326 A Sketch of the Parish of Yatesbury, 



to sink for a cottag-e on the glebe — one hundred and forty feet. 

 Still, during a dry summer, water becomes very scarce in our parish : 

 the stream which runs through the winter entirely fails : the wells 

 gradually diminish their supply, till they are exhausted altogether : 

 the ponds dry up, and in exceptionally parched seasons, the fetching 

 of water in watei'-carts for the supply of men and animals is a very 

 toilsome as well as expensive business. Here, however, the " dew- 

 ponds,'''' as they are called, prove their value, and notwithstanding 

 the strong and scientific evidence brought to bear against them, I 

 cannot but accept the assurance of those practical men, whose own 

 senses convince them that these exposed ponds on the tops of the 

 hills, and into which no water can run from the surrounding ground, 

 do, in dry weather, continue to afibrd drink to the sheep, and keep 

 up their supply; nightly fed — as I believe — by the heavy dews, 

 vapours, or mists which hover over and replenish them. 



Notwithstanding the undoubted cold, Yatesbury is a remarkably 

 healthy spot ; the fresh air blowing over the downs, and bearing 

 much resemblance to the sea breeze, is so pure and invigorating, 

 that it drives away many complaints to which more sheltered 

 districts are exposed, and fevers are altogether unknown in our 

 parish : indeed " chills ■" and " rheumatics " are nearly the only 

 maladies prevalent amongst our villagers. Thus, if our situation is 

 somewhat bleak and exposed, we have no slight compensation in the 

 general immunity from epidemics which we enjoy. I know not if 

 there is any truth in the belief commonly held by nurses, that to 

 breathe the air of a sheepfold is most conducive to the health of 

 children : but if so, then that may partly account for our general 

 salubrity, inasmuch as large flocks of sheep constitute the principal 

 live-stock of the parish, and give constant employment to many of 

 our people. 



With regard to temperature and rainfall, though I took regular 

 memoranda of maximum and minimum thermometers, aneroid read- 

 ings, and rain-guage for several years, I refrain from giving any 

 averages, feeling assured that such are of no value, indeed only mis- 

 lead, unless they are the result of observations protracted over a long 

 series of years. In proof of the great variations experienced in 



