RAMBLING THOUGHTS IN A HANLEY MARL PIT. 77 



low the level of the sea. You must endeavour to realize 

 a succession of gradual sinkings or depressions into deep 

 water, alternating with gradual emergings into shallows, 

 and eventually a gradual continued lifting of the whole 

 district, converting into what we, with our necessarily in- 

 adequate perceptive powers, are inclined to speak of as 

 permanent dry laud. 



The gradual, but I believe, certain rise of the whole 

 Scandinavian coast going on at the present moment, although 

 amounting to only a few inches in centuries (and to be 

 the subject of fresh observations, as I see by the proceed- 

 ings of the British Association last week) gives only a 

 faint notion of the extremely gradual nature of these 

 great changes, the time employed in which is, I firmly 

 believe, inadequately represented by millions or billions of 

 years. Not, however, but that there are indications, and 

 even in the section before us, of other causes of disturbance 

 in the relative change of level since the deposit under 

 water of the coal measures, and it is in reference to these 

 indications that our friend the calamite affords the most 

 interesting testimony. 



Almost at the commencement of my observations I 

 pointed out to you the lines of stratification in this section. 

 I need not tell you that in accordance with the universal 

 law of gravitation water at rest is at a ' level line the 

 sea, for example, on a calm day. For the same reason 

 sediment equally diffused through it naturally settles down 

 in even lines or beds. The action of the tide, however, 

 washing up the sands on the shore, gives it, as you know, 

 a slight inclination, so that you walk down a slope to- 

 wards the sea, or in it when bathing. The angle before 

 us is not greater than what we see on a coast line. On 



