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in the great fire of 1775, and is at present the site of an observatory, admirably supplied with instruments by the well-known astronomer, Dr. Struve, as well as of the university library and medical school. In the middle of the sixteenth century Dörpat had a cathedral and seven churches within the walls, besides three outside of them, but at present it has only one Lutheran and one Greek church. In 1782 it had 546 houses and 3603 inhabitants; in 1816 the population had increased to 7376; and at present the number of nouses is about 1200, and the population is about 11,000. In 1833 it was 10,802; viz., 5011 males and 5791 females; and in 1835 the births were 772 and the deaths 653. Internal trade, the navigation of the Embach, and the wants of those who are connected with the university afford employment to the people of the town. They also hold a large annual fair in January for the sale of Russian and foreign manufactures. The university was founded in 1632 by Gustavus Adolphus, at a time when Livonia, Esthonia, and Ingria, belonged to the Swedish crown, but was suppressed by Alexis Michaelovitsh in 1656. The Swedes having however recovered possession of Livonia, it was re-established in 1690: in 1699 they transferred it to Pernau; and in December, 1802, it was reconstituted by the Emperor Alexander for the benefit of Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland, the nobility of which elect a curator or superintendent, who, conjointly with its heads, adininisters its revenue, which amounts to about 58007. a year (126,000 roubles). The university, which is open to students of every religious persuasion, consists of the four faculties of theology, law, medicine, and philosophy; has 30 professors, and is attended by about 580 students. It has à library of nearly 60,000 volumes, and suitable collections for natural and experimental philosophy, mineralogy, zoology, anatomy, and pathology, &c.; a botanical garden, clinical institutions, a theological and a philological seminary, an establishment for educating Russian professors, a gymnasium, and a school for educating teachers in the elementary schools. Public education throughout Livonia, Esthonia, and Courland, is under the direction of the University of Dörpat. DORR-HAWK. [GOATSUCKERS.] DORSET. [SACKVILLE.]

of Poole harbour. This bay penetrates six miles inland towards the west, and expands to a breadth of four or five. Its outline is very irregular, and it forms several small bays; as Hole's Bay, Lytchet Bay, Arne Bay, &c. It receives the Frome, the Piddle, and other streams: it consists for the most part of banks of mud, which are dry at low water, and covered with sea-weed, and are separated from each other by deeper channels. The town of Poole is on a peninsula at the entrance of Hole's Bay, on the north side of the harbour. There are several islands in Poole harbour; Brownsea or Brownsey, the largest, which lies near the entrance of the harbour, is a mile and a half long from east to west, and nearly a mile broad. It is sandy, partly covered with heath, furze, and fern, and partly cultivated or laid out in a plantation. There are on it an old castle and one or two tenements. The water is so shallow in Poole Harbour, except in the channels, that only small or lightly-laden boats can pass over the banks, even at high water; several of the channels are only sufficient for fishing boats and small craft: the Wareham and Main channels, the south or Wych channel, and that which leads to the town of Poole, are navigable for larger vessels. The shore round Poole harbour is low, and near where the Frome falls into it the land is protected from inundation by an embankment. From the entrance of Poole harbour a low shore runs southward nearly three miles, and then becomes steep and turns eastward, forming Studland Bay, the southern limit of which is Handfast Point. From Studland Bay, the coast, still for the most part abrupt, runs about 4 miles south by west to Peverel Point and Durlston Head, forming the two small bays, Swanage or Swanwich Bay and Durlston Bay. From Durlston Head a precipitous coast runs west by south 5 miles to St. Aldhelm's or St. Alban's Head (344 feet high, B.), and from thence in an irregular line west by north 17 or 18 miles to Weymouth Bay, forming several small bays, such as Chapman's Pool, Kimmeridge Bay, Worbarrow Bay, Lulworth Cove, and Ringstead Bay. The cliffs which extend from Peverel Point to the neighbourhood of Weymouth are a longitudinal section of the high land which forms this part of the coast.

DORSETSHIRE, an English county, bounded on the east by Hampshire, on the north by Wiltshire, on the north-south to the towns of Melcomb Regis and Weymouth: here west by Somersetshire, and on the west by Devonshire: along all its southern borders it is washed by the English Channel. Dorsetshire is for a short distance separated from Hampshire by a rivulet which joins the Avon of Wiltshire and Hampshire above Christchurch: for a short distance it is separated from Somersetshire by the Ivel or Yeo, and the brooks that run into it; and in the west it is separated from Somersetshire and Devonshire by the Axe and some small streams that run into that river.

