The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 23, 1902, Page 7

done THE SUNDAY 'CALL. logist, is ples of minera free of ame apy intc at the ge building fhice of 4ubury Hyde, tant; a and un oV ex; nt a s the more space c e headq ur: any who e their build- hun- all f the bureau wer enue, present equipped Bl depart- tory, min- am- s may nd in anything in the shape of a min- 1 that is found in the -State and see ther he has found diamonds or gold assays or q tive determinations are made, but si asssifying or iden- tifying, and the 5 tal -in the s through the Preston has the assistance cian, and they are both y. Just now there a hany sample of biack d with n brought in, for there is much about that pre- One 2 metal at pre tmes brings in as samples _of ore quest, “Please tell me v The samples are put th analysis and the man is told the different materials they contain. Miners are often cious to this department wioen_ th rush of business Is great with the State ineralogist, to find out how to wo , etc Capital from ew York is making inquiry and clays of ¢ 0 capital in- ruction of plants cement. - It is be great. de Orient a p the product from In this depart- one can see, if he ssed, the uties of a common shown' through a fine microscope, will be found to b nature’s wonders L two i and fifty to three hundred and s of various rocks and. ores are ted to the laboratory every month through the mails and by peopls pe y. This is one of the results c the 1 standpoin from which the minng Aubury and carving out a r elf. The bureau prepares and issues a register of mines from each county of the State, with maps showing ocations, etc. These maps are a new no other mining burean fn has. Mr. Aubury also is himself busy in the investigation . doubtful propositions. Lhat he at in the way of oil welis or can get mining properties or companies, thereby protecting unwary - investo: He is thoroughly posted and he can put ‘s finger on one of the maps of the bureau and tell you just how long this mine has beeri worked, how long this ofl well has en producing and the cutput of both them, ctc. The bureau issues a re- port annually and is now for distribution on special subjects, which include copper and quicksiiver mining and the salive deposits of California. Also information regarding gold dredging in California and the gems and precious stons found In the State. The bureau also publ istics of the mineral duction county of the State, h valuations of the: yearly product, ey mow have in preparation ten maps with' registers of mines In various coun- A vearly appropriation is made of 000 for the bureau and its fleld work, with an extra $5000 per year for printing is the intention of Mr. Aubury to lly pay more attention to industrial structural materials. There is a de~ mand for this. ‘Many people who are shy arout mining propositions display some intercst in other materials, such as useful woods and stones, If possible it is in- tended to gather an exhibit of structural issuing bulletins materials and ue bulletins regarding the locations whefe tliese materials are found, the uses.of them, etc. Among the specimens 'in° the museum there are mafly mine ful te look at as well as rare and vale able. Under this last head comes plat. num, of the various forms of which there s a fine collection. From San Diego County comes some very large specimens of a beautiful purplish stone, known to the trade as rubelite, from which rings and other trinkets made. Many people do not know that diamonds n found in Californfa. Yet here good sized on sparkling at you from the glass case where they have rested since they were sent from the min. ing sluice boxes in Butte County, where they were found. Some have been found in_Amador County also, and one man is said to have found as many as fourteen, These finds are being investigated further. Another semi-precious stone of a rich green in hue is chrysoprase, which is that are beauti- quartz colored by nickel. A rarge quans tity of this stone has been found near Visalia, and Eastern jewelry firms are buying much of it. The foreign sounding name of aragonite is given to onme of the most beautiful of the stones of California. Jt is a form of marble popularly called onyx, and much of it comes from San Luis Obispo In the specimens of the museum many tints are found, from the green of the sea to the rose pink of the dawn, and ths semi-transiucent stone shows strange de. signs ranging through its coloring in the shape of fantastic clouds, battlements and mountains. Other marbles: in the collec tion are the ‘“sky blue” from the quarries near Riverside, named from its color, the rich green of verde antique, and the rose- colored layers of travertine, all found in California, Among the mineral curiosities are some small pleces of what you would take at first glance to be bits of flesh-colored marble. These are specimens of hydro- phane, a variety of opal found in River- side County. This opaque stone has a wizard-like. quality. Drop a bit of it n clear water and it. Beginning at the edges it grows translucent and milky before your eyes, till you wonder if it will not disappear entirely. Take it from the water and In a moment or so the marble is again before you. Special are given up to the large families quartz, the jasper and the chal- cedony, ‘among which come the varied hues of the amethyst, the opal and the maonstone. In a case there is an imposing