NOTE.

This little work was not written for mineralogists, but expressly for the landholder, the farmer, the mechanic, the miner, the laborer, even the most unscientific. It is designed to enable such to discover for themselves, minerals and ores of use in the arts, and thus develop the resources and ascertain the value of any particular farm or region. It may save the owner from ruinous bargains, and may reveal a mine of mineral wealth, more sure and more profitable than any bank.

PROSPECTING THE GROUNDFrontispiece.

FAC-SIMILE OF NUGGET OF GOLD, (California,)Illuminated Title Page.

PROSPECTING DIAMOND DRILL40

WASHING AURIFEROUS SANDS47

SEARCHING FOR DIAMONDS121

THE SAW-MILL OF COLOMA129

(The place where Gold was first discovered in California.)

A K E Y FOR THE READY DETERMINATION OF ALL THE USEFUL MINERALS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.