KEMARkABLE STRATA OF FLINT, 243 



The pits I laft year infpefled are as follow, beginning from Obfertatlons on 



Brading pit, which is at the eaftern point of the great ridge, the Ifle of 

 where the valley of Brading-haven interfeds it, and feparates^'S^'^* 

 it from the Yaverland-hill, which terminates in the fea at Culver 

 and Bembridge. A road cut into the chalk above Knighton. 

 Afhley-down pit, about three miles eaft of Newport. A pit 

 very near to and fouth'of Cariibrook caftle. The cliffs ^n^l 

 eaves of Frefliwater bay, both eaft and weft of the valley which 

 interfe6ls them entirely and runs from Frefti water to Yarmouth. 



The Yaverland chalk is therefore the only part which I have 

 not examined; and little doubt can be entertained of its fimilarity 

 to the reft of the range, to which it evidently belongs. 



In Brading pits fome flints appear in detached nodules, and 

 thefeare found and unbroken. 



The inclined ftrata of flijit are vifible, but not to advantage, 

 owing to the manner of working the pits. In thefe ftrata the 

 flints are univerfally (battered, forae intoabfolute powder, others 

 inlogrofl^er powder and fragments mixed. But betides thefe , 

 ftrata, the chalk in this pit is divided by vaft perpendicular 

 filTures, as fmooth as plaifter walls, and in fome of thefe fif- 

 fures flint has formed, which appears broken like that in the 

 ftrata. 



The road above Knighton only juft cuts into the chalk ftra- 

 tum, but all the flints vifible in the banks are extremely fliat- 

 tered. 



The pit at the weft end of-Aftiley-down, near two large bar- 

 rows, is the moft extenfive and fatisl'adory of any I have feen. 

 The perpendicular face of the chalk, where worked, is not lefs 

 than fifty or fixty feet, and its direction is at right angles to that 

 of the ftrata, and parallel to their line of dip: — of courfe they 

 are feen to very great advantage. The ftrata feems to dip 

 northward more rapidly than in any other place where I could 

 obferve them. The angle of inclination is from 75 to 80 degrees. 

 There are not layers of flints between every layer of the chalk. 

 Some of the chalk is peculiarly folid, and rifes in very large 

 matTes affeding a cubic form. Their folid vein is from twenty- 

 five to thirty feet thick, and is in ftrata from three to four feet. 

 In all this folid part there are very few flints. 



Both above arid below this harder bed (fpeaking of the ori- 

 ginal pofition of the ftrata) the ch^lk is fofter, and has more 



R2 flints 



