CONSIDERATIONS 
 
 UPON 
 
 W lffitItlITO< 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 
 
 REFLECTIONS 
 
 ON 
 
 ITS ACTUAL STATE IN EUROPE, 
 
 AND 
 THE ADVANTAGES YVHICH \tOULD RESULT 
 
 AN INTRODUCTION OF THIS ART 
 
 INTO 
 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 BY W. H. KEATING, A. M, 
 
 NX 
 
 " The art of our necessities is great 
 "That can make vile things precious." 
 
 SUAKSPEARE. 
 
 Read before the American Philosophical Society, July 20th, 1821. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 M. CAREY AND SONSCHESNUT STREET. 
 
 T/TDIA R. BAILET, PRINTS R. 
 1821. 
 
ON THE ART OF MINING. 
 
 THE importance of a science, or of an art, may proba- 
 bly, in most cases, be considered as proportional to the 
 attention which it has received from mankind in general, 
 or to the degree of perfection which it has attained. This 
 method of testing the importance of an art cannot, however, 
 be said to be correct in all cases. There are, we believe, 
 some very important arts, which have been overlooked by 
 the majority of men, and which have consequently not kept 
 pace with the progress of knowledge. Among these, the 
 ART OF MINING is to be ranked. 
 
 The subject to which we propose to call the attention of 
 this Society, in the present communication, is one which has 
 been very incorrectly judgejl of, even by those upon whose 
 authority we are accustomed to rely in every respect. The 
 art of mining has been, we apprehend, misjudged by the 
 generality of writers ; and many individuals have been led 
 into false and disastrous speculations, by engaging in under- 
 takings of this nature, without having sufficiently studied and 
 comprehended the subject. The errors of writers upon this 
 matter have chiefly resulted from their having treated it too 
 slightly, or too exclusively. Thus, many distinguished au- 
 thors, among whom we may rank the celebrated author of 
 the " Wealth of Nations," have underrated the art of mining, 
 because they had not sufficiently examined its nature and 
 object. They have often mistaken the greedy speculations 
 of the first adventurers in South America, and the visionary 
 plans of the settlers in the country so pompously styled 
 El Dorado," for the steady, persevering, and arduous 
 labour of the true miner. They have overlooked the advan- 
 tages which England has derived from her coal and iron 
 mines, and have only noticed the ruinous speculations of 
 ill-advised adventurers: as well might we undervalue the 
 
fcOtfSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 advantages of commerce, on account of the failure of the 
 South Sea scheme. Other authors, again, have treated this 
 subject too exclusively. This defect exists chiefly in the 
 works of German authors, who, blinded by their partiality 
 for their profession, would have given it a degree of import- 
 ance to which it was not entitled. Their wish was to see 
 introduced into large monarchies the same institutions which 
 had been found to answer in the small communities which 
 composed the German empire, and of which a few still sub- 
 sist, having weathered the political storms of the last thirty 
 years. But a system which answered in a small principality, 
 in which the sovereign acted for the most part like a father 
 of a family, (possessed, it is true, of great powers and privi- 
 leges* but not regardless of the interests of his subjects,) 
 could not be adopted in larger communities, where the king 
 acts under the influence of his ministers, and where he cannot 
 be directed by those paternal feelings, which, it is but justice 
 to acknowledge, often actuated the lesser princes of Germany. 
 Still less could the plans recommended by these authors be 
 adopted, or even approved of, in this country, where we are 
 so jealous of the rights of property, that nothing but the most 
 imperious necessity could induce us to part with any of those 
 rights. 
 
 The art of mining is one of the most important branches 
 of public economy. The nature of this art, the objects 
 which it embraces, the studies which it requires, the be- 
 nefits which result from it to man, both by administering to 
 his necessities and by increasing his comforts, and, finally, 
 the great assistance which it offers for the successful prose- 
 cution of natural science in general, tend to make it one of 
 the noblest and most interesting pursuits to which the atten- 
 tion of man can be called. 
 
 It is, we believe, almost impossible to determine with pre- 
 cision the influence which the art of mining has had in civil- 
 izing mankind. The imagination can scarcely conceive the 
 wild and blank state of a nation destitute of all the metals, 
 salts, and fuel, which we derive from mining. There is, we 
 would be induced to believe, but one stage lower than this 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 5 
 
 in the scale of human ignorance, and it is that of those In- 
 dians who are said to have been unacquainted with the exist- 
 ence of fire. 
 
 The art of working the metals must, in the origin, have 
 heen the effect of a first advance towards civilization ; since 
 which, it must be considered as a cause, as well as an 
 effect, of civilization. Every improvement in this art must 
 necessarily have had a striking effect upon the state of soci- 
 ety; which effect was again reflected upon the art from which 
 it sprung. Whatever may have been its influence in producing 
 the present refined state of society, no question can exist as 
 to its importance and advantages at this time. When we 
 consider that the most valuable aliments we take are pro- 
 duced by agriculture, and that agriculture must cease to exist 
 as soon as it is deprived of the assistance of the metals, w r e 
 can readily conceive how essential this class of substances is 
 to our existence, and how valuable is the art which teaches us 
 to convert the crude and brittle ore into the malleable, pure, 
 and polished metal. 
 
 But these are not the only henefits which it affords us. 
 The wool which we manufacture into cloth could never have 
 assumed that form, if it had not previously undergone opera- 
 tions in which metallic instruments are indispensable. The 
 habitations which protect us against the inclemency of the 
 weather, from the cottage of the peasant to the palace of the 
 monarch ; in a word, every art which tends to the support or 
 comfort of life, all evince the indispensable use of metals. 
 
 The origin of the art of mining, like that of many others, 
 must have taken place at a very early period, and the date 
 of it is not to be ascertained. The oldest books with which 
 we are acquainted speak of it in very plain terms : 
 
 Thus, in the Genesis, 5 * we find it written : 
 
 "And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, who was an in- 
 structor of every artificer in brass and iron."f 
 
 The discrimination of the metals must have taken place 
 
 * Chapter IV. verse 22. 
 
 j- We find a different version of this text in other Bibles, where Tubalcain is 
 said to have been "a hammerer and artificer in every work of brass and iron," 
 
6 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 as soon as man began to look around him. Accordingly, we 
 find, in the description of the spot where the Garden of Eden 
 stood, speaking of rivers,* 
 
 " That is it w r hich compasseth the whole land of Havilah, 
 where there is gold." 
 
 " And the gold of that land is good : there is bdellium and 
 onyx stone." 
 
 Again, we find it stated,f that 
 
 "Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." 
 
 In the writings of Homer and Hesiod, the oldest profane 
 authors whose works have been handed down to us, frequent 
 allusions are made to the metals ; and some interesting ob- 
 servations on the state of the art can he extracted from them. 
 
 It would be an useful and an interesting task for the anti- 
 quary, to endeavour to ascertain the manner in which the 
 ancients smelted their ores and worked their mines^ No 
 doubt, their first attempts were rude, and on a small scale ; 
 but on such a subject, all additional information, however 
 minute and trifling in appearance, would be interesting. It 
 would throw much light on the progress of civilization ; and 
 it would be very desirable that a person well skilled in the 
 dead languages, and w r ell acquainted with the metallurgical 
 processes now in use, w r ould endeavour to trace the progress 
 of the art from its origin, and to determine the respective 
 periods at which each metal was first made known and 
 brought into use. 
 
 But it is enough for us to have called the attention of the 
 antiquary to this subject. We cannot enter into details, but 
 hasten to the main object of this communication, which is to 
 draw the attention of the Society to a subject which may be- 
 come highly interesting to our country. 
 
 " Sella quoque genuit Tubalcain qui fuit malleator at faber in cuncta opera 
 <( aeris et ferri." 
 
 If the word malleator (hammerer) be not an interpolation of the transla- 
 tor, it presents us this interesting 1 observation, that the ancients had already 
 noticed that property of metals which we call malleability, and that they pu- 
 rified their metals by hammering, 
 
 * Chapter II. verse 11, 12. t Chapter XIIL verse 2. 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 7 
 
 We shall divide what is to be said on this subject in three 
 parts. 
 
 In the FIRST SECTION we shall state the object of mining, 
 and the various operations which the miner has to perform. 
 We shall make known the sciences upon which his art is 
 founded, and the manner of applying them. 
 
 In the SECOND SECTION we shall examine the nature of 
 mining, ascertain to what class of property mines belong, 
 and determine the importance of this art compared With 
 others. 
 
 The THIRD SECTION shall include a short sketch of the 
 actual state of the art in Europe; to which we will add re- 
 marks on the advantages which might accrue to the United 
 States from the introduction of this art. We shall inquire 
 into the obstacles which might retard or obstruct the pro- 
 gress of mining in this country ; and what course should be 
 followed in order to overcome these obstacles. 
 
 SECTION FIRST. 
 
 Of the objects of mining, and of the operations which the miner 
 has to perform. Of the sciences upon which his art is found- 
 ed, and of their application. 
 
 The art of mining is that which teaches us the manner of 
 obtaining and preparing for the use of man the metals and 
 other substances which exist in the mineral kingdom. 
 
 The metals are seldom found pure : when pure, they are 
 termed native. For the most part they exist intimately mix- 
 ed, or chemically combined with other metals, and with sul- 
 phur, oxigen, and other bodies. In this state they are call- 
 ed ores. Iron, the most useful of all metals, has, perhaps, 
 never been found native; lead and tin, certainly never; zinc 
 and cobalt are always extracted from their ores. The na- 
 tive mercury and antimony are so rare as to be merely ob- 
 jects of curiosity; and all the mercury and antimony of 
 commerce, are obtained by extracting these metals from their 
 
CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 combinations with sulphur. Copper is often found native ; 
 but always in small quantities. It is from its ores that it is 
 produced in greatest abundance. Silver is often, and gold 
 always, found native ; and these, with the addition of plati- 
 na, are the only metals which exist in sufficient abundance 
 in the native state, to make it an object to work them in that 
 state. 
 
 But besides the substances which are chemically combined 
 with the metals to form the ores, there are a number of 
 others which are only mechanically mixed, and which can 
 be easily separated. These are for the most part earthy 
 minerals. 
 
 The task of the miner may be said to consist in the fol- 
 lowing operations : to find the ore to extract it from the 
 bosom of the earth to raise it to the surface to separate 
 the substances which are mechanically mixed and then to 
 submit the ore to such metallurgical process as shall purify 
 it and free it from all tbe substances which remained in che- 
 mical or mechanical union with the metal. In a word, to 
 bring the metal to that state of purity which is required for 
 the arts. But, in the performance of these multifarious du- 
 ties, the miner will meet with obstacles ; these he must re- 
 move or overcome. Thus he will find himself in the midst 
 of loose and disaggregated materials, which threaten him 
 with instant destruction. To this he must bring a remedy. 
 Again, he will meet with great volumes of water which would 
 soon inundate his works if he could not find means of remov- 
 ing them. In some cases also, the light which he uses to guide 
 his uncertain steps, becomes his most dangerous enemy; it 
 inflames the atmosphere, an explosion takes place, and the 
 miner has ceased to live. To this evil a remedy has been 
 applied by that great and powerful genius, Sir Humphry 
 Davy, whose safety lamp insures him the gratitude of all 
 concerned in these dangerous works. Our task would be 
 endless if we were to attempt to enumerate here every obsta- 
 cle which the miner has to encounter. We will now proceed 
 to examine the various attainments necessary to the perfect 
 miner : 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 9 
 
 1. The knowledge of minerals, or MINERALOGY. This 
 teaches him to distinguish the useful from the unproductive 
 minerals ; to ascertain the nature of each substance, and the 
 use to which it may he applied. Without the knowledge of 
 mineralogy, the miner would he led into innumerable mis- 
 takes. This is, as it were, the corner stone of his edifice. 
 
 2. The knowledge of the distribution of minerals upon the 
 surface of the earth. This science forms a part of GEOLOGY. 
 By it we are enabled to determine with a greater or less de- 
 gree of certainty, where, and under what circumstances, we 
 may expect to find the minerals we are in search of. It serves 
 to inform us how far we may be justified in searching after 
 certain ores, in certain rocks ; and, as an instance, we may 
 mention, that the miner acquainted with the first rudiments 
 of geology, would not search for tin ore in a bed of chalk, 
 any more than he would expect to find rock salt in granite. 
 For want of sufficient regard to this science, great expense 
 has often been unnecessarily incurred by boring or pitting 
 for coal. In many places, expensive works were commenced 
 by uninstructed men, who merely took into consideration the 
 advantage which might be derived from the discovery of this 
 fuel, without reflecting whether they were warranted in so 
 doing by any reasonable expectation of finding it. But we 
 must be very guarded in the application of our geological 
 notions, because they are not founded upon demonstrated 
 facts or impossibilities, but merely upon analogies. It is 
 because tin ore has always been found under circumstances 
 very different from those in which we find chalk, that we are 
 induced to believe, a priori, that it will not be found with it. 
 But there is no physical impossibility in its being found in 
 the United States in a different situation from that which it 
 presents in England, Germany, France, and Mexico. We 
 should be directed, not blinded, by analogy ; we should con- 
 sult it as a prudent, but not an infallible adviser. 
 
 3. The third branch of the miner's studies is DOCIMASY, 
 or the art of analyzing minerals. To this branch we are in- 
 debted for all that we know of the component parts of each 
 mineral. It is upon docimasy, that the great responsibility 
 
10 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 (if I may here apply the expression) of the miner's success 
 rests. Without docimasy, mineralogy would be a science of 
 but little use. The mineralogist, it is true, might probably 
 distinguish his minerals without, as well as with, its assist- 
 ance ; he might give them names, and call them a, 6, or c, 
 but it is the docimastic chemist, who, having analyzed them, 
 determines their nature, and affixes their value ; it is he who 
 stamps upon them the rate at which they are to be received 
 in commerce; it is he who tells us that what the mineralogist 
 had called a, was an ore of iron, which might be worked 
 with advantage to procure this metal ; that the b of the mi- 
 neralogist was an useful stone, from which lime might be 
 obtained for the arts; while his c had no intrinsic value; that 
 it might indeed adorn his cabinet, or be made to sparkle in 
 the hands of the able jeweller, but that it never could be of 
 any use in the arts. Thus the docimastic chemist may be 
 said to give value to the science of the mineralogist. But 
 he goes further ; after he has determined that a given mine- 
 ral is an ore of a certain metal, he tells us with what sub- 
 stances it is combined, in what proportion the metal exists, 
 whether the combination be an intimate mechanical mixture, 
 or a real chemical combination, in definite proportions. And 
 this is not all ; he tells us if the ore can be worked with ad- 
 vantage, and in what manner; whether any, and if any, what 
 substances are to be added or taken away in order to reduce 
 it to that state of purity which is requisite in the arts. Thus 
 we see how necessary to the miner is an acquaintance with 
 docimasy, and how often, and how severely that man may be 
 disappointed, who looks for success without a previous ac- 
 quaintance with this science. 
 
 4. The fourth branch which enters into the studies of the 
 miner is the knowledge of those indications by which we may 
 determine the extent and importance of a mineral deposit, the 
 existence of which has been previously ascertained. This 
 is indeed a very important branch of his art ; it is one upon 
 which much depends in a new country ; we will, therefore, 
 not hesitate to speak of it in detail. It is a common idea, 
 that a person acquainted with mining, can, from a mere in- 
 
THE ART OF MINIXG. 11 
 
 spection of the surface, decide whether there are any mines 
 under ground. This opinion is, however, incorrect; the 
 richest ores may be covered hy a layer of vegetable earth, 
 which conceals them entirely from the observation of the 
 miner. The characters taken from the general appearance 
 of the ground, as respects roughness or evenness, have long 
 been supposed to be useful in the hands of the skilful miner ; 
 but we would observe, that the loftiest and most rugged peaks 
 of the Alps present no mines whatever, while the level and 
 fertile plains of Poland and Belgium cover rich deposits of 
 coal, iron, lead, zinc, salt, &c. It was at one time imagined, 
 that the presence of metallic deposits produced a sort of in- 
 ternal fermentation, which impeded the progress of vegeta- 
 tion, and stinted the growth of trees ; to this we answer, that 
 the German empire, than which none is richer in mines, was 
 at one time a complete forest, and covered with the finest 
 trees. To the beauty and richness of these forests, the Ro- 
 man authors have borne testimony ; and it stands upon re- 
 cord, that the whole of the present rich mining district of 
 Freyberg in Saxony, was at one time one of the thickest and 
 wildest forests in the empire, and that its trees had attained 
 an uncommon size. It is true, the land is now bare, and 
 scarcely does an " occasional pine" shade the cottage of the 
 poor miner ; but this we must attribute to the works of man, 
 and not to the action of the veins placed there by nature. 
 How could it be otherwise, in places where we see that the 
 ground has been broken up in every direction, where heaps 
 of rubbish have been formed, and subsequently scattered up- 
 on the country, and where the very streams which support- 
 ed the vegetation, have been diverted from their natural 
 course, and made to run into new channels ? 
 
 Another indication, which has been used, we believe, not 
 with the purest of motives, was that of the divining rod. 
 Men were led to believe, that with the assistance of a rod, ge- 
 nerally of hazle, or some such wood, the presence of mines, 
 of salt, of springs, in a word, of every thing that was wished 
 for, could be discovered. Secret treasures, it was reported, 
 owed their discovery to this means. To those who reflect 
 
12 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 how great an influence the astrologers have possessed over 
 mankind, and how apt the imagination is to be carried away 
 hy a sort of admiration for every thing which hears the ap- 
 pearance of being supernatural, it will be no cause of won- 
 der, that in the dark ages of superstition and ignorance, the 
 belief in the divining rod, like that in witchcraft, dreams, 
 fortunetelling, c. should have existed not only in the multi- 
 tude, but even in many men superior to the time in which 
 they lived. Indeed, such deceptions are so fascinating, that 
 there are perhaps few persons who have read the brilliant 
 descriptions of the power of the magic wand in the oriental 
 tales, and have not felt a secret disappointment at the recol- 
 lection that it was but an airy vision, and a wish that it 
 might be embodied into reality. This disposition for the 
 marvellous being incontestable, it is not surprising that cun- 
 ning impostors should have existed, who found it their inter- 
 est to increase this belief, and to keep up the hopes of their 
 votaries by pretended discoveries and wonders, the explana- 
 tion of which could not have been readily given to, or under- 
 stood by, the unenlightened multitude before whom these were 
 performed. But as men became more enlightened, and as 
 they felt the necessity of discrediting every thing which 
 could not be proved, the confidence in the powers of the di- 
 vining rod declined, and there are but few, we believe, who 
 place any reliance in it at present. We would not even have 
 dwelt so long upon this subject, if we had not seen, in a la'te 
 very respectable publication,* the divining rod mentioned as 
 an agent, whose efficacy was still the matter of doubt. 
 
 We repeat it, the miner has but few indications to direct 
 him in the search of ores ; it is chance which throws them in 
 his way; the richest mines known have been discovered by 
 the merest accident. The labourers in the fields are those 
 who have the best opportunity of discovering the first indicia 
 of a mine; the plough accidentally turns up a stone which 
 the ploughman picks up ; its weight surprises him ; it sparkles 
 in the sun; it has the characters of a metal; he takes it 
 
 * Silliman's Journal of Science, No. 7. (Vol. 3, No. 1.) 
 
