hundred feet above the village; and is divided into a fheep down,
the high wood, and a long hanging wood called The Hanger. The
covert of this eminence is altogether beech, the mod lovely of all
foreft trees, whether we confider it’s fmooth rind or bark, it’s
glofiy foliage, or graceful pendulous boughs. The down, or
iheep-walk, is a plealing park-like fpot, of about one mile by half
that fpace, jutting out on the verge of the hill-country, where it
begins to break down into the plains, and commanding a very
engaging view, being an affemblage of b.ilC daje, wood-lands,
heath, and water. The profpedt is bounded to the fouth-eaft
and eaft by the vad range of mountains, called The Suffer Downf,
by Guild-down near Guildford, and by the Downs round Dorking
and Ryegate in Surrey, to the north-call:, which altogether, with
die country beyond Alton and Farnham, form a noble and ex-
tenfive outline.
A t the foot of this hill, one dage or Hep from the uplands, lies-,
the village, which conlids of one lingle ftragghrig lircct, three
darters of a mile in length, in a Iheltered vale, and running
parallel with The Hanger. The houfes are divided from the hill
By a vein o f diff clay (good wheat-land), yet Hand on a rock o f
white done, little in appearance removed from chalk; but feems
fo far from being calcarious, that it endures extreme heat. Yet
that the freedone ftill preferves fomewhat that is analogous to
chalk, is plain from the Beeches which , delcend as low as thofe
rocks extend,, and no farther, and thrive as well on them, where
the ground is deep,, as on the chalks.
The cart-way of the village divides, in a remarkable manner,
two ..very.incongruous foils. . T o the 'fouth-wed is- a rank clay,
that, requires the labour of years to render it mellow; while the
gardens to the north-ead, and fmall enclofures "behind, conlidof a
warm
warm, forward, crumbling mould, called black malm, which feems
highly fat-urated with vegetable and animal manure; and thefe
may perhaps have been the.original; fite of the town; while the
woods and coverts might extend down to the oppoiite bank.
At each end of the village, which runs from fouth-ead to
north-wed,- arifes a fmall rivulet: that at the north-wed end frequently
fails; but the .other is a fine perennial fpring, little m-
fiuenced by drought or wet. feafons, called Well-headf. This
breaks out of fome high grounds'joining to Nore HtU, a noble
chalk promontory, remarkable for fending-forth two dreams into
.two different feas. . The one to the fouth becomes a; branch of
the Arun, running to Aruhdek and fo falling into the Bntijh
channel; the other to the north. The Selborne dream makes one
branch of the Wey, and, meeting the Black-down dream at Hedleigh,
and the Alton and Farnham dream at Tilford-bridge, fwells into a
confiderable river, navigable at Godaiming; from whence it paffes
to Guildford, and fo into the Thames, at Weybridge-, and thus at the
More into the German ocean.
Our wells, at an average, run to about fixty-three feet, and
when funk to that depth feldom fail; but produce a fine limpid
water foft to the bade, and much commended by thofe who
drink the pure element; but which does not lather well with foap.
T o the north-wed, north and ead of the village, is a range of
fair enclofures, confiding of what is called a white malm, a fort of
* This fpring produced, SeftemUr 14, J0$ S t * ^ hot j 3 SR ceding diyfpring and winter, nine gallons o f water in a mmute, which is five hundred
and fort7in an hour, and twelve thoufand nine hundred and f ix ? , or nvo hundred and
fix Jnhoglh ead s. in twenty-four hours,or one patural day. A t this tune many o f the
__11. onrl all the nonds in the vales were dry. rotter*