The country around Hayle is entirely desolated with sand, consisting

of minutely comminuted marine shells, and which, with some few

interruptions extends all along the coast, from Saint Ives to near

Padstow, and in many places is drifted into hills of sixty feet in

elevation. There can be but little doubt that this sand was originally

brought from the sea side by hurricanes, but not even a popular

tradition remains of the time or manner of this extensive devastation,

which has reached, with some distinct intervals, nearly forty miles

in length. Some allusion to this event has been supposed to have been

discovered amongst the ancient records of the Arundel family, fixing

the period about the twelfth century; but _Mr. Boase_ observes, that

the fact of the churches still remaining more or less ingulphed,

the age of which does not much exceed three centuries, decisively

refutes such a conjecture. On the other hand, it would appear that

in the _liber valorum_ of Henry the Eighth, the living of _Gwythian_

was estimated far above its proportion to adjoining parishes. By the

shifting of the sand by high winds, the tops of houses, and the ruins

of ancient buildings, may be occasionally seen at this very day; and in

some places a great number of human bones have been discovered, derived

from the cemetries which have been formerly inundated.

The farther progress of the sand flood is at length arrested by

extensive plantations of the _Arundo Arenaria_, or common sea rush.[79]

The most important geological circumstance connected with the history

of this sand is, that on several parts of the coast, it is passing into

the state of a solid compact rock! The fact was first investigated by

Dr. Paris, who has published a memoir upon the subject in the first

volume of the Transactions of the Geological Society of Cornwall;

and as every scientific traveller must be desirous of exploring so

interesting a phenomenon we have extracted, from the paper above

mentioned, such notices as may be useful in assisting his researches.

"The _Sandstone_ which occurs on the northern coast of Cornwall

undoubtedly affords one of the most splendid and instructive instances

of a _Recent Formation_ upon record. We actually detect Nature

at work in changing calcareous sand into stone; and she does not

refuse admittance into her manufactory, nor does she conceal with

her accustomed reserve the details of the operations in which she

is engaged. It does not however appear that any geologist has fully

availed himself of so rare an indulgence;--to drop the allegory, no

complete or satisfactory explanation has been hitherto afforded of

this most interesting formation, nor of the phenomena which attend

it. At the period that Dr. Borlase wrote his History of Cornwall, the

science of Chemistry had scarcely dawned; we cannot therefore feel

surprised at his having attributed '_the concretion of shelly sand to

the agglutinating quality of sea water_'."

"The sand first appears in a slight, but encreasing state of

aggregation on several parts of the shore in the Bay of Saint Ives;

but on approaching the Gwythian river it becomes more extensively

indurated. On the shore opposite to Godrevy Island, an immense mass

occurs of more than a hundred feet in depth, containing entire shells

and fragments of clay-slate; and it is singular that the whole mass

should assume a very striking appearance of stratification. In

some places, it appears that attempts have been made to separate

it, probably for the purpose of building, for several old houses

in Gwythian are entirely built with it. The rocks in the vicinity

of this recent formation in the Bay of Saint Ives are _Greenstone_

and _Clay-slate_, which appear to alternate. But it is around the

promontory of _New Kaye_, in Fistrel Bay, in the parish of Saint Columb

Minor, that the geologist will be most struck with this formation,

for here there is scarcely any other rock in sight. The cliffs, which

are high and extend for several miles, are wholly composed of it, and

are occasionally intersected by veins and dykes of _Breccia_. In the

cavities hang calcareous stalactites of rude appearance. The beach is

covered with disjointed fragments, which have been detached from the

cliff above, many of which weigh at least from two to three tons. The

sandstone is also to be here seen in different stages of induration;

from a state in which it is too friable to be detached from the rock

upon which it reposes without crumbling, to a hardness so considerable

as to require a very violent blow from a hammer to break it;[80] indeed

holes are actually bored in some parts for the purpose of admitting

cables with which vessels are moored. Buildings are here commonly

constructed of it, and the church of Crantock is entirely built with

it. By the inhabitants the stone is employed for various articles of

domestic and rural oeconomy."

"The Geologist, who has previously examined the celebrated specimen

from Guadaloupe, enclosing a human skeleton, and which is now in the

British Museum, will be forcibly struck with the great similitude which

this stone bears to it; and suspecting that masses might be found

containing human bones imbedded, if a diligent search were made in the

vicinity of those cemetries which have been overwhelmed, I made an

excursion with my friend Sir Christopher Hawkins, for that purpose; but

time and patience failed us, and the discovery is reserved for some

more persevering and fortunate member of the society."

"Such then is the nature and situation of this most interesting

formation. In the next place, we have to enquire into the causes which

have operated in thus consolidating the sand, and into the peculiar

circumstances under which the operation has been conducted."

"It will appear that there are at least three distinct modes by which

the _lapidification_ of calcareous sand may be effected, and that the

present formation is capable of affording characteristic examples of

each."

"The three species of cementing matter to which I allude, are all

deposited from water in which they either exist chemically dissolved,

or mechanically suspended. The water deriving them from the substances

through which it percolates; thus is the first species of cement

obtained--

1. _By the percolation of water, through a stratum of calcareous

sand, by which it becomes impregnated with carbonate of lime._

2. _By the percolation of water through strata containing

decomposing Sulphurets; by which it becomes impregnated with

Sulphuric salts._

3. _By the percolation of water through decomposing Clay-slate, or

any other ferruginous strata; by which it becomes impregnated with

Iron, Alumina, and other mineral matter._

In the first case, the very small proportion of carbonate of lime which

is held in solution will necessarily render it a powerful cement,

since the density and compactness of a precipitate will generally

vary, inversely as the rapidity with which it is deposited. This fact

is familiarly illustrated by the obstinate adhesion of calcareous

incrustations to the interior surfaces of water decanters. In the

second case, wherein a sulphuric salt would appear to act the part

of a cement, it may be observed, that the _sulphatization of pyrites

in the presence of calcareous matter is a very general source of

gypsum_. The granular gypsum from the Falls of Niagara, which is

described by Dr. Kidd as being "as white as snow," owes its origin

to a natural process of this decomposition; for I am informed by Dr.

Maclure of Philadelphia, who has visited the spot, that it is formed

in consequence of the action of water upon decomposing slate, which

contains numerous veins of _carbonate of lime_ and _sulphate of iron_.

I have also in my possession a series of incrustations which were taken

out of steam boilers in Cornwall, one of which presents an admirable

instance of the formation of _sulphate of lime_, its surface being

beautifully studded with its crystals; the water which supplied the

boiler, and by the evaporation of which this substance was deposited,

was derived from a mine in clay-slate intersected with veins of

_Pyrites_ and _carbonate of lime_."

"With regard to the third species of cementing matter, viz. _Oxide of

Iron_, it is scarcely necessary to state, that in the induration of

mineral bodies Iron has been long known to act a very important part;

the most superficial observer must have noticed the concretions which

so frequently appear on the beach around a rusty nail, or any fragment

of iron, while the mineralogist must be acquainted with the proofs

which Mr. Kirwan has collected in support of the fact. Nor is the part

which it performs in the disintegration of mineral bodies less obvious;

by its agency we have seen a loose sand become a hard rock, but if we

extend our inquiry we shall find that _Iron_ by attracting a farther

proportion of _oxygen_ from air or moisture, soon crumbles into dust,

and thus proves the immediate cause of the decomposition of that very

rock, of which it formerly constituted the indurating ingredient. In

this, as in every other operation, Nature preserves her uniformity,

producing the most diversified and opposite effects by the modified

application of the same principles."

For this long digression we feel conscious that some apology is

necessary; the extreme interest as well as novelty of the phenomenon

will at once suggest a sufficient excuse to the geologist; and to other

observers it may at least be pleaded in extenuation, that they have

lost nothing by the delay, for it has been in a district which offers

but few objects of amusement or instruction.

About a mile and a half south-east of Hayle is _Huel Alfred_, which

was some years ago one of the richest and most profitable Copper

mines in the county. The adventurers gained a clear profit of nearly

£130,000 during the period in which it was wrought. In the year 1816,

from various causes, this mine was stopped, but about six months ago

a company of London gentlemen embarked in the concern, and commenced

their operations in a very spirited manner. Before Midsummer 1824,

they expect to set at work two steam-engines with cylinders of the

immense size of 90 inches in diameter, and one of less dimensions.

This mine will undoubtedly prove attractive and interesting to the

mineralogist, as, during the last period of working, several curious

and rare minerals were discovered, as _Stalactitic_, _swimming_, and

_cubic quartz_; _carbonate_, and _phosphate of Lead_; _stalactitic_,

_botryoidal_, and _investing Calcedony_, &c. The lodes of this mine are

so large that should the stranger intend to visit the interior of the

earth, he cannot select a better opportunity.

About a mile east of _Huel Alfred_ are situated the _Herland Mines_,

which, after an interval of twenty years, have been lately set at work

again. The adventurers in these mines are also principally London

capitalists, who have erected two steam-engines of which the cylinders

are 80 inches in diameter. The mineralogist will not fail to visit

mines which were celebrated for the beautiful specimens of _Native

Silver_, _Vitreous Silver ore_, and _black oxide of Silver_, found

there during the last period of its working, an account of which, by

the Rev. M. Hitchins, was published in the Philosophical Transactions

for the year 1801.

There is a remarkable contrast between the lodes of _Huel Alfred_ and

those of _Herland_. The former being few, but very large; the latter,

small but very numerous, and the ore peculiarly rich.

The stranger may now proceed to Redruth, between which place and Hayle,

there is a regular line of rich Copper mines, but as we propose to

examine this metalliferous district in a future excursion, we shall

return by _Saint Erth_ to Penzance.

The desolate and barren appearance of the country in the neighbourhood

of Hayle Sands, is much relieved by the woodland scenery of

_Trevethoe_, the seat of the family of _Praed_; the father of the

present possessor first introduced the _Pineaster Fir_, as a nurse

for the growth of forest trees, and the estate of Trevethoe, as well

as many others in the county, affords a striking evidence of the

expediency of the plan. To the same gentleman we are indebted for the

introduction of the _Arundo arenaria_, above mentioned.

Arriving at the bridge of _Saint Erth_, the traveller will perceive

that a considerable portion of the breadth of the peninsula is here

penetrated by an arm of the sea, and that the land which succeeds it in

a direction towards the south is so low, that a canal might easily be

cut along the hills which terminate at Marazion, and a communication be

thus opened between the English and Irish Channels; or that an iron

rail-way for the conveyance of coals, sand, &c. might be constructed at

a comparatively small expense.

At _Saint Erth_, were formerly situated the "_Rolling Mills_" for

reducing blocks, or bars of Copper, into flat sheets, as described in

the first edition of this "Guide;" since, however, the Copper-works at

Hayle have been abandoned, these mills have been used for rolling and

hammering iron.

In the neighbourhood of _Saint Erth_ is _Tredrea_, the Cornish

residence of Davies Gilbert, Esq. M. P.

