Page:Cornwall (Salmon).djvu/36

 CORNWALL The Cornish tin-mining may be regarded as one of the most ancient and important industries in the kingdom, and there is no reason to doubt that it has been in active operation from pre- historic times downwards. De la Beche, the distinguished geologist whose Report on the Geology of Coniu-a/l is the best work relating to the subject, suggests that the superior weight of tin-stone pebbles might have caused early man to select them for use as missives against his enemies, and thus the discovery of the metal may have been made. This is a matter upon which one can only speculate, because the tin of Cornwall, derived doubtless from stanniferous gravels, was probably employed by the men of the Bronze Age in the manufacture of bronze, which, as is well known, is produced by mixing copper and tin in proper proportions under a high temperature. There is good reason to think that tin pro- cured in Cornwall was transported to Gaul and thus overland to the mouths of the Rhone. An ancient author describes these ingots of tin as being in the form of astragali, and it is a curiously interesting piece of corroborative evidence of this that in Falmouth Harbour an ancient ingot of tin of large size, and weighing about 158 pounds, was dredged up some years ago. The form of the ingot may be said to resemble very roughly the letter H, and it has been pointed out that this would be a most convenient form for being laid in the keel of a boat, and for being slung on a horse's side, two i3