THE SCILLY ISLANDS. The Scilly Islands lie about 27 miles to the westward of Land's End, but the harbour of St. Mary's, to which steamers run, is 39 miles from Penzance. The passage is not often accom- plished in less than four hours, and it certainly has its terrors for those who suffer from sea- sickness. At present only five of the isles are inhabited, these being St. Mary's, Tresco, St. Martin's, St. Agnes and Bryher ; Samson has lost its population. The entire population of the islands at the late census (1901) was 2096, an increase of 185 on the previous census; and this increase may undoubtedly be attributed to the rise of the flower industry. The number of isles included in the archipelago has been variously given, owing to the difficulty of draw- ing a distinction between islet and mere rocks ; reckoning rocks and islets, the number is about 200, but only a few of these really deserve the name of island. Of these the largest, St. Mary's, comprises 1600 acres; Little Ganniley com- prises only 5 acres. The average temperature is about 47° F. in the winter, 58° F. in the summer. Such a climate is almost an ideal one; there are practically no extremes of heat or cold, and the rainfall is not excessive. To 269
