M I 
Hazel-rods cut in the winter, fuels as are ufed' for fi(lung- 
rods, and kept till they are dry, do bed ; though, where 
thefe are not at hand, apple-tree luckers, rods from peach- 
trees, currants, or the oak, though green, will anfwer to¬ 
lerably well.” 
Our author next proceeds to deferibe the manner of 
holding the rod ; of which he gives a figure, as he lays it 
is difficult to be deferibed. The fimall ends, heiug crooked, 
are to be held in the hands in a polition flat or parallel to 
the horizon, and the upper part in an elevation not per¬ 
pendicular to it, but at an angle of about 70 degrees. “The 
rod (fays he) being properly held by thofe with whom it 
will anfwer, when the toe of the right foot is within the 
lemidiameter of the piece of metal or other fubjeft of the 
rod, it will be repelled towards the face, and continue to 
be fo while the foot is kept from touching or being di¬ 
rectly over the fubjeft ; in which cafe it will be lenlibly 
and ltrongly attrafted, and be drawn quite down. The 
rod Ihould be firmly- and deadily grafped ; for if, when it 
has begun to be attrafted, there be the lead imaginable 
jerk or oppofition to its attraftion, it will not move any 
more till the hands are opened, and a frefli grafp taken. 
The ftronger the grafp the livelier the rod moves, pro¬ 
vided the grafp be Heady and of an equal drengtn. This 
obfervation is very neceflary ; as the operation of the rod 
in many hands is defeated purely by a jerk or counter- 
aftion ; and it is from thence concluded, that there is no 
real efficacy in the rod, or that the perfon who holds it 
wants the virtue; whereas, by a proper attention to this 
circumdance in ufing it, "five perfons in fix have the vir¬ 
tue, as it is called; that is, the nut or fruit bearing rod 
will anfwer in their hands. If a rod, or the lead piece of 
one, of the nut-bearing or fruit kind, be put under the 
arm, it will totally dedroy the operation of the virgtila di- 
vimtoria, in regard to all the fubjefts of it, except water, 
in thofe hands in which the rod naturally operates. If 
the lead animal thread, as filk, or worded, or hair, be tied 
round or fixed on the top of the rod, it will in like man¬ 
ner hinder its operation ; but the fame rod placed under 
the arm, or the lame animal fubdances tied round or fixed 
on the top of the rod, will make it work in thofe hands, 
in which without thefe additions it is not attrafted.” 
Such are the accounts of this extraordinary rod, to 
which it is probable that few will aflent; and we believe 
the infiances of mines having been difcovered by it are 
very rare. Another and very ancient mode of dilcover- 
ing mines, lefs uncertain than the divining-rod, but ex¬ 
tremely difficult and precarious, is that called Jhoding ; 
that is, tracing them by loofe flones, fragments, or Jhodes, 
which may have been ieparated or carried od' to a confi- 
derable didance from the vein, and are found by chance 
in running waters, on the fuperficies of the ground, ora 
little under. “ When the tinners (fays Mr. Pryce) meet 
with a loofe Angle done of tin-ore, either in a valley or in 
ploughing or hedging, though at a hundred fathoms dif- 
tance from the vein it came from, thofe who are accuf- 
tomed to this work will not fail to find it out. They 
confider, that a metallic done mud originally have apper¬ 
tained to feme vein, from which it was fevered and cad 
at a didance by fome violent means. The deluge, they 
fuppofe, moved mod of the loofe earthy coat of the globe, 
and in many places w’affied it off from the upper towards 
the lower grounds, with fuch a force, that mod of the 
backs or lodes of veins which protruded themfelves above 
the fad were hurried downwards with the common mafs j 
whence the (kill in this part of their bulinefs lies much in 
direfting their meafures according to the fituation of the 
lurtace.” Afterwards, however, our author complains 
that this art oijhoding, as he calls it, is in a great meafure 
lofi. 
