Our
poet Darwin thus beautifully speaks of the subterranean town formed
by the excavation of the salt:--
" Thus cavern'd round in Cracow's mighty mines,
With crystal walls a gorgeous city shines;
Scoop'd in the living rock long streets extend
Their hoary course, and glittering domes ascend.
poet Darwin thus beautifully speaks of the subterranean town formed
by the excavation of the salt:--
" Thus cavern'd round in Cracow's mighty mines,
With crystal walls a gorgeous city shines;
Scoop'd in the living rock long streets extend
Their hoary course, and glittering domes ascend.
Childrens - The Creation
It was well
known to the ancients, and called by them hydrargyrum, or, water of
silver. Quicksilver is found in Germany, Hungary, Spain, and Peru.
This metal is used in a variety of ways, and is most valuable to man.
I suppose you remember seeing it frequently in the tube of the
weather glass; its use there is to indicate the variations of the weight
of the air--heavy dry air pressing it up, and light air allowing it to
descend. The state of the weather is so connected with the weight of
the atmosphere, that the Barometer becomes a useful index of its
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? LETTER V.
57
changes also. It is also in great demand for our manufactories; and
especially in gilding copper; for these two metals have no affinity
whatever with each other, and seem inflexibly set against any union;
but the Quicksilver has friendship with both parties, and is used to
amalgamate the surface of the copper substance intended to be gilt--
say, for instance, buttons,--these are then covered with a certain
quantity of gold amalgam, which immediately adheres; afterwards
heat is applied, which drives off the Quicksilver, and leaves the gold
firmly fixed to the button. Until these few years past, the Quicksilver
thus evaporated was lost; but now it is made to pass into water, when
it instantly condenses and falls to the bottom. The Quicksilver in
this case is a beautiful emblem of the Peace-maker, that brings two
hostile parties together, and never leaves them until they are one,
and then passes away ready again for any fresh act of love.
Mercury is also a most valuable medicine in the hands of educated
men. Hydrarge, or Silver-water, is its name in the Pharmacopoeia.
Copper ranks next in value. Sweden supplies vast quantities of
this metal, as does also the Isle of Anglesea in Wales. Many of our
domestic utensils and vessels are made of Copper. Beaten out into thin
sheets, it is used to cover the bottoms of sailing vessels, keeping them
at once clean, dry, and free from the operations of marine worms.
These sheets are also sometimes used as the covering of buildings.
Brass is a mixture of copper with zinc; and bell metal also has copper
(which is the most sonorous of metals) for its chief ingredient. Most
d3
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THE CREATION.
of our engravings also are executed on copper sheets. The rust of
copper, if we may so call it, is verdigris: and from this is made the
brightest of our green paints. So in every point of view it is useful.
Iron is the most useful and the most abounding of all metals. It is
found in England in great abundance, especially in our neighbouring
county of Gloucester; also in Wales: and close to the Iron mines,
generally speaking, there is a boundless supply of coals to work the
Iron. And this, my dear children, with thousands of other things
with which we are surrounded, tells us of God's merciful goodness;
and proves that He (and not chance or fortuity) made and furnished
the world as a habitation fitted and suited for Man, destined to be its
occupant. The uses of Iron cannot be enumerated; for look around
on every side, and there is not a thing of art that you gaze on, but, in
one form or another, Iron lent its aid to make it what it is; and even
when it is cast aside, the very rust of the old despised Iron hoops is a
valuable medicine (oxide of Iron), as our dear S. full well knows; but
in God's creation nothing is wanting--nothing is lost.
Tin is a most useful metal in all our domestic concerns. It is
softer than silver; but harder than lead. Tin is found in the East
Indies, France, Spain, and Saxony; and it abounds in Devonshire and
Cornwall, which in a great measure supply the demands of Europe.
It is used among other things to coat over copper, iron, and brass
kitchen utensils, to defend what is cooked in them from the action of
those metals.
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? LETTER V.
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Lead is a coarse, heavy metal, of a whitish grey colour; it is found
in great quantities in England. Its uses are innumerable; for, being
so easily melted, it may soon be cast into any shape; but lead could
not supply the place of iron or tin, for it will not bear to come in
contact with fire. White and red lead are produced by chemical means
from this valuable metal, and are used for paints and glazing earthen
vessels. In medicine the sugar of lead, a combination of lead with
vinegar, is useful in many cases; indeed, almost all the metals, under
one form or another, come into the pharmacopoeia; and (as I said
of the quicksilver) in the hands of skilful men, by God's blessing, are
sometimes of great service.
The later discovered metals I do not go at large into; but just
mention a few of them.
Platinum. This ranks in value above gold, from its scarcity, ex-
ceeding weight, ductility, and infusibility. It is found in New
Granada, South America. It is of great value for chemical purposes,
making the best crucibles; it is also used for the indexes of nautical
and other instruments. In colour it is like silver.
Iridium is a heavy metal; it was discovered in 1803. In colour it
is like platinum.
Zinc is a metal that lias come much into use these few years. It
forms an excellent substitute for lead, and is not so expensive. It is
found in many parts of Great Britain. It looks like lead, but is not
so heavy.
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THE CREATION.
In addition to these metals there are Antimony, Arsenic, Bismuth,
Chromium, &c. ; most of which are poisonous: but used as medicine,
in very small quantities, by God's blessing on them, are efficacious in
healing many disorders.
Plumbago, of which our black-lead pencils are made, is a natural
composition of iron and carbon. It is found in such abundance in
Borrowdale, Cumberland, that not only is the whole island of Great
Britain supplied from it, but many parte of the Continent . It is also
useful in the Electrotype process, as the friendly medium between the
copper deposit and the wax model.
ROCKS AND STONE.
Stone is a general name for hard brittle substances, not metallic,
that do not melt away in water. We will consider these substances
as follows:--1, Granite; 2, Marble; 3, Slate; and then the Chalks
and Clays.
1. Granite; so called from its appearing to be formed of a number
of little grains. The loftiest mountains usually consist of granite. *
You remember also the granite hills in Devonshire. Granite is
always used when great durability is desired. It looks beautiful in
columns, and also makes excellent pavements, &c. It is found both
white and red; and is composed of quartz, felspar, and mica.
