PREFACE 



No better district could be chosen to begin the study of 

 Geology than the Isle of Wight. The splendid coast 

 sections all round its shores, the variety of strata within 

 so small an area, the great interest of those strata, the 

 white chalk cliffs and the coloured sands, the abundant 

 and interesting fossils to be found in the rocks, awaken 

 in numbers of those who live in the Island, or visit its 

 shores, a desire to know something of the story written 

 in the rocks. The Isle of Wight is classic ground of 

 Geology. From the early days of the science it has been 

 made famous by the work of great students of Nature, 

 such as Mantell, Buckland, Fitton, Sedgwick, Owen, 

 Edward Forbes, and others, who have carried on the study 

 up to the present day. Many of the strata are known to 

 geologists everywhere as typical ; several bear the names 

 of the Island localities, where they occur ; some and 

 those not the least interesting are not found beyond the 

 limits of the Island. Though studied for so many years, 

 there is no exhausting their interest : new discoveries are 

 constantly made, and new questions arise for solution. 

 To those who have become interested in the rocks of the 

 Island, and the fossils they have found in them, and who 

 wish to learn how to read the story they tell, and to know 

 something of that story, this book is addressed. It is in- 

 tended to be an introduction to the science of Geology, 

 based on the Geology of the Isle of Wight, yet leading 

 on to some glimpse of the history presented to us, when 

 we take a wider outlook still, and try to trace the whole 

 wondrous path of change from the world's beginning to 

 the present day. 



