CoLENso, — Memorabilia, Ancient and Modern. 311 



broken up into very small fragments by powerful machinery, 

 and the tin extracted. This class of mining gives employ- 

 ment to many hundreds of labourers, including womeii and 

 children. The second mode, or streaming, is much more pri- 

 mitive and easy. This may be termed " surface work," as it 

 is generally carried on in moorland plains and valleys, in shal- 

 low pits of only a few feet in depth, and at but a small distance 

 below the surface of the ground. The tin is here found depo- 

 sited in blackish sand-like particles, in small, worn, brown 

 lumps or pebbles, with occasionally a few larger pieces. I 

 have seen such pieces (or nuggets) of almost pure tin weighing 

 from 12 oz. to 20 oz. The variety known as "wood tin " is 

 of a lighter colour, variegated, striped, and pretty. Tin thus 

 procured is cleaned from sand and earth by simply washing 

 in water, as from its great weight and purity it speedily sinks, 

 when it is collected and laid out to dry. 



A large number of tin- and copper-mines are irregularly 

 scattered all over the county, but_ more particularly in its 

 western half, some being romantically situate on the top of 

 high hills, sea-cliffs, and crags. The mines in the Parish of 

 St. Just, near the Land's End, are among the most remark- 

 able in Cornwall, no less from the great variety of unusual 

 minerals which they have, produced than from the fact of the 

 direction of the veins seaward having tempted the miners to 

 follow them to long distances under the billows of the Atlantic 

 Ocean. From among -them I would especially mention three 

 — -Botallack, Levant, and Dolcoath ; these being also Al 

 among the principal metal mines in Britain. Very recently 

 the sad news reached us that two of these mines were likely 

 to be closed, after yielding untold wealth for nearly two cen- 

 turies, the cost of working the deposits of tin and copper being 

 how greater than the profits to be earned. If these mines 

 closed they would throw out of occupation and livelihood more 

 than four thousand people — men, women, and children — en- 

 gaged therein. 



The celebrated Botallack Mine is situate in the Parish of St. 

 Just, about two miles from the town of that name, about the 

 same distance from Cape Cornwall, seven miles from the 

 Borough of Penzance, and about the same distance from the 

 Land's End. Levant Mine is also near to Botallack, and, like 

 that mine, is close to the sea. This one, however, is still work- 

 ing well, and rich. Botallack is in itself worth seeing, even if 

 no mine existed in its recesses. It is a bold headland com- 

 posed of huge masses of hornblende, marked by walls of slate, 

 against which the Atlantic surges are continually dashing. 

 But the persevering efforts of man have at this point been 

 more powerful than those of nature. Here is to be seen the 

 most striking example of man's boldness in the search of 



