6
THE USE OF PITS FOR STORAGE OF GRAIN.
at the side, of the field, which had exactly the appearance of those
mounds which are very common in Cornwall, in the neighbourhood
of Penzance, Falmouth, and elsewhere, and which are formed by
raking together, after harvest, all the stubble and decayed weeds,
with some loose earth, upon which they plant those gigantic
cabbages, and sometimes pumpkins or gourds, with which they
feed the cows. The appearance of the mounds in the fields
of Brittany was so much like that of the Cornish ones that I
imagined they were made in the same manner and used for the
same purposes. But upon enquiring, as I repeatedly did, of the
country people—the drivers of the very primitive conveyances in
which we jogged along, and others—what was the meaning and
object of these mounds, I was told that they were the covers over,
and marked the sites of, pits which were used for the storage of corn
(especially the "Sarassin" or "Ble noir," i.e. Buckwheat, which is
the principal farinaceous food of the peasantry in that district), and
also of potatoes and roots. They told me that after filling a pit with
stores of this sort they covered over the top with a layer of clay or
earth, rammed hard to keep out the wet, and then placed a mound
slightly elevated above the surface, so as to mark the spot where the
pit was situated when they wanted to open it and withdraw its con-
tents. I did not, unfortunately, closely examine any of these mounds,
as I had not at the time any idea of the bearing which they might
have upon the Club's researches amongst the Deneholes, which I
had not then visited. But on reading Mr. Spurrell's paper it occurred
to me that what I had seen in Brittany might supply some evidence
in confirmation of the suggestion in his note, that the practice of
subterranean storage of agricultural produce may be continued to the
present time.
Large Conger Eels off the Essex Coast.—During the last week two very
large fish have been brought ashore at Clacton-on-Sea. Mr. Gregson, the well-
known boatman, went out to a sprat smack by the "Maplin Lights" and bought
a conger nine feet long, and weighing nearly 60 lbs. On the same day a son of
Mr. Cook was walking along the beach and, noticing something moving in the
surf, went in to see what it was. It proved to be a conger of 311/2 lbs., which he
carried home much delighted with his prize.—"Essex Standard," December 31st,
1887. On Thursday, December 15th, a very large conger eel, six feet in length.
and weighing upwards of 1/2-cwt. was captured in the River Blackwater by Mr.
James Heard, dredgerman. Another was captured by Mr. Fred. Clark, dredger-
man, weighing upwards of 30 lbs. at the same time.—"Essex Weekly News,"
23rd December, 1887.
Late Swallows at Maldon.—In the "Field" for December 10th, 1887
(page 907), Mr. R. H. Eve reports swallows at Maldon as late as November 4th,
"after very cold weather."