ce off or only scratch it.

The great importance of the first prospect from the reef is well shown
by the breathless intensity with which the two bearded, bronzed pioneer
prospectors in some trackless Australian wild bend over the pan in which
the senior "mate" is slowly reducing the sample of powdered lode stuff.
How eagerly they examine the last pinch of "black sand" in the corner
of the dish. Prosperity and easy times, or poverty and more "hard graft"
shall shortly be revealed in the last dexterous turn of the pan. Let us
hope it is a "pay prospect."

The learner, if he be far afield and without appliances of any kind, can
only guess his prospect. An old prospector will judge from six ounces of
stuff within a few pennyweights what will be the yield of a ton. I have
seen many a good prospect broken with the head of a pick and panned in
a shovel, but for reef prospecting you should have a pestle and mortar.
The handiest for travelling is a mortar made from a mercury bottle cut
in half, and a not too heavy wrought iron pestle with a hardened face.
To be particular you require a fine screen in order to get your stuff
to regulated fineness. The best for the prospector, who is often on the
move, is made from a piece of cheesecloth stretched over a small hoop.

If you would be more particular take a small spring balance or an
improvised scale, such as is described in Mr. Goyder's excellent little
book, p. 14, which will enable you to weigh down to one-thousandth of a
grain. It is often desirable to burn your stone before crushing, as
it is thus more easily triturated and will reveal all its gold; but
remember, that if it originally contained much pyrites, unless a similar
course is adopted when treated in the battery, some of the gold will be
lost in the pyrites.

Having crushed your gangue to a fine powder you proceed to pan it off in
a similar manner to that of washing out alluvial earth, except that in
prospecting quartz one has to be much more particular, as the gold is
usually finer. The pan is taken in both hands, and enough water to cover
the prospect by a few inches is admitted. The whole is then swirled
round, and the dirty water poured off from time to time till the residue
is clean quartz sand and heavy metal. Then the pan is gently tipped, and
a side to side motion is given to it, thus causing the heavier contents
to settle down in the corner. Next the water is carefully lapped in over
the side, the pan being