to
Somerset and Devon; _Pirus latifolia_ to Somerset and Denbigh.[2]

[1] For the birds of Somerset, see a paper by the Rev. Murray A. Mathew,
M.A., F.L.S., in the "Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological
and Natural History Society," vol. xxxix., from which we have
borrowed.

[2] For fuller information, see "The Flora of Somerset," by the Rev.
R.P. Murray, M.A., F.L.S., from which the above facts are taken.

VI. HISTORY

Somerset gets its name from a Saxon tribe, but its earliest
inhabitants, like those of the southern half of bur island generally,
were Britons or Celts, and the Saxon invasion was preceded by the
Roman. Reminders that the county was once occupied by a Welsh--speaking
race occur in the constituents of many place-names, such as _Pen_
Selwood, _Maes_ Knoll, and the numerous _combes_ (cp. Welsh _cwm_). The
name of the British king, Arthur, is associated with Cadbury (near
Sparkford); and the neighbouring villages of Queen Camel and West Camel
recall the legendary Camelot. The earliest church at Glastonbury
(_Avalon_) is believed to have been of British origin, and it is
Arthur's reputed burial-place. In the dedication of the churches at
Porlock (Dubricius or Dyfrig) and Watchet (Decuman or Tegfan) is
preserved the memory of certain British saints, though these probably
came on an evangelistic mission from the other side of the Bristol
Channel. But of the primitive population the most trustworthy memorials
are the numerous earthworks and other material remains which survive in
various parts of the county, and these will be more appropriately
noticed under another heading (see pp. 20-21).

Of the Roman occupation the traces are more varied. Bath and Ilchester
are Roman towns, and from and through them Roman roads run across the
county. In constructing these, the Romans probably used in many
instances existing British trackways. The principal was the Fosse Way
(as it is called), entering the county near Chard from Seaton, and
leaving it at Bath for Lincoln. Within Somerset it is still a very
important artery of traffic. From near Chard a road is thought to have
diverged from it to the N.W., towards the Quantocks, passing by Castle
Neroche. The Fosse Way was, and is, cut at Ilchester by a road coming
from Dorchester and continuing to Glastonbury, and near Masbury, on the
Mendips, by a second, connecting Old Sarum with Axium (Uphill, near
Brean Down). At Bath it was joined by two