2. Marble is a most valuable stone. When hewn from the quarry
* See Appendix.
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? LETTER V.
61
and polished, the most beautiful statues are made from it, and the
chisel of the intelligent artist throws life and animation, figuratively
speaking, into that which but now was a huge unsightly mass.
Whenever I think of Marble, the remark of the old Irish steward
in the county of Wicklow comes to my mind:--" The lime dust, sir,
is gold dust to our crops. '" All Marble, when burnt in the lime-kiln,
produces that invaluable manure, Lime. Houses, floors, pavements,
and the most sumptuous galleries, also are indebted to the marble
quarry for material. Italy has the finest marble, though the Devon-
shire* and Derbyshire quarries are also very beautiful. But marble
would not do in any wise to cover the roofs of our houses. Well;
we go again and dig in the earth, and there we find another substance
equally suited, in every possible way, for our want--indeed, evidently
created for the purpose. I do not know of anything in the way of
quarry observation more full of interest than the splitting and forming
of slates. The chief supplies in England are found in Kendal and
Cornwall, but I believe the largest quarries in the empire are those in
North Wales. The number of people employed there is amazing.
A large quarry has also been lately discovered in the county of
Wicklow, in Ireland, close to Ashford, on the high road from Dublin
to Wicklow and Wexford, twenty-five miles from the capital. I have
seen the slate there; and the quarry promises, when dug sufficiently
deep, to be of the best quality, and if so, it will be an invaluable boon
* See Appendix.
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62
THE CREATION.
to that part of Ireland. It is a fact of exceeding interest, that it
seems to be a continuation of the southernmost strata of the Welsh
quarry, and also of the same quality, being more of a crystalline
substance than clayey. The quarry is opened in the Park of Glan-
more, and close to the little hamlet called Clorah, where we passed
so many happy years.
The various Chalks--white, red, and black--are very useful, both to
the physician and the artist. Chalks abound in Kent and Essex; and
frequently embedded in them are strata of Flint.
Clay. There is a great variety of earths or clays, which bear the
name of the thing each is used for. Thus Porcelain-clay;--this clay
is found in Cornwall, Saxony, Japan, and China, and is used in the
manufacture of china. The English wares, especially those of Wor-
cester, are said now to equal those of China. Flint, burnt and pow-
dered very fine, is added to this clay for the manufacture of porcelain.
Pipe-clay is of a greyish white, and found in abundance in this
country.
Potters-clay is found of various shades. Of this clay all our common
wares are made, whilst the yellow clay affords an excellent material
for bricks. Now, beloved children, just sum up all these together,
and surely we may say, " The earth is full of the goodness of the
Lord;" for from the beautiful gem that glistens in the diadem of the
Queen, down to the common brick of which our houses are built, the
earth has supplied our wants in all their untold varieties. But we
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LETTER V.
63
have not yet exhausted the subject; there are two things which I must
take pains to explain to you; and these are not left to the last, because
of the least importance, but that they might be spoken of separately.
I mean Coal and Salt.
Coal. Some have said that Great Britain has reached her place of
eminence among the nations, because it possesses Coal. This is a large
statement, and requires a little qualification; yet there is some degree
of truth in it; but we must never forget that God has said, that
" Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is the bane of any people. "
But in a subordinate point of view, (I use this word in its fullest sense,)
no doubt England has reached her present position owing to her manu-
factures ; and what could they do without coal ? Yes, coal is a great
blessing--an invaluable blessing; and yet, when discovered in this
kingdom, after sixty-six years' use it was prohibited, because it injured
the sale of wood ! This was in 1306, but the interdict was soon taken off.
Coal is found in inexhaustible abundance in England, Scotland, and
Wales; it has also been discovered in America and India. Besides its
most grateful daily service to us, in warming our domestic hearths, it is,
as has been observed, the mainspring of our manufactories; and now
that the carburetted hydrogen gas, produced from coal, illumines our
streets, one wonders that, with a fire for nine months continually under
our eyes, it was not before discovered. Of the coal mines of England,
the purest are supposed to be Whitehaven; but the most important
to England are those at Newcastle and Sunderland. An amazing
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? 64
THE CREATION.
number of vessels daily leave these ports for all parts of the kingdom:
and thus the Northern coal trade has been called, with great point,
" The nursery of British seamen. " The commanders of some of our
present merchant ships had their earliest lessons in this home navi-
gation. Coals were early known in Scotland. Pope Pius II. , in his
description of Europe, mentions that he beheld with wonder in Scot-
land, black stones given to the poor as alms. This was in the fifteenth
century, but they may be traced back three centuries earlier. In
Somersetshire the Mendip coal-mines are distinguished for their pro-
ductiveness. The beds of coal are not horizontal, but sloping,
dipping towards the south-east, at the rate of twenty-two inches per
fathom. The description of the mines, and the manner of working
them, I may another time give you; but for the present my object is
to bring before you a general view of those mercies with which we
are perpetually surrounded; and coal is indeed a mercy whose value
cannot be told.
The common fuel of Ireland is Turf, which is a partially decom-
posed vegetable production, found just under the surface of the ground.
It is divided into slane turf, or that which is cut with a sharp instru-
ment, and hand turf, which is the common turf trodden down by
horses and men in water, until it becomes a thick clay like paste,
which is then moulded by hand and laid out to dry. The Irish peasant,
as you will remember, in the bogs of Roundwood, county Wicklow,
looks as much for a dry season for his turf, as we do for our wheat.
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LETTER V.
65
Salt. Of all the productions of the earth that call for man's thank-
fulness, salt ranks among the first; and as our wants are great and
continual, so the mighty storehouse of this mineral is perfectly inex-
haustible. But we will consider, 1st, rock salt, or salt found in solid
masses, and, 2nd, salt springs.
1. Rock Salt. Most countries have mines of this invaluable mineral,
but the most renowned are those of Cracow, Tyrol, Poland, Castile,
and Cheshire in our own country. The East also is not destitute of it,
as there is a mountain of Hindostan, in the province of Lahore, nearly
equal to the famous one of Cordova in Spain, which is 500 feet high,
and three miles in circumference, entirely composed of salt. The mines
of Cracow * being the best known, I will enlarge upon them.
