Chalk Formation qf Denmark. 61 



of flint form curves. They include large ellipsoids, placed 

 above and at the side of each other, and these ellipsoids are 

 again divided into subordinate beds by flint, of which the 

 layers thuscut each other. This law of stratification, so perfectly 

 different from that of the real chalk of Stevensklint, seems to 

 prove that the coral limestone belongs to a new series of rocks. 

 Its proper position upon the small limestone bed is every- 

 where evident ; and not the least doubt can remain concerning 

 it, as the natural sections allow a full investigation of these 

 beds. It is very remarkable that this bed contains the most 

 characteristic fossils of the chalk formation, viz. Ananchytes 

 ovata ; Ostrea vesicularis ; Belemnites mucronatus ; besides 

 two species of Terebratula, one of Crania. Of the Ananchytes 

 ovata many broken specimens occur ; but many also in such a 

 state of preservation, that they cannot be derived from other 

 perhaps destroyed beds of the chalk. In some places this fossil 

 is so frequent, that the limestone seems altogether to consist 

 of it, and I think some hundreds might be collected in a cu- 

 bic foot of the stone. It occurs indiscriminately both in the lime- 

 stone and in the flint. The carbonate of lime which involves 

 these broken corals and the other fossils, has some resemblance 

 with the chalk. It seems, however, to contain more clay and 

 some carbonate of iron. It has in a high degree the property 

 of hardening on the surface when exposed to the air, while 

 the original white colour is changed to grayish-yellow, and of 

 resisting remarkably well all further weathering. Sharp angu- 

 lar masses lie under the cliff, and although much exposed to 

 the action of the waves, they keep their sharp angles. The 

 flint occurs in continued beds, not in nodules, like that of the 

 real chalk. In some places, where the cliff is highest, the 

 coral limestone is covered by a new bed, which consists of an- 

 gular broken pieces of coral limestone and of flint, cemented 

 together by calcareous spar. This bed is without stratification ; 

 it overhangs in huge angular masses the lower beds of the 

 cliff, principally near the village of Tomestrup. 



It is difficult to ascertain exactly how far these strata ex- 

 tend into the country. In the small town of Storeheddinge, 

 about two English miles from the cliff, all pits pass through 

 the coral limestone ; and in the village of Herfolge, about two 



