twenty gallons of brine, and two quarts of calf's, cow's, or chiefly fheep's blood, mixed into a claret colour. Of this mixture they put about two quarts into a pan that holds about three hundred and fixty quarts of brine. This bloody brine, at the first boiling up of the pan, brings up a fcum, which they are careful to rake off with a wooden handle, thrust through a long square of wainscot board, twice as big as a good fquare trencher: this they call a loot. They then continue the fire as quick as they can, till half of the brine be wasted; and this they call boiling up of the fresh but when it is half boiled away, they fill their pans again with new brine out of the fhip (the name they give to a great ciftern by their pan's fide), into which their brine runs through the wooden gutters from the pump, which ftands in the pit. Then they put into the pan two quarts of the following mixture: they take a quart of whites of eggs, beat them thoroughly with as much brine till they are well broken; then they mix them with twenty gallons of brine, as before was done with blood; and thus that which they call the whites is made. As foon as this is in, As foon as this is in, they boil fharply till the second scum rifes; then they fcum it off as before, and boil it very gently till it corn, to procure which, when a part of the brine is wafted, they put into each pan of the contents aforefaid, about a quarter of a pint of the best and strongest ale they can get. This makes a momentary ebullition, which is foon over, and then they abate their fires, yet not fo, but that they keep it boiling all over, though gently; for the workmen say, that if they boil faft here, which they call boiling on the leach, because they usually at this time lade in their leach-brine, which is fuch brine as runs from their falt, when it is taken up before it hardens; if, I fay, they boil faft here, it wastes their falt. After all their leach-brine is in, they boil gently till a kind of fcum comes on it like a thin ice, which is the firft appearance of the falt. Then that finks, and the brine every where gathers into corns at the bottom to it, which they gently rake together with their loots. They do it gently, for much stirring breaks the corn; fo they continue till there is but very little brine left in the pans. Then with their loots they take it up, the brine dropping from it, and throw it into barrows, which are cafes made with flat cleft wickers in the shape almoft of a fugar loaf, with the bottom uppermost *. When the barrow is full, they let it stand so for half an hour in the trough, where it drains out all the leach-brine abovementioned. Then they remove it into their hot-house behind their works, made there by two tunnels under their pans carried back for that purpose. The leach-brine that runs from the barrows they put into the next boiling, it being falt melted, and wanting only to be hardened. This work is performed in two hours in the fmaller pans, which are fhallower, and generally boil their brine more away; wherefore their falt will last better, though it does not granulate fo well, because when the brine is wafted, the fire and the stirring breaks the corns. But this falt weighs heavier, and melts not fo foon; and therefore is bought by them who carry it far. In the greater pans, which are ufually deeper, they are about half an hour longer in boiling; but, because they take their falt out of the brine, and only harden it in their hot-house, it is apter to melt away in a moist air; yet of this fort of falt, the bigger the grain is, the longer it endures; and generally this is the better granulated, and the clearer, though the other be the whiter. This kind measures to good profit, therefore it is much bought by them who fell again. When the troughs or barrels fet in the earth to receive the falt water from the pit are full, of which notice is given by a bell, they lade the water into their leads, of which they have fix in every wich-houfe, and immediately put fire to them to boil up the falt. These brine-pans are attended by certain women called wallers, who with little wooden rakes draw the falt from the bottom as the brine is feething, and and put into the abovementioned wickers or barrows, where they let the salt stand for the water to drain from it. They never cover their pans at all, during their whole time of boiling. They have their houses like barns open up to the thatch, with a louver-hole or two to vent the fteam of the pans, which is fuch, that I am confident no plafter will stick, but the board will warp, and the nails will ruft, fo as quickly to fret to pieces. Grey falt is the fweepings of the falt which are conftantly fhed and scattered about on the floor, not without taking much of the dirt, which occafions its greyishness. This does not fell at half the price of white falt, and is only bought up by the poorer fort of people, to falt their bacon, coarse cheese, &c. Catts of falt are