6i 



to bring a large cargo from Dover. He concluded by pro- 

 posing " The Health of Mr. Dowker," who had given them 

 such an interesting account of the geology of the 

 locality, though he was sorry they had travelled rather 

 too far for the ladies to hear all he had said. (Applause.) 



Mr. Dowker responded. After thanking the members 

 for the way in which the toast had beea drunk, he said he 

 felt a strong attachment for Dungeness Point, and if the 

 Palmerston had come he should have thrown himself in 

 with the party, however rough the weather might have 

 been. It was entirely new land, having sprung into 

 existence within the last century. It was a place difficult 

 to get at except by steamboat as there were no roads to it, 

 the growth of the beach having outstripped the growth of 

 the roads. He did not wish to give up the excursion, but 

 he was afraid there was but little probable chance of fine 

 weather for the next fortnight, and they could not look 

 forward for settled weather for a month. Under these cir- 

 cumstances perhaps it would be as well to defer the trip till 

 early next season. It was a place which he thought the 

 East Kent Natural History Society should visit for two 

 reasons, first, on account of the extraordinary accumulation 

 of beach, and secondly on account of the flora of the dis- 

 trict. Marine plants were to be found there such as could 

 not be found in any part of England. Taking all things 

 into consideration he thought they had better defer the trip 

 to May or June next year. With respect to his services, he 

 was very glad they had been appreciated ; but he must tell 

 them that to profit by what they had heard they must take 

 a part of the work themselves. There was not a clifif which 

 they had passed over which could not unveil to them 

 a vast history and which contained a flora of which they 

 knew nothing. He alluded particularly to the junction of 

 the chalk formation with the gault with its innumerable 

 fossils of unsurpassed beauty. These were to be found only 

 at Copt Point, at an elevation of about 100 feet. Then 