THE ART OIT MINING. 15 
 
 home with him, and shows it to his neighbour ; the fame of his 
 discovery is soon spread about, and magnifies as it proceeds ; 
 some traveller acquainted with the subject visits the spot, and 
 ascertains the nature of the mineral found ; all this is the 
 mere effect of accident, but here begins the work of the mi- 
 ner; here he may display his ingenuity, or apply the experi- 
 ence which he has acquired; he is told that the specimen 
 which he holds was found in the adjoining field; he examines 
 the field ; he compares the specimen ; he studies the country ; 
 visits the valleys ; observes the pebbles rolled by the neigh- 
 bouring streams, and endeavours by a careful search to trace 
 back to its original situation the specimen which had been 
 accidentally detached from it. Should his researches prove 
 successful, should he have found the vein or bed, he examines 
 its nature, ascertains its extent, begins his works, sinks his 
 shafts, and endeavours to determine, by pitting and boring, 
 the importance and value of the mineral deposit. It is at 
 this moment that the true character of the miner may be 
 tested ; he must neither fall into despondency at the first fail- 
 ure, nor be allured into hasty and hazardous undertakings 
 at the first appearance of success ; he must not be cast down 
 because the path which he was following has suddenly dis- 
 appeared, but he must endeavour to fall in again with it, by 
 prudently directing his steps in the neighbourhood; if the 
 thread which guided him in the labyrinth has been suddenly 
 cut off, he must not despair, but lighting the torch of science, 
 he must endeavour to recover it, and having obtained pos- 
 session of it, he may be enabled to renew his search after 
 the concealed treasure. If the miner who is too easily dis- 
 couraged loses the chance of succeeding, and allows fortune 
 to escape him, he who falls into the other extreme is still 
 more to be blamed ; he not only brings ruin upon himself, his 
 family and his friends, but he destroys the reliance which 
 might be placed in his character and abilities; he injures 
 the profession of which he is a member, by taking away from 
 it the small degree of certainty which it possesses, and 
 making it appear as a tool in the hands of an impostor. 
 The prudent and skilful miner will therefore endeavour to 
 
14 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 steer a middle course, free from the dangers which threaten 
 him on both sides ; he loses no time, overlooks no indication 
 which may assist him, considers, examines, studies every ap- 
 pearance, reflects maturely, and then decides whether the 
 deposit be worthy of his attention or not ; he may be mista- 
 ken in his decision, but he has acted prudently and wisely, 
 and whatever result attends his future undertakings, he al- 
 ways feels proud at the consciousness that he has done all 
 that he could do, and that in his profession, as well as in every 
 other, a man may deserve and not obtain success. 
 
 5. The fifth branch which the miner has to study, is the 
 manner of working the mine ; properly speaking, Hoc opus, 
 hie labor est." This consists in the knowledge of all the va- 
 rious operations which are performed under ground ; these 
 operations cannot be well described on paper; it is impossi- 
 ble for a person who has not visited a mine to form a cor- 
 rect idea of its nature, or to imagine the subterraneous world 
 which exists there ; without having witnessed them, it is not 
 easy to conceive the nicety which is required in some of the 
 miner's works, the certainty with which he directs himself 
 by the mere assistance of his compass ; the accuracy with 
 which he executes, under ground, the operations which he has 
 designed on his draughts and map. 
 
 The works which the miner has to execute are the sink- 
 ing of pits and shafts ; the opening of galleries, levels, and 
 drifts ; the excavating of large chambers for the reception of 
 machines, &c. the detaching of the ore from the rock, &c. 
 
 All these works he executes either by the assistance of 
 iron and steel tools, such as pickaxes, hammers, wedges, &c. 
 or by blasting the rock with gunpowder, in which case, he uses 
 the drill, rammer, priming rod, &c. or finally by the applica- 
 tion of fire ; this last method, which is practised with advan- 
 tage in many instances in Germany, Sweden, and Russia, 
 and which can be applied with great success wherever the 
 rock is tough, wood cheap, and powder expensive, is very 
 interesting. It consists in erecting large piles of wood near 
 the rock intended to be taken down, setting the wood on fire, 
 and directing the flame and smoke in the manner that will 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 15 
 
 produce the greatest effect upon the rock, which is expanded 
 and rent in all directions, by numberless fissures ; new fuel 
 is added, and the fire kept up for several days, at the end of 
 which the miner returns to the spot of the conflagration, and 
 easily detaches, with his pickaxe, the rock, which, before the 
 application of the fire, was very tough and compact, but which 
 afterwards almost crumbles into dust of itself. 
 
 To this and the preceding branch we must refer the know- 
 ledge, so essential to the miner, of following the traces or 
 indications of a vein which has partially or completely dis- 
 appeared. This branch includes likewise the whole disposi- 
 tion of the works under ground. It therefore requires, on 
 the part of the miner, experience and study, to know how 7 to 
 direct and dispose the works, in order to extract the ore with 
 the greatest economy. It is a branch in which rules can 
 scarcely be laid down. Every mine requires a peculiar dis- 
 position, and it is only by comparing his mine with those 
 which exist in other places, that the miner can arrive at a 
 good and satisfactory disposition of his works. To this 
 branch we must likewise refer the knowledge of the best me- 
 thods used to judge of the strength and quality of powder, of 
 the resistance which it can overcome, and of the quantity ne- 
 cessary to attain a certain object ; also, of the proper manner 
 of applying it in mines. 
 
 6. We have said, that in the accomplishment of his work 
 the miner met with great obstacles, which it was necessary 
 for him to remove. The first of these is that arising from 
 the pressure of the roof and sides of the excavations which 
 he has made. The knowledge of the methods used to over- 
 come this difficulty, constitutes the sixth branch of the art of 
 mining. It is an observation of every day, that if an exca- 
 vation be made in the soil, and left to itself, it will, after 
 some time, become partly closed up by the lateral pressure ; 
 and if it were intended to make the excavation in sand or 
 gravel, it would require great care to prevent the sand from 
 falling into the hole as soon as made. Every body, however 
 unacquainted with the art of mining, knows that when a well 
 is dug, unless it be opened in the solid rock, it is indispensa- 
 
16 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 ble to build up a solid wall of stone or brick round the well. 
 It is true, many imagine this to be built for no other purpose 
 than to keep in the water, but the main object is to prevent 
 the sides of the well from falling in. If this be the case when 
 a well of thirty or forty, or at most one hundred feet, is dug, 
 how much more important when the shaft extends to a depth 
 of from fifteen to sixteen hundred feet,* when the dimensions 
 of the shaft are much larger, and when it traverses many 
 different beds, some of tough and hard rocks, others less so- 
 lid and compact, some of loose and disaggregated materials, 
 some of clay, sand, &c. the whole very much impregnated 
 with water it is evident that in sucli a case the difficulties 
 must increase in a tenfold ratio. Besides these, the miner 
 has often to open large subterraneous chambers, the roof and 
 sides of which are far from being solid ; these chambers, how- 
 ever, require to be constructed with a great degree of solidi- 
 ty, as they are intended for the reception of large and ex- 
 pensive machines, such as steam-engines and water-wheels, 
 in which case, the constant agitation of the air, by the mo- 
 tion and fail of water, tends to destroy the equilibrium of the 
 rock, at the same time that the spray and moisture necessa- 
 rily proceeding from such machines, act as a corrosive upon 
 the rock. These chambers are sometimes intended for the 
 accommodation of horses, sometimes for mills for the pound- 
 ing of ores, &c. : hence it is evident, that the greatest care 
 should be bestowed upon their solidity. The miner has two 
 ways of propping the sides of his excavations. The first is 
 by carpentry, the second by masonry. The proper applica- 
 tion of these two methods is not unattended with difficul- 
 ties. It is, generally speaking, much cheaper to use tim- 
 ber than stone ; but the works of stone, if well made, may be 
 considered as everlasting in mines, while those of wood re- 
 
 * The shaft called the Richischact, at the mine of Beschert Gluck, near 
 Freyberg, in Saxony, extended, in 1820, to a depth of 1981 feet, on a vein, 
 the inclination of which is about forty-eight degrees. The shaft is in its 
 upper part perpendicular : after a certain depth, it follows the inclination of 
 the vein. This vein lias been very productive in silver ore, and is known by 
 the name of JVeu hohe JBirkner Sfehende Gam*. 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 17 
 
 quire frequent repair, and a total renewal after a few years. 
 It is not enough, therefore, to consider the comparative pri- 
 ces of each ; hut we must also take into consideration their 
 respective durability, and the time which it is intended that 
 the works shall last ; for, in mines, some works are intended to 
 be permanent, while others are merely temporary ; some are 
 expected to remain open as long as the mine shall be worked, 
 while others are only worked for the ore which they contain, 
 and are abandoned as soon as that ore is exhausted. In the 
 latter works, no doubt can exist as to the advantage in using 
 timber in preference to stone ; for not only it is much cheap- 
 er, but in many cases a great portion of the timber used can 
 be removed to another place, and the materials are not 
 therefore lost. But in the permanent works, the question 
 is more difficult to decide. In Germany, where timber is 
 becoming scarcer every day, masonry has been substituted 
 with advantage in many mines where timber was formerly 
 exclusively used. In this country, it is probable that timber 
 will, for a long time to come, offer a great economy over 
 stone works. Next to the choice of materials, the miner 
 must attend to the study of the form and disposition of the 
 carpenter or mason's work. These, of course, depend upon 
 the form and nature of the excavation, upon the object for 
 which it has been made, upon the solidity of the rock, the 
 quantity of water, &c. We shall not enter into particulars, 
 which would unnecessarily lengthen this communication, but 
 merely observe, that this branch of the miner's art includes 
 a knowledge of the strength and resistance of timber, of the 
 solidity of building materials, of the manner of making ce- 
 ments, of the construction of arches, of the forms best adapt- 
 ed to each particular case, and of the calculations of the 
 forces necessary to break them, &c. 
 
 7. It is a well-known fact, proved by daily experience, 
 that if a well be dug, it will, at a certain depth, which varies 
 according to the nature of the rock, and to the locality, be- 
 come partly filled with water. Nay, it has been observed, 
 that in some places, the water will spout out in the form of a 
 jet d'eau. This circumstance, so useful in common life, since 
 3 
 
18 CONSIDERATIONS UPOX 
 
 it allows man to fix his habitation far from running water* 
 is the source of much trouble and of great difficulties to the 
 miner; for as soon as his excavations have attained a certain 
 depth, the water runs in from all sides, inundates his works, 
 and would compel him to abandon them, if his ingenuity 
 could not devise means of keeping them dry. The study of 
 the means used to accomplish this end, constitutes the seventh 
 division of his acquirements. Th object which he has in 
 view is twofold ; either to prevent the water from entering 
 into his excavations, or to drain it off when it has penetrated 
 into them. If the first method were practicable in all cases, 
 it would undoubtedly be far preferable ; but this, unfortunate- 
 ly, is but seldom in his power; the means used to prevent the 
 water from entering the excavations being the damming up 
 of the side from which it comes, and opposing a strong bar- 
 rier in that quarter. This method is, however, impossible 
 when the waters come from all directions, as is frequently 
 the case, or where they proceed from the direction which the 
 miner intends to follow, as usually happens in mines worked 
 upon veins. Under these circumstances, the miner must think 
 of removing them. He has two ways of attaining this end. 
 The first is to give the waters an outlet, by opening a drift, 
 communicating with the surface at some distance. The water 
 is made to take its course along this drift. When this re- 
 source fails, from the nature of the country, the depth of the 
 mine, or some other reason, the only means left is to have 
 recourse to pumping engines. The pumps are set in motion 
 hy animal, water, or steam power. The animal power is in 
 some cases that of man ; more usually it consists of horses. 
 As the pumping of the water is always attended with a vast 
 deal of expense, this operation is avoided as often as possi- 
 ble. A drift, or drain, is therefore opened whenever the local 
 circumstances admit of it. Some drifts are made at great 
 depths, and extend to great distances.* It is generally con- 
 
 * The length of the drift in the district of Freyberg, including all the 
 branches connecting it with every mine, measured, in 1819, 70,000 German 
 Lachters, or upwards of 90 English miles. What an immense undertaking ! 
 and how great must be the advantages of drifts, in order to compensate for 
 such subterraneous aqueducts ! 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 19 
 
 sidered, that the money laid out in drifts is very soon repaid 
 by the economy of the pumps. Drifts, moreover, offer this 
 advantage, that they allow the miner to carry his works to 
 a much greater depth. 
 
 This branch of the miner's studies comprehends, therefore, 
 the art of making dams ; that of excavating the rock, as in 
 the third subdivision of this section ; the knowledge of me- 
 chanics, hydraulics, and hydrostatics; the science of ma- 
 chines, and of their proper disposition and application. 
 
 8. Another and a very important branch of the miner's 
 studies, is that of ventilating the mine, so as to procure a 
 constant supply of pure air. This object is particularly enti- 
 tled to the attention of the miner, since not only the security 
 of the mine, and the durability of the materials, depend upon 
 it, but even the preservation of the lives which are intrusted 
 to his care, and for which he must consider himself respon- 
 sible, should any accident happen through his carelessness or 
 neglect. The air in the interior of mines is generally pure, 
 but it requires a constant renewal ; for the oxigen which it 
 contains is continually absorbed by respiration and combus- 
 tion, and converted into carbonic acid gas. The inflammation 
 of gunpowder likewise tends to diminish the quantity of oxi- 
 gen in the air, by giving rise to new compounds, which do 
 not support life and combustion. If, therefore, a regular and 
 perpetual current of air were not kept up, the atmosphere of 
 the mines would become so foul as to cease to support com- 
 bustion, the lights would be extinguished, and, after a cer- 
 tain time, its action upon animal life would be fatal. In some 
 cases, a new cause operates, in like manner, to corrupt the 
 atmosphere. This is the foul air produced by the rock itself. 
 It occurs principally in coal mines, where the coal constantly 
 emits a quantity of gases, which not only cannot support ani- 
 mal life, but even in many instances are susceptible of being 
 inflamed, and give rise to explosions which have often proved 
 fatal to many of the workmen employed in the mines. Some 
 coal mines, particularly in England, produce so much of this 
 inflammable gas, that it had been found impossible to keep 
 lights in them, until the late discovery of the safety lamp, to 
 
20 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 which we have already alluded, and which has hitherto an- 
 swered in every case in which it was properly applied. In 
 the invention of this lamp, Sir Humphry Davy has shown 
 the great benefits which may result from applying theoretical 
 knowledge to practical use. Having found, by a series of 
 interesting experiments, that the flame of a candle could not 
 pass through a metallic gauze of a certain fineness of tex- 
 ture, he conceived the idea of enclosing the miner's lamp in 
 a cylinder of iron wire gauze, so secured as to prevent any 
 communication of the flame with the air of the atmosphere, 
 except through the holes in the gauze. The experiment has 
 been crowned with the most complete success ; and this in- 
 vention is undoubtedly one of the most valuable to humanity. 
 
 The miner has several ways of ventilating his mines, all 
 of which are attended with more or less expense. To enable 
 him to apply these methods with judgment, propriety, and 
 economy, is therefore the object of the eighth branch of his 
 studies. It includes, likewise, the knowledge of the best 
 means of lighting the mines, and of the various kinds of 
 lamps and torches which have been used. 
 
 9. The ninth division of the miner's acquirements is the 
 carriage of the ores in the mine from the spot whence they 
 are extracted to the bottom of the shaft, and then the raising 
 of the same from the bottom to the mouth of the pit. 
 
 The first part of this task requires some acquaintance with 
 the nature of a mine, and some experience on this subject ; 
 for the carriages under ground are attended with greater 
 difficulties, and a much greater expense, than those, at the 
 surface. There are various methods ; one of the least known, 
 and which is very seldom used, probably not so often as it 
 might be with advantage, is that of internal canals, the drifts 
 being used for that purpose, and the ore being conveyed in 
 small boats. A very pretty application of this method exists 
 in the neighbourhood of Alston Moor, in England, where 
 boats of upwards of five feet in breadth are navigated upon 
 this subterraneous canal. 
 
 As to the raising of the ores to the month of the pit, it is 
 done by means of machines, for the most part similar to, and 
 
THE ART OF MINING. SI 
 
 often connected with, those used for pumping out the water. 
 To the division which treats of the pumping of waters, this 
 part may therefore be referred. 
 
 10. The tenth branch, which the miner ought to study, is 
 that of dressing the ore. By dressing the ore, we understand 
 the operations practised to cleanse it of all the heterogeneous 
 particles with which it is mechanically mixed. These ope- 
 rations consist in picking, pounding, washing, &c. This 
 matter has been neglected in England to an astonishing de- 
 gree. In France, it is better understood ; but it is chiefly in 
 Germany that it is to be studied. Nowhere has the art of 
 dressing the ores been brought so near to perfection. It is 
 almost impossible to conceive, without having seen it, how 
 far the Germans excel all other nations in this important 
 subject. The first improvements in this art are due to the 
 Hungarians, whose ingenuity was brought into play by the 
 desire of extracting the gold which exists in a very trifling 
 quantity in the sands of their rivers, and also disseminated 
 in the earthy gangue of their veins. The first improvements 
 made by the Hungarians were subsequently introduced into 
 Saxony and the Hartz, where the poorest silver and tin ores 
 are worked, with a degree of economy almost incredible. 
 The operations in dressing the ores have for their object to 
 separate the substances which are mechanically mixed with 
 them, and which are commonly called gangue, or often very 
 improperly, matrix. In the washing of the ores, many differ- 
 ent plans have been pursued ; but of these, none is so advan- 
 tageous as that of the shaking or percussion tables, which 
 are set in motion by water-wheels, and, from their peculiar 
 construction, economize about four-fifths of the hands for- 
 merly employed for the purpose of washing the ores. 
 
 11. We have seen, that among the operations of the art of 
 mining, many required the use of machines which it is often 
 desirable to set in motion by a water power. This power 
 is not always at hand : it must be procured from a distance, 
 which is accomplished by means of canals and aqueducts. 
 In some of the more considerable mining districts of Europe, 
 these aqueducts are made of a great length, and often extend 
 
22 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 to twenty miles, and even more. To be enabled to construct 
 these aqueducts, it is necessary to be acquainted with civil 
 engineering, and it certainly would be very desirable that 
 any man who has any pretensions to be reckoned a perfect 
 miner, should not be a stranger to these operations. Num- 
 berless cases will occur, in the working of a mine, in which 
 the operations of the mining engineer differ but little from 
 those of the civil engineer. 
 
 12. But a much more important branch of the miner's pur- 
 suits, one to which all the others are directed, and by which 
 the ore is most effectually improved, is that of METALLURGY. 
 
 Metallurgy, or as it has been more properly termed of late, 
 MINERALURGY, is that portion of the miner's studies which 
 enables him by the action of heat, assisted by other agents, 
 for the most part chemical, to counteract the affinities which 
 unite the various components existing in the crude products 
 of the mines, and to separate from them the substance which 
 was the object of mining, in order to reduce it to such a state 
 of purity as will render it fit for the various purposes for 
 which it was intended ; it not only separates the bodies che- 
 mically combined, but also those which are mechanically 
 united in quantities too minute, or by a mixture too intimate 
 to admit of a separation by picking and washing, &c. It is, 
 therefore, by the assistance of metallurgy that we are ena- 
 bled to separate and extract silver, lead, and copper, from 
 some combinations in which they are mixed with iron, anti- 
 mony, arsenic, zinc, sulphur, lime, magnesia, and other sub- 
 stances, whose names are only known to those who have 
 made a study of chemistry. 
 
 Metallurgical operations are the last which the miner has 
 to perform. They are, at the same time, the most compli- 
 cated, and the most difficult. It is not enough for the metal- 
 lurgist to separate the greater part of the metal, but he must 
 separate the whole, if possible ; and what is more, he must do 
 it with great economy. He must not be satisfied with the re- 
 sults which he has obtained ; he must constantly endeavour 
 to improve his process. Metallurgy is a science in which 
 much remains to be done. It is, therefore, incumbent upon 
 
THR ART OF MINING. 25 
 
 the metallurgist to be ever watchful, and to endeavour to at- 
 tain a greater degree of economy and precision. This he 
 may be able to effect by studying well all the operations 
 practised at this time, and those which have been formerly 
 practised, but have since been abandoned. He must endea- 
 vour to ascertain why they have been given up. He must 
 inquire into the rationale of all his operations ; examine and 
 analyze all the products obtained. By these, and similar 
 means, he may hope for success. 
 
 Among the most important branches of the metallurgist's 
 studies, is, undoubtedly, that of the construction of his fur* 
 naces. It is one on which too much care cannot be bestow- 
 ed. He must, likewise, become well acquainted with the na- 
 ture and quality of the various kinds of fuel used, the pro- 
 cess of converting wood and coal into charcoal and coak, &c. 
 
 The principal operations used by the metallurgist to at- 
 tain his end, are the roasting, smelting, amalgamating, cu- 
 pelling, and refining, of the ores. If mineralogy be the cor- 
 nerstone of the miner's studies, metallurgy may with justice 
 be said to be its keystone. It is metallurgy which completes, 
 which perfects the work. 
 
