The Air is fharp, and confequently healthful to the Natives. The Vicinity of the Sea, on three of its Sides, guards against hard Frofts, and prevents the Snow's lying long upon the Ground. The fame Reafon may be alledged for the frequent Flaws*, as they call them, of Winds, which are very boisterous, and oftentimes pernicious; yet the Inhabitants are rarely troubled with infectious Diseases.

The Seasons of the Year are fomewhat different from those in other Parts; the Summer being more temperate. The autumnal Fruits are later, their Harveft being feldom ripe enough for the Barn 'till near Michaelmas.

The Soil, for the most Part, is mountainous, very shallow, covered only with a thin Coat of Earth, and rocky underneath, which renders it very difficult to be cultivated; and in dry Years unfruitful. The Valleys yield Plenty of Grafs, and the Land near the Sea-fhore, being improved by a Sea-Weed called Orewood, mixed with a fat Sort of Sea-Sand, yields very large Crops.

Near the Sea-Coafts are many very good Towns; but the middle Part of the County lies wafte and open; the Earth is of a blackish Colour, bearing little else but Heath, and fpiry Grass, fit only for breeding young Cattle.

The chief Rivers are, the Tamar, the Camel, and the Fale. The former runs a long Course from North to South, and is the Boundary between the two Counties of Cornwall and Devonshire, emptying itself into Plymouth Sound. This River abounds with excellent Salmon. The Camel runs from South to North, and forms Padstow Haven, in the Bristol Channel. The Fale runs from North to South in the narrow Part of the County, and discharges itself into the English Channel, forming the Haven of Falmouth.†

This County is very remarkable upon two Accounts; the First is of the Inhabitants, and the other of their great Plenty of Copper and Tin Mines, in which laft Refpect it is famed above all the other Parts of the World; as we were well affured, that one Tin

*Flaw, in the English Cornish-Vocabulary, fignifies to cut, perhaps from draw to cut or bruife.

†The Reader will eafily obferve, that the River Camel gives Name to the Town of Camelford, which it runs through; and Falmouth is fo called from being fituated on the Mouth of the Fale. And this is to be obferved, in general, for all Towns and Places whofe Names end is the Words Ford and Mouth.

Tin Mine, in Cornwall, produced Tin of more Value in one Year, than ever the famous Mountain of Potofi did of Gold in the fame Time; and one Gentleman is poffeffed of a Tin Mine, at St. Agnes, for which he was offered 100l. a Day for 6 Months, which he refused.

But with Regard to the Inhabitants: We fhall do ourselve no fmall Credit to obferve, that our Ancestors, the Britons, muft have been a worthy, and brave People, if we may judge of them by the genuine Remains in the County of Cornwall; for without Prepoffeffion or Flattery, we must fay, that we obferved such a primitive Plainness and Simplicity of Manners, fuch Singleness of Heart, and Sincerity of Intention, as we could not but admire and regard almost as a Novelty; thofe People appearing fo absolutely unacquainted with, or ignorant of, Fraud and Impofture, Diffimulation and Flattery, as if they had never heard of any fuch Thing; and if to this we add, a free, facetious, and generous Temper; a curious, and inquifitive Difpofition, we shall not then have finished the Character which they justly, merit, 'till we have moreover mentioned their natural Philanthropy, or Humanity, and unparalleled Hospitality to Strangers; this every one must be a Witness of who has been among them, and must readily confefs, if he does them Justice,

In Genius the Cornish People are nothing inferior to the modern English; being great Encouragers of Arts and Sciences in general; and (as we found by Experience) particularly delighted with the Studies of Philosophy, which we presume will be allowed a very good Proof of a delicate and polite Tafte; and as we never but once saw an Eclipse calculated by a Lady, we ought not to omit mentioning, that she was of this County, As to mechanic Arts, no one will wonder if we say they excel in them. Not only their Genius, but their Bufinefs, give them a particular Bias to fuch Kind of Studies and Inventions; and in the laft Place, what regards their commercial and mercantile Character is well known to all the World, without our mentioning any Thing particular on that Head. We shall say no more, nor could we fay lefs, as it reflects great Honour upon the English Nation in general, to fee the Offspring of our ancient Stock appear in fo good a Light at this Distance of Time, and as it may tend to remove those groundless Jealoufies which they are a little

too much inclined to entertain, of their making a lefs Figure in the Eyes of the English than they really do.

We proceed next to give an Account of the natural Produce of the County: and firft of the Rock called Wringcheese.

It confifts of a Groupe of Rocks, which are the Admiration of all Travellers. On the top Stone were two regular Bafons; but Part of one of them has been broke off. This Stone, as we are informed, was a Logan or Rocking-stone, and when it was entire, might be eafily moved with a Pole; but now great Part of that Weight which kept it on a Poife is taken away. The whole Heap is about 30 Feet; the great Weight of the up per Part, and Slenderness of the under, makes every one wonder, how fuch an ill-grounded Pile could refift, for fo many Ages, the Storms of fuch a Situation. It may feem to some that this is an artificial Building of large flat Stones, laid carefully on one another, and raised to this Height by human Skill and Labour; but as there are several Heaps of Stones, on the fame Hill, and alfo on another about a Mile diftant, called KellMar's, of the like Fabric, tho' not fo high, we think it a natu ral Crag, and that the Stones which furrounded it, and hid its Grandeur, were removed by the Druids. Mr. Norden, in his Description of Cornwall, fays, they were left in this Position at the univerfal Deluge, by the Force of the Water, which deprived them of the Earth, and other Means of Support, and they remain thus depending without the Affiftance of Art. Mr. Borlafe is of Opinion, from its having Rock-bafons; from the uppermoft Stone's being a Rocking Stone; from the wellpoised Structure, and the great Elevation of the Groupe; that it may be reckoned among the Rock-Deities: and that its Height and just Balance, might probably be intended to express the Statelinefs and Grandeur of the Supreme Being. And as the Rockbafons fhew it was ufual to get upon the Top of this Karn, or Heap of Rocks, it might probably serve for the Druids to harangue or foretel future Events on.

