11 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 3.] 
scenery, among which is concealed from sight a little church, 
a sweet secluded parsonage, and a rambling hamlet, full of 
! picturesque snatches, and cottages, in every one of which 
one cannot help wishing to live; while a distant line of trees 
which form the horizon mark the farm where Jethro Tull 
once lived. On the left hand, plantations of dingy Scotch 
fir now shut in the view, and exclude much beauty which, 
many years ago, added considerably to the scene; but the 
contrast is striking, and in the winter it heightens the effect. 
From this lovely home-view the eye ranges over the cool 
grassy hills that stretch along the valley, so high, and yet so 
quiet in their character, that the mind feels repose in gazing 
j upon them. Their summit is still encircled by the very 
perfect remains of a Roman encampment, which arouses a 
long train of thought. On that calm and peaceful height 
was once heard the clang of trumpets and the noise of an 
armed multitude. Rapine and cruelty and death followed in 
their train, and the very fields and woods and gardens that 
now decorate this valley, were once trodden by the terrible 
legions of a warlike and despotic empire. How fearfully 
must the trembling occupiers of this very spot have looked 
up to the strong and threatening fortress that frowned from 
the hill, full of desperate and lawless men! and how ought 
we—how ought the cottage gardeners of Old England to bless 
God that the deep green dykes around their hills, and the 
crumbling walls of the old castles that beautify her scenery, 
are all that remain of those dark disastrous days when her 
sons groaned beneath their - burdens, and her “ children fell 
under the wood! ” How ought we all to prize and pray for 
the peace and prosperity of our dear old island, the Monarch 
that sways the gentle sceptre, and the freedom that our laws 
enforce and guard! But let us remember why England is 
free, and happy, and prosperous ; why the throne stands so 
firmly ; why her shores are as yet preserved from the foot of 
the destroyer. Because England protests against “ the 
mystery of iniquity,”—against him “ who opposeth and ex- 
alteth himself above all that is called God, or that is wor¬ 
shipped; because she acknowledges Him “ whose name is 
above every other name," in all she says and enacts; and 
because her Monarch fills the throne only “ by the grace of 
(iod.” For these reasons, and for these reasons only, 
England is what she is. Whenever, as a nation, she gives 
“ heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils,” the cup 
of God’s wrath will quickly be placed in her hand. 
Mountains and hills have been largely used in Scripture, 
to convey instruction to our hearts, and comfort and con¬ 
fidence. How many glorious and mighty works are brought 
to our minds when we gaze upon, or even think of them— 
; Ararat, Sinai, Pisgah, Horeb, Carmel, Ziou, Calvary ! What 
! speech and language there is in each and all!—how they 
glorify Him before whom “ the everlasting mountains were 
scattered, the perpetual hills did bow!” How they warn us to 
secure a sure interest in His covenant before our “ feet 
stumble on the dark mountains," before we “ begin to say 
to the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us.” Let 
us, as we stand admiring the beauty of our varied British 
; scenery, think of these things, for they are of deep and fear¬ 
ful importance ; and let us “ look to the hills from whence 
cometh our help,”—our only help when “ earth and heaven ” 
shall flee away. 
And now, once more, the bright beautiful tints of autumn 
are tipping the trees. The limes are speckled with gold ; 
i the beeches are tinged with their first rich colouring; and 
among the copses the birch has clothed itself in yellow', and 
its delicate leaves are already strewing the ground. 
Yet, the early morning is full of exquisite beauty : the 
bright sun beams slant through the trees with rich golden 
light; and the dew Res so thickly upon the grass, that it 
looks like molten silver. The last few mornings have opened 
; with a thick wet fog, w'hich in spite of its chilliness adds to 
: the loveliness of the scene ; for as the sun rises higher and 
higher, the feathery clumps of trees emerge gradually from 
! the vapour, and every instant a new and beautiful object is 
brought out softly and gracefully to view. When I first 
open my window I see numberless little plump thrushes 
i hopping fearlessly upon the lawn, knowing well that man is 
not yet gone forth to his labour; and the graceful roguish 
squirrels dart like lightning from the filbert trees, where 
they have been robbing our future store. 
