rn
the turf, and so you find their cottages have huge fireplaces: instead
of fences round their gardens or round the plantations there are walls
made of turf. Such are the Dorchester heaths so finely described by
Hardy in _The Return of the Native_ and other novels. Other sands,
however, are covered with grass and not with heather, and many of these
have a special value {108} for golf links, especially some of the dry,
invigorating sands by the seaside. The famous links at St Andrews, and
at Littlestone, are examples.

[Illustration: Fig. 49. Woodland and heather on light sandy soil,
Wimbledon Common]

In between the fertile and the barren sands come a number that are
cultivated without being very good. They are much like the others,
carrying a vegetation that is usually of the narrow leaved type (p.
72), and not very dense. On the road sides you see broom, heather,
heath, harebells, along with gorse and bracken with milkwort nestling
underneath: crested dog's tail and sheep's fescue are common grasses,
while spurrey, knotwood, corn marigold, are a few of the numerous weeds
in the arable fields. Gardens are easily dug, but it is best to put
into them only those plants that, like the native vegetation, can
withstand drought: vegetable gardens must be well manured and well
limed. Fig. 50 shows some of this kind of country in Surrey, the
barley field is surrounded by wood and very poor grass on the higher
slopes.

[Illustration: Fig. 50. Poor sandy soil in Surrey, partly cultivated
but mainly wood and waste]

It is easy to travel in a sand country because the roads dry very
quickly after rain, although they may be dusty in summer. Sometimes
the lanes are sunk rather deeply in the soft sand, forming very pretty
banks on either side.

Loams, as we have seen (p. 2), lie in between sands and clays: they are
neither very wet nor very dry: not too heavy nor yet too light: they
are very well suited to our ordinary farm crops, and they form by far
the best soils for general farming; wheat, oats, barley, sheep, cattle,
milk, fruit and vegetables can all be produced: indeed the farmer on a
good loam is in the fortunate position of being able to produce almost
anything he finds most profitable. In a loam district that does not
{110} lie too high the land is generally all taken up, even the roads
are narrow and there are few commons. The hedges are straight and cut
short, the farm houses and buildings are well kept,