Remarks on the Crag of Norfolk and Suffolk. 169 



I should not have entered upon this subject at present had 

 not Mr. Lyell, in the new edition of his Principles of Geo- 

 logy, mentioned, that the fact of 150 species being common 

 to the upper and lower divisions of the crag, was a proof of 

 their belonging to the same period, without alluding to the 

 occurrence of the secondary shells in the crag of Norfolk. 

 Should the red and the coralline crag be ultimately referred 

 to the same age, it will not in the least affect the question now 

 brought forward. 



On again perusing Mr. Woodward's critique on my ex- 

 amination of the tertiary beds in Suffolk, I cannot avoid re- 

 marking that I think it would have been more judicious in 

 him to have postponed its publication until he had acquired a 

 more extensive acquaintance with those localities to which I 

 have particularly directed my attention. From his confess- 

 edly slight acquaintance with the Suffolk crag, he must be in- 

 competent to support the assertions he has made ; and some 

 of the objections he has advanced against my views can only 

 be regarded as frivolous and vexatious. Mr. Woodward's 

 name has been longer associated with the crag than my own, 

 and the remarks he has made relative to the statements con- 

 tained in my paper are calculated to produce a most unfavour- 

 able impression, not merely as regards my discrimination on 

 the subject in question, but as to the actual reliance which 

 may be placed upon my testimony. Whether any theoretical 

 views I entertain may be confirmed or disproved by others, is 

 a matter of little consequence, compared with the imputation 

 that my evidence, as to matters of fact, is unworthy of cre- 

 dence. 



The coralline crag is a deposit so rich in fossils, and at the 

 present time in many respects so peculiarly interesting, that 

 it must sooner or later become an object of general attention, 

 and it will then be shown how far the conclusions I have 

 drawn can be supported by the observations of others. 



While however, I am most anxious that every possible op- 

 portunity should be embraced of pursuing that investigation 

 which is now set on foot, and while I would have every opi- 

 nion that may be advanced subjected to the most rigid cri- 

 ticism and the fullest discussion, I must at the same time 

 protest against any individual, whatever may be his geological 

 attainments, visiting the coralline crag, and at one glance de- 

 ciding that my conclusions are erroneous and the facts mis- 

 stated. It is very possible that a person might go into the 

 quarry by the side of the road near Aldborough, and, like 

 Mr. Woodward, he might only see a few Pectens, or, perhaps, 

 spend an hour or two at Ramsholt, and not meet with any 



