AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 5 



bourhood, it is slightly in excess of some other parts of 

 South Devon. The register from which our data are 

 taken is from a gauge under the care of the writer's 

 brother (G. Fox), and is fixed at an elevation of 60 feet 

 above the sea level. The rainfall for the last seven years 

 gives a mean of 35 inches. We believe the nearest 

 station to this is on the Bolt Tail, where the readings 

 are somewhat less than the above. The Kingsbridge 

 Gazette has, from the commencement of the observations, 

 published the monthly returns. 



The climate and soil about Kingsbridge are particularly 

 favourable for the culture of vines : probably there is no 

 other town of its size in England where there are so 

 many green-houses expressly devoted to this branch of 

 horticulture ; and grapes in abundance find their way to 

 less favoured parts of the adjacent counties.* A Cottage 

 Garden Society, established some years since, has been 

 the means of demonstrating the great capabilities of our 

 fertile soil, and the mildness of our climate. Besides the 

 orange and lemon, the myrtle and magnolia nourish in 

 great perfection. The myrtle sometimes attains the height 

 of twenty or thirty feet ; and the magnificent cream-white 

 flowers, and bright green laurel-like leaves of the magnolia 

 may be seen reaching even to the roofs of some of the 

 houses. 



The neighbourhood of Kingsbridge is also favourable 

 for bees, if we may judge by the large number of hives 

 in the gardens of cottagers and others. But that there 

 is a great diminution of good years is evident ; for we 



* As many as 99 green-houses were counted very recently in Kingsbridge 

 and Dodbrooke ; but these are not all specially devoted to vines, although 

 a great number of them are so. 



