A NEW PROCESS FOR EXTRACTING GOLD.

West Coast Times, Issue 107, 20 January 1866, Page 3

A NEW PROCESS FOR EXTRACTING GOLD.

To ilia I'ldituv nf iho Canterbury Times

Sir, — In an article by Hunt on British Gold, in the October issue of tho " Quarterly Journal of Science," is mentioned a discovery in tlio amalgamating process. It was made by Mr. W. Crooks, F.H.S., and may probably be of utility in f-oparatlng the fine gold from tho sand on the West Coast beach washings, which have lately attracted so much attention. As tlio readiest means of making it known lo our Canterbury miners who may not see tho journal I refer to, I have extracted tho gist, and send it to you :—: — " Mr. Croolcos's process possesses the following important advantages : — By the judicious admixture of a certain proportion of sodium with the mercury, its amalgamating powers arc, under all circumstances, preserved and intensified. It will extract gold from such other minerals as have hitherto resisted tho ordinary process. It will seize upon gold tarnished by any of tho metals named above, and which would pass untouched through common mercury and bo lost. It will absolutely prevent ♦ sickening' and ' flouring ;' and a largo saving in mercury is the result. " A series of experiments wero made to determine tho action of the sodium under such circumstances as presented unusual difficulties, and tho results of these trials wore as follow :: — •

(It should be staled that the mercury contained one per cent, of sodium.) " 1. When a littlo of tho sodium amalgam was added to ordinary mercury, the affinity of the latter for gold was greatly increased, so that when pieces of gold were dipped into it they wcro instantly covered with mercury, although, when dipped into mercury to which no sodium had been added, amalgamation was very slow, and difficult to obtain.

"2. ' Floured' mercury immediately ran together into a single globule on the addition of a littlo sodium amalgam. " 3. When iron pyrites (bi-sulphato of iron), magnetic iron pyrites (sulphuret of iron), or copper pyrites (snlphurct of copper and iron), were triturated with sodium amalgam, the pyrites were decomposed, and on the addition of water, black precipitate of sulplmret of iron was obtained.

* Tho p;ißSiU{o referred to is i "Wlioiever sulphides, arsenic, bismuth, or tellurium nro present with tlio gold, tlioy frequently tarnish tho niolul, and tlio mercury cannot net upon it."

Bantinoism. —ln tho physiological stction of the British' Association, at ils recent nicelm;;, thero wiib n discussion on liunlingism. l)r ])avoy, in his paper— " Is (ho opinion that n diet of animal food conduces (o leanness well founded on facts ? " declared lhat animal food produces fatness, and gave the results of many experiments proving his point. Tho Hoii. Joseph llowo (member of Iho Legislature of Nova .Scotia; gave a very nuuixing an(i-Uanl-ing address, in (he course of which he declared ilini the reason why the English ladies gof fat aslUey got old, and the American huliesgot thin, was (hat (he English ladies drank beer and (ho American ladies drank (ea. The meeting took Mr llowoto (ask with Oh,nh, onhissnying that on English Inch/thought. nolhingoftakinga pint of beer for lunch or supper ; .so ho reduced a pint to half a pint. Dr Joidiuf, Dr Acland, nnd other gentlemen joined in the discussion, nnd the conclusion gradually agreed upon wns that although por.-ous might be fattened Uy feeding on saccharine matter only, yot they might also grow fat on animal food, and that it was dangerous to make violent changes in tho habitual support ami food of the system. Quite a number of both the fat and lean kind had slyly got into (he audience, with a desiie doubtless to improve in size or grow beautifully less ; and they woo encouraged by Iho speakers (o remember that nature loved variety, and meant that some should be fat and others lean.

Suxur.x JjAki:. — Several of our citizens have just returned from a visit to (he great Sunken Imke, situated in (ho Cascado Mountains, 75 miles north-east from Jacksonville. This lake rivals (ho famous valley of Sinbud (ho sailor. It is thought to average 2000 .fc0l- to tbo water all round. Tho walls aro almost perpendicular, running down into tho water is unknown, and its surface is smooth and unruffled, us it lies so far bolow (ho surfaco of (ho mountain that tho air currents do not ttH'ect it. Its length is ostimated at twelve miles, and its width atlon. Thero is an island in ils centre, having (vcos on it. No living man has been, and probably novcr will be, able (o reach (ho water's edge. It lies silent, still, and mysterious in the bosom of the "everlasting hills," like a liugo woll scooped out by tho giant genii of tho mountains in (ho unknown agcß gono by, and around it (he primioval forest wiitch nnd ward aro keepinc Tho visiting parly fired a riilo several limes in(o tho water at an angle of 'ls degrees, and wore ablo to note several seconds of timo from Iho report of (lie gun until (ho ball si ruck iho water. Tho account seems incredible, but is vouched for by somo of our most reliable citizons. The lako is corlninlr a mobt remarkablo curiosity. — Jacksonville (Oregon) Sentinel. A Cuiuous iScum'Tor. — At a soiree tho other evening, ono gentleman pointed out a dandified looking individual to his friend as a sculptor. ' What I' said his friend, ' such a looking chap as that a fjculptor ! Suroly you must -bo mistaken.' ' lie may not bo tho kind of ono you may mean,' Biiid iho informant, ' but I know that ho chmlcd a tailor out of a suit of clothes lust week.'

Bum ok a Nkw Spkoii:.--.— " Lutt week," remarks I lie Crooked Jliri'r Chronicle, "Mr Wliitclaw brought, into Giant, a bird of a species which has not yet been seen in (his district. It is about tho six.o of uciuiaiy, a'ul full-fledged, luil could not fly wore (ban a few yards at tv (inio. Il» color is pnto wMte. It wan caught IMwh MicPavgo amUlw Crooked Hivei 1 . 1 '