The firste [laste] volume of the chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande conteyning the description and chronicles of England, from the first inhabiting vnto the conquest : the description and chronicles of Scotland, from the first original of the Scottes nation till the yeare of our Lorde 1571 : the description and chronicles of Yrelande, likewise from the first originall of that nation untill the yeare 1571 / faithfully gathered and set forth by Raphaell Holinshed.

Of the nature of the Claike geese, and sundry maners of their procreation, and of the Ile of Thule. Chap. 11.

NOw it is come to hande that I entreate [ 50] of those Geese, which are ingendred by the sea, whose procreatiō hath hitherto bene thought to haue bene made vpon trees. But the opinion is false, and yet sith theyr generation is strange in deede, I haue not a litle trauayled, and with no small diligence indeuoured to search out the truth hereof, wherby I learne that their ingen∣drure is rather to be referred to the sea, than any¦thing els, if my coniecture be▪ oughtes: for al∣though that they are in sundry wise producted, yet I finde the same to be performed continu∣ally in the sea, and not elswhere, as shal appeare hereafter. All trees cast into the Element in processe of tyme become worme eaten, & in the holes thereof are the sayde wormes to be founde though very little and small (in comparison to that they be afterwarde) to be perceyued at the first. In the beginnyng, these wormes do shew their heades and feete, & last of all their plumes and winges. Finally when they are come to the iust measure and quantitie of Geese, they flye in the ayre as other foules do. This was notably proued in the yeare of grace 1490. in sight of many people, beside the Castell of Petsleg•…•…, whether the body of a greate tree was brought by working of the sea. This tree beyng taken, it was caried to the Lord of the soyle, who sone after caused it to be flitte in sunder with a sawe which being done, it is incredible to see, what a multitude of wormes came out of these holes. Of these also some appeared as if they had bene but newe shapen, diuerse had head, foote and winges, but no fethers, the rest were formed in∣to perfite foules. At the last when the people had gazed thereon by the space of an whole day, they caried it to S. Andrewes Churche beside •…•…ire, where the saide blocke remayneth still to be seene. Within two yeares after there hapned such another tree to come into the fyrth of Tay beside Dundee, worme eaten and full of young ge•…•…se after the same maner: the thirde was seene in the •…•…auen of Leith beside Edenborow: also within a fewe yeares, in like sorte a ship named the Cristopher, after she had lien three yeares at 〈◊〉〈◊〉 in one of these yles was brought to Leith where bycause hir timber was found to be rot∣ten shee was taken in sunder, and in hir keel•…•… were found infinite holes as if they had bene ea∣ten with wormes or bored with a wimble, and eche one of them filled with such creatures as I haue sayde before. Here if any man will al∣ledge that the Christopher was buylded of such timber onely as grew in these Iles, and that all rootes & trees there growing, are of such nature as in their corruptiō do turne into these foules, I will disproue his assertion by one notable ex∣ample shewed before mine eyes. Master Alex∣ander Galloway parson of Kinkell, was with vs in these Iles, and giuing his minde with at∣tentiue diligence to searche out a full resolution with vs of these obscure and hidden matters, it hapned on a tyme that he tooke vp a braunche of Alga, called in Scottishe, Seatangle, whiche hanged ful of muskle shelles from the roote euen to the very to•…•…. Being also desirous to see what was in them, he grewe to be more astonished

than before: for when he had opened one or two of them, he saw no fish but a foule perfitely sha∣ped, fully answering to the capacitie of the shell.

Finally, knowing that I was very inquisi∣tiue of these and the like rare nouelties, he came hastily with the sayde hearbe and shewed it vn∣to me, who founde no lesse by experience ••••an I before reported. By these and many other rea∣sons and examples I cannot beleeue that these Claikes or Barnacles as I call them) are pro∣ducted [ 10] eyther by the qualities of the trees or the rootes thereof, but only by the nature of the sea, whiche is the cause and product•••• of so many wonderfull creatures. Furthermore, bycause the rude and ignoraunt people saw oftentimes the fruytes that fell from trees (which stoode ne∣uer in the sea, conuerted within shorte time into geese, they beleeued that these geese grewe vpon trees, hangyng by their nebbes as apples and other fruyte do by their stalkes, but their opi∣nion [ 20] is vtterly to be reiected. For so soone as these apples or fruyte fall from the tree into the Sea, they grow first to be worme eaten, and in processe of time to be conuerted into geese.

Thus haue I spoken sufficiently of the Iles of the Hebrides adiacent vnto the realme of Scotland, and therewith all would shut vp my discourse of the same, were it not that I haue somwhat to say also of Thule, not vnknowen vnto the Romaynes, as may appeare by Taci∣tus, [ 30] who telleth how the Romaine nauy by the cōmaundement of Agricola, was sent to dewe the coastes of the whole Iland of Brytaine, and in their returne reported how they had seene the Thule, with other Ilandes lying aboute the same. Ptholomy writeth that the Ile of Thule is one of the Shetland Iles, whiche lie neare vnto Norway, and beyond the Orchades, but this cannot be proued so by late experience: for Thule is many miles distant from Shetland. [ 40] Some say that Thule is the same whiche wee call Island: other write that it is the last Ile of the Ocean sea, and so is Island, which lieth in the colde frosty sea, beyond the Artike circle to∣ward the North pole. The people of Islande bycause no corne groweth among them, lyue onely by fishe, whiche they drie and powder so small as meale doth come backe from the mill, afterward they mixe it with water, and worke it vp for bread. [ 50]