The form of the county is very irregular, and one small part is entirely detached from the rest and inclosed by Devonshire. Its greatest length is from east to west, from Alderholt, near Fordingbridge, in Hampshire, to the western extremity of the detached part, which is inclosed within the boundary of Devonshire, 57 or 58 miles: but from the irregular course of the boundary, the line joining these two points is not wholly in Dorsetshire. The breadth from north to south varies much; the greatest breadth is from the spot where the river Stour enters Dorsetshire to Portland Bill or Point, 40 miles: at the eastern extremity, along the Hampshire border, the breadth is 16 miles; at the western extremity, near Lyme Regis, only 5 miles. The area, as given in the table in Arrowsmith's large map of England and Wales, and in the population returns, is 1006 square miles, or 643,840 acres: the population in 1831 was 159,252, or about 158 to a square mile. In respect of size, it is below the average of the English counties; and in respect, both of amount and density of population, very much below. Dorchester, the county town, is 115 or 116 miles from St. Paul's, London, in a straight line south-west by west, or 119 from Hyde Park Corner by the road through Basingstoke, Andover, Salisbury, and Blandford. Dorsetshire is included between 50° 30′ and 51° 5' N. lat., and 1° 48' and 3° 7' W. long. Dorchester is in 50° 43' N. lat. and 2° 26' W. long.

Coast, Bays, and Islands.-At the eastern end of Dorsetshire the coast is precipitous; but the cliffs extend scarcely a mile south-west from the border of Hampshire, and are succeeded by a low sandy tongue of land, running about a mile farther in the same direction to the narrow entrance

The shore of Weymouth Bay is low, and extends 2 miles the cliffs recommence, and run 1 mile south-west to Sandsfoot Castle, from whence a low shore extends 2 miles south by east to Portland Castle, on the peninsula or Isle of Portland. The lofty coast of this island takes a circuit of 5 or 6 miles to the Bill of Portland, the southernmost point of the county, and from thence above 3 miles northward to the commencement of the Chesil Bank, which connects the north-west extremity of the Isle of Portland with the main land. The bay between Weymouth and the Isle of Portland is called Portland Road.'

The Isle of Portland is about four miles long, and in the widest part nearly one and a half broad. It is one continued bed or rock of freestone. The highest point in the island is 458 feet (B.) above the level of the sea: the cliffs on the western side are very lofty; those at the Bill are not more than 20 or 30 feet. There is sufficient depth of vegetable soil to render the island tolerably productive, but not sufficiently so for the entire sustenance of the population, who get much of their provisions from Weymouth. Water is plentiful and good; one stream has sufficient volume to turn a mill. The herbage is very fine, and affords pasturage to a number of sheep, whose flesh is considered to be excellent mutton. In wet seasons the meadows produce a good crop of grass, but in a dry spring it is so much parched as not to be worth mowing. The arable land is mostly common field; what inclosures there are, are bounded by stone fences: wheat, oats, peas, and a little barley are grown; sainfoin is also cultivated. The grain harvest is small, but the corn is fine, and in request for seed. There are very few trees in the island except a few elms in the southern part; and from the scarcity of other fuel, the islanders are obliged to use dried cow-dung mixed with the stubble of their corn, which they gather for the purpose. (Hutchins's Dorsetshire, vol. ii. p. 354, 2nd edit., Lond., 1796-1815.) The whole island is included in one parish, which contained in 1831 a population of 2670. The islanders are a robust race, peculiarly adapted to the hard labour of quarrying stone, in which a considerable number are employed: they are not long-lived, which is ascribed to their free use of ardent spirits. (Hutchins's Dorsetshire.) They occasion

six miles inland

h of four or five -ms several small Bay, &c. It re eams: it consists ch are dry at l e separated from n of Poole is a -y, on the nort islands in Po gest, which lis mile and a ha e broad. It s and fern, and tation. There vo tenements our, except in den boats can Several of the ts and small

uth or Wych

f Poole, are ound Poole into it the kment.

shore runs

es steep and uthern limit v, the coast, Fles south br ing the two rlston Bav est by south

4 feet high

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ally engage in fishing, and some few are employed in agri-
culture, trade, and handicraft. The custom of gavelkind
prevails here. The island has one village, Chesilton, at the
commencement of the Chesil bank, on the north-west side
of Portland: there are several hamlets. There are two
castles; one, on the east shore of the isle, is very antient,
and built in the form of a pentagon, with a number of
small loop-holes, whence it has been vulgarly called Bow
and Arrow Castle' it is sometimes called Rufus's Castle.
The other is on the northern side of the island, built by
Henry VIII., and, in connexion with Sandsfoot Castle,
commands Portland Road: a few guns are still mounted.
Near the Bill are two lighthouses. The quarries will be
noticed hereafter. Masses of rocks extend under water to
a considerable distance from the island. A dangerous surf,
called "The Race of Portland,' extends from the west of the
island eastward to St. Aldhelm's Head. Portland Road is
sheltered from the south-west wind, and affords good hold-
ing ground at eight or nine fathoms.