On our return to Penzance an opportunity occurs of witnessing the

operation of _smelting_ Tin ore.[81] It consists in first heating

the ore, with about an eighth part of _Culm_,[82] in a reverbatory

furnace for six hours, during which period the sulphur and arsenic are

volatilized, and the ore is reduced to its metallic state; the furnace

is then _tapped_, and the liquid metal _run out_; a second melting,

however, is necessary before it is sufficiently pure to be cast into

_blocks_,[83] and assayed at the Coinage. After this last melting, and

before the Tin is poured into the moulds, a piece of green apple-tree

wood is thrown into the liquid metal, and kept under its surface; the

effect of which is to throw up the _scoria_ with rapidity; it would

seem to act merely in producing a violent ebullition by the sudden

disengagement of steam. One hundred parts of the oxide of Tin ("_Black

Tin_") at an average will yield about 65 parts of metal, or _White

Tin_, as it is technically termed.

_Ludgvan Church_, which appears upon an elevation on the right of the

road leading to Penzance, and which forms so prominent a feature on the

shores of the bay, will be visited by the Antiquary with sensations

of respect, when he learns that it contains the mortal remains of Dr.

Borlase the venerable and learned author of the Natural History and

Antiquities of Cornwall. From the Latin Inscription on his tomb it

appears that he was fifty-two years rector of this parish, and that

he died August 31st 1772, in the 77th year of his age. Although Dr.

Borlase spent the greater part of a long life in this retired district,

his fame as a scholar had spread through all the literary circles of

the age. If we require any other testimony of his talents than that

which his own works will afford, we may receive it from no less an

oracle than POPE, with whom he regularly corresponded. In a letter

written by the Poet, to express his thanks for the present of a Cornish

diamond, presented by Dr. Borlase for the decoration of his grotto,

Pope thus expresses himself, "I have received your gift, and have so

placed it in my grotto, that it will resemble the donor--_in the shade,

but shining_."

If in the course of the present work we have ventured any remarks

upon the opinions of Dr. Borlase which may be considered in the

slightest degree disrespectful to his talents, we willingly offer this

expiation at his shrine. His errors, whatever they may have been, were

the inevitable consequence of the infant state of those sciences

indirectly connected with his pursuits, not the result of literary

incapacity, or of depraved judgment.

"Custodiat Urnam

Cana Fides, vigilentque perenni lampade Musæ."

About half a mile below the _Church-Town_, crossing the road to

Marazion, is a _vallum_ thrown up in the civil war by the Parliament

forces when they besieged Saint Michael's Mount.

FOOTNOTES:

[66] Kenegie became the seat of the younger branch of Harris of Heyne,

in about the year 1600.

[67] There is also a very considerable similarity in their mode of

migration. The word _Herring_ is derived from the German "_Heer_," an

Army, to express their numbers, and order of array.

[68] The first outfit of a Seine, with its boats, oars, ropes, sails,

nets, and a quantity of salt sufficient to cure five hundred hogsheads

of fish, if purchased new, cannot be estimated at less than a Thousand

pounds. The preparations for the water consists of three boats, i.

e. two large ones and a small one; each large boat containing seven

men, and in the small one are the master, another man, and two boys.

The "_Seine Boat_" and the "_Follower_" are the names by which the

two large boats are distinguished; and the small one is called the

"_Lurker_."

[69] The whiteness of the sand in the Bay of St. Ives renders the

shoals of fish easily distinguishable, and contributes very greatly to

the success of the fishery upon this coast.

[70] The _Tunny_ fish in the Archipelago was caught by a similar

process, "Ascendebat quidam (Anglice the _Huer_, Græce _Thunnoscopos_)

in ultum promontorium, unde Thunnorum gregem specularetur, quo viso,

signum piscatoribus dabat, qui ratibus totum gregem includebant."

_Vide Blomfield's Notes on the Persæ of Eschylus, p. 148._ The seine

was as familiar to the Athenians, as the Pilchard fishery is to the

inhabitants of Cornwall; and it is said that Eschylus took great

delight in witnessing it.

[71] The boats which attend for the purpose of conveying the fish from

the _tuck net_ to the shore are termed "_Dippers_," the proprietors

of which are differently compensated in different places; they either

receive a certain proportion of the fish, as from one-fourth to

one-sixth, according to the distance from the shore, or else they

receive a certain sum of money for each boat load. When the fish are

caught in the night, fires are instantly kindled on the nearest shore,

as a signal for the boats in the bay to repair to the spot.

[72] These nets are of far greater antiquity than the _Seine_, the

latter having been introduced from Ireland.

[73] These dregs are sold to the curriers, at about sixteen pence per

gallon.

[74] The skimmings which float on the water in which the pilchards are

washed, bear the name of _Garbage_, and are sold to the soap-boilers.

[75] In salting, packing, pressing, and preparing the fish for the

market, there are at least 5000, 4-5ths of which are women; the

rope-makers, blacksmiths, shipwrights, &c. upwards of 400; the twine

spinners are women, about 150 in number; the makers and menders of nets

are chiefly women and children, in all about 600. Nets are also made

during the winter season, by the fishermen and their families. These

numbers are of course exclusive of the seamen employed.

[76] _One and All_,--the motto of the Cornish arms.

[77] Cornwall is exempted from the payment of any duties on coal, so

far as it is used for the working of the mines.

[78] All the walls in the neighbourhood are built of the same material;

and since these vitreous cubes are so piled upon each other as to

leave interstices, it has been facetiously observed that "_in Cornwall

the walls are built of glass, and that you may distinctly see through

them_."

[79] The value of this useful rush in checking the progress of sand,

has been long known; there was an act of parliament in Scotland, so

long ago as the year 1695, to prevent persons who collected this rush

(then known by the name of _Starre_ or _Bent_) for the purpose of

making mats, from plucking it up, and thereby loosening the sand. A

clause to the same effect was introduced into a multifarious act of

parliament in the year 1742. The operation of this clause extends

generally to the north-west coast of England; but such persons as

claimed prescriptive right of cutting it on the sea coast of Cumberland

are exempted from its operation.

[80] A highly illustrative series of this rock is deposited in the

Geological Cabinet at Penzance.

[81] Tin appears to have been formerly smelted by the Jews, who in the

reign of King John monopolized the tin trade, by merely hollowing out a

plot of ground, and fusing the oxide with wood, in an open fire. Many

ancient remains of this operation have been discovered in different

parts of Cornwall, in which portions of metallic tin embedded in a

stratum of charred wood, or charcoal, have been found; and which have

given rise to the fallacy respecting the discovery of this metal in a

_native state_. In examining a fragment of this kind which was found

under the surface of a low and boggy ground in the parish of Kea, the

late eminent chemist, _Mr. William Gregor_, observed a _vein of saline

matter running through the mass_, which he ascertained to be _muriate

of tin_; a full account of this interesting phenomenon is published in

the first volume of the Transactions of the Cornish Society.

[82] _Culm._ A species of very pure coal containing no sulphur. It is

imported from Wales.

[83] It is a favourite custom to dress a beef-steak on the pure Tin in

the mould, as soon as the surface becomes sufficiently hard to bear it;

and it must be admitted to be very far superior to that which is cooked

in the ordinary manner.

EXCURSION V.

TO REDRUTH, AND THE MINING DISTRICTS IN ITS VICINITY.

In the present excursion, the traveller in search of the Picturesque

will meet with but meagre fare; for many a mile has the face of nature

been robbed of all ornament, and the interior of the earth has been

scattered over its surface in the anxious pursuit of mineral treasures.

The unsightly mounds of rubbish thus produced have been accumulating

for centuries, and are so highly impregnated with mineral matter that

not a blade of grass will vegetate upon them.

The intelligent traveller, however, must not anticipate an excursion

as destitute of interest and variety as the surface of the country

which he is about to traverse, for like the shabby mien of the miser,

its aspect but ill accords with its hoards; and the total absence of

cultivation and rural ornament, is soon forgotten amidst the richest

field of mineralogical enquiry which any country ever afforded.

As our present object is to afford the stranger such directions as may

enable him to inspect this mining district with advantage, and to visit

whatever is interesting and instructive in connection with it, it may

in the first instance be expedient to offer a general outline of the

modes in which the Cornish mines are worked, before we enter into the

details of topographical description.

For many centuries[84] the Tin Mines in Cornwall have given to the

country a very important place in the oeconomical history of nations,

and furnished a perpetual source of employment to a very large

population, which exclusive of the artisans, tradesmen, and merchants,

cannot be estimated at less than sixty thousand persons.

All the transactions connected with the Tin Mines are under the

controul of the Stannary Laws. Courts are held every month, and they

decide by juries of six persons, with a progressive appeal to the

Lord Warden, and Lords of the Duke of Cornwall's council; no custom,

however, or ancient law, prevails as to the working of Copper or Lead

in the Stannaries, and therefore all agreements are made upon such

terms as are decided on by the contracting parties.

At present the greatest metallic product of the county is Copper,[85]

although this metal is, comparatively of modern discovery, and has not

been worked longer than a century. The reason assigned for its having

so long remained concealed is the assumed fact, that Copper generally

occurs at a much greater depth than Tin, and that, consequently, the

ancients for want of proper machinery to drain off the water were

compelled to relinquish the metallic vein before they reached the

Copper; it is stated by Pryce, in his _Mineralogia Cornubiensis_,

as a general rule, that Tin seldom continued rich and worth working

lower than 50 fathoms; but of late years the richest Tin mines in

Cornwall have been much deeper. _Trevenen Mine_ was 150,--_Hewas Downs_

140,--_Poldice_ 120, and _Huel Vor_ is now upwards of 130 fathoms in

depth.

Upon the first discovery of Copper ore, the miner to whom its nature

was entirely unknown, gave it the name of _Poder_; and it will hardly

be credited in these times, when it is stated, that he regarded it

not only as useless, but upon its appearance was actually induced to

abandon the mine, the common expression upon such an occasion was, that

"_the ore came in and spoilt the Tin_."[86] About the year 1735, Mr.

Coster, a mineralogist of Bristol, observed this said _Poder_ among the

heaps of rubbish, and seeing that the miners were wholly unacquainted

with its value, he formed the design of converting it to his own

advantage; he accordingly entered into a contract to purchase as much

of it as could be supplied. The scheme succeeded, and Coster long

continued to profit by Cornish ignorance.

The mines in the county of Cornwall consist chiefly of Tin and Copper,

besides which there are some which yield Lead[87], Cobalt,[88] and

Silver.[89] The ores are in veins which are provincially termed

_Lodes_, the most important of which run in an east and west direction;

during their course they vary considerably in width, from that of a

barley-corn to 36 feet;[90] the average may be stated at from one to

four feet. It is, however, by no means regular, the same lode will vary

in size from six inches to two feet, in the space of a few fathoms.

