Passing through the little village of Chyandour, we ascend by a shady road through that of Gulval, to Kenegie,[66] the seat of the family of John Arundel Harris Arundel, Esq. This spot commands a very interesting view of the Mount's Bay, the beauty of which is greatly heightened by the diversified and picturesque foreground. On a neighbouring hill is Rosmorran, the retired cottage ornÉe of George John, Esq. of Penzance; we scarcely know a situation where the skill of the landscape gardener could be exerted with greater advantage or effect.

Pursuing the road, and passing the gate of Kenegie, we ascend the great granite range which extends from Dartmoor to the Land's End, and which appears, in this part of the country, to be broken into a number of detached groups. Upon the summit of one of these hills stands a castellated building which, although of modern construction, occupies the site of an ancient hill castle, called "Castle an Dinas;" it was erected by John Rogers, Esq., as a picturesque object from his occasional residence at Treassowe.

On descending the northern side of the granite ridge, a curious atmospheric phenomenon is frequently observable,—the clear and cloudless sky becoming suddenly dense and hazy; the change is evidently occasioned by the condensation of the vapours contained in the warm and rarefied air of the Mount's Bay, by the colder one which blows from the Bristol channel. Amidst wild and rugged hills the road winds to Saint Ives, in the course of which, the geologist will have many opportunities of furnishing his portfolio with sketches, in illustration of the changes which time and weather produce on Granite; huge blocks of this stone lie scattered on all sides, while stupendous masses are seen on the hills above in different stages of decomposition, and which from their threatening attitude, would appear as if in preparation to join their former companions in the plains below.

Saint Ives. This populous sea port and borough stands on the shores of the Bristol Channel, in a very fine bay bounded by bold rocks of Greenstone and Slate. The latter of these rocks is in many places undergoing rapid decomposition, in consequence of which large masses of the Hornblende rock have fallen in various directions, and given a singular character of picturesque rudeness to the scene: this is remarkably striking in the group of rocks which constitute Godrevy Island.

Saint Ives is a populous sea port, of very considerable antiquity, deriving its name from that of Iia, a religious woman, who came hither from Ireland in about the year 460. The Corporation, which obtained its powers from a charter granted by Charles the First, consists of a mayor, recorder, town-clerk, twelve capital burgesses, and twenty-four inferior burgesses. The Borough returns two members to Parliament, a privilege which was conferred in the fifth year of Queen Mary; and the right of election was vested in all the householders in the parish paying scot and lot. In the year 1816, the magistrates, and trustees of the Pier and Port of Saint Ives resolved to extend the former, and to construct a breakwater, in order to shelter it. The undertaking has been commenced, but it is at present far from being completed.

Saint Ives is the birth place of the Reverend Jonathan Toup, Rector of Saint Martin's near Looe, the learned annotator of Suidas, and editor of Longinus. His father was formerly the lecturer of this town.

On no part of the Cornish coast is the Pilchard fishery carried on with greater activity or success; and at the time of large draughts, it is usual for all the inhabitants to contribute their assistance; shops and dwelling-houses are frequently deserted on such occasions, and even the church has been abandoned, when large shoals have made their appearance on the Sabbath! By a certain signal given by a person stationed on the heights, the approach of a shoal is generally announced to the town; the effect is most singular. Trumpets are immediately heard in different parts, and the inhabitants rushing from their houses, and quitting their ordinary occupations, are to be seen running in all directions, and vociferating the word "Hever—Hever—Hever."—What the term signifies, or whence it was derived, no one can conjecture, but its sound is no less animating to the ears of a Saint Ives-man, than is the cry of "To Arms," to the Son of Mars; and the tumult which it excites is more like that of a besieged city, than the peaceable and joyful bustle of an industrious fishing town.

As we have not hitherto described the manner in which the Pilchard Fishery is conducted, perhaps the present will be an appropriate opportunity.

