4 WHITE 



prospect is bounded to the south-east and east by the vast 

 range of mountains called the Sussex Downs, by Guild-down 

 near Guildford, and by the Downs round Dorking, and Rye- 

 gate in Surrey, to the north-east, which altogether, with the 

 country beyond Alton and Farnham, form a noble and exten- 

 sive outline. 



At the foot of this hill, one stage or step from the uplands, 

 lies the village, which consists of one single straggling street, 

 three-quarters of a mile in length, in a sheltered vale, and run- 

 ning parallel with The Hanger. The houses are divided from 

 the hill by a vein of stiff clay (good wheat-land), yet stand on 

 a rock of white stone, little in appearance removed from chalk ; 

 but seems so far from being calcareous, that it endures extreme 

 heat. Yet that the freestone still preserves somewhat that is 

 analogous to chalk, is plain from the beeches which descend as 

 low as those rocks extend, and no farther, and thrive as well 

 on them, where the ground is steep, as on the chalks. 



The cart-way of the village divides, in a remarkable man- 

 ner, two very incongruous soils. To the south-west is a rank 

 clay, that requires the labor of years to render it mellow ; 

 while the gardens to the north-east, and small enclosures 

 behind, consist of a warm, forward, crumbling mould, called 

 black malm, which seems highly saturated with vegetable 

 and animal manure ; and these may perhaps have been the 

 original site of the town ; while the woods and coverts might 

 extend down to the opposite bank. 2 



At each end of the village, which runs from south-east to 

 north-west, arises a small rivulet : that at the north-west end 

 frequently fails; but the other is a fine perennial spring, 

 little influenced by drought or wet seasons, called Well-head. 3 

 This breaks out of some high grounds joining to Nore Hill, 

 a noble chalk promontory, remarkable for sending forth two 

 streams into two different seas. The one to the south becomes 

 a branch of the Arun, running to Arundel, and so sailing into 

 the British Channel : the other to the north. The Selborne 

 stream makes one branch of the Wey; and, meeting the 

 Black-down stream at Hedleigh, and the Alton and Farnham 

 stream at Tilford-bridge, swells into a considerable river, 

 navigable at Godalming ; from whence it passes to Guildford, 



