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 GROUND][Frontispiece.]
[FAC-SIMILE OF NUGGET OF GOLD, (California,)][Illuminated Title Page.]
[PROSPECTING DIAMOND DRILL][40]
[WASHING AURIFEROUS SANDS][47]
[SEARCHING FOR DIAMONDS][121]
[THE SAW-MILL OF COLOMA][129]
(The place where Gold was first discovered in California.)