EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY.

Evening Star, Issue 3126, 25 February 1873, Page 3

EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY.

OUR GOLD MINES, A discovery lias been made by Mr T). R. Crichton (manager of Bathurst Gold Mining Company, at Trnnkey) the simplicity, inex pensiveness, and undoubted success of which re nder it so important to the mining community that it should widely he made ki own. During the late close and sultry weather producing a heavy and stagnant state of th 1 atmosphere, great difficulty was experienced in ventilating the mine, and the men in th * deep workings were frequently compelled to come tp the sprfape through the accmmi'ation of foul air below ; and at last the deep shafts had to be abandoned, since none of the usual methods for restoring a current of air proved of any avail. This state of tilings went on fo" three days, when Mr Crichton determined to try a fresh experiment. He had noticed that the time of the kerosene lamp lived much longer than that of the candh’S, anil as ho would not ask another to do W’hat he was a r raid to attempt himself, he determined to put the design into execution by desc.auUng H shaft alone. Tie took an ordinary frying-pin and emptied into it about a quait of kerosene, and placed in the liquid a handful of cotton waste, and setting light to it, word was given to descend. One man plied the fan, and another lowered the hose, to keep pace with the whim rope, and con siderable suspense was bit by the workmen round the shaft as their plucky manager disappeaied from sight beneath the underlay. The appearance of the up-bucket, a minute or two after, announced the completion of the dc'Ceut, and then came a period of some anxiety to those who were waiting above. Of a sudden came a awarm of Hies, that bad beep noticed clinging on to the slabs of the shaft by the workmen ; but still no pigaal front the uw»|ejr, vw a dead

silence as minute after minute passed away —then a perceptible current of air was felt coming from the shaft, followed a minute or so after by the ringing out, in vigorous tones upon the" be 1, the preconcerted signal to send the miners down to their work, complete ventilation being established. Mr Crichton says that on reaebi-g C c bottom of the shaft the kerosene hlaz ;d lazily fora while, just as spirits of wine would do, and then the Hr me gradually shot up higher and higher till it reached the height of two or three feet, and a strong current of air was established r J lie success of the experiment was complete, and now whenever the candles give warning of foul air, the captain of the shaft sets fire to some cotton waste steeped in kerosene, thrusting it on a shovel through the centre slabs towards the other half of the shaft, securing perfect ventilation in a few seconds at a cost of about sixpence. We were curious to test the state of the mine on Tuesday last, and descending the shaft found the air as pure below as it was on the surface. Mr Crichton’s discovery is therefore, wc {Bathurst Times) think, one of great value to gold miners, and cannot be made known too widely.