304       Borax  Deposits  in  California  and  Nevada.        { *'^°'iJ?,e'i885*™' 
mixed  with  the  genuine^  as  has  apparently  been  done  in  the  case  alluded 
to  by  Dr.  Shillitoe. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  in  connection  with  this  subject  that  a  species  of 
pepper,  evidently  so  nearly  allied  to  cubebs,  should  possess  properties 
so  different  to  that  of  the  genuine  drug,  and  it  may  serve  as  a  warning 
to  wholesale  as  well  as  retail  chemists  to  carefully  examine  the  drugs 
that  pass  through  their  hands,  even  when  presenting  a  genuine  appear- 
ance. At  the  present  time  I  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  there  is, 
in  commerce,  a  root  which  closely  resembles  the  true  Pareira  hrava  in 
appearance,  except  in  having  narrower  and  more  woody  concentric 
zones.  Although  evidently  belonging  to  the  same  natural  order,  there 
is  no  evidence  as  yet  that  it  possesses  similar  properties. 
In  conclusion,  it  may  be  reiterated  here  that  the  spurious  cubebs 
hav^e  a  more  bitter  taste  and  an  odor  resembling  that  of  mace. 
It  may  also  be  pointed  out,  as  a  general  rule,  that  when  a  drug  goes 
up  in  price,  it  is  time  to  be  on  the  look  out  for  adulteration  or  substi- 
tution.— Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  May  9,  1885,  p.  909. 
THE  BORAX  DEPOSITS  IN  CALIFORNIA  AND  NEVADA.^ 
It  may  be  said  in  general  terms  that  all  California,  south  of  the 
Chon-chilla  and  Tresno  region  and  east  of  the  coast  range,  is  a  silver 
and  borax  region.  Southern  Nevada  is  much  the  same.  The  counties 
of  Mono,  Juyo,  and  San  Bernardino,  with  a  part  of  San  Diego,  are  the 
chief  localities,  though  a  remarkable  line  of  borax  deposits  extends 
across  Nevada,  from  west  of  Humboldt  Sink  to  Desert  \¥ells  and  Fish 
Lake,  140  miles  southeast.  The  first  discovery  of  borax  in  California 
was  made  in  1856  near  Red  Bluff,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State. 
The  first  deposits,  however,  successfully  worked,  were  those  of  the 
Borax  and  Hachinhama  Lakes  in  Lake  county,  100  miles  north  of 
San  Francisco.  At  present  the  supply  comes  from  the  more  easily 
worked  and  richer  deposits  in  the  sandy  deserts  about  Death  Valley 
and  southeast  of  Pyramid  Lake  in  Nevada.  The  first  shipment  of 
borax  was  made  in  1864. 
The  crystals  of  borax  in  the  mud  were  removed  by  the  use  of  coffer- 
dams, 4  feet  square,  and  often  nearly  1,000  lbs.  were  taken  from  one 
^  From  a  report  on  the  production  of  borax  in  the  United  States,  for- 
warded by  Mr.  L.  S.  Sackville  West  to  Earl  Granville. 
