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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 \. : «. ,4* NOTKS AND ORSKu r,' ! T^IOjVS "N nil; (xOI.I) FIELDS '*^.»««*'w*»H»an»*,^«,pwwn,lp»yc^»B„^,,k ^.* OK QUEBEC AND NOV A 8C0TIA i"^,-.|..»'^;"-~»'-V^«-'.1?W^-' '■••■." **<«;rs'«S#.'*,AM*i:i»,;^, «T lli'kKl) R. C, SKLWYN, f . (i. 8. ''*'**^-'«V:«1»i.;^f.> mUECTOR OF THE GKOI^OOICAI. SUHA ^V OF CANAPA. ^Sc.- »•<:n IS •d re of it le- Ite ut lit nd mt fi(T- Ta-' Ifp tod iiut VIT 'Of m «M .Stic x>q. wn, are ious nice. r in not tho been ,•>,';'■'- Ic *tb tliey Lood •Id iu tivcTj Car- :re is cii ol VIOUS .ijr:in ii//. ^:{'r(i/ y.(\j:-\v^\ (Lioi) . JA'un/.j:hy/j\/j/mAW II < i M'^ .i .J: '1.|;{'U • A la M'r ■ 1" .Iriij 1 1 y. >. « « * f M • • • t • • < ■ I ' 4 < I •• ',1 1 i . 5-^1^' rf'^ NOTES AJSiT> OBSJERV^TIONS ON TUB GOLD FIELDS OK QUEBEC AND NOVA SCOTIA. BT ALFRED R. C. SELWYN, F. G. S. Director of the Greologieal Survey of Canada, cSfeo., c&c, Sz,c. ■ ♦■•■» I Before co minp to Canada, in Oc tober^ ^8?,^. ' hacf spent the preater part of sixteen yeanTirn- mediately prereeTing m Australia^ chiefly fn, yictoria," noted as Baing the richest gold-pro-] daan^' country in the world. During that period,' is Director of the Geological Surrey of the Ptovince, a lai'ge portion of my time and atten- tion was devoted to investigating the eeologieal relations and the structure of the gofd-bearihg' ro^ks. I had also previously, as a member of the British Geological Survey, acouired an intimate knowledge of the gold-bearing Silurian and Cam- brian roc^s of North Wales ; and as the gold-de- posits of the Dominion have in the last lew years attracted a good deal of notice, and a large amount of capital has been invested in their development, I considered it advisable to devote my flrnt season in Canada to visiting some of the gold-producina districts, with a view of comparing tnem with those of the countries above referred to, and in the hope of being thus enabled to offer practical, suggestions for their further development. CHAUDliRB, gUBBBC. Other matters connected with the Geological Survey claiming my attention, I was not able to commence these examinations till towards the end of June, when I proceeded to the Chaudidro, in the province of Quebec, from which river, and from its tributaries, nearly the . whole of the gold, which, up to the present time, has been produced in Canada proper has been obtained. None of it so far as I am aware, being the result of mining in the solid veinstone. On making enquirr to learn what was being done on 'this gold field, I found that with the esc- ception of desultory and occasional washing operations carried on by resident hMtaiu on the superficial gravels in the beds of tome of the tributary streams, the only works then in progress were those of the Canadian and Northwest Land and Mining CompanT, under the immediate •nperintenJence or Mr. W. P. Lockwood, to whose great kindness and readiness to impart information, I am very largely indebted foi whatever I was able to learn in the neighboar- hood, respecting both present and past operations ; as well as for facilities kindly afforded me in visiting all the most noted auriferous localities on the Chaudi^re and its tributaries, the Du Lonp, the Famine, the Gilbert and the Dos Plantes. Af^r spending about a week in these examina- tions, i proceeded via River du Loup, Temis couata Lake and the Saint John River, to New Brunswick. My observations in this province were confined entirely to the Saint John River, which I descended in a canoe. The unusually low water afforded excellent opportunities for ex- amining the rocks along the course of the river, and by making this traverse I have acquired a general knowledge of the aspect and the suc- eession of the formations between the St. Lawrence River and the northern boundary, near Frcdericton, of the great central Carboniferoas area of New Bruujwick. NEW BBUMBWICK. A considerable portion of this region in New Brunswick had recently been explored and re- ported on by Mr. Robb, under instructions from Sir W. E. Logan, and previously also in 1864, by Prof H. Youle Hind and by Prof. L. W. Bailey, on behalf of the Local Government. The little which has hitherto been done to- wards the discovery of gold in New Brunswick will be found stated in the reports of these ex- plorers,* and the hasty traverse I made does not enable me to add anything of importance on this subject to what has already been stated by them. The rocks certainly present all the external characteristics usually met with in auriferou regions, and there is therefore every reason to hope that intelligentlr conducted " prospecting," if per- severed in, mignt lead to the discovery of reallj rahiable anrifSroai deposits. It is, however, * Report of Mr. ChariM Bobb, 1869, on a part of N«w Bruntwlck, in Ocolosioal Survey of Canada, Reports fl>r 1866-69, page 200. A Preliminary Report on the Oeology of New Brunswick, kc, Fredericton, 1869| by H. You* Hind, M.A., F.R.O.B. Report on the Mines ind Minerals of New Brunswick, by L. W. Bailey, A.M., Fredericton, 18M. r e P > 18 1- ■s n IS 'A re of it «- he ut ist nd mt uT- mr fed )Ut ver of i« in Stic OIJ. wn, aire icK, o'w- ous nice r in not ilio lecu jcat rock ,c to \)m Dood Win vions quite impf)>.sililc to arrive nt any rcliaMc or oon- I'lusive opiiiion on this matter witliout miu-li more extfiidcd and eareliil rescimli anil ex- (loration tliaii has liitlicrto been made, l)iit wliieli liojje to lie able to carry out on some future occubiou. NOVA SCOTIA. From Fredericton I proi-eeiled to St. Jolm, and crossiin; tlie May of Fimdy, arrivetl in Nova Scotia on tlic 5tli August. I was tiicn con- tinuously eii^;a;:ed till the 13th Scpiemlier, visiting and exnmiuing various gold districts in the coumifs of Halifax, llant.s, C"o!che.sicT, and Guysliorough ; nieluding Waverley, Oldiiam, Moutague, liawreneetown, Tangier, Moo.selaiid, Mus(|uodoli()it, Mount Uniacke, UuntVew, (iay's River, Wine Harbor, Shcrbrooke, and Isaac's IIarl>or. On the 7tli of October I was again in Nova Scotia, and wus occupied till the 4ih November, examining tie southwestern iioriioiis of the Province, ; Ik route followed being from l)igl)y, I'ia Weymouih, to Yarmouth, Tusket, Barring- ton, Mielburiie, Liverpool, Lunenburg, and the Ovens, (iold River, and Chester. From Chester, I'm New Ross, to Dalhousio hettlemenl, thenca down the LaHavc River to Bridgewater, return- ing, I'm Liverpool, to Annajwlis. 'i'hus, so far as observations over so large an extent of country made in but little more than two months can enable one to do so, I have endeavoured to gain a general knowledge of the leading features of the geology, t'.nd of those atl'ecting the economics of the gold-Helds of Nova Scotia, which will enable me to compare them with the gold-tields of other countries, and which will also be extremely useful in conduv.ting a detailed geological survey, such as is essential for the right comprehension of the geological structure of the I'rovince, and by which alone, geology can be made to afford valuable assistance lo the practical miner in developing its mineral resources. ACICNOWLEDOjIENTS. Before proceeding with the general and special remarks suggested by the facts to which my at- tention has been directed in the localities I have visited, I desire to tender my acknowledgments and thanks to the Hon. Robert liobertson, Commissioner of Mines, for his kindness m placing the resources of his department at my disposal. To Mr. John Rutherford, Inspector of Mines, and to Mr. John Kelly, Deputy Com- missioner of Mines, my sincere thanks arc due for much valuable ard interesting local informa- tion, as likewise for the very cordial manner in which they gave effect to the instructions of the Commissioner. The valuable information, and the kind atten- tion which 1 receivec from Mr. H. Y. Hind have been most useful ; and i am also much indebted to the various managers and agents of the mines which I visited, for the readiness with which they afforded me all the iuformatiou and assistance in their power. PREYIOOB REPORTS. The reports on the Waverley and Sherbrooke gold districts, in 1869, which have recently been ; published by Mr. Hind, under tiie authority of the I)c|mrtmcnt of Mines; the report in connec- tion with the (ieological Survey of Cnnada, " On the (iold Region of Nova Scotia," by Dr. T. Stcrry Hunt ; the " Acndian (jcology," by Dr. Dawson ; the " Mineralogy of Nova Scotia," by I'lof. How; Mr. Hcaihcriiicton's excellent " CJuide to the (ioKl Field'* of Nova Scotia," all published in IHtuS; ioi_'cilicr with the various reports by Messrs. Campbell, Silliman, I'oole, and oshers, leave but little to be said cither on the ge(dogy, ;.r on the ec moinics of the eastern goh-licliis' of the Doininiim, whii-h has not already been rcfer-cd to, and ably discussed by one or otiier of these authors. ^ • * VEINSTONES. In Caniidft, as ii\ Br theTijiowK tiold-beariiii. itain, and in Australia, ^„ V. i, veinstvuie is confineil to Btra a of eozoic, or paheozoic age ; chiefly Silurian, but it is also occasionally found in crTitallinc roclis of fatcr date, assoeiatcd with them ill the form of dykes, veins, or masses. It consists c( mmonlv of vitreous, white opaque or milky (juari/. ; but jiresiius great variety in colpr, structure, and cxtcnml ajipearatice, dependant on its mo re or less ferriiginuus iharaeter, and pri ohwv If I rcu'mstaiices connected with its positioii anil mode of occufieiiccr'Tr Ts~aIiiiost witllobl exception accompanied by mispiekel, or by com- mon pyrites ; the sulpburetsof lead, zinc, luit ii.iliu'nce the frystnllinc rorki, or tlie (•aiisi's wliic h produced tiii'in have had on tlit* t'ortnatioii of ihc, (|iiiirt7: vciofl witli wliirh tlio u'dd is ^rcnenilly nsstx intc*!, Ims not been in any ( ase satistaciui ily detirniinwl. UKOLOmCAL AOK OF GOLD. _Jt wo uld appear liowcvc r^ aj>ur l from scrondn rv cftiiao rni loiiiiec noTi witTf t!ie n rnTvio ng.'tT mt'a j:eiieral siiiiTTiiri'y'in ttte jreologioHTcondiiioiis anH as3(JPIatl0rts un^TL'f WdiTi Uie L'oltT (UTufs exists ill uil iiiirireioiis regictiis, whotnir tlie veinstones arc ninnwted, as in Canada, T^llitanij^aiid^. Aus- rrr ? * i'aI;i'o/.