Ne i A i i Se

398 HOPS. bines, in many instances, bore a middling crop.

SOIL. In the environs oF CANTER- BURY, the sorx is of various qualities; from sandy loam to a strong brick earth; the depth being generally great; as eighteen inches to two feet deep; and the sussol_, or base, invariably cHaLK. On this land, as on lands of a similar nature, in the Dis- trict of Maidstone, hop grounds may be said to be perpetual.

Inthe VALLEY or HarBLEDOWN, the soil is of a more sandy nature: indeed, the lower skirts of the valley is a sheer sand; and the immediate subsoil the same; there being no appearance of calcareous substances. Yet, here, hops are grown with success, and en- dure for a length of time. On inquiring the age of a flourishing plantation, I was told, by a workman who assisted in planting it, that it was about thirty years old.

On further inquiry, however, I found, that, although the chalk, in this valley, does not rise to near the surface, it nevertheless lies at no very considerable depth; shallow wells, or shafts, being usually sunk, to bring