not adequate means employed to remove it. This is done in two ways: first, by digging a horizontal gallery (called an adit-level) from the mine to

MODE OF OPENING A MINE.

some adjacent valley; in this way is drained all that part of the work which lies above; and, secondly, by the use of pumps for drawing out the water from that part of the mine which is below the adit-level, or drain. Many of these drains are of great length, and are dug at great expense. One of these, in the mining region of Cornwall, England, begins in a valley near the sea, and a very little above its level, and goes through all the neighboring mines, which it drains to that depth, and with all its ramifications is thirty miles long.

The mode of raising ores varies with the depth of the mine. For a distance of fifty feet, or even one hundred, the ore and rubbish may be raised to the surface by the simple windlass, worked by hand, on which a rope is so wound that one bucket descends while the other ascends. As soon, however, as the depth of the shaft becomes more considerable, it is necessary to resort to horse or steam power for raising the ore. The common machine

MODE OF HOISTING ORES.

used for this purpose is called a whim; as usually constructed when worked by horse-power, it is represented in the annexed cut. A steam-whim is generally used when the shaft has a depth of more than two hundred feet.

NOTE.-The author is indebted for the following facts, relating to the distribution of metals, chiefly to the able work of J. D. Whitney, Esq., entitled, "METALLIC WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES."

DISTRIBUTION OF GOLD.

IN THE UNITED STATES.-The United States contains three principal goldfields; viz., the Appalachian gold-field, the Rocky Mountain gold-field, and the Sierra Nevada gold-field; but they are of very unequal importance. That of the Atlantic slope, the "Appalachian gold-field," has been worked to a moderate extent for about forty years; the others are of comparatively recent discovery, but have yielded vastly more than the former.

The Appalachian gold-field extends from Georgia, in a northeasterly direction to Maryland, and is developed in the following counties: in Georgia, in Carroll, Cobb, Cherokee, Lumpkin, and Habersham counties; in South Carolina, through the whole northwestern corner of the State, especially in the following districts: Abbeville, Pickens, Spartanburg, Union, York, Lancaster; in North Carolina, in Mecklenburg, Rutherford, Cabarras, Rowan, Davidson, Guildford, and Rockingham; thence through Virginia, in Pittsylvania, Campbell, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Louisa, Spottsylvania, Orange, Culpepper, Fauquier; in Maryland, Montgomery County. Gold has also been found in Canada on the Du Loup and Chaudiere rivers.

The Rocky Mountain gold-field is known to be of extraordinary richness;

although as yet it is but imperfectly explored. The first noteworthy dis coveries of gold within its limits were made in 1858, in the vicinity of Pike's Peak since which, extensive auriferous regions have been developed on each side of the chain, both to the north and south-thus calling into political existence the new Territories of Colorado, Idaho, and Montana.

The Sierra Nevada gold-field is the most productive in the United States, and, compared with what we know of other similar regions, it is perhaps the richest in the world. It was first discovered in 1848, and it is calculated that, up to the end of 1863, it had yielded the enormous sum of nearly eight hundred million dollars, and that the annual product is now about fifty million dollars. This rich mineral region is in the great valley of California, which has a length of about 500 miles, and a breadth of from 50 to 100. It is drained by two principal rivers,-the Sacramento and the San Joaquin, the former flowing south, and the latter north. The gold is most commonly obtained in fine particles, and scales or flattened grains, and is obtained by washings, or the separation of the metal from the earthy substances with which it is mixed. It is also procured from veins of quartz by crushing the solid rock. Lumps or "nuggets" are not common, and rarely exceed a few pounds in weight.

IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.-Of the foreign countries, those most productive of gold are Australia, the Russian Empire, South Asia, the East Indies, Equador, New Guinea, Mexico, Brazil, and the Austrian Empire.

The Australian gold district is, next to that of California, by far the most productive of any known. The existence of gold there was first made known in May, 1851. The gold region embraces the southeast corner of Australia. The yield, for several years, exceeded that in the United States, but of late has considerably diminished. The gold of the Russian Empire is obtained almost entirely from the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains, from the vicinity of the Altai Mountains, and from the Caucasus. It is supposed that the countries of Russia yield gold to the value of about thirty million dollars annually.

DISTRIBUTION OF SILVER.

IN THE UNITED STATES.-Extensive silver mines have lately been opened in Nevada and Arizona, and are yielding large returns. The silver furnished by this country formerly came mostly from the native gold of California, with which silver is alloyed. From this source a considerable amount is still obtained.