The Pilchard, in size and form, very much resembles the common Herring,[67] and is actually confounded with it by LinnÆus, under the name of "Clupoea Harengus;" upon close inspection, however, an essential difference may be readily discovered. The Pilchard is less compressed, as well as smaller; there is besides a very simple, and common test of distinction, depending upon the dorsal fin of the Pilchard being placed exactly in the centre of gravity, if therefore it be taken up by this fin, it will preserve an equilibrium; while the body of the Herring, when so tried, will dip towards the head. Mr. Pennant likewise observes that the scales of the latter easily drop off, whereas those of the Pilchard adhere very closely.

It has been commonly stated that these fish migrate from the North sea in immense shoals, during the summer months, and reach the Cornish coast about the middle of July, where they remain until the latter end of September, when they again depart to the arctic regions. This statement, however, cannot be correct, as the fish are never seen off the coasts of Scotland, the northern shores of Ireland, the Isle of Man, nor, in fact, off any coast north of Cornwall. It would therefore seem more probable, that they come from some part of the Western ocean, and return thither at the end of the season. Within the last ten years a considerable alteration in their usual course has taken place, much to the disappointment of the Cornish Fishermen; they have kept at a greater distance from the shores; whether this circumstance has arisen from their food being farther than usual out at sea, or from any alteration in the currents, it is impossible to ascertain. In the present year, however, they seem to have returned to Saint Ives; an immense quantity, calculated at three thousand hogsheads, having been taken at one "catch," by two Seines in this bay. The other parts of the coast have been visited only by very small shoals.

The preparations for this fishery are generally commenced about the end of July,[68] as the period at which the Pilchards are expected to pay their annual visit. As they usually make their appearance here in the evening, the boats engaged in the adventure seldom go to sea before three or four o'clock in the afternoon, and as rarely remain longer than ten. On some occasions, however, they go out again very early in the morning, and have sometimes succeeded in taking fish at sun rise. The fishermen, arranged in boats which are scattered at a little distance from each other, are directed to the shoals by persons who are stationed on the cliffs, or who sometimes follow in boats. These persons who are called "Huers," probably from the hue and cry which they raise, discover them by the peculiar red tint[69] which the water assumes, and from other indications with which they are well acquainted.[70] The spot where the nets should be cast, or "shot" having been determined from the signals of the "Huer," the boat containing the great net or "Stop Seine" as it is called, and which is frequently as much as 300 fathoms in length, and 10 in depth, is gradually cast from the boat into the sea by two men, as the vessel is gently rowed round the shoal by others of the crew; a service which is performed with such dexterity that in less than four minutes the whole of this enormous net is shot, and the fish enclosed. Upon this occasion it is always the first care of the Seiner to secure that part to which the fish were swimming; and then so to carry the net around them, that they shall be hemmed in on every side. The net immediately spreads itself, the corks on one edge rendering it buoyant, and the leaden weights on the other causing it to sink to the bottom; for if the depth of the water should exceed that of the Seine, it is evident that there would be little probability of securing any fish, however large the shoal might be. As the circle in which the Seine is shot, is generally larger than the net can compass, its two extremities are at a distance from each other when the whole is in the water. Ropes are therefore carried out from each of these ends, by which they are warped together by the men on board the two large boats, so as to bring them into contact. When this is effected, the two extremities, if the shoal be large, are lifted from the bottom, and expeditiously tacked together. During this last operation every method is adopted to agitate the water, and drive back the body of fish from this only aperture through which they can escape. This having been accomplished, the fish remain within the enclosure formed by the encircling net, which extends from the surface to the bottom of the sea. It only now remains to secure the Seine in its position, for which purpose grapnels, or small anchors, are carried out at some distance on every side, the ropes from which are fastened to the rope at the upper end of the net; these grapnels will of course retain the Seine in its circular position, and preserve it against the influence of the tides, and the changes of the weather. Where, however, the shore is sandy and shelving, as in Saint Ives' Bay, the Seine is at once drawn into shallow water by a number of men, who are called "Blowsers."

