LANDSCAPE, POPULATION, AND OCCUPATION 219 



upon them. On the other hand, at this stage we find that results 

 are dependent upon the composition of rocks and their relation- 

 ship to those bordering them, but independent of their age except 

 so far as the latter factor influences their character. 



Sandstones give rise to well drained, moderately fertile soils, 

 suitable for garden cultivation and general agriculture if not 

 too porous and dry. The rocks are freely covered with soil, on 

 which grow elms, hollies, chestnuts, and oaks, rhododendrons, 

 azaleas, heather, bracken, and bilberry. The relief of the land- 

 scape varies in abruptness according to the amount of cement 

 in the sandstone ; and the older rocks of this type, like the grey- 

 wackes are craggy and mountainous. The red sandstones are 

 the site of orchard ground ; they provide grazing for cattle, and 

 yield ample dairy produce. 



Conglomerates, highly siliceous sandstones, and quartzites 

 form land which is usually too well drained, so that it is a 

 common saying that the garden soils require watering one 

 day and manuring the next throughout the year. The slopes are 

 often abrupt, and summit crags frequently occur. The land is 

 often common, park, and moorland, used rather for golf and 

 sporting than for agriculture. Scotch firs, larches, and birches 

 are the chief trees ; heather, cranberry, and bracken grow freely ; 

 the woods are full of wild hyacinths, garlic, and wood anemones, 

 and even the valleys are barren and bare. 



Clays and shales show little bare rock, the soil being usually 

 deep and rich, not well drained except near the junction with 

 sands or limestones. The crops are wheat and turnips, grass 

 grows freely, and the trees include the elm, oak, and ash. 



Where the clay is calcareous it is said to be a marl, and marly 

 soils are about the richest in mineral food for plants. At the 

 same time, the soils are not too close and impermeable for drainage, 

 so that they comprise some of the most fertile regions in the 

 country. 



Limestones often give rise to abrupt valleys terraced with 

 scars of bare rock. The ready passage of water underground 

 prevents the formation of soil, or carries it away too readily 

 along the cracks, so that sometimes there are large rocky barren 

 areas with the vegetation confined to the joints. But more 



