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BOOK III.

best are those which, on the contrary, extend from the VI or VII directionof the west to the VI or VII direction of the east, through the slope of amountain which similarly inclines to the north, whose hangingwallsare also in the south, whose footwalls are in the north, and whoseheads rise toward the north; and lastly, whose rock seams raisetheir heads toward the west. In the third place, they recommend thoseveins which extend from XII north to XII south, through the slopeof a mountain which faces east; whose hangingwalls are in thewest, whose footwalls are in the east ; whose heads rise towardthe east ; and whose rock seams raise their heads toward the north.Therefore they devote all their energies to those veins, and give very littleor nothing to those whose heads, or the heads of whose rock seams risetoward the south or west. For although they say these veins some-times show bright specks of pure metal adhering to the stones, or they comeupon lumps of metal, yet these are so few and far between that despite themit is not worth the trouble to excavate such veins ; and miners who perseverein digging in the hope of coming upon a quantity of metal, always lose theirtime and trouble. And they say that from veins of this kind, since the sun’srays draw out the metallic material, very little metal is gained. But inthis matter the actual experience of the miners who thus judge of the veinsdoes not always agree with their opinions, nor is their reasoning sound ;since indeed the veins which run from east to west through the slope of amountain which inclines to the south, whose heads rise likewise to thesouth, are not less charged with metals, than those to which miners arewont to accord the first place in productiveness ; as in recent years has beenproved by the St. Lorentz vein at Abertham, which our countrymen callGottsgaab, for they have dug out of it a large quantity of pure silver ; andlately a vein in Annaberg, called by the name of Himmelsch hoz 9 , has made it

•The names in the Latin are given as Donum Divinum —“ God’s Gift,” andCoelesiis Exercitus —“ Heavenly Host.” The names given in the text are from the GermanTranslation. The former of these mines was located in the valley of Joachim, where Agricolaspent many years as the town physician at Joachimsthal. It is of further interest, as Agricolaobtained an income from it as a shareholder. He gives the history of the mine ( De Veteribusei Novis Metallis, Book I.), as follows :—“ The mines at Abertham were discovered, partly“ by chance, partly by science. In the eleventh year of Charles V. (1530), on the 18th of“ February, a poor miner, but one skilled in the art of mining, dwelt in the middle of the“ forest in a solitary hut, and there tended the cattle of his employer. While digging a little“ trench in which to store milk, he opened a vein. At once he washed some in a bowl and saw“ particles of the purest silver settled at the bottom. Overcome with joy he informed his‘ ‘ employer, and went to the Bergmeister and petitioned that official to give him a head“ mining lease, which in the language of our people he called Gottsgaab. Then he proceeded“ to dig the vein, and found more fragments of silver, and the miners were inspired with“ great hopes as to the richness of the vein. Although such hopes were not frustrated,“ still a whole year was spent before they received any profits from the mine ; whereby“ many became discouraged and did not persevere in paying expenses, but sold their shares“ in the mine ; and for this reason, when at last an abundance of silver was being drawn“ out, a great change had taken place in the ownership of the mine ; nay, even the first“ finder of the vein was not in possession of any share in it, and had spent nearly all the“ money which he had obtained from the selling of his shares. Then this mine yielded such“ a quantity of pure silver as no other mine that has existed within our own or our“ fathers’ memories, with the exception of the St. George at Schneeberg. We, as a share-“ holder, through the goodness of God, have enjoyed the proceeds of this ‘ God’s Gift ’“ since the very time when the mine began first to bestow such riches.” Later on in the