Febeuaby 1, 1895.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



33 



the above instance that nearly sixty per cent, of the larvre 

 were destroyed by parasites. It is clear, therefore, that to 

 rid ourselves of the pest the parasites should be encouraged 

 in every possible way. 



GOLD IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 



By Ernest A. Smith, Assoc. R.S.M., F.C.S. 



THE existence of gold in various parts of our islands 

 has been a subject of remark from the time of the 

 invasion of the Romans. That the Britons collected 

 the precious metal from the tin streams of Cornwall 

 and Devon appears certain, and although there is 

 no reliable information of any kind prior to the Roman 

 occupation, yet by the discovery of gold ornaments at 

 various times in very ancient graves it is rendered 

 more and more probable that gold was found at a very 

 early period in parts of the United Kingdom. The Romans 

 were incited to the conquest of Britain by the reported 

 wealth of its inhabitants in gold, tin, and other metals ; and 

 CsBsar, in his Commentaries, says that one reason of his 

 invading the Britons was because they assisted the Gauls 

 with their treasures. On their first landing in Britain, 

 the Romans found the inhabitants in possession of gold and 

 gold coin. Tradition informs us that Cymbolene, Prince of 

 the Trinobantes, worked a gold mine, and he is stated 

 to have coined gold money instead of rings ; it having been 

 the usual custom to coin such rings as are found in the 

 bogs of Ireland. The Welsh Triads celebrate Cas-wallan, 

 Manawydan, and Llew Llawgyfes, as three chiefs 

 distinguished by the possession of golden cars. That the 

 Romans worked the ancient gold mine of Gogofau or 

 Ogafau, near Llan-Pumpsant, in Carmarthenshire, about 

 ten miles west of Llandovery, has been clearly proved by 

 the investigations of the late Sir Warington Smyth. 

 That it was a Roman station is indicated by the remains 

 of a bath, pottery, and ornaments found on the spot ; 

 several gold ornaments and a very beautiful wrought gold 

 necklace were also found. 



Small quantities of gold have been found in Cornwall 

 from the earliest time, particularly in the tin streams. 

 Carew ' intimates that the " tinners do also find little 

 hopps of gold amongst their ore, which they keep in 

 quills and sell to the goldsmiths, oftentimes with very 

 little better gain than Glaucus' exchange." 



In the "Bailiff of Blackmore," written by one Mr. Beare, 

 in Queen Elizabeth's time, we have an account of " a 

 gentleman that, at a wash of tin at Castle Park, by 

 Lostwithiel, took out of the heap of tin certain glorious 

 corns (which they call iiu) which he affirmed to be pure 

 gold, and at the same time showed a gold ring made of 

 certain gold hopps, which he had gathered among the tin 

 corns at a wash in a stream works." 



He tells us also that Mr. William Glynn, of Glynn, had a 

 gold seal ring made of gold hopps found in the river Fowey. 



The largest nugget of English gold which has been 

 found, or at all events of which the history is well 

 authenticated, weighed under three ounces — a lump barely 

 meriting a loftier rank than that of a " specimen," when 

 compared with the large nuggets unearthed in Australia 

 and California. In the reigns of Edward I. and III. 

 mines were worked at Combmartin, in Devonshire, from 

 which gold was obtained ; between 300 and 400 miners, 

 sent for out of Derbyshire, were employed in them, most of 

 the produce going to assist in the wars against France. In 



* Carew's " Survey of Cornwall, with Notes," 1811. 



the reign of Henry III. a copper mine which was worked 

 in Newlands, Cumberland, is said to have contained veins 

 of gold as well as of silver. Gold has also been found in a 

 large number of the counties of England and Wales, but not 

 in quantities sufficient to pay for working. The Patent 

 Rolls in the Tower record several grants of privilege to 

 search for gold and silver. 



The most important gold region of Britain, however, 

 lies in North Wales. Who the Cadmus was that first, on 

 the hills of Merionethshire, exclaimed with Shakespeare's 

 Timon 



" What is here ? 

 Gold ? yellow, glittering, precious gold ? " 



is uncertain, precedence being claimed for several persons ; 

 but the first to notice the existence of something like a 

 complete system of auriferous veins was Mr. Arthur Dean, 

 who communicated his discovery to the British Association 

 at York, in 18-14. 



In consequence of his statements operations were com- 

 menced at Cwmhesian, but the result not being satisfactory, 

 they were finally abandoned. 



On the banks of Afon-wen, about a mile above the bridge, 

 are some ruins of buildings, and below them, close to the 

 river, the remains of charcoal ashes and bits of bones, 

 mostly covered with herbage. This place has a very 

 singular and, in conjunction with the gold discoveries, a 

 very significant name, which it has maintained from time 

 immemorial, expressive of gold having been melted or 

 worked there. This name, Merddyn Coch'r aur, signifies 

 " the ruins of red gold." The tradition is that the Romans 

 formerly worked gold there. 



The gold district of North Wales appears to be chiefly 

 confined to an area of about 20 square miles, lying on the 

 north of the turnpike road leading from Dolgelly to Bar- 

 mouth, one of the most beautiful districts in Great Britain. 

 In this region the Cambrian rocks are overlaid by the 

 Silurian, and the general geological features of the country 

 resemble those of other auriferous localities, more especially 

 those of the south-east States of North America, where 

 almost all the indications of the associated rocks and 

 minerals are precisely similar. The strata in which the 

 auriferous lodes occur belong to the junction of the lower 

 and upper Cambrian strata, where the Lingula flags of the 

 latter rest upon the uppermost grits and quartzites of the 

 former group. The Cambrian being one of the oldest rocks 

 in the British Isles, it is particularly interesting to the 

 scientific student, and in no place is it better represented 

 than in the range of mountains in this area. 



It is yet possible that with economy and judgment in 

 mining, and with the employment of the best machinery for 

 dressing the ores, some of the mineralized quartz veins in 

 North Vv'ales wDl pay to work for gold. The gold extracted 

 from the Welsh ores is of a pale yellow colour, owing to 

 the presence of silver, and is usually about 18 to 22 carats 

 fine. The centre-piece presented to the Duke and Duchess 

 of York, on the occasion of their marriage, was made of 

 18 carat gold and sterling silver obtained from the Welsh 

 mines. It is one of the largest examples of gold and 

 silver work produced in modern times, and its weight 

 exceeds 2i cwt. The wedding ring of the Duchess was 

 also made from Welsh gold. 



Gold has been found in Scotland to some small extent 

 in strata similar to those just described. It is the general 

 opinion of archaeologists that the gold ornaments of the 

 prehistoric ages were made from native metal. The first 

 historic notice of gold occurring in Scotland is the grant of 

 David I. to the Abbey of Dunfermline in 1153 of a tithe of 

 all gold which should accrue to him from Fifeshire. 



Gilbert de Moravia is said to have discovered gold in Duri- 