There is so much deep sentiment in the closing year, and 
j it speaks so loudly to poor short-lived man, that we can never 
mark its earliest approaches without interest and solemn 
: thought; at least, as the winter of our life comes on. To the 
, young, indeed, every season comes blithly and cheerily, for 
all is bright to those who are just springing into life, and 
have not felt the sweep of the tempest, and the blighting 
winter frost. To use an expressive Scotch phrase, “the 
black ox has not tramped ” upon them yet; and they feel 
just as a gay spirit spoke a few days ago, “ Oh! the tints of 
autumn are so beautiful, I never think of winter!” l r et, as 
years multiply, w r e do think of winter, and many things and 
persons, and sorrow's too. How' many eyes that kindly glanced 1 
over the pages of “ The Cottage Gardener,” when first it I 
saw the light two years ago, have already closed in death ! i 
Flow few of us are permitted, in this unstable world, to 
witness the falling of the leaves without a lament for objects, 
dearer far, that have dropped around us ! 
And yet, how many of us have to praise the Lord for 
added mercies—mercies without end! Trials and afflictions 
are mercies, although clothed in unlovely garb; but the love 
of our Father sends us showers of blessings, and adorns our 
path with a thousand beautiful things. Oh ! let us bless 
Him for the continuance of the frail breath that only 
| separates us from the land of spirits ; for, perchance, some 
| of us have an account to give that needs a strict examination 
before it is rendered up. Let us remember that every leaf 
that falls hung by a stronger thread than that which supports 
our lives, and that, however we may “ rejoice in the days of 
our youth,” “ yet for all these things God will bring us to 
judgment.” 
Let our walks lead our minds to high and solemn thoughts. 
They will not embitter, but sweeten our leisure hours ; they 
will add abundantly to our enjoyments now, and prepare us 
for those better things that are eternal. 
THE CLAY MARL OF SUFFOLK AND NORFOLK. 
The subsoil of a great part, indeed of the greater part, of the 
counties of Norfolk and Suffolk consists of a substance provin- 
cially called “ clay." I use the w'ord “ provincially," because 
this substance is very different from that which is commonly 
called clay, viz.; the earth of which bricks and pottery are 
made. The clay of Norfolk and Suffolk is composed of cal¬ 
careous and argillaceous earth, and I believe that most speci¬ 
mens contain more or less sand. It varies as to colour, 
consistence, and composition. The preparations of calcareous 
and argillaceous earth are variable; in some localities it is 
very stiff; in others very friable ; in some it even contains so 
great a quantity of soft sand, that when dry it invariably falls 
to powder, when pressed between the finger and thumb. 
The colour of the upper part of the stratum is usually 
whitish or gray, but sometimes blue, and sometimes yellow. 
The yellow is, I suppose, coloured by carbonate of iron; the 
blue by carbon, since it turns white in the fire. I believe 
that at the depth of ten or fifteen feet the colour is invariably 
a blue, either lighter or darker. This clay seems to be the 
result of the destruction of a part of the chalk stratum and 
of some argillaceous stratum;, the two earths appear to have 
been suspended in water, and as they subsided to have been ; 
mixed together. It is quite plain that one of the component : 
parts is derived from the chalk; for, besides the calcareous j 
earth which is intimately blended with the argillaceous, the i 
clay, in most instances, contains numerous nodules of chalk, I 
a few of which may be six or eight inches in diameter, but ! 
the greater part are much smaller, varying from the size of a : 
small bean to that of a pin’s head; many specimens are full 
of those small pieces of chalk. Moreover, chalk flints are 
irregularly dispersed in considerable numbers throughout 
the mass of the clay, at least through the upper part of the 
stratum, and in that part the larger nodules of chalk are 
most abundant, but smaller nodules are found, and often in 
great numbers, in the lower part of the stratum, which 
consists of blue clay, and which in sinking weUs lias been 
penetrated to the depth of seventy feet, and perhaps to a 
greater depth. Large pieces of septaria* containing carbonate 
of lime in a chrystalised state also occurs, but not very abun¬ 
dantly. A fine fragment of rocks, whose geological position 
is below the chalk, are sometimes, but not very frequently, 
* Septaria, irony marl from which Parker’s Cement is made. 
