4 NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 



we consider its smooth rind or bark, its glossy foliage, or 

 graceful pendulous boughs. The down, or sheepwalk, is a 

 pleasing park-like spot, of about one mile by half that space, 

 jutting out on the verge of the hill-country, where it begins 

 to break down into the plains, and commanding a very 

 engaging view, being an assemblage of hill, dale, wood-lands, 

 heath, and water. The prospect is bounded to the south-east 

 and east by the vast range of mountains called the Sussex 

 Downs, by Guild-down near Guildford, and by the Downs 

 round Dorking, and Ryegate in Surrey, to the north-east, 

 which altogether, with the country beyond Alton and 

 Farnham, form a noble and extensive 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 seems 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. 



