St. Stephen’s in Brannel measures 8,556 statute acres.
| £. | s. | d. | |
| Annual value of the Real Property, as returned to Parliament in 1815 | 6696 | 0 | 0 |
| Poor Rate in 1831 | 1190 | 5 | 0 |
| Population,— | |||
| in 1801, 1738 | in 1811, 1904 | in 1821, 2479 | in 1831, 2477 |
giving an increase of 42½ per cent. in 30 years.
It may be remarked, that the increase was rather more in the first twenty years, an anomaly in all likelihood occasioned by the fluctuation in mining concerns, and to the preparation of China clay having reached its limit.
If the increase had uniformly continued for a century at this rate, the population at the end of that time would reach the great number of 14,635.
GEOLOGY, BY DOCTOR BOASE.
A line drawn N. W. and S. E. about a mile due N. from the church, would divide this parish into nearly two
equal parts, the northern parts consisting of granite, and the southern of schistose rocks, belonging to the porphyritic series.
The granite stretches completely across the large central mass of this district, and contains many varieties. Next to the slate, the rock generally contains a considerable portion of shorl, which sometimes takes the place of the mica altogether; both of these kinds abound in large veins and courses of quartz and shorl rock. But the most abundant variety is that extensively decomposed into a white friable mass; of this substance the more compact and perfect parts are quarried, and exported under the name of China stone, whilst the earthy parts are washed to separate the fine argillaceous particles from the grains of quartz, and from other hard minerals with which they are mixed in their natural state. The water, rendered white like milk by this operation, is received in large pits, where the earthy part subsides, and then after being dried is sent to the potteries under the name of China clay. The manipulations which this substance undergoes during its preparation are simple, but very tedious; and they afford employment to several hundred persons. The extent of this branch of commerce is so great, that about seven thousand tons of clay, and five thousand tons of China stone are exported from Cornwall every year, of which by far the greater part is raised in this parish.