The quantity of fish which is thus secured will depend of course on many contingent circumstances, such for instance, as the strength of the tides, the nature of the coast, and the dexterity of the fishermen, &c. A Seine has sometimes enclosed as many as fifteen hundred, or two thousand hogsheads. The next operation is to remove the fish from the Seine, and to convey them in boats to the shore. This is performed by another smaller net, termed a "Tuck net," and the process is called "Tucking," and is a sight which the stranger should not, on any account, neglect to witness. This busy scene always takes place at low water, and when it happens on one of those calm evenings which so frequently occur in the summer season, it is impossible to imagine a more exquisite scene. The moon shedding her lustre on the sea displays its surface covered with vessels, sailing or rowing in all directions to the Seine, whilst her beams by striking upon the dripping fish as they are poured, by baskets, from the tuck net into boats,[71] produce an appearance which resembles a stream of liquid silver.

There is another mode of catching Pilchards of "Driving Nets,"[72] which are drawn after their respective boats, fastened only at one end; in the meshes of which the fish are arrested as they attempt to pass. This species of fishery is always carried on at a considerable distance from the shore, lest, by approaching too near the land they should disperse the shoals which the Seiner is waiting to enclose. The quantity thus taken is very small; but the fish are remarkably fine, and the expense of the adventure is comparatively trifling.

The fish, having been brought to the fish cellars, undergo the process of being "cured;" which is performed by laying them up in broad piles, "in bulk," as it is called, and salting them as they are piled up, with bay salt. In this situation they generally remain for forty days, although the time allowed for their lying in bulk is often regulated by the interests of the merchant, who, it may be supposed, is ever ready to avail himself of any favourable turn in the foreign markets. The period directed by Government is that of thirty-three days. During this process a great quantity of oil, blood, and dirty pickle, drains from the fish; and which, from the inclination of the floor, immediately find their way into a receptacle placed for their reception.[73] The Pilchards, when taken from the bulk, are carried to large troughs, in which they are washed, and completely cleansed from the salt, filth, and coagulated oil which they had acquired.[74] They are then packed into hogsheads, and pressed by a strong lever, for the purpose of squeezing out the oil, which issues through a hole at the bottom of the cask; the pressing continues for a week, and formerly ten gallons of oil were procured from every hogshead, but at this time, not more than four can be obtained; such a change in the fatness of the fish is not easily to be explained. The hogsheads are now headed up, and exported to the different ports of the Mediterranean, principally to the Italian ports; and upon every hogshead so exported, Government allows a bounty of 8s 6d. Upwards of 30,000 hogsheads are annually consumed in England; and above 100,000 have been exported in one year. The quantity of salt necessary to cure a hogshead of fish is estimated at about 300 lbs. and the expense of the whole for that quantity, including the cask, salt, labour, &c. is from £1:3s to £1:6s; and it has been calculated that the bounty, together with the value of the oil (from £20 to £28 per ton), will in general reimburse the whole expense.

This fishery is in every respect of the highest importance to the county of Cornwall, affording employment to at least twelve thousand persons,[75] whilst the capital engaged cannot be fairly estimated at less than three hundred and fifty, or four hundred thousand pounds.

The broken and refuse fish are sold at about 10d per bushel, for manure, and are used throughout the county with excellent effects, especially for raising all green crops; they are usually mixed with sand, or soil, and sometimes with sea weed, to prevent them from raising too luxuriant a crop, arising from a too rapid decomposition; thus employed their effects are very permanent, and there is a popular belief that a single pilchard will fertilize a foot square of land for several years; and certain it is, that after the apparent exhaustion of this manure, its powers may be again excited by ploughing in a small proportion of quick lime, which will produce a still further decomposition of the animal matter, and develope a fresh succession of those elements which are essential to the growth of vegetable substances.

The Herring fishery is also carried on to a great extent at Saint Ives; this fish appears after the pilchard has quitted the shores, and is much smaller than that which is caught on the northern coasts of Britain; which corroborates the general opinion, that the farther it migrates to the south, the more it decreases in size. It is also worthy of remark that, notwithstanding the great abundance of this fish in the Bristol Channel, it very seldom passes the Land's End, and is consequently rarely caught in the Mount's Bay, or on the southern shores of Cornwall.

