twenty years at half a million yearly. The supplies of Ecuador and Venezuela are presented as follows: The only remaining political division of South America requiring notice on account of the quantities of treasure furnished to commerce is the empire of Brazil. The amount of gold produced in this empire from its discovery to 1803 was estimated by Humboldt, upon the authority mainly of the Abbe Raynal's "Political and Philosophical History of the European Settlements in the East and West Indies," published about 1778, at $855,500,000. Chevalier has computed the amount, from the opening of the mines to 1845, at 3,576,192 pounds of pure gold, worth about $886,895,616, which, reckoned up to 1803, would be some fifty millions less than Humboldt stated it. Since 1803 the annual gold production, according to Whitney and Chevalier, has been about $2,000,000. The greatest yield of this political division was about the middle of the last century, when the annual supply varied from four millions to five and a half millions of dollars. At present the shallow washings appear to be nearly exhausted, and almost the entire supply is the product of the English companies mining in the solid rock. The silver produced in the empire is chiefly obtained by separation from gold, and may be estimated at about $18,000 annually for the whole period of sixty-four years. The produce of the Brazilian mines is stated as follows: The total product of the South American mines in gold and silver, from the discovery of the continent to January 1, 1868, is set forth in the following table. On page 346, volume 3, "New Spain," Black's translation, Humboldt has presented the annual produce of the mines of Hualgayoc, &c., from the year 1774 to 1802, amounting to 2,180,470 marcs of silver, which, at the estimated price of eight dollars and a half per marc, produces the sum of $18,533,995. On footing up the values of the products of the several Peruvian mines, he puts, on page 415, the yield of these same mines, during the same time, at the value of $185,339,900, which is inconsistent with the statement on page 346. As the figures are the same, the presumption is that they were erroneously pointed off. In the table below we adopt the correction as made by Mr. Danson, adding to the $2,203,698,000 thus found Chevalier's estimate of $10,880,000 as the silver product of the Chilian mines prior to 1803. In other respects Humboldt's computations are followed. Produce of the South American mines from the discovery of the continent to the end of the year 1867. Total amount of gold from 1492 to 1868, $1,778,854,430; silver, $2.897,219,459; both metals, $4,676,073,889. Gold product from 1804 to 1868, $509,354,430; silver product, $682,641,674; both metals, $1,192,000,000. The present annual product of the several divisions of South America may be computed as follows: Total value of both metals from 1492 to 1868. Having passed over the several divisions of the American continent, and endeavored to describe the metalliferous character of each, and its contributions to the world's wealth in the precious metals, the result may be stated as follows: Product of the whole American continent from its discovery, in 1492, to the commencement of 1868, a period of 376 years. $1,140, 000, 000 Product from 1804 to 1848, (both metals). .... Produced from 1848 to 1868, (both metals). Gold product in the sixty-four years... Difference between this product and that of 311 years prior $1,525, 056, 104 630, 907, 244 2,070, 640, 000 459, 520, 000 1,712, 154, 430 1, 883, 541, 674 171, 387, 244 3, 595, 696, 104 1,712, 154, 430 1,348, 500, 000 363, 654, 430 1, 265, 080, 000 83, 420, 000 From the above table it appears that during the twenty years just closed there has been produced in North and South America an amount of gold only $83,420,000 less than the whole quantity computed by Humboldt as the product of the American mines for a period of 311 years prior to 1804. Of the $1,265,080,000 produced in the twenty years $1,015,000,000 were obtained in the United States, and $250,000,000 in other portions of the American continent; the United States producing, as it appears, four-fifths of the gold furnished by the whole continent during the last twenty years. The quantity of silver supplied during the same time was $805,560,000, of which the United States have, within the last seven years, contributed $100,000,000. It will be observed that the quantity of gold supplied during the last sixtyfour years is greater by $363,654,430 than the total amount of gold contributed during the 311 years previous to 1804, and that the amount of gold and silver furnished since 1804 is equal to nearly two-thirds of the total of both metals produced previous to that date. The amount of gold and silver contributed