xv HOME LIFE AND TRAVELS 389 



skill of the horticulturist is perhaps more visible than 

 in any other floral display, as shown by the extra- 

 ordinary variety of colour, form of petal, and size of 

 bloom in this singular flower of Eastern origin. 



The geological character of our soil is peculiar. 

 On most of the chalk downs in our neighbourhood the 

 thickness of the alluvial soil reaches only to a few 

 inches, and below this comes the hard and sterile 

 chalk. But a few acres of ground around our house, 

 as shown on the geological map, consist of a deposit 

 of plastic clay which has escaped denudation. In con- 

 sequence of this, our soil is a heavy but fruitful one, 

 consisting of a mixture of clay and chalk, and reaching 

 to a considerable depth. We also find on the top of 

 one hill close by sharp sand mixed with clay and 

 known as the Woolwich and Reading beds ; on that 

 of a neighbouring one are pockets of water-worn gravel ; 

 whilst near by we may dig into thick masses of stiff 

 brick clay, and on the heath we may quarry out 

 enormous quantities of flints, which are collected and 

 carted away to mend the roads in the valleys. All 

 these various deposits lie on the top of the chalk of 

 which the mass of the hill is composed, and which 

 comes out "today" in pits, or is seen in escarpments 

 on the country side. 



As there is a great deal that is human in every man, 

 so there is a great deal that is vegetable in every plant. 

 Thus we find that whilst certain varieties of apple trees, 

 and even the more delicate pear, flourish with us, other 

 kinds prove failures, and the one secret of successful 

 gardening is to ascertain the species of plant which 

 takes most kindly to its environment and then to en- 

 courage it. 



It was with much diffidence that I undertook to play 

 the role of a farmer. Although it perhaps does not 



