HAllDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



1S3 



scenery delineated in that novel, in his additional 

 wanderings after fossils. Hart Fell is, indeed, one 

 of the best places in Dumfriesshire for Graptolites 

 of all kinds. Glenkiln Burn is another equally 

 good hunting-ground, where, perhaps, the largest 

 specimens of Pleurograpsus are to be unearthed. 

 Garple Linn, Duff-Kinnel Burn, and Dob's Linn, 

 are other rich storehouses of Graptolites. The 

 latter spot is a waterfall sacred to the memory of 

 two Covenanters, who are said to have been much 

 annoyed by Satan. It is very certain that if these 

 two worthy Scots had been looking for Graptolites, 

 they would not have been troubled by such a per- 

 sonage ! 



Burns's own county of Ayrshire is not without 

 various geological attractions, although the scenic 

 features are not on so grand a scale as elsewhere. 

 In the metamorphosed Lower Silurian slates of 

 Cairn Ryan we meet with abundance of Dipto- 

 grapsus pristis. Nearer home, this fossil is very 

 abundant in the black shales which crop out in the 

 basement of the little gorge on the top of the hill 

 just above Lowwood, on the eastern shores of 

 Windermere, and not more than a couple of miles 

 from Ambleside. It is found on almost every piece 

 of shale, in company with liastrites, Graptolithus, 

 &c, all of them beautifully pyritized. Erom the 

 base of the gorge where these fossils are to be 

 hammered out in any degree of abundance, you gain 

 a magniBcent view of Windermere, set in its rich 

 framework of green woods, greener than we have 

 seen arboreal vegetation anywhere else in Great 

 Britain! The geological eye takes in the rounded 

 rocks which lie outside the woody belt, and does 

 not pass by the heaps of morainic matter which 

 frequently form the eastern coast-line. Ice-action 

 speaks forth plainly from every part of this district. 



Of course, the Lower Silurian rocks, so well 

 developed in North "Wales, are not in many places 

 bad Graptolite stores. In the black, slaty shales 

 which crop out in the banks of the Seriont, opposite 

 Carnarvon, the young collector may find sufficient 

 to satisfy all his cravings. In various places around 

 Welshpool, as at Erlyrnwy, near Llanfair, the 

 flagstones abound in Graptolites, especially in 

 Graptolites Marcluson'ue, and also Graptolites 

 lutus. In the slate-quarries of Llansantfraid, 

 Denbighshire, the geological tourist may find 

 Diplograpsus pristis in great numbers, associated 

 with other familiar species. In the black shales 

 which crop out in many places near Builtb, and 

 in the bed of the Wye, the above species and 

 Graptolites latus are in great profusion. It will be 

 seen, therefore, that in South Wales, as well as the 

 north oi the Principality, wherever the Lower Silu- 

 rian rocks are well developed, and especially where 

 the shales have a black, finely-laminated appearance, 

 Graptolites may be looked for with every prospect 

 of their discovery. Their very localities, the spots 



where the shales usually crop out, are to be sought 

 amid the prettiest and loveliest bits of hill and 

 mountain scenery. Nature holds forth charms of 

 her own to tempt the student from the busy haunts 

 of men to the quietest and most subduing parts of 

 her sanctuary, where alone does she deign to unfold 

 the mysteries that were originally hidden for him 

 when " the foundations of the earth were laid." 



THE NATTERJACK IN BERKSHIRE. 



f\N p. f>2 of this journal for 1871 I recorded 

 ^-^ my discovery of " a colony of Natterjacks " in 

 Berkshire; and last Thursday (June 17th), though 

 removed to another county, and some miles distant, 

 I determined to !pay the quarry a visit. This I 

 accordingly did, and with very good success, as the 

 sequel will show. The quarry has evidently been 

 allowed to remain undisturbed of late, and is now 

 nearly covered with a dense growth of different 

 kinds of plants, among which the beautiful little 

 Cinnabar Moth (E. Jacobcea) fluttered weakly on 

 the day iu question. Though no botanist, I could 

 not help noticing a very fine specimen of that curi- 

 ous sickly-smelling plant, the Henbane (H. niger),. 

 flowering freely near a heap of stones. Then over 

 the pools flew and rustled some splendid specimens 

 of dragon-flies. But the reptiles were a sight in 

 themselves. Clustei ed at the edge of the biggest 

 pool was a semicircular mass, which I found con- 

 sisted of an immense number of tadpoles of the 

 common Toad {Bufo vulgaris), some with legs, and 

 some without, together with a large assortment of 

 tiny toads in their complete form. Thousands of 

 the latter were also piled and heaped on the sand 

 close to the pool. Some of these I found had not 

 yet dropped their tails. 



Continuing my search, I soon came across four 

 partly-grown Natterjacks {Bufo calamita) crawling 

 rapidly among the grass. They were rather better 

 than an inch in length. Doubtless these small 

 Natterjacks were spawned last year. Natterjacks 

 being thus evidently about, I once more searched 

 the pools, and soon discovered a large and brightly- 

 coloured specimen, sitting with its head above the 

 water, and its fore-feet resting on the weeds. The 

 Natterjack in the water is a much more beautiful 

 reptile than the dusty Natterjack on land. 



Having a call to make in the neighbourhood, I 

 now left the quarry, but did not forget to pay 

 another visit as I came back. My success iu the 

 quarry this time being rather limited, 1 strolled on 

 to the heath. Noticing two large slabs of stone 

 (locally called "planks") lying on the turf, and 

 thinking that I might possibly find beetles under- 

 neath, I raised one and started back in amazement ; 

 for in burrows horizontally winding under the stone 



