Caesar during his stay in Britain had acquired a
fairly accurate notion of it. He knew that it was an island, and he knew
its dimensions and shape. He knew that Ireland lay to the west of it, and
Ireland, he had been told, was about half its size. He had heard of the
Isle of Man, and how it was situated. To the extreme north above Britain
he had ascertained that there were other islands, where in winter the sun
scarcely rose above the horizon; and he had observed through accurate
measurement by water-clocks that the midsummer nights in Britain were
shorter than in the south of France and Italy. He had inquired into the
natural products of the country. There were tin mines, he found, in parts
of the island, and iron in small quantities; but copper was imported from
the Continent. The vegetation resembled that of France, save that he saw
no beech and no spruce pine. Of more consequence were the people and the
distribution of them. The Britons of the interior he conceived to be
indigenous. The coast was chiefly occupied by immigrants from Belgium, as
could be traced in the nomenclature of places. The country seemed thickly
inhabited. The flocks and herds were large; and farm buildings were
frequent, resembling those in Gaul. In Kent especially, civilization was
as far advanced as on the opposite continent.
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