Our
poet Darwin thus beautifully speaks of the subterranean town formed
by the excavation of the salt:--
" Thus cavern'd round in Cracow's mighty mines,
With crystal walls a gorgeous city shines;
Scoop'd in the living rock long streets extend
Their hoary course, and glittering domes ascend.
? ? ? >>
Long lines of lustre pour their trembling rays,
And the bright vaults resound with dazzling blaze. "
One can hardly conceive of the exceeding beauty of this magic
scene. I think I have somewhere read, that when travellers go to view
this mine they are taken down blindfolded, and that when arrived in
? These mines are upwards of 6000 feet long; 2000 feet broad; 800 feet deep.
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? 6C
THE CREATION.
the midst of this most brilliant city, the bandage is removed. The
salt mines of Cheshire are very extensive, and supply the northern
parts of the empire.
2. Salt springs* Though the whole ocean is salt, yet compared with
the briny springs of Droitwich it is fresh; for I think I was told,
when examining them, that the springs were thirty times salter than
sea water. The process by which the salt is procured is most simple:
the springs have pumps applied to them, which, by means of an engine,
are continually kept worked, emptying the water into a large iron
reservoir, of a square form (like a large pan in which loaves are baked):
under this reservoir there are blazing fires, keeping the water at a
high temperature, which rapidly passes off in evaporation, leaving the
salt at the bottom of the pan; this is taken up by the workpeople with
scoops having long handles, (women are usually employed,) and placed
in large upright wooden vessels, rather larger at the top than the
base. The salt drains in these, and is soon hard and ready for expor-
tation. In some countries the same result is produced, though in a
much longer period, by the rays of the sun: in this case the pans are
superficial excavations, in general near the sea. There is an incident
in the history of Holland, which (though one shudders in reading it,
for it was a dark blot on the legislation of that country) shows us,
perhaps more than anything, the invaluable character of salt. The
food of prisoners, under condemnation for some particularly aggravated
* See Appendix.
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LETTEH V.
67
crimes, was bread unmixed with salt, and the effect was horrible to
relate,--these wretched criminals are said to have been devoured by
worms engendered in their own stomachs. This law no longer
exists!
But the various uses of salt are beyond description. * I have some-
times thought, if on getting up in the morning, salt in every form was
to be prohibited through the day, how miserable we should all be;--
the bread would be insipid,--the meat we could not touch; indeed,
we should in a thousand ways know its value by its loss. All the
Jewish sacrifices were salted with salt; and whilst, in the king
Artaxerxes's gift to Ezra the Scribe, all other things were measured,
concerning this it was said, " And salt, without prescribing how much. "
(Ezra vii. 22. ) The Arab keeps salt in his girdle, and when he has
given you some, there is a covenant of salt established, that nothing
may break. What salt is naturally, such should the Christian [he
spiritually; for remember His words that said," Ye are the salt of the
earth. " (Matt. v. 13. ) But on this I will enlarge in my next letter.
Having thus, my dear children, sought to explain to you, in a gene-
ral point of view, the mineral productions of the earth, as arranged
under the heads of Precious Stones, Metals, Rocks, Slate, Clays,
Chalks, Coal, and Salt, I will now endeavour to take up the second
? The whole animal creation seems to demand salt as a natural stimulant for
the digestive organs. Children that neglect the use of salt, have generally an
enemy at the doors, and a worm fever often follows such neglect.
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THE CREATION.
part I promised, and speak to you a little of the fruits of the earth--
(as Moses says) " for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and
for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things
of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting
hills, and for the precious things of the earth, and fulness thereof. "
(Deut . xxxiii. 14--16. ) This is the way that holy man of God spake
of God's gifts: to him they were all precious: and so they should be
to us. In one sense, dear children, never seek to be independent;
but depend on the Lord God--even the good-will of him that dwelt
in the bush--for every thing: so that every drop of water, and every
thread of raiment, and every grain of wheat, may all be received by
you, not as coming by chance--no, nor yet from nature--but from God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of all such as
flee to him as their alone Saviour; for in him, and in him only, they
can call God, Abba, Father. (Rom. viii. 15. )
Sweet is that Hymn, and happy the man or child that can from the
heart sing it (1 Cor. xiv. 15):--
" Abba, Father," Lord! we call thee,
(Hallow'd name! ) from day to day;--
"Pis thy children's right to know thee,
None but children " Abba " say.
This high glory we inherit,
Thy free gift, through Jesus' blood;
God the Spirit, with our spirit,
Witncsseth we're sons of God.
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LETTER V.
69
, The world, even in its fallen state, is fertile beyond calculation: and
when cultivated is capable of being covered with beauty: indeed, on
walking out on a summer's morning, when the sun is high enough to
have opened the flowers, and the birds are singing, and all seems happy
around, one can hardly imagine it to be the world of which it was said,
" Cursed be the ground for thy sake;" if so beautiful in its ruins, what
must it have been in its primeval beauty--what will it be in " the
times of the restitution of all things ! " (Acts iii. 21. )
FRUITS OF THE EARTH.
But I will now detail to you a little of the Lord's goodness, as shown
forth in that part of the vegetable kingdom which provides food for
man; and the first thing I will speak of, is Wheat.
" The Staff of Life. " This is the name given by common consent
to this most precious gift, put forth by the sun; wheat grows almost
in all quarters of the globe, and is pre-eminent for nutrition among all
the fruits of the earth. Sir Humphry Davy, the great naturalist, on
analyzing this grain, gave this as the result of his labour,--that of the
wheat he examined (grown in Middlesex) 955 parts of 1000 were
nutritive; 765 parts being starch, and 190 gluten. Gluten is a pecu-
liar substance that approaches nearer to animal matter than any other;
and wheat produces twofold more of this than any other grain. Be-
sides starch and gluten there is a small proportion of sugar in wheat
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70
THE CREATION.
I have spoken of Wheat* separately; but Barley, Oats, Rice,
Maize, Potatoes, Tea, Coffee, Cocoa, Sugar, and numberless low-grown
vegetables, called in the first of Genesis " Herbs," come in boundless
variety to supply the wants of man.
