APPENDIX. xli has been given (from the Illustrations of Herodotus) down to the time of Alexander the Great ; and when we find that other voyages described by this author (as well as those which various writers of his time have recorded) fall short of the rate of sailing deduced from the last mentioned instances ; we may probably be allow'ed to make the following conclusion — that the difference did not really so much consist in the faulty construction of the vessels themselves, or the little sail which they were able to carry, as in circumstances which would equally contribute to retard ships constructed in modern days.

At the same time we may suppose that the voyages here enumerated by Pliny were performed under the most favourable circumstances which could be commanded. They were government vessels, and probably equipped in the most liberal and judicious manner possible at the time ; they were navigating a sea which long habit must have rendered familiar to them, and where they must have known the best courses to be steered under every change of weather and season. The voyages were not sufficiently long to be retarded by want of provisions, and the confidence resulting from experience and comparative security would have induced them to carry all the sail they could command without hesitation or dread. Under these circumstances we may also suppose that the day intended was twenty-four hours, and indeed, in the passage to Alexandria, and other parts of the African coast, it could scarcely have been any other.

againe commeth up sooner, or thriveth faster than this flax ? And to conclude, that wee may knowe how nature her-selfe is nothing well pleased therewith, and that it growetli maugre her will, it hurnes the field wherein it is sowed; it eateth out the heart of the ground, and maketh it worse, wheresoever it comes; this is all the good it doth upon land.”

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