Some of Nature’s Oddities
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The freezing point of mercury in 30
degrees Itelow zero, of sulphuric acie 46
below zero, and of alcohol 203 below
zero, F.
A block of ice about 600,000 square
miles in area and a mile and a half
thick—the largest in the world—tills up
nearly the whole of the interior of
Greenland.
Copper becomes soft and malleable
when strongly heated and immersed in
cold water, its behavior under these
circumstances la'ing diametrically oppo
site to steel.
Good jewelry contains from 750 to 020
parts gold and 250 to SO of copper.
United States gold coin contains SHX)
parts gold and 100 parts silver. Silver
coin contains 000 parts silver and 100
copper.
Wyandotte cave, in Indiana, has been
explored for a distance of 22 miles. It
is noted for its stalactites and stalag
mites. The Pillared Place contains sev
eral clusters of stalactites, and the Pillar
of the Constitution has a large stalag
mite d0 feet high and 75 feet in circum
ference.
The floating quartz stones of Cornwall,
England, and a few other localities are
curious illustrations of nature. These
quartz specimens consist of interlaced
fibers forming a mass which floats in
water, l>eing buoyed up by the air it
encloses. They contain t>8 per cent,
silica and 2 of carbonate of calcium.
In the 50 years that anthracite coal
has been mined in Pennsylvania close
to two billion five hundred thousand
tons have been marketed to date. An
estimate of the reserves yet in the
ground is placedat 10,000,000 tons,which
will l»e depleted at the present rate of
consumption in 100 years.
In diamonds those of the most value
are the fieriectly white stones or those
of fine bright tints of rose, green or blue.
The latter colored diamonds are most
rare and when in jierfect specimens are
very valuable. Diamonds of rich yellow
color are valuable, but those white
stones show ing yellowish tint are much
less desirable and bring smaller prices
than the pure-color stones. Perfectly
colorless and flawless diamonds are
known as first water stones.
The petrified forest in Arixona was
purchased l>y the government in l!Ht:t
tu preserve tlie treasure* (rum the raiils
uf souvenir hunters anti bric-a-brac
makers. Its wonder* are little known
to the average American. S|stimens
nf lieautiful nguti/ed also failed fossil
ized or silieitied wish! may be seen in
the form of table tops, clocks, vases or
bric-a-brac. The wmsl crystals occur in
abundance, and it is not uncommon to
s«*e "forest corpses'’ as big around as an
elephant. There are really three |*-tri
tied forests, the princi|stl one, covering
about li.taar acres, Isong easily accessible
either from Adamaua or Holbrook, on
tire Santa Ke railroad. Vdamana ob
laintsl its name from the pioneer guide
of the region, Vlani llanna. In Ada
muiut, the first forest, is found a natural
log bridge ami another great column of
l« trilled aissl, known as Is-wey's fan
non, tilted at an angle. Three miles
away lies the second forest, which con
sists chiefly of bad lands. The third
forest, which covers the greatest area
and in which occur most remarkable
geological formations, is eight miles
distant from the first forest. This dis
trict contains several hundred whole
trees, some of them 200 feet long, partly
imbedded in the earth. By the guides
this is called the “Crystal” or “Rain
bow” forest, because of the brilliant
colors of the silicified wood.
A phenomenon of gases is their diffu
sion qualities. Thus, when two bottles
containing different gases are brought
together, month to mouth, with the
lighter gas in the upper bottle, it is
found that the two become perfectly
mixed soon after, the lighter gas trav
eling downward and the heavier up
ward. This phenomenon is thought to
be due to the fact that gases consist of a
multifile of little particles or molecules,
all living about one another at great
sj>eed.
Hydrogen is the lightest substance in
existence and it also has the smallest
atomic weight. Its atomic weight is
frequently taken as unity in stating the
relative atomic weights of the various
elements, but it is now more usual to
assume the atomic weight of oxygen to
be precisely lfi, which amounts to mak
ing the atomic weight of hydrogen but
1.0076. Experiments show that hydro
gen has a density equal to 0.06926 of
that of an equal volume of air at the
same temperature and pressure, this
proving its marvelous lightness.
There are 2.">0,000 species of “fungi.”
They occur wherever there is organic
matter of any kind u|>on which they
can subsist. Fungi occur in the air, in
all exposed waters, and in the soil.
They are the most numerous of living
things, when we consider individuals
alone. They range in size from a most
minute atom to many inches in length.
Of some of the smallest sjiecies it would
require 25,000 to 30,000 placed side by
side to measure one inch. The fungi
that form on timbers in mines are of
these minute species. A single mine
timber badly decayed may contain un
told millions of fungi.
The theory that the (irand Canyon of
the Colorado was a fracture of the
earth's crust has been disproved by
geologists. It is now clear that a long
|*»riod of erosion through plateaus suc
cessively uplifted has produced this
wonderful gorge. At the liottoiii of the
canyon the Archaean system is laid
hare. The Algonkin la-ds, with their
high coloring, give brilliance to the
canyon wherever they can lie traced.
