indigenous to Britain. 



tin) was of frequent occurrence in tlie interior; and the trees 

 were the same as those found in Gaul, except the ' abies * 

 and the ' fagus/ The natives bred the hare, the hen, and the 

 goose, yet did not consider it proper to use them for food. They 

 seldom cultivated corn in the inland parts, but lived on milk 

 and flesh meat ; and were clothed in the skins of beasts." 

 Thus much says Caesar. Tacitus, in the life of Agricola, 

 adds some curious particulars. * He says, " Fert Britannia 

 aurum et argentum et alia metalla pretium victoriae ; gignit et 

 oceanus margarita, sed subfusca et liventia f : " respecting 

 which he remarks, " Quidam artem abesse legentibus arbi- 

 trantur; nam in rubro mari J viva ac spirantia saxis avelli; in 

 Britannia, prout expulsa sint, conligi : ego facilius crediderim, 

 naturam margaritis deesse quam nobis avaritiam.'* § That 

 corn was planted even in the northern parts of the island, we 

 gather from the speech of Galgacus before battle (when he 

 was exhorting his countrymen to resist the insupportable 

 tyranny of the Romans), in which he says, " Bona fortunas- 

 que in tributum egerunt ; in annonam frumentum." || 



Before proceeding further, I must be allowed to make a few 

 remarks upon the preceding passages. The assertion of Caesar 

 that neither the " abies " nor " fagus " was found in Britain, 

 has been nmch too severely brought forward as an impeach- 

 ment of that author's veracity. There can be little doubt that 

 the tree here spoken of was not the beech ; and the " abiete," 

 as the Italians call the silver fir, is certainly not a native of 

 this country. The question is, then, what tree is here meant 

 under the name of " fagus." That it was used for food there 

 can be no doubt. Pliny calls the acorn of the fagus *' dulcis- 

 sima omnium" [sweetest of all], alluding to the trees natives 

 of Italy ; therefore excluding the chestnut, which, he says, 



* Tacitus, Agricolae Vita, sect. 12. and 31. 



f " Britain contains gold and silver to reward the conqueror ; and the 

 sea produces pearls, but brownish and livid." 



:|: " Iildicus maxime has (margaritas) mittit oceanus; praecipue autem 

 laudantur circa Arabiam in Persico sinu maris rubri." — Pliny ^ Nat. Hist. 

 [" These pearls chiefly come from the Indian Ocean ; but those from the 

 shores of Arabia, on the Persian Gulf of the Red Sea, are the most 

 prized."] The student must be on his guard not to mistake the " mare 

 rubrum " here mentioned, for the Red Sea of our geographers. What is 

 meant under that name is the northern part of the Persian Gulf, whence 

 the Romans got their finest pearls. 



§ " Some attribute this to the ignorance of the collectors ; for in the 

 Red Sea the pearl shells are torn alive from the rocks, while in Britain 

 they are gathered as they are thrown up : but I should more readily believe 

 nature to be deficient in pearls than men in avarice." 



II " They take our goods in tribute ; they carry off our corn to supply 

 their city and their armies." 



B 2 