No instance has yet occurred of lodes having been cut out in depth;

the deepest mine now at work is _Dolcoath_, which is about 235 fathoms

from the surface to the lowest part.[91] _Crenver_ and _Oatfield_ have

lately been stopped; they were 240 fathoms deep. The rocks through

which the lodes descend are of different kinds, thus are Copper and

Tin found in _granite_, as well as in _slate_.[92] The Tin in these

veins[93] generally occurs in the state of an _oxide_; the only Copper

ore of any consequence is _Copper Pyrites_, or Sulphuret of Copper;

the _arseniates_, _carbonates_, &c. being too small in quantity to be

of any importance in a mining point of view. _Iron_ and _Arsenical

Pyrites_ are also very common attendants, and are both confounded

under the name of _Mundic_. Besides the metalliferous veins which run

easterly and westerly, we have already stated that there are others,

not generally containing ore, which maintain a direction from North to

South, and on that account are called _cross courses_, and often prove

to the miner a great source of trouble and vexation; for they not only

cut through the other veins, but frequently alter their position, or

_heave_ them, as it is termed; and it is a very curious fact that most

of the _Tin_ and _Copper_ lodes, thus _heaved_, are shifted in such a

manner, as to be generally found by turning to the _right_ hand; _left_

handed heaves being comparatively rare. In _Huel Peever_ this vexatious

phenomenon occurred, and it was not until after a search of forty years

that the _lode_ was recovered.[94] The discovery of metalliferous veins

is effected by various methods, the most usual one is by sinking pits

to the solid rock, and then driving a trench north and south, so as to

meet with every vein in the tract through which it passes; the process

is a very ancient one, and is termed _Costeening_.[95] The operation,

however, of opening a new mine from the surface, or from _Grass_,[96]

as it is called, is not one of frequent occurrence.[97] The reworking

of mines which have been formerly abandoned, on account of the produce

being insufficient to pay the costs, from the fall of the standard

price of ore, is quite sufficient to absorb all the speculative spirit

of the country.

But by whatever accident or method a lode may be discovered, the

leave of the proprietor of the soil must be obtained before any

operations can be commenced, except in such cases of Tin Mines as are

anciently _embounded_ according to the provisions of the Stannary Laws.

The owner of the land is technically called the _Lord_, whose share

(which is termed his _Dish_) is generally one-sixth, or one-eighth

of the profits; the parties who engage to work the mine are called

_Adventurers_, their shares depending upon their original contributions

and agreements.

When it has been determined to work a mine, three material points are

to be considered; viz. the discharge of the water,--the removal of the

barren rock and rubbish (_deads_),--and the raising of the ore. One of

the first objects, therefore, is to cut an _Adit_,[98] as it is called,

which in an inclined underground passage, about six feet high, and

2½ wide, and is generally commenced at the bottom of a neighbouring

valley, and is driven up to the vein, for the purpose of draining it

of water above their point of contact; these _Adits_ are sometimes

continued to a very considerable distance, and although the expense

of forming them is necessarily very considerable, yet they are found

to afford the most oeconomical method of getting rid of the water, in

as much as it saves the labour of the steam-engine in raising it to

(_Grass_) the surface. As soon as the vertical aperture, or _Shaft_,

is sunk to some depth, a machine called a _Whim_ is erected, to bring

up the _deads_, and ore. It consists of a perpendicular axis on which

a large hollow cylinder of timber, termed the _Cage_, revolves; and

around this a rope, directed down the _Shaft_ by a pulley, winds

horizontally. In the axis a transverse beam is fixed, at the ends

of which two horses are fastened, and going their rounds haul up a

basket (or _Kibbul_) full of ore, or _deads_, whilst an empty one is

descending.[99] As the lode never runs down perpendicularly it is

necessary to cut galleries, called _Levels_, horizontally on the vein,

one above another. These levels are, in the first instance, about two

feet wide, and six feet high, but varying according to circumstances,

and being frequently extended much beyond their original dimensions.

They are driven one above the other at intervals of from 10 to 20,

or 30 fathoms. When extended to a certain distance from the original

vertical _Shaft_, it is necessary, for the sake of ventilation, as

well as for other reasons, to form a second which is made to traverse

all the levels in the same manner as the first. A communication is

frequently only made between two galleries by a partial shaft (called

a _Wins_) in the interval between the two great shafts. When there are

more than one lode worked in the same mine, as frequently happens,

_Levels_ often run parallel to each other at the same depth. In this

case they communicate by intermediate _Levels_ driven through the rock

(or _Country_ as it is called) which are denominated _Cross-cuts_. A

mine thus consists of a series of horizontal galleries, generally one

above the other, but sometimes running parallel, traversed at irregular

intervals by vertical shafts, and all, either directly or indirectly,

communicating with each other.[100]

The subterranean excavations are effected by breaking down the

looser parts by the pickaxe, and by _blasting_ the more solid rock

by gunpowder.[101] In accomplishing this latter operation the most

melancholy accidents have occurred, in consequence of the iron rammer

coming in contact with some siliceous substance, and thus striking

fire. The recurrence of this evil it is hoped has been prevented by the

laudable efforts of the Geological Society as above related (see page

30), and that the "_Iron Age_" has taken its final departure.

If the traveller is inclined to descend into a mine he is to be first

accoutred in a flannel jacket and trowsers, a close cap, an old

broad-brimmed hat, and a thick pair of shoes; a lighted candle is put

into one hand, and a spare one suspended to a button of his jacket.

The flannel dress is worn close to the skin, in order to absorb the

perspiration, and every part of the ordinary dress is laid aside; thus

equipped, if he possess sufficient strength of nerve, he may descend

the vertical ladders with the most perfect ease and security;--but

will a view of the mine repay all this trouble and fatigue?--let us

hear what Dr. Forbes has said upon this occasion.[102] "A person

unacquainted with the details of mining, on being informed of many

hundreds of men being employed in a single mine, might naturally

imagine that a visit to their deep recesses would afford a picturesque

and imposing spectacle of gregarious labour and bustle, tremendous

noise, and much artificial brilliancy to cheer the gloom. Nothing,

however, is further from the truth, as far as regards the mines of

Cornwall; for, like their fellow labourers the moles, the miners are

solitary in their operations. Seldom do we find more than three or

four men in one _level_, or gallery, at a time, where they are seen

pursuing the common operations of digging or boring the rock, by the

feeble glimmering of a small candle, stuck close by them, with very

little noise or much latitude for bodily movement; besides whom there

are generally one or two boys employed in wheeling the broken ore,

&c. to the shaft. Each of these boys has also a candle affixed to his

wheelbarrow, by the universal subterranean candlestick, a piece of

clay. A certain band of men, who, however numerous, are always called

"_a Pair_," generally undertake the working of a particular _Level_.

These subdivide themselves into smaller bodies, which, by relieving

each other at the end of every six or eight hours, keep up the work

uninterruptedly, except on Sunday. By means of this subdivision of _the

Pairs_, there is in general not more than one-third of the underground

labourers below at any one time. Very seldom are the miners within the

sound of each other's operations, except occasionally when they hear

the dull report of the explosions. In the vicinity of the main shaft,

indeed, the incessant action of the huge chain of pumps, produces a

constant, but not very loud noise, while the occasional rattling of

the metallic buckets against the walls of the shaft, as they ascend

and descend, relieves the monotony both of the silence and the sound.

Still every thing is dreary, dull, and cheerless; and you can be with

difficulty persuaded, even when in the richest and most populous mines,

that you are in the centre of such extensive and important operations."

For keeping the workings from being inundated, each mine is furnished

with a chain of pumps, extending from the bottom to the _adit-level_,

worked by a single pump-rod; each pump receiving the water brought up

by the one immediately below it. All the water of the deepest level

finds its way into the bottom of the mine, technically called the

_Sump_, whence it is finally elevated to the adit, through which it

flows by a gentle descent to the surface.[103]

We have yet to notice a fact connected with the natural history

of these subterranean recesses, which has lately excited a very

considerable share of interest in the members of the Cornish Geological

Society,--that _the natural temperature of the earth in these mines

is considerably above that of the mean of the climate, and increases

with the depth, at the rate of about one degree for every 50 or 60

feet_.[104] Does there exist then a permanent source of heat in the

interior of the earth?

The business of a mine is managed by a foreman, called the _Captain_,

who keeps the accounts, and pays and regulates the miners; there are

also _Under-ground Captains_, who have the immediate inspection of

the works below. There exists a popular belief that the Cornish miner

frequently lives under ground for many days, or weeks, without ever

visiting the surface. This is never the case at any time, or under any

circumstances. He does not even eat, much less sleep, in the mine,

but returns _to grass_, and to his home, often many miles distant,

at whatever depth he may have been working, when relieved from his

labours.

With respect to the value of the mines, considered as property, it

may be observed, that the whole concern is a Lottery, in which there

exist many blanks to a prize, and were the whole of the speculation to

be invested in any one individual, there is no doubt but that, after

paying the required dues to the lords of the soil, and defraying the

necessary expenses for working the mines, he would at the conclusion

of the year be a loser by many thousand pounds. It is very true

that there are many cases of extraordinary gain,[105] but these are

balanced by more numerous concerns in which loss is incurred. How

then does it happen that any capitalists can be induced to engage

in the speculation? The answer is obvious, for the very same reason

that they are induced to purchase tickets in the State Lottery.

There are moreover additional motives which induce individuals of

a certain description to embark in the speculation, although, as

simple adventurers, they may scarcely anticipate success, such are

landholders, who are naturally desirous of promoting an undertaking

from which they must necessarily receive considerable dues; or

merchants, who by becoming shareholders, are empowered to supply the

mines with timber, candles,[106] gunpowder, and other articles which

are required for its working.

Having thus considered the mode in which the ore is excavated from the

mine, and brought to the surface, let us examine the processes which it

ultimately assumes the state of marketable metal.

The Tin ore is first _spalled_, as it is termed, that is, broken into

smaller fragments, and separated from the worthless parts; it is then

pounded in the _Stamping mill_,[107] an operation which is essential

to the complete separation of the oxide from the hard matrix through

which it is disseminated: if full of slime it is first thrown into

a pit called a _buddle_, where it is worked in order to render the

_Stamping_ more free, and to prevent it from choaking the grates; if

however it is free from slime, the ore is shoveled into a kind of

sloping canal of timber, called the _Pass_, whence it slides by its

own, weight, and the assistance of a small stream of water, into the

box where the _Lifters_ work; the _Lifters_ are raised by a water

wheel, and they are armed at the bottom with large masses of iron

weighing nearly two hundred weight, which pound or _stamp_ the ore

small enough for its passage through the holes of an iron grate fixed

in one end of the box, a rill of water carries it by a small gutter

into the _fore pit_, where it makes its first settlement, the lighter

particles running forward with the water into the _middle pit_, and

thence into the third, where what is called the _slime_, or finest

portion, settles; from these pits the ore is carried to the _Keeve_,

which is a large vat containing water, in which it is farther purified

by an operation called _tozing_, and which consists in stirring the

water round by means of a small shovel, with such velocity as to keep

the _tin stuff_ in a state of suspension, until the whole quantity

which can be managed by one operation is thrown into the vat, and when

the _Tozer_ slackens his efforts, the Tin subsides to the bottom, from

its greater specific gravity, leaving the sand and other impurities at

the top; while this is going on the upper part of the vessel is beaten

with mallets for some minutes, in order more effectually to ensure this

separation.

A third process still remains to be described, that of Dressing the

sand on an inclined plain with the assistance of a small stream of

water; a great degree of manual dexterity is here requisite; the

object, however, is effected with less trouble and expense, and much

more completely, by the German "_Repercussion Frames_," of which there

is a model in the Geological Museum at Penzance.

