360 A Winter in Cornwall, [Sess. 
is now a flourishing and, let us hope, increasing branch of 
trade. Experts tell us that this substance is largely the 
resultant of decomposed granite, its headquarters being in the 
St Austell district. Unlike coal, iron, &c., it is not secured by 
sinking long shafts, but is dug out of the open, just as stone is 
in quarries. Some of these excavations are of enormous size, 
and contain zigzag paths for the workmen to pass up and 
down. ‘The clay is pumped up by powerful engines, and then 
goes through a variety of washing processes to free it from the 
gritty granite, until ultimately it is turned out in blocks, as 
white as chalk, to be shipped to a great many parts of the world. 
It is used for filling cotton, as well as in the manufacture of the 
finer kinds of pottery, while a large quantity goes to paper- 
mills to assist in the production of paper. On a very minute 
scale this same material, dished up with a little scented matter, 
is sold as tooth-powder. The chief shipping-ports are Par and 
Fowey, and at the latter place vessels of nearly all the Euro- 
pean nationalities congregate for loading purposes. There is 
besides an inexhaustible supply of granite, and this stone 
forms a considerable source of revenue. The grey colour 
predominates, something like the Aberdeen variety, but red 
sorts are not uncommon, including porphyry and many others 
to which I cannot give a name. The serpentine rock at the 
Lizard is, when polished, most beautiful, containing as it does 
so many different shades; but, save for the making of orna- 
ments, it is not of much use commercially speaking. 
Pig-breeding is not despised by the Cornish folks, but more 
for supplying local demand than for export; and vegetable and 
flower culture bulk largely in the industries of the county. 
As already hinted, far more could be done in this way if a 
little more energy and capital were forthcoming. A large 
business is also done in fish, the greater bulk of the takes 
being sent to London, Plymouth, and other large centres of 
population. Pilchards are caught in great quantities, and, 
after being preserved, are sent abroad, chiefly to Italy. For 
the benefit of those who are not familiar with this particular 
fish, it may be stated that a pilchard in size is midway 
between a sardine and a herring, and travels in shoals similar 
to the last named. Unlike herrings, however, they are not 
gutted, but put into strong salt for several days just as they 