But let us return from this digression, and proceed with our excursion.—

Quitting Saint Ives by the eastern road, we are conducted along an elevated cliff, which affords a complete command of every object in the bay; in our route we pass Tregenna Castle, the seat of Samuel Stephens, Esq. and on the summit of a lofty hill, about a mile from this mansion, stands a pyramid, which immediately attracts the notice of the traveller, as well on account of the singular wildness of its situation, as the complete absence of every shrub, or rural ornament, with which such objects are usually associated. It was erected by the late eccentric John Knill, Esq., a bencher of Gray's Inn, and some time collector of the Port of Saint Ives, it having been intended as a Mausoleum for the reception of his remains, although he afterwards revoked this intention, and ordered his body to be given to an anatomist in London, for dissection. On one side of this pyramid is inscribed, "Johannes Knill," on another, "Resurgam," and on a third, "I know that my Redeemer liveth." He directed in his will, that at the end of every five years, a Matron and ten girls, dressed in white, should walk in procession, with music, from the market house at Saint Ives, to this pyramid, around which they should dance, singing the hundredth Psalm!

For the purpose of keeping up this custom, he bequeathed some freehold lands, which are vested in the officiating minister, the mayor, and the collector of the port of Saint Ives, who are allowed Ten Pounds for a dinner. The first celebration of these Quinquennial rites excited, as may easily be supposed, very considerable interest throughout the western parts of the county.

The report which was drawn up at the time by an eye witness of these festivities, exhibits such an admirable specimen of the mock Heroic, that we feel assured that the tourist will thank us for having given insertion to it in the Appendix.

Pursuing the road along the cliff we pass Lelant church, and arrive at the river Hayle, which takes its rise near Crowan, and falls into Saint Ives Bay; although it arrives at the level of the sea three miles before it reaches the northern coast, and winds its way through an area of sand, nearly half a mile wide, and more than two miles long; this sand, at high water, is generally submerged, so that the traveller who wishes to cross is obliged to take a circuitous route over the bridge at Saint Erth; but upon the ebbing of the tide, it soon becomes fordable, and may be passed over even by foot passengers. It is a curious circumstance that at twelve o'clock at noon, and at midnight, it is always fordable; this apparent paradox is solved by knowing, that at Spring tides it is always low water at these hours, and that the Neap tides never rise sufficiently high to impede the passage.

The Port of Hayle is situated on the eastern side of the river, where a great trade is carried on with Wales for timber, coals,[77] iron, and limestone; and with Bristol, for earthen-ware, groceries, &c. It is also one of the principal places of export for the copper ore of the western mines. In the former edition of this work we described the processes by which the smelting and refining of Copper were conducted at this place, but as it was acknowledged to be much cheaper to carry the ore to the coal, than to bring the coal to the ore, the proprieters found themselves compelled to abandon the speculation. The buildings in the neighbourhood, however, still continue as memorials of the former existence of such works, having been constructed with square masses of the scoria,[78] which had been cast into moulds for such purposes, as it issued from the furnace. In the museum of the Geological Society at Penzance the stranger may see an interesting model of this Copper House, and of the furnaces employed in the reduction of the ore.

There are now at Hayle two very extensive Iron Founderies, in which are cast the largest engines which have been hitherto erected on mines. They are wrought partly by water, and partly by Steam Engines. Near the Copper House the traveller will not fail to notice the fine back-water dam, which was constructed about thirty years since, for the scouring out of the harbour. The effect has been a considerable reduction of the sand which forms its bottom, so that ships of much greater burden may now enter it. The plan and execution of this work, which was undertaken at the expense of the then existing Hayle Copper Company, reflect great credit on the late John Edwards, Esq., who first conceived its practicability and advantage, and under whose direction it was completed. A phenomenon occurred at these works some years ago which afforded a curious illustration of the secret and destroying agency of Galvanic electricity. The flood gates were found to undergo a very rapid decay, which was perfectly inexplicable, until the engineer ascertained that it depended entirely upon the contact of iron and copper bolts and braces, which had been introduced into the different parts of the frame work.

