the air is very dry.^ In this citv if^the 

 temperature is at fifty degrees, it will feel cold, but there, having no 

 moisture in the air, it feels quite warm, so that out-door work can be 

 done without having coats on. In the month of Auo-ust, heavy 

 rain storms occur, yet, in three hours after it has ceased, the ground 

 is thoroughly dry. On these mountains we can see the beautiful 

 phenomena of hail forming out of tlie heavy moisture, and see the 

 sun shmmg at the same time. It is probably the healthiest climate in 

 the world; it is very free from the variations which we have here 

 The only time we catch cold is when there is a continuous storm 

 He lived mainly o^it of doors during the four years he was there, 

 In the neighborhood of Georgetown, out of a population of 4,OOo' 

 there were only three deaths. A most magnificent spectacle can be 

 witnessed from the peaks of the Rocky mountains ; the vast plains; 

 the mountains winding on each other; the ridges seeming to be cov- 

 ered with snow, but it is only the superior reflection of the light; 

 then the South Pass, which is a misnomer, for it should be called^the 