 We might easily have lengthened this review of the studies 
 of the miner, by adding a number of branches, and making 
 several subdivisions, which we have avoided in order to re- 
 duce it to as small a compass as possible. Nor have we in- 
 cluded in the studies of the miner, that of mining jurispru- 
 dence, although it is considered in Germany as an indispen- 
 sable part of his studies. Every officer of mines employed 
 in the kingdom of Saxony, is compelled to attend two years 
 the lectures of the Law Academy at Leipsick, and it is not 
 until he has undergone examinations upon jurisprudence, 
 that he is received as officer of mines. We would not has- 
 tily or rashly censure regulations which have been found to 
 answer during centuries, and which come down to us sanc- 
 tioned by experience and time ; but we would observe, that 
 although this study may be very necessary in Germany, 
 where the laws and regulations on mining are numerous and 
 
24 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 complicated, it does not appear to us that this study is more 
 necessary to the American miner, than to the possessor of 
 any kind of property whatsoever, or to the man following 
 any other profession. A general acquaintance with the laws 
 of his country is what every man ought to have ; more than 
 this we do not helieve to be necessary to the miner. 
 
 We now proceed to examine upon what sciences the art 
 of the miner is founded, and how he is to apply them. 
 
 From what has heen stated in the preceding pages, we 
 think it apparent that the art of mining is founded upon four 
 sciences ,* viz. 
 
 Mineralogy, 
 Natural Philosophy, 
 Mathematics, and 
 Chemistry. 
 
 Mineralogy is indispensable to the miner in order to re- 
 cognise the minerals when he sees them. 
 
 Natural Philosophy is necessary, as it comprises statics, 
 mechanics, hydraulics, hydrostatics, and magnetism, which, 
 as we have seen, are useful to the miner in draining the 
 mines of the water they contain in raising the ores to the 
 surface in resisting the lateral pressure of the rock in 
 ventilating the mine in directing his course under ground 
 by means of the compass in dressing the ores in making 
 aqueducts in constructing blasting machines for his fur- 
 naces, &c. 
 
 Mathematics are indispensable to calculate the force of his 
 machines, and of his moving powers ; to enable him to make 
 correct surveys of his subterraneous works ; to assist him in 
 judging of the strength of his constructions both above and 
 under ground. 
 
 Upon correct notions of mathematics and natural philoso- 
 phy depends the successful application of his machinery, whe- 
 ther it consist of horse-engines, or steam-engines, of water- 
 wheels, or pressing machines, &c. If ignorant of surveying, 
 or of the laws which govern his compass, he never will be 
 able to make the different parts of his works correspond with 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 25 
 
 each other. In vain will he waste treasures in endeavours 
 to open drifts. He will always be foiled in his attempts, be- 
 cause he was deficient in the first requisites. 
 
 Chemistry is as necessary to the miner as any other 
 science. Upon an intimate acquaintance with it, his success 
 in a great measure depends. He must have made a close 
 study of this science, both as respects the nicer operations of 
 analytical chemistry, and the great principles of chemical 
 statics, in order to be able to explain and account for the 
 mutual and relative actions of the various substances which 
 he wishes to treat in his furnaces, and to remedy all the ac- 
 cidents which may occur. Docimasy and metallurgy, two 
 of the most interesting and important branches of the mi- 
 ner's studies, depend exclusively upon chemistry. He must, 
 therefore, be master of this science, if he expects to succeed. 
 
 If it be remarked, that the studies which we have present- 
 ed as indispensable for the miner, are so various and so ex- 
 tensive, so general and so difficult, as to render it impossi- 
 ble for a single man to make himself thoroughly acquainted 
 with them all, we answer, that we have intended to show 
 what acquirements a man ought to possess before he could 
 call himself a perfect miner. We are ready to acknowledge 
 that it is impossible for any one man to be equally well 
 skilled in all these branches. It is usual in all the great 
 mining districts of Europe, to divide the task between seve- 
 ral men. The isolated mines are confided, it is true, to the 
 care of a single director, who, being unable to attend equal- 
 ly well to the whole, directs his attention more exclusively 
 to those studies which he thinks are most needed in the esta- 
 blishment at the head of which he finds himself placed. But 
 although we admit that a man may neglect or lay aside those 
 branches of the miner's pursuits which he finds less impor- 
 tant, (as for instance, metallurgy, if he be at the head of 
 coal mines,) still, we think that he ought always to keep up 
 a general acquaintance with the sciences upon which they 
 are founded, in order that he may have recourse to them 
 whenever he finds it necessary. 
 4 
 
26 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 But it is not enough to have learnt these sciences in the 
 study or in the laboratory ; he must not think that mere the- 
 oretical knowledge will avail him much. He must, on the 
 contrary, endeavour to acquire practical information. He 
 must visit the interior of the mines study the disposition of 
 rocks examine the mariner in which the works are execut- 
 ed nay, he must himself become an operator he must have 
 handled the tools himself, or he never can expect to be a per- 
 fect miner, or a good judge of the work executed by those 
 under him. 
 
 There is no art, perhaps, where it is more necessary, and 
 yet more difficult, to unite practice with theory, than in the art 
 of mining. The man who is a mere theorist, can never form 
 a correct opinion of what a mine is, or how it ought to be work- 
 ed ; he will never know what remedy to apply in case of a 
 failure. Trusting to his drawings or to his calculations, every 
 step which he takes may be in direct opposition to the ac- 
 knowledged laws of nature. He assumes as principles, rules 
 which have never existed but in his own imagination, and 
 upon these establishes arguments, and draws conclusions, as 
 false as the premises upon which they are founded. 
 
 In the course of our very limited experience, it has been 
 in our power to notice several instances of men, who, possess- 
 ing very deep mathematical information, could have calcu- 
 lated the exact resistance of a beam of wood, and the force 
 necessary to break it ; but if brought into a mine and re- 
 quested to give an advice as to the size of a piece of timber, 
 which could resist the lateral pressure, in a particular case then 
 under notice, found themselves completely at a loss for an 
 answer, and acknowledged that all their theoretic know- 
 ledge could not assist them in solving a question, which a 
 mere practical workman in the mine, could, from analogy 
 and by experience, answer without hesitation. 
 
 At the same time, however, that we admit that theory 
 alone will not avail a miner much, we should be sorry to see 
 its advantages overlooked ; the mere practical miner is apt 
 to be puzzled at the least difficulty ; he but seldom improves, 
 generally retrogrades, or follows a blind routine. 
 
THE ART OF MUTING. 27 
 
 In order to avoid both evils, we believe it necessary to be 
 acquainted with both theory and practice ; to trust in theory 
 as often as its results are not in direct opposition with those 
 of experience ; to take advantage of the reasonings a priori, in 
 every instance in which the arguments a posteriori have not 
 given a decided and incontrovertible answer ; in a word, to 
 rely upon theory without being a slave to it. 
 
 SECTION SECOND. 
 
 Of the nature of Mining. Of the class of property to 'which 
 Mines belong, and of the importance of the art of Mining 
 compared with all others. 
 
 A question which has often been debated among the au- 
 thors who have written on mining, is, whether it ought to 
 be considered as an art or a science ; but this is a mere scho- 
 lastic puzzle, which has been applied equally to all branches 
 of human knowledge ; the miner's profession has its theory 
 as well as its practice ; the former entitles it to be ranked 
 with the sciences, while the latter constitutes it an art ; it 
 therefore partakes of both ; it requires an acquaintance with 
 several sciences and several arts ; hence, it is, with propriety, 
 neither exclusively a science nor an art ; but it is a sort of 
 middle ground, upon which both may be said to meet. 
 
 Another question, and one of much greater importance to the 
 miner, is to ascertain in what class of property mines should be 
 ranked, and if they are to be considered in every respect as 
 real property ; there are probably some points of difference 
 between mines and other kinds of property ; but the exami- 
 nation of this question appertains more properly to the law- 
 yer than to the miner ; we will therefore not enter into a 
 discussion which is beyond our reach, but we wished to call 
 the attention of the lawyer to this subject, which, we believe, 
 has not been very closely examined. 
 
28 CONSIDERATIONS UPOIt 
 
 Whatever may have been the motives which induced le- 
 gislators to separate this class of property from all others, 
 certain it is, that in most countries, the mines have been 
 made the subject of peculiar legislation ; we believe that it is 
 principally to their importance to society in general, that we 
 must attribute this distinction ; as the metals, the salts, and 
 fuel which are extracted from mines, are admitted by all to 
 be indispensable for the comfort, we might say, for the exist- 
 ence of man, and as they are not to be found indifferently 
 upon the whole surface of a country, but are restricted to 
 particular spots and particular localities, it was thought ne- 
 cessary for the general interest of society, to take away from 
 the owners of these spots, the right of property to those 
 sources of wealth $ for, if this right of property were vested 
 in the owner of the land, it would be optional with him 
 to work his mines, or to neglect them ; it would therefore be 
 in his power to give to, or withhold from society the com- 
 forts and means of subsistence, which depend upon the pro- 
 ducts of mines ; these products being considered as a source 
 of national wealth, were supposed to be national property, 
 which ought to be disposed of in the manner best calculated 
 to secure the interests of the nation at large ; it was argued 
 in defence of this doctrine, that a river is not the property of 
 the man upon whose estate it passes ; that he enjoys, it is 
 true, all the advantages, and is liable to all the inconveni- 
 ence, which result from its neighbourhood, without being the 
 proprietor of its waters; that he can only take advantage 
 of them, as long as the use he makes of them does not 
 interfere with the general interests of society. When the in- 
 justice of taking away from an individual his property, was 
 urged as a motive against this mode of reasoning, it was an- 
 swered, that the depriving an individual of a property, upon 
 which he had not depended, could not be considered as an 
 injustice done to him ; that he knew not of the existence of 
 a mine under ground when he purchased the spot, and there- 
 fore, that his schemes of profit were not founded upon it; 
 that, when a law was passed to take away from the owner of 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 29 
 
 the soil, the right of property to the undiscovered mines 
 which lay concealed in the bowels of the earth, he could at 
 most be said to be deceived in the hopes which he might 
 have entertained; that this measure, however, affected only 
 the original proprietor, for every subsequent purchaser 
 would be aware of the conditional tenure by which he held 
 the land ; and that, although the case of the first owner was 
 hard, it could only be considered as one of the many in which 
 individual interests must be postponed to the general wel- 
 fare. Another powerful motive for separating mines from other 
 kind of property, and taking them away from the owners of 
 the soil, was the great difference which exists between mines 
 and lands devoted to agriculture, and which consists in this, 
 that the former can be exhausted, or rendered useless to so- 
 ciety by mismanagement in the origin,* while the latter pos- 
 sess a perpetual power of reproduction ; that, if the pow- 
 ers of the soil be exhausted by some cause or other, they can 
 be restored and reproduced in a lapse of time never very 
 considerable ; this is an argument, which, if fairly examined 
 and duly weighed, will go very far; for if mines be produc- 
 tive of great advantage to the community, it is essential for the 
 general benefit of this community that they be worked, and 
 their products brought into circulation ; but further, it is also 
 necessary that they be worked with the greatest advantage 
 and skill, in order that society at large may derive the great- 
 est possible advantage, from a treasure placed by Provi- 
 
 * We have said that a mine can be destroyed, or rendered useless, by 
 mismanagement in the origin. We might cite many instances ; a single one 
 will suffice. If a coal mine be improperly worked in the origin, large masses 
 left unexplored, a free access of atmospheric air allowed to this coal, it will 
 be very apt to inflame spontaneously, by the decomposition of the iron py- 
 rites, which accompanies it in most cases ; the mine once on fire, there is no 
 saying where or when the conflagration will stop ; some of these subterra- 
 neous fires have been lasting two or three centuries; not only the coal is 
 lost to mankind, but the surface of the soil has considerably suffered from 
 the smoke and gases issuing, which have produced pressures in the soil, &c. 
 and have destroyed the vegetation over extensive tracts. The great chasms 
 formed under ground by the combustion of the coal, have caused the sink- 
 ing in of the surface, and many other accidents. 
 
30 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 deuce upon the property of an individual, for the benefit of 
 the community at large. 
 
 Hence the great principle, upon which all the writers upon 
 the law of mining seem to have agreed, that when a mine 
 belongs to an individual, it is a property which he may use, 
 but not abuse ; while all other properties which he possesses 
 he holds in most cases with the privilege of using and abusing 
 at pleasure. 
 
 It has been further urged, in favour of taking away from 
 an individual the right of property to the mines under his 
 ground, that the division of property is always made with 
 reference to the convenience of the owners of the soil, and 
 that the mines which exist under its surface have little or no 
 connexion with the surface itself, so that a division of pro- 
 perty, made to suit the surface, may be such as to preclude 
 the possibility of a mine under ground being worked by the 
 owners of the soil separately ; whereas, if the privilege of 
 the mines did not follow the property of the surface, but were 
 vested in a single individual, this individual might work them 
 with profit to himself and advantage to the community. It 
 is from such motives as these, that the advocates of restric- 
 tive laws upon mines endeavour to establish the expediency 
 and justice of the right of Royalty. This regal right varies 
 in every country. In some, the sovereign is merely entitled 
 to a certain proportion in the profits, or to a share in the 
 products. In other countries, the sovereign, besides his share 
 in the products, has the exclusive right of disposing of the 
 mines, and of conferring them upon those whom he thinks 
 best calculated to secure the interests of the state. In some 
 parts of Germany, the sovereign has moreover the sole right 
 of directing the manner in which the mines belonging to in- 
 dividuals shall be worked. Hence the creation of a regular 
 body of officers, instructed in the art of mining, and to whom 
 is assigned the care of superintending and directing all the 
 mines of the country, whether they belong to the sovereign 
 or to individuals. The creation of such a body of officers 
 was followed by that of public schools and academies, where 
 the art of mining is taught in all its various branches. To 
 
THE ART OF MINING. SI 
 
 these institutions, no doubt, the art is much indebted for 
 many of the improvements which have been introduced dur- 
 ing the last century. But such a system is liable to great 
 objections. It seems to us, that the establishment of officers 
 for the special purpose of directing an individual how he is 
 to employ his property, what expenses he must make, and 
 what profits he may be allowed to derive from them, is an 
 encroachment upon private rights, to which nothing but the 
 most manifest expediency could induce us to accede ; and we 
 believe this expediency has not been clearly demonstrated. 
 We admit that there are many instances, in which the inter- 
 ests of society at large, the security of the mines, and that of 
 the lives of the men employed in them, would seem to justify, 
 and even to require, an interference on the part of the legis- 
 lators. Whenever such an interference can be proved to be 
 necessary, we shall always be disposed to advocate it, even 
 though it affect individual rights ; for in societies, it is evi- 
 dent that the convenience of the few must yield to the inter- 
 ests of the many. It is a rule so well established, that we 
 shall not dwell a moment in bringing forward examples, and 
 merely state, that whenever a road or canal is found benefi- 
 cial to the country at large, no individual can object to its 
 passing over his property, although it may occasion him 
 serious inconvenience. There are numberless other instances 
 which tend to prove, that the great basis of social life being 
 that of mutual sacrifices for the public weal, society at large 
 is perfectly justifiable in compelling an individual to abandon 
 rights which are injurious to it. 
 
 Our object, at present, is not to decide wbat course should 
 be followed in the United States, and what laws ought to be 
 made regulating the rights of miners ; and we even abstain 
 from expressing any decided opinion as to the expediency of 
 making any law whatsoever on the subject, our only purpose 
 being to endeavour to call the attention of some able writer 
 to this subject. We would wish that that writer could be 
 found in that class of professional men, who, from the nature 
 of their avocations, have made a particular study of jurispru- 
 dence and of the rights of property, and who, from their 
 
32 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 general character, would, we are certain, take an enlightened 
 view of the suhject, and lend their influence to support any 
 measure, the object of which would he to open a new source 
 of national wealth, and to make our country independent of 
 all others as respects the products of mines, even though such 
 a measure might in some respects curtail the rights of the 
 owners of the soil. \Ve will merely state a few of the many 
 instances which have been brought forward on this question, 
 in order to show how, in some cases, legislative authority 
 might be exercised with advantage. We merely assume, 
 beforehand, what we believe to be correct, that there is no 
 law of the United States, arid none of the state of Pennsyl- 
 vania,* which can be said to apply particularly to mines. 
 
 It has often been thought, that the privilege granted to 
 sovereigns had been in many cases most shamefully abused, 
 as, for instance, in England, where the right of royalty over 
 immense territories was lavished by the crown upon indivi- 
 duals who had no claim to it except through the favour of 
 the monarch. It was to reward a chieftain who had been 
 useful to him in wars, that the king would confer upon him 
 the royalty of all the mines found in one or more counties, 
 to the great and manifest injury of the industrious and useful 
 part of the community. This right was afterwards sold and 
 divided by these military lords and their descendants, so that 
 they have now fallen into the hands of individuals who own 
 them often without having any right to the soil under which 
 they may be found. This privilege, originally assumed by 
 the sovereign for the interest of the community, has therefore 
 in this case proved of no use whatever to the state ; it has 
 never benefited either the public or the king; but it has 
 
 * The reservation of one-fifth of the gold and silver ores for the use of the 
 state, cannot be considered as a law on mining, but merely as a restriction 
 in the sale of the property. We may be allowed to observe, that this reser- 
 vation is very immoderate; and must either prevent these ores from being 
 worked, or give rise to great abuse. We believe that so great a reservation 
 has been but seldom required, and we know of no instance where a greater 
 one has been called for. The word ore is very loose, and will, we fear, give rise 
 to great difficulties, if this law should ever come into operation, which we 
 trust will not be necessary, 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 33 
 
 introduced a division of rights, which gives rise to great diffi- 
 culties among landholders. 
 
 In order to show how irregularly this right is now divid- 
 ed, we may mention the instance of one of the richest com- 
 moners in England, who holds immense estates in the north- 
 ern counties, and whose lead mines are among the most im- 
 portant in England. These lead mines are worked hy him 
 1st. On property belonging to him, and of which he has the 
 right of royalty ; 2d. On property belonging to other in- 
 dividuals, but of which the right of royalty resides in him ; 
 3d. On property belonging to him, but of which the royal- 
 ty resides in other individuals, from whom he rents it ; 
 4th. And, finally, upon lands, the royalty of which belongs 
 to the Dean and chapter of Durham, while the exclusive right 
 of the surface belongs to a third party. 
 
 Hence, it is evident, that the royalty in England has been 
 but an additional right of patronage vested in the crown, and 
 which has been used for no other purpose than to gratify 
 the wishes of the favourites of the monarch. We may here 
 observe, that the rights of royalty over every section of the 
 country, have passed in this manner from the crown to in- 
 dividuals ; the present king possessing the royalties of no 
 mines except those vested in his person by virtue of his right 
 of Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall. 
 
 Having shown the origin of the right of royalty, together 
 with some of the arguments for and against its expediency, 
 we shall proceed to examine a few of the many cases, in 
 which an interference, on the part of legislative authority, 
 seems to be justifiable. Our first example shall be taken from 
 a case which was peculiarly applicable a few years ago, and 
 would have continued so to be, if the hopes which had been 
 formed of the existence of a valuable mine had not been dis- 
 appointed. 
 
 Tin is a rare metal, but a very useful one. The only mines 
 of it worked in Europe, are those of Cornwall, which are 
 very rich and abundant ; and those of Germany, which are 
 comparatively inconsiderable. But the greater part of the 
 tin used in the arts, and the best quality, comes from Ban- 
 5 
 
34 CONSIDERATIONS UPO3T 
 
 ca and Malacca, and other mines in Asia ; it all reaches Eu- 
 rope by the way of England. France possesses no tin mines. 
 This metal is very useful in many of the arts, and particu- 
 larly in time of war, as it enters largely into the composi- 
 tion of gun-metal. In case of a war with England, France 
 has no means of procuring tin, except at a great expense, 
 from Germany; hut, in the event of a war with Germany and 
 England, (as was lately the case,) France has no means of 
 receiving any tin. Suppose a tin mine were discovered in 
 France, and the individual on whose property it lay, from 
 some motive or other, refused to work it himself, or to allow 
 any other person to take advantage of it, would not the com- 
 munity at large be injured by this individual's refusing or 
 neglecting to work his mine ? might it not, in this case, be 
 desirable that the power of disposing of the mine should rest 
 in the hands of persons more apt to be actuated by the pub- 
 lic welfare, than the isolated individual, whose patriotism is 
 often stifled by private interest ? 
 