The Cambrian l>eds are found aln»ve the
Algonkin. but in places rest directly on
the Archaean. The Cambrian there
known as the Tonto formation) is in
places l.rtto feet thick. The tipper por
tion nf the canyon wall consists of cat
Im>nift*rotia formations red wall forma
tion below Aubrey, limestone and sand*
stone aUive It is estimated that all
of the Koeene, Cretaceous, Jurassic, ami
PtImjs Triassn- lie«|s, and the greater
part •»< the iVrnnatt have been worn
away from the plateau region during
tin* pern*! of erosion.
The Gold-Saying
Non-Boiling Riffle
Dennis H. Stovall, In the Mining World.
A practical test made this season in
two southern Oregon hydraulic placer
mines resulted in the conclusion that
the cross riffle, commonly used by placer
miners, is a source of loss. Because of
the use of this riffle, it has been demon
strated that the miner loses fully 80 per
cent, of the platinum values of his
diggings, and 80 per cent, of the gold
values. It has been proved beyond any
doubt that the loss is due to the “boil
ing” nature of the cross riffle. Its great
agitation prevents the settling of the
gold.
One company of men placed a series
of riffles below the sluiceboxes and
flumes of a big southern Oregon placer
mine. The mine is one of the best
equipped in the west, and its system of
riffles has long been taken as a model
for many neighboring properties. It
was believed that not more than 10 j>er
cent, of the total gold values of the dig
gings of this mine were lost. But great
was the surprise when the first three
cleanups were made from the series of
riffles below the diggings, and it was
found that nearly as much gold was
saved from the sluice water and tailings
as was saved in the main riffles and
races of the mine. In other words, the
supposed excellent system of riffles was
catching only one half of the gold; all
the other was going over. And this
enormous loss has been suffered for the
past 50 years, not only by this one mine,
but by scores and hundreds of western
surface mines where the cross rittfe has
l>een user!.
The series of riffles used by tlie com
pany here mentioned consists of a num
ber of settling vats or currents. Boiling
is entirely eliminated, and the gold is
given every opportunity to settle. The
system is one of simplicity. There is
nothing mysterious or complicated about
it, as many miners have been led to
believe from the reports of the fabulous
saving made by the system. It is less
than a year since the system was intro
duced in the west, but before another
season closes scores of them will be at
work on the tailing dumps of Oregon
and California placers, and a complete
change will Is- made in the construction
of riffles.
Kvery miner knows that the Is-st pos
sible ritfle is the lieilns-k race. Its
jagged surface, irregular in form, gives
every kind of rittle, and offers every
kind of resistance to the gold. From
this the miner should have learned the
lesson id the “settling hole" long ago,
as the hulk of his gold cornea from the
“settling holes" in his race. If he would
have examined them closely, lie would
have found that these “settling holes"
are all free of lawling Those where
Isaling occur* contain no gold. Aw an
instance of this, the writer was told by
the manager of a big Western placer
The
Miners Store
Just received u full and complete
line of
Men’s Furnishing
Goods.
SPECIALTIES:
Underwear,
Overshirts,
Socks
Also a complete line of
nfAPOTMOQ E&ss, Potatoes
UlUuuilGk), and Onions
(1 nr VHII one ,l'ose people whoV
Anil I UU seldom write home? \
They will know you are all right if you 1
send them the YUKON VALLEY NEWS. I
Mail yours or let us send one weekly./
mine, of a hole in his race, 4 feet wide,
10 feet long and 5 feet deep, that each
season filled with gravel, sand and boul
ders. All of the sluice water and pii>e
clays from the diggings flowed through
or over this hole. From all appearances
it was supposed that it caught much
gold, and it was cleaned out each season
with extreme care. This was done for
six years, and scarcely one dollar in
metal was found in the hole. There was
gold below it and above it, but never in
the hole. It was because the water
boiled through it and gave the metal no
chance to settle.
The riltle that pays liest, tliat saves
the greatest amount of gohl, coarse anil
tine, that saves the platinum anil hlack
sand, is the horizontal pole or iron
strapped scantling. The latter is the
best, in that it stands the wear and tear
better. It is made bv setting 2x4
scantling edgewise on the Isittom of the
sluice floor, U-viling the bottom edge so
that it will tilt just a little. On the top
edge a three-eighths strap iron is bolted.
This strap iron is slightly wider than
the scantling, and projects ulsmt a
■lUarter of an inch over each side. The
scantlings set alsmt two inches a|sirt.
They will not clog, but clean themselves.
The small rocks that fall lw-tween the
scantling are of material assistance in
holding the line gold and platinum.
The ritttea are made in 12-foot seetion*,
to tit each section of stuiee, ami are
easily lifted ami rinsed at cleanup time.