The worst sort of stone found in Cornwall, is an opaque whitish debased crystal, generally called spar, and lies loose on the surface of the ground, in almost every parish. It is, however, useful for making fences and for repairing the roads.
On the north and south coasts of the county, there are several Slate Quarries, the slate from which is generally adopted for the roofing of houses; but the best species is found in the celebrated quarry of Delabole near Camelford, which is said to produce the finest and largest slates in England.—“The quarry is about 300 yards long, 100 broad, and upwards of 40 fathoms deep. The slate is first met with about three feet below the surface of the ground, in a loose shattery state, with short and frequent fissures, the laminæ of unequal thickness, but not horizontal.—Thus it continues to the depth of 10 or 12 fathoms, when a more firm and useful stone is procured, the largest pieces of which are used for flat pavements. This is called the top-stone, and continues for 10 fathoms, after which the quality improves with increasing depth, till at the 24th from the surface, the workmen arrive at the most superior kind, called the bottom-stone.—The colour is grey-blue, and the texture is so close, that it will sound like a piece of metal. The masses are separated from the rock by wedges driven by sledges of iron, and contain from five to 14 superficial square feet of stone. As soon as this mass is freed by one man, another stone cutter, with a strong wide chisel and mallet, is ready to cleave it to its proper thinness, which is usually about one eighth of an inch; the pieces are generally from a foot square, to two feet long, by one wide, but the flakes are sometimes large enough for tables and tomb stones.”[[3]]
The art of husbandry, three centuries ago, appears to have been little practised in this county; the grounds, says Carew, “lay all in common, or only divided by stiche meale, and their bread corn very little; their labour horses were only shod before, and the people devoting themselves entirely to tin, their neighbours in Devonshire and Somersetshire hired their pastures at a rent, and stored them with the cattle they brought from their own homes, and made their profit of the Cornish by cattle fed at their own doors. The same persons also supplied them at their markets, with many hundred quarters of corn and horse loads of bread.” But he also observes, “that the people increasing, and the mines sometimes failing, the Cornish felt the necessity of applying themselves to husbandry, and their improvements answered their expectations; for in the latter end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, they found themselves not only in a capacity to support themselves, but also to export a great quantity of corn to Spain and other foreign parts.”
Within the last 50 years, a considerable quantity of the waste lands has been enclosed and cultivated; but after the growth of two or three crops of corn, much of these lands have again been neglected on account of the great expense of manuring them. A very considerable quantity of waste land has, within these few years, been enclosed by Charles Rashleigh, Esq., of Deeporth, near St. Blazey, and which is likely to prove a considerable benefit; E. I. Glynn, Esq., of Glynn, near Bodmin, has also had a large quantity of waste land enclosed, for permanent cultivation. In making enclosures, the fences generally consist of a stone hedge, or layers of turf, planted with thorns, nut hazles, and furze. In many parts of the county on the coast, where there is an opportunity of procuring sea sand for manuring the land, great quantities of corn have been grown, particularly in the western and eastern districts. It is usual after a crop of wheat, to sow the ground with barley, after which, turnips or potatoes; but the general course of crops in Cornwall, is considered extremely reprehensible by the author of the Agricultural Survey of the county, owing to the wretched, exhausted, and foul appearance of the grounds laid down with grass seeds. This may, however, be partly accounted for, by Cornwall not being a dairy county, and milch cows being generally kept for rearing the young stock.
The soil and climate of Cornwall are peculiarly adapted to the growth of potatoes, and these are at all times a standing dish at the humble repast of the labourer. Of the sorts most cultivated, which have been long established, the painted lord and painted lady are much approved; but a kind of apple potatoe, entirely red, called Carolines, are grown in great abundance, as the standing winter crop. The most early potatoe produced, is the kidney sort, and as a proof of the goodness of the soil and climate, in the neighbourhood of Penzance, two crops are frequently produced in a year, and one acre of ground has been known to yield 300 bushels, Winchester measure, for the first, and 600 for the second crop! Many thousand bushels of potatoes are exported annually from Cornwall to London, Plymouth, Portsmouth, and other places. A Cornish bushel of potatoes, generally weighs 220lbs., and are sold from 4 to 5s. a bushel.—Most of the labourers in the county keep a pig or two, and as potatoes are so easily cultivated with advantage, they frequently use them to fatten their pigs.
The Cattle in Cornwall are chiefly of the Devonshire breed, and large quantities of the best oxen are annually sold to graziers and contractors, and sent out of the county to be slaughtered. Many of them are used by the farmers for agricultural purposes. They are shod, or cued, as it is provincially termed, and are extremely docile and active, while they are often driven by boys, who cheer and excite them by the song and the goad.
The Sheep of Cornwall are also, generally speaking, of the Devonshire species; and some of the Leicestershire breed have been introduced of late years, with great advantage. Mr. Worgan says, “a pure Cornish sheep is now a rare animal; nor from its properties, need their total extinction be lamented.”
With respect to Horses, few are kept in Cornwall for ostentation, or to live in idleness or luxury. The gentleman’s horse is often put to the cart or plough. The farm horses are well adapted to the hilly surface of this county, being a hardy and active sort. Most of the farmers keep up their stock by breeding a colt or two annually; but one-eighth of the horses for saddle and draught are supposed to be brought into the county by eastern dealers.[[4]]
Mules are bred in Cornwall, but are mostly employed in carrying supplies to and from the mines. Troops of 50 at a time are frequently to be met on the roads in the mining country, loaded with copper or tin ore.
The trade of Cornwall is mostly confined to the exportation of Pilchards, Tin, and Copper, the three great staple commodities of the county. The imports chiefly consist in groceries and bale goods, from London, Bristol, and Manchester, and coals from Wales. Large quantities of flour are also imported at Falmouth and Penryn, chiefly for the miners.—The manufactures in Cornwall are but trifling, compared with other counties. Some coarse woollen, a paper mill or two, and a carpet manufactory, is all that can be enumerated.