250 
Farming of Hampshire. 
The New Forest portion of the south-western block is more oi 
less overspread with beds of erratic flint gravel, generally yellow, 
sometimes of a darker colour. Where this is deep, it obliterates 
the underlying sands and clays of the Eocene period. This 
remark applies, though to a less extent, to the north-eastern 
portion of the county about Aldershot. In the Forest, too, re- 
appear the " verrells," though they are known by another name 
— " Burley rock " — derived from the spot where they crop out. 
They are again to be found built into the walls of ancient build- 
ings, such as the Norman churches of Boldre and Brockenhurst, 
and the Early English church of Minstead. Of the New Forest, 
the Rhinefield, Burley, and Wilverley walks, in the western 
district, are the poorest ; though, of the Rhinefield, the part where 
the Nursery is situated is better. Of the Burley walk, the part 
to the west of Burley Beacon, and round it, is nothing but sand 
on clay, growing rushes, with here and there some bed furze. 
In the eastern district the poorest walks are the Beaulieu, the 
Nodes, and the Denny. These are all to the south, and generally 
the north has a deeper soil, more capable of growing oak. There 
are two kinds of furze in the Forest — the tall, and the short or 
"bed" furze. Farmers will tell you that the land is worth re- 
claiming, and corn can be grown where the tall furze flourishes. 
The Forest soil used to be famous for its marls, two descriptions 
of which are recognised — " the Shell Marl " and the " Cherry 
Marl." In the former the clay is rendered calcareous by shells, 
whole, or slightly broken. In the latter, which derives its name 
from the red stains caused by oxide of iron, the shells are Avholly 
broken, and the calcareous and argillaceous materials more inti- 
mately united. The large and numerous marl-pits still existing, 
of which no less than twenty-four are named in the ' Schedule 
to the Register of decisions on New Forest claims, 1857,' as 
" open and accustomed marl-pits," prove the extensive use of this 
manure in former, and even comparatively recent times. They 
are now, however, almost deserted. " The old hole," near 
Levett's Gate, is sometimes resorted to ; but it appears from the 
New Forest financial accounts that, during the year ending the 
31st of March last, no more than 138 cubic yards were excavated 
from all the twenty-four pits.* Marl is a most bulky, and there- 
fore a most expensive manure to apply ; chalk, conveyed by 
railway, and artificial manures, easily carried anywhere, have 
superseded it. The chief application of marl is on the peaty soil 
between Sopley and Christchurch. In the New Forest, from the 
recent formation of the deposits, geology can give a good account 
* The sum received for marl, at Crf. per cubic yard, was 3/. 9s. Some calcula- 
tions have been printed in the Society's Journal as to the cost of these marls ' hen 
conveyed by railway. 