<)ii" Strata ; or aa in land,' l\TtTT ineso/oic fur rnpntion ; tlirii tlicre appears no reason physiral . ('!IPW1U'in'(M'I*eo1(i<;l( at wlili ft glioiilil (|etermiiLn'fttL traTia.^'ilTi eozole and pall Califuriila JShTT SwTtzerl 3 tnlffTOHTy^yP^TrrTiPTTmT^ZMi V ancf^TTiumivanl'a wirw rocKa or tertiary a^-e ; and tlius tlio. iirolia^ niilty oi tnc oeciincftcc oi vi ins tiearmt; ;:on17or any oiher metal or metallic ore in any p articular t n^ 'l iUI ^'iin nPV6rrC; i ctcrmiiied l iy HieKfoloKJeal age ui tlie rocks alon e, liut rall icrhv tlai piivsTca l ^oiuiitiorisT uiil inHueiic e~( wr nectc'l wiili m 'ta- iiiorpliia'ii. lipTieaviii^;, fi.s.suriii);~lislocatioii and invasion by erystuliiiic rotks, to wiiieli thev liav( In cacli caao been subjected sinec their oritflnal UebOiiitioii. 1 liHve no wisli to enter hero on the intricate question ol the ajje, ori^^in, and mode of forma- tion of meiaiiic tter. It is n i>^XJi£!' ir'^'il admit ted that direc t i ageiic Tes, TTitriu sense ofTiiicct ion or fu se d i.. ..>»,.. havej)Ia^-iijj tiniioiis viHiiiiig the I'ot Giiysk Moil (14 Rivir, Ilarlioi On t Scotia, oxaniii Provin via \V ton, S Ovi'iia via Nc down iug, w as olw made enal)l( a (;ea) (^eolu) the in me to count in coi ai is I ''<* J WllU'l valuii devel Bo re ma tcnti< Tisiu and Com placi diii|H Mini misis for r tion whit Con T tion bcei the whi affu the) It i« coromonljr anpposcd that when reina coaie upwards at the conformable or nnconfonn- able lino of contact of two formations or rock- masses, this circumstance is in itself a proof that such Tein^ett at kboiil the saine angle ; 'aiidf at Waverlev, that the stnak in the fTorfh lead dTpiped frbni wesi to east, and in the lITorlh Taylor, South Taylor aind lb. 6 leads, dipped rom cast to >ye» } . The above lead* are all «w iti MtrUi si(Uorih« anticlinal. Aa regards the mtnes at Sherbrooke abovg teaTmucss the leads or lams of quartz "-fS citet., .....v-i. ...« .^»^- ... .»,^.. ^. H - •" wTn c Tr inr o r ng fy n i d t n t m t Un mn'^rom undouTTctTTy ' to By'pVfTs'bTT TieBam yTi eirSii hWi Sr sid^t tjiojiTftSrVCTy iniTB"iTff bb^dc JIITOB ' ffflllt tfflTWs" reK(>r't!'e^*''TTtr"7Ti'e'*'blfieir' lian3,"int ccTultrbe'provctrTfiat such a reversal of the dip of the gold streak always occurred on tlie op- posite sides of the anticlinal, in quartz layers which had been proved to be identical by being traced continuously round the end of the axis, then indeed we should have the strongest evidence, if not of the quartz layers liaving been actually deposited at the surface at the same time as the slaty and arenaceous rocks of the country, at least of their having been formed, and the gold distributed in them in bands, in the manner in which it is now found, antecedent to the operation of the forces by which the main anticlinal and synclinal forms of the strata were produced. INTKRSTRATiriED BRI>8. — EMMOMS, SILLIMAVr The theory above alluded to, of the contem- poraneous origin with the enclosing strata of certain gold-bearing bands in North Carolina, i» advanced by the late Professor Emmons in hie report on the Geology ot that State, published in 1856; and as early as 1837 Professor B. Silliman seems, from the following extract from his " Remarks on the Gold Mines of Virginia," (American Journal of Science, vol. xxxii, page 100,) to have held a similar view regarding some of the gold-lodes of that region. He says : ** The auriferous or gold-bearing quartz of the gold- region of Virginia (and as far as I am informed of the States further south), form not strictly veins, but rather beds or layers, in general not interfering with but conforming to the regular structure of the slaty rocks of the country, and like them descending to an unknown and prob- ably an unfathomable depth The quartz is therefore as regular a part of the structure of the countrpr as the slaty rocks them- selves, and when it is auriferous, the gold is disseminated through it in spangles, flakes and points, sometimes visible on breaking the quarcr, but most usually entirciv invisible even with s powerful magnifying glnss " The gold being generally disseminated in the quartr of this gold-region it is obvious that it must have been laid by in its stony bed at the same time that the quartz and the slate rocks in which it i» contained were deposited." The manner in which the gold is disseminated in the quartz, cannot be considered as nfTording any evidence on this point, because it is as common in true veins which intersect the stratification, as it is in the bedded veins above described. HUNT, HIND. Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, Mr. Hind and other writers, express views respecting those auriferous !|uartz ludes in Nova Scotia, (which have been ound to be more or less parallel with the strati- fication of the country, both in strike and dip,) agreeing with those ot Prof. B. Silliman in Virginia and Prof. Emmons in North Carolina. A similar mode of occurrence of quartz layers i P" <«ntRining gtAA h«i been recorded in California ; and I have dcsiTihed it as likewige oecurrin({ in Austrulia. yei(h( ;r | n A^stfflij^ 9r j^t Nota Sco tia, iiowevcr, have T yet met with evidence "WTiTcTTT consider of Hiich a nature as* 16 prtfVe wfth cortaJnty tlie'lrulh 6f the siipt^oi^d contciii- poraneous origin Wltli the sliity rocko, of sjich quartz layers ; and T am far more inclined U> agree wTth the remarks of LIEUER, IGeolopical Survey of South Carolina, 1R56, pajte 10,J wliere he suys, " All veins arc younger than the country ; and hence it is without any reason that many writers rcf^ard those only as veins which dip or strike unconformahly with Uiu country-rocks, fur it is evidently quite immaterial what peculiar relative position is occupied hy the two as concerns the origin or the (reiicral characters of the veins. Crevices may he formed in any direction, and it is but reiisonal>lu to sup- pose that the planci> of stratitication, being {90sse»Ncd of lesscuhcition, will at least as readily present themselves tur the formation of cracks or fractures, as those planes which traverse the more compact and less tia)j;ile portions of the rock." The bedded quartsite or quarts rock in which rhe gold is found in North and South Carolina, apparently partakes inure of the character of a mechanically deposited siliceous sandstone, and the gold which is distributed in it may very possibly have been mechanically derived ''roin pre-existing auriferous rocks. The au| ^f«i> ou3 quartz veinstone of Nova Scotia is strictlv'dTili^ frrRr awiftft H i y Knau' ' rt 'ir'vcTft'quartz-; ^Irw -wr this account is not com parable to tne yold-oeai ine quartzi ie a mT^ii ariz rock" of"!NortTT ah^'^oc'tn' Vaf oliua. "~°"' NOVA HCOTIA LODBB. Besides this there are numerous facts in con- nection with the gold-lodes of Nova Scotia, which are opposed to the theory of their having been formed at the surface together with the slaty rocks ; and are strongly in favor of the opposite view, which 1 entertain in common with other observers, viz.: thatfljl t he depo sits of auriferous quartz in Cariada whctficr'thej'^ appear as7*^t^!f4Btf Oes,'* ' "intercala'toU lodes,'' " gash logics or *tf11e'1(JdcS,** bave alike Veen furiued since the 'depunitiun and consolidation of the .arenac^QU^, slaty, crystalline or other rucks, wich which they Are now associated. This is I believe, equjally .true of the Australian gold-veins. INTEiiCAi.l.T£U LOUEa. The classification of the lodes given above is that adopted hy Mr. H'un[, in bis recent Report on the Sherlirooke gold-district, in whiih also he defines these diflTerciil kinds of veins, but says; ■" The origin of the intercalated lodes is obscure." .It a|)pcurs to me to be no more so than is the origin of all lodes, and I see no sutbcient reason lor i^bstin^uibuing the latter from the hedded lodes. Mr. Hind apparently does so chiefly on the ground oi their being associated with broad bands of siHte ; whereas the bedded lodes usually have one wall of sandstone and the other of slate, and are associated with alternating thin bunds of filato, ani< thick beds of the so-called whin, a .grey ojr gieeniah-grey feldspathic sandstone or grit. Mr. Hind further remarks on this point : " But the conditions