In article , Tom Bennett
writes
"Jaques d'Alltrades" wrote
big snip
. In areas where there is gold, significant quantities can be
recovered by cutting horsetails and burning them, and refining the ash.
I can't remember where I read that - or heard it, but I've never been
able to test the intelligence in the forty or more years I've had it in
the back of my mind. Either there is a plethora of horsetail and a lack
of gold in the area, or a fair amount of dispersed gold, but no sign of
horsetails.

See http://www.puralibre.com/html/eng_ho...l.html#History which says:

Horsetail absorbs gold dissolved in water better than most plants, as much
as 4 ounces per ton of fresh stalk".

If gold dissolves in water, how come one can pan for it in streams?

--
Malcolm Ogilvie