2i5 Difcovery of native GjU in Irelaitd, 



pvo, that, difcharging itfelf into the fea near the town of Afklovv, forms an harbour fc? 

 Veffels of fmall turthcn. 



The lands of Ball'mvally are to the fouthward, and the lands of BalRnagorc to the northji 

 Ward (f the ford, where the bTuc (hiftiis rock, whofe joints are nearly vertical, is fcen ran- 

 ging E. N. E. and W.S.W. including fm.jU ftrings of quartz wi)ieh contain ferruginous 

 earth. The fame kind of earth is alfo feen in the quarts, contained in a vein from ten ta 

 twelve inches vi'fde, ranging E. N.Il. and WiS.W. and hading, to tliefputltward,, which has 

 been laid open in forming the Arklow roa(i.' ^ '■ ' i ^. . . , 



There the valley is from twenty to thirty yv^ri^ in wi'dt^i, and is coAfered wit-fa fubftancea 

 waftied down from the mountain, which An the fides have accumulated to the depth of 

 iboiit twelve Vcet; '■ A thin ftratum of vegetabk foil lies uppermoft; then clay mingled with; 

 fine fandcompofed of "fmall particles of quartz, mica, and fhift ; beneath which.the fame 

 ifwbft'aVrces art larger, :aiidconftituteabeid'6f-gravel-th'at alfocontains nOdulfesof fiile. grain* 

 ed iron-ft'oiie,' which- protKices 50 per cent.'of lirude ir6n : incumbent oni' the rock are large 

 tumblers of quartz,' a variety of arj./illite and 'fhi'itus ; many pieces of the. quartz are perfect* 

 ly pure; others are attached to the fliiftus ; others contain chlorite,, pyrites, mica, and fer». 

 ruginous earth; and' thearfenical cubical pyrites frequently occurs imbedded in the blua 

 fhiftus^ In'thid mafs of h:i'atter, before the workings began, the brook had formed its chan-. 

 nel down to the furface df the rock, and betvveen-fix and fevcn feet wide, but in, times of 

 itlods extended' itielfehtifoely over the valley. - 



Refearches have been made for the gold amid ft the fand and the gravel along the run of 

 the brook for near half a mile in length ; but it is only about one hundred and ^\ky yards 

 above, and about two hundred yards below the fopd,. that' the trials have been attended with, 

 muchfucceft: within that fpace the valley is tolerably level, and the banks of the brox)khav« 

 not more than five feet of fand and gravel abov;? the rock: added to this, it takes a fmall 

 turn to the fouthward, and confequently the rude furfaces of the fliiftus rock in fome degree 

 trofs its courie, and form natural impediments to the particlss of gpld being carried furthec 

 down the' ftream, which flill lower has a more rapid defcent. Befides, the rude manner ia 

 which the country people worked feldom enabled them to penetrate to the rock in thofe. 

 places where the fand and gravel were of any material' (lepth. Their method was to tura 

 thecourfe of the water wherever they deemed necefiary, and then' with any inftruments they, 

 could procure to'dig holes down to the rock, and, by wafhing in bowls and iieves the fand 

 and gravel they threw out, to feparate the particles of gold which, it contained ; and from, 

 flie flovenly and hafty way in which their operations were performed, much gold moft pro- 

 bably efcaped their fearch : and that indeed a£lually appears to have been the cafej for, finca 

 the late rains waftied the clay and gravel which had been thrown up,, gold has been found 

 lymg on the furface. The fituation of the place^ and the conftant command of water, do 

 however very clearly point out the great facility with which the gold might be feparated irom 

 tiie trarti, by adopting the mode of working praftifed at the beft tin ftream works in the 

 county of Cornwall ; that is, entirely to remove (by machinery) the whole cover off the rock, 

 and then wafli it in proper buddies and fieves. And by thus continuing the operations, 

 conftantly advancing in the ravine towards the mountain, as long as gold {hould be found, 

 the vein that forms its matrix might probably be laid bare. 



The difcovery was made public, and the workings began early in the month of September 



