172 
quite suitable for bulb culture, therefore it is possible to effect a 
distinct change of crop and still retain one which is remunerative. 
The soil generally is a fertile loam composed largely of humus 
and disintegrated granite and the best land in the neighbourhood of 
enzance is said to be rented at from £8 to £10 an acre. Much 
of that on the cliffs, however, is worth less than half that amount. 
Many of the bulbs are grown within a short distance of the sea, and 
between the village of Paul and Penzance the faces of the cliffs, 
from a few feet above sea-level to the summit, have been terraced 
to form small irregular-shaped fields which are fully exposed to the 
sun. The reclamation of this land from the bare hillsides has been 
a costly undertaking, for beneath a rough vegetation of gorse, coarse 
grasses, and other “weeds the ground ~~ plentifully besprinkled 
with pieces of granite varying in weight from a few ounces to 
ante tons. All that could be handled were removed to a depth 
13 or 2 feet and built up as protection walls and windbreaks 
arcaeul the fields, the larger ones being left where they stood. An 
idea of the cost involved in this work may be gathered from the 
fact that the last two acres cleared on one farm, including wall 
building, was upwards of £60 an acre. It is ergata athe that 
the work would have been done much cheaper by co t. 
Generally, the bulbs growing on the cliff sides are as Fhbalthyy and 
vigorous as those planted elsewhere but in a few instances, where the 
foliage is sometimes washed by spray or there is insufficient shelter 
from wind, they are not doing well. e two most serious 
drawbacks to successful cultivation appear to be badly drained 
ground and exposure to rough winds and it is courting failure 
to form plantations unless proper provision is made to ensure 
thorough drainage and efficient shelter. In the most exposed places 
- the Mainland, shelter is first provided by walls of stones and soil 
3 to 4 feet high, and after that by hedges of elderberry. The 
elderberry does not, however, appear to be an ideal plant for Be 
purpose as it becomes leggy and thin at the bottom. In Tres 
the great hedge plant is Escallonia macrantha and the bulb eld 
are intersected by hedges 6 feet high. But these are within 
shelter belt of Pinus insignis and Cupressus macrocarpa and it is 
doubtful whether the same plant would prove so satisfactory on the 
exposed cliffs near Penzance. The plants one would suggest for 
trial are Euonymus japonicus, Olearia Haastii, sea buckthorn, 
SA eta Mahettistsds common gorse, and various kinds of 
Tam n one place Fuchsia pr dead was noted doing very 
wn as a shade in a very exposed place. Between the Escallonia 
hedges at Tresco further protection is provided by screens of the 
common reed (Phragmites communis he reeds are collected when 
dry and woven between strands of wire to form lon ng mats. These 
are then secured in an upright position between stout posts. In 
other places old cme A nets are used as a wind break but the reed 
mats are vastly superior and may be are! made by farm hands. 
Ordinary close sheep ‘tntiles might also be introduced with 
advantage. There is one use for which old fish netting is well 
adapted, that is secured on stakes to form a screen for young 
es. Plants screened in this way develop much more rapidly 
than those left unprotected. Wind plays the greatest havoc 
