HAMMER-PONDS. 99 



parading up and down the banks, wading knee- 

 deep in the shallower parts of the stream, and 

 anxiously watching the receding waters ; or occa- 

 sionally plunging in his head and dragging out a 

 mussel, which he demolishes forthwith : the shell 

 being brittle, two or three smart blows of his 

 beak suffice to break it, and the contents disap- 

 pear in a moment. 



Immense quantities of this bivalve are found in 

 the numerous ponds which form so distinguishing 

 a feature in the wooded scenery of the weald, and 

 attract the attention of all strangers who visit this 

 part of Sussex. Many of these are the remains 

 of establishments for the smelting of native iron, 

 before the Swedish metal came into such general 

 use; and the names of "Furnace -pond'' and 

 " Hammer-pond,'' which are still applied to some 

 of them, serve to point out their origin. They 

 frequently abound with fish, and are usually 

 drained at an interval of a certain number of 

 years; carp, tench, and eels are found in consi- 

 derable numbers, and the decayed vegetation 

 which has accumulated at the bottom in the form 

 of mud— the result of the falling of the leaf from 

 the overhanging woods during many successive 

 seasons — is afterwards dug out and thrown up on 

 the banks to be used for agricultural purposes, 

 and in this state the ponds are suffered to remain 



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