Preston Down, Main Down, Gunville Down, Pimperne Down, Stowerpaine Down, Furze Down, Camp Down, and Mill Down, with the outlying eminences Hod Hill and Hamilton Hill. From the valley of the Stour the chalk downs run nearly west to the neighbourhood of Beaminster, and form the northern boundary of the basin whose drainage is received by Poole Harbour. In this part we have Okeford Hill, Bell Hill, White Hill (between the last two is Bulbarrow, 927 ft. high) (A.), Great Ball, Little Ball, Revels Hill, Dogberry Hill, High Stoy, 891 ft. (A.), Highcombe Hill, Row Hill, East Hill, West Hill, Evershot, Rampisham, Corscombe, and Beaminster Downs, Whitesheet Hill, and Horn Hill. The foregoing eminences belong to the range of the North Downs,' and lie along the northern escarpment of that range. The hills near Beaminster form, with the exception of some outlying masses, the western extremity of the great chalk formation. The chalk hills from Beaminster run south-east or east, and form the South Downs,' the highest points in which are along the southern escarpment. The hills gradually ap proach the coast a few miles north-east of Melcombe Regis. In this range we have Hackthorn Hill, Chilfrome Down, Eggardon, where is an old entrenchment, Chilcombe Hill, Little Bredy Down, Black Down, 817 ft. (A.), Whaddon Down, Ridgeway Down, and Bincombe Down (if these be not two names for the same), Came Down, Moignes or Maine Down, Holworth Down, and Chaldon Down. From Lulworth the chalk hills run eastward to Handfast Point, the headland which separates Studland and Swanage Bays. In this part of the range are Purbeck Hill, Knowl or Norden Hill, west of Corfe Castle, 369 ft. (B.), Corfe Castle Hill, 207 ft. (B.), Challow Hill, east of Corfe Castle, 390 ft. (B.), Nine Barrow Down, 625 ft. (B.), or 642 ft. (O.), and Ballard Down.

Leland, Hollinshed, and Camden agree in speaking of
Portland as having been once separated from the main
land; but it has long been united to it by the Chesil Bank,
one of the longest and most extraordinary ridges of pebbles
in Europe. From its commencement at the Isle of Port-
land, near the village of Chesilton, to which it gives
name, it extends in a remarkably straight line north-
west for many miles, not joining the shore at the part
nearest to Portland, but running parallel to the coast,
from which it is separated by a narrow arm of the sea
called 'The Fleet,' as far as Abbotsbury, 10 miles from
Portland: here it unites with the main land and runs
along the shore nearly six miles further to the com-
mencement of the cliffs at Burton Castle, not far from Brid-
port. The breadth of the Chesil Bank is in some places
near a quarter of a mile, but commonly much less. The
base is formed of a mound of blue clay, which is covered to
the depth of four, five, or six feet, by a coat of smooth round
pebbles, chiefly of white calcareous spar (these are called
Portland pebbles), but partly of quartz, chert, jasper, &c.,
so loose that a horse's legs sink almost knee deep at every
step. The bank slopes on the one side toward the open sea,
and on the other toward the narrow inlet intercepted by it:
it is highest at the Portland end, and is there composed of
pebbles as large as a hen's egg; but they diminish in size
towards the west so regularly, that it is said the smugglers
who land in the night can judge where they are by exa-
mining the beach; at Abbotsbury they are little bigger
than horse-beans. Marine plants grow in patches along
the edge of the bank by the water-side. The pebbly cover-
ing is continually shifting: a north-east wind sometimes
clears away the pebbles in parts, leaving the blue clay ex-
posed; but the denuded spaces are covered again with pebbles
by the heavy sea which the south-west wind brings up.
The Fleet' receives the water of several rivulets, and runs
into the open sea at its south-eastern extremity by a narrow
channel called 'Small Mouth:' it is in some places half a
mile broad; there are two or three passages or causeways
over it. At the north-western extremity it forms a 'swan-
nery,' which once consisted of 7000 swans. The Fleet is
much frequented by water-fowl, among which Dr. Maton
observed the wild swan. (Hutchins's Dorsetshire; Smea-
ton's Hist. of the Edystone Lighthouse; and Maton's
Western Counties.)

From Burton Castle the coast, generally abrupt and fre-
quently high, runs W.N.W. ten or twelve miles to the
border of Devonshire: the cliffs in this part are remarkable
for the beauty and variety of the fossils which they contain.
The whole extent of the Dorsetshire coast, including the
circuit of the Isle of Portland, may be estimated at above

75 miles.

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Pillesdon Pen, west of Beaminster, which is 934 ft. high (O.), is the highest point in the county, and belongs to the green sand formation. Swyre Hill, on the coast, near Kimmeridge, in the Isle of Purbeck, is 669 ft. high. (B.) For the above elevations we have given our authorities: O. the Ordnance Survey; A. Arrowsmith's Map of England and Wales;' and B. Dr. Berger in ' Geol. Trans.' vol. i. p. 268. The Stour, the chief river of Dorsetshire, rises in Wiltshire, in Stourhead Park, on the border of Somersetshire, and running south-by-east, enters Dorsetshire between 3 and 4 miles from its source. After flowing about 4 miles farther in the same direction, it receives the Shreen Water from the north, and soon after the Lidden River from the north-east. It then flows in a very winding channel, southsouth-east, for 8 miles, to the junction of the Cale, which comes from the neighbourhood of Wincanton, in Somersetshire. From the junction of the Cale the Stour flows south about 3 miles to the junction of the Lidden, and thence winds to the east past the town of Sturminster Newton, and through a depression in the range of the North Downs, and passes in a south-east course to the town of Blandford Forum, after which it flows south-east for 20 miles to the village of Corfe Mullen; and from thence 4 miles east to the junction of the Allen, which flows from the north near Cranbourne. After it receives the Allen the Stour flows east-south-east 6 or 7 miles into Hampshire, after entering which it receives a considerable stream, 16 or 18 miles long, from Cranbourne; and about 4 miles lower it joins the Avon near Christchurch, in Hampshire. The whole course of the Stour is nearly 65 miles, for 40 of which, viz. up to Sturminster Newton, it is navigable.

