Marking the Samples

Durable tags carrying the number of the sample should be inserted in each sack; some engineers use metal tags, some wood, but the usual practice is to use tough paper rolled up tightly to prevent abrasion. The following sample tag is excellent, and should be made up in books containing 50 sheets and numbered before going into the mine. The lower part of the tag is torn off, and after being rolled up, is inserted in the sack with the sample. Tearing the detached slip in half gives two numbers for the duplicates when the sample is cut down. On the backs of these slips the writer is accustomed to make a sketch in section of the place sampled showing the shape of the drift and the sample cut by a dotted line; the geological features may also be indicated with colored pencils; and any remarks noted. The data is thus kept in convenient form for future reference and is invaluable in case of dispute; it frequently happens that an unfavorable report is questioned or disputed, and in any controversy regarding samples these books so kept will put the adversary to rout on sight.

The writer places the sample number on the outside of the sacks to permit ready identification without having to pour out the sample in search of the tag. This practice is objected to by some engineers on the ground that it permits an outsider to locate, the samples with equal ease. If an outsider gets close enough to the samples, and the leisure in which to inspect the numbers, he is close enough to tamper with them, and this objection is not, therefore, considered as having weight.