﻿626 
  MR. 
  S. 
  S. 
  BUCKMAK 
  ON 
  THE 
  BAJOCTAN 
  [Dec. 
  1 
  89 
  7, 
  

  

  streams 
  thrown 
  out 
  by 
  a 
  former 
  capping 
  of 
  that 
  clay. 
  At 
  Wontley 
  

   Farm 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  noticeable 
  dry 
  valley, 
  and 
  the 
  portion 
  of 
  it 
  above 
  

   the 
  Snowshill 
  Clay 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  excavated 
  by 
  a 
  stream 
  from 
  the 
  

   Pullers' 
  Earth. 
  Here, 
  too, 
  is 
  found 
  a 
  spring 
  from 
  the 
  Snowshill 
  Clay 
  ; 
  

   but 
  with 
  the 
  present 
  rainfall, 
  some 
  27 
  inches 
  per 
  annum, 
  there 
  is 
  

   not 
  sufficient 
  water 
  to 
  form 
  a 
  stream 
  down 
  the 
  valley 
  : 
  it 
  becomes 
  

   lost. 
  But 
  no 
  doubt 
  the 
  rainfall 
  was 
  very 
  much 
  greater 
  when 
  the 
  

   Cotteswolds 
  were 
  — 
  as 
  the 
  name 
  implies— 
  a 
  great 
  wooded 
  tract 
  of 
  

   country. 
  1 
  

  

  The 
  large 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  Cotteswold 
  valleys 
  in 
  proportion 
  to 
  the 
  

   streams 
  which 
  flow 
  down 
  them 
  is 
  generally 
  very 
  noticeable. 
  To 
  

   account 
  for 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  valleys 
  requires 
  two 
  suppositions 
  — 
  a 
  more 
  

   extensive 
  drainage-area, 
  and 
  a 
  greater 
  rainfall. 
  In 
  many 
  cases 
  the 
  

   former 
  may 
  be 
  granted 
  readily, 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  it 
  cannot 
  be 
  : 
  the 
  

   greater 
  rainfall 
  is 
  then 
  the 
  conclusion 
  arrived 
  at. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  

   doubtful 
  whether 
  a 
  more 
  arboreal 
  character 
  would, 
  in 
  a 
  climate 
  like 
  

   the 
  present, 
  increase 
  the 
  rainfall 
  sufficiently, 
  though 
  it 
  might 
  make 
  

   much 
  difference. 
  Of 
  course 
  a 
  far 
  more 
  humid 
  climate 
  may 
  also 
  be 
  

   surmised 
  — 
  the 
  so-called 
  ' 
  Pluvial 
  Period.' 
  

  

  Decrease 
  of 
  rainfall 
  must 
  be 
  considered 
  in 
  connexion 
  with 
  any 
  

   denudation 
  of 
  an 
  impervious 
  stratum 
  : 
  because, 
  with 
  a 
  decreasing 
  

   rainfall, 
  a 
  valley 
  would 
  become 
  dry 
  very 
  much 
  sooner 
  in 
  relation 
  to 
  

   the 
  amount 
  of 
  denudation 
  — 
  that 
  is, 
  it 
  would 
  become 
  dry 
  while 
  there 
  

   still 
  remained 
  of 
  the 
  impervious 
  stratum 
  much 
  more 
  than 
  if 
  the 
  

   rainfall 
  were 
  greater. 
  In 
  other 
  words, 
  with 
  a 
  greater 
  rainfall 
  

   more 
  of 
  the 
  impervious 
  stratum 
  would 
  have 
  to 
  be 
  removed 
  before 
  

   the 
  spring 
  dried 
  up. 
  Yalleys 
  which 
  are 
  now 
  dry, 
  but 
  have 
  been 
  

   excavated 
  by 
  streams 
  issuing 
  from 
  a 
  former 
  clay-capping, 
  are 
  a 
  

   common 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  Cotteswolds. 
  

  

  However, 
  the 
  interest 
  which 
  attaches 
  to 
  the 
  Cleeve 
  Hill 
  examples, 
  

   particularly 
  to 
  the 
  valleys 
  leading 
  to 
  Postlip, 
  is 
  the 
  depth 
  to 
  which 
  

   they 
  have 
  been 
  excavated, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  rapid 
  fall 
  of 
  the 
  streams 
  

   from 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  hill 
  into 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Severn. 
  Yet 
  we 
  must 
  

   assume 
  that 
  the 
  streams 
  which 
  originally 
  excavated 
  the 
  Postlip 
  

   valleys 
  did 
  not 
  flow 
  into 
  the 
  Severn, 
  but 
  formed 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   drainage 
  of 
  the 
  Thames. 
  The 
  shape 
  of 
  the 
  Cleeve 
  Hill 
  plateau 
  

   at 
  Corndean, 
  and 
  by 
  Wadfield 
  Farm, 
  gives 
  evidence 
  of 
  this 
  ; 
  and, 
  

   further, 
  the 
  Sevenhampton 
  valley 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  excavated 
  by 
  a 
  

   stream 
  which 
  came 
  from 
  the 
  north, 
  from 
  a 
  former 
  extension 
  of 
  

   the 
  Cotteswold 
  plateau 
  over 
  the 
  country 
  beyond 
  Winchcombe 
  and 
  

   Toddington 
  : 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  tributary 
  of 
  the 
  Coin. 
  The 
  Postlip 
  streams 
  

   would 
  have 
  been 
  tributaries 
  of 
  the 
  Sevenhampton 
  stream. 
  

  

  Further, 
  the 
  valley 
  which 
  is 
  at 
  the 
  southern 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  Cleeve 
  Hill 
  

   plateau 
  — 
  part 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  now 
  the 
  valley 
  of 
  the 
  Chelt 
  — 
  must 
  have 
  

   been 
  also 
  excavated 
  by 
  a 
  stream 
  tributary 
  to 
  the 
  Coin. 
  It 
  flowed 
  

  

  1 
  Cotteswold, 
  Coed, 
  a 
  wood 
  (Welsh) 
  ; 
  wold, 
  a 
  wood 
  (Anglo-Saxon). 
  But 
  I 
  

   would 
  suggest 
  that 
  the 
  Anglo-Saxon 
  name 
  is 
  a 
  corruption 
  of 
  an 
  older 
  Welsh 
  

   name, 
  like, 
  say, 
  Coed-y-swl 
  =the 
  wood 
  of 
  the 
  plain. 
  Swl 
  is 
  ' 
  a 
  flat 
  space,' 
  and 
  

   the 
  flat, 
  plain-like 
  appearance 
  of 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  Cotteswolds 
  is 
  very 
  noticeable. 
  

   The 
  native 
  pronunciation 
  is 
  ' 
  Cot-sul.' 
  

  

  