The country around Hayle is entirely desolated with sand, consisting of minutely comminuted marine shells, and which, with some few interruptions extends all along the coast, from Saint Ives to near Padstow, and in many places is drifted into hills of sixty feet in elevation. There can be but little doubt that this sand was originally brought from the sea side by hurricanes, but not even a popular tradition remains of the time or manner of this extensive devastation, which has reached, with some distinct intervals, nearly forty miles in length. Some allusion to this event has been supposed to have been discovered amongst the ancient records of the Arundel family, fixing the period about the twelfth century; but Mr. Boase observes, that the fact of the churches still remaining more or less ingulphed, the age of which does not much exceed three centuries, decisively refutes such a conjecture. On the other hand, it would appear that in the liber valorum of Henry the Eighth, the living of Gwythian was estimated far above its proportion to adjoining parishes. By the shifting of the sand by high winds, the tops of houses, and the ruins of ancient buildings, may be occasionally seen at this very day; and in some places a great number of human bones have been discovered, derived from the cemetries which have been formerly inundated.

The farther progress of the sand flood is at length arrested by extensive plantations of the Arundo Arenaria, or common sea rush.[79]

The most important geological circumstance connected with the history of this sand is, that on several parts of the coast, it is passing into the state of a solid compact rock! The fact was first investigated by Dr. Paris, who has published a memoir upon the subject in the first volume of the Transactions of the Geological Society of Cornwall; and as every scientific traveller must be desirous of exploring so interesting a phenomenon we have extracted, from the paper above mentioned, such notices as may be useful in assisting his researches.

"The Sandstone which occurs on the northern coast of Cornwall undoubtedly affords one of the most splendid and instructive instances of a Recent Formation upon record. We actually detect Nature at work in changing calcareous sand into stone; and she does not refuse admittance into her manufactory, nor does she conceal with her accustomed reserve the details of the operations in which she is engaged. It does not however appear that any geologist has fully availed himself of so rare an indulgence;—to drop the allegory, no complete or satisfactory explanation has been hitherto afforded of this most interesting formation, nor of the phenomena which attend it. At the period that Dr. Borlase wrote his History of Cornwall, the science of Chemistry had scarcely dawned; we cannot therefore feel surprised at his having attributed 'the concretion of shelly sand to the agglutinating quality of sea water'."

"The sand first appears in a slight, but encreasing state of aggregation on several parts of the shore in the Bay of Saint Ives; but on approaching the Gwythian river it becomes more extensively indurated. On the shore opposite to Godrevy Island, an immense mass occurs of more than a hundred feet in depth, containing entire shells and fragments of clay-slate; and it is singular that the whole mass should assume a very striking appearance of stratification. In some places, it appears that attempts have been made to separate it, probably for the purpose of building, for several old houses in Gwythian are entirely built with it. The rocks in the vicinity of this recent formation in the Bay of Saint Ives are Greenstone and Clay-slate, which appear to alternate. But it is around the promontory of New Kaye, in Fistrel Bay, in the parish of Saint Columb Minor, that the geologist will be most struck with this formation, for here there is scarcely any other rock in sight. The cliffs, which are high and extend for several miles, are wholly composed of it, and are occasionally intersected by veins and dykes of Breccia. In the cavities hang calcareous stalactites of rude appearance. The beach is covered with disjointed fragments, which have been detached from the cliff above, many of which weigh at least from two to three tons. The sandstone is also to be here seen in different stages of induration; from a state in which it is too friable to be detached from the rock upon which it reposes without crumbling, to a hardness so considerable as to require a very violent blow from a hammer to break it;[80] indeed holes are actually bored in some parts for the purpose of admitting cables with which vessels are moored. Buildings are here commonly constructed of it, and the church of Crantock is entirely built with it. By the inhabitants the stone is employed for various articles of domestic and rural oeconomy."

"The Geologist, who has previously examined the celebrated specimen from Guadaloupe, enclosing a human skeleton, and which is now in the British Museum, will be forcibly struck with the great similitude which this stone bears to it; and suspecting that masses might be found containing human bones imbedded, if a diligent search were made in the vicinity of those cemetries which have been overwhelmed, I made an excursion with my friend Sir Christopher Hawkins, for that purpose; but time and patience failed us, and the discovery is reserved for some more persevering and fortunate member of the society."

"Such then is the nature and situation of this most interesting formation. In the next place, we have to enquire into the causes which have operated in thus consolidating the sand, and into the peculiar circumstances under which the operation has been conducted."