The river Yeo, Ive or Ivel, is formed by two brooks, one
rising in Somersetshire, and one in Dorsetshire, which
uniting near Milbourne Port (Somersetshire), and flowing
south-west, enter Dorsetshire between Milbourne Port and
Sherbourne, about three miles from their respective sources.
The Yeo then flows first west-south-west, then west-north-
west for about seven miles, when it again touches the border
of Somersetshire, along which it winds for about three
miles, and then entering Somersetshire flows north-west
into the Parret. The Stour and the Yeo carry off the
drainage of all that part of the county which lies north of
the North Downs.

What is sometimes called the Isle of Purbeck,' being
really a part of the main land, is not noticed here; it com-
prehends the peninsula formed by the river Frome and
Poole Harbour on one side, and the sea on the other.
Surface, Hydrography, Communications.-The surface
of this county is for the most part uneven. The principal
elevations are the chalk downs, which, entering Dorsetshire
from Wiltshire on the northern side of Cranbourne Chase, The North and South Downs inclose the basin of the
two or three miles south-east of Shaftesbury, turn to the two rivers Piddle or Trent and Frome, which unite in
south, and run to the valley of the Stour, in the neighbour- Poole Harbour below Wareham, and from their situation
hood of Blandford. In this range of downs, some parts of with respect to that town are respectively called Wareham
village of Alton on the southern declivity of the North

which are covered with wood, are Melbury Down, Ashmore

Down, Fontmell Down, Iwerne Free Down, Bushy Down,

North and Wareham South river.

The Piddle rises in the

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Downs, and flows south and south-east past Piddletrenthide and Piddlelinton to Piddletown. From Piddletown it has a general east-south-east course to its entrance into Poole Harbour. Its whole course is about twenty-two miles; or, if we add seven or eight for the length of the low water channel through the estuary of Poole Harbour, 30 miles. The Frome rises on the Downs near Corscombe, northeast of Beaminster, and flows south-east. At Maiden Newton it receives a stream from the Downs near Beaminster. From Maiden Newton the Frome flows south-east eight miles to Dorchester. From Dorchester the Frome flows east nearly twenty miles into Poole Harbour, just upon entering which it unites with the Piddle, and has the same low water channel as that river: its whole length is about thirty-five miles, or, including the channel through Poole Harbour, forty-two or forty-three miles. For a considerable part of their course both the Frome and the Piddle flow through low meadows; the channel of each is repeatedly divided and reunited. They are not navigable, at least above Wareham.

The western extremity of the county is watered by the Bredy, the Brit, the Char, and the Axe, which last rather belongs to Devonshire. The Bredy flows westward seven or eight miles from Little Bredy into the sea, near Burton Bradstock, at the north-west extremity of the Chesil Bank. The Brit rises near Beaminster on the southern slope of the chalk hills, near the junction of the North and South Downs, and flows south about nine miles into the sea below Bridport: the mouth of it forms Bridport Harbour. The Char is about as long as the Brit; it rises near Pillesdon Pen, and flows south and south-west into the sea at Charmouth: it receives many brooks. The Axe rises in Dorsetshire, and flows for some miles along the border of the county.

Dorsetshire has no canals. The Dorset and Somerset canal, for which acts were obtained in 1796 and 1803, but which was never executed, was to have entered the county near Stalbridge, and to have followed the valley of the Stour till it opened into that river above Blandford Forum. The intended English and Bristol Channels' ship canal was to cross the western extremity of the county. There is a short railway from the clay pits at Norden, near Corfe Castle, to the Quay on Middlebere Channel, Poole Harbour.

it is mixed with ground flints and employed in the finer kinds of pottery. Beneath the potters' clay lies a seam of very friable earthy brown coal, which crumbles when put into water, burns with a weak flame, emitting a particular and rather bituminous smell, somewhat like Bovey coal. An extensive horizontal bed of pipeclay skirts the northern declivity of the South Downs, and it contains a bed of coal exactly resembling that of Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight; clay of the same bed, but not of equal quality, may be found in other parts of the Trough of Poole. it is quarried extensively near the town of Poole, where clay for fire-bricks is also dug. Near Handfast Point the sand of this formation passes into sandstone. The plastic clay is found capping one or two hills south-west of Dorchester. The chalk formation bounds the plastic clay. In the North Downs the chalk occupies a breadth of nearly ten miles, viz., from Shaftesbury to Cranbourne and along the valley of the Stour from above Blandford to Wimbourne Minster: at its western extremity the formation is still broader, extending about eighteen miles from beyond Beaminster to Stinsford near Dorchester. On the southern side of the Trough of Poole it becomes much narrower, scarcely averaging two miles in breadth. The cliffs along the south coast are partly chalk: the strata are in some places curved and occasionally vertical. The valleys, drained by the upper part of the Frome and its tributaries, are occupied by the green sand, so that the mass of the chalk-hills about Beaminster is cut off from the rest of the formation.

