36 



edges of the Devonian beds, which present a very disturbed 

 appearance, the cause of this disturbance being apparent in a 

 dyke of " greenstone " which exists on the left bank of 

 Fremington Pill, and which, so far as I am aware, has never 

 yet been recorded in any work on the geology of that locality,* 

 Not the slightest trace of a worked flint rewarded my researches 

 among these gravels : at Croyde and Baggy, however, the result 

 was different. Wandering to the north of Croyde Bay in the 

 direction of Baggy Point, on one of those summer afternoons 

 when the enjoyment of mere existence alone seems to be the 

 summum bonum of created things, intent upon any and 

 every thought but searching for flint flakes, my attention 

 was irresistibly called to their abundance on all sides. 

 At the very end of the down — where the promontory pro- 

 jects far into the sea, and where nothing is seen or heard 

 save the blue sky above mirrored in the calm sea beneath, 

 and the scream of the gull mingling its echoes with the 

 reverberating murmur of the tide as it heaves and gurgles 

 in the many caverns and recesses of that picturesque coast — 

 on the very topmost ledge, a well-formed " flake " was 

 sticking out of the " head " about a foot and a half below the 

 surface. Many of the rabbit -holes too were certain locales for 

 these " flakes " — several were lying in the loose earth and 

 sand which streamed away from their burrows. These busy 

 little animals, finding a sharp " flake " sticking out of the 

 side of their hole somewhat detrimental to their comfort, 

 doubtlessly scratched it out with the other ejectamenta. 

 Having been warned by the sloping rays of the sun that a 

 retreat from this wild scene was advisable, I returned towards 

 the village of Croyde over the top of the down, finding in my 

 course "flakes" and "scrapers" plentifully scattered around 



* Since writing the above I have seen an allusion to this dyke in Mr. 

 Etheridge's exhaustive article on "The Physical Structure of West Somerset 

 and North Devon." — Quart. Journal Geolog. Soc, 1867'. 