 Again, there are, we believe, cases of a stronger nature in 
 favour of some laws which would tend to facilitate the work- 
 ing of mines. Suppose a landholder find a mine on his pro- 
 perty, and that he be disposed to work it ; let it be, for in- 
 stance, the same tin mine which we have just spoken of, and 
 the importance of which to the community we have just es- 
 tablished; but let us suppose, at the same time, that this mine 
 could not be worked with advantage, unless a drift leading 
 to a distant valley were opened, two or three hundred feet 
 under ground, in order to drain the water. Suppose this 
 drift have to pass under property belonging to other individu- 
 als, who, from some motive or other, would refuse to grant 
 to the holder of the mine the privilege of opening his drift, 
 unless he paid them an extravagant compensation, or per- 
 haps will not agree to any terms. The motives of these in- 
 dividuals we do not examine; they may be actuated by 
 groundless fears; perhaps by pique or jealousy at their 
 neighbour's success ; perhaps by disaffection to the country 
 in which they live, if the mine be of sufficient importance to 
 affect its political situation. Is it not evident, that in such a 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 35 
 
 case, society at large may be seriously injured, the holder 
 of the mine may find himself ruined, and foiled in his at- 
 tempt to carry on works of public utility as well as private 
 advantage, by the mere selfishness or obstinacy of an indi- 
 vidual, who derives no benefit whatsoever from this line of 
 conduct, and whose property can by no means be injured by 
 a drift passing several hundred feet under ground ? Certain- 
 ly no reasonable man could object to a law's being made 
 which might benefit the miner in this instance, provided it 
 were so restricted as not to prove oppressive in other cases. 
 
 A third instance in which the interest of the public may 
 be at variance with that of an individual, and with our actual 
 legislation, is, where a mine could be worked with advan- 
 tage to the public and to the proprietor, if he were allowed 
 to bring a stream of water to his works, in order to set his 
 wheels in motion; but that this water could only be procured 
 by means of an aqueduct passing over the property of his 
 neighbours. In the case of a canal, the objections of the 
 owners would be overruled; why should they not likewise be 
 disregarded in a case which affects society perhaps to as ex- 
 tensive a degree ? What objections could be made to a law 
 securing to a miner the right of making such roads and 
 aqueducts as are indispensable for his works, requiring, of 
 course, at the same time, that he should pay his neighbours 
 a full compensation for the injury done to their property, the 
 amount to be ascertained as it now is in the analogous case 
 of canals, &c. ? 
 
 But there is another point to which we would call the 
 attention of the humane legislator. It is one which we con- 
 sider as of much greater importance, inasmuch as instead 
 of the property, it is the life of many valuable members 
 of the community which it concerns. Suppose a man, care- 
 less of the high moral responsibility which is attached to 
 his situation as director of works of this nature, exposes the 
 lives of the labourers whom he employs in dangerous works, 
 which his ignorance or neglect has made him overlook, and 
 which prudence and foresight on his part might have point- 
 ed out to him. Suppose an accident happen which he might 
 
36 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 have prevented by a little attention, is such a director ame- 
 nable before any tribunal? is there any law by which his 
 presumption or his indifference can be punished? Will it bo 
 argued, that there was no compulsion on his part, and that 
 the workman who perished was a victim of his own impru- 
 dence? will it be considered as a risk voluntarily encounter- 
 ed by the uninstructed labourer? and will society be satisfied 
 with a verdict of " accidental death ?" \Ve fancy not ; we 
 hope not ; we trust some measure would be found to teach 
 this careless director, that besides being responsible to his 
 Maker, he is answerable to his fellow-citizens, and to the 
 laws of his country, for a waste of human life which he might 
 have prevented. 
 
 Our object has been to show that there is good cause to 
 inquire whether any law should be made, restricting or re- 
 gulating the privileges of miners and landholders concern- 
 ed or connected with mines. And if it is likely that such an 
 interference on the part of the legislature shall become ne- 
 cessary, we think it would be of great advantage that the 
 laws should have been made before the case shall arise to 
 which they may apply. In this manner, we would avoid 
 every thing like an ex post facto law. Should we neglect to 
 make the law at present, when the art of mining has scarce- 
 ly taken a footing in the United States, we may be called 
 upon to make it at a time when it would be applicable to in- 
 dividual cases, and where its justice might be questioned. 
 And let it not be said that we cannot make the law until the 
 case to which it may apply shall have arisen and proved its 
 necessity ; for, in this respect, we may question the experi- 
 ence of Europe; we may see what cases have called for 
 interference during the last five or six centuries, and be 
 prepared to meet them when they shall occur in our own 
 country. Another motive, which ought, we think, to induce 
 the legislator to turn his attention to this subject is, that by 
 so doing we will prevent the introduction of local usages and 
 customs, which are at first introduced merely for conve- 
 nience's sake, but which, after a while, assume the force of 
 law, and tend to substitute, in the place of a wise, well digest- 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 37 
 
 ed, and universally applicable code of laws, a set of incohe- 
 rent usages, often arbitrary and unjust, partial in their ap- 
 plication, and not unfrequently, very contradictory; the his- 
 tory of the origin of laws in all countries, and especially of 
 that upon -mines in England, justifies us in our fears, that 
 such would be the case in our own country, if the subject 
 were totally neglected.* 
 
 Those who are opposed to interference on the part of the 
 legislature, generally answer that it is useless, because in- 
 dividuals will always find it their interest to agree among 
 themselves, and to work their mines, and to facilitate the 
 working of those belonging to their neighbours ; but we be- 
 lieve there are many cases, in which an individual may find 
 it his private interest to oppose the general interests of so- 
 ciety, and where he will do it if he can ; we shall only bring 
 one instance in support of our opinion, and we shall take it 
 from the extensive and celebrated coal mines of Newcastle 
 on Tyne; it is a well known fact, admitted by all those who 
 have visited these mines, that some of them are very benefi- 
 cial to the proprietors; others barely pay at the present 
 price ; while a third class cannot be worked without loss, un- 
 der existing circumstances ; if the causes of this disparity in 
 the profits be inquired into, they will not, nine times out of 
 ten, be found to exist in the nature or abundance of the coal, 
 nor in the nature of the adjoining rock, nor in the quantity 
 of water in the works, but chiefly in the local situation of 
 the mine. Some of them are situated upon the banks of the 
 Tyne, in such a manner, that the coal brought out of the pit 
 is immediately emptied into the boats or ships in the river ; 
 
 * Since writing the above, we have found a passage in Mr. Schoolcraft's 
 work on the mines of Missouri, which proves that the evil which we appre- 
 hended is almost inseparable from mines, in a country where they are not re- 
 gulated by law ; and that it has already unfortunately taken root in this 
 country. The passage to which we allude runs thus: " Custom has establish- 
 ed a number of laws among the miners, with regard to digging, which have 
 a tendency to prevent disputes. Whenever a discovery is made, the person 
 making it is entitled to claim the ground for twenty-five feet in every direc- 
 tion from his pit, giving him fifty feet square, &c." (Schoolcraft's View of the 
 Lead Mines of Missouri. New York, 1819. Page 107.) 
 
38 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 others are at a small distance, others again at a considera- 
 ble distance from the river ; but all could be worked with ad- 
 vantage, if the owners of the more distant mines were allowed 
 to convey their coal to the river by the nearest route ; but this 
 they are prevented from doing, the owners of the intervening 
 property refusing them the passage, or requiring from them 
 such an extravagant toll, as often amounts to a prohibition. 
 We have seen instances, in which the owner of the coal was 
 obliged to make a circuitous road of eight or ten miles, 
 where the real distance, by tbe shortest direction, did not ex- 
 ceed two or three miles. When we consider that tliese roads 
 are all made roads, and inclined planes, it is impossible not 
 to be struck with the great disadvantage under which mines 
 at a distance from the river labour. The expense of making 
 railways for such a distance, and the inconvenience of convey- 
 ing so bulky an article as coal, and of so small a value com- 
 pared to its bulk, deprive many owners of the reasonable 
 profit which they ought to make, and prevent many others 
 from working their mines. The effect is obvious ; the great 
 competition is destroyed ; the public buys coal at an advanced 
 price ; and the owners of KILLINGWORTH and WAULSEND 
 alone are benefited by it. 
 
 In making laws on mines, we must bear in mind, that they 
 differ much from agricultural property, in this especially, 
 that they are of a perishable nature ; that the mine which 
 flourished during the last century, and offered great expec- 
 tations to the miner, has been exhausted ; that it exists at pre- 
 sent only in the remembrance of the great profits which it 
 afforded, and in the immense chasms which it has left behind. 
 
 As respects the interests of the miner, we may say, that 
 they are closely connected with those of the manufacturer, 
 in the same way that there is an analogy between mines and 
 manufactures ; because they both have alike a tendency to 
 convert the imperfect and native material into a new sub- 
 stance, better adapted to the wants of man ; they change its 
 form and its texture, its external and internal characters, 
 and by a variety of manipulations, they produce a new body ; 
 the interests of both are in a great measure linked together ; 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 39 
 
 both require the fostering hand of government, both demand 
 the attention and protection of the rulers of the state, both 
 tend to increase the national independence, and to create a 
 new source of wealth and prosperity ; the miner extracts, from 
 the bosom of the earth, the metals which the manufacturer con- 
 verts into the tools and instruments used in daily life, and again 
 receives from the latter those products of human ingenuity, 
 without which, he could not continue his subterraneous 
 works ; hoth the miner and the manufacturer can be greatly 
 assisted, or much injured, by the transactions of the mer- 
 chant ; both can assist him in his undertakings, and benefit 
 him in his speculations; but both are at his mercy; he can 
 bring a temporary ruin upon them, which must, however, al- 
 ways recoil upon himself, and involve him in their common 
 misfortunes. 
 
 Hence, although the property of the miner may resemble 
 that of the landholder, his interest connects him with the 
 merchant and the manufacturer. 
 
 Before we conclude this section, it remains for us to deter- 
 mine the importance of mining, compared with other arts, and 
 on this subject, we trust, a few words will suffice. 
 
 It is evident that this art is of the first importance, since 
 it may be considered as the basis of all other arts, inasmuch 
 as these require the previous success of the miner, in order 
 to provide for them their first implements, since society could 
 not exist without the use of the metals, salts, and fuel, de- 
 rived from mining ; since civilization is essentially connected 
 with it, and must have originally been dependent upon it, for 
 every improvement which it has made. 
 
 Let us take any art we please, and inquire into the nature 
 of the first materials it uses, the tools which it requires, the 
 products which it consumes, the operations it performs ; let 
 us then abstract every material produced by mining, &c. and 
 let us see what will remain ; we believe we may safely aver, 
 that it will be " stat nominis itmbra" 
 
40 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 SECTION THIRD. 
 
 Of the actual state of Mining in Europe. Of the advantages 
 which migJit accrue to the United States from the introduc- 
 tion of this Jlrt. Of the obstacles which would intervene, and 
 of the best course to be followed in order to remove them* 
 
 The traveller who returns from distant countries, and who 
 wishes to make known the result of his observations abroad, 
 is seldom received by the public with indulgence. It is diffi- 
 cult for him not to attack opinions already entertained by 
 some of his readers. Hence, his observations are weighed 
 with an unusual degree of severity. Every remark which he 
 makes is closely examined, and he may indeed deem himself 
 fortunate, if, in the review of his opinions, his intentions are 
 respected, and his motives are not made the subject of scru- 
 tiny. If the observations he makes are of a favourable na- 
 ture, he is often suspected of wishing to assign to his travels 
 an undeserved degree of importance. His praises are said to 
 he lavished indiscriminately. The correctness of his judg- 
 ment is questioned. If, on the contrary, he censures or ridi- 
 cules, he is himself blamed, and not unfrequently by the very 
 same class of readers who would have condemned his praises. 
 He is represented as presumptuous, especially if he happen 
 to be young ; his censures are considered as the mere effect 
 of prejudice ; he is accused of being partial to one nation at 
 the expense of another. 
 
 We do not flatter ourselves that our remarks upon the ac- 
 tual state of mining in Europe, will deserve or meet with a 
 more favourable reception ; but we solicit the indulgence of 
 our readers on this subject, as we believe it is the first at- 
 tempt of the kind which has been made, and that the subject 
 is new to the greater part of our fellow-citizens. 
 
 We propose to examine, in the following pages, the state 
 of the miner's art in France, Switzerland, Savoy, Germany, 
 the Netherlands, Scotland, and England, as we have visited 
 those countries, and have paid particular attention to the pre- 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 41 
 
 sent subject. We shall add a few remarks upon the mines of 
 such other parts of Europe as we have not visited ourselves, 
 but concerning which we have obtained correct accounts from 
 fellow-travellers, upon whose accuracy we might depend. 
 
 Mines of France. Until the end of the last century, the 
 mines of France had been neglected : the government had 
 either overlooked the subject, or been induced to suppose that 
 the mineral wealth of that empire was but inconsiderable. 
 The first attempt to improve the art was made, we believe, 
 in 1740, when the government defrayed the expenses of two 
 intelligent travellers, (Messrs. Jars and Duhamel,) who vi- 
 sited the mines of Germany, Sweden, and England, and one 
 of whom wrote a series of interesting memoirs on these mines, 
 which were published after his death, and are considered, 
 even at present, as among the most valuable text books on 
 metallurgy.* A second expedition of the same nature was 
 fitted out during the few years of comparative calm which 
 marked the early part of the reign of Lewis XVI. All the 
 travellers who shared this expedition have since died, except 
 the distinguished author of the " Siderotechnia,"f a work 
 which contains all that was known of the art of making iron 
 and steel, up to the time of its publication. But the most im- 
 portant step, taken in France, to improve the art of mining, 
 was undoubtedly the establishment of a School of Mines. 
 This school was founded a few years before the revolution 
 broke out, but it was only brought into activity under the 
 republican government, to which is also due the institution of 
 a periodical work of great merit, exclusively devoted to this 
 art, and to the sciences connected with it. 
 
 The School of Mines was opened at first in Paris, and its 
 original professors were among the most distinguished men 
 of the time. After the conquest of Savoy, and its union with 
 France, the school was removed to Moutiers, in the Alps, 
 not far from Mont Blanc, and a neighbouring lead mine, of 
 some importance, was placed at the disposal of the directors 
 
 * Voyages Metallurgiques par M . Jars. 
 
 f La Siderotechnie ou 1'art de traeter les minerals de fer, par J. H. Has- 
 senfratz. Paris, 1812, 4 vols. 4to. 
 6 
 
42 CONSIDERATIONS UPOW 
 
 of the school. The object of this removal was to enable the 
 students to become acquainted with the practical part of the 
 art, at the same time that they studied its theory. This 
 school was in reality a nursery of good miners. The number 
 of engineers of mines which it has produced, and the celebri- 
 ty which many of them have already acquired, while others 
 have been employed in as useful, though less brilliant a ca- 
 reer, arc the best proofs that can be given of the merits of 
 this institution. 
 
 On the return of the Bourbon dynasty to their paternal 
 throne, the new acquisitions were given up, and Savoy re- 
 turned to its ancient masters. The School of Mines was ne- 
 cessarily broken up ; it was a short time after re-organized, 
 and located in Paris. The situation in the metropolis was 
 considered, in many respects, more advantageous, on account 
 of the great facility which Paris affords over all cities, for 
 the pursuit of science. The lectures are delivered by able 
 professors, whose courses last during the winter season : an 
 excellent chemical laboratory is annexed to the institution, in 
 which the students are enabled to enter as deeply into the 
 science of docimasy as their inclination prompts, or their ta- 
 lents permit them. The school possesses, likewise, a su- 
 perb collection of minerals, an excellent library, a cabinet of 
 models of the machinery used in mines, &c. Teachers of 
 drawing, and the German language, have been added to the 
 school, and an instructor of the English language was also 
 in contemplation, and has probably been already annexed to 
 the institution. During the summer season, the students tra- 
 A<el ; their excursions are directed by the professors ; they 
 are generally sent to some mine, where they spend several 
 months in acquiring a practical acquaintance with the opera- 
 tions, the theory of which they have been taught in the win- 
 ter lectures. This method of dividing the year into two parts, 
 one of which is devoted to the prosecution of the scientific 
 branches, while the other is employed in acquiring practical 
 experience, offers great advantages, though probably not so 
 many, upon the whole, as the method followed at Mouticrs, 
 and which has been adopted in the academies of mines in 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 43 
 
 Germany. The choice of students is an ohject strictly attend- 
 ed to. The students are divided into two classes. The first 
 consists of young men receiving a salary from government, 
 and who are destined to supply vacancies in the corps of 
 mining engineers. It is indeed for these that the school 
 was established : but a second class has been added, consist- 
 ing of such young men as are desirous of acquiring a know- 
 ledge of the art, with the expectation of afterwards superin- 
 tending works of their own. Their number is limited ; and 
 they are obliged to undergo an examination before their ad- 
 mission. The royal students are taken from those who have 
 completed their studies at the " Ecole Polytechnique," the 
 best mathematical school in the world. They are generally 
 selected from those who have distinguished themselves most 
 in that seminary.^ 
 
 Such is the actual state of this institution, which, under the 
 care of its present directors and professors, cannot, we think, 
 but rise to a great degree of eminence, and effect great im- 
 provements in the art of mining in France. We have per- 
 haps dwelt upon this subject longer than it deserved ; but we 
 could not pass slightly over an institution in which we have 
 studied the rudiments of our profession, and met with the 
 most flattering marks of kindness and attention from the 
 
 * Besides these two classes of students, established by law, there are a 
 few foreign students who have been admitted by special permission granted 
 by the Director general of mines. The extreme liberality with which the 
 French government extends gratuitous information, not only to its own sub- 
 jects, but also to every foreigner who visits Paris for the purpose of study, 
 has often been noticed and eulogized by travellers. To the many instances 
 already recorded, we would add the following We arrived in Paris in 1817, 
 a short time after the re -organization of the school, and very readily obtained 
 the favour of attending the lectures and of studying in the laboratory of the 
 school; in a word, we enjoyed all the privileges of the royal students, with- 
 out being obliged to obey the regulations by which they were governed. 
 Since that time, they have received, in the space of four years, eight foreign- 
 ers ; four of whom were from the United States, one from Peru, one from 
 Switzerland, one from Poland, and one from Italy. The four from the United 
 States were all from Pennsylvania, and three of them are Phi lade Iphians. 
 The time which most of these continued attached to the school was from 
 two to three years, and all were allowed to remain as long as they chose. 
 
44 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 distinguished professors and directors of the school. With 
 many of the students we have contracted friendships which 
 will ever render the School of Mines of Paris the source of 
 pleasant recollections. 
 
 The mines in France are generally worked with great 
 talent and regularity. They are not all as profitable as 
 they might he ; but this is owing to causes which are quite 
 independent of the miner's control. A deficiency in canal 
 and river navigation, which prevents them from sending off 
 their products in every direction, as they would do if the 
 modes of communication were easier, is undoubtedly one 
 of the greatest impediments to the success of mining in 
 France. The second cause which operates to diminish their 
 profits, arises partly from the national character and partly 
 from the want of capital. It is seldom that one can see 
 in France the public spirit which we admire so much in 
 this country, but the effects of which, we believe, are no 
 where so conspicuous as they are in England. Every insti- 
 tution in France seems to prosper but little, unless specially 
 protected by government ; but even that protection cannot 
 avail them much, for it introduces a system of favour and 
 monopoly which is always injurious to the best interests of 
 the manufacturer and the merchant. It is one of the most 
 striking characteristics of continental Europe, one which al- 
 ways calls forth an expression of surprise from an American 
 or Englishman, that there exists on the continent no canal or 
 road companies, no associations for internal improvement, 
 in a word, but few companies created for the purpose of car- 
 rying on works of national importance, by which they them- 
 selves may be benefited. If the traveller expresses his sur- 
 prise at this apparent indifference and want of energy, he is 
 ridiculed, his plans are considered as visionary, and compar- 
 ed to the famous bubble of Law under Lewis XV. or to the 
 assignats. A want of confidence in associations similar to 
 our incorporated companies, has prevented their success, and 
 must be considered as having severely affected every branch 
 of public economy, and none perhaps more sorely than that 
 of mining. 
 
THE ART OT MINING. 45 
 
 111 mines, France is not deficient ; and if every discoverer 
 of a mine were well rewarded for his trouble, and capitalists 
 disposed to unite and work them, we have no doubt, that in 
 ten years' time, the mining establishments in France would 
 have doubled both in number and importance. Something 
 is certainly doing in that way at present, as was proved by the 
 creation, in 1818, of a company, with a capital of about three 
 hundred thousand dollars, for the purpose of working the 
 iron ore of the coal mines of St. Etienne, by means of coak, 
 in the same manner as the English work their clay iron 
 stone, from which they extract their best castings. 
 
