March 17, 1 881] 



NATURE 



47: 



quartz, which was broken off the large piece, revealed two 

 patches of gold, both of which together, if removed from the 

 matrix, would probably produce about a dwt. (pennyweight) of 

 the metal ; whiI^t several small masses or nuggets were found 

 adhering to the ;mall broken fragments of quartz at the bottom 

 of the pail in which the rock was v\ashed, the largest of which 

 contained about ten or twelve grains of gold. From some 

 specimens in which no gold was perceptible to the naked eye, 

 and had been selected for analysis, a small nUjjget weighing 

 three grains was obtained in the dust of the liag in which the 

 specimens were carried. In the specimen from Fox Hill the 

 metal occurs thickly in the minutest specks, scarcely, if at all, 

 perceptible to the naked eye, but readily recognised under the 

 lens, where it chiefly surrounds a small patch of chlorite. 



The rock formation intersected by these auriferous quartz veins 

 is of Huronian or Intermediate age, or the group of strata next 

 below the asfidcUa slates of St. John's. The group consists 

 chiefly of greenish fine-grained felsite slates, which, judging by 

 the weathering of the exposed surfaces, are also magnesian and 

 ferruginous. The cleavage is exactly coincident with the bed- 

 ding, and the slates occasionally split into very fine lamince, but 

 frequently into strong stout slabs, which are used to a consider- 

 able extent at Brigus for paving, for hearthstones, and for 

 building foundations and walls. 



A rough and hummocky belt of country from three-quarters 

 to one mile wide, which forms the nucleus of the peninsula 

 between Bay -de-Grave and Brigu. Harbour, is thickly intersected 

 by reticulating quartz veins varying in thickness from less than 

 an inch to upwards of a foot, which often ajjpear to ramify 

 from a central b.iss or great mass of quartz, often extending 

 over many square yards, and usually forming low isolated hum- 

 mocks or hills. The general run of the belt is as nearly as 

 possible north-east and south-west from the true meridian. 

 Although many of the veins, both small and large, may be seen 

 for considerable distances to run exactly parallel with the bed- 

 ding, the net-work of the whole mass runs obliquely to the 

 strike of the beds, which are also mmutely intersected by the 

 smaller veins crossing and reticulating in all directions. 



The resemblance in general character of the strata with their 

 included auriferous quartz veins in Newfoundland to those of 

 Nova Scotia is striking, although accnrding to Dr. Dawson the 

 auriferous country of Nova Scotia is probably of Lower Silurian 

 age, while that of Newfoundland is undoubtedly unconformably 

 below the Primordial group, which, with abundant characteristic 

 fossils, skirts the shores of Conception Bay. 



That a large area of country in the regions referred to is auri- 

 ferous there can scarcely be a doubt, although nothing short of 

 actual milling and practical experience can possibly prove what 

 the value of the produce may be, 01 whether the prospects of 

 obtaining a remunerative return for the necessary outlay are 

 favourable or otherwise. The specimens which have been ob- 

 tained, although an unquestionable evidence of the presence of 

 the precious metal, cannot by any means be taken as indicative 

 of a certain average yield. An analysis of quartz collected, in 

 which gold is imperceptible to the naked eye, may aid in reveal- 

 ing some evidence of its constancy, and may throw some light 

 upon the possible average of superficial contents over certain 

 areas under similar circumstances ; but it may snfely be pre- 

 dicted that the irregularities of distribution, so conspicuously 

 displayed by the vems on the surface, will extend beneath it, 

 and that it will be mainly on the stronger and more persistent 

 bands, where intercalated with the strata, that mining will 

 extend to any considerable depth. 



The indications of gold in Newfoundland are certainly suffi- 

 ciently favourable to merit a fair trial ; and there are good 

 reasons to hope and expect that ample capital applied to skilled 

 and judicious labour may be found remunerative to future adven- 

 turers, while a new industry will be added to give employment 

 to the labouring population of the island, and possibly bring 

 this despised and but little-known colony into more prominence 

 and consideration abroad than it hitherto has enjoyed. 



