57 



carnivorous reptile, sucli as the Mcgalosaurus, •whose immense size 

 and fornuilablc tcotU could never have rendered liim a desirable 

 neighbour. i)v. JJuckland, in speaking of the teeth of the Megalo- 

 saurus, likens them to a combination of the contrivances that human 

 ingenuity luis adopted in the construction of the knife, the sabre, 

 and the saw. Many others of tlio same order existed, as the 

 Hyloeosaurus, ricsiosaurus, and though of much smaller size, but if 

 possible, of still stranger appearance, must have been tlie flying 

 reptile, the Pterodaetylc. The remains of fresli-water fishes are 

 also found, allied to the Lepidosteus, or Gar-pike of the American 

 rivers, covered with bony enamelled scales, which have given from 

 their shining appearance, the name of ganiod to the order to which 

 they belong. The frequently occurring sliells, Melanopsis, Melania, 

 Paludinn, Cyrena, Cyclas, Uuio, &c., also tell of fresh-water or 

 cstuariue conditions. In Ecelcsbouruc glen, near ri<istings, slabs of 

 red sandstone may be seen with the ripple marks of the waves that 

 once flowed over them wlien they were yielding sands, and Lyell 

 mentions that at Stammerham, near Horsham, specimens of sand- 

 stone occur on the underside of which are the reticulated casts of 

 the sun cracks that once existed in the clay beds they covered when 

 the latter were exposed to the sun and air, and cracked open as we 

 now see the footpaths over clay lands in the dry summer weather. 

 In the Hastings Sands, near Tunbridge Wells, remains of fossil 

 plants occur in tlie upright position in which they grew, the 

 fine fronds of Sphenopteris being preserved by the sand which 

 drifted around them. At Cuckfield, beds of conglomerate, con- 

 taining water-worn pebbles, with the rolled bones of reptiles, 

 tell of the proximity of land and of the shallow estuary into 

 which such remains were carried by powerful streams. For 

 much information respecting the Weald we are indebted to Dr. 

 Mautell, Sir Charles Lyell, Phillips, and to various writers on the 

 same subject wl.osc papers are scattered through the journals in our 

 own library, and for many leading facts I am personally indebted 

 to Mr. J. B. Sheppard, of Canterbury. 1 have been led beyond 

 the boundaries of the county of Kent in tracing the characteristics 

 of the Weald, becuise we have to avail ourselves of such sections 

 as present themselves, in wells, railway cuttings, and sea clifts, 

 but whicli are typical of the same formation within the county. 

 The Wealden shows by the evidence of its fossil remains, that the 

 whole of this large tract of country must have been the delta of 

 some great river ; and when we consider the extent of those of 

 such rivers as the Ganges or the Nile, that of this fornuition 

 within the area comprised between the North and South Downs, 

 of about Ibrty utiles from Norili to South, and ciglity from West to 

 East, is comparatively limited. The succeeding formation which 

 we encounter in travelling Northwards, known as the Lower Green- 

 sand, though of marine orgin, in this district contains much drift 