 France abounds in coal of the very best quality. From a 
 map inserted in the "Journal des Mines," Vol. XII. it would 
 appear, that out of the eighty-three departments into which 
 France is at present divided, there are forty which afford 
 coal. The principal coal fields are near Valenciennes, in 
 French Flanders. These mines all belong to one company. 
 They raise coal by twenty -two pits, from a depth which va- 
 ries from six hundred to sixteen hundred feet. The popula- 
 tion in the neighbourhood of the mines, and receiving its 
 support exclusively from them, amounts to upwards of four 
 thousand five hundred inhabitants. The company divides 
 the profits every year. They are said to exceed two hundred 
 and fifty thousand dollars annually. It is difficult to state 
 upon what capital they work. The original stock was incon- 
 siderable, but has been gradually increasing, by improve- 
 ments made with money arising out of the profits of the 
 mine. The money advanced at first did not probably exceed 
 the annual interest at present yielded to the stockholders. 
 The actual capital is a thing very difficult to ascertain, be- 
 cause it varies every year. For instance, they are obliged, 
 every other year, to sink a new shaft, which costs about forty 
 thousand dollars. From some documents which we have 
 seen, it would seem that the profits (if they have not been 
 overrated) amount to about thirty-three per cent, of the 
 quantity of coal sold annually. These mines are, we believe, 
 among the most interesting and best directed that we have 
 seen. The great regularity with which they are worked 
 
46 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 prevents many accidents ; and the able and deserving dipect- 
 or* of this establishment unites sufficient theory to the expe- 
 rience of many years, to enable him to conduct with facility 
 one of the largest and most important concerns of which the 
 art of mining can boast. 
 
 Next in importance to Valenciennes is the coal field of St. 
 Etienne, near Lyons. The coal is here also of a very good 
 quality. It is not worked to so great a depth 5 but, instead 
 of being worked by a single company, it belongs to a great 
 number of small proprietors, who work it each on his own 
 account and in his own way. This causes a great waste of 
 coal ; accidents are more frequent ; and the mines will be 
 rendered unprofitable much sooner. One advantage, how- 
 ever, which this method produces, is, that it establishes a 
 competition useful to society, and that it destroys the mono- 
 poly which exists at Valenciennes. The abundance and 
 cheapness of coal here has had the same effect as in England. 
 St. Etienne has become one of the first manufacturing towns 
 of France, and bids fair to become a second Manchester or 
 Birmingham. Some of the finest ribands, silks, and velvets, 
 of France, are made in this town. Should the company 
 we have already mentioned succeed in its attempt to work 
 the clay iron stone, this city will acquire an immense increase 
 of trade and prosperity. 
 
 Besides these coal mines, the French have others in vari- 
 ous places, as at Ingrande upon the Loire, at the Creusot, 
 at Litry in the north of France, &c. 
 
 * M. Mathieu, the present director of these mines, had the good fortune,, 
 when under-director, to rescue from death fifteen of his fellow-citizens. 
 Having heard that a party of miners had been working in a part of the mine, 
 where the air was very foul, and that they were perishing from want of fresh 
 air, but that no one would venture to go and relieve them, he without hesi- 
 tation hastened to the dangerous spot, and brought out one of ihe unfortu- 
 nate victims. Encouraged by his success, he renewed his generous effort, 
 and succeeded in bringing out fourteen safe ; but in his attempt to rescue 
 the fifteenth, he himself, being exhausted with fatigue, and choked by the 
 foul air, fell almost lifeless, and was with great difficulty restored to a life 
 the remaining part of which must be blessed by the recollection of his heroic 
 deed. 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 47 
 
 With iron, the French are also well supplied. Their prin- 
 cipal ore is the bog ore. The furnaces are numerous, and 
 generally are of similar forms and dimensions. There 
 are few iron works on a very large scale; for the most 
 part, they are subdivided into small properties. Their best 
 works are in the centre of France, in the cidevant Province 
 du Berry. 
 
 The clay iron ore has as yet been worked in no part of 
 France, that we know of. Some attempts made in 1817, at 
 Valenciennes, were successful ; but the quantity of ore not 
 being sufficient to render it an object worthy of attention, the 
 working of it was abandoned. The quantity at St. Etienne 
 will, it is believed, be more considerable. 
 
 The sparry iron ore is worked in the Comte de Foix, and 
 principally in the department of Isere, where the furnaces of 
 Allevard enjoy a well-deserved celebrity, and are well worth 
 being visited. An attempt was made to work these ores in 
 the Catalonian furnace, in which the ore is reduced by a sin- 
 gle operation into metallic iron. It is said, this method had 
 answered very well, near Avignon. The first attempts at 
 Allevard were successful, but afterwards the iron produced 
 was found to be of a very inferior quality. When we visited 
 the works, this furnace was not in operation, owing to the 
 pecuniary embarrassments of the owner. Since that time, 
 we have understood that the works had been resumed, but 
 with what success we know not. It is probable that it re- 
 quires some skill and a great deal of care on the part of the 
 workmen, who, if not strictly watched, are very apt to be 
 inattentive; and the quality of the iron is easily affected by 
 the slightest neglect on their part. 
 
 Charcoal is almost the only fuel used in the iron works : 
 it is often a very expensive article, and no doubt coak could 
 be substituted with great success and great economy in many 
 cases. The consumption of iron in France exceeds the quan- 
 tity manufactured, a great quantity being annually imported. 
 The castings are tolerably good, though very inferior to the 
 English. Their iron varies much in quality, but their best 
 cannot stand a comparison with the Russian or Swedish iron. 
 
4S CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 This inferiority is probably owing to the quality of the ores, 
 which are seldom entirely free of iron pyrites, or copper ore, 
 besides some phosphate of iron. 
 
 The specular iron ore is worked nearFramont, and affords 
 employment to upwards of two hundred workmen. Cabinet 
 specimens of this ore are found in this mine, equal in beauty 
 to the Elbesc iron ore, and are highly prized. 
 
 With lead, France is not very abundantly supplied. Seve- 
 ral mines which were formerly worked, in Britanny, have 
 been abandoned ; and there remain in that province at pre- 
 sent, but the mines of Poullaouen and Huelgoat, which are 
 worked by one company. These mines are tolerably rich in 
 silver, at least that of Huelgoat, w r hich contains sometimes 
 in the pure galena as much as T ^^W of silver. 
 
 The quantity of silver and lead annually produced is con- 
 siderable; the profits resulting from it have varied. At 
 times they are very considerable, then again very small ; 
 and, at other times, these mines have proved to be a losing 
 concern. The mines are at present in a very flourishing 
 condition, and bid fair to rise in importance and profit, un- 
 der the care of their present director, Mr. Juncker, an en- 
 gineer of mines of fine talents, who has already introduced 
 several valuable improvements in the manner of smelting 
 and dressing the ore. 
 
 Besides these, there are lead mines in the south of France. 
 Those in the department of the Lozere, are important on ac- 
 count of the silver which they contain. At Vienne, not far 
 from Lyons, the lead ore is worked by a new metallurgical 
 process, which consists in smelting it with old iron castings 
 in a reverberatory furnace of a particular form and con- 
 struction. 
 
 In copper, France is at present very deficient ; there ex- 
 ist, to our knowledge, but the mines of Chessy and St. Bel, 
 near Lyons, both of which are owned in part by, and are un- 
 der the direction of, M. Jars, a near relation of the cele- 
 brated author of the "Voyages Metallurgiques." The mine 
 of St. Bel is worked upon a considerable vein of pyrites, the 
 average richness of which never exceeds 5 per cent.; general- 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 49 
 
 ly about 3 per cent. At Chessy they have worked a similar 
 vein, but their attention has been, for the last few years, en- 
 grossed by a rich deposit of carbonate of copper, both blue 
 and green. It is this mine which has yielded those superb 
 specimens of azure copper ore which have so justly excited 
 the admiration of all those who have seen them. 
 
 More lately, they have been working a black ore, the na- 
 ture of which had not been exactly ascertained, but was sup- 
 posed to be a mixture of copper pyrites, and oxide of cop- 
 per. A very interesting paper on the nature of this ore, and 
 on its composition, has appeared a short time since in the 
 " Annales des Mines," for 1820. The paper is by M. Thi- 
 baud, engineer of mines, with notes by Professor Berthier 5 
 it is calculated to throw much light upon the subject of cop- 
 per ores in general, and the new products formed in copper 
 furnaces. 
 
 The quantity of copper produced annually by these mines 
 is but trifling ; but the quality of the copper is remarkably 
 good. 
 
 The French work mines of antimony in Auvergne. The 
 veins of this metal are very abundant, but the quantity re- 
 quired in the arts being small, they have not been worked 
 to any great extent, or with much regularity ; there has been 
 a great waste of ore. The French export a considerable 
 quantity of antimony. 
 
 Gold, silver, and tin, are not worked in France. Speci- 
 mens of these three metals have been found, and the two first 
 were worked before the French revolution, but they have 
 been abandoned as unprofitable. Tin ore has been found 
 within only a few years past. It was discovered in two dif- 
 ferent points : the first near Limoges ; the second riot very 
 far from Nantes. In both places the administration of mines 
 caused some money to be spent in works to ascertain the ex- 
 tent of the deposit, but no satisfactory result was obtained. 
 Near Limoges, old scorias and slags have been found, which 
 prove that this mine had been worked at some very distant 
 epocha, which is supposed to have been prior to the con- 
 quest of Gaul by Julius Csesar. In the year 1818, about 
 
50 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 2000^5. weight of metallic tin, of a very good quality, was 
 obtained from the ore mixed with the sand, on the sea-shore 
 near Nantes. It is an interesting fact, that the mine of Li- 
 moges presents all the geological characters of tin mines in 
 other countries. That of Nantes has, in like manner, offer- 
 ed the most important characters, but not the interesting 
 and hitherto constant association with wolfram and arsenical 
 pyrites, &c. There is, therefore, reason to believe, that if 
 this mine could be worked with advantage, it would yield tin 
 of the first quality, as it is associated with no other ore than 
 magnetic iron ore, and that the iron might probably be easi- 
 ly separated during the metallurgical operations, if not pre- 
 viously washed out of it. 
 
 Zinc exists in France, but only in combination with sul- 
 phur. It has been ascertained that this ore (the Blende) could 
 be used in the making of brass, c.; but the French find it 
 more advantageous to import the calaminc from Belgium. 
 
 Mines of salt were formerly unknown in France, but with- 
 in the last three years a very rich and extensi\ 7 e bed has 
 been discovered in the eastern part of France, and promises 
 to be very profitable to the undertakers. It was accidental- 
 ly discovered in 1819, by persons who were boring for coal. 
 
 Mines of Savoy. Savoy is not as rich in mines as from 
 its rugged and mountainous aspect it might be expected to 
 be. It possesses, however, many important mines of sparry 
 iron ore, some of which have been worked for upwards of 
 five centuries. The most interesting mine which the coun- 
 try presents, is the lead mine of Pesey, an establishment 
 which does the greatest honour to the French engineers, un- 
 der whose direction it arose to an unusual degree of splen- 
 dour, during the time that Savoy was united to France. It 
 still continues to flourish under the care of an able director, 
 to whom the Sardinian government intrusted it after the 
 cession of Savoy.* 
 
 * If we may be allowed to introduce here a few remarks upon the great 
 advantage of uniting theoretical knowledge to practical experience, we would 
 observe, that it is by the application of theory in a prudent and skilful man- 
 ner, that the mine of Pesey arrived at its present degree of importance- 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 51 
 
 A copper mine has been worked near St. Georges. The 
 ore is a pyrites, and is found in the same veins with the 
 sparry iron ore, or in veins which intersect them. A very 
 interesting mine was discovered at Servoz, in the celeb rated 
 Valley of Chamouny ; the ore has in many respects the cha- 
 racter of a grey copper ore ; it has been abandoned from the 
 difficulty of smelting it. It is probable, that if the French 
 School of Mines had remained in the Alps, some method to 
 smelt the ore would have been discovered, and we must re- 
 gret, for the sake of science, that this mine should have been 
 abandoned $ we have, however, heard that one of our late fel- 
 low students, at the School of Mines, had some intention to 
 undertake to work it, and we sincerely hope that he may 
 succeed, both on his own account, and for the interest of me- 
 tallurgy. 
 
 Mines of Italy. Italy is but poor in mines ; it contains no 
 metallic mines of any note. The gold mines of Macugnaga 
 consist in iron pyrites, containing a very small proportion 
 of gold ; they are not profitable. The mines of alum at the 
 Tolfa, near Naples, are celebrated and interesting. The 
 island of Elba is famed for its specular iron ores, which are 
 worked on a very large scale, and with success. 
 
 Mines of Switzerland. Switzerland presents now but little 
 interest to the miner ; the salt mine of Bex, near the lake of 
 Geneva, is, however, an object well worthy of his attention; 
 at this mine there exist some of the finest and most interest- 
 ing works which we have ever seen, and they are remarka- 
 ble for the nicety and correctness with which they are exe- 
 cuted. 
 
 Lead has been discovered in several parts of Switzerland, 
 and a party of Saxon miners left their country last spring, 
 with a view of undertaking to work it. 
 
 When this mine was first intrusted to the French " Conseil des Mines," 
 the lead extracted from the ore did not exceed 27 per cent. By gradual 
 improvements, introduced with caution and science, the product obtained 
 by them rose, in a few years' time, to 73 per cent, which is the maximum 
 ef what that ore can yield. 
 
52 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 Mines of Germany. We now come to a country in which 
 the art of mining has been prosecuted for many centuries, 
 with a degree of attention and scientific knowledge, which 
 was not possessed in other countries. In Germany, mining 
 has been considered as one of the most important and most 
 honourable professions ; it has received the peculiar notice 
 and favour of the sovereign, and has been carried to a 
 pitch of excellence almost inconceivable ; every thing has 
 been reduced to rule ; if we were not convinced that the Ger- 
 man is an essentially mining nation, we should acquire this 
 conviction by examining the state of the art in their coun- 
 try ; by tracing its progress from the earliest days ; observ- 
 ing how anciently it flourished in Germany ; what number- 
 less discoveries have been made in that country ; what dis- 
 tinguished professors in this art it has furnished, &c. 
 
 There may be said to be in Germany five great centres 
 of mining. 
 
 1. That of Freyberg in Saxony ; this comprehends all the 
 silver, lead, and copper mines, in the immediate neighbour- 
 hood, which support a population of about ten thousand in- 
 habitants ; also, the silver, tin, and cobalt mines of Anna- 
 berg, Altenberg, Zinnwald, Schneeberg, Marienberg, &c. 
 in Saxony ; and those of Joachimsthal, and Johann Georgen 
 Stadt, in Bohemia. 
 
 The whole population of this district, comprised in the 
 66 Erzgebirge," or ridge of mountains which separates Sax- 
 ony from Bohemia, depends entirely upon mining for its 
 means of subsistence. This district is one of the most inter- 
 esting to the miner; it furnishes silver, lead, copper, tin, iron, 
 cobalt, arsenic, and coal. It is quite limited in its extent ; 
 the population supported by the mines exceeds forty or fifty 
 thousand inhabitants. The produce in silver is considerable ; 
 that of Saxony alone, amounts annually to about fifty-four 
 thousand marks, or about twenty-seven thousand pounds 
 weight ; the value of which exceeds half a million of dollars ; 
 the lead is likewise considerable ; copper is much less so ; 
 but tin is a very important item ; this is the only place on 
 the continent of Europe where tin ore is worked 5 and 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 5S 
 
 though the quantity furnished is inconsiderable, when com- 
 pared with tiiat produced by the Cornish mines, still it must 
 be considered as one of the greatest sources of wealth which 
 this country possesses.* 
 
 Iron is worked with advantage in some parts of the Erz- 
 gebirge, but in this respect the Saxons are far inferior to 
 their neighbours, the Prussians. There are no cobalt mines 
 in Europe besides those in Germany, and among them those 
 of Saxony and Bohemia deserve particular notice ; the 
 finest smalt known, is that produced by the Saxon cobalt. 
 
 There are three coal fields of some importance in Saxony, 
 but which are not worked with that degree of science and 
 activity which we have a right to expect from German 
 miners. If we inquire into the causes which have given so 
 much celebrity to the mines of Saxony, we will find that it 
 is due more to the care and patronage which they have re- 
 ceived from the nation at large, than to the intrinsic wealth 
 of the mines themselves ; at least, it is certain, that nothing 
 short of the wise regulations under which they are now go- 
 verned, could have prevented them from sinking into insig- 
 nificance; for the great depression in the value of silver, 
 since the discovery of America, and the resulting great in- 
 crease in the price of materials, labour, &c. have changed 
 the relative proportion of the produce to the expense, and 
 made these mines, which were at one time the envy of all 
 the sovereigns of Germany, and a source of constant discord 
 among the princes of the house of Saxony, an object of 
 comparatively little profit. If we are to credit the historians, 
 the princes of Saxony were noticed and envied even by the 
 emperor himself; so great was their display of wealth and 
 splendour in all the public ceremonies and tournaments of 
 the middle ages. 
 
 In Saxony, the art of mining has been raised to the rank 
 of the most honourable profession ; the sons of the proudest 
 noblemen of the land do not consider it as unworthy of their 
 
 * The tin mines of Monte Rey, in Spain, were never very considerable, 
 and are, we believe, almost entirely abandoned. Those of Portugal have 
 long since ceased to be worked. 
 
54 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 attention to go through the regular studies, and perform the 
 same task as the common miners, in order 1 to prepare them- 
 selves for the higher offices. The common miners have 
 great privileges and marks of distinction ; they are exempt 
 from militia duty ; they wear an uniform of their own, the 
 same which has been worn for the last five centuries ; they 
 have days of festiv al exclusively their own ; it is in this man- 
 ner that they have been made to cherish their profession ; 
 nowhere have we seen so great an esprit de corps as sub- 
 sists among them ; in the " Erzgebirgc," their manners and 
 customs, even their language and expressions, have all a con- 
 nexion with the art which they so highly honour, and which 
 has been professed by fathers and sons for centuries. 
 
 The Academy of Mines of Freyberg was established 
 about the year 1760; it has acquired a great reputation all 
 over Europe, and especially in Germany : the name of Wer- 
 ner tended to increase its fame, and long supported it ; since 
 his death, his chair has been filled in a manner highly satis- 
 factory to all the true friends of science. The great advan- 
 tage which the Academy of Freyberg can boast of is its si- 
 tuation ; in the immediate neighbourhood of this city, there 
 are one hundred and thirty mines, to all of which the stu- 
 dents have free access, and which they are even invited to 
 visit ; so that a constant field for observation is presented to 
 them, and a great mass of practical information may be ac- 
 quired in a short time. The students of government have a 
 regular task assigned to them in the mines, like common 
 workmen, and which they are obliged to perform ; in this 
 manner they become familiar with the use of the tools of the 
 miner, c. 
 
 2. The second great mining district of Germany is that 
 of the Hartz, in the kingdom of Hanover ; the mountains of 
 the Hartz present a deposit of nearly the same importance 
 and value as that of the Saxon ridge ; the mines are exclu- 
 sively silver, lead, and copper ; lead is the most important 
 produce of these mines : the administration of mines in this 
 district is generally pointed out by the German writers as 
 a model for imitation. Great powers are vested in the sove- 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 55 
 
 reign, and, through him, in the officers of mines ; the mines 
 have heen worked since the eleven ih century, arid are still in 
 a highly flourishing condition. Like the mountains of Sax- 
 ony, this country was peopled by colonies of miners ; and if 
 it were not for the mines, the population would be unable to 
 support itself there. They would be obliged to remove to 
 more fertile regions. The mines of the Hartz are particular- 
 ly interesting, on account of the great perfection to which 
 the dressing of ores has been carried, and for the able man- 
 ner in which some of the mines are worked, with the assist- 
 ance of fire, or torrefaction principally that of the Ram- 
 melsberg. 
 
 3. The third district of mines which we shall notice, is 
 that near Siegen, on the Rhine. It now belongs to Prussia, 
 and is rich in mines of lead, copper, iron, zinc, cobalt, &c. 
 These mines have already attained a great degree of import- 
 ance; and, under the active and vigilant direction of the 
 Prussian Council of Mines, they promise to increase rapidly 
 in importance and extent. 
 
