Page:An Account of Corsica (1769).djvu/90

80 and Martial write

Many people think the bitterness which is in the Corsican honey very agreeable. The reason which Pliny assigns for the bitterness of the honey, he also assigns for the excellence of the wax. Having mentioned the Punick, the Pontick, and the Cretan, he says, 'Post has Corsica (cera) quoniam ex buxo sit habere quandam vim medicaminis putatur. After these, the Corsican wax, because it is made from the box tree, is reckoned to have a certain medicinal virtue.'

There are in Corsica, a great many mines of lead, copper, iron, and silver. Near to San Fiorenzo is a very rich silver mine, yielding above the value of 5l. sterling out of every 100 lib. weight of ore. The Corsican iron is remarkably good, having a toughness nearly equal to that of the prepared iron of Spain, famous over all the world. It is said that the true Spanish barrels are made of iron which has been worn and beaten for a long