BOOK V. 



107 



again I could furnish examples of each kind of stringers rejected by the 

 common miners which have proved good, but I know this could be of little 

 or no benefit to posterity. 



If the miners find no stringers or veins in the hanging wall or foot wall of 

 the main vein, and if they do not find much ore, it is not worth while to 

 undertake the labour of sinking another shaft. Nor ought a shaft to be sunk 

 where a vein is divided into two or three parts, unless the indications are 

 satisfactory that those parts may be united and joined together a little later. 

 Further, it is a bad indication for a vein rich in mineral to bend and turn 

 hither and thither, for unless it goes down again into the ground vertically or 

 incHned, as it first began, it produces no more metal ; and even though it 

 does go down again, it often continues barren. Stringers which in their 

 outcrops bear metals, often disappoint miners, no metal being found in depth. 

 Further, inverted seams in the rocks are counted among the bad indications. 



The miners hew out the whole of solid veins when they show clear evidence 

 of being of good quality ; similarly they hew out the drusy* veins, 

 especially if the cavities are plainly seen to have formerly borne metal, or 

 if the cavities are few and small. They do not dig barren veins through 

 which water flows, if there are no metallic particles showing ; occasionally, 

 however, they dig even barren veins which are free from water, because 

 of the pyrites which is devoid of all metal, or because of a fine black soft 

 substance which is Hke wool. They dig stringers which are rich in metal, 

 or sometimes, for the purpose of searching for the vein, those that are devoid 

 of ore which lie near the hangingwall or footwall of the main vein. This 

 then, generally speaking, is the mode of deaHng with stringers and veins. 



Let us now consider the metallic material which is found in the canales 

 of venae frofundae, venae dilatatae, and venae cumulatae, being in all these 

 either cohesive and continuous, or scattered and dispersed among them, 

 or swelling out in bell5dng shapes, or found in veins or stringers which 

 originate from the main vein and ramify like branches ; but these latter veins 

 and stringers are very short, for after a little space they do not appear again. 

 If we come across a small quantity of metallic material it is an indication ; 

 but if a large quantity, it is not an " indication," but the very thing for 

 which we explore the earth. As soon as a miner who searches for veins 

 discovers pure metal or minerals, or rich metallic material, or a great 

 abundance of material which is poor in metal, let him sink a shaft on the 

 spot without any delay. If the material appears more abundant or of better 

 quality on the one side, he will incline his digging in that direction. 



Gold, silver, copper, and quicksilver are often found native^ ; less 

 often iron and bismuth ; almost never tin and lead. Nevertheless tin-stone 

 is not far removed from the pure white tin which is melted out of them, and 

 galena, from which lead is obtained, differs little from that metal itself. 



Now we may classify gold ores. Next after native gold, we come to the 



*Cavernos. The Glossary gives drusen, our word drusy having had this origin. 

 ^Purum, — " pure." Interpretatio gives the German as gedigen, — " native." 