required for their formation appear to be in a great part satisfied if we lup- I>ose that they represent lines of minimum pres- sure during the folding, denudation, and faulting of the strata." This, and the reasoning respect- ing them on pages 24 and 25 of his Report is, I think, equally applicable to the hedded lodes ; and indeed, Mr. Ilind himself seems to be inclined to this view, when he says : " The same reasoning which is applicable to the formation of intercalated lodes mey render it doubtful whether any bedded lode, not clearly a fissure-lode, can strictly be regarded as of contemporaneous age with the enclosing rock." I have carefully examined the veins cited by Mr. Hind as examples of intercalated lodes at Sherbrooke, and likewise others at Isaac's Harbor and elsewhere in Nova Scotia. These belts of leads arc, as Mr. Hind points out, in broad bands of slaty rock, which is often so intimately as- sociated ami interlaminated with the bands, layers and strings of quartz that the whole hodj of'^the rock, )ften for twenty feet in width, is taken out and milled ; the gold frequently oc- curing in films between the slaty laminse, as well as in the quartz and mispickel. Similar belts occur in Australia, and are worked in a similar manner, hut they have not generally proved as pcrmonently profitable as the better defined veins with distinct walls. This arises partly from the great difficulty, danger and cost of taking out the rock to any considerable depth over such wide spaces as twenty feet. The best mines of this desciiptk^n in Australia have been situated on steep slopes, or in more or less isolated hills, which offered facilities for quarrying, rather than mining the material, and for obtaining very large quantities at a very small cost. BBLTS OF VEIMB. In Australia and in Canada, I have obserTed that where these belts occur, the planes of cleavage and of liedding usually coincide very nearly, both in strike and dip ; that the strata are nearly vertical, and afford undoubted evidences of ^'reat pressure and of motion of one plane upon another, producing fractures and openings ; frequently so much is this the case as to hare given rise to the term of " mullocky " reef or lead, expressive of the crushed and fractured condition of the ground. The layers of quaru in these belts are generally thin, from a mere thread to eighteen inches or two feet, but pro- bably do not average twelve inches. They are more or less lenticular, and sometimes are clearly seen to pass obliquely from one plane to another, in such a manner as to preclude the possibility of their having been deposited contemporaneously with the slates. Thew^ncipa^liffcrenc^et^ the bedded andTliemJercalareTToneTappearno W wm over wide spaces, witTiouT pfflBtfJg Olit 6f thiff'tted tn wh whicR thfej- 0(fcul7itimo1igb Xiflthin Itrf ualty^ thicluress of some lliree to" Hy6 leetj, tney not uhfrequeutfy pass froin one plane to another : alflid this appetfrt "to be fnoro par- tinalarly tne case where the sTaty harid is aRecteif by ' cTeavag^J the 'plahfc> flfjffilch tita slight'Ty lran8ver8e"to both 'the strike and the' iTp of the strata. It is in such Situations that those I>BI>TII OF VKIN9. ruriduslr ronfortcd nnd ri)rru;;uteil formi of lnyiT», linvo f>con lir()ii;;Iit up by a icriw of veiiiH lire mt't with wliich, tlioiij;li iiiro hthI ox- nnticliiial UtUU, niiil their t'dj^cs exposed hy do- ceptional in Amtniliii, uro very as iho torrtMpondinv; ''imIs in the Si'oiiu, nnd which niiiv hu said to ciijininate in I .synclinal lohts aiv dfoply hiirivil, and are ovcrluid the no fd and often e\vliat arliitrary liinitatinn of tlie periiHl diiriiiir which (piart/, and ^.'ohl wero deposited, especially as we lind that even in tlio npper lihu'k slaty scries, where the strata present similar conditions, aiiriterous ipiart/. lau'rs are not wantint;. 'i'he strnc lire of the country lins imt yet hi-eii worked out and niappcd with sulH( iunt acinrucy iHnvever, to prove that (piart/. layers are limited to any particular part of the series, or that the several uiiticlinal (olds on which the worked lodes are situated in the dilierent districts, do not include heds which liclonj; to all parts of the series ; and if they do, then there is no roason why the ouicroppiii;r edues of the strata in the main synclinals should not lie accnin|iai)ied hy intercalatetl (|Uan/. layer^i as (umiiiuiily fu aro thoso of the main untielinaid. The greatest ileptli to which any hnlded or other iiiiariz lode has yet lieeii hdlowed in Nova Scotia is less than 4r)() feet* What the ureale.st liori/.ontal distance is throiii:li which any one vein has li(!en traced in connected or coiiiinoiis nnd"rj;roiind workings, I am not aware, lint it i.< eoriaiiily very insi;;niliciint as com|jared with what ini^lit n-a.sonalily he expected if they really represent heds analoi;ons to »eamse e.\|)laiiied in a more satis- factory manner than has yet lieeii done, why »hey are always louml in close eoiincciion witli anii- elinal a.\es, and never at the ouicro|)s of the :iiaiii synclinal folds, or associated with strata which have not lieen siilijecied either to inetamor- phic a;^eueies, or to folding;,' or faulting. .WTICMNAl.S. This constant connection with aniiclinals .seems also to ho eh.iracieristic of the j;oid re;.'ion of Calilornia, of whi. h Dr. limit stales, on the authority of I'rof. .1. I). Whitnev : " These con- ri.AY .SLATKS There is no doll^t Hial, !iTiffk |>yrito u» earth v states, to tlie e.xcjii Mull oi iincK-liriTTr T ■ 'iitnfigtflnfi, flr.n wuii it v.iv lew g" cOlistHuro n very ctMisidnaii'ie tliicklic; more riclilv uurileroiis wliiii or Tui'i/. Uiycrs , icss " ^^r^a atidsti ino fornial lodes are L'cnerally exposed on t!ie upturned ed^'cs ot erodeil anticlinals, hut in one ease in Nevada County a remarkalile lode is minail, which is des'Tihed as consisting of three distinct floors or hands, having a very llat dip, and seemiiiL' to foriii a kind of hasiii, apparently a .syiiclin.il form." Two instances have heen re- corded in Xova Scotia, in which the vein is represented to have lieen traced round the syii. litiul axis. T have examined tlii'se on the ground, and I find that at Isaac's Ilarhonr the so-called synclinal is nothiiiLr more than a small undulation near the cniwii of the ni:iin antiiliiial axis. At l.u.vrencetown a simihir form is dis- tinctly shewn in the section of the !ie|ier hlack slaty series comineiices, it carefully measured, might to a certain extent .serve as a guide, hut thi.s has not yet heen attempted; an.l nothing detinite is at present known respecting the dis- irihution of the sev.iral groups of straia which con.stitute the great aurifeioiis series of Nova Scotia. At tirst siglit perhaps the solution of the ijues- tion,, how and wiien tholeucli were formed, may M I IB i 10 t ;(l I •ppeur to lie of no praniitui important ; liut on furtlicr cuiislilomdon it will lie Hfiii tlint it is ho in two whvh; lirnl, hh ■•i';,'ur 1h the burldce nri'ii over wlmli ilio lends iimv iiiolmlily bt) I'ountl ; and secoiidlv, in nuiinl lo tlie prulmltle ilcptli to wliii li diK-li iiite'iTuiiitcd vcinji or luudii uru likel}- to extend. MINI) «>N KXTKN*«|l»V lir I.OUK^. Mr. Hind, in hi-« report on tin- VViivcrli'V GolJ Disirii't. l«ii'.», tiivH : " Tlit' \Vavcrii\v leads ai| indi'liiiiii'ly prolonuwl in all direitir)ns, like llil inier^tnitiiied slates and \vliiii :" and, infers tliat tliev extend in iiniiruken sheets Croni one district to another. If they are IkiN, .sneli should pen Ideally to present, whether hori/ontal, sli;;liily iiieiiiied, or bhurply folded. It On tlie other hand, they arc of 8uh^e- qiienf orifiin, and due to mliliration and sej;re;.'a- tion of inineral matter into ()ptiiinj:8 which liuvo Ihjcii formed alont; lines of inininiurn prcssnre. while the Inpcs wore o|>t'ratiii^c which resulted in ihc nplieaval, euniij^ation and cleavage of llw; strata, then we should expect to find them developed t.. any considera'dv- extent, only alonj; and ill |:roxiinity to tlie untielinnl axial folds; and only rarely and aeeidently where the strata were hori/ontal or very sli^^litly inelineil, or in cynneetioii w! h main syiii liiial axes, representing the lllll•^ ». .:iaxlmnin pressure ; and we miulit nlso exieet the beds to diminish urai.iially in I unlier. and to he less pertiianeiit in depth as we recede from thn lines of miuimniii pressure in- dicated liytlie main antu linal ridi^es. The facts observed appear, to a great extent, to hear out these theoretical dednetions ; the vei ii- like character ol the i|U:ii t/. ; the eomparutiveu' n riiilcd "l i.