In Judea the barley harvest was the first reaped; and ere it was
gathered, there took place, according to Jewish historians, this most
solemn ceremony. The High Priest of Israel (God's family on earth)
went into the barley-field with a golden basket, reaped a sheaf of the
first-fruits, and then laid it up in the Tabernacle before and during
the sabbath; but on the morning after the sabbath, (Lev. xxiii. 10,)
he took the sheaf, and, standing at the brazen altar, waved it on high
before the Lord, to the four quarters of the land, acknowledging
thereby that all that sprang from the earth, in the north, east, south,
or west, was the Lord's; and theirs only by first being acknowledged
to be his--the great Lord of the harvest. The whole of this, in
its various parts, is applied in the New Testament spiritually ; but I
will tell you of it in the next letter.
If this order of vegetation is boundless, dear children, yet the trees
that are good for food, in variety at least, abound more; and man's
delight seems to be more contemplated in them than his sustenance;
for every stage of the fruit, on to maturity, is replete with interest--
? In Europe, wheat is the staff of life; in China and the East, rice; in Ireland,
potatoes seem with the poor almost to supersede all other food. The annual value
of grain grown in Britain in one year (1831) was 112,000,000/. sterling.
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? LETTER V.
71
from the bud to the blossom, and from the blossom to the full-grown
fruit: indeed, it would be difficult to decide whether the orchard in its
blossoms of spring, or its fruits of autumn, is most beautiful; and then
the fruits are so adapted to the state of man in his peculiar localities.
In the West Indies, though the pine-apple and the rich melon have
both spread out their beauties before one's eyes, yet I have often found
the large green water melon, filled with its cold delicious nectar, far
more refreshing; and this abounds beyond the other fruits: but those
living there can alone appreciate this fruit.
But there is one peculiar order of vegetation that does so interest
me that I must not pass on before I describe it to you, as it does, as
with an angels voice, proclaim the exceeding goodness of our God.
The first in this order is the bread-fruit tree, which seems at once,
almost without any preparation or kneading, to provide us with bread
ready for the oven. Then, again, there is another tree which, in the
absence of the cow, comes to us with a delicious fluid like milk;
another with butter; and last of all, and perhaps the most to be
desired, are the water trees, which may be called vegetable springs con-
tinually flowing. There is something so very apparent in this order of
vegetation, that the hymn of praise spontaneously bursts from the
new man,--" The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over
all his works. The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and thou givest them
their meat in due season. " (Ps. cxlv. 9--15. )
Bread-fruit. --This vegetable was first brought to notice by Captain
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? 1-1
THE CREATION.
Cook, who discovered it at Otaheite. It grows about the height of a
middle-sized oak and yields three or four harvests in the year. Its
leaves resemble the fig-tree, and when broken, exude a juice like milk.
The fruit is about as large as a child's head, and is as white as
snow, and of the consistence of bread. The tree is propagated by
layers or suckers. It not only supplies a sort of bread for the table;
but the table itself is made from its trunk; and the cloth which covers
it from the bark. The natives also use its wood for their canoes, and
extract a valuable resin from it.
Palo de vaca, or the Cow Tree, grows in the Caraccas and other parts
of South America, in rocky districts, where for months there is
no rain. It is also found in Demerara, and there called Hyahya :
its height is about one hundred feet. On piercing the trunk, a
sweet and nourishing milk springs forth, which the natives catch
in bowls. In coffee this milk cannot be distinguished from that in
common use.
The Butter Tree is described by Lander, the African traveller, as
yielding a vegetable marrow like butter, very pleasant to the taste.
In Jamaica, I have used the fruit of the alligator pear-tree on bread,
with pepper and salt, exactly in the same way as butter, and always
greatly preferred it.
And, lastly, the Water Trees, of which the three following are the
best known, must in no wise be omitted, manifesting, as they do, the
most marked contrivance to meet man's wants. Their names are:
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LETTER V.
73
(1st) the Wild Pine; (2nd) the Tillandsia, or Water Tree of Jamaica ;
and (3rd) the Nepenthis Distillatoria.
The Wild Pine is an inhabitant of South America, and the Carib-
bean or West Indian Islands. It grows on the branches of other
trees: its leaves grow folded round one another so compactly, that
the water which runs in at the top is preserved from evaporation;
and thus these reservoirs, holding from a pint to a quart of water,
produced and filled alike without the agency of man, wait on his
necessity.
The Tillandsia is like a vine in size and shape; and although it
grows in parched districts, is so full of clear sap, that by cutting a
piece two or three yards long, and holding it to the mouth, a
plentiful draught is obtained. The glass and the water alike from the
same tree.
The Nepenthis Distillatoria, found in the East Indies, is most
remarkable in its structure. It has literally leaf mugs, or tankards,
hanging from it, each holding from a pint to a quart of pure water.
The tankards have also a leaf cover, so closely fitted, that no evapo-
ration takes place. There is a little hook behind this lid, which, when
the vessel is full, extends and seizes some of the neighbouring tendrils,
and holds by them : and what is of the deepest interest, this tree grows
in a marshy unhealthy soil, where the water is most impure; but dis-
tilled through its veins, it comes clear as from a cooling fountain.
In leaving this first part of the vegetable kingdom that is good for
E
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? 74
THE CREATION.
food, remember also, my dear children, that the great mass of animal
life that comes to our aid, both for food and clothing--from the ox and
sheep down to the silk-worm that our young friends G. and F. keep
so carefully--all depend on the vegetable kingdom for support.
But now, secondly, we come to the great field of nature for our
Wardrobe: for though our ancestors, the early Britons, once painted
their bodies, like the poor African and New Zealander, and in winter
covered themselves with coats of skins, yet that is not the case now;
for if you look at your own clothes, dear children, from your little
straw hats to your cotton stockings, this third day's creation has sent
you the supply. The two great articles of clothing are linen and
cotton; and both of these are of vegetable production,--Flax and
Cotton.
