Remarks on I he Crag of Norfolk and Suffolk. 467 



conviction that the lias in that part of the coast contains neither 

 Ichthyosauri nor Plesiosauri, but only a lew Ammonites. Had 

 he made use of a pickaxe in his examination of the coral-reef 

 at Aldborough, he would never have hinted that its Testacea 

 were limited to a few Pectens. I have in vain endeavoured to 

 comprehend what Mr. Woodward can mean by saying, as he 

 next does, that when I included Ramsholt as part of the coral- 

 line crag formation, I must have had the coral-reef at Ald- 

 borough in my mind's eye. 



In Mr. Woodward's work on the Geology of Norfolk, he 

 speaks of a bed of shells analogous to the calcaire grossier of 

 Paris having been discovered " beneath the Siiffblk crag " at 

 Ramsholt. It now appears that this was stated on the au- 

 thority of another person, and that Mr. Woodward having 

 himself examined the Ramsholt stratum, finds it to be only a 

 bed of undisturbed crag, covered by transported fragments de- 

 rived from the same deposit. The inconsistency in the two 

 accounts is certainly remarkable. It should not, however, be 

 forgotten that Mr. Woodward formed his opinion from a sin- 

 gle visit, while it is more than probable that his friend drew 

 his conclusion from an intimate acquaintance with the locality 

 in question. Surely Mr. W. would never have inserted so im- 

 portant a paragraph in his work, unless he felt confidence in 

 the judgement of the person by whom it was communicated. 



Having determined, without assigning a shadow of a reason 

 for so doing, that the red crag is a diluvial deposit ; having 

 impugned my veracity on, perhaps, the most important state- 

 ment brought forward in my paper; having also visited the 

 coralline crag at Aldborough, and affirmed that it contains 

 neither univalves nor bivalves, except a few Pectens; and in 

 addition to this, having pronounced the Ramsholt stratum to 

 be merely a bed of undisturbed crag, covered by transported 

 materials of the same deposit, my commentator next intimates 

 that he has not the least wish " to underrate the merits of my 

 valuable communication " ! 



I think it probable that the connexion existing between the 

 coralline crag and the overlying fossiliferous deposits will 

 prove a more interesting subject for investigation, and give 

 rise to more important suggestions than might at first sight 

 be imagined. The possibility that a considerable number of 

 Testacea peculiar to one deposit may have been introduced 

 into another of more recent formation, without our being in 

 possession of any clue to ascertain the extent to which such 

 an admixture has taken place, is a question of the deepest 

 importance, as modifying the views generally adopted regard- 

 ing the chronological arrangement of tertiary strata. 



302 



