EOCENE STRATA OF BINSTEAD. 107 



scopical examination am led to conclude thai the 

 shelly particles are the detritus of the freshwater 

 snails (limnei, and planorbes), so abundant in the 

 limestone ; waterworn bones of turtles occur in 

 this bed. In some of the quarries there is a layer 

 of very hard limestone entirely composed of com- 

 minuted shells cemented together by a crystalline 

 calcareous infiltration ; it contains extremely 

 minute waterworn fragments of turtles' bones, and, 

 very rarely, teeth and bones of mammalia. I be- 

 lieve this bed to be the equivalent of No. 3, from 

 winch it differs simply in its consolidation, and in 

 the absence of sand and marl. This shelly lime- 

 stone is observable in the walls of the most ancient 

 castles and religious edifices in Hampshire and 

 Sussex. 



The siliceous limestone, or rag as it is locally 

 termed, being very compact and durable, forms an 

 excellent building material. The upper limestones 

 yield stone sufficiently firm for walls, &c, and 

 are extensively quarried in the northern district 

 of the island. The surface of the blocks in newly 

 erected buildings, often exposes such interesting 

 groups of fossil shells, as to present a strong 

 temptation to the geologist to trespass with his 

 hammer. 



I will now more particularly describe the fossils 



F 