during the last twenty years is $545,583,896 greater than the quantity obtained during the forty-four previous years. The total product of the whole American continent from its first discovery in 1492 to the commencement of 1868, of both metals, amounts to $9,107,725,889, or, in round numbers, $9,108,000,000. Average annual product for the whole continent during the forty four years... During the last twenty years.. During the last sixty-four years.. $34,660, 366 103, 532, 000 56, 182, 752 The product of the whole continent for the year 1868 may, from present indications, be estimated as follows: From this it will be seen that at the present day the United States furnishes four-fifths of the gold, and one-third of the silver product of the American continent, and more than four-sevenths of the annual supply of the precious metals from North and South America. EUROPE. The European continent, which during the middle ages furnished the principal supplies of the precious metals, contributed, during the 16th century, an annual amount of less than one million of dollars. During the succeeding century, under the stimulus imparted by the extraordinary productiveness of the American mines, those of Europe returned an average yield of about a million and a half, increased in the eighteenth century to four millions, after which they began to decline, and at the commencement of the present century produced about three millions two hundred and thirty thousand dollars. The amount of gold produced in Europe at the present day is but little over two millions of dollars. The supply of silver has, however, considerably increased of late years, owing to improvements in the process of separating it from lead, and the European product of that metal may now be estimated at something over eight millions. Great Britain, at the time of the Roman conquest, must have furnished considerable quantities of gold, and even at the present day small quantities are obtained at the mines at Merionethshire, Wales, the value of which, since 1860, may amount to about $250,000; in 1865 it amounted to 1,664 ounces of gold, equal in value to about $33,000, and this amount is not likely to be much increased in any future year. It is, however, by working its mines of argentiferous galena that Great Britain contributes most to the stock of the precious metals; the silver thus obtained, amounting, in 1852, to 818,325 ounces, worth $1,091,104. In 1865 the supply from this source was 724,856 ounces, troy, worth $966,474. Since the beginning of 1856 the quantity of silver separated from lead ores in the United Kingdom amounts to about seven and a half millions of troy ounces, worth over nine millions of dollars. France has no gold mines of any value. The sands of the Rhine contain small quantities of the precious metal, and formerly it is thought produced considerable gold. Washings in certain localities are still carried on, and in 1846 the amount obtained in this way was about $9,000. Its silver lead mines are of more importance, and in 1865 produced 18,000 pounds of silver of the value of $288,000. Spain has been celebrated for its mines of both the precious metals from the earliest ages, and the Phenicians laid them under heavy tribute several centuries before the commencement of the Christian era. The Romans, and afterwards the Moors, continued to work them, and gold was obtained not only from washing the sauds of the Duro, the Tagus, and other rivers, but also by mining in the solid rock. The amount of that metal contributed by Spain at the present day is very small, not exceeding $10,000 annually. Of silver it furnishes a more liberal supply, chiefly obtained from its mines of argentiferous galena, amounting in late years annually to over one hundred thousand pounds, worth over $1,600,000. The most important mines are those of Hiendelaencina, which have produced since 1846, 7,717,000 English ounces of silver, worth about $10,000,000. These are so rich in silver near the surface that the galena often yielded from 130 to 180 ounces to the ton. They have been worked to a depth of 1,200 feet, the yield of silver appearing to decline with the depth of the mine. That gold was found in Scandinavia at a very early period seems evident from an examination of the implements taken from numerous Scandinavian tumuli of very remote ages, which are preserved and arranged in the museum at Copenhagen, among which are swords, daggers, knives, and other edged instruments, the blades of which are made of gold or copper, with an edge of iron, formed for the purpose of cutting; the profuse application of copper and gold, contrasted with the parsimony used in the expenditure of iron, seeming to prove that gold and copper were much more abundant than iron among the unknown |