The following account of a method of finding filver- 
mines by Alonzo Barba feems to be fimilar to that of 
flioding jud now mentioned. “ The veins of metal (fays 
he) are fometimes found by great Hones above ground ; 
and, if the veins be covered, they hunt them out after 
N E. 427 
this manner ; viz, taking in their hands a fort of mattock, 
which has a Heel point at one end to dig with, and a blunt 
head at the other wherewith to break Hones, they go to 
the hollows of the mountains, where the current of rain¬ 
water defeends, or to fome other part of the Ikirts of the 
mountains, and there obferve what Hones they meet With, 
breaking in pieces thofe that feem to have any metal in 
them; whereof they find many times both middling fort 
of Hones, and lmall ones alfo, of metal. Then they con¬ 
fider the fituation of that place, and whence thefe Hones 
can tumble, which of neceffity mud be from higher ground, 
and follow the track of them up the hill as long as they 
can find any of them,” &c. 
“ Another way (fays Mr. Pryce) of difeovering lode* 
is by working drifts aerofs the country, as we call it, that 
is, from north to fouth, and vice verja. I tried the expe¬ 
riment in an adventure under my management, where I 
drove all open at grafs about two feet in the dielf, very 
much like a level to convey water upon a mill-wheel; by 
fo doing I was lure of cutting all lodes in my way ; and I 
did accordingly difeover five courfes, one of which has 
produced about 180 tons of copper ore, but the others 
were never wrought upon. This method of difeovering 
lodes is equally cheap and certain ; for a hundred fa¬ 
thoms in diallow ground may be driven at 50s. expence.” 
In that kind of ground called by our author feajible, and 
which he explains by the phrafe tenderjiauding, he tells us, 
that “ a very effeftual, proving, and confequential, way, is 
by driving an adit from the lowed ground, either north 
or fouth; whereby there is a certainty to cut all lodes at 
twenty, thirty, or forty, fathoms deep, if the level admits, 
of it. In driving adits or levels aerofs, north or fouth, to 
unwater mines already found, there are many fredi veins 
difcovered, which frequently prove better than thole they 
were driving to.’.’ 
After the mine is found, the next thing to be confidered 
is, whether it may be dug to advantage. In order to de¬ 
termine this, we are duly to weigh the nature of the place, 
and its fituation, as to wood, water, carriage, healthinefs, 
and the like ; and compare the refult with the richnel's of 
the ore, the charge of digging, damping, waffiing, and 
(melting. The form and iituation of the l'pot (hould be 
well confidered. A mine mud either happen, 1. In a 
mountain; 2. I11 a hill ; 3. In a valley; or, 4. In a flat. 
But mountains and hills are dug with much greater eafe 
and convenience, chiefly becaufe the drains and burrows, 
that is, the adits or avenues, may be here readily cut, both 
to drain the waterand to form gangways for bringing out 
the lead, &c. In all the four cafes, we are to look out for 
the veins which the rains or other accidental thing may 
have laid bare ; and, if fuch a vein be found, it may often 
be proper to open the mine at that place, efpecially if the 
vein prove tolerably large and rich ; otherwife the molt 
commodious place for fituation is to be chofen for the 
purpole, viz. neither on a flat, nor on the tops of moun¬ 
tains, but on the (ides. The bed fituation for a mine, is 
a mountainous woody wliolefome fpot, of a l'afe eafy al- 
cent, and bordering on a navigable river. The places 
abounding with mines are generally healthy, as Handing 
high, and every-where expofed to the air; yet fome places 
where mines are found prove poifonous, and can upon no 
account be dug, though ever fo rich. The way of exa¬ 
mining a ful'pefted place of this kind, is to make experi¬ 
ments upon brutes, by expoling them to the effluvia or 
exhalations, to find the effefts. 
Devonffiire and Cornwall, where there are a great many 
mines of copper and tin, is a very mountainous country, 
which gives an opportunity in many places to make adits 
or fubterraneous drains to fome valley at a didance, by 
which to carry off the water from the mine, which other- 
wife would drown them out from getting the ore. Thefe 
adits are fometimes carried a*mile or two, and dug at a 
vad expenfe, as from 2000I. to 4000I. efpecially where the 
ground is rocky; and yet they find this cheaper than to 
draw up the water out of the mine quite to the top, when 
2 the 
