20,6 
Lead, 
vel ; the setter-on comes to the front with his shovel, and 
they together throw the whole of the brouse again into the 
hearth, over the fore-stone, with a small quantity of coal 
as they see necessary, carefully separating the slags, which 
they throw into a corner, and breaking down the larger 
masses of brouse : when the whole is in the hearth, the 
setter-on goes again to the side, levels the top of the brouse, 
and covers it with fresh ore, laying this thickest against 
the spark-stone : the working of the hearth, after watch- 
ing, is called setting-up. When a hearth is well set-up, 
and works properly, without an excess of coals or blast, 
and pretty free from slags, small reddish white flames is- 
sue from all parts of the breast, from below the fore-stone, 
nearly to the edge of the work- stone : these flames should 
not issue more than a few inches from the breast. The 
hearth does not continue long in this state ; as the peat 
burns away, the blast is less equally distributed ; it forces 
itself through more in some parts than in others ; the co- 
vering at the top is perforated, or, perhaps, perfectly ig- 
nited, and the whole mass is condensed and settled in con- 
sequence of the evaporation of one part of the ore, and the 
separation of the metal ; copious blueish flames issue from 
two or three parts of the hearth, as if occasioned by the 
combustion of some metal. The brouse must be again 
watched- out, a new peat put in, and more ore thrown on 
the top. The operations of watching and setting-up re- 
quire to be repeated about every three minutes. After a 
few times setting-up, the metallic lead begins to flow 
down the channel of the work -stone, into a pot, where it 
is kept hot until collected in sufficient quantity to cast a 
pig. 
It is necessary, for the easy management of the hearth, 
that a considerable quantity of fluid lead should remain in 
the bottom for the brouse to float oil. The watcher, after 
throwing up the brouse, allows the lead to flow freely 
