TOOLS USED BY MINERS IN CORNWALL. _a._ Pick. _b._ Gad. _c._ Shovel. _d._ Mallet. _e._ Borer. _f._ Claying-bar. _g._ Needle or nail. _h._ Scraper. _i._ Tamping-bar. ] According to the various hardness of the minerals or of the rocks in which they are embedded, different means and implements for dividing the masses are employed. In loose earth, sand, and clay, shovels and scrapers suffice; in gypsum, coal, and rock-salt, the pick becomes necessary; in many hard slates, gads must be driven into the small openings made with the point of the pick. In still harder stones, forming the great majority of those which occur in veins and strata, recourse must be had to the explosive power of gunpowder, which is also largely employed in our coal-mines. The tools used for this purpose are the borer, an iron bar tipped with steel, formed like a thick chisel, which is held by one man straight in the hole with constant rotation on its axis, while another strikes the head of it with the iron sledge or mallet; the scraper for clearing out the hole from time to time; the claying-bar, a tapering iron rod, which, after the introduction of some tenacious clay into the cavity, is forced into it with great violence, and, condensing the clay into all the crevices of the rock, secures the dryness of the hole; and the nail, a small taper rod of copper, which, after the charge has been introduced, is inserted to reach the bottom of the hole, which is now ready for tamping. For this purpose, any soft species of rock free from flinty particles, which might provoke a premature explosion, is introduced in small quantities at a time, and rammed very hard by the tamping bar, which is held steadily by one man and struck with a sledge by another. The hole being thus filled, the nail is withdrawn by putting a bar through its eye and striking it upwards. Thus a small perforation or vent is left for the safety fuse, a woven cylinder containing gunpowder, and protected by a coating of tar. The fire being applied, the men retire to a safe distance. Often, in order to lose as little time as possible, a number of shots are fired together, so that the explosions, pouring out their tongues of flame in rapid succession, and awakening the subterranean echoes far and wide, afford a highly interesting spectacle. But woe to the miner if he be too hasty to return to his post, for it often happens that a treacherous shot goes off several minutes after being lighted, and, exploding in the face of the imprudent workman, disfigures him for life, or kills him on the spot. Accidents in blasting arise also from other causes, such as a negligent handling of the powder while preparing the charge, or some delay in retiring after the fuse has been kindled. It was an incident of the latter kind which some years back called forth the following instance of heroism.