A SPEED GOVERNOR FOR CONTINUOUS 

 MOTION 



TN Nature, vol. xxiii. p. 61, a speed governor for' a chrono- 

 ■'■ graph is described, the invention of the Astronomer- Royal, 

 in which a conical pendulum acts on a paddle moving'in a viscous 

 fluid, so as to make it dip more deeply into the fluid when the 

 speed is increased. A similar apparatus, with a spring instead of 



a pendulum, has recently been applied by me to a clock driving 

 a recording seismograph whose motion is required to be con- 

 tinuous and fairly uniform. As the apparatus is very simple and 

 easily made, requiring no nice fitting, and has proved itself to be 

 a very effectivo governor, a description of it may perhaps be 

 useful. 



a is a vertical spindle driven by the clock, and making about 

 one turn per second. Near the top of it a cross-bar is fixed, 

 whose ends are forked, and in them are jointed two bell-crank 

 levers i c, be. At the top of l> l> are two masses, which in my 

 instrument are two smooth-bore musket balls. These are tied 

 together by a spiral spring between two hooks at the top. At 

 the ends of ce are two flat paddles, and when the balls fly out 

 from the axis of rotation the paddles dip into glycerine contained 

 in the annular trough d d, which is shown in section. The trough 

 rests on the top of the clock frame. By using only one spring, 

 instead of tying each ball to the spindle by a separate spring, I 

 secure that the pull inwards is necessarily the same for both. 



!^ifH\'-KK'<mimm'mh£- 



As the balls go out a component of their weight comes into 

 action, helping this motion and opposed to the pull of the 

 spring. For small displacements this force increa-es very nearly 

 in proportion to the displacement, and hence, by choosing a 

 spring of suitable stiffness, a small change of speed can be made 

 to produce a relatively very large displacement, the proper con- 

 dition for approximate isochronism. 



A governor whose actual size is about twice that of the sketch, 

 roughly made in my laboratory, gives only a slight ri-e in speed 

 when the driving weight is doubled, and works very smoothly. 

 The .apparatus can easily be applied to a clock, perhaps mc^ 

 easily by rolling contact between a horizontal di-lc on a and a 

 vertical disk on one of the axles of the clock, and it gives suffi- 

 cient control for many purposes. If great accuracy were required 

 the resultant effect of change of temperature on the elasticity of 

 the spring and on the viscosity of the fluid might be corrected by 

 makii g <" of two metals, so as to bend and raise or lower the 

 paddles. It is well to put stops to prevent the balls from falling 

 inwards beyond the vertical position. J. A. EwiNG 



The University, Tokio, Japan, January 21 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE 



Oxford. — The electors to the Radcliffe Travelling Fellowship 

 have, after examination, awarded the Fellowship tcj Mr. A. J. 

 Anderson, B.A., late N.atural Science Demy of Magdalen 

 College. 



The examiners for the Burdett-Coutts (Geological) Scholar- 

 ship have recommended Mr. J. B. Nias, B.A., scholar of 

 Exeter College, for the scholarship. 



The junior Studentships in Natural Science at Christchurch 

 have been awarded to Mr. G. C. Chambres, Commoner of 

 BaUiol College, and late of Dulwich School, and to Mr. R. E. 

 Moyle (private tuition). Proxime accesHt, Mr. C. D. Spencer, 

 of Clifton College. Mr. W. C. Hudson was elected to an 

 Exhibition in Natural Science. 



The various lecturers and demonstrators in physics met last 

 week at the instance of Prof. Clifton, and arranged a scheme of 

 lectures for next term, similar to that carried out during the 

 present term. The object of the scheme Is to divide the subjects 

 among the independent college and university leciurers, so that 

 students may attend, by going from one lecturer to another, all 

 the lectures required for any particuhr course of study. 



The annual meeting of the Governors of the City and GuUds 

 of London Institute for the Advajicement of Technical Educa- 



