66 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT 



now almost entirely disappeared, derives its name. From 

 these quarries was obtained much of the stone for Win- 

 chester Cathedral and many other ancient buildings. In 

 the old walls and buildings of Southampton the stone may 

 be recognised at once by the casts of the Limnaeae it 

 contains. The quarries at Quarr were noted in more ways 

 than one. In later times the remains of early mammalia, 

 PalcEotherium, Anoplotherium, and others have been 

 found. The quarries are now abandoned and overgrown. 

 The limestone may be seen inland at Brading, where it 

 forms the ridge on which the Church stands. 



The limestone is a freshwater formation, and the fossils 

 are mostly freshwater shells, of the same type as the 

 Headon, Limnaea and Planorbis the most common. 

 There are also land shells, especially several species of 

 Helix, the genus which includes the common snail, H. 

 globosa, very large, and great species of Bulintus (Am- 

 phidromus) and Achatina (B. Ellipticus, A. costellata). 

 These interesting shells were chiefly obtained in the lime- 

 stone at Sconce near Yarmouth, a locality now inaccessible, 

 being occupied by fortifications. The land shells have an 

 affinity to species now found in Southern North America. 

 The limestone also abounds in the so-called " seeds " of 

 Chara. The reproductive organs, the " seeds," of 

 this curious water-plant, allied to the lower Algae, are, like 

 the rest of the plant, encased in carbonate of lime, and 

 are very durable. Large numbers are found in the 

 Oligocene strata. Under the microscope they are seen 

 to be beautifully sculptured in various designs, with a 

 delicate spiral running round them. Above the limestone 

 lie the Bembridge marls, varying in thickness in different 

 localities from 70 to 120 feet. North of Whitecliff Bay 

 they stretch on to the Foreland. They are in the main 

 a freshwater formation, but a few feet above the limestone 

 is a marine band with oysters, Ostrea Vectensis. It runs 

 out along the shore, where the oysters may be seen covering 



