ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE

Dunstan Times, Issue 487, 18 August 1871, Page 3

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE

[We do not identify ourselves -with the opinions that may be expressed by our correspondents.] ' PATENT DIVING BELL DREDGE?*, (TO the'editorof THE DUS'RTAN times.) Bir, —In a recent ifsuo of your paper I obierve sonic notes on my patent diving bell vessel, the writer of whbh suggested a few points for explanation. With your permission I now beg to supply the same. We will suppose the vessel moored over the spot at which operations are about to commence, and that the beach contains about six feet or more of surface tailings over say two feet of wash dirt. The first thing then to be done is to drop the bell within one foot of the surface of the beach. In the bell are two men, who forthwith commence to shovel astern one foot in depth of the material under the bell, after which the tailings require to be lifted to the surface in buckets or bags, and passed away astern, till the wash dirt is reached, which of course is sent up to the deck and dealt with for gold in the usual way. After all the wash d rt is collected the reef is then carefully examined anil cleaned up, and here 1 expect the largest quautry of gold will re got. The are i of the bottom of the be!l is seven by six feet, and there will be us difficulty in working nine by seven feet to the bottom. Supposing this process to be thus completed there is an opening or paddock left of nine by s 'ven feet. Now I propose to advance seven feet up the river, and repeat the same process, which will give me a paddock of eighteen feet long by seven feet wide. Therepon, instead of the tailings being raised as describe i above, the men in the i iving bell shovel everything into the paddocks astern until the wash dirt is reached. You will thus prcceive that after an opening is once o'ltaine I, the minimum ..mount of labor only is required to de 1 wi hj the tailings, as the sams no longer require raising, but are shoveled in'o the paddocks astern. • It will doubtless be said that the paddocks are likely to be filled up by the tailings always passing down the river; -but I contend this will not ordinarily be the case, although it may be liable to such eventuality in times of flood, so are all the river beaches, but such difficulty is more readily overcome by my mode of working as it is only required to repeat the first operation and the work progresses as before. Another point not generally understood, is the bell passing through the tailings to the depth stated, say six feet or more. It has been suggested they would fall in on the bed, this could not occur by making the paddock double the size of the bell as already pro. posed. The fact is, the deeper the bell goes down the greater the protection afforded to it by the upper bank ; for a* the bell is but five feet high, -as soon as that depth is reached the current is absolutely passing over its surface. I say that my bell can work such claims with the utmost facility and clean up the reef at the bottom, which is more than any known method of working can accomplish, and I believe that any practical dredger can at once realize its importance in tuis direction. I would merely add that there is nothing novel in a diving bell excepting in its application to its present intended use. I have had upwards of fo ty years practical experience iu diving bel s, have personally worked iu them and have to stake my reputalioh on their successful w rkihg. provided the gold is in the river, of which there appears to be no doubt, when I see your paper reporting dividends to some of the present dredgers of 4(M. to 60t. per man per weeki with the- present inefficient mode of obtaining it. Yours, 4c, GEORGE GREEN, Patentee.