 4. The fourth district is that of the Mansfeld, which for- 
 merly belonged to Saxony, but now forms a part of the king- 
 dom of Prussia. It contains many rich works of copper, va- 
 luable by the silver contained in it, and remarkable on ac- 
 count of the manner in which they are conducted. The ore, 
 being in a bed whose thickness is but trifling, requires a pe- 
 culiar manner of working it. The miners are obliged to lie 
 flat upon the ground, resting upon their left side, or upon 
 their stomach. In this difficult posture, they work with their 
 right arm, and make excavations which do not exceed twelve 
 inches in height. This method, which is termed the " Krumm 
 Hals Arbeit," is very laborious and fatiguing, and nothing 
 but early habit could enable a man to work in mines of this 
 nature. The object, in making such small excavations, is to 
 avoid the expense attending the making of larger ones, and 
 of propping them up when made. 
 
 5. The fifth mining district of Germany is in Silesia, one 
 of the richest and most fertile countries in Europe. It be- 
 longs to Prussia, and the present state of Silesia does honour 
 
56 CONSIDERATIONS UPOX 
 
 to its government. The mines here are principally coal, iron, 
 and lead. The iron works are said to be almost unequalled 
 in any part of the world for their beauty ; they are on a vei-j 
 large scale; that of Koenigsbutte is the most celebrated; 
 their castings are of the very best quality ; the coal mines 
 are important, and in number exceed one hundred ; the coal 
 is coaked, and used in the smelting of their iron. We have 
 seen articles executed at the Berlin works, with the pig iron 
 from Silesia, which, for their beauty and finish, exceed any 
 thing ever cast in iron even in England. A number of small 
 ornaments, such as rings, necklaces, eardrops, &c. have been 
 made there, which equal any similar article of female dress. 
 
 Lead exists at Tarnowitz, in a bed presenting very inter- 
 esting geological features. 
 
 Besides these five great mining districts, there are, in Ger- 
 many, many other places worth visiting, and very important 
 to the miner. Among these we may mention the iron and 
 steel works of Styria and Carinthia, in the Austrian domi- 
 nion, where the best German steel is made. The important 
 quicksilver mines of Idria, which have often supplied the sil- 
 ver mills of America with mercury, when the mines of Alma- 
 den in Spain could not do it ; also, the mercurial mines of 
 the Palatinate and the Dutchy of Zweibriicke, (Deux Fonts,) 
 which are now annexed to Bavaria. 
 
 With salt mines, the German empire is well provided. We 
 find in it the rich country of Salzburgh, which owes its name 
 to the valuable deposits of salt which it contains. 
 
 To this long list of interesting mines, we may add the cop- 
 per and cobalt- mines of Riegelsdorf in Hesse Cassel, the rich 
 cobalt mines of Thuringen, &c, 
 
 We might lengthen out this enumeration of German mines, 
 for no country is so rich in mineral deposits as this empire ; 
 but besides these, it enjoys all those of the countries annexed 
 to it, which form no inconsiderable part of the wealth of 
 Austria and Prussia, viz. Hungary, Tyrol, Poland, &c. 
 
 Hungary is celebrated for its gold mines, the only mines 
 of this metal, worked with any kind of advantage, in Europe. 
 If it were not for the great care given to the washing of the 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 57 
 
 ore, and the scientific disposition of the tables used for that 
 purpose, these mines could not be worked. 
 
 The salt mines of Poland and Hungary are proverbial. 
 The names of Wieliczka and Bochnia are familiar to all. 
 
 The mines of Germany are more remarkable for the regu- 
 larity with which the operations are carried on, for the sci- 
 entific disposition given to the works, for the length of time 
 that the mines are kept in activity, than for the wealth which 
 they produce, or the profits which they afford. In the mines 
 of Germany, we admire more the works of man than the 
 gifts of nature. If it be observed, that their mines yield but 
 little or no profit, we reply, that were it not for their great 
 improvements in the art of mining, they would long since 
 have been compelled to abandon them that no nation, that 
 we are acquainted with, could have worked these mines as 
 the Germans have that it is to the persevering, industrious, 
 and saving character of the German nation, that we are to 
 ascribe the success of their mines, and (however disagreeable 
 they may be to our general ideas of individual rights) it can 
 not be disputed, that it is to the wisdom of their laws that we 
 are to assign the present flourishing state of their mines. We 
 have heard some travellers, who took too superficial a view 
 of the subject, scoff at the character of the mining institu- 
 tions of Germany, and ask what advantage a nation derived 
 from mines which were not profitable in a pecuniary point of 
 view ? To this we would reply, by asking if it be of no ad- 
 vantage to Germany to be able to extract from the bowels of 
 the earth, not only metals enough for her own consumption, 
 but even for exportation ? If it be of no advantage to the 
 German empire, to be independent of all its neighbours for 
 the most useful materials required in the arts ? If it be of no 
 advantage to be able to coin, every year, nearly two millions 
 of dollars' worth of precious metals, derived from its own 
 soil ? If there be no advantage in supporting a population of 
 upwards of a million of inhabitants, which otherwise would be 
 without employment ? If the country is not benefited by find- 
 ing means to support this population, upon cold and rugged 
 hills, whose barren soil could never be fertilized by agricul- 
 8 
 
58 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 ture? If there be no advantage in consuming the timber, 
 which would otherwise grow to no purpose, on the summit of 
 those uninhabited mountains ? In deriving benefit from those 
 numberless springs and streams of water, which are now 
 made subservient to the uses of man, and which otherwise 
 would flow in useless and undisturbed tranquillity, like the 
 great waters of our western wilds ? 
 
 The traveller who, after having duly weighed all these 
 questions, can unhesitatingly give an unqualified negative to 
 the whole, may indeed be justified in ridiculing the simplicity 
 of the German miner, who works his mines although they 
 yield him no great dividends ; or in asserting that there are 
 no advantages resulting to the country from the working of 
 these mines : but until lie can satisfy us that he has fairly 
 examined the subject, and that he is fully qualified to decide 
 the question, we may be justified in drawing a different con- 
 clusion, and tax him with indiscretion and levity, while we 
 admire the industry and wisdom of the German nation. 
 
 Mines of the Netherlands. The kingdom of the Nether- 
 lands is divided into two parts, one of which contains no 
 mines whatsoever, while the other is very well supplied in 
 this respect. Holland, or the old Seven Provinces, is a coun- 
 try which affords not the slightest interest to the miner; 
 while Belgium may well deserve his particular attention. 
 
 The principal mineral wealth of Belgium lies in its coal 
 mines, which form a continuation of those which we indicat- 
 ed as existing at Valenciennes, in France ; but as they run 
 over a much larger country here, so are they much more 
 important and extensive. The principal centres of the coal 
 mines are at Lieges and at Mons. They are worked with 
 great talent and economy ; but the difficulties are numerous. 
 These works having been commenced at a very remote pe- 
 riod, when the art of mining was in its infancy, the first ex- 
 cavations were made in opposition to the best methods now in 
 use. Large vacant chambers were left, without any precau- 
 tion being taken, not even a correct survey of them being 
 made. These wastes, in the course of time, have become 
 filled with water or foul air ; and, as their situation is not 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 59 
 
 well ascertained, the miners of Liege are obliged to keep a 
 good look-out for them ; for if they were unexpectedly to 
 meet one of these excavations, there is reason to fear, that 
 in many cases the division of miners thus surprised would 
 either be drowned by the immense volume of waters which 
 would rush out upon them, or be choked by the no less rapid 
 stream of foul air. There are many instances on record, in 
 which whole parties of twenty, thirty, or even more miners 
 have found their doom, in a space of time too short to allow 
 of any relief or assistance being given them. The usual 
 method of looking out for these chambers, is by boring hori- 
 zontally in various directions, as the miner progresses in his 
 work. Some of <he coal mines of Belgium are as dangerous, 
 on account of the foul air, as the celebrated mines of White- 
 haven, in England ; but we believe that since the introduc- 
 tion of Sir II. Davy's safety lamp, only one accident has 
 taken place, and that through the carelessness of a workman, 
 who opened his lamp in the midst of the foul atmosphere, 
 notwithstanding the strict orders he had received to the con- 
 trary. If the province of Belgium were as well provided 
 with canals as her sister state Holland, those mines would 
 receive additional importance ; but notwithstanding that the 
 country is level, the carriage of coal is very expensive, on 
 account of its bulk ; so much so, that in Antwerp, English 
 coal from Newcastle can be sold, and is actually selling, 
 cheaper than the coal of Belgium. 
 
 Next to the coal mines in importance are the mines of zinc 
 at Limburgh, not far from Aix-la-Chapelle. This is the 
 richest deposit of calamine known to exist any where. The 
 works have been carried on without any great regularity f 
 yet they promise to last much longer. The zinc is reduced 
 to the metallic state at Liege ; but the greatest part of the 
 calamine is carried off in its original state, having been 
 merely picked and roasted : it is thus transported to other 
 parts of the kingdom, where it is converted into brass, and 
 a great proportion is exported for that purpose. The brass 
 is made in Belgium by smelting the copper with the calamine 
 and coal in a crucible. It is of a very superior quality. We 
 
60 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 have seen some of these brass works in Namur, where the 
 business is carried on, on a large scale, and in a very pro- 
 fitable manner. The iron works of Belgium likewise deserve 
 to be mentioned. They are situated on the Meuse, near 
 Namur. Their ore is the bog iron ore ; their fuel, charcoal. 
 Their castings are very good. It is probable that coak 
 might be used here with advantage and with great economy. 
 The building stone which they use for their furnaces is re- 
 markably good : we saw a furnace there which had been in 
 operation for nearly three years without interruption, and it 
 appeared by no means to be injured, nor to need any repair. 
 
 Besides these, there is in Belgium a valuable lead mine, 
 at Vedrin, near Namur. We believe it contains no silver 
 whatever, although we find it stated by a highly respectable 
 author,* that it yields annually seven hundred marks weight 
 of this metal ; but we apprehend there is an error on this 
 subject. This lead mine has been considerably improved of 
 late, both in the dressing and smelting of ores, also in the 
 machines to drain the water. A pressing machine, on the 
 most approved plan, has been introduced into the mine. The 
 fall of water is about three hundred feet. In the dressing 
 of the ores, they have substituted for the old system the 
 shaking tables, which are very advantageous ; and, finally, 
 in the smelting of the ore, they have abandoned the old form 
 of the furnaces, and have substituted the reverberatory. AH 
 these improvements have been made by a single man, M. 
 Bouesnel, director of the mine, late French engineer of 
 mines, and now an engineer of the Waterstaat, in the service 
 of the king of the Netherlands : they are very creditable to 
 him. 
 
 Mines of Great Britain. We now proceed to treat of the 
 mines of Great Britain, a country more interesting to us 
 than any other, on account of the great analogy between our 
 manners, laws, and institutions, and those of the mother 
 country. Whatever may be the views or the object of the 
 traveller in Great Britain, he will always find himself well 
 
 * M. De Bounard Dictionnairt des Sciences Xaturelles, article Mine. 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 61 
 
 rewarded for his trouble. He will always find much to ad- 
 mire, much indeed which he would look for in vain in any 
 other country. This remark, which we believe to be appli- 
 cable in general cases, is peculiarly so in mining. In no 
 country are the mines as flourishing, as important, and as 
 productive, as they are in Great Britain. Distinguished as 
 the British nation is, for that peculiar talent which they pos- 
 sess to so eminent a degree, of inventing and improving up- 
 on every thing, and gifted as they have been by nature, with 
 a remarkably great share of public spirit, much greater than 
 that of their European neighbours, it was impossible that 
 mining should not meet with encouragement among them, 
 and, if once encouraged, it was a necessary consequence, 
 that in their hands it should rise to the highest degree of 
 perfection. 
 
 When we consider the nature of their mines, their anti- 
 quity, the difficulties which they had to encounter, the man- 
 ner in which they overcame them, the great improvements 
 which they have made in the machines of mines, and in the 
 metallurgical operations, we are justified in asserting, that 
 the British nation is certainly that in which the art of mining 
 is at present the most flourishing. It is true, to them nature 
 has been most bountifully liberal. No country that we know 
 of is possessed of such rich and extensive deposits of coal 
 as the north of England. Nowhere has the best quality of 
 iron ore been more universally spread over a country than 
 over England. Nowhere have tin and copper been found in 
 such abundance as in Cornwall, where they have been work- 
 ed for so long a time that many authors are inclined to be- 
 lieve Cornwall to have been the celebrated Cassiterides 
 islands, whence the Phenicians are said to have procured 
 their tin. Scotland is no less distinguished for her mines 
 than England. With coal the Scotch are abundantly sup- 
 plied ; and it is of so excellent a quality, that we have heard 
 them assert, (with what truth we know not,) that their coal 
 was preferred to the best Newcastle coal, in the London 
 drawing rooms. Their coal mines exist in all the south of 
 Scotland, and cover an extensive tract of land in the neigh- 
 
62 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 bourhood of Edinburgh and Glasgow, extending from the 
 Frith of Forth to the Clyde; also in Fifrshire, &c. Scotland 
 likewise boasts of her iron works, and this with justice. The 
 largest, and most profitable in the world, are the celebrated 
 Carron works of Scotland, which exist in the neighbourhood 
 of Stirling. These works are on a scale which far exceeds 
 any thing of the kind even in England. Their ore is the 
 clay iron stone; their fuel, coak. The quality of their cast- 
 ings is such as to justify the high reputation which these 
 works have acquired. The whole establishment belongs to 
 a company, and is said to yield a very great profit; the 
 amount of which we have not been able to ascertain. 
 
 Besides these works, there are other iron works of con- 
 siderable importance in Scotland, in the neighbourhood of 
 Glasgow. 
 
 For lead, Scotland has long been celebrated. The mines 
 of Leadhill, Wanlockhead, and Strontian, are the only ones 
 now worked. The mine of Leadhill is situated near San- 
 quhar, in Lanerkshire ; it is remarkable for its interesting 
 geological characters. It is worked with great activity and 
 success. There is no silver, at least none worth extracting. 
 A circumstance which we observed here, and nowhere else, 
 but which we deem very interesting, is the successful use 
 of peat, in large proportions with coal, for the smelting of 
 the ore. This fuel appears to answer very well, and is very 
 economical.* 
 
 The mines of Leadhill possess an institution well worthy of being in- 
 troduced into other mining districts ; we allude to a library for the use of 
 miners. This institution, formed on the same plan as the Apprentice's Li- 
 brary in this and other cities, is calculated to spread instruction among the 
 lowest classes of miners. It contains many excellent works on the art of 
 mining, besides a large stock of works of standard merit on religious, mo- 
 ral, and miscellaneous subjects. This cheap method of conveying informa- 
 tion is peculiarly desirable for this class of the community. The hard and 
 laborious operations of the miner take up but a small proportion of the hours 
 of the day; the remaining hours are too often given up to dissipation or idle- 
 ness. The nature of the country where mines are situated, generally shuts 
 them out from the usual intercourse with strangers. It is, therefore, to such 
 a class of men that a library containing a good choice of books on religious 
 and moral subjects, together with the best works on their art, must be real- 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 63 
 
 Wanlockhead is in Dumfriesshire, about a mile to the 
 south-west of Leadhill. The works are not so considerable, 
 but this mine is like that of Leadhill, remarkable for the ex- 
 tent of the vein, and the richness of the ore. 
 
 The works at Strontian, in Argyleshire, are not so pro- 
 ductive. They have been abandoned and resumed several 
 times. Within a short time past, they have jbeeii, we think, 
 resumed by a party of Cumberland miners, who expect to be 
 well rewarded for their trouble. 
 
 These are, we believe, the only mines worked at present 
 in Scotland $ but great hopes are entertained of a recent dis- 
 covery of copper ore, in Ayrshire ; and attempts to work it 
 have already been commenced there. 
 
 England is much richer in mines than the sister king- 
 dom ; for almost every metal is worked there. It is true, the 
 English have found neither gold nor silver ores ; but they 
 afford us a convincing proof, if any were required, that it is 
 more profitable and more advantageous for a nation to pro- 
 cure these metals by exchange for other more necessary ar- 
 ticles, such as iron, copper, coal, &c. than to work them 
 herself. 
 
 The mines of England are so well known to every person 
 in this country, who has felt the least interest for this sub- 
 ject, that it cannot be necessary for us to say much on 
 this topic ; and we feel the more diffident in speaking of 
 them, as the shortness of our stay in England has not per- 
 mitted us to visit one of the most important districts, that of 
 Cornwall. We shall, therefbre, dwell principally upon the 
 mines of the north of England, which we have seen, and so- 
 licit the particular indulgence of the reader for the very few 
 remarks we may venture to make upon those of the south- 
 west. 
 
 The north of England contains, undoubtedly, one of the 
 most valuable deposits of coal known to exist any where. 
 The mines of Newcastle are proverbial. They are situated 
 
 ly valuable. We do not recollect having seen a similar institution in any 
 other mining district, but we believe that it exists also in Cornwall; at any 
 rate, the example is a good one, and will, we hope, meet with imitators. 
 
64 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 in the valley of the Tyne, and extend on both sides of the 
 river for many miies. They are worked to a variable depth; 
 we believe it has never exceeded two hundred fathoms. The 
 subterraneous excavations are very extensive. There are 
 some very large chambers for the reception of machinery. 
 In the mine of Killingworth, we saw no less than three 
 very large steam-engines, placed several hundred feet un- 
 der ground, and the effect of which may probably exceed 
 that of any three machines used in other mines. 
 
 It was in the coal mines of Newcastle that the safety lamp 
 was first introduced ; it has put a stop to the numerous ac- 
 cidents which formerly occurred there. The honour of the 
 discovery of a lamp, upon a similar principle as Sir Hum- 
 phry Davy's, though not on so improved a system, has been 
 claimed by one of the best mining engineers of Newcastle, 
 Mr. Stevenson, who conducts, with great ability, the works 
 of Killingworth. But we believe there is at present no doubt 
 that Sir Humphry has the full merit of the priority of dis- 
 covery, as well as of the superiority of his lamp. A very in- 
 genious method of preventing the evil effects of part of the 
 inflammable gases, and one which we have seen practised 
 with success at Newcastle, is to use this gas in lighting the 
 mines, in the same manner as artificial gas lights are now 
 used in most of the large cities in Great Britain. The usual 
 method of ventilating their mines, is by constructing a large 
 furnace at the bottom of one of the pits ; a large fire is kept 
 up in the furnace, which draws out all the impure air from 
 the mine, while fresh air rushft in by another pit to supply 
 its place. The draught kept up in this manner answers all 
 purposes, and the air in the mines is, for the most part, very 
 pure and wholesome. One of the most interesting applica- 
 tions of the steam power which we saw there, was the steam 
 wagon or locomotive engine. It is a curious thing to see ten 
 or a dozen of wagons moving on a high road, without being 
 drawn by horses or any other visible agent. The steam en- 
 gine is placed in the first wagon and sets it in motion, all 
 the others are fastened to it and drawn along by it. This 
 invention does not, however* appear to have met with much 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 65 
 
 encouragement. We believe it has been abandoned in almost 
 every place where it was tried. 
 
 The yearly produce of the mines of Newcastle is immense. 
 It is estimated by Mr. Winch, 1 * at upwards of three millions 
 of tons. Coal is worth, at the mouth of the pit, from seven- 
 teen to twenty shillings sterling a ton. 
 
 We cannot conclude our remarks on the mines of New- 
 castle, without making particular mention of the name of 
 Mr. Buddie, civil engineer and viewer of Wallsend colliery, 
 Newcastle. To this gentleman, not only the collier, but the 
 miner in general, owes many of the most valuable improve- 
 ments which the art of mining has made in England. To 
 him are we indebted for the method of working coal mines 
 called the pannel working) for the introduction of iron cy- 
 linders in the tubbing of pits, for various improvements in 
 the ventilation of mines, &c. ; also, for his very active and 
 humane efforts to bring the safety lamp into general use, &c. 
 
 Next in importance to the coal mines of Newcastle, are 
 those of Whitehaven, on the west coast. They are worked 
 upon the same system, but extend to a greater depth. Ac- 
 cidents were more frequent in these mines tban in those on 
 the Tyne, owing to a greater abundance of foul air; but 
 the safety lamp has answered here as well as in the other 
 mines. 
 
 The third coal field in importance in England, is that of 
 Newcastle-under-Line, which extends over a considerable 
 portion of Staffordshire. To this coal field the manufac- 
 turers of Birmingham and- Manchester owe their flourish- 
 ing condition. The great canal of England passes through 
 it, and facilitates the transportation of the coal. 
 
 A fourth coal field exists in Glamorganshire, near Swan- 
 sea, where a great proportion of the copper ore of Cornwall 
 is sent to be smelted. 
 
