OLD PASTURES OF THE HAS. 247 



Wuen free from fragments of the rock, the soil is often close and impervious, 

 and, though of a brown colour, deep, and apparently of good quality, it is really 

 worthless, or, as the farmers call it, dead and sleepy. Most of tl^ land, how- 

 ever, is in arable cultivation. The heavy soils, which rest on the clay contain- 

 ing Fuller's earth, are chiefly in pasture. 



The inferior oolite varies much in its character, containing, in some places, 

 much lime-stone, while in others, as in Yorkshire, it forms a thick mass of sand- 

 stones and clays, with occasional thin beds of coal. In Gloucester, Oxford, 

 Northampton, and Rutland, these lower beds form a tract of land about 12 miles 

 in width. The soil is generally soft, sandy, micaceous, of a brown colour, and 

 of a good fertile quality. It is deep, contains many fragments of the subjacent 

 rock, is porous, and easily worked. Where the sand-stones prevail, it is of in- 

 ferior quality. In these counties it is principally enclosed, and in arable culture, 

 the sides of the oolitic hills and the clayey portions being in pasture. In York- 

 shire, much of the unproductive moor land of the North Riding rests upon this 

 formation. Nearly all the arable land in the county of Sutherland rests on the 

 narrow stripe of the lower oolite rocks which occurs on' its south-east coast. 

 The debris of these rocks has formed a loamy soil, which, when well limed, 

 produces heavy crops of turnips. 



1 1°. Lias. 500 to 1000/^ This great deposit consists chiefly of 



an accumulation of beds of blue clay, 

 more or less indurated — interrupted m 

 various places by beds of marl, and of 

 blue, more or less earthy, lime-stones, 

 which especially abound in the lower 

 part of the series. The whole is full of 

 shells, and of the remains of large ex- 

 tinct animals. 

 Extent. — Wherever the lower oolites are to be traced in England, the lias 

 is seen coming up to the surface on its northern or western edge, pursuing an 

 exceedingly tortuous north-eastern course, throwing out m its course many 

 arms (outliers), and varying in breadth from 2 to 6 or 10 miles. It may be 

 traced from the mouth of the Tees, in Yorkshire, to Lyme Regis, in Dorset, the 

 continuity being broken only by the coal field of Somerset. In Scotland and 

 Ireland no traces of this formation have yet been detected. 



Soil. — Throughout the whole of this formation the soil is a blue clay, more 

 or less sandy, calcareous, and tenacious. Where the lime or sand prevails the 

 soil is more open, and becomes a loam ; where they are less abundant, it is of- 

 ten a cold, blue, unproductive, wet clay. This latter, indeed, may be given as 

 the natural character of the entire formation. Where it rests upon a gravelly 

 or open subsoil, or contains a large quantity of vegetable matter, it may be 

 cultivated to advantage, and it is found especially to produce good herbage. In 

 all situations, it is an expensive soil to work, and hence by far the greater por- 

 tion of it is in old pasture. The celebrated dairy districts of Somerset, Glou- 

 cest^, Warwick, and Leicester, rest for the most part on the lias, as does also 

 much of the best grazing and pasture land in Nottingham and Yorkshire. 

 Through the long lapse of time an artificial soil has been produced on the un- 

 disturbed surface of these clay districts, which is peculiarly propitious to the 

 growth of gjass. With skilful drainage and judicious culture, it is capable of 

 producing heavy crops of wheat. 



C. — New Red Sand-stone System. 

 12°. Upper and Lmoer "i .^^ /. The upper and lower red sand-stones 



RedSand-stcmts. ^ -^ consist of alternate layers of sand, sand- 

 stones, and marls sometimes colourless, 

 but generally of a red colour — sprinkled 

 in the upper series with frequent green 



