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Editorial
Small-scale versions of two perennial IA topics—mining and railroads—are the features of this issue. Thad Van Bueren leads off with "The Poor Man's Mill," focusing on the arrastra, a circular drag mill and an under-appreciated piece of mineral processing technology. Versions of the arrastra were native to the Mediterranean area, with the Spaniards bringing them to the New World. Despite its simple, handmade vernacular pedigree, Van Bueren builds a case for the arrastra's importance for precious-metal mining in the American West. His arguments consider the evidence from a variety of documentary sources, including statistical reports and historical images. He uses a specific example of one of these homely and relatively rare installations—a small Italian mining operation in California—to illustrate his points, the example drawn from a cultural resource management project conducted in conjunction with highway work.
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The railroad article by Tony Travis, "The Locomotives at Betchworth Lime Works in Southern England," examines the industrial railway at a limeworks in Surrey, England, with particular interest in the locomotives. This very personal perspective includes photographs and notes made by the author at the end of the 1950s. It presents a record of the locomotives during their final period of use, as well as reflections on matters of preservation and the importance of these modest little engines in the operation of a typical industrial enterprise of the 19th and 20th centuries.
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| Terry Reynolds and the stalwart reviewers also provide us with a diverse array of book reviews that range broadly in topics and time. |
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