Pennant, in his "Tour in Scotland in 1769," takes notice of a considerable pearl fishery out of the fresh-water mussel, in the
vicinity
of Perth, from whence 10,000l.
Tacitus
ad Attic, iv.
16.
) If we have recourse to modern authorities, we find Camden mentioning gold and silver mines in Cumberland, silver in Flintshire, and gold in Scotland.
Dr.
Borlase (Hist.
of Cornwall, p.
214) relates, that so late as the year 1753, several pieces of gold were found in what the miners call stream tin; and silver is now got in considerable quantity from several of our lead ores.
A curious paper, concerning the Gold Mines of Scotland, is given by Mr.
Pennant in Append.
(No.
x.
) to his second part of a "Tour in Scotland in 1772," and a much more general account of the mines and ores of Great Britain in early times, in his "Tour in Wales of 1773," pp.
51-66.
]
61 (return)
[ Camden mentions pearls being found in the counties of Caernarvon and Cumberland, and in the British sea. Mr.
Pennant, in his "Tour in Scotland in 1769," takes notice of a considerable pearl fishery out of the fresh-water mussel, in the vicinity of Perth, from whence 10,000l. worth of pearls were sent to London from 1761 to 1764. It was, however, almost exhausted when he visited the country. See also the fourth volume of Mr. Pennant's Br. Zool. (Class vi. No. 18), where he gives a much more ample account of the British pearls. Origen, in his Comment. on Matthew, pp. 210, 211, gives a description of the British pearl, which, he says, was next in value to the Indian;—"Its surface is of a gold color, but it is cloudy, and less transparent than the Indian. " Pliny speaks of the British unions as follows:—"It is certain that small and discolored ones are produced in Britain; since the deified Julius has given us to understand that the breastplate which he dedicated to Venus Genitrix, and placed in her temple, was made of British pearls. "—ix. 35. ]
62 (return)
[ Caesar's two expeditions into Britain were in the years of Rome 699 and 700.
61 (return)
[ Camden mentions pearls being found in the counties of Caernarvon and Cumberland, and in the British sea. Mr.
Pennant, in his "Tour in Scotland in 1769," takes notice of a considerable pearl fishery out of the fresh-water mussel, in the vicinity of Perth, from whence 10,000l. worth of pearls were sent to London from 1761 to 1764. It was, however, almost exhausted when he visited the country. See also the fourth volume of Mr. Pennant's Br. Zool. (Class vi. No. 18), where he gives a much more ample account of the British pearls. Origen, in his Comment. on Matthew, pp. 210, 211, gives a description of the British pearl, which, he says, was next in value to the Indian;—"Its surface is of a gold color, but it is cloudy, and less transparent than the Indian. " Pliny speaks of the British unions as follows:—"It is certain that small and discolored ones are produced in Britain; since the deified Julius has given us to understand that the breastplate which he dedicated to Venus Genitrix, and placed in her temple, was made of British pearls. "—ix. 35. ]
62 (return)
[ Caesar's two expeditions into Britain were in the years of Rome 699 and 700.
