700 GOLD 



summer of 1862, by way of holiday work, the miners frequently collected quantities 

 of 14 to 54 grs. The able-bodied Leadhills miner never, however, gives up his usual 

 labour, at which he earns 15s. per week, for the more precarious gains to bo derived 

 from gold-finding. To gold-seeking ho devotes only his spare hours, his holiday 

 time, or his periods of sickness or debility. The price he generally more or less 

 readily obtains for his gold varies necessarily with the demand and supply. Some- 

 times it rises to ?%d. per grain, or 15/. per ounce, sometimes it falls to 5d. t but the 

 more common or average price is 6d. per grain, or 121. per ounce, while the average 

 market-price may be quoted at present at 41. per ounce, or 2d. per grain. The 

 director of the mines at Leadhills estimates gold-washing at these prices as only 

 capable of yielding, at present wages, 3d. per day, while lead-mining gives upwards 

 of 2s., or more than eight times as much, with the great additional advantage of a 

 certain or regular occupation. 



' The Scottish gold-fields may be divided geographically or topographically into 

 three : the Northern, Central, and Southern. 



' 1. The Northern comprises the greater part of the counties of Sutherland, Ross, 

 Inverness, and Argyle, north of the Caledonian Canal. It occupies the longitudinal 

 axis of the northern peninsula of Scotland, is second in size only to the Central area, 

 and has yet almost entirely to be explored. 



' 2. The Central lies between the Caledonian Canal and the valley of the Tay ; 

 includes a great part of the shires of Inverness (southern half), Aberdeen, Banff. 

 Kincardine, Perth, Forfar, Argyle, Stirling, and Dumbarton. It is by far the largest 

 of the three areas, Like the Southern gold-field, it forms a transverse belt across 

 Scotland, and much of it remains to be explored. 



' 3. The Southern comprises great part of Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, Wigtown, Ayr, 

 Selkirk, Peebles, and Lanarkshire, and includes, more particularly, parts of tho 

 districts of Nithsdale, Annandale, Eskdale, Ettrickdale, Twecddale, and Clydes<];ilo, 

 and the Lammermuirs (in Haddington and Berwick). It is the smallest of the throe 

 areas, but is the best known, and, so far as ascertained, the richest. 



1 At many localities throughout the area which I have assigned to the Scottish 

 gold-fields, actual finds of gold have been made in recent or former times, and this is 

 one of the strongest arguments for their thorough exploration. Of such gold-finds, 

 the following will suffice as illustrations : 



'L Northern Gold-Field. 1. Sutherlandshire. Helmsdale water. A nugget found 

 here in former times weighed lOdwts., or 240 grs. 



'II. Central Gold-Field. 1. Perthshire (A..) Breadalbane, area of Loch Tay, 

 and head-waters of the Tay. A nugget found in former times weighed 2 oz., or 

 960 grs. Sir James Simpson tells me that he was shown a specimen of gold, with 

 its matrix (quartz), by the late Marquis of Breadalbane, from Tyndrum. In 1861 

 Professor Tennent of London found gold in quartz, associated with iron-pyrites at 

 Taymouth. 



' (B.) Upper Strathearn, area of Loch Earn, and the head-waters of the Earn. Glon 

 Lednoch (Ritchie); streams falling from the north into Loch Earn (Ritchie); Ard- 

 voirlich (south side of Loch Earn. 



' (c.) Glenalmond (Mercer) ; Glenquoich, and other valleys of tho Grampians. 



' 2. Forfarshire. Clova district, areas of Angus, Edzell, and Glonesk. 



* 3. Aberdeenshire, area of the Dee, Braemar, Invercauld, coast about Aberdeen, and 

 in tho sea-sand. 



' In New Zealand, and other auriferous countries, gold is very commonly associated 

 with magnetic iron sand, containing or not titanium, and other minerals, or with iron 

 sulphides. It is of interest to know that the sands of the Dee, which consist, mainly, 

 of tho debris of granite and gneiss, contain considerable quantities of magnetic iron- 

 sand and iserine, with which are associated smaller amounts of titanium, uranium, 

 and arsenic. The gneiss of Braemar often contains much magnetite in place of mica 

 (Nicol), while iron, or oxides, or sulphides, are common in all tho schists and granite 

 of Abordeenshiro (Nicol). 



' 4. Argyleshire, Dunoon. 



* III. Southern Gold-Field. 1. Head- waters of tho Clyde, including tho Ech, Craw- 

 ford Moor, or Leadhills district ; Elvan water, Glengonncr, Gloncaple, Winloch, Short 

 Cleuch, Lammington burn. 



' 2. Head-waters of tho Tweed ; Manor water, which flows north to the Tweed ; 

 Meggat water, which flows south to St. Mary's loch ; other feeders of tho Yarrow 

 and Glengaber. 



'There are traces of prospecting and digging i n former days in Meggatt water 

 valley, similar to those which occur in Leadhills. In the British Museum 1 s:iw two 

 specimens of Tweeddalo gold : the OTIC nuergety, and in quartz, a very rich sample ; 