"It will appear that there are at least three distinct modes by which the lapidification of calcareous sand may be effected, and that the present formation is capable of affording characteristic examples of each."

"The three species of cementing matter to which I allude, are all deposited from water in which they either exist chemically dissolved, or mechanically suspended. The water deriving them from the substances through which it percolates; thus is the first species of cement obtained—

1. By the percolation of water, through a stratum of calcareous sand, by which it becomes impregnated with carbonate of lime.

2. By the percolation of water through strata containing decomposing Sulphurets; by which it becomes impregnated with Sulphuric salts.

3. By the percolation of water through decomposing Clay-slate, or any other ferruginous strata; by which it becomes impregnated with Iron, Alumina, and other mineral matter.

In the first case, the very small proportion of carbonate of lime which is held in solution will necessarily render it a powerful cement, since the density and compactness of a precipitate will generally vary, inversely as the rapidity with which it is deposited. This fact is familiarly illustrated by the obstinate adhesion of calcareous incrustations to the interior surfaces of water decanters. In the second case, wherein a sulphuric salt would appear to act the part of a cement, it may be observed, that the sulphatization of pyrites in the presence of calcareous matter is a very general source of gypsum. The granular gypsum from the Falls of Niagara, which is described by Dr. Kidd as being "as white as snow," owes its origin to a natural process of this decomposition; for I am informed by Dr. Maclure of Philadelphia, who has visited the spot, that it is formed in consequence of the action of water upon decomposing slate, which contains numerous veins of carbonate of lime and sulphate of iron. I have also in my possession a series of incrustations which were taken out of steam boilers in Cornwall, one of which presents an admirable instance of the formation of sulphate of lime, its surface being beautifully studded with its crystals; the water which supplied the boiler, and by the evaporation of which this substance was deposited, was derived from a mine in clay-slate intersected with veins of Pyrites and carbonate of lime."

"With regard to the third species of cementing matter, viz. Oxide of Iron, it is scarcely necessary to state, that in the induration of mineral bodies Iron has been long known to act a very important part; the most superficial observer must have noticed the concretions which so frequently appear on the beach around a rusty nail, or any fragment of iron, while the mineralogist must be acquainted with the proofs which Mr. Kirwan has collected in support of the fact. Nor is the part which it performs in the disintegration of mineral bodies less obvious; by its agency we have seen a loose sand become a hard rock, but if we extend our inquiry we shall find that Iron by attracting a farther proportion of oxygen from air or moisture, soon crumbles into dust, and thus proves the immediate cause of the decomposition of that very rock, of which it formerly constituted the indurating ingredient. In this, as in every other operation, Nature preserves her uniformity, producing the most diversified and opposite effects by the modified application of the same principles."

For this long digression we feel conscious that some apology is necessary; the extreme interest as well as novelty of the phenomenon will at once suggest a sufficient excuse to the geologist; and to other observers it may at least be pleaded in extenuation, that they have lost nothing by the delay, for it has been in a district which offers but few objects of amusement or instruction.

About a mile and a half south-east of Hayle is Huel Alfred, which was some years ago one of the richest and most profitable Copper mines in the county. The adventurers gained a clear profit of nearly £130,000 during the period in which it was wrought. In the year 1816, from various causes, this mine was stopped, but about six months ago a company of London gentlemen embarked in the concern, and commenced their operations in a very spirited manner. Before Midsummer 1824, they expect to set at work two steam-engines with cylinders of the immense size of 90 inches in diameter, and one of less dimensions. This mine will undoubtedly prove attractive and interesting to the mineralogist, as, during the last period of working, several curious and rare minerals were discovered, as Stalactitic, swimming, and cubic quartz; carbonate, and phosphate of Lead; stalactitic, botryoidal, and investing Calcedony, &c. The lodes of this mine are so large that should the stranger intend to visit the interior of the earth, he cannot select a better opportunity.