Upon the same mechanical principle of separation, founded on the

relative specific gravities of the Tin oxide, and the earthy matters

with which it may be mixed, the Tinner is at once enabled to estimate

the value of any given sample of ore; for which purpose the _Tin stuff_

is placed on a shovel, and washed under a stream of water, until the

impure earthy particles are carried off from its sides, when by a

peculiar and dextrous motion, not easily described, all the particles

of the ore are collected together on the fore part of the shovel. This

operation is called _Vanning_.

When the Tin ore is contaminated with _Mundic_, that is, with

_Arsenical_ and _Iron Pyrites_, it is first roasted in the _Burning

House_, and then washed; by which means the Tin, which is heavy, is

easily separated from the other ores, which are comparatively light. If

any _Sulphuret of Copper_ be present, the same process is calculated to

separate it, by thus converting it into a _Sulphate_,[108] as described

at page 128.

When the ore is dressed, the lord of the soil receives that portion

which is his due, after which it is divided into as many _doles_

or shares, as there are adventurers; and these are measured out by

barrows, an account of which is kept, in the manner of the old times,

by a person who notches a stick.

The manner of dressing and cleansing _Copper_ ore is nearly similar to

that of Tin, except indeed that as it is raised in large masses, and

is tolerably pure, it does not generally require _Stamping_, nor much

washing.

All these different processes furnish employment for a great number of

women and children, and it is really interesting to see the dexterity

and cheerfulness with which they pursue the occupation. There is,

however, one practice which ought to be reformed--the burthen of the

_Standard Barrow_ used in carrying Copper, and which is said to contain

three hundred weight; in addition to which we must allow for the weight

of the barrow itself, and that of the water held by the recently washed

ore, so that it cannot be estimated at less than four hundred weight.

This is an enormous burthen, which is borne by all descriptions of

persons who are employed in dressing and weighing, and it has given

rise to many evils.

Those who work below have generally a wretched and emaciated

appearance, although they seldom continue longer under ground than six

hours in the twenty-four, but are relieved by a fresh corps. Pulmonary

consumption may be said to be the disease to which they are more

particularly liable.

The names by which the Cornish mines are distinguished are usually

invented by the first adventurers, and are often whimsical enough, the

usual prefix, _Huel_, (always pronounced, and generally erroneously

spelt, _Wheel_) signifies in the Cornish language _a hole_; while the

specific name of the mine is taken from some trivial or accidental

circumstance, thus _Dolcoath_ was the name of an old woman, _Dorothy

Koath_, who lived upon the spot where the working of the mine

commenced; _Huel Providence_ was so called from the accidental way in

which it was discovered; and _Huel Boys_ from the lode having been

first noticed by children who had been playing, and digging pits in

imitation of shafts.

By a rough calculation it may be stated that there are about 130 mines

in the county, but the number is of course subject to variation; old

workings being frequently given up, and new mines opened, or forsaken

ones resumed.

Besides the mines, there are also "_Stream Works_," which afford a

large quantity of the purest _oxide_.[109] They occur in vallies, and

derive their name from the manner in which they are worked; which

merely consists in washing the alluvial soil by directing a stream

of water over it, when the finer particles being washed away, the

_Tin ore_ is procured in a separate form.[110] The process is termed

_Streaming for Tin_. It is a singular fact that the only traces of

Gold to be found in Cornwall[111] are in these alluvial depositions,

in which it sometimes occurs in small grains, mostly detached, but

occasionally adhering to quartz. The miners engaged in the stream

works are generally prepared with quills, into which they drop these

particles as they find them, and when the quill is full, it is carried

to the goldsmith for sale, and considered as a perquisite.

But it is time for us to resume our topographical descriptions--

In our road to Redruth we pass _Clowance_ the seat of Sir John St.

Aubyn, Baronet. _Pendarves_ the residence of Edward William Wynne

Pendarves, Esq. son of the late John Stackhouse, Esq. the elegant

author of "_Nereis Britannica_," and _Tehidy Park_, the mansion of

Francis Basset, Lord de Dunstanville, &c.

About two miles west of Redruth, is DOLCOATH, a copper mine which

every intelligent traveller ought to visit, not only on account of the

immensity of the concern, and the ability and liberality with which

it is conducted, but because it is so situated on the brow of a hill,

that the spectator can at one glance see all the principal machinery by

which it is worked. It is quite impossible to convey an idea of this

singular and interesting scene;--Steam Engines;--Water Wheels;--Horse

Whims;--Stamping Mills,--are all in motion before us, while in the glen

beneath us many hundred labourers are to be seen busily engaged in the

different operations of separating, dressing, and carrying the ore. The

same stream of water pouring down the hill turns successively numerous

overshot wheels, and serves various other purposes in its course;

and, having thus performed upon the surface, all that ingenuity could

devise, or the operations of mining require, it is conducted into the

bowels of the earth, where, at a hundred and fifty feet beneath its

surface, it again turns an overshot wheel of fifty feet in diameter,

and becomes again subservient to the skilful exertions of the miner. In

the whole circle of human inventions there is nothing which so fully

manifests the resources of intellect, for the production of immense

effects, as the stupendous art of mining; and it is impossible that

the workings of Dolcoath can be viewed without the strongest sensation

of wonder and exultation. The works of the mine stretch upwards of a

mile in length from east to west; an extent of ground penetrated by

innumerable shafts, and honey-combed by subterranean galleries. Upon

the summit of the hill is another rich copper mine, _Cook's Kitchen_,

which is on the same suite of lodes as _Dolcoath_, but separated by a

cross-course which forms a natural boundary to both. This cross-course

has so _heaved_ the lodes, that many which are worked with great profit

in the former mine cannot be discovered in the latter, notwithstanding

the laborious search which has been made for that purpose.

The picturesque effect of this scenery is not a little heightened

by the bold elevation of _Carn-breh Hill_, which, crowned with the

mouldering remains of past ages, rises, as if in mockery of the boasted

prowess of art, and forms a most striking and impressive contrast to

the active scene before us.

REDRUTH is a very populous town of high antiquity, situated in the

bosom of the mining district, and capable of affording very excellent

accommodation to the mineralogist who may be desirous of remaining some

days for the purpose of inspecting, at his leisure, the numerous mines

by which it is surrounded. The general level of this metalliferous

district is from 350 to 450 feet above the sea; and being frequently

intersected by vallies, great opportunities are presented for the

advantageous construction of _Adits_.

We next proceed to visit the great Steam-Engine of Chacewater mine,

situated three miles south of Redruth. It was erected about the year

1813, and was at that period the most powerful machine in the world.

It is a double engine upon the improved principle of Bolton and Watt,

and the style and elegance with which its different parts are finished,

reflect no inconsiderable credit upon the engineer. The following are

its dimensions; the cylinder is 66 inches, the box 19, in diameter. The

depth of the engine shaft is 128 fathoms. From the _Adit_ to the bottom

90 fathoms. It makes eight strokes in a minute, and at every stroke it

raises 108 gallons of water to the _Adit_;[112] and, at the same time

also, 60 gallons, 10 fathoms high, for the purpose of condensing the

steam. The quantity of coals consumed in twenty-four hours is estimated

at about eight chaldrons. To give at once a popular idea of its immense

power, it may be stated that, if it were applied as a mill, it could

grind a Winchester bushel of wheat every minute. Notwithstanding the

immensity of its force, and complexity of parts, so completely is

it under the discretion and guidance of the engineer, that in one

instant he is able to stop its motions by the mere application of

his finger and thumb to a screw.--"We put a hook in the nose of the

Leviathian;--play with him as a child, and take him as a servant for

ever."

From Chacewater we proceed southward about two miles to visit the

extensive Copper mines, called "_The Consolidated Mines_," the working

of which has been lately resumed. Here we shall find two immense Steam

Engines, with cylinders of 90 inches in diameter, constantly at work;

the interior of which is kept as clean as a drawing-room. The capital

expended in setting these mines at work was not less than £65,000, and

under the arrangement of Mr. William Davey, the concern has proved so

profitable, that shares are now selling in London at £100 per cent.

profit.

Near the _Consolidated Mines_ are _Huel Unity_ and _Poldice_; the

former is a Copper mine; the latter produces both Copper and Tin. The

most beautiful specimens of _Arseniate of Copper_, and _Arseniate of

Lead_ have been found in these mines.

Having concluded our account of the mining district, it remains for

us to offer to the mineralogical tourist a few observations upon the

subject of Cornish Minerals, and upon the best method of procuring

them; before the stranger, however, attempts to purchase any specimens,

it will be well for him to inspect the several splendid cabinets in the

county; besides that in the museum of the Royal Geological Society, at

Penzance, he should see those in the possession of William Rashleigh,

Esq. M. P. of _Menabilly_;[113] John Williams, Esq. of _Scorrier

House_, and Joseph Carne, Esq. of _Penzance_. The one in possession of

Mr. Rashleigh, if not the most accessible to the mineralogist, must

be confessed to be without comparison, the most splendid. Its chief

excellence consists in the magnificence and variety of the _Oxide of

Tin_,[114] _Fluors_, _Malachite_, and some of the rarer varieties of

_Sulphuret of Copper_, from mines which have long since ceased to be

worked. Among the more remarkable specimens are those of _Oxide of

Tin_ (from Saint Agnes) some of the more interesting varieties of

which present the following forms,--very large octohedrons with, and

without, truncations;--the crystal described by Klaproth as one of the

rarest occurrence, _viz._--the four-sided prism, with a four-sided

pyramid at each extremity; this is to be seen in its simple form,

and also with a rich variety of truncations;--a group of four-sided

pyramids covered with a thin coating of _Calcedony_, which, being

_hydrophanous_, shews the form of the crystal very distinctly after

immersion in water; _Wood-tin_ forming a vein in a matrix of quartz, to

one side of which adheres a fragment of rock; it is hardly necessary

to remind the mineralogist of the importance of this specimen in

a geognostic point of view;[115] Tin crystals having a coating of

black _hæmatite_; _Sulphuret of Tin_, a mineral which has never been

found in any part of the world except at _Huel Rock_, in Saint Agnes,

_Stenna-gwyn_, in Saint Stephen's, and _Huel Scorrier_ in Gwennap.[116]

In the collection of Tins may be seen several small blocks[117] of that

metal, as prepared by the Jews, for commerce, during the early workings

of the Cornish mines, among which is a fraudulent one consisting of a

mass of stone covered with a thin coating of metal. In the collection

of Coppers may be noticed _Yellow_ _Copper ore_ with _Opal_ (from

Roskeir); _the triple Sulphuret of Antimony, Copper, and Lead_ in

various forms; _Ruby Copper_ in cubes; _Quartz_ containing globules

of water; the _Hydrargyllite_ or _Wavellite_, in a plumose form

accompanied by _Apatite_ in a matrix of Quartz (from Saint Stephen's),

_Topazes_ of considerable lustre (from Saint Agnes), _Green Fluor_

in crystals of twenty-four sides (Saint Agnes). A most beautiful and

instructive cube of _Fluor_, the surface of which reflects a delicate

green hue, but upon being held to the light the crystal exhibits its

octohedral nucleus of a purple colour. The mineralogist should also

notice a superb octohedron _of Gold_, and a mass of _Stalactitical

Arragonite_ from the grotto of Antiparos. Before quitting Menabilly

he ought to visit the grotto, built in a beautiful and secluded part

of the grounds, near the shore in the port of Polredmouth. It stands

at the extremity of a large grove, and is constructed with the finest

species of marble and serpentine, with brilliant crystals, pebbles,

and shells; its form is that of an octagon, two of the sides of which

are appropriated to the door and window which front each other, while

the six remaining sides form receptacles for minerals, four of which

contain specimens of ores found in the county, and two are filled with

organic fossils, polished agates, and jaspers; the intermediate spaces

are occupied by shells, coralloids, and various other substances.

