'xxxvi APPENDIX.

of sailing of only two and a half sea, or geographic, miles per hour, or less than three at the utmost. The cause must either have been the defective form of the ships’ hulls, or the faulty disposition of the cargo and ballast, which might not permit them to spread sail enough*. Certainly the sails of ancient ships are represented, on medals, as being remarkably small, and do not seem to be on a par in that respect even with Chinese junks, which, like the others, have generally lower masts only. If we reject the examples given by Herodotus on the Caspian Sea, and by Pliny in the open sea, as being out of rule, we have thirty-five (miles) only for the mean rate per day of the Grecian, Egyptian, Phoenician and Carthaginian ships, between the times of Darius, Hystaspes and Alexander, generally ; and in which none rise above thirty-eight, or fall below thirty-two sea miles.

“ It appears (continues our author) that the principal difficulty to be surmounted in antient voyages, arose from the impracticability of storing the ships with provisions adequate to the vast length of time required for their navigation, when the rate of sailing was so remarkably slow. They were ill adapted to distant voyages, which indeed they seldom, it appears, undertook, but did very well in situations where they could land and command provisions almost at pleasure ; or, at any rate, by compulsion, when they sailed in fleets.

But, on the other hand, they were better adapted to those coasting voyages which constituted almost the whole of their navigation. The flatness of their bottoms required much less depth of water than modern vessels of the same tonnage: whence arose an incredible advantage over ours in finding shelter more frequently ; and indeed almost everywhere, except on a steep or rocky shore — since, in default of shelter afloat, they drew their large ships upon the beach, as our fishermen do their large boats. And we may certainly * The constant yawing to which the vessels of the antients must from their build have been necessarily exposed, in a far greater degree than even our light colliers, (their upper works being lofty, sails small, and floor flat.) would also materially contribute to retard their progress.