describes the method of training the vine, adopted in the wine countries;" by which expression (wine) I apprehend his question to extend to the process of making the wine, that precious liquor being naturally the object of the vine culture. As to the species of grapes formerly in use, I know of no means by which such information can be obtained, since, notwithstanding our press is overladen with tracts on the subject of almost every article of culture, it is remarkably short on that of the grape. Perhaps some light might be obtained from the compilations of Barnaby Goge, Gervase Markham, and others of their time; and since, from Bradley and Laurence, and from the County histories of those districts more peculiarly adapted by soil and climate to the vine culture. Specchley's Culture of the Vine, is the only treatise of the present time, which has reached my know ledge, and with his book I have yet procceded no farther than the title-page, so cannot ascertain whether it will furnish the desired information. With respect to my own opinion, formed on proba bility and some enquiry, the sorts of grapes used in our vineyards of old in Gloucestershire, Kent, Surry, Essex, and other counties, were the white and black, now found among the middling and lower housekeepers of those parts; the same varieties, in all probability, which are also found in Yorkshire.

The method of training the vine in the wine countries, I apprehend, is of little consequence to us, whose climate will not admit its adoption. In consequence, we may always find the necessity of adhering to our established plan, of confining the out-door culture to our buildings, unless indeed it might be extended by the mode of sheltered espaliers, of which I purpose to make experiment. Mr. Gibbs, seedsinan to the Board of Agriculture, I observed, several years since, had some vines at Brompton, trained to stakes; but as I have not seen them of late, I conclude, although I am not certain, that they did not succeed. However, granting the shelter of a wall is absolutely necessary to the vine in this country, there are very many inhabitants of both town and country, so well provided in that respect, as to be able to raise grapes enough to furnish their own table with wine. In the metropolis even, where, in some parts grapes both black and white, succeed well, what an imminen sity might be grown! But the object is

to make the wine, after we have provided the grapes: that is to say, real wine, and not that wretched sugared and babyshipslop, which passes muster under the denomination of home-made wine; and which, were it capable of making an Anacreon drunk, it would be rather with eructation than inspiration. Colonel Thornton's late Tour in France, and the Histories of the Cape of Good Hope, I think, give some account both of training the vine, in those parts, and the process of wine-making. The chief difference, as I understand, between their wine. manufacture and ours, and one reason of their high superiority, is the total absence of water in their process, their wine being the pure fermented juice of the grape, with little or no additional ingredient but brandy; and in the red wines of Portugal, a certain root, both for strength and colour sake.

however, it is said on experience, will The pure grape-juice of this country, make nothing but vinegar, it turning sour in a very short time; in course, that our wine-makers are compelled to the common process of boiling, and using water and sugar. This arises, we may suppose, from the inferior quality of our grapes, which should yet be a motive to us not to lower that quality still farther by the addition of water; and I have this year made the experiment, providing, as far as my small skill will admit, to counteract that acidity which I really found to result, as I had been previously informed.

mation on this, or other subjects, in my Any farther infor power to communicate, shall always be most heartily at the service of the Monthly Magazine.

Middlesex, Dec. 16.

L.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIR,

MIGHT not debtors, and those who

are put in prison, but not to be hung, as in America, be made to work to support themselves? Might not much useful labour, in this way, be performed in the Fleet, the King's Bench, and other prisons in England, as well as Scotland and Ireland. Besides helping to support themselves, and forming a fund, on their release from prison, would not this keep many of them from idle pernicious habits, often the chief cause of their becoming prisoners at all. The making a prisoner work, and live soberly, would naturally tend to reform him from lux

urious habits; for, where sobriety and Ye waters murmer not; ye groves your

No more's desir'd by any youth or maid;
So, while the virgin yet untouch'd remains,
She's dear to friends, belov'd of all the
swains;

But when deflower'd, her charms no more
appear,

Or sweet to youth, or to the maidens dear.
Jan. 2, 1811.
SOMERSETIENSIS.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

sion of Mr. Malthus on the question of
War, and of the Bishop of Landaff, in
reply to Payne. I apprehend that there
is less vice in a line-of-battle ship than a
manufactory; and if 150,000 persons are
at once thrown out of employ, burglaries,
&c. may be expected: I have seen num-
bers of invalided soldiers, improved cha-
racters. As to Britanicus, who, in his
heavy, dry, obtuse basting, has railed at
me, and contradicted all the great wri-
ters on law and political economy,
though I put my name, and wrote with
temper and good intention, he will of
course sing out,

Rule Britania, Britania rule the waves,
For Brions never shall be slaves.

