Tobacco-pipe-clay excellent, or the best in England, at Chittern, of which the Gauntlet pipes at Amesbury are made, by one of that name. They are the best tobacco pipes in England. [See a curious paragraph on the subject of Gauntlet-pipes in Fuller’s Worthies,—Wiltshire.—J. B.] The earth about Malmesbury hundred and Chippenham hundred, especially about Pewsham-forest, is vitriolate, or aluminous and vitriolate; which in hot weather the sun does make manifest on the banks of the ditches. At Bradfield and Dracot Cerne is such vitriolate earth; which with galles will make inke. This makes the land so soure, it beares sowre and austere plants: it is a proper soile for dayries. At summer it hunger-banes the sheep; and in winter it rotts them. These clayy and marly lands are wett and dirty; so that to poore people, who have not change of shoes, the cold is very incommodious, which hurts their nerves exceedingly. Salts, as the Lord Chancellor Bacon sayes, doe exert (irradiate) raies of cold. Elias Ashmole, Esq. got a dangerous cold by sitting by the salt sacks in a salter’s shop, which was like to have cost him his life. And some salts will corrode papers, that were three or four inches from it. The same may be sayd of marble pavements, which have cost some great persons their lives. The soil of South Wilts is chalke and white marle, which abounds with nitre; and is inimique to the nerves by the nitre that irradiates from it. ’Tis that gives the dampishnesse to the flowres and walles of Salisbury and Chalke, &c. E contra, Herefordshire, Salop, Montgomeryshire, &c. the soile is clear of any salt; which, besides the goodnesse of the air, conduces much to their longævitas: e. g., 100 yeares of age in those parts as common as 80 in Wilts, &c. The walles of the church of Broad Chalke, and of the buttery at the farme there, doe shoot out, besides nitre, a beautifull red, lighter than scarlet; an oriental horse-flesh colour. The soile of Savernake forest is great gravelle: and (as I remember) pebbley, as on the sea side. At Alderbury, by Ivy Church, is great plenty of fine gravelle; which is sent for all over the south parts of the countrey. At Sutton Benger eastward is a gravelly field called Barrets, which is sown every year onely with barley: it hath not lain fallow in the memory of the oldest man’s grandfather there. About 1665 Mr. Leonard Atkins did sow his part of it with wheat for a triall. It came up wonderfully thick and high; but it proved but faire strawe, and had little or nothing in the eare. This land was heretofore the vineyard belonging to the abbey of Malmesbury; of which there is a recitall in the grant of this manner by K. Henry VIII. to Sir —— Long. This fruitfull ground is within a foot or lesse of the gravell. The soil of Christian Malford, a parish adjoyning to Sutton, is very rich, and underneath is gravell in many parts.