The roof is composed of _Stalactites_ of singular beauty, and which

produce a very striking effect as they are seen through the roughly

formed arch which composes the entrance. In this grotto are preserved

two links of the chain which were found in Fowey harbour by some

fishermen in the year 1776; they are of a triangular form, incrusted

with shells and corals, and are supposed to have formed a part of the

chain which extended from tower to tower, for the ancient defence of

the harbour. Among the mineralogical specimens in this place there is

one of _Calcedony_ which deserves particular notice for its beauty as

well as magnitude. In the centre of the grotto is a table inlaid with

thirty-two polished specimens of granite, all found in the county of

Cornwall.

THE CABINET OF JOHN WILLIAMS, ESQ. is at Scorrier House, about two

miles east of Redruth, and may therefore be visited by the mineralogist

in the present excursion. This collection stands unrivalled in the

magnificence of its specimens of _Red Oxide of Copper_, in octohedrons,

cubes, and capillary crystals; it also contains the finest specimens

of _Arseniate of Copper_ in very perfect obtuse octahedrons;--a mass of

_Uranite_, which in size and beauty is superior to any specimens ever

discovered;--_Blende_, in octohedrons and cubes;--_Native, and Ruby

Silver_; and a specimen of the _Muriate_ of that metal (_Horn_ Silver)

so well known for its value, that it may be said to constitute one

of the most interesting objects in the collection. The _Arseniate of

Lead_, in six-sided prisms, a most beautiful mineral, which was first

analysed by Mr. Gregor, and has been found only in _Huel Unity_, may be

seen in this cabinet in its most perfect forms.

The collection of Mr. Carne has been already noticed in our account of

Penzance, at _page_ 31.

In order to collect the various minerals of the county the stranger

must apply to the different dealers,[118] (_rapax et sordidum pecus_)

and make the best bargain he is able; he may also occasionally purchase

some good specimens of the miners at the various mines he may happen

to visit. In his rambles we recommend him to visit Saint Agnes,

where are the _Trevaunance_, and _Seal Hole_ mines, from which have

been raised the most beautiful specimens of crystallized Tin in the

world, accompanied occasionally with _Topazes_, and twenty-four-sided

_Fluor_. Here too may be seen a geological phenomenon of considerable

interest,--the slate of the coast intersected with _Porphyry Dykes_,

Saint Agnes' Beacon is also well worthy of observation; it is an

insulated eminence of a pyramidal form, entirely covered with _debris_,

and is composed of _Slate_, although it rises 664 feet above the level

of the sea. Saint Agnes is the birth place of the celebrated artist

OPIE,[119] and the tourist may be gratified by inspecting many of

the earlier productions of his pencil. But we now take our leave of

the Mineralogist, and shall attend the Antiquary in order to inspect

_Carn-breh hill_, which rises a little to the south-west of Redruth, to

an elevation of 697 feet; its principal interest is derived from the

lucubrations of Dr. Borlase, who regarded it as having been the grand

centre of Druidical worship, and he asserts that, in his time, the

remains of the monuments which were peculiar to that priesthood were to

be easily recognized, such as _Rock Basins_; _Circles_; _Cromlechs_;

_Rock Idols_; _Karns_; _Caves_; _religious enclosures_; _Logan Stones_;

a _Gorseddau_, or place of elevation, whence the Druids pronounced

their decrees; and the traces of a _Grove of Oaks_!--this is all very

ingenious and imposing, but is there any rational testimony in support

of such an hypothesis? are there any just grounds for considering

the objects to which he alludes as the works of art?--most certainly

none, they are unquestionably the results of the operation of time and

the elements, and have never been formed by any agents except those

which Nature employs in the decomposition of granitic masses; but the

age of Antiquarian illusion is past; the light of geological science

dispels the phantoms which the wizard fancy had created, just as the

rising sun dissolves the mystic forms which the most common object

assumes in twilight, when viewed through the medium of credulity and

superstition. The _rock basins_ of Antiquaries are rounded cavities on

the surface of rocks, and are occasionally as spheroidal, internally,

as if they had been actually shaped by a turning lathe; it was this

artificial appearance which first suggested the hypothesis concerning

their origin, and induced the Antiquary to regard them as pools of

lustration. Dr. Mac Culloch,[120] however, very justly observes,

that their true nature is very easily traced by inspecting the rocks

themselves; on examining the excavations they will be always found

to contain distinct grains of _Quartz_, and fragments of the other

constituent parts of the granite; a small force is sufficient to

detach from the sides of these cavities additional fragments, shewing

beyond doubt, that a process of decomposition is still going on

under favourable circumstances; these circumstances are the presence

of water, or rather the alternate action of air and moisture; if a

drop of water can only make an effectual lodgement on a surface of

this granite a small cavity must be sooner or later produced, this

insensibly enlarges as it becomes capable of holding more water, and

the sides as they continue to waste necessarily retain an even and

rounded cavity, on account of the uniform texture of the granite. This

explanation is sufficiently satisfactory; in addition to which it may

be further stated, that these very _basins_ not unfrequently occur on

the perpendicular sides of rocks,[121] which at once excludes the idea

of their artificial origin.

The other grotesque and whimsical appearances of rocky masses,

such as "_rock idols_, _logan stones_," &c. are to be explained upon

the tendency which granite possesses of wearing more rapidly on the

parts which are most exposed to the action of the weather, as already

explained at page 104. There occurs upon the western part of the

ridge of _Carn-breh_ an equipoised stone, about 20 feet in diameter,

affording a very singular illustration of these views, and of which we

shall here present a sketch to our readers.

[Illustration]

Thus upon simple and philosophical principles are such appearances to

be easily explained, and this _Phantasmagoria_ of the learned antiquary

vanishes.

For the information of the Geologist who may visit this spot, we shall

state, that in a porphyritic granite on the summit, Mr. W. Phillips

has lately discovered that some of the crystals formerly considered as

_Felspar_, were _Cleavelandite_;[122] and we have little doubt that

this curious discovery might be extended to many of the granitic masses

in Western Cornwall.

At the eastern end of the hill is _Carn-breh Castle_; the rocks upon

which this building stands, not being contiguous, are connected by

arches turned over the cavities; one part of the fortress pierced with

loopholes is evidently very ancient, and is supposed to have been of

British work; the other is of modern construction, and was probably

erected as an ornamental object from the grounds of Tehidy. There were

formerly some outworks to the north-west; and, near the summit of the

hill is a circular fortification called the _Old Castle_, which appears

to have been included within a strong wall. The hill itself, on which

the spectator stands, is quite in unison with the scene around him; its

silence and desolation,--the awful vestiges of its convulsion,--and

the immense rocky fragments which lie scattered on its brow, are well

calculated to harmonize with an extended and barren tract of country,

every where broken up by mining operations, and whose horizon is

bounded by the ocean.

FOOTNOTES:

[84] The Phoenicians traded upon the western coasts of Cornwall, for

at least six hundred years before the birth of our Saviour, and that

for the sake of Tin;--so that the antiquity of our tin trade has been

established upon mercantile principles for not less than twenty-four

centuries. But in the earlier ages this metal was all procured from

_Stream Works_, the method of working mines not having been known and

practised for more than seven hundred years.

[85] In the year 1822, the produce of the Copper mines in Cornwall

amounted to 106,723 tons of ore, which produced 9,331 tons in Copper,

and £676,285 in money. Whereas the quantity of Tin Ore raised did not

exceed 20,000 tons.

[86] The Saxon Miners formerly regarded _Cobalt_ in the same way. They

considered it so troublesome when they found it among other ores, that

a prayer was used in the German Church, _that God would preserve Miners

from Cobalt, and from Spirits_.

[87] _Lead_ is principally found in cross courses, or north and south

veins. _Pentire Glaze_, near Padstow, which has lately produced the

finest cabinet specimens of _Carbonate of Lead_, ever found in this

country; and _Huel Golding_ in Perranzabuloe, are the principal mines

in which the Lead occurs in cross courses. Lately, however, East and

West Lodes of Lead have been discovered in the Parish of Newlyn, by Sir

C. Hawkins, in draining a marsh. They are about two feet wide. Besides

the Lead and a little quartz, they consist entirely of Clay; neither

Copper nor Tin have been seen in them. The Lead yields about Sixty

Ounces of Silver per Ton.

[88] _Cobalt._ _Huel Sparnon_ Tin and Copper Mine in the Parish

of Redruth, is the only mine in the county that ever produced any

considerable quantity of Cobalt; one fragment raised from it weighed

1333 lbs.

[89] _Silver._ In the Copper Lode of Huel Ann, there occurred a

distinct vein of _black_ and _grey Silver ore_, with _Native Silver_,

from two to five inches wide with a wall of Quartz, on each side. It

was however very short. See Mr. Carne's paper on the Silver Mines of

Cornwall, _Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall_,

_vol._ i. _p._ 118.

[90] Only one Lode in Cornwall has, however, been found of this

size, and that only for the length of 20 fathoms in _Relistian_. In

_Nangiles_ the lode is, in some parts, 30 feet wide.

[91] As the Counting House of Dolcoath has been determined to be 360

feet above the level of the sea, the mine extends 1050 feet below it;

which is probably deeper under the sea level than any mine in the globe.

[92] Clay-slate is provincially called _Killas_; and Porphyry is known

by the name of _Elvan_.

[93] For a full account of this subject, the reader must consult Mr.

Carne's laborious paper, "_On the Veins of Cornwall_," in the 2nd

Volume of the Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.

[94] We must refer the reader to a Paper, "On the Veins of Cornwall,"

by _W. Phillips, Esq._, published in the 2nd vol. of the Transactions

of the London Geological Society; and also to a Paper, "On the relative

Age of Veins," by _Joseph Carne, Esq._ in the 2nd vol. of the Cornish

Transactions.

[95] We shall pass over, as being too absurd to require any serious

refutation, the former belief in the power of the _Virgula Divinatoria_

to discover Lodes. A power less poetical but not less fabulous then the

story of the _Virga Fatalis_ that conducted Æneas to the Shades.

[96] _Grass_ is the technical name for the surface on all occasions.

[97] The great Copper Mine, called _Crennis_, was discovered by some

casual observers in the cliff.

[98] From _Aditus_, a passage?

[99] The application of this machine in the county is estimated as

saving the labour of 10,000 men; whilst the powers of the different

steam-engines are considered as at least equivalent to 40,000 more.

[100] See Dr. Forbes's Paper "On the Temperature of Mines," in the

second volume of the Transactions of the Cornish Society.