-taiiM s'f hi'A(l;j l ^ IV n i c TnTtiTTirvei-s TTave Heeit Tni.Td j'lJieTf TTiOT3;lP5Ttt«t1TlTTii1ftr ttinri' ; tfie e\TiT(nccs" oT 'iiionon jti tTTiTeiicToiilnJ; rock'j ; tlic ((Mi-t;iiit I'liinri ti(iii 'vTTli anticlinal axes, and tfic a''M':;(C '-f'tf VM't^. TtTmTtTr" t^Tinn/ favcrs tiiroii^'ii ^'iviintiicfnp?sr«Trr5t»'itt(\- whidi do'noi pfe.sent evuT'elicesTTtTTtli'llTTTSTtffliKnc*; anil 'cor- i-ff^Afioii, ars "cltrnmsTanrpsr fiH 5''.3^hli'|i.S'>' stroni;Tv opiKiscirto TTic tlicoi^'urcoiVtenTporany- 6iiF(iri)oytu^,.;aiUrdS ^Srv'>lT;iU'Jlrt:,'1H0JCi'f.jJit; opposite coiicuision. ANTICI.INAL8. Mr. Ciiiiiplicll has recouiii/.ed six principal east and west aiiiii'liiials, and iieijroups them, act'ord- ini: lo Ur. liiiiit, (Kcjiort on the (iold Kei;ioii of Nova Si'olia), in llie lollowiii;; order from south to north: 1st, < ivens and 'I'lini^ier ; liiid, liawrencelow II and Wine Ilarlioiir; Urd, Old Tanjiicr (Mooschuid), and Sherhrooke ; -Uli, Waverley and Isaac's Harlioiir; 5ili, (Sdliam and (.'ountry llarlioiir; 6lli, Keiifrew. The principle hy which the ahove ;;roiipiiiy of the ;j()ld-tields on the several aiitirlinals has heen de- termined, is not. very apparent. If the averay tha metamorphism in silv of the stratified rocks, (in part bya process of n.wlecular re-arrangeiuent of their original component parti- cles,) is [tcrlufps uncertain. From personal obser- vation, 1 have not much knowledge of the distri- bution and relations ot the granitic and gneissic roclfc in the eastern counties. They have, how- ever, been observed at so many points from near Waverley, eastward to Cape Canseaa, that it seems pr )bable they will eventually be found to constitute; a band almost as uninterrupted as they do in tiie western counties. Bat in any case they undoubtedly ooiupy a much more extensive area than is assigned to them on the published geologi- cal maps. BBLATIONS OF GRANITE TO GOLD ROCKB. The rehitioi of the granite and gneissic rocks iti Nova Scotia to the surrounding auriferous strata, are perfectly analogous to what is observed in this respect in the Australian gold-districts, most of which are in close pro.ximity to similar granitic centres. In one instance an auriferous quartz vciii, which had been worked close up to tne boundary of a large granite area, was found to pa ss g raduHllv, In' the addition of feldspar and piica, mto gi-iinue, losing its auriferous diaracter and becoming a vein of ordinary grev granite exactly resetnt)ling the rock of tfie nefglmorlntj franite muss, into which it eventually mergeit. t will he interrsiing to trace out the manner in which the edding at angles dependant on the difference between the strike of the latter and of the other divisional planes. Through the kind- ness of Mr. Oossland, the resident manager of the mine, I obtained some very interesting specimens from this lead, showing the occurrence of the gold in the fractured slate, in the quartz, and in the mispickel, which occurs in large quantities both in the veins and iu their slaty walls. Having shown what I believe to be the probable origin an*eful exjiioration, and are alluded to only to 8h.>w tliut liowevcr true the foregoing conclusions may be, they are not intended, and should not be permitted to discouiage " prospecting" and intel- ligeiii exploration in all paru of the auriferous regioti. EXTENT or aOLD BOCK. The extend ot the Atlantic coasT series, of stratified gold-heariiig slate and quartzite has been variously estimated at from 5,000 to 7,000 square miles.* Mj observations during the past summer induce me to think that this estimate is very considerably too large. The mistake has probably arisen from defective information re- specting the area occupied by the granitic rocks ; which, as I have already pointed out, i% very largely in excess of that assigned to it on published geological maps, from which the computations referred to have probably been made. The area represented on Sir W. E. I^ogan's large map of Cai.ada as occupied by strata of Ixiwer Silurian age on the Atlantic sea-board of Nova Scotia is about 5,400 square miles, and ot this probably fully more than 1,400 square miles are occupied by granitoid rocks. Exclusive of Cape Breton Island, ,1,500 square miles wo uld, there We, prob- acy MBWBcBt tt lC t O f ftl nmnl 6 T lKc " 57girgVCT whicn tlicstratihed slaty andquartzose auriferous rocks are distributed. OEOLOGICAL AGE. — DAWSON AND HIND. The geological position and the age of these rocks has been fully discussed by Dr. Dawsont and by other of the authors whose oltservations 1 have alluded to, and all are agreed that they prob- obly belong to the Lower Silurian period. Cer- tain portions of them Mr. Hind has recently assigned to an older date ; the possibility of which had already previously been suggested by Dr. Dawson, Acadian Geology, 2nd Edition, page 620. 2i Bo'na CAMBRIAN AND LOWEST SILURIAN. Y first impression of them, formed after per .1 examination last summer, and based oB mineralogical ana stratigraphicaf consideration s only, was what they renr esen ted the groups known Jjritain as the ilarie i n ijritttin as the Harlech gri ihc Liingula-flag series ; t nc Oainbrian hy the British !5ur lie groups 1 and ri t or quartzite. » ..>a *" jgm^^'' mapped as hy the British Sur vey^ and tTic latter as thc'low cB t meii'iE cr of th eTiiluriafrsystem! FOSSILS, EOPHYTON. In confirmation of this view I subsequently detce rcd in The grej' saiidy and ^ niiggy pyritO us slates at the Oven^s Blutts, in ljuheii»urtr Coun- Kophuton, if the ty numerous specimens of the genus regarde d In' Sir." Billings as_ cnaractef Isfic'' qt , , ffimornraTSTriirTan ejiocK. ' 'Ttiis* genus is 'com- inon T il tTTc sandy dark sliites of tne efiy pfSt. Jollify Ne\y T^runswTct j] In rocjcs lijtiierto referred tP tl^c Quobec iif Pi»p7 ii'*Truj IsTaiiil' y rOrJiians^ ; anuTn^ Newfoundland. In all tiiese localities it is a( coi iipaTilcJ by other well marked IViinordial Silurian tbrnis, wTiieliTurtlier diligent searcTi will doubtless also discTosc in Nova ScOTla. MR. HILLINGS. — I>I8TninUTION OF KOl'IIYTON. Mr. Hillings has supplied the following remarks on these fossils; — " The fossils discovered at the Oven's Blud's are generically if not sjiecifically identical with tliose^dcscrriied by the Swedish gT'oTogists, Torrel liiiJ Liuarsson, iihder the name otKojiIii/ton ZAntKvartijH. They suppose tlifcm to be phiiits, biit as none of the specimens exhibit any intctntl&l structure, this view does not meet fAcadiau Geology, 2nd EdltiuB, pagri C13 and 614. lO ■f/ r t ii d b b » tl fi g f( is d ai ri w w hi in b< ar 8t witli pcncral acceptation, and the theory that they arc trails or tracks of marine aniiniils sccins to find more favour. U|)on the question of tlieir true nature I do rot at present venture toj^ive an opinion : whatever ttiey may be, tliey seem to ho confined to the lower portion of the Silurian system. " " The following,' is the p;eo!opical position of the pcrius /''opfiiflnn in other countries, so far as it is yet known : — aWKUEN. "1. In Sweden, when- thi^ Enphifton was first discovoi'i'il, it occurs in the rock lonn is undt.nhtcd- ly the representative of the Lini;ula tlaj^s ot Wales. NEWKOLS DLANI). "2. In Newfoundhuid it was discovered in 1867, liy Mr. Mmruy, on (ireat Bel! Island, Con- ception' Bu v. It is tiiere associated witli two new species of />/»//»(/(/, a ('nnhina closely allied if not identical with C. si'inipliinUi, (a Linixiila-tlai; species) and several fiicoidal forms. Mr. .Murray considers the rocks of Bell Island in which these fossils occur to lie uhove the heds holding l\tni- clo.rlilcs, and tliey would thus proliahly represent tlie upper portion of the Linyula-Hags. NEW HRUNSWICICr "3. It occurs at Milk'sh Passaire, near St. John, New Jirunswick, and also in the city of St. John, in sandy shales. At the Milkisli Passajie the hcils arc said to he older than'the trilohite l)eds of Drury's Cove ; these latter are tlie Lower Lingula-tiags. ORLEANS ISLAND. "4. On the south side of the Island of Orleans' near the villay;e of St. Laurent, Jio/ihi/toii was found last sprint; liy Mr. Weston. It is there associated with several s|}eciesoffucoids identical with those that occur on (ireat Bell Island. The rocks here are referred to the Quehee Kroup, hut as they are consideralily disturhed, it is not im- t)0ssil)lc that they may he older and l)rou;^ht uj) )y a fault. There is a small leiiticilar mass of liinestone in these rocks in which Sir W. K. Logan and I found, several years a^;o, three species of tiilohitcs which I have always considered to he of a more ancient type ttian any known to me in the Qucliec fxrouj). These fossils occurreil in pehbles of limestone imiiedded in the calcareous rock which constitutes the lenticular mass itself.* ".5. In the (Jeoloirical Mairazine, vol. (j,(18();),) a fossil is descrihed hy Mr. Hicks, from the Lower Arenip rocks of St. David's, UM(k'r the name of Eophijloni fxjihwatnm. Mr. Hicks considers it to he distinct specilicallv from the Lini,'uia-flaf,' form, and even refers it douhtfully to the yenus. HORIZON OF EOl'lIYTON. " So far as my own experience goes durinfr the twenty-five years that I have collected fossils in the Lower Silurian, from the I'otsdam upwards, I have never seen a frairment of any thini; that could he referred to Knjihi/ton. Neither has any •Tliiii tact wiiulii iiidu'.