COPPER. 73 



other hand, the alloy which we now term brass, and which 

 is composed of copper and zinc, was not known in ancient 

 times. 



Now this bronze, which from the wholly independent state- 

 ments of Homer and in the Book of Kings, as well as from 

 Assyrian and Egyptian records, we find to have been abun- 

 dant in the East at any rate three thousand years ago, was 

 composed of copper and tin, in the proportions of about nine 

 parts of the former to one of the latter; and the question 

 therefore arises, whence were these metals obtained ? 



Copper is found in so many countries that we cannot, as 

 yet, form any definite opinion as to the source, or sources, 

 from which it was first derived. Nevertheless, we have 

 some reason to hope and expect that we shall eventually 

 be able to do so, because the slight impurities by which it 

 is accompanied afford a clue to the country from which it 

 was obtained. As regards tin, the case is very different ; 

 although ores of this metal are found in other countries, as 

 for instance in France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Saxony, and 

 in Siberia, still almost all the tin now used is derived either 

 from Cornwall or from the island of Banca, which lies 

 between Sumatra and Borneo. In ancient times a certain 

 amount of tin was no doubt obtained in Spain,* but, as 

 Dr. Smith observes,-)- "the most remarkable feature in tin 

 mining seems to be the enduring character of the mines. 

 Wherever tin has been produced in any considerable quan- 

 tities, within the range of authentic history, there it is still 

 abundantly found. In Banca, we are told, the supply is 

 inexhaustible ; and Cornwall can now supply as large a 

 quantity annually as it ever could." The result of inquiries 

 made of the Government Engineers, at the College of Mines 

 in Madrid, is as follows : " I cannot learn that Spain ever 



* See Howortli, Trans. Ethn.Soc. t The Cassiterides, p. 45. 



1867, p. 80. See also Appendix. 



