There was in Ireland discovered these severall sorts of Ironston at Sir Charles Cootes workes.

First a rock mine which lay neere day in an ordinarye yellow mould which was plowed land; the bend laye thicke, and continued without any earth intermixed, and lay without any other rocke, of limeston, sparre, or slate, it was of a blew coulor very hard and ponderous, and beinge calcined would stick extreamly vnto your toung.

This Ironston was extreamly Rich, and yeilded great store of Iron and wrought very well and gently, in the furnasse, and would make both gray motly or white sowe Iron without any trouble or vndercharging the furnasse: yet when it came to the fineryes it was very dangerous Iron, for it was apt to runne cleere, and not to incorporate though you vsed Hammerslag (the scales of the hammer worke) therewith. When it came vnder the hammer it would flye extreamely, and hardly hold to make a bloome, and commonly was a rotten redshire, and a staring coulshire, both in one barre without any intermixture of tuffnesse at all, and truly was fitt for little vse; yet this mine mixed with white Ironston, bloomers sinders or bogge mine yelded extreamely well incorporated readily at the fineries, and made as good Iron as your sussex Iron in England provided there were not above one halfe of the Rockmine vsed in the furnasse at a charge, and a good proportion of limeston or 364sparre, which was every where in that country, where these are wanting you must vse your furnasse sinder to qualifye the hardnesse of your rocke mine, which will produce a good greene running sinder at the furnasse which is the maine part of the worke.

Next we had two sortes of white mine the one was full of scales and that riseth in small pinnes about the bignesse of ones hand and vnder, and had a core in the middle blew, and being broken was like an hunnycombe this was our best mine wrought gently in the forge and furnasse made a good mixed coulshire and tuffe Iron somwhat better then vsually your Sussex Iron, this Ironston lay in a blew slaty marle in a mountainous and wett countrye in vaines one vnder an other, some neere day, was easily raised, for the deepest lay not above 30 foote deepe.

The great white mine lay in the same kind of ground but in greater vaines and riseth in great stones, or pinnes of halfe an hundred waight, and had little or noe scales at all, this mine wrought by it selfe made a very couldshire Iron, and wrought so very hott in the furnasse that it burnt the twire stones in an instant, tympe and hearth, that many admirable founders, which we had out of severall partes of England were not able to make a blowing of above 10 or 12 weekes at a tyme yett we had good hearth stones, but this Ironston being mixed with the small Ironston above specified, and some limeston yeilded abundantly, wrought gently, att furnasse and forge, and made good Iron; and our blowing lasted 3 quarters of a yeare and cast 12 tunne of sow Iron a weeke one with an other.

We had a fourth kind of mine which was a bogge mine, which if wrought by it selfe at a furnasse would choke a furnasse, but mixed with other mines in a furnasse made as good Iron as Spanish Iron; this lay in our greatest bogges vpon the superficies of the earth like a scurfe on a scauld head, about 4 or 5 inches thicke, and being lett lye dissolved into a small sand of a black coulor.

The charge was this.

We paid the founder 5s a tunne for casting and 10li a yeare standing wages: the finery man 6s 8d per tunne for refining and 5li standing wages. the hammerman 6 per tunne and 20li per annum standing wages. The carpenter 25li a yeare standing wages for his repairing of things. The smith 25li per annum standing wages, for keeping things in repaire.

for cutting of wood we paid 9d a coard.

for making a load of coles 2s 3d 22 barrells at the fall.

Cheefely take care so to place your furnasse that there be noe water springs or dampes vnder hir for it will spoile all which if your ground will 365nott admitt, you must make a false bottom with severall pipes to carry away the dampes and water or springs.