[101] The annual cost of gunpowder, used in the mines of the county,

amounts to more than thirty thousand pounds.

[102] Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, vol. 2,

page 162.

[103] The quantity of water discharged by the pumps from many of the

Cornish mines is very considerable; thus _Huel Abraham_ discharges

from the depth of 1440 feet, about 2,092,320 gallons every 24 hours;

_Dolcoath_, from nearly the same depth, 535,173 gallons in the same

time; and _Huel Vor_, from the depth of 950 feet, 1,692,660 gallons.

[104] See Dr. Forbes's paper on the temperature of mines, in the

Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, vol. 2, p.

208; also on the temperature of mines, by R. W. Fox, Esq. ibid. p. 14,

and a paper on the same subject by M. P. Moyle, Esq. p. 404.

[105] Crennis Copper Mine returned a clear profit to the adventurers

of £84,000 in one year; and Huel Alfred, during the last period of its

working, yielded very nearly £130,000, after having defrayed every

necessary expense. The adventurers in Huel Vor have lately gained

£10,000 in three months. But, on the contrary, how numerous are the

losses, not perhaps corresponding in magnitude, in any individual mine,

to the gains which have been above stated. In North Downs as much as

£90,000 were lost, but this is a rare instance.

[106] The consumption of such articles in a great mine far exceeds

any estimate which a person unacquainted with mining operations could

possibly imagine. In _Huel Vor_, no less than Three thousand pounds of

candles are consumed in a month, and about Three thousand five hundred

pounds of Gunpowder.

[107] Before the invention of the _Stamping Mill_, the Tin was

pulverised in a kind of mortar, called a _Crazing Mill_; one of which

ancient machines is still in the possession of Mr. Williams of Scorrier

House.

[108] This process might be more generally employed in Cornwall with

much advantage. The green coloured water which so frequently issues

from the adits, might be made to yield a considerable portion of

Copper, if it were properly received in pits, and submitted to the

action of Iron.

[109] Stream Tin, on account of its purity, is alone capable of

furnishing the _grain tin_, employed principally by dyers.

[110] The principal Stream works are in the parishes of Lanlivery,

Luxilian, St. Blazy, St. Austel, St. Mewan, St. Stephens, and St.

Columb. The greatest Stream work in the county is at Carnon, about

half-way between Truro and Penrhyn; but there is scarcely a valley in

which the operation has not been conducted on a small scale.

[111] In the Ordnance Map of Cornwall, a spot marked "THE GOLD MINE"

is noticed, near Liskeard. This name serves only to commemorate one of

the many ruinous speculations into which the inhabitants of this County

have repeatedly fallen, from a want of mineralogical knowledge. A mass

of Pyrites having been discovered in this place, its brilliancy induced

a belief that it was GOLD, in consequence of which workings were

immediately commenced, and the sanguine adventurers, urged forward no

doubt by those who derived an interest from the undertaking, could not

be convinced of their error, until the complete ruin of their fortunes

obliged them to abandon every hope.

[112] This is the deepest _Adit_ in the country; its mouth or extremity

being nearly on a level with the water in one of the creeks of Falmouth

Harbour, into which it empties itself. Taking into calculation its

various windings, through the numerous mines which it relieves of

water, it may be said to be not less than twenty-four miles in length.

[113] Menabilly is situated about four miles west of Fowey, on an

eminence at a short distance from the sea.

[114] We have been told that this has been arranged by Mr. Aikin,

according to the different modifications of its crystalline form, as

they are described by Mr. William Phillips in his elaborate paper

published in the 2nd Vol. of the Transactions of the London Geological

Society.

[115] See an interesting account of this mineral in a notice entitled

"Contributions towards a knowledge of the Geological History of

Wood-Tin, by A. Majendie, Esq." in the first volume of the Transactions

of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.

[116] Since the first edition of this work was printed, the mineral has

been found at _Saint Michael's Mount_, and, by Dr. Boase, amongst a

pile of ore which was supposed to come from _Botallack_.

[117] In one of which is to be seen the _Muriate of Tin_, as first

noticed by the late Reverend William Gregor.

[118] The following are the names of the respectable dealers to whom we

recommend the mineralogist to apply,--At _Truro_, Tregoning, Mudge, and

Heard;--at _Redruth_, Bennett; at _Gwenap_, Michell;--at _Saint Agnes_,

Argall;--at _Falmouth_, Trathan;--and at _Penzance_, Jacobs, the latter

of whom has generally a great variety of Saint Just minerals on sale.

[119] OPIE was a parish apprentice to a person of the name of Wheeler,

a house carpenter, in the village of Saint Agnes; Dr. Walcott, better

known by his poetical appellation of _Peter Pindar_, having been

struck, during his occasional visits to the village, by some rude

sketches in chalk which were shewn him as the productions of this

poor lad, invited him to his house at _Truro_, supplied him with the

necessary materials, and enabled him to set up as an itinerant portrait

painter, from which station he rose to be Professor of Painting to the

Royal Academy.

[120] A highly interesting paper "On the decomposition of the Granite

Tors of Cornwall," by this geologist, is published in the second volume

of the Transactions of the Geological Society of London.

[121] This may be distinctly seen in the granitic rocks in the islands

of Scilly; and in the _Gritstone_ in the park of the late Sir Joseph

Banks, in the parish of Ashover in Derbyshire.

[122] The only chemical difference between _Cleavelandite_ and

_Felspar_ is, that about 12 per cent. of Potass in the latter is

replaced by an equal quantity of Soda in the former. The earthy

ingredients in both minerals are the same, and exist in similar

proportions. The primary form of each is a doubly oblique prism, but

the two prisms differ so essentially from each other in the measurement

of their angles, that the substances are easily distinguished from each

other by the Goniometer.

EXCURSION VI.

TO KYNANCE COVE, AND THE LIZARD POINT.

An excursion to the peninsula of the Lizard offers to the scientific

traveller many objects of great geological interest; he will be enabled

to examine a very rare and important series of Rock Formations, while

their various gradations and transitions into each other will afford

ample materials for speculation. In the course of this excursion it

will be our duty to point out some of the more prominent features as

they may occur in our progress; but in performing this duty we wish

to be considered as merely presenting the geologist with a rough and

imperfect outline, which may give a useful direction to his researches,

and enable him to acquire, through the medium of his own observation,

more ample and perfect information.[123]

To the country south of a line drawn from the mouth of the Helford

river, on the east, to the Loe-Bar on the west, has the appellation of

the "_Lizard District_" been exclusively applied by Mr. Majendie; and

the division appears to have been conventionally received by all the

geologists who have traced his steps.

The fundamental rock of this peninsula appears to be _Clay-slate_,

associated with _Greywacké_, upon which are successively deposited

_Greenstone_, _Diallage rock_, and _Serpentine_. At Marazion several

alternate beds of _Slate_ and _Greenstone_ may be observed; the latter

of which contains _Asbestus-Actynolite_, and is universally traversed

by veins of _Axinite_,[124] which occurs both in an amorphous and

crystalline form.

In the vicinity of a projecting ledge of rocks, known by the name of

_Cuddan Point_, stands a mansion called _Acton Castle_, which was

erected as a marine residence by the late John Stackhouse, Esq. and

is at present occupied by Capt. Praed. Its situation is wild and

unsheltered, but it commands a prospect of very extraordinary grandeur

and beauty.

About four miles from Marazion, and half a mile from the high road

towards the coast, are the remains of a building called _Pengerswick

Castle_, a square stone tower, with a smaller one annexed, and some

ruins of walls, are all that remain of this ancient edifice, but its

machiolated gate and embattled turrets are still preserved to announce

its military origin. The different rooms are now converted into

granaries, but the oak wainscot, which is curiously carved and painted,

remains in a tolerable state of preservation. On one of these panels,

under a rude representation of water dropping from a rock, with the

title "_Perseverance_," is the following poetical inscription.

"What thing is harder than a rock?

What softer is than water clear?

Yet will the same with often drop

The hard rock pierce, which doth appear,

Even so there's nothing so hard to attayne

But may be had with labour and pain."

The classical reader will at once recognise in this inscription a

paraphrase of the well known lines of Ovid:

"Quid magis est saxo durum,--Quid mollius unda?

Dura tamen molli Saxa cavantur Aqua."

There exists a tradition that this place belonged in the reign of Henry

VIII. to one Milliton, who having slain a man privately, purchased the

castle in the name of his son, and immured himself in a secret chamber

in the tower.

On a bold pile of _Granite rocks_ which projects from the shore near

Pengerswick, Dr. Maton observed clusters of _Trochus crassus_, besides

some species of _Actinia_ and _Asterias_, not common on other parts of

the coast. Pursuing our route we pass through a country principally

composed of Slate, the great Granite chain running to the left of the

road, and constituting _Tregoning_, _Godolphin_, and _Breage hills_.

The Signal house at the top of _Tregoning hill_, which is 584 feet

above the sea, constitutes the most elevated point in the country, and

from which both channels are visible. The granite of this hill bears in

some parts all the appearance of a stratified rock.

Upon arriving at the village of _Breage_, three miles west of Helston,

the traveller should turn off from the high road, in order to visit

the Tin Mine called _Huel Vor_, and which lies about a mile and a

half to the north-east, and is by far the largest as well as the

richest Tin Mine ever worked in Cornwall. Here there are five large

Steam Engines for drawing the water out of the mine, besides several

others for raising the ore. There are also four large Stamping Mills,

worked by Steam, which constitute by far the most interesting part of

the machinery. It is not many years since steam was first applied as

the moving power of these mills, but without its aid it would have

been impossible to stamp the whole of _Huel Vor_ Tin with sufficient

expedition. In this mine all the operations are carried on which have

been already described in our excursion to Redruth, and the Mining

Districts. The ore is also roasted and smelted on the spot. Here then

the stranger may witness the whole process, from the period when the

ore is broken in the vein, to that when the pure Tin runs out of the

furnace, and is laded into moulds which contain about 370 pounds. The

principal Tin _lode_ in this mine is, in one part, of the enormous

width of 30 feet, and is so rich withal, that the adventurers lately

gained a clear profit of upwards of £10,000, in the space of three

months. The workings extend for more than a mile and a quarter under

ground, and about thirteen hundred persons are engaged in conducting

its operations.

On the Coast, about three miles west of Helston, is Portleven harbour;

notwithstanding the enormous sum of money which has been expended in

completing this work, we believe that it is never likely to answer

the object for which it was projected; the fact is simply this, that

at those times when the severity of the weather renders such a refuge

desirable to the navigators of the Mount's Bay, the sea sets in with

such tremendous force upon this part of the coast that it is absolutely

unsafe for any vessels to approach it, and still more so to attempt a

passage into the basin, through its narrow entrance.

HELSTON is a large and populous town, containing nearly 3000

inhabitants, situated on the side of a hill which slopes gradually

to the little river _Cober_. The houses are chiefly disposed in four

streets in the form of a cross, and, at the point of intersection,

stand the market house and town hall. The church, which was erected

A.D. 1762, at the sole expense of the then Earl of Godolphin, stands on

an eminence to the north, and forms a very pleasing object from the

valley below, while to the tempest tossed mariner it serves as a useful

landmark.