-vtc' that the a>(e of these rock* is youiij?er tluiii thiit ol'thi' imbudded fossils. A. II. C. S. ever been descrihed or figured hy any author n» occurrinjr in beds above the Liny;ula-fla«8, with tiie exception of the doubtful form hy Mr. Hicks, fthove mentioned. If it be true, therefore, that Eopltijlim is merely a track, I am inclined to the opinion that the animal that made it helonjred to a very ancient j^enus, wbicdi appeared during the earliest Primordial Silurian period, at- tained its greatest development during the era of the Lingula-flags, ami died out at the close of that era. It is a remarkable fossil, and where- ever found, it occurs abundantly, and it is there- fore almost impo.ssihle that if the animal lived on through the Silurian period its traces could have so long escaped the notice of the great number of workers in Silurian geology." Hitherto, except the very douhtliil and oKscurc forms detected by Mr. Hind in the tptartzite at Waverly, and referred by him to the genus l'iilootrorliis,h\n in which Mr. Billings states that no distinctly organic structure can he discerned, no organic remains whatever had been detected in the Nova Scotian gold-bearing rocks, and therefore their geological posiiioti remained un- certain, CAMHUIAN OF WALES. — LINGI:LA-KLAG3. In general aspect, and in the succession of the beds the whole series in Nova Scotia closely resembles the Camlirian and Lingula-flag series ofNtirth Wales, which is likewi.se cliaracicri/.ed by holding auriferous oiiart/, veins. The Lower members of the series (Caml)riai.) there consist* of a succession of thick h ediled greenish-grey Tel'dsiJatlilc grit s am! sand^tAH^S flf l(fmil/llM, \»itli intenalaied slalV r.AillI.>« ! !1!1H Ull'yii HI'U l!UI1^ f oi'lttjlMv overlaid, as the sitn TTarlToTTs ai'C III NUVH Rcotm^ 'T)V "a" s et or'TiTaelT eai-ITiy Tuid"'[)y rTtOQs slates aiVd sanJjT TTeds* ftTic Dngula fTiigsj^rh nuartzqse ihiiiefal ro(Te.sr'~Nirnierous assocjated diorite dylies are likewise characteristic of the series in' both regions. Thus mincralogieal characters, physical aspect and iiaheoiitological evidence all combine to |)rove the above view to he correct regarding the age of the Atlantic-coast series of Nova Scotia. OLWER ROCKS. — YAUMOL'TH. I have seen no eviilencc in the eastern gold- districts of the existence of any formations which are certaiidy older than the lowest members of the (piartzitc group, although douiitlcss such aro rpiite likely to occur without their having been observed by me in the very cursory examination which it was possible to make during a part of only one season over so large a tract of country. On the southwestern coast, between St. Mary's Bay and Tusket, there is a set of rocks exposed which, es|)ecially in the immediafe vicinity of Yarmouth, dilfer greatly in aspect, and generally in their mincralogieal characters, from any met within the eastern auriferous series. They are lirohahly of a diticrnit age ; but to what group they belong is at present uncertain. At Yar- mouth, hetwecn Varmoutb and the diegoggin Uiver, and on (-a]ie l''ourchii Inland the strata are well exposed. I did not vi.sit Chcizoguriii Point; but at Cranberiy Head, the next point to the northward, where the only gold-mine in this dis- trict is situated, we find, associated with the vein, soft grey and olive-green fissile slatet\ and also tingi grc\ dirte and cleii fine of a am niedi occa; and very ing' lumf facet apjic ot asso prfii Can to islai war on wit! of (wi qua lion betA s^im II thor as :», with Hicks, ru, that to the I !(,'(!(! to (luring I'l, at- II t? the lie close tl where- s there- lived on (1 have mber of obscure irtzite nt {Xenus sites tliut isrerned, ileteetod ks, niid lined un- II I'D l!UH* til Nuvr bands of whitey-hrown niicaccons sandstone. On the shore iniinediatii.y underlyinfj; the beds in wliich the vein occurs, tiierc arc thick-bedded hard grey iiiid wbitcy-brown teldspailiie sandstones, with scales of silvery white mica. Associated with the sandstones arc hands, from six inches to two feet tliick, of blue and green isli-grey slate. These continue for about three quarters of a mile along the shore, nearly with the strike, when a iniwsivc dioritedyke cuts the beds nearly at right angles, without disrurbing them beyond causing a sliirlit curve iii the strike. The dyke is 150 yards wide, iind is succeeded by sitnilar sandstones and linely cleaved slates lor a quarter of a mile further, Some of the sandstones enclose pcliblcs of a grey f|uar/.ite. At the mine the beds dij) S. i\^>° ¥j. ■< (10°, and at the end of the section about one mile to the north, S. fiO" ]■]. < 00°. From the mine southward, there is a gradually asrcndiiig section, consisting of grey slates, olivcgrccH slates, and grey sandy, and bine and black papery cruin|dcd slates. The highest beds in the sec- tion are the tine black e.irthy jjyritous slates. The dip continues S. 60° K., but the angle gradu- ally iii'Teiises from (10° at the mine to 8,5°, and becomes vertical at the southernmost end of the exposure. CAPE I'OURCHtl, DIOlilTES, CHLORITIC AND EITDOTIC HOCKS. — IKON OIlKS AN» EI'lOOTE. The rocks at Cape Fourchu Island, and thence to Yarmouth, consists of hornblendic, chloritic, cpidotie, and micaceous strata, with dark greenish and Idaek slates' ; also massive crysialline epidotic iliorites, with huge enclosed patches of epidote rock. Near the extreme west point of the island, there is a thick bed of coarse con- glomerate, on the weathered and sea-worn sur faces of which the pebbles are well seen ; while in a fiesli fracture they (an with difliculty be dis- tinguished fi(nn the matrix, (which is a greenish- grey micMceous schist,) except by a slight ditf'eietice in colour. The pebbles are all tlaticiied and more or less elongated in the direetion of the cleavni.'-epliinps. They consist chiefly of a grey fine grained micaceous .trnei^sie rock ; some are of a brown-weathering feldspalhie sandstone, and and others of an epidntie rcjck similar to the im- mediiitely adjoining ,-traia. Tiie schistose beds oecasiimally eon tain crystalline grains of magnetic and of titantiferous iron ores, atul ej)idote is often very abimdiint in them. This, from the weather- ing of the softer matrix, is left prnjecliiig in small lumps ami irreixiibir ridires over the exposed sur- faces, giving these a singularly fretted and rougii appeiiraiice, \'eiiis and large lenticular masses of vitreous white (piartz are not uncommonly associated with the more slaty bods. One very prominent mass of this kind is known as the Canoe. It lies in a joint nearly at rij.'ht angles to till! stratiticati(m, on tiie west shore vf the island, and from a little distance, especially sea- ward, has the appearance of a lar<;»! canoestranded on the rocks. In the eastern part of Yarmouth, within the town-limii^. iberc arc some tiiick beds of massive gn^y or whitish-brown (|uartz rock, Cwitli large irre: uhir retii ulating veins of white quartz,; intersiratilicd with the green ihloritic, hornblendic Mild epidotic schists. On the road between Milton and Arendia (('linrch's map) umilur chloritie and iioiublcndic beds occur, and also some bluish grey fcldspar-porpbyriea or felsitcs. JBBOOUE POINT. — CHROMIUM, At Jebogue I'oint tiiere are several quartz veins from six inches to three feet thick, associated with black crumpled slates, and the rocks ex- posed arc similar to those at Cranberry Head. Samples from one of the most promising looking of the above veins hare been assayeil by Dr. Hunt, but afforded no trace of gold, ihoiigh con- taining a g()(jd deal of arsenical sulpliuret of iron. It is reported in the neighbourhood that gold has been found in some of these veins, but no at- tempts have been made to work tlann. To the north, at Cape Cove in the eonnfy ot Digby, a few chains east of (.'ape St. Mary light- house, there is a small exposure of green chloritic rocks, like those at Yarmouth, associnted with light grey (piartz-roek, brecciated white, brown, and silicious schist, and l)laek earthy pyritoiis slates. Tlie green schists here contain imbedded white ( ale s|iar in considerable qnaiititv. Their dip is s: .'■).5° E. < 80°.— 84°. In spei'imens of tbest! green schists, and likwise of those from Yarmouth, Dr. Hunt has found traces of chrom- ium. He remarks that in their general mineral- ogical characters, as well as in the presence of chiomium, these rocks resemble the crystalline schists of the altered Quebec group of the Cana- dian Survey, and also similar schists referred to the Iliironian series around Lakes Huron and Superior. In other res])ects the rocks of Digby and Yarmouth counties, above deseribed, arc not unlike the hornblendie, epidotic, chloritic and other strata of certain divisions of the Quebec grou]), wiiieh, in connection with the facts above noticed, suggests the possibility that ilie former may oecujiy the position of the Quebec group. If so, we may hope to find a gradually ascending series in Nova Scotia from the Frimonlial Silurian slates at the Ovens in Lunenburg County, north- westward to the Upper Silurian and Devonian rocks of the northern parts of the counties of Aiina|iolis and Digby, i.»erhaps interrupted to some extent oy the great central granitic band. AI.LUVIAr, GOI-n. .\s regards alluvial gold-deposits, and the pros- pects in Nova Scotia of what is known in (.'ali- fomia as " jdaccr " mining, I cannot do better than recommend the perusal of Mr. Hind's re- marks in paragraph (1 of the prefatory letter ad- dressed to the Hon. Hid)ert Kobcrtson, (Commis- sioner of Mines, which accompanies his recent report on the (Jold District ot Sherbrookc. I fully concur in all the observations and sugges- tions iiiad< by Mr. Hind in this letter, and any- thing I can say respecting it, must be more or le.