There is another Kind of Stone-Deity, that has not been taken Notice of by any Author, we know of. It's common Name in Cornwall, and Scilly, is Tolmên; that is, the Hole of Stone; be ing a large orbicular Stone, fupported by two others; betwixt which there is a Paffage. There are two of thefe in the Scilly Iflands

Ilands; but the moft aftonishing of this Kind, is in the Parish of Conftantine, in Cornwall. It is one vaft oval Pebble, placed on the Points of two natural Rocks, fo that a Man may creep under the great One, between its Supporters, through a Paffage three Feet wide, and of equal Height. The longest Diameter of this Stone, is 33 Feet due N. and S. it is 14 Feet 6 Inches deep, and 18 Feet 6 Inches wide, from Eaft to Weft, and 97 in Circumference. The Top of it, which you afcend by a Ladder, is worked into Bafons, like an imperfect Honey-comb; one of which, at the South End, being much larger than the rest, is about feven Feet long; another, at the North, about Five; the reft smaller, fome not more than one Foot, others not fo much, the Sides and Shape irregular; most of these Basons discharge into the principal Ones, but thofe near the Brim of the Stone have little Channels which discharge the Water they collect over the Sides of the Talmén, and the flat Rocks which lie underneath receive the Droppings into Basons that are cut on their Surfaces. This Stone is no lefs wonderful for its Pofition, than for its Size; for the flender Part is nearly femicircular, yet it refts on two large Rocks, and only touches the two under Stones, as it were, on their Points. Notwithstanding this, we are of Opinion, this Stone was never moved, fince it was firft formed, but only cleared from the reft of the Karn, and shaped fomewhat to keep it in proper Poife; and to fhew itself to that Advantage it now does in a furprizing Manner at feveral Miles Diftance.

In the Area below this Stone are many large Rocks, which have certainly been split and divided, but whether thrown down from the Sides of the Talmên, or not, we will not determine. One Thing however is remarkable, that these Talmens, both in the Ifland of Scilly, and Cornwall, reft on Supporters, and do not touch the Earth, agreeable to an established Principle of the Druids, who imagined every Thing that was facred, would be prophaned by touching the Ground, and therefore fo ordered it, that these Deities fhould reft upon the pure Rock, that they might not be defiled by touching the common Earth.

Among the curious rude Reliques of Nature in this County, we must not pass by the Logan, or Rocking-ftone, of which there are two Sorts, fome artificial, others natural; we fhall take notice only of the laft. In the Parish of St. Levin, in this Coun

ty's

ty, there is a Promontory, called Caffle-Treryn. This Cape confifts of three diftinct Groupes of Rocks. On the Top of the middle Groupe of Rocks, (which we climbed with fome Difficulty and Hazard) we there observed the most wonderful Loganftone, perhaps, in the World; one of our ingenious Companions took the Dimensions of it, and computed the folid Content, which amounted to about 95 Tons; the two inclined Sides fomewhat refemble the two Roofs of a House, meeting in a Sort of obtufe Ridge upon the Top. The lower Part of the Stone is a large plain Base, near the Middle of which, projects. a small Part on which it refts, which Part seemed to be of a round Form, and not to exceed more than 18 or 20 Inches in Diameter. The lower Part of this too, was somewhat convex'd, by which Means, as it was equally poised on this Part, it became eafily moveable upon the large Stone below, the Pofition of which was moft of all wonderful, as the Surface on which the Logan-ftone rested was confiderably inclined; so that, at firft Sight, it seemed as it were eafy to heave the Logan-ftone off, but on Trial, we found, that we could produce no other Motion than that of Libration, the Power of one Man being only fufficient to move it up and down about half an Inch. It is fo high from the Ground, that no one who fees it, can conceive it could be lifted up to the Place where it now rests. It makes a natural Part of the Crag on which it at present stands, and always feems to have belonged. There is also a natural Logan-stone in the large Heap of Rocks, called Bofworlas-Lebau, in the Parish of St. Jus-Penwith. Alfo these Stones fhew by their Situation, that they were never placed there by Art or human Force. There is a very remarkable Stone of this Kind in the Island of St. Agnes, in Scilly. In the Parifh of Sithney, stood the famous Logan-ftone, called Mên-amber, which is 11 Feet long from Eaft to Weft, 4 Feet deep, and 6 Feet wide. This top Stone was so nicely poifed, that," a little Child, as Mr. "Scawen in his M. S. fays, could instantly move it ;" but in the Time of Cromwell, when all monumental and curious Pieces of Antiquity, that Ignorance and fiery Zeal deemed fuperftitious, not only grew into Contempt, but which it was reckoned a Mark of Piety to deface or deftroy, one Shrubfall, Governor of Pendennis, with much ado, caused it to be undermined and thrown down, to the great Grief of the Country. In Cornwall, fays << Mr.