THE PRECIOUS METALS. 53 



Maine 2,999 7,200 



Michigan ' 25,858 



Montana 1,805,767 2,905,068 



Nevada 4,888,242 12,430,667 



New Hampshire 10,999 16,000 



New Mexico 49.354 392,337 



North Carolina ii3)953 ^4° 



Oregon 1,097,701 27,793 



South Carolina . • 13,040 56 



Tennessee 1,998 



Utah 291,587 4,743,087 



Virginia 9,321 



Washington 135,800 1,019 . 



Wyoming 17,321 



Total $33,379,663 $41,110,957 



It will be seer^ by this table that California produces in value a little more 

 gold than Colorado does of Silver. The deep mines in California, particularly in 

 the Bodie district, have produced more gold than the auriferous gravel which 

 seems to be fast becoming exhausted. • The Nevada mines, which produced such 

 quantities of precious metals from 187 1 to 1879, show a notable falling off, due 

 in large part to the diminution of the Comstock lode. Nevada also lacks water 

 to work her gravel deposits. The Utah mines give a very steady production of 

 the precious metals. The mines of Arizona are of recent development, and full 

 statistics have not been collected. There are large mining regions in Alaska^ 

 New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, Dakota and Washington Territory that have 

 hardly yet been examined. 



The total production of gold and silver for the year 1880 was about $74,- 

 500,000, while the out-put in 1881 was nearly $77,000,000. It is a noticeable 

 feature in mining operations that the production of gold mines in this country 

 and other lands is gradually falling off, indicating that gold mines are becoming 

 exhausted. 



There may still be rich gold fields in the northern part of the North Ameri- 

 can Continent as indicated by the glaciers which have dropped gold all along 

 their course in Indiana and other States. Prospecting for the precious metals 

 ought not to be left entirely to private enterprise, but it could be incorporated in 

 the scientific survey, and thus be fostered by the government. Great losses are 

 often entailed by individuals and companies which a little scientific knowledge 

 would have prevented. Every government certainly has the right to develop its 

 natural resources. — Kansas City Journal. 



