ON THE DETRITAL TIN-ORE OF CORNWALL. 227 
than they were formerly, and that the specimens have found their 
way to the Smelting-house more frequently than to the Museum. 
Whether the more carefully moulded blocks disinterred from 
the sand, gravel, and shingle of St. Austell moor,* and dredged 
from the bottom of Falmouth harbour,t are to be classed with 
more rudely shaped,—and perhaps more deeply oxidized{—masses, 
seems an Antiquarian, rather than a Geological, enquiry. 
In the stream-works of St. Austell and Lanlivery. .about 25,—and 
Fe the Tregoss-moors ......... ape i) 
men and inary now (1873) find employment. 
“ About [the year 1772] a slab of tin weighing about 20l]bs., was found 
‘in the Goss-moors in Roche, which from its appearance seemed to be very 
“ancient. It was found, about four feet below the surface, by some tinners 
4 
‘who were searching for ore. It was about three inches thick and its width 
‘Cand length were in proportion. In colour it bore a strong resemblance to 
“lead; but on examination it was found to be very deficient in purity, its real 
‘‘metal when separated from the dross not amounting to more than 13 lbs. 
‘A singular kind of ancient shovel was also found at the same time and 
“place.” Hircuins anp Drew, History of Cornwall, ii, p. 587. 
‘‘Tn the parish of Withiel there exists the remains of a Jew’s-House— 
“to use its popular designation—formerly used [for smelting tin-ore] on a 
“farm called Landjew.” Gentleman’s Magazine, xcvi, (1826), p. 125. 
* “Tn one of the [stream-works on the St. Austel moor] were lately 
‘found, about eight feet under the surface, two slabs, or small blocks of 
‘melted tin, of about twenty-eight pounds each, of a shape very different 
“from that which for many years has obtained in Cornwall...They have 
‘“‘semicircular handles or loops to them, as if to sling and carry them more 
“conveniently on horseback; they are much corroded by the sharp waters 
‘in which they have layn, a kind of rust or scurf-like incrustation enclosing 
“the tin.” Boruase, Natural History, p. 163, Pl. xx, Fig. 19. 
+ ‘The form of the block of tin which was dredged up in Falmouth 
‘“‘harbour....about forty years ago and presented by the late Thomas Daniell, 
‘‘Hisq., of Truro, to the Museum of the Royal Institution of Cornwall....is 
“that of an astragalus, or knuckle-bone...It is 2 feet 11 inches long, 11° 
‘inches wide, and 3 inches thick at the centre, perfectly flat on one side, 
“but curved on the other, and having four prolongations at the corners, 
“each 1 foot long. Itis said by Diodorus that the inhabitants of Belerium 
‘“‘ (the most western part of Cornwall) cast the tin into the form of ‘ astragali.’ 
.- The weight, about 130 Ibs., is just the proper weight for a horse having 
“to carry two of them on a pack-saddle.” James, Report of the Royal Insti- 
tution of Cornwall, xlv (1862), pp. 29, 32, 33, Pl. iii. 
‘“‘The block in the form of an astragalus, found near St. Mawes, at the 
‘entrance to Falmouth harbour, marked with a symbol, a small astragalus 
«,...weighs 158 lbs. avoirdupois.” Poonz, Journal of the Royal Institution 
of Cornwall, i, (No. iv), p. 9. 
t Michell, (J.), Manual of Mineralogy, p. 74. Collins, Journal of the 
Royal Institution of re nwall, ili, (No. xiii), p. 84. Napier, Ibid, p. 84, 
Percy, (Dr., F.R.S.), MS. 
