GG8 
On  the  Farming  of  Somerset. 
watershed  at  YVheddon  Cross  Cutcombe,  is  Dunhery,  connected 
on  the  north  with  the  Porlock  Hills  and  the  coast-line,  and  on 
the  west  with  the  Forest  of  Exmoor.  On  the  south  side  of  Dunkery 
are  the  Winsford  and  Hawkridge  Hills,  which  are  a continuation 
of  the  ridges  of  Exmoor.  All  these  hills  lie  east  and  west,  or 
nearly  so,  which  causes  a remarkable  distinction  in  the  agricul- 
tural character  of  their  north  and  south  faces.  Dunkery  rises  to 
the  height  of  very  nearly  1700  feet;*  and  the  heights  of  the 
adjacent  hills  vary  from  1000  to  1500  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea. 
Sir  Henry  Delabeche,  to  whom  every  square  mile  of  West 
Somerset  and  North  Devon  is  familiar,  has  noticed  the  varieties 
of  agricultural  character  which  appear  as  you  go  from  the  Bristol 
Channel  to  the  south  across  the  successive  bands  of  the  grauwacke 
or  Devonian  formation  running  from  east  to  west,  till  we  touch, 
for  a short  distance,  on  what  is  now  called  the  lower  carbonaceous 
formation. 
The  differences  in  the  several  bands  of  rock  noted  by  the 
geologist,  resolve  themselves  into  two  classes  of  soil,  well  known 
to  the  local  agriculturist — “stone  rag”  and  “ stone  rush,”  which 
last  is  probably  the  same  word  as  brash  or  broken.  The  “stone 
rag”  is  a soil  composed  of  finely  lanjinated  layers  of  clay-slate, 
which  have  a tendency  to  rub  down  into  clay  and  to  hold  moisture. 
The  “stone  rush”  is  a soil  in  which  irregular  portions  of  stone 
work  up  to  the  surface,  where  they  are  slow  of  decomposition. 
As  a general  rule  the  “stone  rag”  is  more  favourable  to  the 
growth  of  grass,  and  is  considered  as  worth  from  5 s.  to  10s.  an 
acre  more  than  the  “ stone  rush,”  which  is  apt  to  suffer  from 
drought.  The  “stone  rush”  is  also  an  unsuitable  soil  for  the 
action  of  any  agricultural  implements  which  are  liable  to  be 
damaged  or  impeded  by  stones. 
Farming  of  the  Western  Hill  Country. — The  farming  in  this 
district  is  not  without  its  interest.  The  proprietors,  it  is  true, 
cannot  have  the  satisfaction  of  show'ing  their  friends  a state  of 
excellence  attained  ; but  for  those  who  bring  kindness,  patience, 
and  good  sense  to  the  task  of  improvement,  it  has  the  livelier 
interest  of  hope.  “ Liberal  landlords  and  grateful  tenants”  was 
the  motto  chosen  recently  bya  distinguished  farmer.  It  expresses 
well  the  conditions  required  to  renovate  a wild  district,  without 
sweeping  changes. 
Some  years  ago  many  of  the  estates  in  the  Hills  v'ere  let  on 
leases  for  lives.  It  is  needless  to  point  out  here  how  that  kind 
■of  tenure  works  ill  both  for  landlord  and  tenant,  and  is  a barrier 
* I am  indebted  to  Captain  Denham  for  the  information  that  his  survey  data  of 
1832  give  Dunkery  an  altitude  of  1C37  feet  above  the  half-tide  level  of  Porlock  Day. 
