258 FIELD CLASSES. [l875. 



often a sprinkling of graduates, and always a certain 

 number of ladies. No pains were spared to make his 

 lectures and the instruction in the field perfectly clear, 

 and it was a duty with him to explore any new ground 

 before leading the class to inspect it. Oxford indeed 

 was a splendid centre. 



On the 20th of May, in a letter to Mr Evans, he 

 remarked : "I am still busy here lecturing and ex- 

 amining. We were out, thirty-two of us, last Satur- 

 day at Yarnton, and disinterred a mammoth's tusk. 

 To-day we go to Fawler and Stonesfield." 



One of the most popular expeditions and one of the 

 most instructive was to the top of Shotover Hill with 

 its capping of ironsands. The several strata forming 

 the hill were clearly seen one above another in ascend- 

 ing to the summit, where those whose walking powers 

 enabled them to proceed as far as Wheatley were able 

 to distinguish the outcrop of several of the strata on 

 the farther side of the hill. Enslow Bridge, so rich in 

 fossils of the Great Oolite, was another favourite excur- 

 sion, as was also Kirtlington and its fossils in the 

 Forest Marble. The neighbourhood of Cumnor was 

 likewise a frequent resort, and many busy hours were 

 spent in its pits hunting for corals and other specimens 

 in the Coral Rag, and always with success. In short, 

 no ground within reasonable reach of Oxford that could 

 serve as an object-lesson remained un visited. 



The new Professor was determined to make himself 

 of use to the University, and without delay took up 

 the question of a better water-supply for Oxford : some 

 of the best-remembered days were those spent in ex- 

 ploring the distant hills in search of springs of sufficient 

 volume to be utilised for the purpose. On this partic- 

 ular quest he was rarely accompanied by his students : 



