Book Description

Excerpt from The Treasures of the Earth: Or, Mines, Minerals, and Metals When Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, wished to descend into the copper mines at Falun, his courtiers begged him not to risk his life. "A king," he replied, "is not worth a straw, who does not look into his treasury." On arriving at a freshly-hewn chamber, where the copper ore shone bright and glittering, he exclaimed, "What should such a potentate be who possesses a palace like this!" These were the wise words of a great monarch who could appreciate the bounty of Providence in storing up the "treasures of the earth" for the welfare of his people. I have endeavoured, in the following pages, to blend amusement with instruction, and thus initiate the youthful reader into the mysteries of mining; for to many persons, irrespective of age, such pursuits have this character. The subject is interesting from every point of view, especially when we consider that upon our mining resources, and the progress of our manufactures, depends, in a great measure, the commercial superiority of our country. In relating visits to mines, the treatment of metals and minerals, and the various uses to which they are applied, I have avoided, as much as possible, all technicalities, or I have simplified them so as to be readily understood by the uninformed reader. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.