OF THE 



MoDal institution of OTovn^alL 



December I6th, 1880. 



Mr. B. H. CARTER, in the chair. 



A paper was read by Mr. Trevaii, on " Cornwall and its 

 jDrospects." 



The author drew attention to the ancient history of the 

 county, and proceeded to point out the lines on which future 

 advance might reasonably be expected to take place, such as — 

 the reclamation of waste land, the extension of the area of 

 market gardens, and the expansion of the railway system, with 

 the consequent development of the mineral, fishing, and 

 agricultural resources of the county. 



January/ \Oth, 1881. 



MAJOR PARKYN, in the chaie. 



Mr. H. Michell Whitley, F.Gr S., Hon Sec, made a communica- 

 tion with reference to the recession of the tide in the valley of 

 the Fal. It is traditionally stated that the tide once flowed 

 up beyond Tregony to Hayle Boat Eock, below Creed Church. 

 Taking first the case of Tregony, Leland states, writing in 

 1520, that " The Fal goeth up ebbing and flowing, and a quarter 

 mile above is the town of Tregony." Hals, 1685-1736, says — 

 " That the sea once flowed above Tregony bridge is plain as 

 tradition and the sea-sand and shells found there inform us ;" 

 and Whitaker, in his Cathedral of Cornwall, gives us an account 

 from tradition of the former prosperity of the town. Referring 

 then to a copy of a chart drawn for King Henry YIII., in the 

 British Museum, the Fal was shown flowing up to Tregony, 

 and no bridge then existed. This chart was drawn between 

 1509 and 1535, but the survey was probably made some years 



