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GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS NEAR DUNSTER. 141 
period and those of tropieal climes of the present day. 
The Ordnance Geological Map of this distriet exhibits 
streaks or bands of lime-stone interspersed among the 
rocks of the Devonian series. Thus you have a belt 
trending from near Withycombe to Treborough, on the 
Croydon Hills, and patches occur on the Quantocks. Some 
of these abound to such an extent with calcareous skele- 
tons of corals and madrepores that we cannot fail to regard 
the bands and streaks of lime-stone which occur among 
the sedimentary beds as remains of coral reefs, akin to 
those which, in our own days, are piled up by the wondrous 
agency of the zoophytic race. So marvellously perfect 
are the fossil remains when imbedded in the lime- 
stone rocks, that polished specimens present the minutest 
features of their organization. During the time we kept 
living specimens of actinie and other zoophytes in our 
Museum, at Taunton, we had an opportunity of observing 
this fact. One beautiful actinia had attached its base to 
the side of a glass vase, and thus exhibited practically a 
horizontal section of its organism. We placed beside it a 
polished slab of Over-Stowey limestone, with a correspond- 
ing horizontal section of a fossil coral. Neither the natu- 
ralist nor the artist could desire a more faithful representa- 
tion of the base of the living zoophyte than was afforded 
by the polished section of the fossil coral. But while 
these coral reefs were being built up, and while these rocks 
were being deposited in the bed of primzval seas, there 
were vast and mighty agencies at work, indications of 
which present themselves in various portions of this forma- 
tion. Some of these beds were upheaved after they had 
attained to their present solid form; but others were 
manifestly disturbed, while as yet they were in a semi- 
liquid condition. The contortions and curvatures in 
