1832. Harvest commenced with August and lasted five weeks: the crops good. Price of wheat, 16s., barley, 7s.

1833. It began with August, and was finished in a month: the weather fine, but the crop slight. Wheat, 14s., barley, 6s.

1834. It began at the end of July, and (near us) ended in the first week in September; but in the higher lands not so soon. Wheat, 128., barley, 8s.

1836. It began with August, and, with frequent interruptions, lasted until near the end of September: the barley ripening very irregularly crops good. Price of wheat, 13s. 4d., barley, 7s. 6d.

1837. Harvest began a little before the middle of August, with fine weather; but this afterwards became wet, and the work was delayed until near the end of September: crop moderate.

1838. Harvest began at the middle of August and ended in the third week of September. The summer had been cold and moist -as it usually is after a fine May. The price of corn was higher before harvest, but then sunk to 18s. for wheat, and 7s. for barley.

1839. It began soon after the middle of August, but was performed very slowly in consequence of the rain, which fell almost every day, so that the corn, which was not in a good condition before, was injured, and in many instances sprouted. The barley was stained deeply, and the work was not ended until the last week in October. Price of wheat, 17s., barley, 10s.; the bushel being somewhat enlarged by the adoption of the imperial measure as applied to the sixteen gallons.

1840. The corn ripened irregularly on account of an irregularity in the sowing. Harvest began early in August, but did not end until the first week in October; and in many places a portion of a field was cut, while other portions remained of a pea-green colour. This seems to have arisen from a portion of the stalks being of a second growth. Corn abundant and fine. Price of wheat, 14s., barley, 8s.

1841. It began after the middle of August, with damp weather, which so delayed the work that the harvest was not ended before the third week in October; and some of the latter harvest was spoiled. Before harvest the price of wheat was £1:2:0 the

bushel, and little besides foreign corn was used. After harvest the price was 13s. the bushel, and barley scarcely any price.

1842. Harvest began in the last third portion of July, and ended about the middle of September: the crop good. The late date of the end of this harvest arose from the grain having been sown in ground that had produced potatoes and turnips. Price of wheat, 14s., which fell to 11s.: for barley no price.

1843. It began early in August, and ended in the second week of September: the crop favourable. Price, wheat, 12s., barley, 6s.

1844. It began in the third week in July, with fine weather, which was interrupted for a fortnight in the beginning of August: it ended at the beginning of September; except in some fields of barley, which came on with much irregularity from having been sown in ground from which a crop of turnips had been taken late in the spring; and it seemed to be acknowledged that this kind of cultivation will not suit our climate. The crop generally is abundant and good. Price of wheat, 11s., barley, 8s.

1845. Harvest began about the middle of August, and lasted a month, the weather fine throughout, although before the commencement it had been wet and cold: the crop not abundant. Price of wheat, 14s., barley, 78.

1846. Harvest was delayed in the beginning, and afterwards interrupted, by the inclemency of the weather; but the crop, which was abundant, was not injured.

1847. Harvest began at the commencement of August, after having been delayed by the wetness of the weather: the crop good. The price has varied greatly through the past year, there being no sufficient sale to mark the value at the last harvest; subsequently, it rose to £1: 10 : 0 the bushel for wheat; but many, who refused to sell at that price, were afterwards compelled to accept £1.

1848. It began at the beginning of August, and ended at the middle af September, being much injured by wet weather, which also caused the grain to sprout in the ear. Price of wheat, 13s., barley, 7s. the sale scarce.

:

1849. Harvest began in the first week in August, but was

much interrupted by changes in the weather; and in the finer intervals which occurred, it was observed that it did not dry rapidly, which was ascribed to the quantity of sap remaining in the straw. It was finished in the second week in September: crop good. Price of wheat, 10s., barley, 6s. 6d.

1850. The beginning of the harvest was delayed after the corn was ready, for some days, through unfavourable weather, being very showery after the first ten days of August; yet, as the showers, although heavy, were distinct with intervals, the corn was not injured: the harvest lasted a month. Price of wheat, 98. 6d., barley, 5s.

1851. Harvest began in the first week in August, but it was interrupted by wet weather at the middle. It was ended generally in the first week in September, and at the end the weather was the most favourable: some corn was injured by carrying it too hastily. Price of wheat, 9s. 6d.

1852. The weather was showery when the harvest began, in the first week in August, and it became more wet as it advanced, so that some corn which was cut early sprouted: the latter half of the harvest was by far the most favourable, and it ended in the first week in September. Price of wheat, 12s. per bushel, soon falling to 10s.

Observations on the skeleton of the Porpus; dissected by William

Loughrin of Polperro.

BY JONATHAN COUCH, Esq., F.L.S., &c.

THIS skeleton of the common porpus (Delphinus Phocæna) solicits attention from the manner in which it has been prepared, which is superior to that usually practised, and by which some of its parts are preserved that for the most part are lost, and consequently are not seen in skeletons of cetaceous animals as they are commonly preserved in museums.

The bones have not been separated, but remain attached to each other by their natural ligaments; and as these are preserved by the application of a chemical preparation (bichloride of mercury) there is no danger of their decaying. The bones have not been cleansed in the usual way, by maceration in water, but by careful and patient labour; by which means all the oily matter has been removed, without injuring their texture. But what is particularly worthy of notice is, that, in this method of proceeding, the hyoid bones (of the throat) are preserved in their places; and also the bones of the pelvis, together with the inner circle of that part of the pelvis that is naturally formed of cartilage; and which important portion of the animal frame, being attached to the vertebra in a very loose and insecure manner, is usually absent in the preserved skeletons of this class of animals, but in this is seen in its natural position.

The cartilaginous portion of the body which serves the animal instead of a caudal fin is also here secured in its place, which is another advantage that has arisen from this manner of preserving the skeleton, without maceration in water. And the fact that it is thus preserved in its place enables us to correct a misapprehension of anatomical structure into which naturalists have

generally fallen. Concluding that, as in other Mammalia, the vertebra to which the pelvis is attached must necessarily be the sacrum, this latter part has been described in the whale tribe (to which the porpus belongs) as not differing from the other bones of the spinal column; but an inspection of this skeleton will show that it is not this vertebra of the loins, to which the pelvis is suspended, that represents the sacrum; but that it is a vertebra placed far behind it, from which the cartilage of the tail arises: which cartilage more properly represents the hinder extremities or legs of Mammalia of the land. This vertebra which I thus suppose to represent the sacrum, is in a small degree larger than such as are before or behind it, as when representing the sacrum it would necessarily be; and the vertebræ close behind it are of much smaller, and of decreasing size, as representing the coccygeal vertebræ.

It is believed that the young of the porpus is of speedy growth, and this opinion is confirmed by an examination of this skeleton; which, although of the full size, displays the teeth as of the earliest developement in the jaws. None have come through the gums in the upper jaw; and the few which are seen in the lower jaw bear a deciduous character, and thus serve to show that, like animals of the land, they are accustomed, in the course of time, to shed them and obtain a second set.