 Many of the finest iron works of Great Britain are in the 
 neighbourhood of the coal mines; thus we have the iron 
 works near Wolverhampton, those of Colebrookdale, in 
 
 * Geological Transactions, Vol. IV. 
 
66 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 Shropshire, second only to the Carron works ; those of Mer- 
 thyr Tydvil, of Lemmington-on-the-Tyne, and many others 
 of great importance. Iron is the metal which England yields 
 most abundantly, and in which she principally excels ; to the 
 quantity and superior quality of her iron castings, are to be 
 attributed many of the improvements which the arts (espe- 
 cially the mechanical) have made in that country. 
 
 One of the greatest causes of the success of the iron works 
 in England, is the use of the coak instead of the charcoal ; 
 the ore in common use is the clay iron stone, found in the 
 coal mines or in their vicinity ; so that the ore and the fuel 
 are found almost in immediate contact ; the carriage to the 
 furnace is therefore but a trifling expense here, while it is 
 a very considerable one in many other places. The clay 
 iron stone is a very valuable ore, on account of the excellent 
 quality of the castings which it produces ; it appears that 
 the most difficult operation, and that which requires most 
 care, is the coaking of the coal and the proper selection of it. 
 
 The blast furnaces which are used in England are very 
 high, they vary from forty to sixty, and even seventy feet in 
 height. 
 
 In the art of refining the pigs, to make pure iron, the Eng- 
 lish have not been so successful ; this is probably owing to 
 the nature of their ores, or that of the fuel used ; the fact, 
 however, is well ascertained, that while the English castings 
 surpass all others, the best iron used in England, and the 
 only one used in the making of good steel, is imported from 
 Sweden and Russia. AVith lead ores the English are like- 
 wise well provided ; the principal mines are those of Derby- 
 shire, near the Peak, and in Kingsfield. They have been work- 
 ed for many centuries, and are now in great measure ex- 
 hausted ; they are found in the limestone, and some of them 
 present very interesting geological facts. 
 
 The mines of the north of England are in a more flourish- 
 ing condition, and constitute undoubtedly one of the richest 
 deposits of lead known; they are situated at the junction of 
 the three counties of Cumberland, Northumberland, and 
 Durham $ there are three centres of mines, viz. Alstone, Al- 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 67 
 
 lonheads, and Weardale Chapel ; a great part of this pro- 
 perty formerly belonged to the celebrated and unfortunate 
 Earl of Derwentwater, who suffered on the scaffold, for his 
 attachment to the cause of the Stuarts. In punishing this 
 nobleman for his share in the rebellion of '45, the govern- 
 ment was actuated more by the desire of acquiring his large 
 estate, than by a wish to put a stop to the increasing discon- 
 tents. After having kept possession of these mines for some 
 time, the government bestowed a part of them upon the 
 Greenwich Hospital, and they form no small part of the re- 
 venues of that institution. The most interesting and most 
 profitable mines are, however, those of Allon heads, belong- 
 ing to colonel Beaumont, one of the wealthiest men in the 
 kingdom ; his mines alone are said to support a population 
 of from seven to eight thousand inhabitants. These mines 
 are of pure galena, containing silver enough to defray the ex- 
 penses of separating it. The principle upon which the me- 
 thod of extracting the silver is founded, is the same as in 
 Germany, but the furnace used, and the manner of conduct- 
 ing the operation, are very different ; we do not know which 
 is the more economical of the two ; it would be an interest- 
 ing metallurgical problem to solve. The mines of this part 
 of England are celebrated for the richness and abundance 
 of their ores, for the talent with which the works are con- 
 ducted, for the perfection of their metallurgical operations, 
 for the economy with which they are directed, and for the 
 profit which they yield. 
 
 The mines of AI lonheads, Alstone Moor, and Weardale, are 
 like those of Derbyshire, remarkable for the beauty of the fluor 
 spar which they yield ; we believe the green variety from Wear- 
 dale, exceeds in beauty any thing of the kind which we have 
 ever seen. At the mines of Coalcleugh, but a few miles from 
 Alstone, there is a very interesting machine, called a pressing 
 machine; it is the only one which exists in the mines of Eng- 
 land. These machines are of Hungarian invention, and are 
 very applicable in mines where great falls of water can be ea- 
 sily obtained, but where the volume of water is often small. 
 The principal copper mines are in Cornwall, and in the isl- 
 
68 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 and of Anglesea. Those of Cornwall are probably tbe most 
 considerable in the world ; they are situated near Redruth, 
 extend to a very great depth, employ upwards of fifty steam- 
 engines, and support a population which exceeds nine thou- 
 sand inhabitants. 
 
 Tivise of Anglesea are in the mountain of Parys, require 
 but little or no subterraneous digging, and are very easily 
 worked ; the ores are sent to Swansea to be smelted.* 
 
 Tin is found in England, in the dutchy of Cornwall, and 
 in Devonshire, but principally in the former ; these are the 
 most valuable tin mines in Europe, and probably in the 
 world ; the best are those near Penzance and St. Just. The 
 annual produce is about 18,000 blocks of 360 pounds weight 
 each, which exceeds 300,000/. sterling in value ; this product 
 is about thirty times greater than that of the tin mines of 
 Saxony. 
 
 England is not deficient in zinc. The best mines of calamine 
 are found in Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Wales. 
 
 The salt mines of Norwich in Cheshire are remarkably 
 rich, and their produce exceeds that of the mines of Wie- 
 liczka. 
 
 Mines of Ireland. Ireland is far behind her sister king- 
 doms in mineral wealth, or at least the wealth, if it exists, 
 has not been taken advantage of there, as it has been in Eng- 
 land and Scotland ; the same causes which have retarded the 
 prosperity of Ireland in every other respect, have done it also 
 in mining. It would be labour lost to endeavour to find out 
 a particular cause for every evil, when an universal one ex- 
 ists in the intolerant bigotry, and jealous oppression, which 
 the English government has extended over this unfortunate 
 island ; let us hope that these causes are now about to disap- 
 
 * From Thompson's Annals of Philosophy, (New Series, No. 5, May, 
 1821,) it appears that the quantity of copper raised in England and Ireland, 
 in one year, ending June, 1820, amounted to upwards of 8700 tons, which, 
 at an average price of 120/. sterling per ton, makes the produce of Eng- 
 land and Ireland, in copper alone, equal to 1,044,000/., or upwards of 
 4,635,000. 
 
 The mines of Cornwall alone produced upwards of 6915 tons, the rest 
 was supplied by Anglesea, Devon, Ecton, and Ireland, 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 69 
 
 pear. This year is the twentieth since the union of the 
 three kingdoms, and according to the treaty of union, Ire- 
 land was to share, at the expiration of that term, all the pri- 
 vileges of the other two states. By the destruction of the 
 barriers which checked her commerce, she will, we trust, he 
 enabled to assume that rank in the British empire, to which 
 she had long since been entitled, and of which nothing but 
 the barbarous and unjust policy of England could have de- 
 prived her. 
 
 We have now given a short sketch of the state of mining 
 in the principal parts of Europe ; we have said little or no- 
 thing of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Denmark, and Russia, as 
 they offer but little interest to the miner : Russia is celebrated 
 for her iron, but this is produced by that part of the empire 
 which is situated in Asia 5 the principal mines are in the 
 Uralian mountains, at Blagodat and Keskamar, where the 
 magnetic iron ore is worked with great success. 
 
 The silver mines of Zmeof and Kolivan, in the Altaian 
 mountains, and the argentiferous lead mines of Nertchinsk 
 in Daouria are celebrated, and are improving every day. 
 
 We have visited neither Sweden nor Norway, and we re- 
 gret that our documents respecting the state of mining in 
 those states are too loose and uncertain to allow of our say- 
 ing any thing of them. They are now united under one go- 
 vernment, and furnish the best iron and copper used in com- 
 merce ; the produce in both these metals is considerable, and 
 iron may be considered as a staple commodity of Sweden. 
 The silver mines of Kongsberg and Sala have also acquired 
 a great degree of celebrity : from the little we know of these 
 two countries, we are inclined to think that the art of mining 
 is no where better attended to. 
 
 We shall close these observations upon the actual state of 
 mining in Europe, with a few remarks on the comparative 
 state of the art in the three principal kingdoms, viz. Eng- 
 land, France, and Germany. 
 
 From what we have said, it is, we think, apparent, that the 
 mines of France are as yet in their infancy. They bid fair 
 to increase rapidly in importance. The method which has 
 
70 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 been followed, of uniting theory and practice, is very praise- 
 worthy. We believe the great evil which the French have 
 to dread, is that of falling too much into theoretic notions. 
 They require that stimulus which proceeds in other countries 
 from public spirit, or from a great desire of attaining wealth. 
 If possessed of either of these, they would, we believe, give 
 a greater scope to mining, render their country independent 
 of all others, and benefit themselves. It is probable that the 
 French will excel in the metallurgical arts, which are found- 
 ed upon chemistry and much assisted by docimasy. In me- 
 chanics, they will, we believe, be rather behindhand, at least 
 if we may judge from the slow progress which the steam 
 power has made in France. As respects their academies of 
 mines, we are fully of opinion that they will surpass all 
 others. The French possess the art of teaching, to an un- 
 usual degree of excellence. The urbanity and attentions of 
 their professors create among the students an enthusiasm in 
 favour of the professor and of the science, which we have seen 
 equalled nowhere. Besides the School of Mines in Paris, 
 the government has established a practical school of mines, 
 for the instruction of master-miners and foremen in mines. 
 This school, situated in the centre of the coal field of St. 
 Etiemie, will contribute much to the advancement of the art. 
 The liberality of the French government deserves not only 
 to be admired, but also imitated, by other governments, es- 
 pecially by the monarchical, where so much money is at the 
 disposal of the sovereign, who seldom employs it in the most 
 judicious manner. 
 
 In Germany, the art of mining seems to have arrived at 
 its climax, and to have been dormant of late ; at least, the 
 improvements in latter days have not been great. The Ger- 
 mans detest all ideas of change ; but at the same time that 
 this will guard them against dangerous and foolish innova- 
 tions, it will also prevent them from making those improve- 
 ments which the nature of things requires. They are too 
 apt to follow an old routine. This is particularly the case 
 in their metallurgical operations, which we would scarcely 
 hesitate in saying, are far behind those of England. This 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 71 
 
 assertion must not, however, be extended to the iron works 
 of Silesia, which are, we believe, equal to any in the world. 
 In mechanics, the Germans are far superior to what they are 
 generally thought to be. In no country, perhaps, has the 
 use of the water power been employed with so much advantage 
 and economy as it has been in Germany. It would be well if 
 the steam-engines were more generally introduced, at least in 
 some places, where fuel is cheap. The skilful and experienced 
 gentleman to whom is at present intrusted the direction of 
 the machinery in the mines of Saxony, is as. well calculated 
 for the high station which lie occupies as any man we know 
 of; and under his care, it is impossible that great improve- 
 ments should not be made.* The Germans are a slow, per- 
 severing, and industrious nation. Hence, they are not so 
 easily disgusted as their French neighbours. They never 
 commence an undertaking hastily or rashly ; but, having 
 once undertaken it, they never reject or abandon it without 
 having given it a fair trial. 
 
 One of the greatest encumbrances in the mines of Germa- 
 ny, particularly in those of Saxony, is, we believe, the great 
 number of officers and under officers. The German mines 
 have quite a host of directors and under-directors, agents* 
 inspectors, supervisors, &c. besides master-miners and fore- 
 men in abundance 5 in a word, a system as expensive and as 
 unprofitable as Napoleon's celebrated Bureaucratic. 
 
 One thing, in which the Germans excel all others, is the 
 dressing of the ores ; probably, also, in making subterranean 
 draughts. The mining academies in Germany are those of 
 Freyberg in Saxony, and of Schemnitz in Hungary. Of 
 the former we have already spoken : the reputation of the 
 latter has depreciated considerably, and it scarcely deserves 
 to be named. 
 
 The emperor Alexander has lately established one in Po- 
 land, which requires time to mature it. 
 
 * Mr. Brendel, director-general of the mining machines in Saxony, is the 
 first engineer who introduced steam-engines in the coal fields of that country. 
 He is now engaged in constructing pressing engines for two of the mines in 
 the Erzgebirge. He is a worthy successor of the great Mcnde. 
 
7 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 Iri England, there is no school of miners. In the large 
 cities, there are professors on the sciences connected with 
 mining; but no practical information can be derived from 
 them. Hence, the only means which the English have of im- 
 proving themselves in mining, is to visit the mines, and to 
 work in them. This method is certainly very good 5 but the 
 English directors are frequently too deficient in theory, espe- 
 cially as the literature of the English miner is very limited, 
 and not very good. The nature of their education and occupa- 
 tions prevents many of them from attending to the study of the 
 German language, which every miner ought to acquire, as no 
 language offers such a valuable stock of books on this subject. 
 
 But the great and ardent spirit of the British nation, their 
 inventive power, the force of their genius, and their great 
 turn for mechanics, will naturally cause them to excel in 
 mining, as in every other art. Their mines are, it is true, 
 too irregularly worked ; but they are worked with profit; and 
 that, after all, must he considered as the main object. No- 
 where is the art more flourishing. This is owing to the active 
 and enterprising character of the English miner, who has 
 neither the levity of the French nor the heaviness of the 
 German, but in whom we find a happy mixture of enterprise 
 and perseverance, of enthusiasm in undertaking, and skill 
 in accomplishing, his operations. It is also to the excellence 
 of his laws, and to the freedom which he enjoys, that he i 
 indebted for a portion of his success. Unfettered by an in- 
 terference, often very injudicious, on the part of the govern- 
 ment, he is left to regulate his works, and dispose of his own 
 capital, according to his better judgment. We believe every 
 proficient in the art of mining will be struck with surprise 
 and pleasure, on first beholding the regularity and symmetry 
 of the German mines ; but upon closer investigation, he will 
 often find that there is not, in many cases, that fitness, that 
 economy of labour, which lie might wish for. Too much is 
 sacrificed to the desire of adhering strictly to a preconceived 
 plan, and of dividing the mines into regular parallelograms, 
 by streets and lanes at right angles, c. In the English 
 mines, on the contrary, we mark the disorder of genius, the 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 73 
 
 economy with which the works are directed, and the great 
 principle which pervades the whole, that mines are to he 
 worked only when and where they are profitable. 
 
 We now proceed to examine what advantages might ac- 
 crue to the United States from the introduction of the art of 
 mining, what obstacles would impede the progress of the 
 miner, and how he is to overcome them. 
 
 We have stated the question as if no mines were worked 
 in the United States at present. Lest this assertion should 
 excite surprise, we hasten to explain. Almost all the metals 
 have been found in the United States ; but no works have 
 been, we believe, undertaken with any degree of attention, 
 except those of iron, lead, and coal. We do not believe cop- 
 per has ever been smelted. Some attempts made in New 
 Jersey, several years ago, from some cause or other proved 
 unsuccessful. In Maryland, where a great quantity of cop- 
 per ore exists, none has as yet been smelted. 
 
 Iron has, it is true, heen much attended to ; and the efforts 
 of many of those who undertook this hranch with skill and 
 prudence, have met with the most complete success. The 
 quality of part of our iron is said to excel that of any im- 
 ported, even the Russian and Swedish. Several of the works 
 are upon the largest scale, and would, we are told, do honour 
 to England herself. Not having as yet visited any of them, 
 we shall refrain from any remark upon the method used ; but 
 from common report, we are inclined to believe that it differs 
 but little from that followed in Europe. However large some 
 of our works may be, and however numerous they may ap- 
 pear, it is nevertheless true, that the quantity of pig and bar 
 iron imported annually is very considerable. 
 
 The ores generally, or perhaps almost universally, used in 
 the United States, are the bog iron ore, (fer oxide hydrate 
 of Haiiy.) We know of some attempts which were made in 
 Pennsylvania to smelt the clay iron stone, (for carbonate dts 
 HouillereSyJ but we believe that they have hitherto been im- 
 10 
 
74 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 successful. We have likewise heard of unsuccessful attempts 
 to work the magnetic iron ore. 
 
 As to the specular and sparry iron ores, although they 
 have been found in the United States, we have not heard of 
 their being worked ; nor are we certain that any very large 
 quantities of them have been found. 
 
 When we recollect that the great superiority of the Eng- 
 lish castings is due to their improved method of working the 
 clay iron stone, that the finest iron known is extracted from 
 the magnetic ores of Sweden, that the German steel is pro- 
 duced by the sparry iron ore, and that the Elbese iron, whose 
 reputation is so great, is obtained from the specular iron ore, 
 we will remain convinced that it is impossible that the United 
 States should not equal them in the works of pig and bar 
 iron, and of steel, as soon as these ores shall have been 
 worked properly. But these ores are not found in any con- 
 siderable quantity at the surface : they require subterraneous 
 works, and probably on this account have not been made 
 the objects of regular establishments. All the iron furnaces 
 consume ores which are found at the surface, with little or 
 no digging; they are coarsely pounded and washed, and 
 then sent to the furnace. Hence we are justified in saying, 
 that although we have many very valuable and interesting 
 iron works, we have as yet no regular iron mines. 
 
 There exist, in like manner, in the United States, no re- 
 gular lead mines. The works on the Perkioming creek, 
 which are perhaps the deepest and best concerted in the 
 United States, have not yet yielded a single pound of metal- 
 lic lead for commerce. The lead mines of Missouri are rich 
 and abundant; but, from Mr. Schoolcraft's description, it is 
 evident that nothing like regular mining has as yet been 
 begun there; it is what the Germans very properly term a 
 Raubwerk, a mere pilfering of the richest spots, without any 
 attempt at regularity or system. 
 
 Our salt is all imported from foreign countries, or extract- 
 ed from salt springs : we have as yet no mines of rock salt. 
 
 Coal appears to be the only article upon which something 1 
 like mining has been undertaken. In most places, it is mere- 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 75. 
 
 % 
 
 ly taken from the surface, or dug from the foot of a hill, in 
 the manner of common quarries; but it appears, that in some 
 instances, as in Virginia, there are regular pits and galle- 
 ries, &c. but ail on a small scale. 
 
 We must not omit to mention the gold mines of North 
 Carolina, though the mining works are very inconsiderable. 
 
 Upon the whole, we think we may be warranted in saying, 
 that there are as yet no mines in activity in the United 
 States ; and we may consider the undertaking of mines on 
 a regular system as a new branch in this country. 
 
 The United States would undoubtedly derive from mining 
 the same advantages which the prosecution of it affords to 
 other nations. It would tend to make us independent of 
 foreign countries for the most indispensable articles of com- 
 merce ; it would secure to us an abundance of metallic sub- 
 stances, at a cheaper rate than that for which they could be 
 imported ; and, by increasing the quantity of metals, it is 
 evident that we improve our arts and sciences, and make 
 new advances in civilization. This is a corollary of one of 
 the first propositions which we stated in the introduction. 
 It is moreover corroborated by the instance taken from 
 England. Where, might we ask, have the arts arrived at 
 the highest degree of improvement ? Where have they been 
 most beneficially applied ? What country equals England in 
 the comforts as well as the necessities of life ? And what, let 
 us again ask, has elevated England to this high station ? Is 
 it not the prosperity of her mines ? Is it not the abundance, 
 excellent quality, and reduced price, of her cast iron ? Is it 
 not the invaluable assistance which she derives from her coal? 
 All these advantages America may possess as soon as she 
 pleases. No other country, on so slight an examination, 
 has yielded such a rich harvest of ores to the mineralogist. 
 If we confine our attention to our own state, we find, in al- 
 most every county of Pennsylvania, rich ores of iron. It is 
 true, that as yet no bituminous coal has been found on this 
 side of the Susquehanna, but we have no positive reason to 
 think that it may not be found ; besides, we have larger de- 
 posits of the anthracite than have ever been met with in any 
 
76 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 other country ; we see it already coming down the Delaware 
 and the Schuylkill in ahundance ; we observe that it obtains 
 a ready market; and, when experiments shall have been made 
 with care, may we not hope to see it rendered useful in the 
 metallurgical arts, perhaps even in the smelting of iron ? 
 
 Another great advantage which the working of our ores 
 will offer in many remote parts of the country, will be, the 
 affording a market for the immense quantities of wood which 
 our forests produce, and which are now allowed to grow and 
 decay, without any interest being taken in improving or pre- 
 serving them. 
 
 Nothing tends more to increase the population of a coun- 
 try than the working of mines. A mine may really be said 
 to act as a magnet ; it attracts and keeps together a popula- 
 tion, which could not, without it, have found the means of 
 supporting itself on the limited spot upon which it has settled. 
 