The remainder of our geological notice must be arranged in two parts: the first referring to the district south of the chalk range and extending to the coast: the second referring to the district west and north-west of the same range. We shall first speak of the southern districts.

The chalk marle, green sand, weald clay, and iron sand skirt the chalk in the order in which we have named them in the Isle of Purbeck, and extend along the coast between the chalk and the Purbeck and Portland limestone next to be noticed. The iron sand near Lulworth contains imperfect beds of wood-coal. The weald clay is not found along the coast west of the Isle of Purbeck.

The Purbeck strata, belonging to the upper series of the Oolitic formation, consist of argillaceous limestone alterThe Penzance, Falmouth, and Exeter mail-road crosses nating with schistose marle: they crop out from under the the county in nearly its whole extent. It enters it near iron sand in the Isle of Purbeck. A variety of the Purbeck Woodyates' Inn, between Salisbury and Blandford, and runs stone, known as Purbeck marble, was formerly much used south-west through the latter town, Winterbourne Whit- for columns and ornaments in our cathedrals and old church, Milbourne St. Andrew, and Piddletown to Dorches-churches, but is now out of use. The thickness of the Purter; and from thence west by Winterbourne Abbas, Brid- beek beds is estimated at 290 feet. The Portland Oolite, port, Chidcock, and Charmouth to Axminster in Devonshire. another member of the same series, which succeeds the The Exeter mail-road crosses the northern part of the county, Purbeck stone, occupies the remainder of the Isle of Purentering it near Shaftesbury, and running thence sometimes beck and the whole of that of Portland. It consists of a in Somersetshire and sometimes in Dorsetshire, by Sher- number of beds of a yellowish white calcareous freestone, bourne to Yeovil in Somersetshire. It just crosses the generally mixed with a small quantity of siliceous sand. western extremity, and the detached portion of the county But the different beds of which it is composed often vary in between Chard and Honiton. The Falmouth, Devonport, their characters, nor are the same beds of an uniform chaand Exeter mail-road also just crosses the western part of racter in different localities. The varieties of this formathe county. The Southampton and Poole mail-road enters tion afford the greater part of the stone used for architectu the county beyond Ringwood, and runs by Wimbourne Min- ral purposes in London. ster to Poole. Roads run from Dorchester to Weymouth, to Wareham, Corfe Castle and Swanage, to Beaminster and Crewkerne, and to Sherbourne; from Shaftesbury to Sherbourne, to Sturminster Newton, and to Blandford, and from Blandford to Wimbourne.

Geological character. The direction of the chalk-hills, which has been already noticed, furnishes the key to the geological structure of Dorsetshire. The North and South Downs, which respectively extend westwards from the neighbourhood of Shaftesbury and the Isle of Purbeck, and unite at their western extremity near Beaminster, inclose a basin, the Trough of Poole,' in which we have the formations superior to the chalk; beyond or without this basin we have the formations which underlie the chalk.

The eastern part of the county, as far as Cranbourne, Chalbury and Wimbourne Minster, and the Trough of Poole (bounded on the north by a line drawn from Wimbourne by Bere Regis and Tolpiddle to Stinsford near Dorchester, its western extremity, and on the south by a line drawn from Broad Mayne along the northern slope of the South Downs to Studland bay) are occupied by the plastic clay. The undulations of the surface occupied by this formation are considerable. Potters' clay in beds of various thickness and at different depths alternates with loose sand in this formation in the Trough of Poole. It is sent to Staffordshire, where

The Portland stone came into repute in the time of James I., who used it by the advice of his architects in rebuilding the banqueting-house at Whitehall. After the great fire of London, A.D. 1666, vast quantities of this stone were used in rebuilding St. Paul's and other public edifices. A considerable portion of Westminster Bridge and the whole of Blackfriars Bridge are built of it. The quarries are thus described by Mr. Smeaton in his 'Narrative of the Building, &c., of the Edystone Lighthouse :'

"The first thing that excited my curiosity was the very subject I came upon; that is, the quarries from whence the stone sent from Portland is produced. The upper surface of the island I found was totally flat, but elevated above the sea, according to the estimation of my eye, at least 200 feet. The stratum of stone, that is wrought for sale, lies nearly parallel with the upper surface of the island, and with not much cover of earth or rubbish upon it. There are several beds of stone, lying in contiguity one above another, varying in thickness in general from two to four feet, and upward. Those which are usually called the merchantable beds (on account of the blocks for sale being produced therefrom) are universally covered with a stratum called the cap, which is formed entirely of a congeries of petrified sea shells of a great variety of kinds, but in general so distinet and

• The highest point as we have seen is much higher than this.

mployed in the fe clay lies a seam t crumbles when emitting a partic hat like Bovey clay skirts the a and it contains Hum Bay in the not of equal queir ough of Poole. Poole, where clay r Point the said The plastic clay t of Dorchester. astic clay. In t

adth of nearly a rne and along =rd to Wimbourg Formation is s om beyond Be he southern s rrower, scarce along the sout ne places curve ed by the occupied by i hills about Be

ion.

