The Scottish Naturalist. 211 



small, rough, granular nuggets, generally with more or less adherent 

 quartz. 



II. Auriferous quartz : gold in quartz veins, these veins being 

 found in situ in the Lower Silurian slates of the district. 



III. Spurious or dubious specimens of gold or gold-quartz — 

 usually the latter — which, though found in the district, probably 

 do not belong to it. 



Of alluvial gold, from nuggets big enough to make breast-pin 

 heads down to granular dust, there is no scarcity. It may be col- 

 lected at any time by simple washing from the beds or banks of 

 any of the streams of the district. The Elvan is said to be the 

 richest bed — that which is most prolific — which most profitably 

 rewards the miner's toil. But there is concurrent or unanimous 

 testimony that all parts of the dist7'ict are auriferous. Whenever a 

 supply of gold is wanted for museum specimens, or for presenta- 

 tion jewellery, a sufiiciency is forthcoming ; a few hours' work of 

 a miner, and still more, of course, the conjoint efforts of a band 

 of miners extending over several days, produce the number of 

 grains or ounces required. 



Mr John Laidlaw once got a nugget of 18 grains in a small 

 burn near the Hole farm (the name of the farmer at the time 

 being Gibson) ; and he told me that some years ago a girl found 

 a nugget of i}^ oz., with a piece of adherent quartz. The whole 

 mass was described as having been of the size of a thumb. It 

 was sold to the late Dr Martin of Leadhills for ^^ or ^6. This 

 Mr Laidlaw regarded as unquestionably a native of the district. 

 Another nugget, the size of a horse-bean, was also found by the 

 late David Helbet, but my informant did not say where. 



Mr Robert Laidlaw described to me a 30-grain nugget, with 

 adherent quartz, that was found by his father — the above Mr 

 John Laidlaw — at Wanlockhead. On another occasion as much 

 granular or nuggety gold was readily collected as was required to 

 make a finger-ring. 



Mr Wm. Maccall is the possessor and vendor, like so many 

 other miners, of the minerals of Wanlockhead. But these minerals 

 never include gold, he says, because it is usually purchased as 

 soon as it is collected ; or it is only collected to order and for 

 some special purpose. 



Various finds — both of gold dust and nuggets — are given by 

 the Rev. Dr Porteous.^ 



In the case of nuggets, the adherent quartz is sometimes in 

 1 In his 'God's Treasure-House in wScotland ' (1876), pp. 50, 51. 



