BOOK XXXIII. XXXI. 95-xxxii. 99 



The ore is sometimes red, sometimes ash-coloured. 

 It cannot be smelted except when combined with 

 lead or with the vein of lead, called galena," lead ore, 

 which is usually found running near veins of silver 

 ore. Also when submitted to the same process of 

 firing, part of the ore precipitates as lead while the 

 silver floats on the surface, Hke oil on water. 



Silver is found in almost all the provinces, but the 

 finest is in Spain, where it, as well as gold, occurs in 

 sterile ground and even in the mountains ; and 

 wherever one vein is found another is afterwards 

 found not far away. This indeed also occurs in the 

 case of almost every metal, and accounts it seems for 

 the word ' metals ' used by the Greeks.^ It is a 

 remarkable fact that the shafts initiated by Hannibal 221-219 b.c. 

 all over the Spanish provinces are still in existence ; 

 they are named from the persons who discovered 

 them ; one of these mines, now called after Baebelo, 

 furnished Hannibal with 300 pounds weight of silver 

 a day, the tunnelling having been carried a mile and 

 a half into the mountain. Along the whole of this 

 distance watermen are posted M-ho all night and day 

 in spells measured by lanterns bale out the water 

 and make a stream. The vein of silver nearest the 

 surface is called ' the raw.' In early days the 

 excavations used to stop when they found alum, 

 and no further search was made ; but recently the 

 discovery of a vein of copper under the ahim has 

 removed all limit to men's hopes. The exhalations ^' 

 from silver mines are dangerous to all animals, but 

 specially to dogs. Gold and silver are more beautiful 

 the softer they are. It surprises most people that 

 silver traces black lines. 



XXXII. There is also a mineral found in these QuicksUver. 



75 