IN OTHER COUNTRIES.-The countries particularly distinguished for their extensive yield of silver are Mexico, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Spain. Mexico is by far the richest in mines of this metal, from which, it is estimated, about thirty-five million dollars worth are now annually obtained-an amount far greater than the yield of any other mines in the world.

The province of Guanaxuato is supposed to furnish about one half the amount of silver produced in Mexico. In Peru, the richest mines are at Pasco, on the Andes, over 13,000 feet above the sea. Besides the Pasco mines, which are the richest in the world, there are numerous other mining districts in Peru, especially in the province of Pataz, Huamanchuco, Caxamarca, and Hualgayoc. The richest silver mines of Chile are those of Copiapo; those of Bolivia are at Potosi, more than 16,000 feet above the sea-level. Of the silver furnished by Europe, that of Spain, Russia, and Great Britain is derived almost exclusively from the working of silver-lead ores. The only mining districts of importance in Europe, in which silver ores are worked by themselves, are those of Hungary and Transylvania, of the Erzebirge in Saxony and Bohemia, and of Kongsberg in Norway.

DISTRIBUTION OF MERCURY.

IN THE UNITED STATES.-No mercury is known to have been found east of the Mississippi River. It is produced in greater quantity than in any other part of the world from a mine at New Almaden, California, in one of the side valleys of the San José.

IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.-Nearly all the mercury supplied by Europe is obtained from the mines of Almaden in Spain, and Idria in the Austrian Empire. The mines of Almaden are situated in the province of La Mancha, near the frontier of Estramadura. These mines have been worked longer than any others in the world; they were known to the Greeks at least 700 years before the Christian era. The present yield of the Spanish mercury mines is about two and a half million of pounds per annum, or but little short of that of the California mines. Mercury is obtained from several

localities in South America, but chiefly from the mines of Huancavelica, in Peru, which yield about 200,000 pounds per annum.

DISTRIBUTION OF TIN.

IN THE UNITED STATES.-Tin, which is used in the manufacture of tin plates, is nowhere obtained in the United States in any great amount. The only locality in the eastern part of this country where this ore has been found in any considerable quantity, is at Jackson, in Carroll County, New Hampshire, but it has not been obtained there to such extent as to render its manufacture profitable.

IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.-The most productive tin mining region in the world is in Cornwall, England. The Cornish mines have been worked from a very early period, the metal from which formed an article of traffic with the Phoenicians and Greeks before the time of our Saviour. It is estimated that about 7,000 tons of tin are annually made from the ores of these mines. The most valuable tin mines on the continent of Europe are those of Erzgebirge, which are partly in Saxony and partly in Bohemia. One of the richest deposits of tin known is in the province of Tenasserim, in the Malayan peninsula. The best quality of tin is obtained from the island of Banca, at the extremity of the Malacca peninsula.

DISTRIBUTION OF COPPER.

IN THE UNITED STATES.-Copper is, next to gold and iron, the most important metal in the United States. The richest copper mining district in this country is that of Lake Superior. The occurrence of native copper on this lake was known to the Jesuit, Fathers, who, in the latter half of the seventeenth century, traveled extensively in that region. The mines were not extensively worked until after the year 1844, when the country was ceded to the United States by the Chippewa Indians, and opened to settlement. Since that time, numerous companies have been organized, and large amounts of stock contributed, for the purpose of opening and working mines in this region. The principal mines are those of Kewenaw Point, Isle Royale, Ontonagon River, and Portage Lake. The Cliff Mine of Kewenaw Point has been worked for the longest period, and has yielded the greatest amount of metal.

Copper deposits are found at numerous localities in the valley of the Mississippi, those in the neighborhood of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, being the best known. They are found also in the region which extends along the western slope of the Appalachian chain of mountains from New Hampshire to Georgia. The principal localities in this district occur at or near the following places: Warren, in New Hampshire; Orange, in Vermont; Bristol, Manchester, Litchfield, and Plymouth, in Connecticut; Belleville, Griggstown, Brunswick, Woodbridge, Greenbrook, Somerville, and Flemington, in New Jersey; Montgomery and Chester counties, in Pennsylvania; Liberty and New London, in Maryland; Fauquier County, in Virginia; Greensboro, in North Carolina; and Polk County, in Tennessee.

IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.-The most noted copper mines of foreign countries are those of Chile, in South America, where copper is the most important product. The principal mines are located at Carrisal, north of the valley of Huasco; and at San Juan and La Higuera, between Huasco and Coquimbo. Numerous others are worked in the vicinity of Copiapo. The annual yield of copper in Chile is over 20,000 tons. The copper mines of Cornwall and Devonshire, in England, are highly celebrated; and have been worked longer, and have produced more of this metal than any other mines in the world. They are supposed to yield about 14,000 tons annually.

