Surely the practice is cunning in deuice, costly in charge, and long in effecting: and yet, when all is done, many times the Load falleth away, and they may sing with Augustus bird, Opera & impensa periit. If you did see how aptly they cast the ground, for conueying the water, by compassings and turnings, to shunne such hils & vallies as let them, by their two much height or lownesse, you would wonder how so great skill could couch in so base a Cabbin, as their (otherwise) thicke clouded braines.
As much almost dooth it exceede credite, that the Tynne, for and in so small quantitie, digged vp with so great toyle, and passing afterwards thorow the managing of so many hands, ere it come to sale, should be any way able to acquite the cost: for being once brought aboue ground in the stone, it is first broken in peeces with hammers; and then carryed, either in waynes, or on horses backs, to a stamping mill, where three, and in some places sixe great logges of timber, bound at the ends with yron, and lifted vp and downe by a wheele, driuen with the water, doe breake it smaller. If the stones be ouer-moyst, they are dried by the fire in an yron cradle or grate.
From the stamping mill, it passeth to the crazing mil, which betweene two grinding stones, turned also with a water-wheele, bruseth the same to a fine sand: howbeit, of late times they mostly vse wet stampers, & so haue no need of the crazing mils, for their best stuffe, but only for the crust of their tayles.
The streame, after it hath forsaken the mill, is made to fall by certayne degrees one somwhat distant from another; vpon each of which, at euery discent lyeth a greene turfe, three or foure foote square, and one foote thick. On this the Tinner layeth a certayne portion of the sandie Tinne, and with his shouell softly tosseth the same to and fro, that through this stirring, the water which runneth ouer it, may wash away the light earth from the Tinne, which of a heauier substance lyeth fast on the turfe. Hauing so cleansed one portion, he setteth the same aside, and beginneth with another, vntil his labour take end with his taske. The best of those turfes (for all sorts serue not) are fetched about two miles to the Eastwards of S. Michaels Mount, where at a low water they cast aside the sand, and dig them vp: they are full of rootes of trees, and on some of them nuts haue beene found, which confirmeth my former assertion of the seas intrusion. After it is thus washed, they put the remnant into a wooden dish, broad, flat, and round, being about two foote ouer, and hauing two handles fastened at the sides, by which they softly shogge the same to and fro in the water betweene their legges, as they sit ouer it, vntill whatsoeuer of the earthie substance that was yet left, be flitted away. Some of later time, with a sleighter inuention, and lighter labour, doe cause certaine boyes to stir it vp and downe with their [13] feete, which worketh the same effect: the residue after this often cleansing, they call blacke Tynne, which is proportionably diuided to euerie of the aduenturers, when the Lords part hath beene first deducted vpon the whole.
Then doth each man carrie his portion to the blowing house, where the same is melted with Char-coale fire, blowne by a great paire of Bellowes, mooved with a water-wheele, and so cast into peeces of a long and thicke squarenesse, from three hundred to foure hundred pound waight, at which time the owners marke is set thereupon. The last remooue, is to the place of Coynage, which I shall touch hereafter. I haue alreadie told you, how great charge the Tynner vndergoeth, before he can bring his Owre to this last mill: whereto if you adde his care and cost, in buying the wood for this seruice, in felling, framing, and piling it to bee burned, in fetching the same, when it is coaled through such farre, foule, and cumbersome wayes, to the blowing house, together with the blowers two or three Moneths extreame and increasing labour, sweltring heate, danger of skalding their bodies, burning the houses, casting away the worke, and lastly their ugly countenances, tanned with smoake and besmeared with sweate: all these things (I say) being duly considered, I know not whether you would more maruaile, either whence a sufficient gaine should arise to counteruaile so manifold expences, or that any gaine could traine men to vndertake such paines and perill.