CORNWALL, a maritime co., forming the s.w. extremity of England, and the south most co. in the British isles. It is a peninsular right-angled strip of land, with the apex in the s.w., and is bounded on the e. by Devonshire, with the Tamar between, on the n. and w. by the Atlantic, and on the s. by the English channel. From its Devonshire boundary it runs s.w., narrowing to the Land's End, the westmost part of England, in 5° 41' w., it then bends n. to Penzance, whence it sweeps round in a south-eastern direction to the Lizard point, the southmost part of England, in 49' 57' 30" south, From thence it follows a north-eastern course to Plymouth sound. Greatest length in a straight line from Welcomb to the Land's End, 81 m. ; extreme breadth from Wel comb to Rame Head, 46 miles. Area, 1365 sq.m., of which seven eighths are arable, meadow, or pasture. The surface is irregular, with rapid ascents and descents. A ridge of rugged, bleak, moory hills, rising to the height of from 800 to 1300 ft., run s.w. through the center of Cornwall. From this ridge the country slopes, and the streams flow on each side. The bill valleys are longer and wider on the s. than on the n. side of this ridge, and some of them are picturesque with corn, wood, orchards, rivu lets, and meadows. The coasts are bold and rocky, and indented with many headlands and bays. The chief indentations are Plymouth harbor, Falmouth harbor, one of the finest in Britain, and Mount's bay between Lizard point and Land's End. Twenty-four m. off the latter point are the Scilly isles. On the n.w. coast occur shifting sands, often in hills several hundred ft. high. The chief rivers are the Tamar, which runs 59 in, along the e. border, 19 m. being a tidal estuary, ending in the noble roadstead of Ply, mouth sound; the Fa], which runs 20 m. s., 10 m. being tidal, and ends in the fine harbor of Carrick road, near Falmouth; and the Allan or Camel, 29 m. long 8 being navigable. Woods, meadows, at-able land, and 140 parish churches, are said to have been submerged between Mount's bay and the Scilly isles. Old red sandstone, the " killas" of the miner, covers above three fourths of C., and is intersected by three large masses of granite in the interior of the county, with one around Laud's End, and by porphyry veins and dikes, some being 50 or 80 fathoms thick, and also by limestone beds. The granite on the hills is often worn by the weather into the form of prismatic, cubical, or spheroidal blocks, piled in gigantic cairns. These blocks sometimes form logging or Logan stones. Copper and tin veins, generally 1 to 3 ft. thick, but varying from the thickness of paper to 30 ft., and of unknown depth, run through the granite and sandstone, generally from e. to west. Tin also occurs in the gravel; and lead, silver, cobalt, and antimony veins in the sandstone. Lizard point consists of mica-slate,
with soapstone veins, and chivastone; and the country around, of serpentine, horn blende, and diallage rocks. Chinastone, or decomposed feldspar of granite, is found near Launceston, and is a chief ingredient in retorts and crucibles made in Stafford shire. In 1874, C. bad 78 copper-mines, 16 lead-mines, and 153 tin-mines, producing 2,770 tons of copper, 2,337 tons of lead, and about 9,000 tons of tin. Of iron ore, 45,000 tons were produced. C. yields of the copper and of the tin raised in the British isles. The great mining district extends from Dartmoor, in Devon, to Laud's Eud, the veins and lodes chiefly occurring in granite, or killas.
The climate is mild, especially in winter, but damp, with almost daily rain. Snow rarely lies above a few days. South-west winds prevail for nine months in the year, and furious gales are frequent. Some plants of the s. of Europe, as the myrtle, tamarisk, and balm of Gilead, flourish in the open air; but fruits do not ripen well. The soil is light, gravelly, or slaty. The land is generally barren In the mining tracts, but fruitful in the valleys and on the coast. The chief crops are barley, wheat, oats, and potatoes; but harvest is generally later than in the inland counties. Near Penzance, however, two crops of potatoes are got yearly. C. is far more S. mining than an agricultural county. The pilchard-fishery is very profitable, and employs a large number of people from July to Sept. The only exports are mining produce and fish. Landed property is much divided. The total area of C. is 873.600 acres, or 1365 sq. miles. The census of 1871 gave a pop. of 362,343. About. 30,000 persons are employed in the mines. For electoral purposes, C. is divided into an eastern and a western division, each of which returns two members to parliament. C. has ancient British antiquities, such as rude, upright stone blocks, single and in lines,. circles, barrows, and cromlechs. Many Roman coins, etc., have been found. There are many Saxon camps and earth-works. C. and the Scilly isles were the Cassiterides or tin isles of the Phoenicians and Greeks. Vortigern made C. a kingdom in 446 A.D. The west Saxon kings subdued it iu 650. The Saxons and Danes overran it in the 9th and 10th centuries. C. has remains o. ancient castles and monasteries. It was erected into a duchy in 1329. in favor of the black prince, eldest son of Edward III., who, with the succeeding princes of Wales, had immense revenues from the county. The dukedom is still held by the prince of Wales, who derives from it a revenue of £80,000, and appoints the sheriffs. The Cornish tongue, a Celtic dialect, became extinct only in the present century.