Page:Transactions of the Geological Society, 1st series, vol. 2.djvu/337

Rh On the whole probably mining does not yield any great profit to the adventurers, but there are numerous cases of extraordinary gain, and these are probably nearly balanced by more numerous concerns in which loss is incurred, the latter however, if taken individually, being generally much less in amount than the former.

From this it will follow that the chances of success are against any single mine at its first undertaking, and on the whole in favour of a greater number, when conducted with skill and honor.