SOILS SUITABLE FOK CEOP. 359 



and also to contain a proportion of ammonia, whose 

 presence was no doubt due to the absorbing properties of 

 the clay, of which the soil was so largely composed. 



The best soils of the Mid Kent district, where Goldings 

 are grown, are met with in the vicinity of Maidstone, on 

 either side of the river Medway. This district is bounded 

 by the range of chalk hills on the north, and by the Weald 

 clay formation on the south, its characteristic geological 

 feature being the abundance of the well-known Kentish 

 ragstone rock. This rock, which belongs to the cretaceous 

 system, is frequently interspersed with green grains. On 

 analysis, a mass of the rock broken down was found to 

 contain of 



Per cent. 



Insoluble silicious matter, 30*60 



Phosphoric acid, 7'23 



Potash, 3-31 



Soda, 1-02 



thus being capable of forming soils of the richest descrip- 

 tion, which would show that this district, like that of 

 Farnham, was particularly suited, by its natural qualities, 

 for the cultivation of hops. 



Below the ragstone range of hills there are very few 

 fine Goldings or Whitebine hops grown, as the strong soils 

 of the Weald of Kent and Sussex are better adapted for the 

 coarser varieties, as the Grape, Colegate, and Jones. In the 

 Weald districts the cultivation is mostly carried on in the 

 valleys, which are, to a certain extent, drained by the 

 rivers which pass through them, or where a large accumu- 

 lation of surface soil has given them a capacity for 

 artificial drainage greater than the Weald clay generally 

 possesses. Much has been done in this direction of late 

 years, and in all cases drainage has been followed by the 

 best results; the plant is rendered less liable to disease, 

 and its endurance greatly increased. Where the Weald 

 clays thin out on the subjacent beds of the Hastings sand 