Flax. You doubtless remember this plant in Ireland. Though
we grew but little, yet it was enough to explain its character to you,
both in its growth and manufacture. It is an annual, with a slender
stem two feet high which consists of fine fibres, and it is this which is
manufactured. The time of gathering the flax is in September; after
which it is soaked in water for a few days, until partially rotted in
the outer covering: then it is dried and beat hard with sticks, hackled,
(or combed,) and then dressed;--threads of different degrees of fine-
ness are afterwards spun from it, and these are manufactured into
cambric and lace, and linen of every kind: so that shirts, table-
cloths, sheets, trowsers, and a variety of other clothing, go to this pretty
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? LETTER V.
known to the ancients, and called by them hydrargyrum, or, water of
silver. Quicksilver is found in Germany, Hungary, Spain, and Peru.
This metal is used in a variety of ways, and is most valuable to man.
I suppose you remember seeing it frequently in the tube of the
weather glass; its use there is to indicate the variations of the weight
of the air--heavy dry air pressing it up, and light air allowing it to
descend. The state of the weather is so connected with the weight of
the atmosphere, that the Barometer becomes a useful index of its
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? LETTER V.
57
changes also. It is also in great demand for our manufactories; and
especially in gilding copper; for these two metals have no affinity
whatever with each other, and seem inflexibly set against any union;
but the Quicksilver has friendship with both parties, and is used to
amalgamate the surface of the copper substance intended to be gilt--
say, for instance, buttons,--these are then covered with a certain
quantity of gold amalgam, which immediately adheres; afterwards
heat is applied, which drives off the Quicksilver, and leaves the gold
firmly fixed to the button. Until these few years past, the Quicksilver
thus evaporated was lost; but now it is made to pass into water, when
it instantly condenses and falls to the bottom. The Quicksilver in
this case is a beautiful emblem of the Peace-maker, that brings two
hostile parties together, and never leaves them until they are one,
and then passes away ready again for any fresh act of love.
Mercury is also a most valuable medicine in the hands of educated
men. Hydrarge, or Silver-water, is its name in the Pharmacopoeia.
Copper ranks next in value. Sweden supplies vast quantities of
this metal, as does also the Isle of Anglesea in Wales. Many of our
domestic utensils and vessels are made of Copper. Beaten out into thin
sheets, it is used to cover the bottoms of sailing vessels, keeping them
at once clean, dry, and free from the operations of marine worms.
These sheets are also sometimes used as the covering of buildings.
Brass is a mixture of copper with zinc; and bell metal also has copper
(which is the most sonorous of metals) for its chief ingredient. Most
d3
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. 58
THE CREATION.
of our engravings also are executed on copper sheets. The rust of
copper, if we may so call it, is verdigris: and from this is made the
brightest of our green paints. So in every point of view it is useful.
Iron is the most useful and the most abounding of all metals. It is
found in England in great abundance, especially in our neighbouring
county of Gloucester; also in Wales: and close to the Iron mines,
generally speaking, there is a boundless supply of coals to work the
Iron. And this, my dear children, with thousands of other things
with which we are surrounded, tells us of God's merciful goodness;
and proves that He (and not chance or fortuity) made and furnished
the world as a habitation fitted and suited for Man, destined to be its
occupant. The uses of Iron cannot be enumerated; for look around
on every side, and there is not a thing of art that you gaze on, but, in
one form or another, Iron lent its aid to make it what it is; and even
when it is cast aside, the very rust of the old despised Iron hoops is a
valuable medicine (oxide of Iron), as our dear S. full well knows; but
in God's creation nothing is wanting--nothing is lost.
Tin is a most useful metal in all our domestic concerns. It is
softer than silver; but harder than lead. Tin is found in the East
Indies, France, Spain, and Saxony; and it abounds in Devonshire and
Cornwall, which in a great measure supply the demands of Europe.
It is used among other things to coat over copper, iron, and brass
kitchen utensils, to defend what is cooked in them from the action of
those metals.
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? LETTER V.
59
Lead is a coarse, heavy metal, of a whitish grey colour; it is found
in great quantities in England. Its uses are innumerable; for, being
so easily melted, it may soon be cast into any shape; but lead could
not supply the place of iron or tin, for it will not bear to come in
contact with fire. White and red lead are produced by chemical means
from this valuable metal, and are used for paints and glazing earthen
vessels. In medicine the sugar of lead, a combination of lead with
vinegar, is useful in many cases; indeed, almost all the metals, under
one form or another, come into the pharmacopoeia; and (as I said
of the quicksilver) in the hands of skilful men, by God's blessing, are
sometimes of great service.
The later discovered metals I do not go at large into; but just
mention a few of them.
Platinum. This ranks in value above gold, from its scarcity, ex-
ceeding weight, ductility, and infusibility. It is found in New
Granada, South America. It is of great value for chemical purposes,
making the best crucibles; it is also used for the indexes of nautical
and other instruments. In colour it is like silver.
Iridium is a heavy metal; it was discovered in 1803. In colour it
is like platinum.
Zinc is a metal that lias come much into use these few years. It
forms an excellent substitute for lead, and is not so expensive. It is
found in many parts of Great Britain. It looks like lead, but is not
so heavy.
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THE CREATION.
In addition to these metals there are Antimony, Arsenic, Bismuth,
Chromium, &c. ; most of which are poisonous: but used as medicine,
in very small quantities, by God's blessing on them, are efficacious in
healing many disorders.
Plumbago, of which our black-lead pencils are made, is a natural
composition of iron and carbon. It is found in such abundance in
Borrowdale, Cumberland, that not only is the whole island of Great
Britain supplied from it, but many parte of the Continent . It is also
useful in the Electrotype process, as the friendly medium between the
copper deposit and the wax model.
ROCKS AND STONE.
Stone is a general name for hard brittle substances, not metallic,
that do not melt away in water. We will consider these substances
as follows:--1, Granite; 2, Marble; 3, Slate; and then the Chalks
and Clays.
1. Granite; so called from its appearing to be formed of a number
of little grains. The loftiest mountains usually consist of granite. *
You remember also the granite hills in Devonshire. Granite is
always used when great durability is desired. It looks beautiful in
columns, and also makes excellent pavements, &c. It is found both
white and red; and is composed of quartz, felspar, and mica.
2. Marble is a most valuable stone. When hewn from the quarry
* See Appendix.
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? LETTER V.
61
and polished, the most beautiful statues are made from it, and the
chisel of the intelligent artist throws life and animation, figuratively
speaking, into that which but now was a huge unsightly mass.