Helston has returned members to Parliament ever since Edward I., being

one of the five ancient boroughs of Cornwall. There was formerly a

castle, on the site of the present bowling green, but of which no

vestige remains. The town is now lighted by means of gas.

In this town we shall be gratified to find the traces of an ancient

custom, which the Antiquary has been anxious to trace to so high a

source as the Roman _Floralia_, a festival observed by that people,

in honour of the Goddess Flora, on the fourth of the Calends of May.

It is called the _Furry_, and it is said that its present name alone

would discover its origin, were it not satisfactorily pointed out by

the time of its celebration. We confess ourselves to have been amongst

the happy number[125] who regarded the annual festival of Helston as

a faint trace of the Roman _Floralia_ which the abrasion of fourteen

centuries had not wholly obliterated. But the evil genius of Reality

has at length appeared to dispel the illusion, and to extort from us

the unwilling belief that it can be no other than the anniversary of a

victory, obtained by the natives over an invading enemy.

The morning of the _Eighth of May_ is ushered in with the sound of

drums and kettles, when the streets are soon thronged with spectators,

and assistants in the _Mysteries_. So strict is the observance of this

day as a general holiday, that should any person be found at work,

he is instantly seized, set astride on a pole, and hurried on men's

shoulders to the river, where, if he does not commute his punishment by

a fine, he is sentenced to leap over a wide place, which he of course

fails in attempting, and falls into the water, to the great amusement

of the spectators. At about the hour of nine the revellers appear

before the Grammar school, and make their demand of a prescriptive

holiday, after which they collect contributions from house to house.

They then _fadé_ into the country (_fadé_ being an old English word for

_go_), and about noon return with flowers and oak branches in their

hats and caps; from this time they dance, hand in hand, through the

streets, preceded by a violin,[126] playing an ancient traditional

tune, the music of which we shall here introduce.

[Illustration]

There is also a traditional song which is sung in chorus, involving the

history of Robin-Hood, whose connection with the present festival it is

not easy to understand.

Upon this occasion it is a right, assumed from time immemorial, for the

persons engaged in the dance to enter and run through any house they

please, without molestation.

The higher classes of the inhabitants having, with much good humour,

assisted in the rites of the day, and performed their _exforensic_

orgies, resort to the ball room, where they are usually met by the

neighbouring families, and by those strangers who may happen to be in

this part of Cornwall. The merry dance is commenced at an early hour,

and generally protracted to the dawn of the ensuing day.

Long may this harmless and innocent festival continue to animate the

blythe and young, on each annual return of its celebration;--Its

classic spell may be dissolved, but the Temple of Hilarity, consecrated

by the smiles of Cornish youth and beauty, needs not a Roman goddess

for its sanction.

Why ask where the Flora derives its gay birth!

Why each smiling brow wears its garland to-day?

Enough that our sires kept it sacred to mirth,

And their children have hearts all as fervent as they.

And yet might we trace where his ashes are laid

Who first made the _Fadé_ to sound in our bowers,

To-day round his cromlech the dance should we braid,

And the fairest of Hellas[127] enwreath it with flowers.

And hallow'd for aye be their place of repose,

Who their race have enrich'd with a dowry so rare,

A spell--that yet brightens each year as it flows

With one gleam of Eden--a day free from care.

Then join we the Dance! to their mem'ries of yore,

Let the mirth which they lov'd be the homage we pay.

And the strain that inspir'd them long ages before,

Wake the joys, which they felt, in our bosoms to-day.

About two miles from Helston is _Penrose_, the seat of John Rogers,

Esq. situated in the midst of a finely wooded scene, and on the border

of a large sheet of water called the _Loe Pool_; this forms one of

the most considerable lakes in the county, and is produced by a very

singular operation of nature,--the continual rolling of the waves of

the British Channel towards the shore forces in a vast quantity of

sand and pebbles, which, by constant accumulation, at length forms a

very high bank extending across the valley, from hill to hill, and by

closing up the mouth of the channel occasions the river to spread its

waters over an area of nearly seven miles in circumference. This bar of

gravel cannot be passed over by the waves of the highest tides, even

during the excitement of a storm, unless it be attended with a very

rare combination of circumstances. The water of the lake gradually

finds its way through the gravel of the bar by slow filtration; but in

wet seasons, as it cannot pass off with a rapidity equal to its influx,

the lake will often rise ten feet higher than its ordinary level. This

produces the singular effect of stopping two mills, one on the _Loe_,

the other on a lateral stream, their wheels being at this time partly

under water. When this occurs the millers present the Lord of the Manor

with two leathern purses, each containing three halfpence, and solicit

his permission to open a passage through the bar. This being of course

granted, the Mayor of Helston engages workmen to carry the work into

effect. In a few days, however, the bar is again filled up as before.

The _Loe Pool_ abounds with a peculiar trout, and other fresh-water

fish. On its banks the Botanist may gather _Corrigiola Littoralis_.

In proceeding to the Lizard Point, which is about fourteen miles

distant from Helston, we shall examine the line of coast south of the

Loe bar. The interior of this peninsular region has an aspect of dreary

and barren uniformity, and when viewed from the high granite ridge near

Constantine, it appears like a table land elevated some hundred feet

above the level of the sea, presenting hardly any indication of rupture

or contortion throughout the whole extent of its outline. The view of

the same region from the western shore of the Mount's Bay is still

more striking and characteristic; the upper surface seems so exactly

horizontal, that one might almost be led to conjecture, that every

projecting ledge had been planed down until the promontory resembled a

great artificial terrace.[128]

Near _Gunwalloe Cove_ the geologist should notice the singularly

contorted appearance of the slaty rock, which continues as far as a

small cove north of _Mullion_, called _Bolerium_, where it runs under

a _Greenstone_ composed of _Hornblende_ and _Compact Felspar_. The

_Greenstone_ prevails through the whole of this district, and appears

to pass by a slow gradation into _Serpentine_, under which it lies,

as may be distinctly seen near the south side of _Mullion Cove_.[129]

A small quantity of _Diallage_ is occasionally present in this rock,

but the predominant ingredient is common _Hornblende_; and where this

latter substance greatly predominates over the _Felspar_, it in some

places assumes an earthy appearance and decomposes into a kind of

_Clay_, which is used in the neighbourhood with excellent effect as a

top dressing for grass lands.

_Serpentine_ is the next formation which we discover in our progress,

and is that which confers such singular interest upon this part of the

county, since it occurs in no other part of England. This beautiful

rock derives its name from the variegated colours and spots, supposed

to resemble the speckles of a serpent's skin; it is principally of

a dark green or brown, suffused with shades of red. It occupies not

less than one-third of the area of the peninsula; the whole extent of

_Goonhilly downs_ rests on it. Its boundary is easily traced, says

_Mr. Sedgwick_, by the brown scanty vegetation with which its surface

is imperfectly covered; and the Professor might have added, by the

growth of that beautiful heath, the _Erica Vagans_, for so congenial

and essential would a Magnesian soil appear to its production, that

notwithstanding its immense profusion on the downs, not a single

specimen is to be found beyond the line which defines the boundary of

the _Serpentine_ formation, nor is it to be seen in any other part of

England. _Genista Anglica_ is also to be found on these downs.

About three miles south of Mullion, close to the shore, is the

celebrated _Steatite_, or _Soap Rock_, which appears to run in

veins[130] in the Serpentine, although Dr. Thomson is inclined to

consider it as Serpentine itself in a state of decomposition. When

it is first quarried it is soft, but by exposure to air it gradually

hardens, although it never loses that peculiar _soapy_ feel which

characterises it. Dillwyn & Co. of Swansea have, at present, the works

in their possession, by paying to the proprietor, Lord Falmouth, a

certain annual sum. Its value in the manufacture of China depends upon

its infusibility, and the property it possesses of retaining its colour

in the heat of the furnace; the first quality is to be explained by the

total absence of lime in its composition, the latter by the very small

proportion of metallic matter contained in it. There is, moreover,

another purpose which it serves, depending upon the peculiar property

of _Magnesian earth_ in preventing that degree of contraction[131]

which always occurs in the fire when _Alumina_ and _Silica_ are alone

made use of. Near this spot veins of _Native Copper_ may be frequently

seen at low water during spring tides, and a mass of this metal was

once raised which weighed 104 pounds. Copper is the only metallic

substance that has been found in any quantity in the Serpentine

formation; and this has never occurred except _native_, as in the above

instance, or in the state of _Green Carbonate_, so that the mining

adventurer need not anticipate much advantage from it.

About a mile farther south is KYNANCE COVE, justly celebrated as

one of the most interesting and extraordinary spots on the coast; the

descent into it is extremely steep, and overhung with frowning crags;

the cove itself is formed by a numerous assemblage of Serpentine

rocks of a dark colour, and which exhibit a beautiful polish from the

constant attrition of the waves at high water; in one part, these

groups are so singularly disposed as to open a fine natural arch

into a grotto, which penetrates deeply into the cliff; the largest

of these pyramidal masses is termed the ASPARAGUS ISLAND, from its

being the habitat of _Asparagus Officinalis_. One of the rocks in

this cove exhibits a very curious phenomenon whimsically called the

DEVIL'S BELLOWS; there is a very deep chasm, through which the sea

rushes like a water spout, preceded by a sub-marine rumbling, as loud

as thunder; a flowing tide, accompanied with a swell of the waves,

seems to be essential for the production of this effect. De Luc offers

the following explanation of the phenomenon: "In the rock there is

a succession of caverns, into which the agitated sea rushes by some

sub-marine passage, and being dashed and broken against their sides,

a large quantity of air[132] is thus disengaged from them, which

becoming highly compressed, and not being able to escape beneath, in

consequence of the perpetual entrance of the waves, is forced to pass

with great violence and noise from cavern to cavern, until it forces

itself, together with a column of water, through the opening above."

Amongst these beautiful rocks may be seen _Diallage_ of a brown colour;

_Jade_; _compact Felspar_, or _Saussurite_; and _Asbestus_. _Dykes of

Felspar Porphyry_ are also to be observed in this spot. It is hardly

necessary to inform the geological tourist that, in order to view this

interesting scene to his satisfaction, he must contrive to arrive at a

period near that of low water.

On the summit of the hill above this cove the Botanist will observe

_Geranium Sanguineum_ spreading itself in broad tufts. _Campanula

Rotundifolia_ also occurs here.

Continuing our route towards Cape Lizard, we shall perceive that the

_Serpentine_ terminates about half a mile before we reach it, and is

succeeded by _Micaceous Slate_, under which, at the Lizard head lie

alternate beds of _Compact Felspar_, containing specks of _Hornblende_

and _green Talc_. There are two light-houses at this point which front

the south, and stand nearly abreast of each other, but unhappily they

are too often found to be insufficient securities against the darkness

of the midnight storm, and the treachery of the sunken rocks with

which this stern coast is beset. Foreign pilots, unacquainted with its

perils, seldom keep the necessary distance from the shore, and from the

steepness of the rocks no kind of assistance can be afforded to the

mariner from the land.