(I presume he will leave out a t, because
he has left out an n,) which I shall ap-
plaud greatly with Shakespeare's owl,
echoing

Tu-whit, tu-whoo, a merry note; a degree of spirits, at which this hardworking writer will be surprised.

T. D. FOSBROOKE.

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine,

SIR,

I of some importance to all Europe,
HERE present you with a subject

and to the history of the world. I send
it without comparing its contents with
the properties of things relating to it. I
must acknowledge, that in my first at-
tempting the following investigation, I
had some apprehensions of failure, from
the consideration of the unsuccessful
labours of the learned of every age, on
the same subject. But when I reflected,
that, of the import of old names, scarcely
one in five hundred had been rightly
rendered; and that among the attempts
of the learned, the names which have
been explained in your Magazine had
been as much mistaken as to import,
as the names Celta and Cymbri: when,
in fine, I have abundantly shewn, that
the meaning of old names is no mys-
tery; that they were contrived in a
very early age of the world, and formed
with great art, whilst mankind used the
same terms for the same features of
Nature; and that at this day these terms,
or their roots, are to be found in the
Celtic language: I say, when I consi-
dered these things, I saw no more reason
for relinquishing my enquiries on the
words Celta and Cymbri, than I had during
my investigation of the word Caledoni,
who were the ancient Highlanders; but

of whom learned men had been as much mistaken, as they now are concerning the Celta and the Cimbri.

"The best author on the subject of the Celtes," says General Vallancey, "is Monsieur Brigande, who, in 1762, published a small pamphlet, addressed to the learned academies of Europe, under the title of Dissertation sur les Celtes Brigantes; printed at Breghente dans le Tirol."

The following letter is also on the Celtes, which I address to those who will carefully examine the subject.

It is granted by historians, that fathers, and heads of families, were the first sovereigns, and that the patriarchal was the most ancient form of government. Hence mankind must have originally migrated in families; and time and necessity only, from the great number of

these, formed nations. The first inha-
bitants coming in families, brought no
national name; nor were any denomi
nations first given to places, but such as
their natural situations implied. In
time, however, tribes became numerous,
and more general communication with
each other became necessary; and now
denominations of villages and districts
lations were given them.
were regulated, and more distinct appel-

In Britain there were few inland provinces, and the maritime districts took synonymous names, expressive of their situations on the sea, in the same manner as towns on streams, from the water which owed by them. But provinces in kingdoms took also names from their hills, from streams, and other features; and, as lands were to be portioned and distinguished by names, for knowing one part from another, so also would the different districts of kingdoms be distinguished, in which these portions were situated. Hence then were kingdoms very early divided into portions, and soon after into provinces. But kingdoms were not only divided thus, but continents must also have been thus divided into nations and kingdoms: and, as to the people of provinces would be given a provincial name, so also to the inhabitants of kingdoms would be given a national name, corresponding with their natural boundaries and situations.

These principles, Mr. Editor, cannot reasonably be controverted. The word Celtes has been supposed to be a name given in the earliest ages to the descendants of Gomer; and it hath always been understood that his progeny peopled

nearly

nearly all Europe. The word has been said to imply horsemen, warriors, men of the woods, men with long hair and with tails, but whether these tails were of long hair, or such as Lord Monboddo describes belonging to his men in one of the Nicobar islands, I dare not decide. They have been derived also from Celtus, a son of Hercules and Polyphemia, and from many other inapplicable etymons. From these, and others which I shall quote, you will, Mr. Editor, scarcely know the Celts; but I will endeavour to point out the import of their name satisfactorily to your readers.

