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" has, by ages of subjection to the penetrating action of 

 " damp, or rather wet, decayed to a black mass, which, 

 " though compacted by the superincumbent weight, still, as 

 "it is dug out, falls asunder in such a manner as to show 

 " the original shapes of the former occupants of the land ; 

 "roots, fibres, branches, and even leaves, being distinctly 

 " traceable, while the whole emits a strong ligneous odour, 

 " which cannot for a moment be mistaken. On all sides 

 " pieces of thick branches, more or less decayed, can be 

 " picked up, many of them, though damp through, exhibit- 

 " ing at the heart, wood in a perfect state of soundness. 

 "All the trunks have been found lying with their roots 

 "towards Bootle Bay, and their tapering extremities point - 

 " ing in a south-westerly direction. The thick substratum 

 " is a mixture of exactly the same description of mud and 

 " sand deposited by our river at the present day. From all 

 " appearances it is plain that on some day in autumn, as is 

 " evident by the number of nuts found, the sea, probably 

 " during a storm, accompanied by a high tide, has suddenly 

 " burst over some point near where Leasowe Castle now 

 "stands, has rushed forward with impetuous fury, and 

 " impinged violently against the rock- sustained ridge which 

 "passes from Seacombe to New Brighton, and, recoiling 

 " thence, has submerged the whole plain between that emi- 

 " nence and Bidston-hill, bearing down the entire forest, 

 " then in all the pride of its leafy honours. The water no 

 "doubt found an outlet at the spot which forms the present 

 " mouth of Wallasey Pool, and it is certain, from all appear- 

 " ances, that the sea continued to flow over the whole of 

 " this flat for centuries, joining the Irish Channel and the 

 " Mersey, with which it communicated immediately opposite 

 " to the land now occupied by the stately edifices of Liver 

 " pool. The great spread of the water has, in course of 

 " time, caused the formation of a bank which barred up the 

 " passage along the line of the present sandhills, till, by the 

 " united power of the winds and waves, a barrier has been 

 •" presented to the sea in that direction, and the name of 

 " Wallasey, or Walloth'-Sea, seems to indicate that the for- 

 " mer inhabitants of the district were of a similar opinion. 

 " The water having no place of influx and efflux save one, 

 " gradually, as the plain filled up, subsided into its present 

 " ehannel, the remains of numerous smaller channels, some 

 " of which have been closed by deposits of mud, while 

 " others have been artificially destroyed, being, however, 

 " still visible." 



