On  the  Farming  of  Somerset. 
695 
to  the  field  : on  the  other  hand,  it  is  open  to  the  objection  of  dis- 
tributing the  manure  unevenly. 
Middle  District. 
The  Middle  District,  which  has  been  described  as  the  physical 
basin  of  the  Somerset  waters,  flowing  between  its  principal  hill 
ranges,  consists  of  four  main  divisions,  quite  distinct  in  their 
character : — 
1.  The  red  marl  and  sandstones  in  the  Vale  of  the  Tone. 
2.  The  Bridgewater  Level,  lying  between  the  Mendip  and  Quantock 
Hills. 
3.  The  lias  and  clayland  adjoining  the  Bridgewater  Level  on  the 
south-east. 
4.  The  sandy  loam  on  the  oolite  surrounding  the  bed  of  lias  on  the  east 
and  on  the  south. 
Vale  of  Taunton. 
New  Fed  Sandstone  and  Red  Marls. — Closely  connected  with 
the  West  Hill  country,  though  widely  different  in  character,  is 
the  Vale  of  the  Tone — which  opens  into  the  Bridgewater  Level 
between  Taunton  and  Bridgewater.  This  vale  rests  for  the  most 
part  on  the  new  red  sandstone  formation,  which  also  stretches  to 
the  sea  on  both  sides  of  the  Quantock  Hills,  isolating  that  range 
by  dividing  it  on  the  east  from  the  Bridgewater  Level,  and  on  the 
west  from  the  range  of  western  hills  on  the  Devonian  formation. 
The  rich  arable  lands  and  meadows  which  lie  to  the  north  of  the 
last-named  high  lands  along  the  sea-coast  to  the  westward,  are 
