4 KINGSBRIDGE 



stone district; but the richest are those occurring in 

 contiguity with limestone or greenstone rocks, in many 

 parts of the slate district ; especially in that beautiful 

 southern district, commonly called the ' South Hams,' and 

 sometimes the ( Garden of Devon,' and having for its 

 natural boundaries Dartmoor and the heights of Chudleisrh 

 on the north; the river Plym on the west; Torbay and 

 Start Bay on the east; and Bigbury Bay and the other 

 parts of the coast of the English Channel, on the south. 

 The red colour which characterizes the best soils, both in 

 the South Hams and the eastern division of the county, 

 and which seems to be so closely connected with the 

 principle of fertility, proceeds from an abundant mixture 

 of iron, in a highly oxidated state. The soil of that part 

 of the South Hams which is bounded by the Erme and 

 Dart rivers is generally a rich friable loam, of a hazel-nut 

 brown colour, mostly on a substratum of slate ; but that 

 on the east of the Dart, as far as Torbay, is richer and 

 redder, and generally on a substratum of marble rock."* 



Polwhele says, "In regard to the South of Devon, its 

 climate has often been compared to the South of France. 

 The hills that, overspread with verdure, more frequently 

 rise with a gentle swell than with that rocky abruptness 

 which is a feature of the north, are favoured by tepid 

 breezes ; and the green vallies, sometimes covered with 

 wood, though open to the sea, indicate the softness of 

 the atmosphere." He also remarks that in Devonshire 

 the summers are cooler, and the winters warmer, than in 

 any other part of England, except Cornwall. 



With respect to the Rainfall in this immediate neigh- 



* White's Devonshire. 



