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and the Manner of extracting it.

fometimes found in temperate cli

mates.

Mines of filver are not diffused fo generally thro' the country of Peru, as the inhabitants believe. Many of them fuppofe, that they have nothing to do but to open the earth, and the mine will prefent itself. This error, however, has its advantages. These bold adventurers, though often difappointed, fill eager in the purfuit of gain, continue to fearch for the precious metal; and though many be ruined, not a few, on the other hand, are enriched by the fortunate fuccefs of their labours.

The fame prejudice which leads them to fuppofe the existence of mines every where, produces a belief that all thefe mines are rich. Neither is this miftake without utility. Altho" deceived in the expectation of an abundant produce, they feldom fail of finding fome, perhaps, indeed, at an expence double, or more, of its real value. But the lofs in this cafe falls only on the individual at whofe coft the mine has been opened. The general quantity of filver is increased, although the private adventurer fuffers. In fact, no occupation feems more attractive to thofe who engage in it, no enter prize in which they more cheerfully lay out the most unbounded expence, without the smallest fufpicion that they fhall ever have caufe to repent of their temerity.

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carry it through. Thus, though they have laid out enormous expences with little or no return, they are far from thinking thefe expences loft, perfuaded, as they are, that the mine will produce more plentifully at a future period. Some, indeed, are not deceived in this expectation; and inftances of this kind cherish the delufive hopes of others in facrificing their fortunes to the fame adventure. So violent is the paflion for mining among this people, that a perfon engaged in it, merely on a fmall fcale, for the fake of experiment, feldom fails to be infected with the fame fallacious prof pects, which it opens, to fuch a de gree, as to venture his all in the purfuit. It is the fole occupation, in which they lofe fight of every principle of Economy: expecting every moment to arrive at the richest part of the mine, where they hope to chiffel the pure filver from its native block, every expence feems trifling that brings them nearer to this dazzling object of all their wishes.

A circumftance more remarkable than any that has been mentioned is, that they will hazard all this profuse expence, not only on mines in which the experiments feem to be promifing, but even on those which have been the occafions of ruin to former adventurers, and abandoned in confequence of their bad fuccefs. It is no matter; they are still infatuated enough to beSeduced by the increasing indica- gin anew where thofe ruined adventions of the gangues in proportion turers had left off, or perhaps they to the depth they have dug into the make other openings into the fame carth, by the promising nature of the mountain, guided by indications which ftrata which they have pierced, by the they fuppofe infallible, and that they fpecies of analogous minerals that have alone have been fortunate enough to been thrown out, and by the discove- difcover them. Among the circumry, from time to time, of the rich me- ftances that infire their confidence, tal itself; animated, befides, by the re- the first is a belief that God has report of others who are engaged in the ferved the discovery of these treasures fame purfuit, their only regret, after for certain favoured individuals, and they have laid out their whole fub- that if others have fought for them in ftance in the fruitlefs adventure, is not vain, it was only because the time apthat they rafhly engaged in it, but that pointed for the discovery had not then their means do not, enable them to arrived. A fecond circumftance on

3 D 2

which

which they found their expectations, the most part, perfons of fubftance

is taken from the form of the rocks on the mountain, from the direction of its ridges, the pofition of its ftrata, their breadth and thickness, in a word, from the general fhape and fize of the mountain, and from the plants which grow on its furface.