«s a repetition of what has already been pointed out by him. AfSTRAI.IA ANO NOVA SCOTIA COM I'ARICI). In comparing the |)liysical fe a tuies of the Australian golil-districts with th~>se of >iov.a S'cotia. in tlieir bearing ()n the fiiiestioii of the "occurren ce of alluvial gol d, the |irincipiil dilfor - eii ce appe ars "to lie the jirevalcnce in the lat 'cr of f oiig narn Tw TaTtes.'Twifdi' luTTsw ai niiTTii liTiici! of iTjc sitiiirar lysTia pei pOOIS^jU ilTIrvgr assy Tlats and it;, hottouicil "'"' gulTeys7'^ |ofteu almost as level »a 12 lakes,) which charartarize the Australian districts, JffaTf tera tlirbugh H Whidh m HCB " fUfH," " \ UAi" or ' " ,^,. ot aiium i gold arc founrl t)v sinkin g the atiuvions fo the bed-rock, which eenefally protudes in TSflgel'lalong the niai-gine pT the flats and in the adjoininir hills. If w e assu me the talies nn3r 8\^mp8" in'Nova Scotia, ^ rcpr^'- •ent theyflaSamfgiiTleys in Austratia, tTiefc^are no apparentTy^ Tmpoftant dlflfercnces in the Keo;-^ logical conditions presented in the two regions!' It oecomes a question, therefore, whether rich deposits may not underlie many of the lakes and iwamps dfirdva Sebtta, as' they dothe^ffats a'nff. gulleys of Australia ; and if so whether they could he profitably mined! To do so it might he necessary to drath the surface-wiiter, bul'tTits ♦rould depend entirely on the depth beneath Ihe lake-hed of the old chainnel or gutter. TANGIER. At Tanuier, works were commenced, as de- scribed by Professor Sillinzan in his Report pub- lished in 1864, [See Dr. Hunt's Report on the Gold Region of Nova Scotia, patje 40, | to drain Copper Lake, in order to explore the deposits in its bed ; but the enterprise appears to have been abandoned before any result had been arrived at, and nothing was being done at the time of my visit to the locality lae>t summer. NOTA SCOTIA. The reason which has been given, and apparent- ly vci"^' generally Iielieved, why no considerahTe quantity of alluvial jrold is likely to be found ifi No^rSwrir. Tft..- that OVc' r tM " ^» y g a KF'pa' rT " of the country the superficial accumulations of grav|l hate been remwed by comparativelv recent deWnding agencies, has cc^rtiiriny no louhfetion in fact ; arid T can' confidently assert that bare rock- ruffaces arenotniore^prci'ftlent in the gold-rtts- f?tcts of JTova Scotia tUaa thej. api. u> sj lanair dtstricts in Australia. It is incredible that in the latter country .the the gold-bearing veins should be invariably ac- companied by rtch alluvial deposits, while in Nova Scotia the dctrital deposits, which certainly occur under precisely similar conditions, should be almost as invariably unproductive. I do not believe in any such anomaly, but think that the whole secret of the matter lies in the fact that, owing to obvious local circumstances, they have never yet been sought for with that degree of en- terprise, intelligence £\nd perseverance, which the investigation demands. It is stated that surface-lead have occasionally been found, and have been followed for limited distances into tjradually deepening ground, with highly promising indications, when the influ.x of water being too >;reat to be overcome by manual labor with an ordinary bucket and windlass, the ground was at once ai)andotie(L Under such cir- cumstances it is not surprising that no alluvial deads have Iwen developeil in Nova Scotia. At Taiif,'ier, at Oldham, at Sherbrooke, at Waverley, and at Renfrew, I observed places that appeared to present all the conditions required for the occurrence of rich alluvial "diggings;" but, .so far as I could learn, no attempts had been made to test them, although they lie in close proximity to quartz veins which have afforded large returns, and the abrasion of which in pa«t times must have contributed to form the detritaa |n the adjacent depressions. WORKING ALLUVIONS. The great quantity of water which would prob- abty be encountered in all the acep and l ow-tying drift-deposits in Nova Scotia do uhtle ss con s 1 1 1 u tea a serious hindrance to their Being explor ed, inas- much as it almost precludes the success ot^ indi- vidual effort, to which, Tn Australfa, the original ■JFTscoyery or nearly all the principal jcold-dGldaia due. They offer h owever, I consi der , a legitimate and excceningiy promising Held tor comhlried capital and labor skilfully * PPl'*;d» f."d ,'f.,i^ ^^^' tainly rcmaTKanie 'ihai so litiie'artenlTonTras Kt!iw!o"B(S?fnJS!towed ttpdti thergf" " " • ■—■•■■ MR. MICHEL. As will be seen in Dr. Hunt's Report (page U), Mr. Mich^ insisted strongly upon the importance of searching for alluvial gold beneath the glaciaj drift or boiilder-clay of the coast ; where, as Dr. Hunt remarked, the gold alluvions " mav reason- ably be expected to be of great richness '' t^herever valleys filled with detritus are found crossing the strike of the veins, as is the case at vVaverlcy, at Oldham, and doubtless in many other places, explorations should be made im- mediately below such lines of intersection, aa being the most likely to afford satisfactory results. In the few places where alluvial gold has been detected, the discovery has been plirely accidental. The search has never been conducted on any defined system or principle, and was, therefore, not likely to elTect more than it has done ; viz.: prove the presence of particles of gold in almost all the superficial sands and gravels which have bten examined, and occasionally to such an extent as to be capable of being profitably extracted. MYDRACT.IC METHOD. I have not seen any localities in Nova Scotia where the hydraulic methods of washing in use in California and Australia could be saccessfully adopted, because the recent gravels ai)pear for tlie most part to lie in depressions which are lielow the present drainage level of the country ; and seldom on hills, or in elevated terraces along the sides of the valleys,. I am not aware whether this is also the case in New Rrunswiek. ClIAUDltRE, QUEBEC. In the province of Quebec, on the Chaudi^e and its tributaries, the drift appears in .some cases to rest at considerable elevations abov« the main water-channels, and this was long since pointed out by Sir W. E, Logan. Nothing, however, has ever been done to test the value of the gravels. Recently, through the enterprise of the manager of the Companlv already flicntioned as being the only one at present operating in that district, it has been proved that they likewise extend to depths of one hundred tcet beneath them. It is in these old deep channels and de- pressions that the heaviest particles of gold may be looked for, and with the requisite appliancec for draining the ground there seems every reason for hoping that a very extended and valuable field for goldmiaing enterprise will bo opened tip I fpp 13 m past detritaa juld prob- llow-Ivinc stitutes I, mag^ ~ot indi- original [Rcldals |c{;itimate page U), iportance e glaciaj e, as Dr. iv reason- )» are found le (;use at in many made im- et'tion, as ry results. has l)een cci dental. d on anj therefore, one; viz.: in almost liich have an extent tracted. ."a Sootia ig in use ccessfully i|)peiir for ^hic'h are country ; ces along D whether !haudi^e )me cases the main 3 pointed however, le of the ise of tiie ioned as ; in that likewise i)eni>ath 1 and dc- old may •pliancec y reason valuahle )ened up M in the province of Qaeber, especially when con- sidered in cotmection with the known wide dis- tribution of gold in the region, which has been abundantly proved by the researches of Sir W. E. Logan, the details of which are given in a pamphlet entitled Notes on the Gold of Eastern Canada, issued in 1864 by the Geological Survey. This contains a suminary of all the information on the suliject up to that date; and in the report of Mr. A, Michel, addressed to Sir W. E. Logan, and published in the tieology of Canada, in 186fi, further and more recent information has been gi* . MB. LOCKWOOD's workings. On the 14th February lant, Mr, Lockwood in- formed me that in their s'laft then sinking the bed-rock had been struck at 100 feet below the level of the Gilbert River, dipping three feet in the width of the shaf'.. This indicates still deeper ground, as does also the character of the gold met with, of which he states, "We took out nearly one ounce of gold yesterday, and six pennyweights, thirteen grains today. It is all fine scaly gold and, I fancy, all from the gravel. We have found "colors " since first striking it, about twenty-eight feet." This must be con- sidered an exceedingly satisfactory commence- ment, and quite sufficient to warrant further exertion. ANCIENT CHANNELS. The worn and comparatively heavy character of much of the gold which has hitherto been pro- cured from the shallow washings in the Chaudiere district, does not, I think indicate that it has been derived from distant sources, so much as that it has been subjected to repeated and long continued abrasion in the drifts. I believe it to be strictly of local origin, and to have come from the quartz veins in the neighbourhood. The chief reason why the rich spots where it has hitherto been worked are so limited in extent is