broken up and sold. Those who were " in the know " 

 attended the sale, and again secured possession of the 

 guineas by buying the tar-pot. 



The collection of green copperas or green 

 PP * vitriol used to afford occupation to a consider- 

 able number of fishermen where it was to be found on the 

 beach, being washed out from the cliffs near Herne Bay. 

 Six buildings specially built for the trade were used for the 

 purpose of manufacturing from this product of iron pyrites 

 a black dye, ink, and the green crystals of sulphate of iron 

 employed as a tonic by doctors. A more rapid method of 

 obtaining these products has been found by chemists, and 

 copperas is no longer collected in any large quantity. It 

 may not be generally known that copperas exposed to 

 the weather is soon reduced to powder, and can then be, 

 with great advantage, applied to improve the growth of 

 vegetables. An experiment also showed that a slight 

 sprinkling produced a crop of grass twice as heavy as 

 that grown on land which had not been so treated. It is 

 also a good weed killer. 



There are still traces, too, at Whitstable, 

 Salt Pans. of some very early galt panSj and the 



memory of this mediaeval industry for obtaining salt by 

 evaporation of sea-water survives in the name of the 

 neighbouring parish of Seasalter. 



At one time the flatsmen used to dredge 

 Roman Cement. up boulder sto nes, about the size of a 

 man's head, and sell them to manufacturers of Roman 

 cement, but the more excellent qualities of Portland 

 cement have deprived the flatsmen of that mode of making 

 money. 



