O GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE 



find ourselves upon lands which constitute the real 

 wealth of the parish, i.e., upon some of the finest wheat 

 soils of the kingdom. This soil is literally made up of 

 the decomposition of the rock on which it lies, i.e., 

 the Malm Rock or Upper Greensand of geologists. 

 The name of " Upper Greensand," though well applied 

 in Wiltshire, is wholly inapplicable to it in the parish 

 of Harting, or, indeed, in any part of its range from 

 Weston and Nursted on the west to the sea near 

 Eastbourne, i. e., all along the escarpment of the 

 South Downs. Far from being a sandstone, this rock 

 is highly argillaceous, and yields a very stiff soil. 

 Examples of it are seen in the sides of numerous deep 

 lanes and natural ravines, and of the latter the low 

 cliffs on either side of the narrow dell called the Mill 

 Hanger, so renowned for its preserves of pheasants. 

 A clear section of the strata, showing how the Malm 

 Rock is surmounted by chalk marl and the lower 

 chalk, is exhibited at the north end of Tarberry Hill. 

 This is a singular narrow promontory of chalk, which 

 protrudes and stands out from the escarpment of 

 Harting Warren and the Side Hills. Lying upon the 

 plateau of Malm Rock, it is what geologists call an 

 " outlier," since between it and the main range of the 

 hills, the chalk has been worn away or denuded to its 

 base. 



The upper beds of Malm Rock are the most chalky 

 in appearance, but in some central parts of the deposit 

 the grey colour gives way to a bluish tint, and in these 

 cases the stone is more compact, and hence preferred 

 as a building stone ; the ordinary grey Malm Rock 

 being of a very decomposing nature. Composed of 

 clay, sand, and lime (the first predominating), the best 

 soils are those where there is a due admixture of each, 

 and particularly where the calcareous matter reaches 

 25 to 30 per cent, of the mass ; this soil, though very 

 tenacious, is highly fertile in the production of wheat, 

 clover, beans, &c. On the whole, there is a striking 