In doing this, you must not expect me to begin with Gomer, nor to trace them from Noah to Wales; you will allow me to survey a small part of the globe only, to view its features and its provinces.

An antiquary or historian describes the remains of a people, a country, or place; but the import of the name by which this people, country, or place, is known, having rested in Cimmerian darkness from the earliest times, is always mistaken or omitted. I will therefore attempt to lay down a few more rules to dissipate this darkness. If, in doing this, I can arrest a mania with which Fancy has infected wise, learned, and really good men, of all ages, in tracing their descents, my labour will be fully compensated.

Settlements, districts, provinces, and Kingdoms, were in the earliest ages of the world, first named from their principal features. The Hill Border, the Head Border, or the Water Border, in description, often reach to a great extent withm of beyond this Hill, Head, or Water. The Dobuni of our own counfry were the Stream-Borderers, from Dob, a Stream, and En, or An, varied to Un, a term for Border Land. These were also called the Huiccii, from Ic, Uic, or Wick, Border Land; and some of these people lived far from the Stream which gave them name. The Canti inhabited lands far from their Head which gave them name. The Belgae, derived from Bel Border, and Ge Land, had inhabitants far from their Border; and their name was translated Ham, or Border, by the Saxons, who never dreamt of their being any more the descendants of the Belge of the continent, than were the Canti, the Regni, or other nations of this island. Land' on the coast, often gave name to a great extent of land in the interior. Thus the Head of Lands in Spain which runs into the ocean, will be

But

found to have given name to the whole of that kingdom. In like manner, the Headland of France gave denomination to a great part of that kingdom. Headlands and Hills were very often described by the same words; and hence the hills on the borders of kingdoms, may also appropriately give names to their Border Lands.

These principles being understood, I will now explain the name of a country referred to by all writers, ancient and mo dern. They say, that from Gomer came the Galate. I will not deny this probuble conjecture; but from the principles here laid down,. I am to shew that Galatia took its name from the features of the country only. It is easy to conceive that the increase of mankind must have produced nations, and national names, as above described: Galatia is such an one.

Monsieur Brigande says, "that it is the universal opinion of all authors who have written on the origin of nations, that the Celtes were the children of Gomer, the eldest son of Japhet. This nation, from which so many others have sprung, have preserved the name of their progenitor from the most early age after the deluge, down to the present days.": I will not follow this author, but refer to him: he acknowledges that it is easier to find an etymology for the name Celts, than to prove it to be a true one; but he renders it from the Hebrew word Ga letha, thrust out at a distance, pushed forwards. The Greek and Latin lan guages, he says, offer no resource for this etymology. Monsieur Perron, on the Celtes, mistaking the root of Cal or Cale, a head or hill, in finding the name Celta, supposes it to mean an harbour or port, which signifies, he says, the same with the Celta. He here indeed exactly hits the spelling, but mistakes the root from whence it came, and consequently the true meaning. He elsewhere however contradicts himself in this, as well as in a variety of other cases, and supposes "the word Celta, as well as Gaul, to imply powerful, valiant, or valorous." The Greeks, he says, also gave the name Galate to the Gauls. But the Celta, at least a part of them, this author states, were called Cimbrians,' and Cimmerians. The word Cimbri, he inapplicably derives from the Latin Cimber, and this from Kimber or Kim. per, which, in the Celtic, (he says) is a warrior. As for Cimmerian, it is what the ancient Grecians (he says) softened out of Cimbri, or Cimbrian ; and here he

