328 TURKEY. 



CHAP. XXVII. 



of the delusion which had been spread respecting 

 the ancient produce of that metal. After re- 

 marking that the only way by which gold is now 

 procured is by washing the sands of the rivers, 

 he says, " in this manner a considerable quantity 

 is still annually accumulated, though it seems to 

 be rapidly decreasing, for in 1593 the governor of 

 Mozambique, George Menzes, collected for him- 

 self and the viceroy of India one hundred thou- 

 sand crusades, and I do not believe that one 

 third of this amount is now altogether annually 

 produced * ." 



Asia. In taking a review of the produce of gold and 



silver from Asia, the field is so extensive and the 

 information to be collected so imperfect, that no 

 one, however industrious in his researches, can 

 hope to do more than arrive at some foundation 

 on which to ground an estimate 2 . 



Turkey. In Asiatic Turkey few mines are now or have 

 recently been worked. The only district in which 

 silver is procured is that of Urla, in the province 



1 See Salt's Voyage to Abyssinia, page 68. The crusades 

 here mentioned were probably the thirty-second part of an 

 ounce of gold, and. equal to about two shillings and sixpence 

 sterling. 



2 In making extracts from the various authorities on the 

 subject of Asiatic mining, which were made without any view 

 to publication, the references to the authority were unfor- 

 tunately omitted, and many of them cannot now be given ; 

 but it is believed that the greater part, especially what respects 

 the islands, was taken from the works of Crawford. 