The other principal copper mining districts are those of the Ural Mountains and the Caucasus, in the Russian Empire; Mansfield, in Prussia; Upper Hungary, in Austria; and Namaqua Land, in Southwestern Africa. Copper is also obtained in Norway, Sweden, Spain, and in the East Indies, Japan, Australia, and Cuba.

DISTRIBUTION OF ZINC.

IN THE UNITED STATES.-The ores of zinc are distributed over the United States in great abundance. Some of the more important localities are at or near the following places; Easton, in New Hampshire; Wartsboro, in Sulli

van County, New York; Sussex County, New Jersey; and Friedensville, in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Of the above mines, those in New Jersey and Pennsylvania have, as yet, yielded by far the greatest amount of this metal. The ores of zinc are plentifully distributed through the lead mines of the Mississippi valley.

IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.-Zinc is procured in Great Britain, Austria, and Poland; but the countries particularly distinguished for extensive zinc mines are Belgium and Prussia, which, together, yield more than eight tenths of all that is manufactured in the world. The great Belgian zincworks are in the province of Liège. The principal zinc district of Prussia is in the province of Upper Silesia, which produces nine tenths of the whole amount of this metal furnished by Prussia.

DISTRIBUTION OF LEAD.

IN THE UNITED STATES.-The lead mines of this country are abundantly scattered over its surface, and have yielded a larger amount in value of this metal than of any other, with the exception of iron, gold, and copper. The most productive mines are those of the Upper Mississippi lead region; but there are numerous localities in the Atlantic States where considerable amounts of lead have been obtained. The most noted of the lead districts in the latter division are those of Rossie, in St. Lawrence County, Ancram, in Columbia County, Northeast, in Dutchess County, New York; Middletown, in Connecticut; and Christie and Montgomery counties, in Pennsylvania.

The great lead deposits of the Mississippi valley are known as the Upper Mississippi and the Missouri mines. The first of these divisions comprehends the lead region lying in the southwestern portion of Wisconsin and including a small part of the adjacent States of Illinois and Iowa. The principal mining centers of this division are Galena, in Illinois; Mineral Point, in Wisconsin; and Dubuque, in Iowa. The Mississippi runs along the western edge of this tract, and the course of the Wisconsin River is nearly parallel with the northern line, and distant from it only a few miles. The mines of this division yield annually upward of 13,000 tons. The second division embraces the mines of the State of Missouri, lying principally south of the Missouri River. The principal mines are in Washington County, near Big River and Mineral Creck.

IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.-Lead mines are distributed through most of the countries of Europe, but those of Great Britain, France, and Spain are by far the most productive. The most extensive lead mining districts of Great Britain are in Cardiganshire and Montgomeryshire in Wales, and at Alston Moor, where the three counties of Northumberland, Durham, and Cumberland come together.

DISTRIBUTION OF IRON.

IN THE UNITED STATES.-Iron is so very extensively distributed throughout the United States, that only a mere mention of the States in which it is most abundant can be given in this article. Rich deposits of this metal are found in almost, if not quite, every State in the Union; but the States in which they were wrought to the greatest extent in 1860 were, in the order of their rank in this respect, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Maryland, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Missouri. Pennsylvania excels all other States in the manufacture of iron, having yielded in 1860 five eighths of all that was made in the Union. The number of tons of iron made in the United States, according to the census of 1860, was 884,474. Owing to the cheapness of foreign iron, and the extensive importation of it, the iron mines of this country are not worked so largely as they otherwise would be.

IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.-Great Britain stands pre-eminent for the abundance of its iron and the extent of its manufacture, the annual produce of its mines being estimated at about 3,000,000 tons. Of the other foreign countries noted for the production of iron, are France, Belgium, the Austrian Empire, the Russian Empire, Sweden, and Prussia

eastern chain, greatest height 3,000 feet;

PRINCIPAL RIVERS OF THE WORLD,

SHOWING THEIR SOURCES-THE COUNTRIES THROUGH WHICH THEY FLOW -THE SEAS INTO WHICH THEY FALL-THEIR APPROXIMATE LENGTH AND NAVIGABLE DISTANCE IN ENGLISH MILES.

After the name of each river follow-1st (in parenthesis), that of the district in which it rises; 2d, in Italics, the countries through which it flows; 3d, the sea or ocean into which it falls; and, lastly, its length, inclusive of the principal windings of its stream, and its navigable distance, when it can be ascertained.

AFRICA.

Atlas Mts. (Barbary), average from 3,000 to 4,000 feet.