9 2 
mr. Norton’s betters.—no. 3 . 
Mv. Norton 1 ® letters.—$ 0 . 3. 
In my former letter, giving some notes of a 
journey by railway from London to Dover, I had 
got as far as Reigate, and had mentioned the green 
sand formation, which appears in that neighbor¬ 
hood. It is here of no great width, and soon cross¬ 
ing it, we entered upon the the weald of Kent. The 
wealden is a part of the oolitic system, and is thus 
described by Prof. Johnston in his Lectures, to 
which I would refer all who wish for a more extend¬ 
ed account of these formations. He says,“ The up¬ 
per part consists of a fresh-water deposit of brown, 
blue, or fawn-colored clay, often marly, and almost 
always close and impervious to water. Beneath 
this, are the iron or ochrey Hastings sands, which 
again rest upon the Purbeck beds of alternate 
fresh-water limestones and marls.” This forma¬ 
tion is in all, about 900 feet in thickness, and forms 
the central portion of both Sussex and Kent. The 
weald clays are exceedingly difficult of cultivation, 
being almost impervious to water, and baking like 
bricks. Much of the land is rushy and wet, and 
a great breadth in poor, cold pasture. The drain 
is exceedingly needed in this district, its judicious 
application followed by the exercise of good judg¬ 
ment in working, would, I have no doubt, alter 
greatly for the better even thestiffest of these clays. 
Where the marls and the Purbeck limestones come 
to the surface, and mix to a considerable extent 
with the clay, a much better and more easily 
worked soil results. Owing to the difficulties ex¬ 
perienced in dealing with these excessively stiff 
clays, a great portion of the weald remains in the 
state of forest. Much valuable timber is produced 
here, and it is floated down the Medway in large 
quantities. 
This is a great hop growing region. The hop 
fields were to be seen in very great numbers, and 
almost every farm had a large kiln for drying them 
attached to its other buildings. At this season of 
the year, the vines were of course withered and 
dead; the poles were formed into a species of stack 
leaning towards a common centre. The hop vines 
in almost every instance had been carefully collected 
and carried away, probably to the manure yard. 
In some of the hop fields I noticed that potatoes, 
beans, or cabbages were planted between the rows 
cf hops. I should think that their growth could 
be but little, until the time came for the gathering 
of the hops and the removal of the vines. 
Although, as I have mentioned, there are some 
imperfections in its cultivation, that part of the 
weald through which the railway passes is exceed¬ 
ingly beautiful, and we frequently regretted the 
diving into a tunnel, or deep cutting, just at the 
moment when some fine prospect was opening 
before us. The surface is undulating, and ridges 
of hills run across the country in various directions, 
their sides studded with little villages, each having 
its grey old church, with a square ivy-covered 
tower, and the superb seats of noblemen and gentle¬ 
men with which this region abounds. Though 
upon close examination defects are seen in the cul¬ 
ture, yet a general view presented a picture of rich¬ 
ness and luxuriance, realizing some of our brightest 
conceptions of the fruitfulness and plenty of “Merrie 
England.” The remarkable attractions of this region 
have often been noticed before by travellers. The 
wealden formation appears at the surface in this 
place alone over the whole extent of the British 
islands. 
At Ashford we came again upon the green sand, 
which exhibited as usual a country of great fertility. 
It must not be supposed, however, that all the soils 
of this formation are invariably fertile. On refer¬ 
ence to Prof. Johnston’s Lectures, I find that be¬ 
tween the upper and lower beds of green sand 
intervenes what is called the gault, about 150 feet 
in thickness, of an impervious, compact, blue clay. 
This forms in the counties of Cambridge and Hun¬ 
tingdon, “ a thin, cold, clay soil, which when wet be¬ 
comes as sticky as glue, is most expensive to cultivate 
as arable land, and naturally produces a poor, coarse 
pasture.” It is necessary, therefore, not only to 
know the exact geological formation of a district, 
but to know also what strata of the formation are 
present. The green sand formation is celebrated 
for its fertility, and a person knowing this and 
being told that the soils of Huntingdon and Cam¬ 
bridge were upon that same formation, would very 
naturally suppose that those soils must be excellent, 
and on learning their true nature might be disposed 
to consider geology as after all quite useless for the 
purpose of guiding the practical man. This con¬ 
clusion would be as hasty as the other, and they 
both show the danger of applying general rules 
without discrimination in particular cases. 
Before reaching Folkestone, we once more found 
ourselves upon the chalk, which here shows itself 
in great thickness. Some of the cliffs expose nearly 
its whole extent, of 600 feet. One or two of them 
are between 500 and 600 feet almost perpendicular. 
The upper chalk soils naturally produce a short 
but excellent grass, peculiarly suited to sheep. We 
saw very great numbers of the South Downs, which 
seem the favorites in this section. __ 
The railway from Folkestone to Dover, a distance 
of about five miles, is a remarkable monument of 
English enterprise and engineering skill. In this 
short distance there are no less than four tunnels, 
two of which are of great length. The Abbot’s 
Cliff tunnel is 1,895 yards in length, and perforates 
the cliff at a depth of nearly 400 feet from its sur¬ 
face. This is connected with another tunnel 1,331 
yards in length, by a sea wall 1,500 yards long, 
from 25 to 30 feet thick at its base, and from 50 to 
70 feet high ! 
Dover itself is a most singular old place, just at 
the foot of a very high chalk-cliff, which seems 
almost to threaten and overhang some of the houses. 
As I sailed for Ostend on the night of my arrival, I 
was unable to see much of the place or its neigh¬ 
borhood. This I may perhaps accomplish at some 
future time. John P. Norton. 
JJtrecht, Dec. 11th, 1846. 
Economy in Food. —Meat used cold is less nou¬ 
rishing, and does not go so far as when eaten warm; 
broths, stews, and hashes of meat, mixed up with 
vegetables, and flavored with parsley, chives, and 
onions, salt and pepper, are better and cheaper, and 
more nourishing and agreeable for the working 
man than plain meat. 