that they represent the places where the old channel or river-bed has been intersected by the existing one, and cut into, down to the bed-rock ; re-distributing its contents along the present river course, and thus enriching, for a limited distance, the recent alluvions. If instead of extending explorations, as has commonly been done, solely in the di- rection and along the course of the present river, they are pushed l)oldly into every part of the adjacent banks where no rocky ledges are seen in place, there is but little doubt that the old channels from which the present streams have derived most of their gold would speedily be discovered, and often richly reward the enterprise of the explorer. These are facts which are well known in Australia, and acted upon frequently with the most successful results. Here no one appears to have directed attention to them, and tney have not been alluied to in any published descriptions ot the gold fields oi this country. Mr. Lockwood states in his report to the Directors of the Company, dated 4th August, 1870: " Duriag the last five years I have ob- served closely all the work done, and have not seen one intelligent attempt made te obtain a knowledge of tne nature and origin oi the rich alluvial deposits ; no man except myself has done anything to establish the tact that the aliavionf have their oriein in the local reefs, or that w» have a distinct system of old river-channels at a considerably lower level than the present ones." " On lot fifteen the lead leaves the present river-channel and strikes under the high ground ; here an old river-channel was discovered ; it is from thirty-five to fifty feet below the present river-bed. A drive has been run across thit channel 2.'K) feet. The water being heavy, and the ground dipping, we were unable to determine its width. The whole of the gravel found in this channel is auriferous, and it is composed entirely of the material from the local rocks. In the sand of the roof drift-wood was found about eighty-five feet below the present surface." From the returns already obtained, Mr. Lockwood estimates the average yield per acre of the old channel at $45,000, and the cost of working at $12,500 per acre. It is, however, next to impossible to make an estimate of this kind, which shall be at all reliable for practical pnrposes. CHACDIJ^RE QUABTZ VEINS. The quartz veins of this district have already been examined and reported on, and their auri« ferous character has been established.* I ex* amined the out-crops of several of those from which samples were taken by Mr. Michel and carefully assayed by Dr. Hunt. No efforts ap- pears to have been made since the date oi the reports above referred to, for their further development. The result of Dr. Hunt's assays was certainly not vei7 encouraging, but when compared with other assays made by Dr. Hayes of Boston, they only serve, as he remarks, to prove the " irregularity with which the gold is distributed in the gangue." Some of the veins are well situated for work- ing, and so far as can be judged from the very limited extent to which any of them have yet been opened there would be no difficulty in raising very large quantities of quartz. Con- sidering the heavy and often nuggety character of much of the alluvial gold of the Chau- diere district, it is in the highest degree im- probable that none of the veins from the abraded i)ortions of which this gold has without doubt been derived, should be sufficiently rich to yield a fair profit to well directed enterprise applied to their exploitation, and it seems extraordinary that so little has hitherto been done in this direction. GOLD MINING IN NOVA SCOTIA. The system on which mining and mining business is conducted in Nova Scotia, like all other subjecu connected with the gold-fields, has been commented on in numerous publications. Its many defects have been repeatedly pointed ont, and much sound advice and a number of practical suggestions for its amendment have from time to time been offered, without however, having pro- duced any very marked effect ; notwithstanding that the success of a very lar^e majority of the mining enterprises in the province is unquestion- ably in a great degree dependant on these remedial measures being adopted ; and their total * Reports of Mr. A. Mlalitl and Dr. T. Sterry Hunt addrtMed to Sir W. ■. Logan, in the Report of Progress, aeologi«al Survey of Canada, 1866, page* 69-90. I H tieplpct is n« undonhtcdly the cliief cnnse of the numerous failures wiiich murk the history of the gold-rieids. CAUSES OF y\ll.URK . ' Amons; the causes wliicii irmy he considcrtJ as most prcjudiiiiil to tlie perinaneiit and lieaithy progress of iniiiing iiuhistrr, tiic following may . lie mcntioiii'd : — They are not in any way •especially characteristic of Nova Scotia, hut prevail more or less in every mining region of which I have any knowledge, jjarticularly iu the early years of tlieir development. 1st. The rash expenditure of capital in tlie purchase of miiiingriglits respecting the actual value of whiili nothing is known with certainty. 2nd. The hasty and- inconsiderate erection of costly machinery for mining and treating the or>s. hefore their quantity or their probahle value has heeii determined. 3rd. The attempts frequently made to enhance tlie value of the sto(;k liy declaring dividctuls, sometimes paid out of capital, hut often hy means of a |)rocess commoulv known as " pick- ing the eyes out of the mine/' or in other wonis selecting all the rich material to secure a few high yields which arc far in excess of anything likely to he the future average. 4th. The too common, almost universal prac- tice of devoting the whole of the net proceeds to the payment of dividends, and having no reserve fuud to meet expenses when poor ground has to he worked through. This improvidence fre- quently necessitates the closing of a n)ine, and the abandonment of a j)roperty as wortliless, wh'ch, under a more judicious system, would ' have hecome extremely valuable. 5th. The small size of the " areas " or claims, not as reiiards actual acreage, but in relation to the position and thickness oi the veins. This necessitiiies a wasteful multiplication of shafts and plants of machinery for crushing: and dress- ing the ores. In some districts in Nova Scotia these arc out of all proportion to the actual requirements. 6th. The disregard of the natural features of the ground, shewn in locating the crushing and dressing machinery without reference to the easy delivery of the material from the mine and the fall required for the perfect treatment of the . ores, and for getting rid of the tailings. This want of foresight necessitates subsequent heavy outlay lor re handling the material, all of which might he saved. 7th. The almost tmiversal want of any ap- pliances for saving pyrites and line gold. WASTE OF GOLD IN TAILINGS. On this point Mr. Hind remarks in his recent Report on the Shcrbrooke district :— " From careful assays of numerous parcels of tailings in Nova Scotia as they came from the mill, and selected indiscriminately, the average quantity contained was found to exceed 4dwt8. pcrton. In many instances the a-isny gave a very much larger yield. These tailings lie around the mill in every direction, or are allowed to run into the nearest stream ; in no instance known to me ai-e they concentratad even to save the pyrites, or are any really valuable appliances used to save the free gold they contain, which has escaped from the stamping-boxes or the amalgamating-tables. " A year ago, attention having been called to the escaped gold in the tailings of one of the mills at Waverlcy, portiotts were recrushrd and passed over amalganiating-tahles ; and in the official return for 18t>y, wc finfj the following srntcments :288 tons of waste from thedump.gavo 32 oz. fi dwts. 11 grs. ; 63 tons of waste from the dump, gave 13 oz. 12 dwts. 16 grs. From this experiment some idea may he formed of the amount of gold allowed to escape in the tailings from upwards of 190,000 tons of quartz, the (luantity already crushed in Nova Scotia." HUNT, ASSAY OF TAILINGS. As indicating furtlicr the probable value of some of these heaps of tailings the following ainilyses by Dr. Hunt, arc here given of three SAUiples which I collected from Yarmouth, Montague and lienfrew respectively. He says, " the proportion of arsenical pyrites or mispickel (other suljihurets being rarej, was determined by dissolving it out from the quartz ; and the follow- ing figures give under A, the amount of gold per ton of tailings ; under B, the amount of gold per ton of pyrites ; and under C, the proportion of pyrites in the tailings: The determinations uiulcr A and 15, were made by the ordinary fire- assay upon the roasted tailings." A R C Montague 5i oz. 12 4-20 oz. 43 per cent. KoiitVi'w 2i 4 04 Vaiiiiouth :>i 7 15-20 65 The sample from Montague was taken at about eighty feet from the last amaltramating-plate, and at about seven or eight inches below the surface of the heap. The sample from llenfrew was taken from six inches below the surface of the heap, and at about ten or fifteen yards from the last amalga- ma ting-plate. The sample from Yarmouth was given to me by the owner of