made of the worst fort of falt, when yet wettish from the pans, molded and intermixed with cummin-feed and ashes, and fo baked into a hard lump in the mouths of their ovens. The use of these is only for pigeon-houses; but loaves of falt are the finest of all for trencher use. There is no difference in the boiling of thefe from the common way of fine falt, but in the making up fome care is used; for, firft, they cut their barrows, which they intend for falt loaves, with a long flit from top to bottom, equally on both fides; they then tie both fides together with cords; then they fill this barrow with falt boiled as ufually, but in the filling are careful to ram down the falt with the end of fome wooden bar, continuing this till their barrow be filled to their minds; then placing it speedily in their hot-house, they let it ftand there all the time of their wall ing; wherefore they prepare for their loaves at the beginning of the work, that they may have all the benefit of their hot-houses; and when these begin to flack, they take out the loaves, and untie the cords which faftened the barrow, that both fides may open eafily without breaking the loaf. Then they take the loaf and bake it in an oven, where houfhold-bread has been baked, and juft drawn out. This they do twice or thrice, till they fee it is baked firm: and this being placed in a ftove, or a chimney-corner, and covered close with a hofe of cloth or leather, like the fugar-loaf papers, will keep very white; and when they have occafion to use any, they fhave it off with a knife, as is done with loaf-fugar to fill the falt-cellar. Our next route was into Staffordshire, which also is composed of various foils; for the moor-lands of this county, which are mountainous, and therefore reckoned the most barren, produce a fhort but fweet grafs, by which they bring up as fine large cattle as thofe of Lancashire; and the graziers fay, that they will feed better, and much more, in the rich pastures and meadows that adorn the banks of the Dove, Trent, Blythe, Charnet, &c. all in the north part of this county. Dove-bank, or the banks of the Dove, is reckoned the best feeding ground in England, for the reasons abovementioned; and by these rich paftures and meadows the great dairies are maintained in this part of Staffordshire, which fupply the noted Uttoxeter-market with fuch vast quantities of butter and cheese. Sheep are alfo fed in the northern as well as the southern parts in great numbers, but they are small, and their wool is coarse. They generally have black nofes, and their wool is something finer in the fouth than in the north. Much of it is manufactured in this county in the cloathing-trade and felting. Nor is the arable ground lefs fruitful than the pasture; for even the barren moor-lands, when manured by the husbandman with marle and lime mixed with turf afhes, produce good oats and barley; the last not so plenty indeed, but as good as in the fouth. And as to the southern parts, and fome adjacent parishes in the north, they produce all forts of grain, as wheat, rye, barley, pulfe, &c. In these parts they alfo fow hemp and flax; fo that this fhire, all things confidered, may be called Terra fuis contenta bonis, i. e. that can fubsist of itself without the help of any other county. As to fubterraneous productions, both the moor-lands and wood-lands yield lead, copper, iron, marble, alabafter, mill-ftones, coal and falt, near as good as that of Cheshire, 1 Cheshire, &c. Of this fort of lands confists the chace of Canock-wood, and most of the warrens and parks of the nobility and gentry. In the more fruitful part of the county are found marles of feveral forts and colours, moft of which are laid upon their lands with very great fuccefs; and of fome they make very good bricks, especially of the reddish clay marle. Here are other ufeful earths, which has caufed the beft manufactory for earthen and stone wares in England to be promoted in this county. There is a brick-earth which burns blue, and is fupposed to be that fort whereof the Romans made their urns; fullers-earth, potters-clay, particularly a fort used in the glaffes at Amblecot, whereof are made the beft in England, for which reafon it is fold for 7d. a-bushel, and sent as far as London, Bristol, &c. flip, a reddish sort of earth, wherewith they paint divers veffels; yellow and red ocres, which are obferved to lie chiefly in their best lands; and tobacco-pipe-clay, of which the befl fort is found in Monway-field, between Wednesbury and Willingsforth. It produces alfo valuable ftones, and minerals of various forts: as, 1. The fire-ftone for hearths of iron furnaces, ovens, &c.; 2. Rocks of lime-stone; 3. Iron-stone, dug at Darleston, Apedale, and many other placcs. The best fort of iron-ftone, called mufh, is as big fometimes as the crown of a hat, and contains a pint of a cold sharp liquor, yet so pleasant to the tafte, that the workmen are fond of it: this fort is found at