Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 2.djvu/466

 have been intended to apply to iron which had been brought into Virginia, since none appears to have been manufactured at this time in the Colony. Under the Act for the establishment of ports, which was passed in 1691, but never put in operation, a duty of one penny was imposed upon every pound exported.

Much interest was shown by planters in the closing years of the century in finding out whether the ores in Virginia were adapted to iron making. Both Fitzhugh and Byrd shipped specimens to England to be examined there. In 1689, Fitzhugh sent a considerable quantity to Mr. Boyle for this purpose. Byrd tested some of the lead ores by the use of a charcoal fire and a pair of hand bellows.

As early as 1612, it was anticipated that Virginia would become an important seat of linen manufacture, owing to the adaptability of the soil to the production of flax. In this respect, it was considered superior to the soil of England. The early explorers confidently expected that in time the Colony would furnish the mother country with an abundant supply of linen, not only from the flax plant, which grew there in such profusion in a wild state, but also from the water-flag found in the marshes. This latter plant, when boiled, was found to yield an integument remarkable for the strength of its texture as well as for its length. From this product was derived a material that could be used, it was said at the time, in making the finest linen. Some portions of it were adapted, it was thought, to the manufacture of a stout and durable cordage. Two hundred pounds of this stuff were imported into England not long after the settlement of