184. 
One or two isolated observations may be added in support 
of this view of the mode of origin of the concretionary bed. 
The fossil remains are in a very perfect condition, the extreme 
hardness of the stone alone is the cause of our specimens being 
so much broken. The condition of the tests of the Brachiopoda 
is especially note-worthy. The absence of Serpule on any of 
the shells is noticeable. In the neighbouring beds of the 
Cornbrash almost every shell has the tubes of Annelids formed 
on it, and we know the prevalence of the same organisms 
throughout the Oolite formations. The occurrence of such a 
large amount of wood points unmistakeably to the immediate 
proximity of land, and its condition supports the view that the 
rock consolidated very quickly. 
The bed of sand (8) underlying this Calcareous Sandstone 
is exceedingly friable, and not at all fossiliferous, nor does it 
contain any of the wood which is so abundant in the upper 
bed. Itis slightly bound together, probably by Ferric Oxide. 
The bed of Clay (9) was only exposed at a very short distance at 
the west end of the cutting, the dip carrying it under the level of 
the cutting in a few yards. It is true Kellaway Clay, cor- 
responding, I believe, to the clay near Siddington Windmill, 
which is worked for bricks. 
This description of the various strata does not com- 
plete the account of the exposure. I have to ask your 
attention to a phenomenon presented by the cutting which has 
given it a wide celebrity, and has led to its being visited by 
many Geologists and by thousands of casual sight-seers, 
attracted by reports of its singular nature. The interest in it 
has been intensified by considerations of an economic or finan- 
cial character. 
The contractors or their engineers, in making a preliminary 
boring, failed to meet in any quantity with the characteristic 
bed of Calcareous Sandstone (7) to which I have alluded at such 
length, and this bed was not revealed until the excavations 
for the cutting had proceeded some considerable length. It 
was then found that the preliminary boring had passed 
through what appeared to be a channel in the rock, dividing 