is again mistaken. He then states that
a very ancient colony, no one ever knew
when, or how, I believe, "of the Celta,
gave name to the Cimbric Chersonesus ;'
but here no proof is adduced, except
that the Celtes had been accounted
Cimmerians. His whole treatise is built
on the unfounded supposition, that men
gave names to nations: his labour there-
fore to trace and fix Celtic colonies in
Europe and Asia, is great; but his proofs
of colonization are attended with so
many absurdities, and so many old words
are used without being analysed, and
without being given applicable imports,
that you can rely on no premises which
he assumes; and yet he says so many
things which are worthy of notice, that
be has been recommended by good au-
thors. "From the word Cal, a harbour,
or Calis, the Romans, he thinks, formed
Portus Iccius;" but he knew not the im-
port of Calis, nor Iccius. Of the first
of these, the ending in Is, means little, or
low; and Ic is often a diminutive in
names; hence Calis may imply the little
Port; and Portus Iccius, the same: but
Calis has a low projecting point of land;
and Cal, in this name, may mean Head,
and Is imply low, which would exactly
describe this territory, or head. What he
says of Portus-Cale, or Portugal, is more
reasonable than most of his derivations:
but of the import of Lusitania, he is to-
tally in the dark; as he is also of Lysbon,
or Lisbon. But to return to Galatia.-
This comes from Col, or Cal, an head,
(which is also written Gal) as in the fol
lowing examples: in Calcedon, in Ga-
licia, in Galata, a mountain of Phocis;
in Caledonia, in Galway, in Galloway,
in Colophon, in Calpe, in Calabria, in
Callipolis, now Gallipolis; and in an

so evidently meant by it in the names
of so many head-lands, and land's-ends,
throughout the globe; and its derivation
from Col or Cal, a head, is so direct,
certain, and plain, that I much wonder
some one had not before discovered and
But authors
proved its applicability.
have never looked to the world, and its
names, for the language of Nature; and
taking for granted what wanted proof,.
contented themselves with supposing,
mankind gave names to places, instead
of places having given them these very,
names. Let us now trace this name to
Iberia, Celt Iberia, Lusitania, Espana,
Spain, Portugal. Spain, authors say, was
early called Iberia, from a colony of
Iberians from Mount Caucasus; or
from the river Iberus: yet the ancients,
they say, considered Iberia only that
part from the Pyrennees to Calpe. Not-
withstanding, they assert, that the true;
Iberia was that part called Celt Iberia,
from a body of Celts settling in it,
bounded by the Iberus: and they derive
Iberia from the Hebrew Heber, or the
Chaldee, Syriac, or Phoenician, Ebra or
Ibra, which, in the singular, implies a
passage; and in the plural, bounds or
limits. It appears also, they state, that,
the Phoenicians called Spain Spanija, or
Sphanija, from Shapan or Span, a rabbit,
as it abounded with rabbits.

Of the derivations, "passage," or "bounds," and "limits," nothing can be said; because the great features of Nature do not refer to such denominations.

N

For the Monthly Magazine.

A. B

THE LETTERS OF A WANDERER.
LETTER V.

hundred other names of places begin my last I told you it was our inten

ning with these syllables, situated on the globe, at heads or ends of lands. At, in Galatia, is the same as in Galata, an headland and suburb of Constantinople; and, as in a great variety of other places, it is derived from Ad, water. Ia, is territory; and Galatia, whose head lies on the Euxine sea, will imply the Water Head, or Border Territory. The ety. mons "thrust out at a distance," and "pushed forward," given by Monsieur B. are as near the truth perhaps as any terins taken from the common words of language, which had no direct reference to the features of nature, could have been produced; but the word head, or end, here, and more particularly in the instances which follow, are

to

tion to proceed across the mountains Haws-water; and I am now seated to give you some account of our excursion over one of the wildest-tracks in Nature; where however, there was still much to interest us from its novelty, and being almost wholly different from any thing we had seen before, afforded us consideraWhen we quitted Kenble amusement. dal, the morning was hazy, and heavy vapours occasionally floating over the distant mountains, obscured them from sight, and rendered us apprehensive we should have an uncomfortable day. As it advanced towards noon, the sun. emerged from behind its sable shroud, and its vivifying beams soon cleared the air, and left us nothing more to wish for on the score of weather. At the distance of

four