32 Wild Life in a Southern County. 
be imagined that in this exposed position, even if 
filled to the brim by heavy storms of rain, a week of 
sultry sunshine would evaporate it to the last drop; 
instead of which, excepting, of course, unusually pro- 
tracted spells of dry weather such as only come at 
lengthy intervals, there will always be found some 
water here ; even under the blazing sunshine a shallow 
pool remains, and in ordinary times the circular basin 
is half full. 
It is of quite modern construction, and, except 
indirectly, has no bearing upon the water supply of 
the earthwork, having been made within a few years 
only for the convenience of the stock kept upon the 
hill farms. Some special care is taken in puddling 
the bottom and sides to prevent leakage, and a layer 
of soot is usually employed to repel boring grubs or 
worms which would otherwise make their holes 
through and let the water soak into the thirsty chalk 
beneath. In wet weather the pond quickly fills; 
once full, it is afterwards kept up by the condensation 
of the thick, damp mists, the dew and cloud-like 
vapours, that even in the early mornings of the hot 
summer days so frequently cling about the downs. 
These more than supply the waste from evaporation, 
‘so that the basin may be called a dew-pond. The 
mists that hang about the ridges are often almost as 
laden with moisture as a rain-cloud itself. They . 
deposit a thick layer of tiny bead-iike drops upon the 
coat of the wayfarer, which seem to cling after the 
