Tamar. 
36 NATURAL HISTORY 
depoftt of this Water might give fufficient reafon for the 
alfertion. 
Petrifying Waters ; fuch, I mean, as will incruft bodies put into 
them with ftone, I have not yet heard of any in Cornwall, except 
the Water at Holy Well, in Cuthbert, before-mentioned (pag. 32.) 
may be called fo. Our River, Lake, or Sea Water, have not any 
tafte, colour, or property, more than common, but muft however 
be here treated of as to their rife, courles, extent, and ifiiie, har- 
bours, and tides; their prefent ufefulnefs, and their capacity of 
being render’d ftill more uleful. 
CHAP. IV. 
Of the Rivers cmd navigable Creeks in Cornwall. 
I N the middle of this County, betwixt the North and South Sea, 
the land is mountainous, (as has been obferved before, chap, i.) 
and the mountains make a kind of broken chain the whole length 
of Cornwall; the links of this chain are much more large and 
maflive, if I may fo fay, in the Eaft where the land is wideft, but 
they contract and narrow themfelves as they tend to the Weft ward, 
conforming their ftze, as well as fhaping their courfe according to 
the land. On each fide this high ridge the land fpreads into a 
plainer furface, rather more hilly on the North than on the South, 
but on both fides declining to the fea. This general difpofition of 
the land is far from being difadvantageous ; for the ridge of hills 
running nearly Eaft and Weft, by intercepting the rain, fogs, and dews, 
diftributes them again in plentiful and frequent ftreams, on either 
lide watering the SeaCoaft, the Northern Coaft well, but the Southern 
much better ; an effeft entirely owing to the rains being more fre- 
quent on the Southern fide of our hills, than thofe which come 
from the North. Upon the whole, it may fafely be afferted, that 
few fpots of land of equal extent in England are fo well watered as 
Cornwall. 
Tamar 8 is the Eafternmoft River in Cornwall ; it rifes in Mor- 
winftow, the rnoft Northern parifh of this County, about three 
miles from the Sea Coaft: in June 1757 fo inconftderable at its 
fource, that it was with fome difficulty we found where it rifes. 
e “ A great number of our larger Rivers begin 
with the word Tav and Tiv, or, as antiently 
written, T am or Tim. Hence Thame or Thames, 
Tav, Taiiy, &c. This Tam is in all probability 
the fame with the Greek Tamos in n olufxo^ 1 to in 
Greek being an old prepofttive.” Lhuyd in Bax- 
ters Gloflar. page 265. « Mar, Mer, and Mor, 
fignificd antiently Water as well as Sea,” ibid, 
page 266. Tamar therefore fignifies the large 
River-water, and fliould be written Tamar, quail 
T au-mar. 
which 