 The art of mining has likewise a good tendency to pro- 
 mote the morals and happiness of those concerned in it. It 
 teaches men the necessity of mutual confidence, of activity 
 and perseverance ; it shows them that we are often nearest 
 to the object of our wishes when we think ourselves to be 
 most remote from it, and when nothing but a little perse- 
 verance is necessary to attain it. No part of the world ex- 
 hibits a population more decent and orderly, or apparently 
 happier, than the mining districts of Germany. The con- 
 stant apprehension of the danger of mines, though this be 
 more imaginary than real, habituates the soul to incessant 
 reflection ; and the sense of the impotence of human efforts 
 entirely to avert the dangers to which the miner is exposed, 
 naturally disposes him to turn to a superior Being, in whom 
 alone he may place his trust. Never have we heard any 
 thing more impressive than the prayers which the miners of 
 Freyberg recite, all together, previous to their descending 
 into the mines. They are such, that when once heard, the 
 effect will long remain impressed upon the mind. 
 
 The introduction of the art of mining into the United 
 States, will doubtless be attended with some inconvenience ; 
 and difficulties will at first offer, which may, however, be 
 
THE ART OF MINING. <T 
 
 counterbalanced by the natural advantages which our coun- 
 try enjoys, and which will disappear if the miner be not too 
 easily discouraged. 
 
 In order to ascertain exactly the extent of these difficul- 
 ties, let us inquire what are the points which ought princi- 
 pally to call the attention of the miner, and how each may 
 be viewed in the United States. 
 
 Previous to the commencing of mining operations, it is 
 the duty of the miner to ascertain exactly, 
 
 J. The nature and abundance of the ore. 
 
 II. The nature of the adjoining rock. 
 
 III. The price of labour, and the facilities to procure 
 workmen. 
 
 IV. The nature and price of the fuel which the country 
 affords, and the facility of obtaining it from a distance. 
 
 V. The price of timber, building materials, gunpow- 
 der, &c. 
 
 VI. The facilities for exportation, and the proximity of a 
 market. 
 
 VII. The laws on mining. 
 
 A few remarks upon each of these points will explain the 
 situation of the American miner, compared with the Euro- 
 pean. 
 
 I. As respects the nature and abundance of the ore. It is 
 evident that this is the first object to be ascertained, and of 
 the greatest importance, since upon it all hopes of success 
 rest. It is likewise evident, that the rules and practice of 
 other countries will apply equally well to our own, with this 
 exception, that we will require, cceteris paribus, larger masses 
 and purer ores ; because our country being as yet new in 
 mining, it would be inexpedient for us to attend to our poor 
 ore while we neglect the richer ; it is only when these shall 
 have been exhausted that the others will be worth working; 
 especially, if we recollect that a poor ore not only produces 
 less metal, but requires a much greater advance of money, 
 and a more expensive treatment, inasmuch as the rock is 
 more difficult to work in than the ore ; and also, as a poor 
 ore requires a great deal of washing and pounding, and that 
 
78 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 this dressing demands the construction of machines, some- 
 times rather expensive; and, finally, a poor ore always con- 
 sumes more fuel than a rich one. But, because we cannot 
 work ores as poor as some of those worked in Europe, it does 
 not follow that we must neglect all that are not so rich as 
 their richest ores. Thus, though we could not work the cop- 
 per pyrites of St. Bell, which yield but from 3 to 5 per cent, 
 we may, perhaps, work ores that yield 10 per cent, or even 
 less ; and we must not reject them on the ground that some 
 of the Cornish copper ores have yielded 80 per cent. It is 
 probable that we could not work ores as poor as the silver 
 and tin mines of Saxony afford, or as the gold mines of 
 Hungary, because the expense of dressing the ore might per- 
 haps exceed the value of the metal contained in it ; neither 
 could we work beds of so small a thickness as the cuprifer- 
 ous beds of the Mansfeld, for the quantity of ore yielded 
 would not repay the expense of the excavation made to ob- 
 tain it.* 
 
 II. Nature of the rock. This is also an object of great 
 interest to the miner, on account of the many excavations 
 which he has to make in it, and also on account of its proxi- 
 mity to the vein. Should it, for instance, be very tough and 
 solid, his works will be costly, and of difficult execution. 
 Should it, on the other hand, be loose and disaggregated, it 
 will require more propping, and perhaps affect the security 
 of the mine. The same observations which apply to the mines 
 of Europe, may be considered as applicable to ours ; with 
 this exception, however, that many mines which are situated 
 
 * The price of labour is as great, and oftentimes greater, to work a vein 
 of three inches, than one of three feet. This will be evident, if we reflect, 
 that veins are for the most part broken up by cracks and fissures, that they 
 present a number of druses and cavities, and are often more or less disinte- 
 grated, so as to render the work much easier than in the adjoining rock, 
 which is often compact. In the abovcmentioned case, in working a vein of 
 three inches, we would be obliged to open an excavation, the greater part 
 of which would be in the adjoining solid rock, while the vein of three feet 
 might be worked without breaking into the rock. In this case, therefore, 
 the working of a vein of three feet would actually be attended with a small- 
 er advance of capital, and the product would be twelve times greater. 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 79 
 
 in a very tough rock are very expensive to work by blast- 
 ing, atul that in this case the cheapness and abundance of 
 wood in the United States, will allow us to apply the process 
 of torrefaction in many instances where it is required, but 
 where the scarcity of fuel will not allow the Europeans to 
 use it. Another great economy may be found in the wood 
 to prop the mines. We know, for instance, that all the wood 
 used for that purpose in the coal mines of Newcastle, and 
 probably in most of the mines of England, is imported into 
 England from British America. It is evident that there must 
 be a great saving in this respect in this country.* 
 
 In the very tough or very loose rocks, the miner will, per- 
 haps, find it more economical for him to work in the United 
 States than in Europe ; but it is probable that in those of a 
 moderate solidity, the balance of economy will run against 
 us, on account of the price of labour, &c. 
 
 III. The price of labour is also an object of primary im- 
 portance ; and this, we think, will be the principal difficulty 
 with which the American miner will have to contend. 
 
 1. The men will be difficult to procure. 2. They will be 
 expensive. 3. They will be difficult to retain. 
 
 In procuring workmen, the difficulties are probably not 
 near so great as they were a few years ago ; but still, the 
 great advantages which agriculture offers to the labouring 
 class of the community, the facility with which they may be- 
 come possessed of property, will, for a long time, prevent 
 many from engaging as labourers in manufactures or mines. 
 
 Again, the art of the miner, (of the common labourer in 
 the mine,) 'requires experience. There is a great choice in 
 miners, and it seldom happens that a man in Europe is con- 
 sidered as a workman of the first class, until he has served 
 a regular apprenticeship of several years in the mines. This 
 is particularly true of smelters, whose trade is one of those 
 in which experience and practice are most necessary. A 
 careless or inexperienced hand will, perhaps, consume twice 
 
 * If we are not mistaken, the expense of wood from America, for the mines 
 f Newcastle, amounts annually to upwards of 150.000/. sterling-. 
 
80 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 the quantity of fuel, or yield much less produce than a skil- 
 ful one. In the common operation of the refining of lead, in 
 order to separate the silver contained in it, we have frequent- 
 ly been able to observe the great difference which exists be- 
 tween the produce obtained in the same time and from the same 
 quantity, by an experienced workman or by an apprentice. 
 
 In this country we will meet with but few men who may be 
 said to have learnt this art by regular apprenticeship, and 
 who can therefore be employed with advantage. Those few, 
 conscious of their own importance, will be very expensive, 
 and difficult to be kept in proper discipline. 
 
 It has often been suggested, to bring over workmen from 
 the mining districts of Europe ; but this is by no means un- 
 attended with difficulty. The workmen must either be from 
 England or Germany : we need not look to France for mi- 
 ners. The Germans are certainly the best workmen that 
 could be brought over. Their general character, for pru- 
 dence, moderation, and perseverance, would render them 
 more manageable than any other class of Europeans. One 
 of the great objections to the bringing over of foreigners is, 
 that the first expense is considerable, and the facilities which 
 they find in breaking their contracts, and leaving their em- 
 ployers, prevent these from being remunerated for their ad- 
 vance of funds. It is probably very true, that the mildness 
 of our laws, the vast extent of our country, the facilities for 
 travelling, and perhaps also too imprudent an interference on 
 the part of some of the charitable societies, (instituted with 
 the best of motives, by foreigners, for the protection of their 
 countrymen arriving here, and for the purpose of assisting 
 them with money and advice,) may in many cases prove the 
 source of real injury to persons importing workmen from 
 Europe, and open a door to this breach of faith. This evil 
 is, we think, however, less to be apprehended on the part of 
 the German, than of any other emigrant. The well-known 
 moral rectitude of the German nation, equal to that of any 
 other, the natural want of energy, and disinclination to roam 
 about, are, we think, sufficient pledges in the hands of the 
 employer, that few or none of the workmen whom he may 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 81 
 
 import from Germany will disappoint him. The difference 
 in manners and language is another gr,eat argument in fa- 
 vour of the German emigrant, in preference to the English, 
 who would find himself almost as much at home in this coun- 
 try as in England. A great means of insuring the faithful 
 performance of their contracts, would be to bring over from 
 Germany the families of the miners, and to allow them a 
 small tract of land to settle upon. That miners could be ob- 
 tained from Germany, cannot, we think, be doubted ; for al- 
 though not gifted with a great locomotive inclination, they 
 would probably be allured by the hopes of settling in this 
 country, of providing for the future maintenance of their fa- 
 milies, and of receiving higher wages. 
 
 Although, therefore, we would not positively assert that it 
 will be expedient to import workmen from abroad in all in- 
 stances, still, we think that there may be cases in which such 
 an introduction of foreigners would be attended with great 
 advantages, and that in this case no country can afford us 
 better miners, or men more worthy of our confidence, than 
 Germany. 
 
 The second difficulty which would attend labour in the 
 United States, would be its great expense. Certainly this is 
 true as respects the difference of prices. On the continent of 
 Europe, we think the average price of labour in the mining 
 districts is under twenty cents per day. We have seen many 
 places where it did not exceed ten cents. In England, the 
 price is higher ; and we think, in all the mines of the north 
 of England, it averages, for the common miner, half a crown 
 per day (fifty-five cents.) It is probable, that in many parts 
 of the United States, at least of the Atlantic states, and at 
 some distance from the cities, we might obtain workmen for 
 nearly the same price. In the western states, the price would 
 be much higher.* The price of labour is certainly an item 
 of the first importance in our art, since there are many ope- 
 
 * Mr. Schoolcraft establishes the average price of labour at Potosi (Mis- 
 souri) to be about two dollars per day. 
 11 
 
82 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 rations which require manual labour, and in which it cannot 
 be replaced by machinery. To economize it must be the prin- 
 cipal object of the director's attention. He has two ways of 
 doing this ; first, by using horses, mules, and other animals, 
 which will certainly be very economical in many places, where 
 pasture is cheap, and provisions for these animals can be ob- 
 tained at a low rate. The second method is the frequent and 
 constant application of machinery wherever it is practicable. 
 In this respect, we may consider ourselves as fortunate as 
 the most favourably situated nations in Europe. The inge- 
 nuity and talent of our mechanics equal those of the same 
 class in any other nation ; their inventive powers have alrea- 
 dy secured to our country many lasting benefits. Whether 
 we wish to introduce into our mines the steam or the water 
 power, our country affords us great facilities. 
 
 The introduction of the steam-engine into mines, has pro- 
 duced such great arid rapid improvements in the art, that we 
 hope America will not be behindhand in employing it, espe- 
 cially as no country is so Avell provided with fuel as she is. 
 Equally well-gifted is she in the means of setting up water 
 powers. No country that we know of presents such nume- 
 rous rivers, creeks, and streams of all sizes, as she does ; 
 thereby affording great falls of water, and allowing us to 
 make a greater use of this power than any European nation. 
 These will be our means for counteracting the higher wages 
 which we will have to give our workmen. 
 
 Another consideration which affects labourers in mines, is 
 the difficulty which we will probably experience in keeping 
 them, who, besides the natural bent for change, may be allured 
 away by hopes of bettering their situation, a wish of settling 
 on property of their own, or by the offer of better wages from 
 competitors. We hope that those concerned in mines will un- 
 derstand their interest better, than to establish a system of 
 competition in outbidding their neighbours, in order to carry 
 off their workmen. Such a system would be ruinous to them- 
 selves, and of but little profit to the workmen, upon whose 
 moral character it must have a very bad influence, as it pro- 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 85 
 
 vents them from assuming regular habits, and, on the contra- 
 ry, accustoms them to be in a state of perpetual restlessness, 
 and also to endeavour to take advantage of any pretext to 
 break their contracts with their employers, whenever they 
 see the least chance of benefiting themselves by so doing.* 
 
 The best means of keeping workmen is, undoubtedly, to 
 make oneself popular among them by being impartial in all 
 instances, never departing from the strictest rules of jus- 
 tice, never taking advantage of them, particularly in their 
 moments of difficulty, by lowering their wages unnecessarily. 
 It is well to avoid as much as possible this fluctuation in the 
 price of labour, which is always injurious to both parties. 
 
 A plan which we think would be attended with the great- 
 est benefit, and which we have never seen used or recom- 
 mended, would be, wherever the price of lands is not very 
 high, to interest the workmen in remaining on the establish- 
 ment, by promising to give them, after a certain time, a 
 small tract of land, on which they might, in the meanwhile, 
 be allowed to live free of expense; thus they would find 
 themselves interested in improving the land before it belong- 
 ed to them, in hopes that it might one day become their pro- 
 perty ; and after having improved it, they would be unwil- 
 ling to leave the place, lest their labour on the spot should 
 be lost. In this manner they would feel interested in re- 
 maining at the mine for several years, after which, the force 
 of habit would endear them to the place. 
 
 This system would, we think, be peculiarly advantageous 
 in the case of Germans, who would be delighted at the idea 
 of securing to themselves and family a small property; with 
 this class of men, promises of annuities to widows and or- 
 phan children of such as have lost their lives in the works, 
 or of those who have well deserved of the owners, would, we 
 think, have a favourable effect ; at any rate it is certain that a 
 
 * It is with pleasure that we find that the cotton spinners of our coun- 
 try have very wisely refused to follow so ruinous a line of conduct as re- 
 gards their workmen. 
 
84 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 great deal may be effected in this manner, at little expense, 
 by ministering to their comforts, assisting them in their ne- 
 cessities, showing particular attention to the sick and wound- 
 ed ; we have seen many instances where such a system had 
 been brought into operation at a very trifling cost, and 
 by making the directors of such establishments popular 
 among the workmen, produced the happiest effects, and at- 
 tached them to the spot ; this would be particularly desira- 
 ble in this country, in order to counteract their natural incli- 
 nation for change. 
 
 IV. The nature and price of the fuel which the country af- 
 fords, is the next subject for consideration ; also, the facilities 
 for obtaining it from a distance. 
 
 In this respect, it is confidently believed, that no country 
 is so well situated as ours, and that it offers us advantages 
 equal to those of any other, England herself not excepted. 
 The different kinds of fuel used are wood and charcoal, coal 
 and coak, peat and anthracite ; as respects wood, we are bet- 
 ter supplied than any nation in Europe, except Russia and 
 Sweden ; not only our wood is abundant, but it is excellent ; 
 and we have a greater variety than any other country, so 
 that we may select whichever we prefer ; the hickory is the 
 most valuable production of our forest, and is unknown in 
 Europe. 
 
 In the metallurgical arts, wood is generally used in the 
 state of charcoal, and for some purposes charcoal is the only 
 fuel that can be used ; here, of course, our advantage over 
 other nations will be great. In coal, and its resulting pro- 
 duct coak, we are not as yet so well favoured as England, 
 for we have not as yet been able to ascertain its presence on 
 the eastern side of the Great Valley of the Susquehanna ; all 
 our mines to the westward will be abundantly supplied with 
 it, and should it never be found on this side, no doubt great 
 quantities of it can be sent by the canal between the Alle- 
 ghany and Susquehanna, which, we believe, it is now admitted 
 on all hands, will soon follow the execution of the Union Ca- 
 nal ; even at present we obtain coal from England, at a price 
 which may be considered as tolerably reasonable. 
 
THE ART OT 1 MIXING. 85 
 
 Peat is but a poor substitute for wood or coal ; it is, how- 
 ever, used in metallurgy, especially where a great heat is 
 not required, as in the separation of the mercury from the 
 silver, subsequent to the amalgamation, at Freyberg in Sax- 
 ony : we have already mentioned tbat it was used at Lead- 
 hills in Scotland, for the purpose of smelting the lead ore. 
 It is probable that we shall but seldom find ourselves obliged 
 to recur to it ; at any rate, should it be wanted, it will be 
 found very abundantly in the United States. 
 
 Anthracite is very abundant, and exists in large quantities 
 in the United States : it has, we believe, nowhere been ap- 
 plied, as yet, to the working of ores, but may perhaps be used 
 with advantage by making a few modifications in the form 
 of the furnaces. 
 
 Hence, we see that fuel is abundant and cheap in this coun- 
 try, and it may easily be brought to the places where it is 
 needed, on account of the great facilities afforded by internal 
 navigation. 
 
 V. The price of the materials used, such as timber, tools, 
 gunpowder, c. is the fifth consideration which ought to pre- 
 cede the working of mines. In this respect, it is probable 
 that the advantages in this country will nearly balance those 
 of foreign countries ; some articles will be higher here, while 
 others will be cheaper; in timber we will find a great saving, 
 which will probably make up for the additional expense in 
 iron, steel, powder, c. 
 
 VI. Another object of high importance is the facility of 
 exportation, and proximity of a market ; no country in the 
 world has been so much favoured by nature as ours has 
 been in this respect ; it is sufficient to cast our eyes upon the 
 map of the United States, to be convinced of our great supe- 
 riority in this respect ; if we confine our attention to Penn- 
 sylvania, the remark is peculiarly obvious ; we may safely 
 ask, what country in Europe offers three such streams as the 
 Delaware, the Susquehanna, and the Alleghany, besides the 
 numberless tributary streams, which would well pass for im- 
 portant rivers in many other countries ? 
 
86 CONSIDERATIONS UPON 
 
 The only thing that is required of us in this respect, is to 
 improve the natural advantages which we already possess ; 
 to complete, as it were, the work which nature has so well 
 commenced ; for this, we have but to follow the example given 
 by other nations ; the experience of England shows what a 
 great, what an astonishing increase in national prosperity 
 attends the improvement in internal transportation : the state 
 of New York has followed the example, and is already reap- 
 ing the reward. Let all the other states reflect upon this, 
 and then by a judicious application of funds, let them im- 
 prove their roads and navigation ; the beneficial effect of 
 such measures will be very great, both for agriculture and 
 the arts ; and among these, none will derive more essential 
 benefits than the art of mining. 
 
 VII. The last object which the miner has to examine, 
 previous to commencing his operations, is the state of the 
 laws on mining, existing in the country in which he thinks 
 of undertaking works of this nature ; we have seen, that in 
 this respect the miner has, at present, in the United States, 
 no laws to study but those which affect every kind of pro- 
 perty in general. 
 
 The art of mining, like all others, ought to be undertaken 
 qnly after mature reflection and deliberation ; we never can 
 hope for success in works hastily or rashly conceived : 
 whenever, therefore, we may be desirous of introducing the 
 art of mining into a new district, or a new country, we must 
 take time to examine the subject coolly and deliberately. 
 We have endeavoured to state the most important points to 
 which the miner's attention ought to be directed ; we have 
 likewise tried to examine how far our country might be said 
 to be fitted for the reception of this art; we believe that 
 there are many places where mining would succeed in this 
 country. Whether our reasons for believing this be correct 
 
THE ART OF MINING. 87 
 
 or not, is a question upon which every man acquainted with 
 the resources of the country is competent to decide ; and we 
 shall think ourselves amply rewarded for our labour, if 
 these remarks may induce others, better acquainted with the 
 state of the country, to examine the subject \ and whatever 
 may be the result of their examination, we think it will not 
 have been an unimportant question to this country, to ascer- 
 tain whether or not the United States are sufficiently ad- 
 vanced in the arts, to insure the advantageous introduction 
 of the ART or MINING. 
 
 THE END. 
 
' * OXlilOW ***Xl 
 
YC (8900 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY