basin is succeeded by the North Downs, an elevated ridge of country
consisting of an outcrop of chalk which extends from Westerham to
Folkestone with an irregular breadth generally of 3 to 6 miles, but
expanding to nearly 12 miles at Dartford and Gravesend and also to
the north of Folkestone. After dipping below the London Clay at
Canterbury, it sends out an outcrop which forms the greater part
of Thanet. Below the chalk is a thin crop of Upper Greensand
between Otford and Westerham. To the south of the Downs there
is a narrow valley formed by the Gault, a fossiliferous blue clay.
This is succeeded by an outcrop of the Lower Greensand—including
the Folkestone, Sandgate and Hythe beds with the thin Atherfield
Clay at the base—which extends across the country from west to east
with a breadth of from 2 to 7 m., and rises into the picturesque
elevations of the Ragstone hills. The remains of Iguanodon occur
in the Hythe beds. The valley, which extends from the borders of
Sussex to Hythe, is occupied chiefly by the Weald clays, which contain
a considerable number of marine and freshwater fossils. Along
the borders of Sussex there is a narrow strip of country consisting
of picturesque sandy hills, formed by the Hastings beds, whose
highest elevation is nearly 400 ft. and the south-west corner of the
county is occupied by Romney Marsh, which within a comparatively
recent period has been recovered from the sea. Valley gravels
border the Thames, and Pleistocene mammalia have been found
in fissures in the Hythe beds at Ightham, where ancient stone implements
are common. Remains of crag deposits lie in pipes in the
chalk near Lenham. Coal-measures, as will be seen, have been found
near Dover.
The London Clay is much used for bricks, coarse pottery and Roman cement. Lime is obtained from the Chalk and Greensand formations. Ironstone is found in the Wadhurst Clay, a subdivision of the Hastings beds, clays and calcareous ironstone in the Ashdown sand, but the industry has long been discontinued. The last Wealden furnace was put out in 1828.
Climate and Agriculture.—The unhealthiness of certain portions of the county caused by the marshes is practically removed by draining. In the north-eastern districts the climate is somewhat uncertain, and damage is often done to early fruit-blossoms and vegetation by cold easterly winds and late frosts. In the large portion of the county sheltered by the Downs the climate is milder and more equable, and vegetation is somewhat earlier. The average temperature for January is 37.9° F. at Canterbury, and 39.8° at Dover; for July 63.3° and 61.6° respectively, and the mean annual 50° and 50.2° respectively. Rainfall is light, the mean annual being 27.72 in. at Dover, and 23.31 at Margate, compared with 23.16 at Greenwich. The soil is varied in character, but on the whole rich and under high cultivation. The methods of culture and the kinds of crop produced are perhaps more widely diversified than those of any other county in England. Upon the London Clay the land is generally heavy and stiff, but very fruitful when properly manured and cultivated. The marsh lands along the banks of the Thames, Medway, Stour and Swale consist chiefly of rich chalk alluvium. In the Isle of Thanet a light mould predominates, which has been much enriched by fish manure. The valley of the Medway, especially the district round Maidstone, is the most fertile part of the county, the soil being a deep loam with a subsoil of brick-earth. On the ragstone the soil is occasionally thin and much mixed with small portions of sand and stone; but in some situations the ragstone has a thick covering of clay loam, which is most suitable for the production of hops and fruits. In the district of the Weald marl prevails, with a substratum of clay. The soil of Romney Marsh is a clay alluvium.
No part of England surpasses the more fertile portions of this county in the peculiar richness of its rural scenery. About three-quarters of the total area is under cultivation. Oats and wheat are grown in almost equal quantities, barley being of rather less importance. A considerable acreage is under beans, and in Thanet mustard, spinach, canary seed and a variety of other seeds are raised. But the county is specially noted for the cultivation of fruit and hops. Market gardens are very numerous in the neighbourhood of London. The principal orchard districts are the valleys of the Darent and Medway, and the tertiary soils overlying the chalk, between Rochester and Canterbury. The county is specially famed for cherries and filberts, but apples, pears, plums, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries and currants are also largely cultivated. In some cases apples, cherries, filberts and hops are grown in alternate rows. The principal hop districts are the country between Canterbury and Faversham, the valley of the Medway in mid Kent, and the district of the Weald. Much of the Weald, which originally was occupied by a forest, is still densely wooded, and woods are specially extensive in the valley of the Medway. Fine oaks and beeches are numerous, and yew trees of great size and age are seen in some Kentish churchyards, as at Stansted, while the fine oak at Headcorn is also famous. A large extent of woodland consists of ash and chestnut plantations, maintained for the growth of hop poles. Cattle are grazed in considerable numbers on the marsh lands, and dairy farms are numerous in the neighbourhood of London. For the rearing of sheep Kent is one of the chief counties in England. A breed peculiar to the district, known as Kents, is grazed on Romney Marsh, but Southdowns are the principal breed raised on the uplands. Bee-keeping is extensively practised. Dairy schools are maintained by the technical education committee of the county council. The South-eastern Agricultural College at Wye is under the control of the county councils of Kent and Surrey.
Other Industries.—There were formerly extensive iron-works in the Weald. Another industry now practically extinct was the manufacture of woollen cloth. The neighbourhood of Lamberhurst and Cranbrook was the special seat of these trades. Among the principal modern industries are paper-making, carried on on the banks of the Darent, Medway, Cray and neighbouring streams; engineering, chemical and other works along the Thames; manufactures of bricks, tiles, pottery and cement, especially by the lower Medway and the Swale. A variety of industries is connected with the Government establishments at Chatham and Sheerness. Ship-building is prosecuted here and at Gravesend, Dover and other ports. Gunpowder is manufactured near Erith and Faversham and elsewhere.
Deep-sea fishing is largely prosecuted all round the coast. Shrimps, soles and flounders are taken in great numbers in the estuaries of the Thames and Medway, along the north coast and off Ramsgate. The history of the Kentish oyster fisheries goes back to the time of the Roman occupation, when the fame of the oyster beds off Rutupiae (Richborough) extended even to Rome. The principal beds are near Whitstable, Faversham, Milton, Queenborough and Rochester, some being worked by ancient companies or gilds of fishermen.
After the cessation in 1882 of works in connexion with the Channel tunnel, to connect England and France, coal-boring was attempted in the disused shaft, west of the Shakespeare Cliff railway tunnel near Dover. In 1890 coal was struck at a depth of 1190 ft., and further seams were discovered later. The company which took up the mining was unsuccessful, and boring ceased in 1901, but the work was resumed by the Consolidated Kent Collieries Corporation, and an extension of borings revealed in 1905 the probability of a successful development of the mining industry in Kent.
Communications.—Railway communications are practically monopolized by the South Eastern & Chatham Company, a monopoly which has not infrequently been the cause of complaint on the part of farmers, traders and others. This system includes some of the principal channels of communication with the continent, through the ports of Dover, Folkestone and Queenborough. The county contains four of the Cinque Ports, namely, Dover, Hythe, New Romney and Sandwich. Seaside resorts are numerous and populous—on the north coast are Minster (Sheppey), Whitstable and Herne Bay; there is a ring of watering-places round the Isle of Thanet—Birchington, Westgate, Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate; while to the south are Sandwich, Deal, Walmer, St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe, Dover, Folkestone, Sandgate and Hythe. Tunbridge Wells is a favourite inland watering-place. The influence of London in converting villages into outer residential suburbs is to be observed at many points, whether seaside, along the Thames or inland. The county is practically without inland water communications, excluding the Thames. The Royal military canal which runs along the inland border of Romney Marsh, and connects the Rother with Hythe, was constructed in 1807 as part of a scheme of defence in connexion with the martello towers or small forts along the coast.
Population and Administration.—The area of the ancient county is 995,014 acres, with a population in 1901 of 1,348,841. In 1801 the population was 308,667. Excluding the portion which falls within the administrative county of London the area is 974,950 acres, with a population in 1891 of 807,269 and in 1901 of 935,855. The area of the administrative county is 976,881 acres. The county contains 5 lathes, a partition peculiar to the county. The municipal boroughs are Bromley (pop. 27,354), Canterbury, a city and county borough (24,889), Chatham (37,057), Deal (10,581), Dover (41,794), Faversham (11,290), Folkestone (30,650), Gillingham (42,530), Gravesend (27,196), Hythe (5557), Lydd (2675), Maidstone (33,516), Margate (23,118), New Romney (1328), Queenborough (1544), Ramsgate (27,733), Rochester, a city (30,590), Sandwich (3170), Tenterden (3243), Tunbridge Wells (33,373). The urban districts are Ashford (12,808), Beckenham (26,331), Bexley (12,918), Broadstairs and St Peter’s (6466), Cheriton (7091), Chislehurst (7429), Dartford (18,644), Erith (25,296), Foots Cray (5817), Herne Bay (6726), Milton (7086), Northfleet (12,906), Penge (22,465), Sandgate (2294), Sevenoaks (8106), Sheerness (18,179), Sittingbourne (8943), Southborough (6977), Tonbridge (12,736), Walmer (5614), Whitstable (7086), Wrotham (3571). Other small towns are Rainham (3693) near Chatham, Aylesford (2678), East Malling (2391) and West Malling (2312) in the Maidstone district; Edenbridge (2546) and Westerham (2905) on the western border of the county; Cranbrook (3949), Goudhurst (2725) and Hawkhurst (3136) in the south-west. Among villages which have grown into residential towns through their