These favourable prefages, formed upon external indications, are ftill more corroborated by the judgement of those who are reckoned knowing in. the business. Confirmed by their authority, every promifing circumftance becomes an infallible prognoftic, and the hidden treasures of the mountain are already enjoyed by the strong imagination of the adventurer. A certain fanguage, peculiar to the miners, contributes both to infinuate and fix these delufive expectations, a language which engroffes the whole imagination, and keeps all but the favourite object out of its view. Thus prepoffeffed and fafcinated, the most penurious immediately become prodigal, and the most diffident fanguine. Perfuaded that they fhall fpeedily be poffeffed of unbounded opulence, the unhappy victims of this delufion furrender them felves to it fo thoroughly, that they can neither think nor converfe upon any other subject. Every original difference of character is effaced by this predominant paffion. Perfons, in other refpects, of the most sedate and prudent qualities, no fooner engage in a mining adventure than they are hurried along with the fame blind avidity that generally characterizeth only the rash and thoughtlefs. The operations peculiar to the bufinefs, the difficulties that have been already furmounted, those which remain to be overcome, the symptoms of their fucceeding in the adventure, the methods of managing it to the best advantages, with the examples of thofe whofe fuccefs hath enriched them, are the only fubjects that occupy either their thought or converfation.

They are not always, nor even for

who engage in thefe enterprizes, the
far greater proportion of thofe who do
fo, are poor individuals, or bankrupt
merchants. Thefe people connect
themfelves with a Cateador, and make
a declaration of the mine which they
have difcovered; or perhaps they pre-
fent a requeft to government, that one
of thofe abandoned mines, which are
confidered to be of little value, may
be allotted to them for a certain con-
fideration which they offer. They
negociate alfo with the poffeffors of o
ther mines that are yielding profit, for
an affignation to the property of fome
particular vein belonging to it. Ha-
ving by one or other of thefe means
obtained poffeffion, they procure them-
felves to be registered in the Bureau de
Caffe Royal of the diftrict, for payment
of the tenth of the filver which the mine
fhall produce, and for the amount of
the quickfilver neceffary for their ope
rations. This is the firft ftep which
they take at the rifque of lofing any
little fubftance they have for the fake
of digging, with immense labour, into
the bowels of mountains in queft of
filver. But the poffeffion of these
mines is far from being an advantage
when the perfon principally concerned
fails, and with him the
money
fary for carrying on the operation. It
is then very obferveable how far the
power of perfuafion, and the attrac
tions of gain, will mislead men of the
moft penetrating and circumfpect cha-
racter.

necef

Thefe mining adventurers, having procured a fpecimen of rich mineral, which they pretend to have been found in their mine, addrefs themfelves to fome monied man; they fhew it to him with a fort of myfterious referve, and feeming apprehenfion; they point out the veins of filver that run thro' it, dwelling emphatically on the richnefs of the ore, on the pieces of na tive metal contained in it, and on all the other favourable indications; infi nuating, at the fame time, that it is

only

1

and the Manner of extracting it.

only a part of the rubbish of the mine, far richer fpecimens of which might be obtained by clearing that rubbish away, and following the tract of the former excavations, which have been abandoned, as they fay, only on account of the earth falling down in fome places; befides, they add, a very little expence will be fufficient for this purpofe. By fuch arguments, and efpecially by an exaggerated account of the former produce of the mine while the excavations were clear, they probably prevail on him to enter into their views. The expence, they fay, will not exceed five hundred, or, at most, a thousand pefos, and the whole detail of the plan may be executed at this moderate coft. În fine, they engage to him that the whole pigna fhall be his, and that for themselves they afk no more than cloathing, brandy, iron, steel, and the utenfils neceffary for their labour.

If their firft application be unfuccefsful, they have at least founded the inclinations of their man, and inspired him with fome thoughts of the enter prize; in this state they leave matters to ripen of themselves, confident of fuccefs in returning to the charge.

It is thus that these perfons practife on various individuals, warning each of them, however, to keep the matter profoundly fecret. By fuch arts they gain the ear of a number of perfons in different quarters; as at Lima, Guamanga, Cufco, Paz, Guancavelica, and other towns and villages through the country. Their propofals are received with different degrees of relish by different individuals. Of those who are best pleased with them, an affociation is formed of two or three, who engage to bear the neceffary cofts of operation. No fooner are their first contributions for this purpofe expended, than it becomes abfolutely neceffary to advance more, that the fruit of what has been already laid out may not be loft: for thefe affociates, who go by the name of Aviadores, can

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claim no return until the mine be brought into a state of actual produce. The miners, always attentive to infinuate a belief that the expences of operation will foon be diminished, produce from time to time new indica-. tions of being near the end of their labours; they even prefent their employers with fome pignoncillo of filver, of the value of a few marcs, to confirm them in this fuppofition. By thefe means, they involve them infenfibly in an expence of fifty or fixty. thousand pefos, without any confiderable fuccefs attending the adventure.