gilt model of the largest gold nugset known, the Welcome, which was probably very true to its name when found near B: larat, A v ht of the orig- inal was 2166 punces troy. A big cube of pumice is a queer mineral compound—once a rock full of gases blown by volcanic action into a cell-like network of natural glass. nd just as strange, but more beautif big jagged piece of obsidian, which what was once granite, now melted by natural causes Into glass. Sheets of this strange mineral are found in Napa County There are sheets of a milky whi tronsparent mineral in a case. They are selcnite (sulphate of calcium). one of the varieties of gypsum used in the composi- tion of plaster and plas‘er of pari A mineral that is e is another of nature's freaks. The popular name, min- eral leather, which it receives from its stretching. qualities, is an easler one to remember than pilinite, the name given it by the mineralogist. It is found in whitish sheets very much r mbling as- bestos, and specimens have been taken "?m crevices in the Almaden quicksilver mine. There is an interesting collection of mollusks and fishes also in the mugeum, among them some large oyster shell fos- sils. The museum represents the mineral in- dustry and aims to show the methqds by which the crude ores are prepared for use and market. A relic of old mining meth- ods is a wooden rocker with its two tin dippers, which probably once stood by the bank of some creek that had golden sands. There are some fine specimens of the turquoise, now so fashionable, which Is quite extensively mined in California. From Alameda County come some spec- imens of magnesite, or carbonate of mag- nesia, a mineral which will some day be extensively used In the manufacture of magnesia brick. In the midst of a lot of mineral bristles the jaw and teeth of a mammoth frcm Santa Rosa Island. The clays, borax and other minerals of commercial Importance are arranged by themselves in groups, and the same arrangement extends to gold, silver, copper and minerals of economic importance. An interesting feature is an extensive collection of Italian marbles, as well as building stones from other paris of the United States. Of much_ curious interest are some specimens of fossil plants from Utah, where they are worked as silver bearing ores, the fossils being permeated by a silver bearing solution, probably found in the matural waters that flowed over them. A pretty mineral of an amethyst hue is rutillated quartz, shot through with fine threads of rutile. This mineral is popular known as arrows of love, and many is the heart-shaped trink- et that has been fashioned from it and given to a sweetheart. Coal in many stages is shown, and reposing in a case is a model of the first go!d nugget found at Sutters Mill in 1848 by Peter L. Wimmer, who said to his son '‘ake this to your er to beil it in her soap his was the test by which the vas proved to be gold ty with a history is a zed by Kit Carson in 13#. It ¢ reek, Alpine of the Sierras. hown has pro- and corner of A miner cked it therc d camp and forgot it. But the tree went on growing until the cof- fee mill was enveloped and close to the heart of the 3 t of it was ious m metal is t limonite, Shasta curio: ree b ction of 'ee mill. and then shif Iron Mountain mine, 1 ouvenir is the Mexi- which is the trunk of a tree ot s like steps, once used Almaden mine, Santa Clara more richly grained the way of natural woods the large slab of Philippine Islands resembles black shadings of brown. amp mill Is a se Interested case i3 the > meteorite, found district, San Bes ighed 128 pounds The following he various constituents of monster meteorite {t compose Iron, 94.94: nickel, 452;: phosphorus, .07 graphite, 10. Total, 9 A force of me al in the field gathering information for the mining bureau and publications. In the drafting room is pr pared all the matter for the illustration of the various publications and the maps are made there also. Work is now being done on maps of Placer and Shasta countles, showing the various mines, accompanied by registers. To the library come many miners and men seeking information about the min- ing resources lifornia and minin; properties submi them for sale and it is the aim brarian to supply such data. Publications now being pri on copper and gold dredging will great need. The new methods of gold dredging used in Australia have been used in the northern part of the State with profitable success. The inquiry for gold mining properties is stronger than for many years and gold mining has seen a great revival in northern and other coun- ties. Prospectors are increasing. Large capital is becoming interested in Califor- gold mine wuch from Ohio, Massa- etts and Illinois, while New York al- s ready to money into a proposi Much correspond- wered fre au regard- . and slate q an im- portant factor in C: one of these and colored can be molave we exhil waln A working thing of in ning famous San Berna in the Manipah minin nard It 33 ounces analy n glass ays kept at work tistics and other arries wi liforn on regardi rnia may be ow the library has a upon the subjects I gold milling and assaying, precious stones, structural muteria many other things which the progressive miner or prospector wishes to be informed upon. But whe X for . knowl- edge or upon plea the State Min- ing Bureau is an 1g and instrue- o spend A spare hour ALFRED DEZENDORPF. tive place in whic or two.