and on the Fossil Uemains contained in them. 14! 



nor of the heads or bodies of Jishes so abundant at Shepey; 

 whilst the Miirex pynis, JMurcx longcevus^ Stromhus ampluSf 

 &c. of the Hampshire cliff had never, perhaps, been enu- 

 merated among the Shepey fossils. 



The identity of the stratum at Shepey and in Hampshire 

 has, within a few years, been decided by digging into this 

 same stratum at Kew, where several of the fossils, which 

 had hitherto been supposed peculiar to Shepey, were found 

 in the same pit with those which had been considered as 

 peculiar to Hampshire. 



In the present year, on cutting through a mound of this 

 stratum which forms Highgatehill, this identity has been 

 still further manifested by the discovery of great numbers of 

 those fossils mingled together which had been generally 

 distinguished into Hampshire and Shepey fossils; as crabs, 

 nautili, &c. like those of Shepey, toaether with several shells 

 which had been generally regarded as peculiar to Hampshire, 

 and in particular that unct)mmon alated shell, Strnmhus 

 aniplus, Solander. {Ri)stellaria nuicroplcra, Lamarck.) 



In examining this stratum, the curious I'act that certain 

 organic remains are peculiar to particular depositions, is 

 first observed. Very few indeed of the fossil shells of the 

 gravel strata are to be found in the bed of blue clay. In 

 the gravel strata, by far the greater number of the shells 

 bear a close aoreement with those n-hich now exist in not 

 very distant seas; but in this clay stratum, " very few of 

 the shells are known to be natives of our own, or indeed 

 any of the European shores, but the far greater part of them, 

 upon a comparison with the recent, are wholly unknown 

 to us*." 



But although this clay stratum contains fossils of a much 

 older date than those of the grave! stratum, it possesses 

 other marks which agree with its position in showing that 

 it is of comparatively modern I'onnation. It includes none 

 of the remains of any of the lost fossils, such as the Conm 

 ammonis, Encriniies, &c. Mr, Jacobs indeed speaks of 

 one imperfect specimen oS Bclemnites and oi' ylslroirce hav- 

 ing been found, but at the same time as being very uncom- 

 mon. Mr. Brander however does not appear to have met 

 with any of these older IbssiU ; nor have any of them beei> 

 discovered either at Kew or at Highgate. J lence it seems 

 reasonal>le to conclude, that the single irnpcri'ect bcleninite 

 and the few astroitce were not inhabitants of the sea at the 

 period when this stratum was deposited, but were washedf 



* * Fossitia llanlvniensla, p. 5. 



out 