Thefe enormous cofts, bounded only (unless the experiment prove fortunate) by the extent of the actual funds of the adventurers, prefent us with two circumftances highly deferving attention: 1, The perfons who furnish these costs are fo well fatisfied with their own proceedings, that no want of fuccefs can bring them either to fee their error, or to exprefs any refentment against thofe who had engaged them in the adventure. 2d, Perfons, the most parfimonious in all other refpects, have no bounds in their profufion as to this. Numberlefs examples might be produced confirming the truth of both these remarks. The labourers too, who work so hard in these mines, and receive fo poor a recompence, are equally confident that each fucceffive day fhall produce the glorious difcovery. But this coveted period, always near in their expectations, in many cafes never arrives. A fucceffion of difficulties baffles their fanguine hopes, and years elapfe without bringing them nearer to their object.

Whether thefe operations be carried on in a mine that has formerly been abandoned, or in one actually wrought at the time, a certain proportion of filver is always found but it is often fo fmall a quantity, that the profit does not amount to a third or fourth part of the expence. If, on the other hand, after much labour and cost they are fortunate enough to fall on a

rich

rich vein of ore, the paft loffes are foon recovered, and the partners in the adventure rapidly enriched. The Aviador, the miner, the Cateador, who is commonly factor and overfeer, are all at the height of their wishes.

Such fortunate enterprizes excite and keep alive the hopes of other adventurers. All this, however, is merely good fortune, and the whole bufinefs of mining is still a lottery, in which there are incomparably more blanks than prizes.

On this account the miners frequently alledge, that they are the perfons who render the most confpicuous fervices to their fovereign, fince, if they were not fo ready in undertaking the expenfive operations that have been defcribed, at the rifque of all their substance, there would be an end to the production of thofe treasures which conftitute the riches of the kingdom. In certain refpects they are in the right; what they fay of their rifques and labours is true; but the merit they claim is not fo obvious, for it is eafy to fee that felf-intereft, not public utility, is the object of these

boafted exertions.

There are generally in the neighbourhood of the mines that have been abandoned parcels of rubbish that have been thrown out in the progrefs of the excavation.

Those who refume the operation of fuch mines, examine these parcels for any piece of gangue that have a promifing appearance, and often extract more filver from them than from the ore that has been recently dug. The fubftance thus found is called Pallaco, and the operation itself Pallaquear. Hence it has been imagined, that filver is reproduced by the lapfe of time, and that the gangues are a kind of matrix for the feeds of this metal, in which they develope themselves and ripen, in proportion to the progreffive combination of the conftituent principles of which filver is formed. Accordingly, thefe people

fuppofe, that fuch mines have been abandoned for no other reason, than that the filver had not then come to its mature growth.

But to this it may be answered, that when thefe portions of ore were thrown afide, it was because they were confidered to be of little value, com pared with what was referved to be wrought. At the fame time, it is fo common to find filver in very confiderable quantities in thefe pallacos, that the fuppofition of a reproduction does not feem altogether without foundation. In fact, the fame thing has been remarked with refpect to the ore of quickfilver. More than fixty years' after being abandoned, it has produ ced the fame quantity of metal that it did in the original operation.

