Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/43

Rh and axes that might deceive even the elect. It is probable that this little Suffolk town turns out more modern imitations of ancient flint implements than does all the rest of England. One collector, to prevent deception, made it a condition of purchase that he should himself see the finding of the implements. This was all very well; but anyone that has tried it knows that this searching is a wearisome occupation, and the results are by no means always commensurate with the time employed. What did the knappers do then but manufacture their arrow-heads, and bury them overnight in certain marked spots. And how could the worthy antiquary have any suspicions when he saw the implements turned up before his eyes. Not long ago a certain landowner in Suffolk offered a premium for each flint implement found upon his estate. They came in units at longer or shorter intervals, until one of the men hit upon the happy expedient of buying the modern implements at a cheap rate and then selling them to his master, a course which he will doubtless pursue until that day when "comes the reck'ning, the dreadful reck'ning, and men smile no more."

Of late years there has been quite a revival in the manufacture of spurious implements in north-west Suffolk, and undoubtedly those turned out are beautiful specimens of the knapper's art. In fact they are too beautiful and perfect. Rarely indeed do we find an arrow-head, for instance, that was discarded or lost thousands of years ago, quite perfect. Either the point, the stem, or one of the barbs is damaged. But these modern implements are mathematically correct, with never a chip in the wrong place. The friction of the sand and the action of the atmosphere always causes a polish on the ancient implements, and to effect this on the modern implements, which are somewhat dull on being first chipped, they are buried for some weeks in hot sand, and care is taken when they are removed to leave some of this adhering. And when you express doubts as to the genuineness of the implements, the vendors triumphantly point out the soil which still adheres. Polishing with rags is also one of the methods of imparting an antiquated appearance to a spurious implement, and the process is more rapid than that of the hot sand.

There is more often than not a middleman between the knapper and the collector. He obtains the name of the latter