Uppe

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separate in their forms that to the curious naturalist their
species seem very easy to be made out; but as they, in a
considerable degree, retain their respective figures (though
in some places more, in some less), spaces or cavities are left
between them, which consequently very much diminish the
coherence of the mass; but yet the cementing principle is so
strong that the whole together is considerably harder than
the merchantable beds; and indeed so hard that, to get rid
of it as easily as possible, it is generally blasted off with gun-
powder. Were it not for these cavities the capstone would
not readily be worked with tools; or, at least, it would not
be worth working at a place where there is so great a plenty
of stone of a better quality; but as it is necessary to remove
it in the course of working the better kind of stone, though
by far the greatest proportion is blasted into fragments, yet
for the buildings in the island the capstone is in general
use, and also for the piers and quay walls of Weymouth har-
bour; as also in the pier for shipping stone at Portland
blocks are used from the cap; and indeed were it not for
the expense of freight (which is the same as upon those of
the best quality) for various rough purposes under water, &c.,
the cap would make quite as good and durable work as the
merchantable blocks.

'When the merchantable beds are thus cleared of the cap,
the quarry-men proceed to cross-cut the large flats, which
are laid bare with wedges in the way I have described as to
the moorstone: only the wedges are not so numerous, nor
does Portland stone split so evenly as granite; and frequently
in the splitting as well as other working of this stone, oys-
ters and other fossil shells are discovered in the solid sub-
stance of the merchantable stone. The beds being thus
cut into distinct lumps, the quarry-man, with a tool called a
kevel, which is at one end a hammer and at the other an
axe, whose edge is so short or narrow that it approaches
towards the shape of a pick, by a repetition of sturdy blows
soon reduces a piece of stone with his eye to the largest
square figure which it will admit, and blocks are thus
formed from half a ton to six or eight tons' weight, or up-
wards, if particularly bespoke.

In the north-western and western parts of the county, the chalk formation is succeeded by the green sand, which crops out from beneath it, and skirts the northern side and the western extremity of the North Downs. The green sand forms the outlying masses of Pillesdon and Lewston hills, and of others yet farther west along the border of Dorsetshire and in the county of Devon. [DEVONSHIRE.] Neither the iron sand nor the weald clay, nor so far as we are aware, the chalk marle, appears to be found in this part of the county.

West of Shaftesbury extends a bed of Kimmeridge clay which crops out from under the green sand: west of the Kimmeridge clay is a range of coral rag hills; and still further west occur the Oxford clay, and the Great Oolite. All these formations are overlaid by the westward extension of the chalk and green sand from the valley of the Stour to Beaminster; but some of them re-appear in the cliffs which line the coast westward of the Chesil Bank.

In

The western extremity of the county is occupied by the lowest members of the Oolitic series and by the Lias. The line of junction of these formations extends nearly north and south from Ilminster in Somersetshire to the sea. sulated masses of green sand frequently cover both the Oolites and the Lias, and render it difficult to trace the line of junction. The detached part of the county which is enclosed within Devonshire is partly occupied by the red marle foundation.

Agriculture. The climate of Dorsetshire, though mild and healthy, is not so warm as its geographical situation would lead us to expect; a circumstance owing to the nature of the soil and the bareness of its chalk hills, there being little or nothing to break the force of the winds that sweep over them. The air is keen and bracing, rather than soft and warm. In the valleys, the climate resembles that of the valleys of Devonshire, and the vegetation is very similar. It appears from Domesday Book that there were vineyards at that time in several parts of this county. At present the harvest is not in general earlier than in the midland counties: and although snow seldom lies long on the ground, the land is not fit for sowing in spring sooner than in many parts of England where the winters are more severe.

A considerable portion of the soil in the south-eastern part of this county is similar to that of Bagshot Heath, and not more fertile, being a loose sand and gravel, with a portion of ferruginous loam. The whole surface of the county consists chiefly of this loose sand and gravel, clay and chalk. The most fertile spots are those where all the three have been mixed in the valleys by the rivulets which run down the hills carrying the soil with them. The poor sandy soil occupies that part of the county which joins Hampshire. In the centre and towards Wiltshire lies the chalk; and along the coast, over a more solid chalky rock, is a stratum of clay, which likewise covers the western part towards Devonshire, and the northern towards Somersetshire. The following division of the soils is given in the Agricultural Report of the County,' by Stevenson :

