an utensil made of twigs interwoven together, in order to hold fruit, earth, &c. As a measure, it denotes an uncertain quantity; as, a basket of medlars is two bushels, of asafoetida from 20 to 50 pound weight. The ancient Britons were noted for their ingenuity in making baskets, which they exported in large quantities. These baskets were of very elegant workmanship, and bore a high price; and are mentioned by Juvenal among the extravagant expensive furniture of the Roman tables in his time.

Add et bascaudae et mille escaria.

Add baskets, and a thousand other dishes.

That these baskets were manufactured in Britain, we learn from the following epigram of Martial:

Barbara de pittis vni bascauda Britannis, Sed me jam navult dicere Roma suam.

A basket I, by painted Britons wrought, And now to Rome's imperial city brought.

BASKETS OF EARTH, in the military art, called by the French corbeilles, are small baskets used in sieges, on the parapet of a trench, being filled with earth. They are about a foot and a half high, about a foot and a half in diameter at the top, and 8 or 10 inches at bottom; so that, being set together, there is a sort of embrasures left at their bottoms, through which the soldiers fire, without exposing themselves.

Vol. III. Part I.