Whenever I think of Marble, the remark of the old Irish steward
in the county of Wicklow comes to my mind:--" The lime dust, sir,
is gold dust to our crops. '" All Marble, when burnt in the lime-kiln,
produces that invaluable manure, Lime. Houses, floors, pavements,
and the most sumptuous galleries, also are indebted to the marble
quarry for material. Italy has the finest marble, though the Devon-
shire* and Derbyshire quarries are also very beautiful. But marble
would not do in any wise to cover the roofs of our houses. Well;
we go again and dig in the earth, and there we find another substance
equally suited, in every possible way, for our want--indeed, evidently
created for the purpose. I do not know of anything in the way of
quarry observation more full of interest than the splitting and forming
of slates. The chief supplies in England are found in Kendal and
Cornwall, but I believe the largest quarries in the empire are those in
North Wales. The number of people employed there is amazing.
A large quarry has also been lately discovered in the county of
Wicklow, in Ireland, close to Ashford, on the high road from Dublin
to Wicklow and Wexford, twenty-five miles from the capital. I have
seen the slate there; and the quarry promises, when dug sufficiently
deep, to be of the best quality, and if so, it will be an invaluable boon
* See Appendix.
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62
THE CREATION.
to that part of Ireland. It is a fact of exceeding interest, that it
seems to be a continuation of the southernmost strata of the Welsh
quarry, and also of the same quality, being more of a crystalline
substance than clayey. The quarry is opened in the Park of Glan-
more, and close to the little hamlet called Clorah, where we passed
so many happy years.
The various Chalks--white, red, and black--are very useful, both to
the physician and the artist. Chalks abound in Kent and Essex; and
frequently embedded in them are strata of Flint.
Clay. There is a great variety of earths or clays, which bear the
name of the thing each is used for. Thus Porcelain-clay;--this clay
is found in Cornwall, Saxony, Japan, and China, and is used in the
manufacture of china. The English wares, especially those of Wor-
cester, are said now to equal those of China. Flint, burnt and pow-
dered very fine, is added to this clay for the manufacture of porcelain.
Pipe-clay is of a greyish white, and found in abundance in this
country.
Potters-clay is found of various shades. Of this clay all our common
wares are made, whilst the yellow clay affords an excellent material
for bricks. Now, beloved children, just sum up all these together,
and surely we may say, " The earth is full of the goodness of the
Lord;" for from the beautiful gem that glistens in the diadem of the
Queen, down to the common brick of which our houses are built, the
earth has supplied our wants in all their untold varieties. But we
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LETTER V.
63
have not yet exhausted the subject; there are two things which I must
take pains to explain to you; and these are not left to the last, because
of the least importance, but that they might be spoken of separately.
I mean Coal and Salt.
Coal. Some have said that Great Britain has reached her place of
eminence among the nations, because it possesses Coal. This is a large
statement, and requires a little qualification; yet there is some degree
of truth in it; but we must never forget that God has said, that
" Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is the bane of any people. "
But in a subordinate point of view, (I use this word in its fullest sense,)
no doubt England has reached her present position owing to her manu-
factures ; and what could they do without coal ? Yes, coal is a great
blessing--an invaluable blessing; and yet, when discovered in this
kingdom, after sixty-six years' use it was prohibited, because it injured
the sale of wood ! This was in 1306, but the interdict was soon taken off.
Coal is found in inexhaustible abundance in England, Scotland, and
Wales; it has also been discovered in America and India. Besides its
most grateful daily service to us, in warming our domestic hearths, it is,
as has been observed, the mainspring of our manufactories; and now
that the carburetted hydrogen gas, produced from coal, illumines our
streets, one wonders that, with a fire for nine months continually under
our eyes, it was not before discovered. Of the coal mines of England,
the purest are supposed to be Whitehaven; but the most important
to England are those at Newcastle and Sunderland. An amazing
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? 64
THE CREATION.
number of vessels daily leave these ports for all parts of the kingdom:
and thus the Northern coal trade has been called, with great point,
" The nursery of British seamen. " The commanders of some of our
present merchant ships had their earliest lessons in this home navi-
gation. Coals were early known in Scotland. Pope Pius II. , in his
description of Europe, mentions that he beheld with wonder in Scot-
land, black stones given to the poor as alms. This was in the fifteenth
century, but they may be traced back three centuries earlier. In
Somersetshire the Mendip coal-mines are distinguished for their pro-
ductiveness. The beds of coal are not horizontal, but sloping,
dipping towards the south-east, at the rate of twenty-two inches per
fathom. The description of the mines, and the manner of working
them, I may another time give you; but for the present my object is
to bring before you a general view of those mercies with which we
are perpetually surrounded; and coal is indeed a mercy whose value
cannot be told.
The common fuel of Ireland is Turf, which is a partially decom-
posed vegetable production, found just under the surface of the ground.
It is divided into slane turf, or that which is cut with a sharp instru-
ment, and hand turf, which is the common turf trodden down by
horses and men in water, until it becomes a thick clay like paste,
which is then moulded by hand and laid out to dry. The Irish peasant,
as you will remember, in the bogs of Roundwood, county Wicklow,
looks as much for a dry season for his turf, as we do for our wheat.
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LETTER V.
65
Salt. Of all the productions of the earth that call for man's thank-
fulness, salt ranks among the first; and as our wants are great and
continual, so the mighty storehouse of this mineral is perfectly inex-
haustible. But we will consider, 1st, rock salt, or salt found in solid
masses, and, 2nd, salt springs.
1. Rock Salt. Most countries have mines of this invaluable mineral,
but the most renowned are those of Cracow, Tyrol, Poland, Castile,
and Cheshire in our own country. The East also is not destitute of it,
as there is a mountain of Hindostan, in the province of Lahore, nearly
equal to the famous one of Cordova in Spain, which is 500 feet high,
and three miles in circumference, entirely composed of salt. The mines
of Cracow * being the best known, I will enlarge upon them.
Our
poet Darwin thus beautifully speaks of the subterranean town formed
by the excavation of the salt:--
" Thus cavern'd round in Cracow's mighty mines,
With crystal walls a gorgeous city shines;
Scoop'd in the living rock long streets extend
Their hoary course, and glittering domes ascend.
