all thofe places, where Europe and Afia border 

 on each other, as a diftinguiming mark of 

 European ground. On the Afiatic fide of 

 the Tanais, he tells us, it is never found j 

 tho on the European fide it is fo common 

 that the Scythians, who inhabit thofe parts, 

 ufe it always in making arrows. He treats 

 Eratofthenes with fome contempt, for afTerting, 

 that when Alexander was in India, he ufed 

 fir in contracting his navy*. Strabo's ac- 

 curacy is generally much refpecled : but, in 

 this inftance his obfervations feem to have 

 been confined. There is little doubt, I think, 

 that the fir abounded in many parts of Afia : 

 it was probably as much a native of mount 

 Lebanon, as the cedar itfelf -j~. 



After the pine, and fir tribes, the yew 

 deferves our notice. The yew is a pure native 

 of Britain, and was formerly what the oak 



* See lib. ii. p. 510. edit. Cauf. 



f- After all however, it is probable, that the word fXam, which 

 the Latins tranflate abies, and we tranflate^/fr, might appear to be 

 fomewhat very different from the tree, which we call a fir, if we 

 had a Grecian botanift to confult. 



is 



