Page:Transactions of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, volume 4.djvu/193

 Rh quantities, minute particles of quartz, mica, &c. with angular masses of hornblende, quartz, and sienite; below this (i. e. further from the hill) the surface is chiefly a red sandy marl, interspersed with clay, sand, and pebbles, furnishing abundantly the usual products of agricultural labour, large crops of apples and pears, and some hops. On the western side is the market town of Ledbury, and the parishes of Colwall, Coddington, Mathon, and Cradley, forming the western division of the district. Here the surface principally consists of a stiff light-coloured clay, with extensive patches of a more disintegrated and genial soil, copiously interspersed with various-coloured pebbles, overlaying beds of sand and gravel. In many parts on this side there is scarcely sufficient soil to cover the bare rock, and vegetation often suffers from a deficiency of moisture, though the valleys lying between the various woody eminences are many of them rich and fertile; there are here also numerous apple and pear orchards, and a larger proportion of hop plantations.

The level surface of the vale on the east side of the Malvern hills, is peculiarly favourable for freedom of communication. The roads are numerous, and generally good. The rivers, also, afford important facilities for the transport of articles of luxury or commerce. The Severn, as will be seen by referring to the map, touches the boundary of the parish of Great Malvern, its course being nearly parallel with the line of the hills. The Teme constitutes a considerable part of the limit to the parish of Leigh. On the other hand, in the country around