a copper lode that will .prodqcefucfoa furprizing qW ty _ of-copper,
and in Cornwall, whqre -weTaye fo much p N § | ^ *m# e bot~
toms of our mines, the^cupreous particles ma y^many^ lace s,^
too much diluted;to^ield t h e ^ b b ^ m ^ n ^ e d . g ^ ^ r ^ b ^ t
is- not to: foe tmeftioned that, the experiment UW
proper directions, ,fn> great many ajjits, dnit
'or adiTflrvesas a drain to many workings. * H f f lH
Another point worthy of cdnfideratibn la th is ; that^copper
,grows in the fame«pkces with | P g P M apd oftenbmes in
following a vein of pure- copper, they have met. with a neft of the
fineft sold; but.itis.more ufual to have its>y„pms change, into lilyer,,
I The.mine of Ofloquee, in the Lipes of Peru, was at .the top ..in a
manner all copper, and every fpadek depth, as they;dug downwards,
the ore grew more rich drefilver, untill in the bottonv.it bepame all
pureTilyer anddn .a copwrTmine calfed Ifuel-Cosii,! in the parilh
of St. Tuft, native ISver has 'been found1 rimOjrig tirafapper ore, and
it would be very wonderfol, if this mine fhould he. the only .one
^feich aiferded an inftance of 'this kind; aprong ffurilr,! a ^m b e r pi
mines as we have, and fome much richer than thiss. . ^
.That the glaffy red has a great affinity toytlie.fflver orefhas been
mentioned before,, and it is not' improbable but fame of our ores
may contain gold as. weH as £lver. Copper-manes have # o , quicksilver
oftentimes in their lodes, and in Hungary .it is-thoughUfrange
when the Herenground mines are ever without it. Now m Cornwallthe
proprietors, generally fpeaking, do not know the qualitvpf t^e plainei t
copper, much Ids the nature of the richeft: they ta%-the:w)ord, as well
as the money of the buyer implicitly ;
the prefent rules of commerce, to infift upon any
made of their own ores, or poftpone the fale to abetter offer..This
matter might poflibly be put upon a more, fatisfaCtory as well as
equitable footing, in cafe an afky^ffice,was ..eftabliihed forpvery
owner to have recourfe to, and afcertain in fome degree the value ol
his ore before he treats with the agents of the company; but better
ftill, and more likely would it be to bring the ore to a juft value,
i f melting-houfes were erefted for refilling copper in the fame manner
as there are for tin. This would employ an additional number
of hands, and every new employ is o f fervice to the county in pro-t
portion to the number employed: this would alfo leave the feller
at liberty to frequent that melting-houfe which offered moft kindly
for his ore. It is objected, that the expence of importing coals
from Wales for melting copper, will never permit fuch a fcheme
to take place. Whether this be matter of, fad or riot, is at prefent
■ Sir Hum. Mackworth of the mines, page 151. Alonfo Barba, page 83
nder
under examination, feveral gentlemen having concurred to fet up
furnaces for melting and refining copper-ore in Cornwall, and to
thel fuccefs of the experiment,: without .entering into the difpute,
I refer it.
}r G H A P. XVIII.
' O f SiHenf^Lead, and ^/fufckftlver fèund in "Gôtnwdll.* *ƒ
IT is reported that Edwafd-’I. a^d Edward III. reapéd confider- sect.i.,
able benefit from tiié fijraf found ' iri“ thèfe parts, ‘ finc’e which °® (
feveral gentlemen hkve fearched' for thé fâfirîe ^riletal a t^ 'è ïa l times,
but-without fiiecéfs 1 arid7 irii the fixteentfo oentuij^ drie Mr. Bur-
chard Craneigh^’ â German, feenk to h|yé%ad thé difoffion oft fome
mines carried}bn to1 ‘raife this vapj^gle^etaP;’' hé; fet-up( a refinirfg^
houfe • alfo- in the "hundred ,of Weft( fpme^ little limé * before ^ Mr.
Carew’s writing, though with finall advintage->°;-y Sîîvéj''found- in
Cornwall by itfelf, tünmixed, (I mean, free5 from tin5, copper of lead,)
T haye never feen but drice, and that wàs--- fqimd -nativ^fabout the
bigriefs o f a walnut^ . ('of which I have part,) in Huel-cock, a copper
work in the «Parilh of St. Juft. It is ihefeed feldcsm -that- iilver
is found any-where native | j ‘' ’trisï^-gèîîethlly« fo " mtètmixe'd with
ftone, thât- it- is not to be known but byMmen o f experience »ï ’tis
ufually mixed allb with other 'metal^thef7 ofteneft in a kind o f black
ftpi^glébè^, full of Ihining ftreaks : it has a corrofive fulphur op
j’bhumen always attending i t r. What may be mixed" with the* Ope
of cdpper has been hinted already in the foregoing page;1'and if any
Unknown ore fufes and runs before it ignites, it is moft probably'
fiîvéÿy ‘ and merits farther enquiry
: ÉëâH ririÉ tin were anciently ■ reckoned only twpt different ftafes s^ct.ii.
of bnë and^the fame metal. Tin; was called the PMfnbum albuff^Ofkad.
and efteemed the pureft ; and what we call Lead* ‘xyà^thqiPÂ^- -
bum nigrum : bu# i f llè ^ r é r é - really bdt ttoÜ fèrt^ëf 'dnê n i^ > |
as not only the ancieritS but?* fome moderns’1 have thought, them
thetè would be differerit and intermediate ftates of purity 'a^d
weight, whereas we find lead always of the fame determinate weight,
lead being to water as 11345 to rood,- and tin al'wàys aslys^i to
» Carew, page 7. - 4 % and- fo'tty-five, and- a.rtôurth. thre&ihundied -and
1 s forty pounds weighty Pontop. part I. Englilh,
, : ^ Some furprizing inftariGffs however there are page 188t 1
é *bvKn^-.^Slww^.lh«lMBtn«- In A * 1 AHfcfoBarba,-p-age 77, 78.
■ ^oyal ,MutkSUB8^ Copenhagen, there is pi eferVed1- » Boyles'%droft. balânpe.
at piece of native, filver five hundred and fixty * Boyle ut liipr; , i.'-'1.
pounds weight, another piece two hundred and- * Plin. lib. xxxiv.“ cjkap, xvi.
pounds weight, amodier two hundred- ’• Clerk’s Phyfe page ngo: s.
H h h iq oo,