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Long lines of lustre pour their trembling rays,
And the bright vaults resound with dazzling blaze. "
One can hardly conceive of the exceeding beauty of this magic
scene. I think I have somewhere read, that when travellers go to view
this mine they are taken down blindfolded, and that when arrived in
? These mines are upwards of 6000 feet long; 2000 feet broad; 800 feet deep.
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? 6C
THE CREATION.
the midst of this most brilliant city, the bandage is removed. The
salt mines of Cheshire are very extensive, and supply the northern
parts of the empire.
2. Salt springs* Though the whole ocean is salt, yet compared with
the briny springs of Droitwich it is fresh; for I think I was told,
when examining them, that the springs were thirty times salter than
sea water. The process by which the salt is procured is most simple:
the springs have pumps applied to them, which, by means of an engine,
are continually kept worked, emptying the water into a large iron
reservoir, of a square form (like a large pan in which loaves are baked):
under this reservoir there are blazing fires, keeping the water at a
high temperature, which rapidly passes off in evaporation, leaving the
salt at the bottom of the pan; this is taken up by the workpeople with
scoops having long handles, (women are usually employed,) and placed
in large upright wooden vessels, rather larger at the top than the
base. The salt drains in these, and is soon hard and ready for expor-
tation. In some countries the same result is produced, though in a
much longer period, by the rays of the sun: in this case the pans are
superficial excavations, in general near the sea. There is an incident
in the history of Holland, which (though one shudders in reading it,
for it was a dark blot on the legislation of that country) shows us,
perhaps more than anything, the invaluable character of salt. The
food of prisoners, under condemnation for some particularly aggravated
* See Appendix.
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LETTEH V.
67
crimes, was bread unmixed with salt, and the effect was horrible to
relate,--these wretched criminals are said to have been devoured by
worms engendered in their own stomachs. This law no longer
exists!
But the various uses of salt are beyond description. * I have some-
times thought, if on getting up in the morning, salt in every form was
to be prohibited through the day, how miserable we should all be;--
the bread would be insipid,--the meat we could not touch; indeed,
we should in a thousand ways know its value by its loss. All the
Jewish sacrifices were salted with salt; and whilst, in the king
Artaxerxes's gift to Ezra the Scribe, all other things were measured,
concerning this it was said, " And salt, without prescribing how much. "
(Ezra vii. 22. ) The Arab keeps salt in his girdle, and when he has
given you some, there is a covenant of salt established, that nothing
may break. What salt is naturally, such should the Christian [he
spiritually; for remember His words that said," Ye are the salt of the
earth. " (Matt. v. 13. ) But on this I will enlarge in my next letter.
Having thus, my dear children, sought to explain to you, in a gene-
ral point of view, the mineral productions of the earth, as arranged
under the heads of Precious Stones, Metals, Rocks, Slate, Clays,
Chalks, Coal, and Salt, I will now endeavour to take up the second
? The whole animal creation seems to demand salt as a natural stimulant for
the digestive organs. Children that neglect the use of salt, have generally an
enemy at the doors, and a worm fever often follows such neglect.
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THE CREATION.
part I promised, and speak to you a little of the fruits of the earth--
(as Moses says) " for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and
for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things
of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting
hills, and for the precious things of the earth, and fulness thereof. "
(Deut . xxxiii. 14--16. ) This is the way that holy man of God spake
of God's gifts: to him they were all precious: and so they should be
to us. In one sense, dear children, never seek to be independent;
but depend on the Lord God--even the good-will of him that dwelt
in the bush--for every thing: so that every drop of water, and every
thread of raiment, and every grain of wheat, may all be received by
you, not as coming by chance--no, nor yet from nature--but from God,
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of all such as
flee to him as their alone Saviour; for in him, and in him only, they
can call God, Abba, Father. (Rom. viii. 15. )
Sweet is that Hymn, and happy the man or child that can from the
heart sing it (1 Cor. xiv. 15):--
" Abba, Father," Lord! we call thee,
(Hallow'd name! ) from day to day;--
"Pis thy children's right to know thee,
None but children " Abba " say.
This high glory we inherit,
Thy free gift, through Jesus' blood;
God the Spirit, with our spirit,
Witncsseth we're sons of God.
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LETTER V.
69
, The world, even in its fallen state, is fertile beyond calculation: and
when cultivated is capable of being covered with beauty: indeed, on
walking out on a summer's morning, when the sun is high enough to
have opened the flowers, and the birds are singing, and all seems happy
around, one can hardly imagine it to be the world of which it was said,
" Cursed be the ground for thy sake;" if so beautiful in its ruins, what
must it have been in its primeval beauty--what will it be in " the
times of the restitution of all things ! " (Acts iii. 21. )
FRUITS OF THE EARTH.
But I will now detail to you a little of the Lord's goodness, as shown
forth in that part of the vegetable kingdom which provides food for
man; and the first thing I will speak of, is Wheat.
" The Staff of Life. " This is the name given by common consent
to this most precious gift, put forth by the sun; wheat grows almost
in all quarters of the globe, and is pre-eminent for nutrition among all
the fruits of the earth. Sir Humphry Davy, the great naturalist, on
analyzing this grain, gave this as the result of his labour,--that of the
wheat he examined (grown in Middlesex) 955 parts of 1000 were
nutritive; 765 parts being starch, and 190 gluten. Gluten is a pecu-
liar substance that approaches nearer to animal matter than any other;
and wheat produces twofold more of this than any other grain. Be-
sides starch and gluten there is a small proportion of sugar in wheat
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70
THE CREATION.
I have spoken of Wheat* separately; but Barley, Oats, Rice,
Maize, Potatoes, Tea, Coffee, Cocoa, Sugar, and numberless low-grown
vegetables, called in the first of Genesis " Herbs," come in boundless
variety to supply the wants of man.
In Judea the barley harvest was the first reaped; and ere it was
gathered, there took place, according to Jewish historians, this most
solemn ceremony. The High Priest of Israel (God's family on earth)
went into the barley-field with a golden basket, reaped a sheaf of the
first-fruits, and then laid it up in the Tabernacle before and during
the sabbath; but on the morning after the sabbath, (Lev. xxiii. 10,)
he took the sheaf, and, standing at the brazen altar, waved it on high
before the Lord, to the four quarters of the land, acknowledging
thereby that all that sprang from the earth, in the north, east, south,
or west, was the Lord's; and theirs only by first being acknowledged
to be his--the great Lord of the harvest. The whole of this, in
its various parts, is applied in the New Testament spiritually ; but I
will tell you of it in the next letter.
