taria and a wedge, found in a fhaft in our parish, at the depth of fixty yards. The wedge had at the thicker end a fquare perforation, through which a stick was to be thruft, which was held by a man, whilst another, with repeated strokes of a mallet, drove the inftrument into a crack it was to force open.

I AM alfo indebted to Mr. Edwards for a plate of lead of the fhape of the fole of a fhoe, with an elevated rim round the fides, and furnished alfo with a hooked handle to hang it in the fiffures of the rocks of the mines, evidently defigned to have placed on it a lamp, to give the miners light in their fubterraneous operations. This and another were found at the depth of sixty yards in a Roman mine.

OUR mineral tract is from Pen-yr-allt, or Bryn-digri, in a line MINERAL TRACT. to the western borders of Holywell parish. Its extent to north. and fouth is very narrow. The turnpike road by Kelyn and Pen-ffordd Waen, as far as Creecas, describes its course east and west. This part goes under the name of the Whiteford Rake, and is nearly the fummit of the parish in this part. The veins on the eaft fide, when they dip into the fields, fcarcely ever bear.

THE veins run either north or fouth, or east or weft: the laft are generally found moft profitable. It is fingular, that the ore got in the firft fcarcely ever produces filver worth the refiner's labor.

THE ores differ in quality. The lamellated or common kind, ufually named potter's ore, yields from fourteen hundred to fixteen hundred and a quarter of lead from twenty hundred of the ore: but the laft produce is rare. R 2

THE

LEAD ORES,

CARRICKFERGUS.

GRAVEL LEAD.
ORE.

THE quantity of filver produced from our lead is also vari able. The upper part of a vein of lead ore is always richest in filver; the bottom, in lead. Our refiners will affay any lead that will yield ten ounces in the ton of lead and upwards. The ufual produce is fourteen ounces: fixteen have been gotten; but acquifitions of that kind within this circuit are extremely

uncommon.

ON the fide of the Whiteford Rake are the ruins of a large building called Carrickfergus, probably from being founded by fome adventurer from that town, for the purpose of smelting the ore got in its neighborhood. It is near a century old, and erected when the furnaces were conftructed in a manner very different from thofe of the prefent times; for by the remains of the chimnies they feem to have been formed like those of the modern iron-furnaces.

THE depth of our lead-mines are various. Rich veins have been discovered to the depth of ninety yards.

THE veins are found either in the lime-ftone rock or that of chert. Thefe frequently go to unknown depths; the ore is purfued extremely far indeed; and when it ceafes, the unprofitable is ufually found to confift of fpar.

GRAVEL ore, or lumps, from forty tons weight to the fize of a hazel-nut, are often difcovered in what the miners call flats, or loofe ground full of gravel, tumblers, and the like. It is rounded and smoothed on the furface, as if it had been rolled in violent waters but within is pure, lamellated, and rich. It is a potter's ore, reduced to this form by accident.

THERE

THERE is no afcertaining the quantity of lead ore which is annually taken up in our parish, nor yet that of lead exported. It is included in the custom-house books at Chefter, in the general account of the produce of the mineral parts of this county, and that of Denbigh. The number of tons exported in 1792, is as follows:

ABOUT fifty years ago about feventeen hundred weight of cop COPPER ORE per ore was discovered in a tenement of my father's called Catherine George's; which on being affayed was found to be very rich: but none has been discovered fince, notwithstanding the ground has been diligently fearched.

LAPIS CALAMINARIS, or calamine, is found in very great quantities almost the whole way I have mentioned, but increases in plenty as we advance eastward. It is found in veins like lead ore, often by itself; fometimes mixed with ore, which renders the breaking and feparating a work of labor and expence; what is found in these parts is generally of the cavernous, boney, or cancellated. kinds. This mineral was the Cadmia of Pliny, lib. xxxiv. c. 10; and the Stone-cadmia of Strabo, lib. iii. 248. The Romans knew its ufes in making of brafs; therefore cannot be supposed to have overlooked fo neceffary an ingredient. The remains of the brassfounderies, difcovered in our kingdom, fhew, that they were ac

quainted

CALAMINE

JOHN BARROW.

quainted with it. The knowlege of this mineral in after-ages was long loft. Before the reign of Elizabeth, much was imported from Sweden; but at that period it was discovered again in the Mendip-bills; and, fortunately, at the fame time that the working of the copper-mines in thofe of Cumberland was renewed. Our county abounds with it; but, till within thefe fixty years, we were fo ignorant of the value, as to mend our roads with it; which have of late years been turned up in a hundred places most fuccessfully to recover the loft wealth. It was John Barrow, a miner, from the Mendip-hills (whom I well remember living in this parish) who firft made us acquainted with this valuable mineral, having long worked in the calamine mines of his own country.

Ir appears that this mineral tract (which is called the Pantvein) has yielded ore from very early times. In the last century there have been no very rich veins: but then it is almost always yielding fomething, and of later years has been particularly productive of calamine. In the beginning of this century Sir Thomas Grofvenour had a good mine of lead ore on the fide of the road. My grandfather had another. The benevolent, charitable Mr. Edwards, of Brinford, had another. The Mr. Jones, of Celyn, had another. The laft is faid to have put a trap-door to the top of the fhaft, and to have locked it, and made ufe of the treafure below as a bank, which he had recourfe to according to his All thefe mines are on the fame vein, which is an east and weft, Sir Thomas Grofvenour's mine was included in the vaft mineral grant, poffeffed by his anceftor, fee Tour in Wales, i. p. 76.

wants.

All