When a mine is wrought which difcovers no filver, or only in fmalf quantity, the operations are directed upon thofe pallacos found on the ad jacent rubbish, Befides that thefe generally yield fomewhat to defray expence, the pignons and stones contain ing filver, which are found among them, fail not to be produced by the labourers, to the Aviadors, and contribute to encourage them on their favourable opinion of the adventure, of the progrefs that has been made, and of the fuccefs that may be expec ted. Convinced by thefe indications, the Aviadors open their purfes, and cheerfully furnish the neceffary funds for carrying on and compleating the operations.

There is, perhaps, no enjoyment equal to that of an Aviador, to whom the overfeer of his mine prefents a pignon of one or more ftones, in which the veins of filver are clearly obfervable. The pleafure derived from this circumftance makes him forget all his expences, though perhaps every marc of the precious metal cofts in fact, fome thousands of pefos. This dear bought fatisfaction, however, diffipates all his anxieties, and feeds him with the hopes of unbounded treafures.

The

Of the Mangel Wurzel, or Root of Scarcity.

The idolized metal, thus prefented to his greedy eyes, fparkling with a triumphant joy, is immediately placed in the moft confpicuous part of his houfe, that every guest may fee it, and congratulate his rare felicity: He expa

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tiates with rapture on the accounts he hath received from his overfeer and labourers: not a circumstance is omit ted. His imagination fwells with the fond recital, and already grafps unnumbered pignons and lingots.

The Mangel Wurzel, or Root of Scarcity; or, more properly, Root of
Abundance *.

W
HETHER the above plant is a
fpecies of the Beet or not, or
a new-difcovered fpecies of it, or the
red or white beet, or other common-
known fpecies, is very immaterial,
provided the produce, the nutricious
and prolific qualities, are fuch as Monf.
l'Abbé de Commerell informs us he
found them, by repeated actual expe-
riment and obfervation, during the
years 1784, 1785, and 1786. This
Dr J. C. Lettfom alfo informs us, in
his preface to his tranflation of the
Abbe's account of the Mangel Wur-
zel, he found to be true. Now, efti-
mating from the lowest datas given by
thefe gentlemen, and making, befides,
great allowances, it appears that if the
Mangel Wurzel is planted or fown in
rows, half a yard or eighteen inches
diftant from each other, and the fame
diftance obferved in the rows, which
is four plants to a fquare yard, or
19360 plants to the ftatute acre; now
eftimating it, I fay, as above, an acre
will at least maintain fix cows in full
milk, as in the heighth of the feason,
or fix
grown men during the year, or
fatten fix oxen every four months,
that is eighteen in the year, using the
leaves of the plant during the four Sum-
mer months, and the roots during the
eight Winter months of the year. But
it is to be understood, the fix men
may not only be maintained by the
plant itself, but likewife through the
medium of the milk of the cows fed,
and the flesh of the oxen fattened on

an acre of Mangel Wurzel, this plant being of fo nutricious and prolific à quality; thefe men and animals fed on it, (except the oxen) will increafe amazingly until they amount to the full number the land will maintain.

Now there are in England and Wales, excluive of Scotland, forty millions of ftatute acres, fixteen millions of which are wood, waftes, and uncultivated lands, and twenty-four millions arable and pasture; let thefe twenty-four millions be planted with the Mangel Wurzel, and they will maintain one hundred and forty-four millions of grown men, or milk cows, or fatten four hundred and thirty-two millions of oxen in the space of a year. It is agreed by politicians, that the revenue of the State increases in propor tion to the number of inhabitants (of which Holland is an example). The prefent number of inhabitants in England is estimated at fix millions, men, women, and children, and the revenue is more, but fay twelve millions per annum, or 21. per head of every inhabitant; therefore, when the number is one hundred and forty-four millions, the revenue of the State will be two hundred and eighty-eight millions, à fum fufficient to difcharge the national debt, reckoned at two hundred and thirty-eight millions, while it leaves fifty millions over for current expences the first year, and will get a revenue of two hundred and eighty-eight mil lions a-year ever after.

*See Edin. Mag. Vol. VI. p. 274.

Dr

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