Page:History of Manchester (1771), Volume 1, by John Whitaker.djvu/247

frt* "fflfi Hl&t(JR Y- fettffc*. cies. And the hone which was difcovered in Yorkflure was t blue-grey ftone three inches in length, nearly one in breadth, and an eighth of an inch in thicknefs* 7 . Thus the Gallic fyftem of husbandry, which muft have beem originally purfued by the Gallic Belgac of the fouthern (bores* which had been fucceffively transmitted from them to all the fucceffively civilized tribes of the natives, and which had there- fore before the year 79 extended into Staffordfhire Derbyftrire and Yorkfhife, was now brought from thole counties into Law- cafhire, A^id the forts of grain which were alow introduced with it muft have been only fuch as the farmers of Gaul and the fouthern and midland nations of Britain had previoufly known. Barley, long familiar to all the various tribes of the Celtae, and previoufly imported for the ufe of the Sifhlntian breweries, muft have been now raifed as the breweries* were continued among us. And the wheat was not of the Italian fort, white and heavy, but of the Gallic, red and light. This was originally the peculiar produce of Gaul, but muft have beep long accuftoaied to the foil of Britain, and ftill continues to be the only wheat of Lancafhire ; being then called by the natives of both Breac Brae or red -coloured * The flour of this wheat was firft refined by the horfe-hair Sieves which the Gauls originally invented and our Man- cunians continued to ufe within thefe fifty years, and was then kneaded into bread * 9 . That lighteft and propereft aliment for the human body had never hitherto been tafted in ail probabi- lity by the Britons of Lancafhire, and was now firft introduced into the prefent parifli of Manchester* And the Bfac was re-* markable for the neatnefs of its grain, and for yielding near a fourth more of flour from any common quantity than aoy other fpecies of wheat ,0 - The loaves of the Romans were very various., molded into ♦different forms, and compofed of different ingredients. Alxd about the time of Agricola's entrance into Lancashire a new fort of loaf had been introduced at Rome, which was formed only of water and -flour* and was ntiich efhrewurd for its light- nefs.