South-western Coal District of England. 233 



of this ridge in the direction of its slopes, the nucleus of old red sandstone 

 being continued probably beneath the saddle of limestone. 



On the other side of the mouth of the Axe is the insulated hill of Brean- 

 dovvn, composed of mountain limestone dipping to the north conformably to 

 the northern flank of the Loxton chain, of which it is the continuation ; and 

 on the same line, at a little distance from the shore is the isle of Steep-holm*, 

 consisting of a saddle of mountain limestone. The stratification is not very 



distinct, but presents at the eastern extremity of the isle a ^...--^^^^J^^^S^ 

 remarkable undulation in the form of an arch. ^ /(?/ 



Before we quit the examination of the southern frontier of the basin, it may 

 be expected that we should take some notice of the mines for which the Men- 

 dip hills were once celebrated. They are now however of very little impor- 

 tance as objects either of mineralogical or of economical attention. The mines 

 of calamine, which are the principal that are now worked, occur, not in the 

 inclined strata, but in the overlying conglomerate, and will be noticed there- 

 fore in a subsequent part of our paper. The lead mines are almost entirely 

 abandoned; they have been worked principally in the mountain limestone. 



Galena is the only ore. The gangue is calcareous spar, mixed occasionally 

 with a little sulphate of barytes. The veins are very thin, and we have not 

 been able to learn that they atfect any certain direction. Though the prin- 

 cipal lead-mining district is between Emborrow and Priddy, yet there is 

 scarcely any part of the calcareous ridges of the Mendip, in which shafts have 

 not formerly been opened. The marks on the map will indicate these points 

 more clearly than a verbal description . The workings are universally shallow ; 

 they are undertaken only by the mining peasantry of the neighbourhood, with 

 the rudest machinery and most limited capitals ; and the water no sooner flows 

 in, than the works are necessarily abandoned. It has probably been ascer- 

 tained by experience that there is little chance of obtaining profitable returns 

 from any more extensive system of operations. If it be asked, how we are to 

 account for the numerous traces of former workings while so few pits now re- 

 main open, the ansv/er seems to be, 1st, That formerly the upper part of the 

 veins was not exhausted, which alone can be productive under so imperfect a 

 system of working ; 2dly, That formerly, when the means of transport from 

 one part of England to another were less perfect than at present, the price of 



* The isle of Steep-holm is, as its name denotes, precipitous and craggy. The summit, which 

 is not accessible without some difficulty, presents an uneven surface of a few acres, covered with 

 coarse herbage and weeds, among which the Peony grows wild. The isle is not habitable, nor 

 applicable to any useful purpose ; there are, however, the ruins of a small hovel near the top. 



2h2 



