MINERALLS AND FOSSILLS. 41 



and raine, which makes them slake, and fall to pieces from the centre, and shoot out a pale blewish 

 salt ; and then they boile the salt with pieces of old rusty iron. 



In the chalkie rocks at Lavington is umber, which painters have used, and Dr. Clir. Meret hath 

 inserted it in his Pinax. [" Pinax. Rerum Naturalium Britannicarum, continens Vegetabilia, Animalia, 

 et Fossilia in hac Insula reperta," By Cliristopher Merret, M.D., 1666, 12mo.] 



In the parish of Steeple Ashton, at West Ashton, in the grounds of Mr. Tho. Beech, is found 

 plenty of a very ponderous marchasite, of which Prince Rupert made tryall, but without effect. 

 It flieth away in sulphur, and the fumes are extreme unwholsom : it is full of (as it were) brasse, and 

 strikes fire very well. It is mundick, or mock-oare. The Earle of Pembroke hath a way to analyse 

 it : not by fire, but by corroding waters. 



Anno Domini, 1685, in Chilmark, was found by digging of a well a blewish oare, with brasse-like 

 veines in it ; it runnes two foot thick. I had this oare tryed, and it flew away in sulphur, like that 

 of Steeple Ashton. 



On Flamstone downe (in the parish of Bishopston) neer the Race-way a quarrie of sparre exerts 

 itselfe to the surface of the turfe. It is the finest sparre that ever I beheld. I have made as good 

 glasse of this sparre as the Venice glasse. It is of a bright colour with a very little tincture of 

 yellow ; transparent ; and runnes in stirias, like nitre ; it is extraordinary hard till it is broken, and 

 then it breakes into very minute pieces. 



We have no mines of lead ; nor can I well suspect where we should find any : but not fill- 

 off in Glocestershire, at Sodbury, there is. Capt. Ralph Greatorex, the mathematical instrument 

 maker, sayes that it is good lead, and that it was a Roman lead-worke. 



'Tis some satisfaction to know where a minerall is not. Iron or coale is not to be look't for in a 

 chalky country. As yet we have not discovered any coale in this county ; but are supplied with it 

 from Glocestershire adjoyning, where the forest of Kingswood (near Bristowe) aboundeth most with 

 coale of any place in the west of England : all that tract under ground full of this fossil!. It is very 

 observable that here are the most holly trees of any place in the west. It seemes to me that the 

 holly tree delights in the effluvium of this fossil, which may serve as a guide to find it. I was 

 curious to be satisfied whether holly trees were also common about the collieries at Newcastle, and 



Dr , Deane of Durham, affirmes they are. These indications induce me to thinke it 



probable that coale may be found in Dracot Parke. The Earledomes, near Downton, (woods so 

 called belonging to the Earledome of Pembroke,) for the same reason, not unlike ground for coale. 



They have tryed for coale at Alderbery Common, but was baffled in it. (I have heard it credibly 

 reported that coale has been found in Urchfont parish, about fifty or sixty yeares since ; but upon 

 account of the scarcity of workmen, depth of the coale, and the then plenty of filing out of y e great 

 wood called Crookwood, it did not quit the cost, and so the mines were stop'd up. There hath 

 been great talk several tunes of searching after coale here again. Crookwood, once full of sturdy 

 oakes, is now destroyed, and all sort of fuel very dear in all the circumjacent country. It lies very 

 commodious, being situate about the middle of the whole county ; three miles from the populous 

 town of the Devises, two miles from Lavington, &c. BISHOP TANNER.) 



[Several abortive attempts have been made at different periods to find coal on Malmesbury 

 Common. J. B.] 



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