484 0)1 the Agricultural Geology of England and Wales. 



deposit on the summits of the hills. It appears also that in a dis- 

 trict where a large portion of the soils are local, that is, derived 

 exclnsivelj from the rock on which they rest, the same fact pre- 

 vails, which has been repeatedly pointed out in lower regions — • 

 the dependence of the variations of soil on contours. 



The soils of the chalk of Hampshire are described by Van- 

 couver. He remarks that " however diversified the surface of a 

 county may be, it is the uniformity of the substratum which must 

 generally mark the extent of such divisions as may be required 

 for agricultural purposes." The reason which he assigns for 

 this is that the changes which the soil undergoes from culti- 

 vation and the action of the atmosphere, do not extend to the 

 substratum, which maintains its original condition. He does 

 not explain, however, how, on this hypothesis, variations of soil 

 are produced on the same stratum, without any variation in its 

 mineral character or in the atmospheric action to which different 

 parts of it have been exposed^ or in the cultivation to which it has 

 been subject. 



On the principle of classification adopted, his geological dis- 

 Iricts agree nearly with the geological areas which fall within the 

 limits of the county, though not so closely as his theory requires. 



He observes of his chalk district that, notwithstanding the uni- 

 formity in its internal composition and structure, which consists of 

 an unbroken rock of chalk, the soils covering its surface are so 

 much blended as to require much attention to describe them in 

 such a manner as to make their varieties intelligible. 



He divides them into — 



1. The soils of the higher parts of some of the Downs — light, 

 'dry, friable, sandy loams, of moderate depth, provincially called 

 hazel, resting on chalk rubble, or partially dissolved chalk, and 

 affording in their natural state short but sweet sheep pasture, but 

 liable, on the brows and sides of the hills, to be washed away 

 when under cultivation. 



2. A black vegetable mould, of moderate depth, on a bed of 

 jflints and rubble, which separates it from the chalk. When hard 

 stocked with sheep it affords a very sweet herbage, but is liable 

 to be overrun with dwarf furze when graced as cow common. 



3. A thin grey loam almost immediately on a bed of firm 

 chalk, affording sheep pasture, generally of good quality — more 

 liable to be affected by drought than the two preceding, and 

 requiring hard-stocking to preserve the sweetness of the herbage. 



4. A deep, strong, red, flinty loam, from 8 to 10 feet, upon, 

 and partially dipping into,* the chalk. This variety is usually 

 found on the flat tops of the lesser eminences. It is described 



* That is, filling pipes and furrows in the chalk, like those shown in the diagvam. 



