On the Agricultural Geology of the Weald. 261 
seems to be the same bed is a liofht-coloured clay, often variegated 
with red ; it is there thin, and forms no great extent of surface. 
Both Tunbridge Wells and Ashdown Sands have other and 
thinner beds of loam and clay, which give a local wetness to the 
soil. Loam seems to be more frequent in the area west of Uck- 
field, but not in sufficient quantity to make much of the land 
stiff. 
The Clays of the Hastings Beds (Wadhurst Clay and Grinstead 
Clay in its western range) are, when freshly dug, thinly bedded 
shales (locally " marl "), which, on exposure to the weather, very 
soon become a soft clay. It is generally yellowish, sometimes 
of a darker hue, but rarely of the deep brown colour which dis- 
tinguishes the weathered London Clay. In all its characters it 
resembles the Weald Clay ; but has this important advantage, 
that it never occurs as flat plains, but always makes more or less 
undulating ground. Sand predominates in the Hastings Beds, 
as already stated, and the district has that general character 
ef feature which san;l produces. This hilly nature of the ground 
gives abundant facilities for drainage. The Wealden clays are 
remarkable for the extent to which they shrink and crack in 
dry weather. 
In the Wadhurst Clay there are occasionally thin beds of 
sand, unimportant agriculturally, but of use, at times, in yielding 
water at a less depth than if the Ashdown Sand had to be 
reached. 
The map shows the general distribution of the sand and clay 
beds, and to describe their range in detail is quite unnecessary. 
The lowest beds of the district, however, deserve a separate 
notice. 
The Ashburnham Beds occur in two areas : the one around 
Hastings, where they consist of mottled clays, with sandstone; 
die other to the north and north-east of Battle, where they con- 
tain, in addition, many beds of limestone. They form a wet 
soil, stiff as a whole, but less so than the Weald and Wadhurst 
Clays. 
The limestone beds crop out in a long valley north-east of 
Heathfield, and again, further east, nearer the South-Eastern 
Railway. The works were, some years ago, of great extent, but 
are now abandoned. The best and fullest published account of 
them is contained in Young's ' Survey.' * He states that the 
Earl of Ashburnham was then " the greatest lime-burner in all 
the kingdom." At present the limestone is dug for roads, but is 
not extensively burnt. 
The Wadhurst Clay was the main source of the ironstone 
• Pp. 13 and 205 of 8vo. edition, 1808. 
