brooks: applied geology 29 



was forced to translate these technical terms as best he could. 

 German mining methods and terminology must then have found 

 wide acceptance in Europe, for Pierre Belon, the French naturalist 

 recorded that in 1546 they were in use in the Thracian gold fields — 

 then as now a part of the Ottoman Empire. 



In Agricola's day there appeared a number of other treatises 

 dealing with some phase of applied geology. These were mostly 

 devoted to mineralogy, which was destined to become a science 

 long before geology had passed beyond the speculative stage. 

 Most of this early literature was in Latin and therefore calcu- 

 lated to have little influence on mining practice. It did, however, 

 bring the scholar into closer touch with the phenomena of nature 

 and thus pave the way for a rational science of geology. 



In the early history of the science pure and applied geology can 

 be compared with two confluent rivers having widely separated 

 sources — the one springing from the high realm of speculative 

 philosophy, the other having a more lowly subterranean origin. 

 These two streams of thought gradually drew together, for a 

 space flowing side by side, and finally merged into one great 

 stream. 



The following passage, written by Peter Martyr, in 1516, while 

 describing the golden wealth of Hispaniola, reflects something of 

 the status of geology in his day: 



They have found by experience that the Vein of gold is a living tree, 

 and that the same by all ways spreadeth and springeth from the root, 

 by the soft pores and passages of the Earth, putteth forth branches, 

 even to the uppermost part of the Earth; and ceaseth not until it dis- 

 cover itself unto the open air; at which time it sheweth forth certain 

 beautiful colours in the stead of flowers, round stones of golden Earth 



in the stead of fruits, and thin plates in stead of leaves For 



they think such grains are not engendered where they are gathered, 

 especially on the dry land, but otherwise in the Rivers. They say that 

 the root of the golden Tree extendeth to the center of the Earth, and 

 there taketh nourishment of increase: for the deeper that they dig, they 

 find the trunks thereof to be so much the greater, as far as they may fol- 

 low it, for abundance of water springing in the Mountains. 



This fantastic account of gold deposits contains a sufficient 

 kernel of truth to indicate that the writer had at least some com- 

 prehension of the form of auriferous veins and their relation to gold 

 placers. 