Rufhal, and the best fort of iron wares, as keys, &c. are made of it; 4. The blood-ftone, or hamatites, found in the Brook Tent, which is very weighty, and if a little wet will draw red lines like ruddle; 5. Copper-ore, or ftones dug out of Edon-hill, in the parish of Wetton; 6. Lead-ore, dug in a yellowish stone with cawk and fpar in Townsfield, on the fide of Lawton-park; 7. Quarryftones, mill-ftones, and grind-stones of feveral colours; 8. Alabaster, and good marble of divers kinds, fome of which exceeds any brought from beyond fea; and there are whole mountains of it in the lordship of Grindon at Yelperfley-tor, Powke-hill, &c. To fupply the scarcity of wood, which is feldom used in this county for fuel, there is plenty of turf and peat, cannel-coal, peacock and pit-coal. The cannel-coal, which has been formerly mentioned in my account of Lancashire, is fuppofed to take its name from the British word canwell, fignifying a candle, because it gives fo bright a flame, that in the dark it fupplies the place of a candle. The peacock coal, which is dug up on Hanley-green, near Newcastle-under-Line, is fofter than cannel-coal, and therefore not capable of being polished as that is. It is fo called, because it has all the colours in the peacock's train, when turned towards the light; but it is better for the forge than the kitchen, which is fupplied by the pit-coal, dug about Wednesbury, Dudley and Sedgeley, and is preferred by fome to cannel-coal; for it burns into white afhes, leaving no fuch cinder as the coal from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Of this fort of coal there is fuch plenty in this county, that commonly there are twelve or fourteen collieries, and twice as many out of work within ten miles round, which afford from two thousand to five thousand tons a-year; but it will not be ferviceable in malting till it is charred; when it is so freed from all its unpleasant fumes, then it makes fit winterfiring for a chamber. The coal thus prepared is called coak, and gives as good heat almost as charcoal. This pit-coal often takes fire in the pit, which may be afcribed to the bitumen in the coal, which being put into a ferment by water, produceth' fire, and fo the pits take fire of themselves. We at last arrived in the county of Salop, where the air is very healthy, as it generally is, in fuch as are mountainous or hilly. The foil, which is in many parts of a reddish clay, is various as in other places; the fouth and weft parts, which are the most hilly, not being altogether fo fruitful as the low grounds; of which this county has its fhare. Plenty of wheat and barley is produced here, together with the other forts of grain neceffary for human life, befides inexhauftible pits of coal, which did it enjoy the advantage of water-carriage, as Newcastle, &c. does, this county would also vie with it in plenty of that product. By the Severn fide are rich, large meadows, that yield abundance of grafs and hay for the cattle, which are chiefly fed on the upland pastures; and the hilly country, on the borders of Wales, is excellent sheep-pasture. Here are also mines of copper, lead, iron-stone, and lime-ftone. Over most of the coal-pits there lies a ftratum of a blackish, hard, but very porous substance, containing great quantities of bitumen, which being ground to powder in the horse-mills, fuch as are used in grinding flints to make glafs, and well boiled in coppers of water, the earthy and gritty parts fink to the bottom, but on the surface swims the bituminous matter, which, by evaporation, is brought to the confiftency of pitch; or by the help of an oil diftilled from the fame stone, and mixed with it, may be thinned to a fort of tar; and both fubftances ferve particularly for caulking of fhips as well as pitch or tar, if not better; for they do not crack as the common pitch or tar, but always keep black and foft; and might, as it is imagined, be very serviceable against the worm, fo mischievous to fhips. Thus, we furveyed the air, foil, product, and manufactures of the fouth part of this plentiful and rich ifland. Hence forward we laid afide all anxious fpeculations, and refolved with eafy journies to fet out for London, if poffible, to be there against the King's birth-day. But as the manufactures and trade are chiefly confined to particular towns in these counties, I fhall now retrofpect and supply what has been only occafion-ally or fuperficially mentioned on that head, by giving fome account of thofe places in England, which are most noted either for making or felling goods. A BRIEF Obferve that D. fignifies Duke; M. Marquis; Er. Earl; V. Viscount: And that when D. or Er. &c. ftand next after the County, the Title is from that E. fignifies Eaft, W. West, N. North, S. South, Lon. London, cloth, ftuffs, hats, Appleby Northern 54 152 Worcester, M. Western 51 20 2 8 38 35 S 35 67 NW by W 50 204 NNW 70 W by S 13 87 NW by W York, D. Northern 54 IO I 20 155 N by W |