110 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



as having been thrown up by the sea. For my own part, I 

 think the great regularity of the strata, good state of preser- 

 vation of the shells, the adhesion of certain species to stones, 

 and the position in which the Tapes occurs, all tend to indi- 

 cate an aqueous rather than an aerial deposition, and that the 

 organic contents of the deposit were not subjected to much 

 friction and rolling before assuming their present position. 

 There certainly is no confusion. Had the deposit owed its 

 origin simply to the heaping-up action of the sea, we should 

 not expect to find such a delicate shell as Tellina fahida, with 

 the valves in apposition, and Solen siliqua not only in the 

 same condition, but quite perfect and entire, to say nothing 

 of the preservation of the ligament in Carclium edule and 

 Tapes puUa^tra. 



The Eev. W. Wood, M.A., has suggested a similar formation 

 of these beds, but considers them to be more particularly the 

 result of wind acting on beach material.* I think, however, 

 that the same objections may also be applied in this case. 



The well-preserved state of the majority of the shells, and 

 the occurrence of Tapes pullastra, in situ, almost lead me to 

 regard at least a part of this section as an old sea bed. 



" Buried Forest *' of Largo Bay. — Immediately west of the 

 mouth of the Cocklemill Burn at Shooter's Point, and extend- 

 ing round Largo Bay, is the well-known " buried forest," con- 

 sisting of peaty material, erect trunks of trees (Fleming), 

 wood of the willow and hazel, hazel-nuts, numerous mosses, 

 and abundant remains of Arundo phragmites. The exact 

 sequence of this deposit in the series is obscure; but Mr 

 Brown is probably right in regarding it as the equivalent of 

 the peat bed in the Elie Harbour Section, and Bed No. 2 of 

 the Eailway Cutting or Elie Inland Section. The section 

 obtained when the deposit was excavated by Mr Brown 

 showed — submerged forest 4 feet, laminated sand 3 feet, 

 gravel. During a visit to the locality in company with Dr 

 M'Bain and Mr Howie, the " buried forest " was found to be, 

 in places, only a few inches thick, although the latter has, 

 like Mr Brown, found the bed to run as much as 4 feet in 

 thickness. This would probably indicate that it was depo- 



* Proc. Hoy. Phys. Soc, Eclinh. 