If this order of vegetation is boundless, dear children, yet the trees
that are good for food, in variety at least, abound more; and man's
delight seems to be more contemplated in them than his sustenance;
for every stage of the fruit, on to maturity, is replete with interest--
? In Europe, wheat is the staff of life; in China and the East, rice; in Ireland,
potatoes seem with the poor almost to supersede all other food. The annual value
of grain grown in Britain in one year (1831) was 112,000,000/. sterling.
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? LETTER V.
71
from the bud to the blossom, and from the blossom to the full-grown
fruit: indeed, it would be difficult to decide whether the orchard in its
blossoms of spring, or its fruits of autumn, is most beautiful; and then
the fruits are so adapted to the state of man in his peculiar localities.
In the West Indies, though the pine-apple and the rich melon have
both spread out their beauties before one's eyes, yet I have often found
the large green water melon, filled with its cold delicious nectar, far
more refreshing; and this abounds beyond the other fruits: but those
living there can alone appreciate this fruit.
But there is one peculiar order of vegetation that does so interest
me that I must not pass on before I describe it to you, as it does, as
with an angels voice, proclaim the exceeding goodness of our God.
The first in this order is the bread-fruit tree, which seems at once,
almost without any preparation or kneading, to provide us with bread
ready for the oven. Then, again, there is another tree which, in the
absence of the cow, comes to us with a delicious fluid like milk;
another with butter; and last of all, and perhaps the most to be
desired, are the water trees, which may be called vegetable springs con-
tinually flowing. There is something so very apparent in this order of
vegetation, that the hymn of praise spontaneously bursts from the
new man,--" The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over
all his works. The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and thou givest them
their meat in due season. " (Ps. cxlv. 9--15. )
Bread-fruit. --This vegetable was first brought to notice by Captain
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? 1-1
THE CREATION.
Cook, who discovered it at Otaheite. It grows about the height of a
middle-sized oak and yields three or four harvests in the year. Its
leaves resemble the fig-tree, and when broken, exude a juice like milk.
The fruit is about as large as a child's head, and is as white as
snow, and of the consistence of bread. The tree is propagated by
layers or suckers. It not only supplies a sort of bread for the table;
but the table itself is made from its trunk; and the cloth which covers
it from the bark. The natives also use its wood for their canoes, and
extract a valuable resin from it.
Palo de vaca, or the Cow Tree, grows in the Caraccas and other parts
of South America, in rocky districts, where for months there is
no rain. It is also found in Demerara, and there called Hyahya :
its height is about one hundred feet. On piercing the trunk, a
sweet and nourishing milk springs forth, which the natives catch
in bowls. In coffee this milk cannot be distinguished from that in
common use.
The Butter Tree is described by Lander, the African traveller, as
yielding a vegetable marrow like butter, very pleasant to the taste.
In Jamaica, I have used the fruit of the alligator pear-tree on bread,
with pepper and salt, exactly in the same way as butter, and always
greatly preferred it.
And, lastly, the Water Trees, of which the three following are the
best known, must in no wise be omitted, manifesting, as they do, the
most marked contrivance to meet man's wants. Their names are:
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LETTER V.
73
(1st) the Wild Pine; (2nd) the Tillandsia, or Water Tree of Jamaica ;
and (3rd) the Nepenthis Distillatoria.
The Wild Pine is an inhabitant of South America, and the Carib-
bean or West Indian Islands. It grows on the branches of other
trees: its leaves grow folded round one another so compactly, that
the water which runs in at the top is preserved from evaporation;
and thus these reservoirs, holding from a pint to a quart of water,
produced and filled alike without the agency of man, wait on his
necessity.
The Tillandsia is like a vine in size and shape; and although it
grows in parched districts, is so full of clear sap, that by cutting a
piece two or three yards long, and holding it to the mouth, a
plentiful draught is obtained. The glass and the water alike from the
same tree.
The Nepenthis Distillatoria, found in the East Indies, is most
remarkable in its structure. It has literally leaf mugs, or tankards,
hanging from it, each holding from a pint to a quart of pure water.
The tankards have also a leaf cover, so closely fitted, that no evapo-
ration takes place. There is a little hook behind this lid, which, when
the vessel is full, extends and seizes some of the neighbouring tendrils,
and holds by them : and what is of the deepest interest, this tree grows
in a marshy unhealthy soil, where the water is most impure; but dis-
tilled through its veins, it comes clear as from a cooling fountain.
In leaving this first part of the vegetable kingdom that is good for
E
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? 74
THE CREATION.
food, remember also, my dear children, that the great mass of animal
life that comes to our aid, both for food and clothing--from the ox and
sheep down to the silk-worm that our young friends G. and F. keep
so carefully--all depend on the vegetable kingdom for support.
But now, secondly, we come to the great field of nature for our
Wardrobe: for though our ancestors, the early Britons, once painted
their bodies, like the poor African and New Zealander, and in winter
covered themselves with coats of skins, yet that is not the case now;
for if you look at your own clothes, dear children, from your little
straw hats to your cotton stockings, this third day's creation has sent
you the supply. The two great articles of clothing are linen and
cotton; and both of these are of vegetable production,--Flax and
Cotton.
Flax. You doubtless remember this plant in Ireland. Though
we grew but little, yet it was enough to explain its character to you,
both in its growth and manufacture. It is an annual, with a slender
stem two feet high which consists of fine fibres, and it is this which is
manufactured. The time of gathering the flax is in September; after
which it is soaked in water for a few days, until partially rotted in
the outer covering: then it is dried and beat hard with sticks, hackled,
(or combed,) and then dressed;--threads of different degrees of fine-
ness are afterwards spun from it, and these are manufactured into
cambric and lace, and linen of every kind: so that shirts, table-
cloths, sheets, trowsers, and a variety of other clothing, go to this pretty
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? LETTER V.
