593 



NA TURE 



\_Apru 24, 1884 



feet. We got as far as the monastery of Kikko that day, 

 and the next day I continued along the watershed to the 

 camp at Troodos. Our road as far as Kikko was a mere 

 track on the side of the hill, in some parts rather 

 dangerous, and we had to lead our ponies on foot, in 

 many parts very steep. The difficulty on the road is the 

 want of water at that elevation. We halted the first night 

 at a beautiful spring, but we had to carry with us food for 

 man and beast for the whole party, muleteers, &c. The 

 scenery was wild and romantic. This spot is the centre 

 of the ' moufflon ' ground ; three of them were at the 

 spring when we approached it. It gave me a clearer idea 

 of the forests of Cyprus than I ever had before. 



" We have had a great deal of rain this winter, and 

 the country is clothed with vegetation." 



MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE 

 UNITED STATES^ 



'T^HIS volume, published by the United States Geo- 

 -'■ logical Survey, is the first statistical report upon the 

 condition of the mining industries of the United States, 

 and contains much valuable information concerning the 

 great and ever-increasing production of metals, espetially 

 m the States west of the Missouri and the Rocky 

 Mountains. 



In addition to the columns of figures of weights and 

 values constituting the statistical matter proper, the 

 author, or rather his coadjutors, for the volume is the 

 work of many contributors, have furnished notices and 

 descriptions of processes, especially in the metallurgical 

 section ; and a review of the course of the markets for the 

 preceding eight years (to 1S75) is given for each im- 

 portant metal. By a curious provision in the Act of 

 Congress providing for the publication of these statistics, 

 the field is restricted to mineral products other than gold 

 and silver, but, in order to present as complete a view of 

 tbe total output as possible, the best available figures of 

 the production of precious metals are given in a concise 

 form. This, though valuable, is rather disappointing, as 

 we miss the interesting accessory descriptions which are 

 given in other parts of the volume. How important the 

 jiroduction of these metals has been during the last 

 Cjuarter of a century is seen in the statement that the 

 aggregate yield up to the middle of last year has been 

 2707 tons of gold and 15,680 tons of silver, and of these 

 enormous quantities less than i per cent, of the gold, and 

 none of the sdver was raised before 185S At the present 

 time the annual production varies from 12 to 16 millions 

 sterling coinage value, divided about equally between 

 gold and silver, the latter being usually a little in excess. 



The coal raised in the different States is a little over 87 

 million tons, of which 29, 120,000 tons were anthracite and 

 the remainder bituminous coal and lignite of all kinds, and 

 some anthracite mined " outside " of i'ennsylvania, the re- 

 corded value being 29,326,000/. The above totals represent 

 r8 ton per head per annum of the population, which is, 

 liowever, somewhat less than the consumption, in addi- 

 tion to enormous quantities of wood and charcoal. 

 ;\mong the most interesting recent developments are the 

 Tertiary and Cretaceous coal-basins which extend along 

 t le base of the Rocky Mountains and are also seen at 

 different points on the Pacific Coast, the total area of 

 I'lese being reported as greater than those of the Car- 

 boniferous formations proper in the Eastern States. 

 'I hese areas are, however, marked as doubtful by the 

 author. At Crested Hutte and Irwin, in the very heart of 

 the Rocky Mountains, both anthracite and good coking 

 coals are found in these newer formations, the quality of 

 tlie latter especially being comparable with the coal of 

 Connellsville or the best coking coal in Pennsylvania. 



' " Mineral Resources of the United States." By Albert Williams, jnn. 

 8vo. (Washington, i88j.) 



The iron industry of the United States is now of first-rate 

 importance, and the subject is well treated in a paper con- 

 tributed by Mr. I. M. Swank, the well-known secretary of 

 the American Iron and Steel Association. The iron ore 

 raised is in round numbers g million tons, and the pig 

 iron made from it 4,623,000 tons. The value of the latter 

 is given at 21,267,000/., which is only a few pounds less 

 than that of the gold, silver, copper, and lead taken to- 

 gether. The largest production of iron ore is in the dis- 

 trict producing the richest quality, namely Lake Superior, 

 whose yield of 2,948,000 tons is comparable with those of 

 the other great hematite districts of the world, Furness, 

 Whitehaven, and Bilbao. 



The United States are now among the largest producers 

 of copper, and here we are met by the peculiarity of the 

 unequal distribution of the producing centres. Thus, of 

 a total product of 40,903 tons, 25,439 tons were from a 

 single district, namely, Lake Superior, and of this again 

 the larger proportion, 14,309 tons, was from a single 

 mine, the "phenomenal" Hecla and Calumet of Houghton, 

 Michigan. The Lake copper is entirely produced from 

 the native metal, and is of the highest degree of purity. 

 Latterly, however, a competitor of some importance has 

 arisen in the south, in the barren desert country of Ari- 

 zona, where inasses of carbonates and oxides have been 

 discovered in considerable quantity under conditions 

 resembling some of the famous mines of South -Australia. 

 The handling of these ores is not, however, easy. The 

 smelting must be done on the spot, and when the furnaces 

 are at a distance from railways, the coke used may cost from 

 10/. to 15/. per ton. The most remarkable mine in this 

 district, the Copper Queen, has already paid 200,000/. in 

 profits, and produces copper at a cost of i,\d. to ^d. per 

 pound. 



Lead is another metal in which the United States have 

 taken a prominent position during the last few years, the 

 product being now 132,890 tons, while in 1870 it was only 

 17,830 tons. This great increase is due to the development 

 of several important groups of mines in the Western .States, 

 but more particularly in Utah, Nevada, and Colorado, 

 the latter State alone producing 58,642 tons, or nearly 

 half the total production of the country ; wdiile in 

 1873 the State was credited with only 56 tons. This 

 enormous increase is due to the development of 

 the carbonate deposits of Leadville, in the Rocky 

 Mountains, where ores containing only 10 to 20 per cent, 

 of lead are smelted in enormous quantities to obtain the 

 silver and gold contained, which are relitively high in 

 proportion; the pig lead or ''base bullion" produced 

 being sent eastward by railway to the refineries at Omaha, 

 Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburg, and even New York. The 

 information given in the volume concerning this important 

 branch of industry is so full that it will be a welcome one 

 to the library of every metallurgist. 



Another important and almost specially American 

 mineral industry is that of petroleum, the production 

 being restricted to the States of Pennsylvania, New York, 

 California, West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, the last 

 four being, however, insignificant as compared with the 

 first three. Here again there is a considerable disparity, 

 the States of Pennsylvania and New York yielding 61,200 

 barrels daily, while in California the annual total is only 

 70,000 barrels. The barrel contains 42 gallons U.S. 

 measure, which is the same as the old English wine 

 gallon of 231 cubic inches. The consuming power of the 

 world seems in this article to have been passed by the 

 supply, the average price of 41.5. 2d. per barrel in 1864 

 having fallen to 3.5-. A,d. in 1883. Notwithstanding this 

 great fall in price the total produce of the year is valued 

 at ^4,740,000, or about one-half more than that of the 

 copper. 



The minor metallic and other minerals are of less im- 

 portance, but their statistics are set forth in considerable 

 detail in other parts of the volume, which we hope to see 



