Agriculture of the Scilhj Isles. 375 
Population-. 
Acres. 
1 ffll 
XOul. 
xoox. 
St. Mary's 
1G40 .. 
.. 1G68 .. 
.. 1532 
880 .. 
41G .. 
399 
St. Martin's 
720 .. 
.. 211 .. 
185 
St. Agnes (including the Gugli) 
300 .. 
.. 204 .. 
.. 200 
330 .. 
118 .. 
115 
120 .. 
10 .. 
4080 
2G27 
2431 
Whitfeld says, that " the seeming diminution of the popula- 
tion is caused by a stop having been put to the ruinous and 
demoralizing subdivision of land, which was carried to such a 
frightful extent, that sons and daughters were portioned off with 
a few square yards of ground."* 
Heath, writing in 1750, makes the total population about 
1400, of which half belonged to St. Mary's. 
St. Mary's is about 2J miles in length, IJ miles in breadth, 
and 9 miles in circumference. Its highest point is 140 feet above 
the level of the sea. 
Climate and Water Supphj. — Frost and snow are almost unknown 
in the Scilly Isles. The mean temperature in summer is 58^ Fahr., 
and that in winter 45° Fahr.j Constant breezes mitigate the heat 
in summer, and the climate throughout the year is considered 
very healthy. Its mildness is shown by the plants which flourish 
all the year round in the cottage gardens. Among these may be 
mentioned geraniums and fuchsias of large size, the myrtle, the 
American aloe, a pretty climbing species of sedum, which trails 
over many of the walls, and the box myrtle, which is frequently 
grown as a hedge. 
Gales of wind are frequent and severe. The crops are often 
injured, and even destroyed, by their violence, especially when 
blowing from the VV. or W.S.W. 
The average rainfall is 31 inches. Wells of from 15 to 18 
feet in depth furnish an unfailing supply of excellent water. 
There are, also, a few large ponds, but these suffer occasionally 
from the encroachments of the sea. 
Geology. — These islands are almost entirely granitic. "Formed 
of a multitude of rocks and small islands, they may be compared 
to Dartmoor, sunk to such a level that the sea should run among 
its tors and more elevated masses of land, thus keeping a large 
portion of the tors above the sea-level, forming the smaller masses 
usually termed rocks, while ^the larger and more extended 
masses would constitute islands of various sizes. The granite is 
* 'Scilly and its Legends,' Whitfeld (1852). 
t ' A Week at Scilly, North ' (1850). 
