Page:Transactions of the Geological Society, 1st series, vol. 4.djvu/149



V. Account of some remarkable Disturbances in the Veins of the Mine called Huel Peever, in Cornwall.

By JOHN WILLIAMS, Junr. Esq.

HONORARY MEMBER OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

[Read 2d June, 1815.]

HE county of Cornwall, in whatever part it has been explored in the working of its numerous mines, has been found so devoid of perfect regularity and agreement, either as regards the course, dimension, or contents of its veins, or the uniformity of the country they traverse, that the history of any one mine can by no means be considered as exhibiting a portrait of them in general. Each mine, not to say each vein, will be found to have some peculiar claim to attention. It is not perhaps hazarding too much, to presume that a knowledge of what occurs, even to the limited depth to which the Cornish veins are followed, may be found to throw some light on a branch of science which is yet involved in considerable obscurity, but it is to be lamented that facts have not hitherto been sufficiently attended to with a view to their preservation. The object of the miner is the most expeditious manner of arriving at gain; his knowledge is derived from the book of his own experience: but so greatly do the circumstances attending veins differ, that they sometimes set at defiance his experience, however great or general it may be. Some of the most interesting phenomena attending the veins of Cornwall are the interruptions they meet with from each other; these are of various