On a low hedge under the light-houses is to be found _Herniaria

Glabra_. It was here in the pursuit of this very plant that a well

known Botanist, during the late war, was seized as a spy by the

suspicious natives, and carried to Helston for examination. The

increased intercourse, however, with scientific travellers, will

render the recurrence of such an event impossible.

The name of the promontory was most probably derived from the striking

_contour_ which it exhibits when viewed from sea, resembling the

elongated and compressed form of the Lizard; at the same time it must

be observed, that the colour of its rocks resemble also that of the

animal to which we allude, while the British words _Lis-ard_ signify a

lofty projection; these are extraordinary coincidences, and are well

calculated to fan the flame of etymological controversy.

If after visiting this promontory, the traveller feels inclined to

trace the different rock formations, and to complete his geological

survey of the Lizard _Chersonesus_, we recommend him to return by

a circuitous route along its eastern coast. _Greenstone_ reappears

about half a mile east of the Lizard Point, and continues for some

distance, with the occasional interruption of Serpentine, which dips

towards the sea. This latter rock will be found best adapted for

oeconomical purposes at the _Balk Hill_, _Landewednock_, but it is

certainly far inferior to that worked for chimney pieces, columns, &c.

from the quarries in the Isle of Anglesea. Near _Cadgwith_ the rocks

on the coast form a very interesting and extraordinary amphitheatre,

which is termed by the inhabitants the FRYING PAN, although the

appellation of CAULDRON, which it strongly resembles, would be much

more appropriate. Its sides are nearly two hundred feet in height,

and, at high water, the sea enters it and boils up through an arch

near its bottom. In this spot the position of the _Serpentine_ upon

_Greenstone_ is very apparent. Beyond _Cadgwith_ the _Serpentine_

assumes a dark green colour, and contains small masses of the emerald

green _Diallage_, or _Schiller-spar_; whence it continues to constitute

the coast round the _Black Head_ to _Coverack Cove_. About a mile from

the coast at _Gwenter_, the rock denominated by Abbe Haüy "_Diallage

Rock_" (_Gabbro_) presents itself to our notice; it is composed of

_Saussurite_, or _Compact Felspar_, and _Diallage Metalloïde_. In a

quarry near this spot it may be seen to join _Serpentine_. In the

_Diallage Rock_, at a small village near the coast called _Gwendra_,

as well as in the rock of _Saint Keverne_, Mr. Majendie discovered

some small metallic specks, which he found on chemical examination

to consist of Iron, with a portion of _Titanium_. Some of the same

substance was immediately transmitted to Mr. William Gregor, who stated

that the results of his experiments proved it to be an assemblage of

several ingredients, _viz_. _Silica_, _Alumina_, and the _Oxides of

Iron_ and _Titanium_, with a little _Potass_. Some of which ingredients

were no doubt derived from the _gangue_ with which the metallic

substance is intimately mixed. This is a discovery no less curious than

important, and would seem to point out the origin of the _Menachanite_,

in which _Titanium_ was first discovered by Mr. Gregor.

The great mass of _Serpentine_ ends at _Coverack Cove_, a spot

which well deserves the attention of the Geologist, as offering a

series of rocks of a very mixed character; these consist of green

and reddish-brown _Serpentine_, with the _Jade_ of Saussure, (the

_feldspath tenace_ of Haüy) and _Diallage_[133] of the green and

metalloïde varieties; some of the _Felspar_ found here is of a violet

colour, and is striated like that of Labrador. In beds which lie

below high-water mark in this Cove the mineralogist may obtain masses

of _Diallage Metalloïde_, six or eight inches in length.[134] A

beautiful rock succeeds and continues for three miles along the coast

to the _Manacles_; and in the interior of the country it predominates

through the greater part of the parish of _Saint Keverne_. It has

_compact Felspar_ for its base, in which are imbedded crystals both

of _Diallage_ and _Hornblende_. In the proportion, as well as the

magnitude of these constituents, says Mr. Professor Sedgwick, there is

such an unusual variety, that we were almost led to conjecture, that

during the deposition of the mass many conflicting principles had been

in action, not one of which was long able to keep the mastery over the

others; there are for instance many large blocks which in one part

resemble a fine _Greenstone_, and in another, a coarse porphyritic

_Diallage Rock_; within the distance of a few feet these varieties may

be observed to alternate repeatedly, sometimes in the form of stripes,

but more frequently in amorphous concretions separated from each other

by lines which are perfectly defined. _Schistose Greenstone_ occurs

again at _Porthowstock_, and a small bed of _Serpentine_, on the

south-west side of _Porthallo_ in the cliff, which rests on a reddish

_Talc_ which lies, as before, on _Clay-slate_. No other variety is

observable from hence to the Helford River, except in the appearance

of a _Pudding Stone_, or _Conglomerate_, near the _Dennis Creek_,

composed of rounded fragments of Slate in which veins of _Quartz_ are

distinctly visible. The traveller will not fail to visit the stream of

_Tregonwell Mill_,[135] near the village of _Menacchan_, celebrated as

the habitat of the _Titaniferous Iron_ (_Menacchanite_, or _Gregorite_)

discovered by the late celebrated Mr. William Gregor.[136] He will

also receive much gratification by extending his route to _Mawnan_

Cliffs, where he will observe a most extraordinary intermixture of

fine and coarse grained (_Grawacke?_) slate, which are traversed by

many contemporaneous veins, some composed of _Quartz_, and others of

_Ferriferous_ _Carbonate of Lime_; some small cavities are coated

with fine spicular _Arragonite_, and a much rarer substance, which on

a chemical examination by Mr. Gregor proved to be a _Sub-carburet of

Iron_, has been found in thin plates among the laminæ of the Slate. The

Reverend John Rogers has also obtained from this spot small octohedral

crystals of the _Yellow Sulphuret of Copper_.

From a general review of the phenomena developed in the present

excursion, Mr. Professor Sedgwick is led to conclude, that the

_great Plateau of the Lizard is not composed of stratified rocks_,

for although some obscure indications of an order of super-position

appear near _Coverack_ and _Porthalla_, yet he considers them as

being too uncertain to be opposed to the clear evidence offered to

the south-eastern parts of the coast, where the alternating masses of

_Greenstone_ and _Serpentine_ so often appear, like great wedges driven

side by side into the escarpment, without any arrangement whatsoever.

Mr. Majendie, however, who, be it known, actually _bivouacked_ in

this district for a week, was satisfied that the _Greenstone_ and

_Serpentine_ did exhibit characters of Stratification.--But we

desist--feeling what no doubt our readers have likewise experienced

the dry and uninviting nature of Geological details.--Having therefore

completed the task we assigned ourselves, and conducted the traveller

to the more prominent and interesting objects of WESTERN CORNWALL, we

take our leave. The Agriculturist, the Antiquary, the Botanist, the

Geologist, and Mineralogist, must, each in his turn, have received

ample gratification and instruction from his visit to this interesting

and important district of the British Empire, while the Capitalist

must have seen from the agriculture, the mineral treasures, the

fisheries, and the commerce of the country, how many, and what great

opportunities are presented for the advantageous exercise of capital;

the Valetudinarian too has, as we sincerely hope, derived his share of

benefit from the excursions, and felt the salutary influence of those

mild and genial breezes which clothe our fields with perpetual verdure,

and impart to our cottagers the enviable blessing of HEALTH and LONG

LIFE.

FOOTNOTES:

[123] Before his departure upon this excursion, we recommend him to

examine the very instructive suite of specimens which were collected,

and deposited in the Cabinet at Penzance by _Mr. Ashhurst Majendie_, a

gentleman whose geological labours in this country are well known, and

whose zeal and ability so greatly promoted the early advancement of our

Geological Society. This valuable series has been greatly augmented

by a Collection since presented to the Society by _The Reverend John

Rogers_. The Geological tourist ought at the same time to make himself

acquainted with the observations of _Mr. Majendie_ "_On the Lizard

District_," in the first volume of the Transactions of the Royal

Geological Society of Cornwall; and those of _Mr. Professor Sedgwick_,

on the same subject, in the Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical

Society.

[124] In the _Greeb-rock_, an insulated mass of greenstone in the

sea beneath, there is a vein of _Asbestus-Actynolite_, mixed with

_Axinite_, from four to twelve inches wide. This is a curious spot,

well worthy the attention of the geologist.

[125] As will appear on the perusal of the first edition of this little

work.

[126] A violin is in some parts of Cornwall called a _Crowd_, whence

doubtless the name of _Crowdero_, the fiddler in Hudibras.

[127] The ancient name of Helston. The modern apellation is derived

from a huge block of Granite which may be seen in the yard of the Angel

Inn--_Hellas-stone_, or _Helston_.

[128] On the physical structure of the Lizard district, by the Rev. A.

Sedgwick.

[129] The same relative position of these rocks may also be observed at

_Cadgwith_, an interesting part of the coast north-east of the Lizard

Point, and which we shall have occasion to notice hereafter.

[130] Sir H. Davy, in a paper on the Geology of Cornwall, published in

the first volume of our Transactions, observes that "the nature and

origin of the veins of _Steatite_ in Serpentine are curious subjects of

inquiry. Were they originally crystallized, and the result of chemical

deposition? Or have they been, as for the most part they are now

found, mere mechanical deposites, I am inclined to the last opinion.

The _Felspar_ in Serpentine is very liable to decompose, probably from

the action of Carbonic acid and water on its Alkaline, Calcareous, and

Magnesian elements; and its parts washed down by water, and deposited

in the chasms of the rocks, would necessarily gain that kind of loose

aggregation belonging to Steatite."

[131] It might on this account be worth while for the Glass-maker to

try the effects of a small mixture of _Steatite_ with the materials

of which he makes his large crucibles, in order to prevent that great

degree of shrinking to which they are now so liable.

[132] The quantity of air thus separated from water is so great that

in the Alps and in the Pyrennees, very powerful bellows are made for

forges by the fall of a column of water, through a wooden pipe, into a

closed cask, in which it dashes on a stone in the bottom, when the air

thus disengaged from it is carried by another pipe placed in the cover

of the cask into the foundery.

[133] This substance presents with great distinctness those characters

which distinguish it from _Hornblende_, viz. inferior hardness,

difficult fusibility into a green enamel, and peculiar cleavage which

discovers a considerable lustre in one direction which is entirely

absent in the other; whereas _Hornblende_ has natural joints of the

same lustre in two directions.

[134] Mr. Majendie presented some of these specimens to Abbe Haüy,

and compared them with those in the cabinet of that illustrious

mineralogist, which were brought from the hill of _Mussinet_ near

Turin. M. Haüy observed upon this occasion, that the Coverack Specimens

did not consist of pure _Diallage_, but that fibres of common

_Hornblende_ interrupted its texture. That of _Mussinet_ is foliated,

and has no such intermixture.

[135] For a long period this was considered as the only Cornish habitat

of this mineral; but Dr. Paris subsequently identified its presence

in a sand brought from a stream near the house of Colonel Sandys

at Lanarth. See "Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of

Cornwall." Vol. I. p, 226.

[136] See a History of this curious discovery in "A Memoir on the Life

and Scientific Labours of the Rev. William Gregor, by J. A. Paris, M.

D."--London, 1818.

APPENDIX.