The strata of stone of all kinds on the east side of Portland have an aggregate thickness of 93 feet, on the west side of 112 feet. The 'cap' is at present only burnt for lime. The Kimmeridge clay, a blue slaty or greyish-yellow clay which also belongs to the upper Oolitic series underlies the Portland stone: it sometimes contains beds of a highly bituminous shale, which from their being found near Kimmeridge in the Isle of Purbeck, have obtained the name of Kimmeridge coal, and have given to the whole formation the name of Kimmeridge clay. The shale burns with a yellowish flame, giving out a sulphureous smell. The thickness of the Kimmeridge clay is estimated at 600 or 700 feet. It forms the base of the Portland Oolite in the Isle of Portland, and the line of junction between the two formations is elevated on the north side of the island far above the level of the sea. The coasts of the island are here formed by a sloping bank of Kimmeridge clay, surmounted by an abrupt escarpment of Oolite. On the south side of the island by the dip of the strata towards the south the line of junction is brought down to the level of the sea. Towards the south-western shore of the Isle of Purbeck where the chalk downs approach the sea, and are skirted only by a very narrow belt occupied by the iron sand, and beyond that seaward, by the Portland Oolite, the sea has formed several singular coves, at the entrance of which are lofty headlands of Oolite; while the cove or basin is excavated inland as far as the chalk. The precipitous sides of these basins exhibit in a most striking manner the formations between the chalk and the Oolite.

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Exclusive of rivers, towns, roads, &c.
The chalk hills to the west of Dorchester, and along
Westward of the coves just described, extending from the borders of the vale of Blackmore, are of considerable
Weymouth bay towards the river Brit, occurs what is termed elevation, and contain several narrow vales and deep hollows.
by Geologists 'a saddle,' a double series of formations. After The soil on the most elevated parts of the chalk district
the green sand, Purbeck, and Portland beds, and Kimme- is a thin loam over a rubbly chalk mixed with stones which
ridge clay have successively cropped out from beneath the lies on the solid chalk. It is most advantageous to let this
chalk, the coral rag and Oxford clay, members of the mid-soil remain as sheep-walk, the pasture being fine and short
dle series of Oolites rise to the surface in succession, and are as in other downs. In the bottom of the vale of Blackmore
succeeded by the Forest Marble and the Great Oolite, which are some extremely fertile meadows watered by the river
belong to the lowest series of the Oolitic formations. To Stour. The hills which look down upon this valley are
the southward of the Great Oolite and Forest Marble the
high and bare; but the lower sides are beautifully varied
superior strata re-appear in reverse order of succession; the with woods and fields.

Oxford clay, then the coral rag, and then the Kimmeridge The quantity of arable land throughout the county bears
clay, which runs down to the shore at Weymouth, and rises but a small proportion to the pasture; and greater cattle
again from the sea in the Isle of Portland, where it appears tion is paid to the rearing of sheep and feeding of catre
capped with the Portland Oolite,
than to the raising of corn. The implements of husbandry

are similar to those in use in Devonshire. The wheelploughs are preferred in stiff and stony soils; and it is usual to put three horses before them, two abreast, and the third before the near horse; so that the furrow being turned to the right, two horses walk on the unploughed ground, and one in the furrow; they are driven by a lad. Improved ploughs have been introduced; but the majority of farmers are slow in relinquishing the instruments which they have been early accustomed to. The nine-share plough, or scarifier, has been found very useful in the light soils, and saves much time in preparing the land for the seed, as it goes over a great width and saves a ploughing.

On the larger farms the farm-houses are old buildings of, and covered with stone tiles; in the smaller they are mostly thatched with reed. Many cottages are built with mud walls composed of road scrapings, chalk, and straw. The foundation is of stone or brick, and on this the mud wall is built in regular layers, each of which is allowed to dry and harden before another is put over it. Garden walls are frequently built of these cheap materials, their top being protected from the weather by a small roof of thatch, which extends a few inches over each side. The farms are large, many having been laid together, in prosperous times, at the desire of the richer farmers, and with the concurrence of landlords, who found that the repairs on one large set of buildings are less than on many small

ones.

The rent of land varies greatly. In the poor sands it is as low as 10s. or 12s. per acre; in the richer grass lands it is from 30s. to 408.; some water-meadows let as high as 60s. or more. On the whole, the average rent of grass land is about 20s., of old meadow about 30s., the tenant paying the tithes, which seldom exceed 58. per acre.

perish, or are eaten by the birds, who are then more alert after their food. The early sown wheat is thought more subject to mildew. The seed is usually steeped and limed. When it is sown very early this precaution is frequently omitted. The average produce of wheat is from 17 to 20 bushels per acre.

Barley is here a more important crop than wheat. It is sown from the middle of March to the middle of May. The earliest sown is generally the best. The produce averages 30 bushels per acre. Oats are sown on the heavier and moister soils, at the rate of six bushels per acre. They think that the straw is better fodder where the oats are sown thick, but they perhaps forget that the heaviest grain is produced by sowing thin or drilling wide. Beans are planted or drilled in rows from 18 to 24 inches distant. In the rich loams of the vale the produce is considerable, from 30 to 40 bushels per acre, and often more. Turnips are generally sown broadcast, at the rate of three pounds of seed per acre; this gives an abundance of plants, which are thinned out by the hoe.