About a mile east of Huel Alfred are situated the Herland Mines, which, after an interval of twenty years, have been lately set at work again. The adventurers in these mines are also principally London capitalists, who have erected two steam-engines of which the cylinders are 80 inches in diameter. The mineralogist will not fail to visit mines which were celebrated for the beautiful specimens of Native Silver, Vitreous Silver ore, and black oxide of Silver, found there during the last period of its working, an account of which, by the Rev. M. Hitchins, was published in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1801.

There is a remarkable contrast between the lodes of Huel Alfred and those of Herland. The former being few, but very large; the latter, small but very numerous, and the ore peculiarly rich.

The stranger may now proceed to Redruth, between which place and Hayle, there is a regular line of rich Copper mines, but as we propose to examine this metalliferous district in a future excursion, we shall return by Saint Erth to Penzance.

The desolate and barren appearance of the country in the neighbourhood of Hayle Sands, is much relieved by the woodland scenery of Trevethoe, the seat of the family of Praed; the father of the present possessor first introduced the Pineaster Fir, as a nurse for the growth of forest trees, and the estate of Trevethoe, as well as many others in the county, affords a striking evidence of the expediency of the plan. To the same gentleman we are indebted for the introduction of the Arundo arenaria, above mentioned.

Arriving at the bridge of Saint Erth, the traveller will perceive that a considerable portion of the breadth of the peninsula is here penetrated by an arm of the sea, and that the land which succeeds it in a direction towards the south is so low, that a canal might easily be cut along the hills which terminate at Marazion, and a communication be thus opened between the English and Irish Channels; or that an iron rail-way for the conveyance of coals, sand, &c. might be constructed at a comparatively small expense.

At Saint Erth, were formerly situated the "Rolling Mills" for reducing blocks, or bars of Copper, into flat sheets, as described in the first edition of this "Guide;" since, however, the Copper-works at Hayle have been abandoned, these mills have been used for rolling and hammering iron.

In the neighbourhood of Saint Erth is Tredrea, the Cornish residence of Davies Gilbert, Esq. M. P.

On our return to Penzance an opportunity occurs of witnessing the operation of smelting Tin ore.[81] It consists in first heating the ore, with about an eighth part of Culm,[82] in a reverbatory furnace for six hours, during which period the sulphur and arsenic are volatilized, and the ore is reduced to its metallic state; the furnace is then tapped, and the liquid metal run out; a second melting, however, is necessary before it is sufficiently pure to be cast into blocks,[83] and assayed at the Coinage. After this last melting, and before the Tin is poured into the moulds, a piece of green apple-tree wood is thrown into the liquid metal, and kept under its surface; the effect of which is to throw up the scoria with rapidity; it would seem to act merely in producing a violent ebullition by the sudden disengagement of steam. One hundred parts of the oxide of Tin ("Black Tin") at an average will yield about 65 parts of metal, or White Tin, as it is technically termed.

Ludgvan Church, which appears upon an elevation on the right of the road leading to Penzance, and which forms so prominent a feature on the shores of the bay, will be visited by the Antiquary with sensations of respect, when he learns that it contains the mortal remains of Dr. Borlase the venerable and learned author of the Natural History and Antiquities of Cornwall. From the Latin Inscription on his tomb it appears that he was fifty-two years rector of this parish, and that he died August 31st 1772, in the 77th year of his age. Although Dr. Borlase spent the greater part of a long life in this retired district, his fame as a scholar had spread through all the literary circles of the age. If we require any other testimony of his talents than that which his own works will afford, we may receive it from no less an oracle than Pope, with whom he regularly corresponded. In a letter written by the Poet, to express his thanks for the present of a Cornish diamond, presented by Dr. Borlase for the decoration of his grotto, Pope thus expresses himself, "I have received your gift, and have so placed it in my grotto, that it will resemble the donor—in the shade, but shining."

If in the course of the present work we have ventured any remarks upon the opinions of Dr. Borlase which may be considered in the slightest degree disrespectful to his talents, we willingly offer this expiation at his shrine. His errors, whatever they may have been, were the inevitable consequence of the infant state of those sciences indirectly connected with his pursuits, not the result of literary incapacity, or of depraved judgment.

About half a mile below the Church-Town, crossing the road to Marazion, is a vallum thrown up in the civil war by the Parliament forces when they besieged Saint Michael's Mount.