On  the  Farming  of  Somerset. 
667 
its  farming.  The  geology  of  the  eastern  district  is  very  compli- 
cated : its  most  prominent  features  are  mountain  limestone,  coal- 
measures,  and  the  oolites.  The  climate  is  foggy;  but  some  of  the 
pastures  are  remarkably  dry.  Dairy-farming  predominates.  The 
middle  district  includes  the  principal  grazing  and  cheese  lands, 
the  peat-moors,  the  stonebrash  and  clay  soils  on  the  lias,  the 
oolite  sands,  and  the  new  red  sandstones  and  marls.  It  may  be 
well  to  mention,  as  an  illustration  of  the  state  of  agricultural  sta- 
tistics in  this  country,  that  I have  not  been  able  to  obtain  from 
any  public  department  (including  that  of  the  Ordnance  Survey) 
an  accurate  statement  of  the  area  of  the  county.  The  following 
approximation  is  extracted  from  the  population  returns  of 
1841  : — “ The  area  of  the  county  is  1645  square  miles,  and 
therefore  1,052,800  acres;  the  area  assigned  to  the  different 
parishes  amounts  to  1,089,099,  but  no  attempt  to  reconcile  this 
apparent  discrepancy  has  been  deemed  allowable.”  According 
to  the  same  returns  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  county  is 
435,982,  being  in  the  proportion  of  42  persons  to  every  hundred 
acres,  that  of  all  England  being  only  43  to  100  acres. 
The  proportion  of  grass-land  in  the  county  is  very  large.  Mr. 
Billingsley,*  a landed  proprietor  residing  in  the  county  at  the  end 
of  the  last  century,  in  a report  to  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  which 
shows  him  to  have  been  far  in  advance  of  his  time,  estimates  the 
enclosed  grass-lands  at  584,500  acres — above  half  the  county, 
and  the  commons  and  wastes  at  115,000.  There  are  now  pro- 
bably about  40,000  acres  unenclosed,  of  which  about  30,000  are 
in  the  Western  hilly  district. 
Western  District. 
The  western  hilly  district  consists  of  the  following 
groups : — 
1.  The  Quantocks,  which  run  from  N.N.W.  to  S.S.E.,  and 
are  isolated  by  the  new  red  sandstone,  which  overlies  their  base  on 
all  sides.  The  principal  heights  range  from  1000  to  1100  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  “ Will’s  Neck,”  the  highest  point, 
is  1270  feet. 
2.  Brendon  Hill,  which  lies  from  east  to  west  with  Main  Down, 
Heydon  Down,  and  Haddon  on  its  south  side;  Croydon  Hill 
and  some  other  hills  on  its  north  side;  all  lying  in  the  same 
direction.  Haddon  Hill  rises  to  1140  feet,  and  Brendon  Hill 
somewhat  higher. 
3.  To  the  west  of  Brendon  Hill,  and  divided  from  it  by  the 
deep  stream  valleys  which  fall  to  the  north  and  south  from  the 
* 1 General  View  of  the  Agriculture  of  the  County  of  Somerset.’  By  John  Billingsley, 
Esq.,  of  Ashwick  Grove,  near  Shepton  Mallet,  p.  12. 
