OF SELBORNE. X 



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 running 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 

 seeming 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 

 manner, two very incongruous soils. To the south- 

 west is a rank clay, that requires the labour 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. 



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 Wellhead 3 . This breaks out of some 

 high grounds joining to Nore Hill, a noble chalk pro- 

 montory, remarkable for sending forth two streams 

 into two different seas. The one to the south becomes 



3 This spring produced, September 14, 1781, after a severe hot sum- 

 mer, and a preceding dry spring and winter, nine gallons of water in a 

 minute, which is five hundred and forty in an hour, and twelve thousand 

 nine hundred and sixty, or two hundred and sixteen hogsheads, in twenty- 

 four hours, or one natural day. At this time many of the wells failed, 

 and all the ponds in the vales were dry. 



B2 



