198 THE VALLEY OF THE TEME 



Temeside pastures have been a welcome sight to any 

 one going from the drier soils of the east, but this year 

 the west has been in general just as parched, and it 

 was only in this valley that we saw big cattle looking 

 as though they were getting their fill of grass. Few 

 other cattle besides Herefords are to be found through- 

 out the district. Distinguished by a hardiness and 

 adaptability to rough conditions, they are bred upon 

 the upland farms and will fatten out with very little 

 assistance upon the rich grass by the river. Many are 

 also tied up for winter feeding, especially by the hop- 

 growers, who want to make considerable quantities 

 of dung ; but the excellence of the Herefords rather 

 lies in their performances upon grass under unfavour- 

 able conditions than in the fatting stalls. It was with 

 considerable reluctance we turned away from the Teme 

 Valley. It is beautiful to the most casual observer, 

 with the shapely hills on its flanks, its flashing river 

 and vivid contrasts of red and green ; but most of all 

 is it attractive to the farmer's eye. More than perhaps 

 any other district does it give an impression of easy 

 natural fertility, where a kindly soil and a well- 

 tempered climate make both crops and stock flourish 

 with a good deal less of the effort than is usually 

 required from the farmer. 



Ludlow is classic ground for the geologist, for 

 immediately to the north the whole series of the 

 Palaeozoic rocks from the pre-Cambrian of the Long 

 Mynd up to the Coal Measures are set out within a 

 short compass. The strata dip sharply to the south- 

 east so as to form a series of parallel ridges and sudden 

 valleys, all possessing the same trend from north-east 

 to south-west, the most important of which is the 

 Corve Dale, which lies between Wenlock Edge and the 

 Clees and forms a broad vale of arable land whereon 



