Copper derives its name from the island of Cyprus, where it was extensively mined and smelted by the Greeks; but its first discovery is of much more ancient date, and loses itself in the darkness of the prehistoric ages. Weapons and tools of bronze—its alloy with tin—have been found both in the tumuli of extinct nations and in the lacustrine dwellings of the Swiss lakes, erected by an unknown people in unknown times. Among the Egyptians, the Greeks, and Etrurians, copper was in immemorial use, and the ancient Celtic nations fought their battles with copper or brazen swords, and felled the trees for the construction of their rude hovels with axes of the same metal. As in many parts of the world native copper is found scattered over the surface of the earth in large lumps or masses, it naturally attracted the attention of barbarous tribes much sooner than iron, which very rarely occurs in the native state; and some fortunate chance or lucky experiment having shown that, when rendered malleable by heat, it could easily be hammered into any convenient shape, it soon became, and has ever since remained, one of the most valuable metals. Forming important compounds with tin (bronze) and zinc (brass), remarkably incorrodible as compared with iron, and nearly as tenacious in structure, but not so hard, it is recommended by its qualities for a variety of uses, and its consumption everywhere increases with the progress of civilization and the extension of commerce. Fortunately copper is of such common occurrence that a mere enumeration of the localities where it is found would swell into a long and tedious list; it is enough to state that rich copper mines exist both in the Old World and the New, and promise an inexhaustible supply to the most distant generations. In Europe England is the chief copper-producing country. Rich mines have been discovered and worked in Anglesey, Shropshire, Cheshire, and Staffordshire, in the counties of Wicklow, Cork, and Waterford; but by far the largest quantity is supplied by Cornwall and Devon.