Potatoes are cultivated to a considerable extent in the rich loams about Bridport, Beaminster, Abbotsbury, &c.: they are planted in rows, or the sets are dropped in every third furrow after the plough. They are horse-hoed, and moulded up by a double mould-board plough: 24 bushels planted on an acre often produce 360. The beginning of May is the usual time of planting.

Sainfoin is sown with a spring crop four bushels of seed are required for an acre. It is cut before the blossom is fully expanded and made into hay, which is excellent fodder for sheep in winter. After several years, when it begins to go off, it is ploughed up, and the land sown with oats. It is often advantageous to pare and burn the land after sainThe old method of managing arable land, which is still foin; but as this practice is generally forbidden in leases, followed by many farmers, was to fallow every fourth year however advantageous it may be occasionally, a method is on the clays, and then take two or even three crops of corn adopted which equally destroys the vegetable matter without in succession. Where clover or grasses are cultivated, they burning the soil. This is to rib the land; that is, to plough are put in with the second crop, and consequently the land furrows with intervals, and do this again across the first is not in a clean state. The most common rotation on the ribs; the sods are thus cut in squares, and the harrows rich loams in the vale of Blackmore is: summer fallow-passing over them leave the roots in the form of matted wheat-barley with grass seeds, which continue two or three years, and are then broken up again after the hay has been made, when a kind of bastard fallow succeeds, consisting of three ploughings, and the land is tolerably prepared for wheat; but it is not clean enough to prevent the necessity of a repetition of the summer fallow every sixth year at least. There is a practice with some farmers which deserves notice, as it is a step towards the system of double crops, by which the Flemish culture is rendered so much more productive than most other. It is as follows: the clover or grass of the second year is fed off early by sheep; the land is then ploughed up and sown with rape and spring tares, which give an abundant produce in autumn, on which the sheep are folded, and the land is thus well prepared for wheat. The time of sowing is about the end of May or beginning of June. A bushel of vetches and two quarts of rape-seed are the quantities sown on an acre. The crop is fed off by Michaelmas.

On the light chalky soils turnips have been very generally introduced, although they are not yet every where cultivated in the best manner.

The introduction of sainfoin on the dry chalky soils has been a great advantage, as it produces a rich fodder, requires little manure, and lasts many years. In this soil the wheat is generally sown after clover which has stood one or two years, but sometimes also after turnips or rape fed off. The folding of the land saves manure, and the vicinity of sheep downs gives an opportunity of having large folds and repeating the folding often, both before and after sowing the seed. The tread of the sheep consolidates loose soils better than the heaviest roller. The ploughing in the chalky soils is generally very shallow, because they say that the couch is thus more easily kept down; but those who plough as deep as the subsoil will permit find that their crops are more certain, especially in dry summers; and the couch is best eradicated by careful hand-picking after every ploughing.

Wheat is sown sometimes in the light soils as soon as August, and before the wheat crop of that year is ripe, The quantity sown is usually three bushels, and is increased as it is sown later. In the heavier loams the wheat is sown later, sometimes not much before Christmas; in that case a bushel more is required to allow for the grains that

tufts, which are burnt, and the ashes spread to enrich the ground. A regular paring and burning would be much better, both for the landlord and the tenant. Sainfoin does not produce much the first year after it is sown, and consequently many farmers sow hop-clover with it, which being an annual gives a produce the first year, and fills the intervals of the sainfoin, which is in perfection the second. The land which has borne sainfoin for some years is not sown again with the same crop till after an interval of 10 or 12 years at least.

Hemp is cultivated to some extent in the richest soils, which contain a considerable proportion of sand, and are too light for beans. The land is prepared by ploughing it three times; first, before winter, when it is richly dunged; and next in spring, when it is well harrowed. The direc tion of this second ploughing is across the former furrows, whenever it can conveniently be done. The third ploughing is in May, when the ground is laid as level and smooth as possible by means of the heavy hoe or hack. Two bushels of seed are then sown evenly over it, and slightly harrowed A slight rolling of the ground, if it is very loose, finishes the operation. Hemp completely keeps down weeds by the shade of its leaves; and the land, if very richly manured for this crop, is in good order after it for any other which may suit it. An acre of good hemp produces 800 lbs. of fibre, a middling crop is 600 lbs., and a poor one 450 lbs. The chaff of the hemp makes an excellent

in.

manure.

Flax is likewise cultivated in the sound deep loams which have been gradually enriched by manuring the preceding crops. If the dung were not thoroughly incorporated in the soil it would make the flax coarse and uneven. The soil must be pulverized to a considerable depth, and must also be very free from weeds. Two bushels of seed are sown on an acre. The best seed comes from Riga; the time of sowing is the middle of April. Clover seed is sometimes sown among it. It should be most carefully hand-weeded as soon as the plants can be distinguished from weeds: after this the flax and clover will keep them down. The produce is about six to eight bushels of seed, each of which gives a gallon and a half of oil, and from 600 to 900 lbs. of flax fit for spinning.

The grass lands and pastures occupy about three-fifths of

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