PHYSICAL AND LITERARY. 59 



ing out on their fides ; for, as the whole 

 country feems to lie upon one lumpormafs 

 of grey chalk, which they call marie, the 

 fuperficial water finks quickly, and, as 

 was obferved before in Lincolnfhire, does 

 not appear again rill it reaches the level 

 of the marflies j and it may be taken for 

 almoft for an univerfal rule, that, under 

 any extent of country where the water 

 finks in this way, the greateft part of the 

 Jirata will be found calcarious or lime- 

 flone. 



Derbyshire produces many inftan- 

 ces of this. 



The number of chalk or marie pits, 

 every where opened up in Norfolk, give 

 great opportunities of feeing the nature 

 o£ the Jirata that lie neareft the furface. 



The ftaple is generally of the light 

 foil above mentioned, then a brown oker- 

 coloured fand, mixed with pieces of flint, 

 very dead in its nature, and feems to con- 

 tain not the leaft principle of vegetation, 

 but is, in my opinion, a certain fign that 

 the chalk is at no great diftance; and it 

 is common to obferve deep holes in the 



chalk, 



