CIIAI'. XII. 



FRAGMENTS OF SHELLS. 1C1 



alium which I sent you. The exposed portion of the 

 boulder clay is here eighty feet in height above the 

 river-level ; and the river here may be about twelve 

 feet above the sea-level. 



" On turning to Brown's Elements of Fossil Conchology, 

 I find a figure of Dentalium ; but in the letterpress 

 description of it, I do not find any mention of its ever 

 having been found in the blue boulder clay. 



" On a future evening I examined the blue boulder 

 clay at Scrabster along the bay. I detected fragments 

 of shell here again, but not so plentiful as up the river." 



In a future letter he says : " On the river-side, right 

 beneath the House of Geise, there is a rather high 

 exposed section of the blue stony clay ; and here again 

 I found shell fragments. I had a good piece to walk 

 through grass, heather, bracken, asphodel, and rushes 

 before I met with another slope ; and here also, again 

 and again, I met with shell fragments. 



" A fine section presenting itself on the eastern side 

 of the river, I stripped and waded through the river. 

 Here again, my now familiar acquaintances presented 

 themselves ; and here what I had not met with before 

 I found a piece of chalk flint. The flint was sticking 

 in the clay. 



" I was now at ease regarding the fact of the shells, 

 but was rather puzzled with the flint. I sounded my 

 savants, as to their acquaintance with this unlooked-for 

 fairy. I showed it to them, and asked them if they had 

 seen such a thing up the country ; when they both 

 the old one and the young one answered 'Yes.' They 



