$ 5 °
depth is eighty Swedilh fathoms ; it fupplies feventeen forges with iron, and belongs tothirteen proprietors; each of the feventeen great forges among which the ore is diftri-buted keep a man at the fpot to look to the fair diltribution of the produce. The mineis capable of yielding fixty thoufand fchippunds of ore, but no more than from forty toforty-two fchippunds is extracted. The ore yields from fixty to feventy-two per cent.,the work in the mine is extremely eafy, being nothing but a block of metal; it was in-undated in 1693, an d twenty years were employed before it could be emptied, and itsworks be refumed. Avery confiderable work, has even become necelfary on the fide• of the lake which afts on the pumps, for the prevention of a fimilar accident. Thisundertaking has enabled the miners to begin a new fearch, in which ore has been foundat a very inconfiderable depth. There are in all four hundred workmen, if the womenand children be included, 'who are very numerous in the large hole. Wood was for-merly ufed for heating the ore, which caufed a very great confumption; at prefent they.ufe powder alone, as has been the cafe for feven and twenty years ; from two hundredand ten to two hundred and fifteen quintals are thus annually expended at a colt offrom 10 to 11 rix-dollars per quintal. The tribute paid to the crown is a tenth of therough iron ; the ore is blown up every day at a fixed period, to wit, noon. The greathole is conltantly full of fmoke, unlefs when expelled by a violent wind, when alonethe bottom can be difcerned from the fummit. There is a flaircale but dangerous andconfequently not ufed ; the only mode of defcent in pradtice is by blickets ; we werefive minutes and forty feconds in going down ; the depth is feventy-eight toifes, thereis day-light in every part; even in July we met with ice here and found it cold. Inone corner is a forge for the tools of the workmen ; no horfes are employed within themine, but eighty without for daily work : all the buckets are adted upon by horfes ;the wheel that works the pumps is twenty-four ells in diameter j it is the largelt inSweden , and is worked by a very trifling head of water.
Few years .pals over without fome accident from the falling of (tones; but the ropewas never known to break ;• it is related that a girl being in the bucket, the bucketftriking againft a projedting rock was overfet, but the girl’s petticoats fortunately catch-ing the rock, the hung by them till fuch time another bucket was let down to her re-lief ; what was however equally extraordinary, the girl had the courage to go downagain the fame day as if nothing had happened. Since the ufe of gunpowder in themine the workmen have earned more, as being enabled to do more labour; fome haveeven made money and built themfelves fmall houfes. Corn being dear in 1791, the la-bourers of the mine infilled upon paying no more than the fourth, inftead of half ofthe market price as ufual, but the proprietors who had a year’s flock of ore on hand,refuting to employ them on fuch conditions they defifted from their demand.
The following minerals may be obtained at this mine ; black and bluilh granulatediron ore, fometimes naturally poiilhed on the furface ; many varieties of amianthus ;mountain leather and mountain cork ; cryltals of calcareous fpar, pyramidal and hex-.agonal in drufes. ; pale amethyIts; cloudy topazes ; cryltals of white quartz in drufes,inoltly without prifms ; rock garnets, fometimes cryltalized; rock pebbles, of various.colours, fometimes in layers ; mineral pitch ; and martial pyrites in cubes. The ironof this mine, the dcarelt in Sweden, is Ihipped at Stockholm , and not at Oregrund,where formerly it ufed to be Ihipped, and the name of which place it has preferved inforeign countries. By the fide of the mine are the mineral fprings of Harvick, the fla-vour and properties of which bear great analogy to the waters of Balaruc.
CEulterby is a quarter of a league from Dannemora ; here you may have accommo-dation at the inn, which is tolerable, and moderate of charge. This eltate belongs to
7! Melfrs.