- facturing towns; the first, for woollens and
cottons; the others, for cutlery and hardware.
30. Pewter plates and dishes were made in large quantities, for they were now used in the most respectable families instead of wood; hats were also made in England in this reign; and a clock, the first ever manufactured in this country.
31. But nothing was more useful than the improvements made in gardening, for which we are indebted to the Flemings and Dutch, who were the best gardeners in Europe, and who brought here many kinds of vegetables for the table, such as cabbages, lettuces, &c., and many fruits that had not been cultivated in England since the time of the Romans, particularly cherries and currants.
32. Potatoes were not known until the reign of queen Elizabeth, when Sir Walter Raleigh brought some from America, and planted them, first in Ireland, little thinking, perhaps, that this root would, at a future time, be almost the only food of the Irish people.
33. Henry the Eighth had three more wives, Anne of Cleves, whom he divorced; Catherine Howard, whom he had beheaded, like poor Anna Boleyn; and Catherine Parr, who outlived him.
34. He reigned thirty-eight years, and was
