14 The Natural History of Selborne 



soil, in the chalk, and of a considerable size. In the lane 

 above Well-head, in the way to Emshot, they abound in the 

 bank in a darkish sort of marl ; and are usually very small 

 and soft : but in Clay's Pond, a little further on, at the end 

 of the pit, where the soil is dug out for manure, I have occa- 

 sionally observed them of large dimensions, perhaps fourteen 

 or sixteen inches in diameter. But as these did not consist 

 of firm stone, but were formed of a kind of terra lapidosa, or 

 hardened clay, as soon as they were exposed to the rains and 

 frost they mouldered away. These seemed as if they were a 

 very recent production. In the chalk-pit, at the north-west 

 end of the Hanger, large nautili are sometimes observed. 



In the very thickest strata of our freestone, and at con- 

 siderable depths, well- diggers often find large scallops or 

 pectines, having both shells deeply striated, and ridged and 

 furrowed alternately. They are highly impregnated with, if 

 not wholly composed of, the stone of the quarry. 



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