Flax and
nets.
Meafure of
grain.
3*8 N A gfeggl R ’'A' L - H Î S T 0 R Y
men,' they Undertook (for which they are greatly fo bè comrfieridecr)
to fet ûp a wodllen-matoüfaétory in ihdtown dl Fenryn, fittiated m
Fklrftouth Harbour. This attempt hath fucceeded (though 'now
foarce paft its infancy ). acetirdfag 49. its diffefétit
branches already etoplqys'fixhundred people. jj ‘ The goods they
make for Me, and which by repeated trials they fin’d they can fcrid
to foreign markets‘as good" in quality-and on equal terms with other
parts of the tângelti&;:/3r ç ' -ffibfe-* Hvhkiï1 follow^ Coarfe ' bfdâd--
cloths, druggets, duffles, of all kinds; bays’s, barragans figùred and
plain, watered grograms; corded and figured èverlaftings, figured
and plain duroys, plufhes, durants;-and fhalloorts, befides fome
othfcr particulars not deemed Handing articles. - By filch a variety of
articles, they are at liberty to fhift their hands in gênerai from oxîè
kind of looms to another, till the majority n f their Workmen become
capable of almoft every different kind of weaving f this enables
them to execute any extraordinary orfièrk much fbonef; and
upon decline of- fifes1 abroad for any *d^ f fôr§mëfit, transfer thefr
labourers to another branch; by this means thèy need nBl dhcharge
any of their fervants, and alfb work up the different forts of Wool
which the country produces, to the great relief of die induftrious
poor ; whereas moft part o f the natural ^prothfoé- iof the ihë^r was
before, either font into other counties to be manufactured, forinto
France in exchange for tea and brandy; to thfe inconceivable adVâfr*
luge of our rival nation, and o f the moft’ pernieibu§ cOùfecjUeüte to
Our own.” It is to be hoped that no- perfon,- who is able to lerid
the leaft fiipport to lb ufcful an attempt, will fufffer it to decline
for want o f it. Agâin : We have the fiax and thread for out*-pilchard
nets moftly from Bridport in Dorfotfhire; nay even the nets
are often made there; but it would he far more ' to^ the advantage
o f the Cornifb, if the materials for rtëftitig were railed oh the fpdt;
and women and children employed in breeding nets, when, the
fishery is ont of feafon, and bad weather fets in. Our common
meafore o f grain is fingular, and not fo fettled and uniform as it
fliould be, the bufliel varying in different parts of the county from
fixteen to twenty-four gallons. The bufhel in the eaftern parts
contains betwixt eighteen and twenty-four gallons, in the weft is
reckoned always to contain three Winchefters, Or twenty-four gallons,
and fome will unjuftly increafo even ’this by a gallon or more,
for the lake of railing the price of what they fell at home without
tire additional gallon, or in concert with the bakers, endeavouring
to raife the market price, and thereby countenancing the making
bread o f fhort weight, conformable to that exorbitant price.
• J j Letter dated A“g»ft 27, 1757, from Mr. Richard Williams, Surgeon, of Falmouth, to whofe
affiduity and direflion the prefent fuccefs of this undertaking is chiefly to be attributed.
'O - f f e f c 4D R 4N W A ÙL/- : 2%g
fo Cornwall the ouftomary» pèreh "for lahd-meâfore is-alfo eighteen!.;
îfeet.| though of -mofthgëntlemen comply with the
ftatute-pevch^feeeaîlfé^rafeda half; hut the.moft extraordinary
meafure of all,- »< the ‘Qsâto-ifiy aeievjwhieh;'>aeehtài©g to Mr.'CarCw,
and-feyenty
ftatfnte-acre^ whfch kind^aeeoUnt, «Norden* (who1 bks fQr-
veyoç t o Henry Prince, .of Wales, and Duke of Cornwall, temp.
Jac, i.) is nolf^fewheFé^Jlfegkfodrt ^lOÉtóótójy • % Äfr. Öi-
rew ', thirty -seres makëmfar'éixg< lanè^ nine j f e r Ä a Cbrnifli
acre, - and foi%€«rn ifl# aetes a Knight’s fee-; but this riilè “ is pvfer-
rnled te ^greater or d^ uan tSty, 'aceordmg
barrennefs, of ythe fo i^ ihM r. Car-ewv nét t^hé'dotibted, % d
p s authority, though not cited ; but whatever it was, 'the Cornifh
acre certainty varied-much m djfibréht times afïd^ïàOfeè'îfom 'this
aligned ftandardty. for in tfhe règîiër %P LafejtyBifttop5 ofo Exetét,
A. D. 1 .^ 0 ,-pagfô-^ig^.tiie C o r in g ä c rÄ n te fo ed föué,fÉl3ifWs
[aliiu fartinrtgs^ egeb ferfing,, cOnfifting o f - 'thirty' aÖfes.* ftatute-
mfa^Urf’ .,eac^ ^ lprn^ 1’ a^ ‘being? deefopd-\'a tenüH’ÿ*and.-contàirifoè
t o mom than one hunched and t-wenty ftatute acres*? ‘as^dpeatfs by
the following meit#i I hem idem ‘Tfete* m h a i
tennras, & dim. eonfùetudinore frefà iï Manerii in'diberfatem detfti-
fit, quorum qmtibet emtimt in fe unam ®ôrntfoicam1r^ièp| ^
lik t Cornubko- .emtinet in f s nn ferfegas, et quelibet fdrfagaixx
ocras 1 but efeefi this meafure -wasmdt always-prêche and ' invariable;
for in the fame pgifter (.pages 450 and 45*)''the
tamed in a ferlinga Vór: farthmg-land make up thirty-twó’ acres,
confo^ently a tenure-or Comift äcre of-four
hundred -and twenty-eight acres. .Neither wal the ferlihgit %
always; ®njform ; for-fometimes’ ihconfiftedfonlÿ öfiftèn Sëfes C!' | *’
Certain it'ß that acres were ^anciently* of efifferent extêntln difr
ferent places,, mid in general-of1 greater extent than they k¥e by the
prefent computation; the Irifti acre cdntinuetféven to thfe feft’b ë k
tury toi contain three-of the Englilh, but what were-the preclfo
contents o f an acre among the Anglo-&xons is uncertain *.■ 'Thè
prefent dimenfions o f an acre, viM. one hundred and fiXty fijuare perch
of .fixteen feet and a half, were fettled by the 31 of Edv?:Thf Ȋnd in the
fucceeding reign eight hundred foch acres made a KnigJft’sfeéy-lfut ih;
Cornwall at that tipe fbur Cornifh acres, containing one1 thoufoni
and eigh^ftatute-aefes, were required io make up one Khight’s fofe *.
What fhould be the reafon that our fore-fathers fo much exceeded
the reft of this ifland in their land-meafin-e, I do hot prèfume to
•'Ibid. _ 4 As to'the Knighris feêi1 page '212/ ' ,;
• Mis firlm gus, Spelman, page i r a . • ■ . 1 Spelm.1 in voce acre.
Oecem acre terreyfe/W fecundum. antiqùàm: ■ 11 Ibid,
confuetuflinem unam ferdellam, & ! Spe!nlV?Gloff... .. Carew, ibid; •
Landmeafure.