LITTLE GADDESDEN. 259 



casts]. Around Woodford, in Essex, the ground is in the 

 same way full of worms and their holes. I saw to-day 

 that a troop of ducks waddled about and, as it were, 

 sought for something. I asked the carl who accompanied 

 us if he knew what they were seeking for? He answered 

 that in the evenings and very early in the morning the 

 worms creep out of their holes on to the ground, for 

 which reason the ducks go very early in the morning 

 afield to seek for them, and eat them very greedily, 

 ganska snalt. When it advances a little farther into 

 the day, so that the sun mounts higher up in the heavens, 

 the worms creep down into their holes under the earth, 

 when the ducks also, as they can no longer reach them, 

 return back from the plain, and wander home to the 

 farms. We got afterwards several times to see that the 

 carl spoke truth. 



At Woodford Mr. Warner had four Sea Gulls, Fisk- 

 masar, who went in his garden, and diligently followed 

 the gardeners, when they were digging in the garden. 

 These gulls were very clever at swallowing the worms 

 which were cast up in turning over the earth. 



Jordens tjocklek pa Kritan i dalderna. 



The thickness of the soil over the chalk in the dales. 



The carl who accompanied us told us that when a 

 well, grop, is dug in the dales between the chalk hills, 

 one often may have to dig 14 or 20, and more feet deep 

 before reaching the place where the chalk is met with, 

 tager emot : but on the other hand, it is often not 

 necessary to dig on the chalk hills or ridges, krit- 

 bargen eller hogderna, more than 1 or 2 feet, before 

 the chalk rock itself occurs, tager vid. The soil was 

 here everywhere in the dales, for a great part, the before- 

 described [p. 256 orig.J flint-sand which nearly always 



had a reddish or rust colour. 



s 2 



