152 PROCEEDINGS COTTESWOLD CLUB 1913 



Hill and Bayshill. Apart from any such irregularities there 

 is a tendency for the whole of the land to fall away Westward 

 towards the Severn, and the three brooks that bear the name 

 of the Chelt, the Wyman's Brook and the Hatherley Brook, 

 which run within or mark the boundaries of the borough, take 

 their slightly divergent courses in the same general direction. 

 The nature of the actual subsoil is varied by reason of 

 the clay being overlaid in places by sand and other deposits, 

 as shown in Mr Richardson's Map, and we are indebted to his 

 laborious and minute survey for the precise and valuable 

 information of the surface-geology of the district which these 

 maps display. These maps should be of constant service in 

 connection with the Public Health statistics of the town, and 

 be of great use to new comers seeking a residence in Cheltenham. 



The influence of the soil and subsoil may be taken as a 

 part of the climate, or at least as closely associated with it, 

 in the effect produced upon the body. Omitting mention of 

 the quite minor areas of alluvial deposits near the streams, 

 within the town bounds you are practically limited to a 

 sandy or clay subsoil. 



The surface of the clay is more moist than that of the 

 sand, taking longer to dry after rain. The sand being quite 

 porous, the water sinks through its upper part to find a level 

 of saturation at some considerable distance below the surface 

 as a rule, any capillary water retained in the upper sand or 

 sandy soil being quickly dried out when the rain ceases. The 

 sand with its air-filled pores is also a slower conductor of heat 

 than the clay, and gives a warmer site for the house. The 

 clayey surface, on the other hand, being more retentive of 

 moisture, and the clay subsoil being to a large extent impene- 

 trable by water, takes a much longer time to dry. Neverthe- 

 less, a site- upon the clay ground may have compensating 

 advantages in being at a higher elevation than the sand, and, 

 not infrequently being upon a decided slope, the greater part 

 of the water may be easily drained from it. 



Within four miles of the centre of Cheltenham a quite 

 different climate from that described above for the town itself 

 is experienced. This is the climate of the Cotteswold Hills. 