the mill ; I have no knowledge of the circumstances undei which it was collected. A sample of tailings from Mooseland, taken from the fourth mercury-trap. Dr. Hunt found to contain 58 per cent, of avsen;cal pyrites. A portion concentrated to 88 per cent., gave one and one-half ounces of gold to the ton : equal to 1 oz. 14 dwts. :o the ton of pure pyrites. In digging into fhe surface of the heaps of tailings, I noticed that the pyrites was not equally distributed through the mass, but almost always in layers, giving a regularly stratified appearance to a vertical section of the sand ; the pyritous layers being from one-eighth to one inch iu thickness, and the more sandy layers con- siderably thicker. The samples were taken rather to show the value of the pyrites, than the quantity of pyrites or gold in the tailings; and therefore the figures under A and C arc not a correct average of the heaps ; but even supposing the tailings to contain no more than one-iialf the above amounts, the value of the gold which ii heitig anniiaify lost is 6n6fni6iis, ancT fBc sutijcct isVell W6rlfiy the serious consuler'ation'oreverj' mine owner in the country. This fact of tTio rjchtress In gold of the _ar8enical_ pyri tes qOfie lodes in Nova Scbtuiis not new. ^ \ »> from the |)les. Jcallcd to Jo of the |Hlir(J and in the illowiiig fnp,{;avo Ifroin the |roiii this of the tailings »rtz, the value of ilowin^r of three nnouth, le says, isj)i(;kel [lined by follow- {fold per e 9^: Mv thus condensing the arsenic, the in- jurious edeets whieh would otherwise result from the escape of the jioisoiious arsenical vapours into the air during roasting would be prevented." WOKKING OF STAMP MILLS. Reverting to the wasteful multiplication of plants of maeliiuery in the various districts of Nova Scoiia, above alluded to, this will pi'rhaps he best a|ipreciate(l by a eon)))arison of the num- ber of stamps, and the ijuantity of quartz crushed in Nova Scotia with similar work in Australia. According to the tables in the Report for f86',), by the Commissioner of .Mines in Nova Scotia, the t Jtal (piaiititjr of quartz crushed tiiat year in all the districts wa.s .38.424 tons. The juimber of mill:; employed was fifty-four. The number of stamps is not given ; but if we allow an average of twelve for each mill (which is prob- ably an iinder-estimate),* we have 648 stamps. They weigh generally from 5.50 to (iOO His. each, and are woi ked at an average speed of 6.') to 70 blows per minute, with a nine-inch lift. Thecinantity crushed per stamp-head in twenty- four hours is stated to be one ton ; the average in Australia and California is fr' mi one and one- quarter to two tons ; there seem.> no good rea.son why it should not be as large; in Nova Scotia. However, taking it at one ton, and allowing '2M) working days, the 648 stamps ought to crush 162,000 tons, or more than four times the work actually done, wiiich amounts to less than sixty tons per stamp-head per annum, VICTORIA, AUSTUALIA. At the Port Philip Company's mine, at Chines, in Australia, there were crushed in lU'U, in fifty- two weeks, 55,240 tons ; and in the same time in •In sixteen mill?, of wliich particulars are ({iven iu an Appemlji to " HtatLeriiigton's Guide," there are 199 BtauipB. 1800, 64, 27.'^ ton.s. This work is performed hy eighty stamps; (twenty-'our of 800 lbs., and fifiy-six of 600 lbs. each ;) worked at a speed of seventy-five l)low8 per minute ; and they each crush from two to two and a quarter tons per day of twenty-four hours. The quartz is as hard as any I have seen in Nova Scotia. At the Black Hill mine, at Ballarat, which commencpd working in January, 1862, 250,575 tonx of (pmrtz had been crushed up to December 31st, 186',); heing an annual average of SI,. 32 ( tons, Thi< is done by sixty stamps, of 700 lbs. eai'h, worked at a speed of seventy-five blows per minute, with a lift of ahout nine inches. Thui, in Australia, we find two mills with 140 stamps, crushing 86,56lTu'i7soT quartz ifiHhe Vear; or cdnsidci'ahiy more'fffan'Twice as iniiclv as IS crushed m Nova Srotia, in nny-Tour muls, with more than four times the number of stampi. The fineness to wliicTi fTTe qiiartz^Ts'redifced is ahout the same as iii Noyy^^oiia, COMI'AKATIVE VIKLO OF GOLD PRICE OF LABOR. If we compare the average yield of the quartz in Nova Scotia with that in Australia, both of which are given in Heatherington's " Practical (Juide to the Gold-Fields of Nova Scotia," wc find the former is 1 oz. 3 dwts. 58 grs.,* and the latter 11 dwts. 17"4 grs. If we also consider the relative prices of mining-labor in the two coun- tries, (averaging in Victoria $2.00 to $3.50, and in Nova Scotia only $1.25 to $1,50, per diem,) the reason why two-thirds of the crushing-power in the latter i.s standing idle seems at fir. ' sight somewhat inex|)licatde. It is evidently not the poverty of the quartz ; neither is it, as lean vouch from personal observation, owing to any defici- ency ill the quantity which the veins, if properly worked, are calculated to produce ; atid we are therefore forced to conclude that it arises from tlie causes above enumerated, and from the un- skilful, wasteful, and itnprovident manner in which the business has ordinarily been.eondueted, i-reating general apathy, and utterly destroying the confidence of investors. VICTORIA. — PROFITS OF MINMNG. In the two mines in Australia above cited, the average yield of gohl to the ton of rock, of late years, has never exceeded 10 dwts. At the Black Hill mine it is stated to have been only 2 dwts. 21 ^YiT P""^- P*-"'" '"" ' '^"^ ''^^" ''''** '''^^ yield has juoved sufficient to pay the |)roi)rietor3 ten v>cr cent, on the capital invested ; the amount paid in dividends in eight years lieing £21,730 sterling, or SI 08, 50. At 'Clunes, the average yield in 1869 was 7 dwts. 8 grs., and in 1870, 4 "dwts, 204 grs. Many more instances could be given of yields far less per ton than the quantity now lost at every mill in Nova Scotia, having sufficed, under careful management, to give a fair profit to the adventurers. These results are due to the practical and intelligent application of the lessons taught hy ex[)erience ; and if this ex- perience is utiliKcd, and as intelligently applied • This ylold for Nova Scotia is coii»ideraWy greater than that which is given as t)ie average by Mr, Hind, page 157 of )iis Heport on th« Sherbrooku District, viz., 15 dwts. 16 fft. i6 in Canada as it has been in Australia, there is no reason why equally satisfactory results sHoutd not be acliieved. The waat of any even approximately correct topographical maps of the gold districts is like- wise a serioud hindrance to their dcTelopment. It renders accurate geological observations im- possible ; and thus the structure of the country cannot be worked out or understood, as it must be before either the probable course, or the extent of the mineral-veins can be ascertained with pre- cision, or the localities determined in which farther developments may be looked for. CONCLUSIONS. I n conclu sion, I may state, that the general impPSSSlOflfpFOduded on mymthcTby whanTKIve seen of the gold-districts of Canada during the past summer is, as regards their natural capabili- ties, exceedingly favorable, and equally unfavor- able as regards the enterprise and intelligence which has hitherto been devoted to their develop- ment At the same time it should not be for- gotten that the most favorable indications are not always reliable, and the sanguine prognosti- cations they so frequently give rise to are often not borne out by the result of actual working ; wherefore I should, even under the most favor- able circumstances, not advise any one to invest in such enterprises to an amount beyond what he can afford to lose without serious embarrass- ment. WANT OF MAPS. The need above alluded to, of good topographi- cal maps, is one which cannot be too often pointed out, and is well deserving the serious considera- tion of the Government. Such maps are not only necessary for geological and mineralogical purposes, but for agricultural, sylvicqltural, cngmcering, military, political, and statistical purposes they are likewise indispensable ; and every dollar expended towards their production eventually becomes an annual saving to the country ; a fact especially obvious when such periodically recurring works as the census have to be undertaken. The subject is dwelt upon here because it is one which seriously retards the progress of the geological exploratioas with which I am specially charged ( and it seems not out of place to call attention to the fact that hundreds ot dollars which are debited to these investigations are really unavoidably expended in making additions to the topography of the country, for which, however valuable, extensive, and important, but little credit accrues to the Ghsological Survey. ALFRED B. C. SELWYN. Montreal, Majf, 1871. HALirAJC, N.d.: Itkt>MHTkl> rOB TMK "MlNlSQ OABKTttl'' BT TUit "IfOVA ScOTlA PBWTINO Co." ;^i«{ mbarrass- ipographi- in pointed considera- i are not cralogical 'icgltural, statiatical able ; and roduction K to the hen such 18US have ve\t upon Ptards the oas with Bcems not fact that I to these expended ijr of the sxtensive, uea to the .WYN. i $