Agricola, Georgius, De re metallica, 1912/1950
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              <s>
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              usual method of delimiting a vein: as soon as the miner found metal, he
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              gave information to the
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              Bergmeister
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              and the tithe-gatherer, who either
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              proceeded personally from the town to the mountains, or sent thither men
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              of good repute, at least two in number, to inspect the metal-bearing vein.
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              <s>Thereupon, if they thought it of sufficient importance to survey, the
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              Bergmeister
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              again having gone forth on an appointed day, thus questioned him who first
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              found the vein, concerning the vein and the diggings: “Which is your
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              vein?” “Which digging carried metal?” Then the discoverer, pointing
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              his finger to his vein and diggings, indicated them, and next the
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              Bergmeister
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              ordered him to approach the windlass and place two fingers of his right hand
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              upon his head, and swear this oath in a clear voice: “I swear by God and
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              all the Saints, and I call them all to witness, that this is my vein; and more­
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              over if it is not mine, may neither this my head nor these my hands henceforth
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              perform their functions.” Then the
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              Bergmeister,
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              having started from the
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              centre of the windlass, proceeded to measure the vein with a cord, and to
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              give the measured portion to the discoverer,—in the first instance a half and
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              then three full measures; afterward one to the King or Prince, another to
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              his Consort, a third to the Master of the Horse, a fourth to the Cup-bearer,
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              a fifth to the Groom of the Chamber, a sixth to himself. </s>
              <s>Then, starting
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              from the other side of the windlass, he proceeded to measure the vein in a
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              similar manner. </s>
              <s>Thus the discoverer of the vein obtained the head-meer,
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              that is, seven single measures; but the King or Ruler, his Consort, the leading
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              dignitaries, and lastly, the
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              Bergmeister,
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              obtained two measures each, or two
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              ancient meers. </s>
              <s>This is the reason there are to be found at Freiberg in Meissen
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              so many shafts with so many intercommunications on a single vein—which are
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              to a great extent destroyed by age. </s>
              <s>If, however, the
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              Bergmeíster
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              had already
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              fixed the boundaries of the meers on one side of the shaft for the benefit of
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              some other discoverer, then for those dignitaries I have just mentioned,
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              as many meers as he was unable to award on that side he duplicated
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              on the other. </s>
              <s>But if on both sides of the shaft he had already defined the
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              boundaries of meers, he proceeded to measure out only that part of the
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              vein which remained free, and thus it sometimes happened that some of
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              those persons I have mentioned obtained no meer at all. </s>
              <s>To-day, though
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              that old-established custom is observed, the method of allotting the vein
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              and granting title has been changed. </s>
              <s>As I have explained above, the head­
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              meer consists of three double measures, and each other meer of two
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              measures, and the
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              Bergmeíster
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              grants one each of the meers to him who
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              makes the first application. </s>
              <s>The King or Prince, since all metal is taxed, is
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              himself content with that, which is usually one-tenth.</s>
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              <s>Of the width of every meer, whether old or new, one-half lies on the
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              footwall side of a
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              vena profunda
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              and one half on the hangingwall side. </s>
              <s>If
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              the vein descends vertically into the earth, the boundaries similarly descend </s>
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