26 J. P. Johnson — Fossil and Recent Shells, Cornwall. 



of the Rev. C. R. D. Carter, are all very small, the deepest being as 



follows : — 



feet. 



Coarse saud 7 



Brown and mottled clay, passing into blue ... 3 



The shells occur in the lower (blue) portion of the clay, and, 

 as a rule, are not by any means common, though here and there, 

 in sandy patches, those of Bittium reticidatum occur in great 

 quantity. Next in order of abundance are those of Nassa semi- 

 reticosa, two or three being met with in every cubic foot of clay. 

 The following list shows the number I obtained of each species and 

 the result of two days' digging. Those indicated by an asterisk 

 are figured by Alfred Bell in the paper already cited ; the others 

 are figured by S. V. Wood in the volumes of the Palasontographical 

 Society. The specific names used by these two authors are here 

 employed, but prior ones are given in parentheses. Those species 

 of whicli I only obtained fragments are indicated by the letter F. 



I would here remark that 1 am much indebted to Mr. R. B. Newton 

 for his kindness in enabling me to compare the specimens in the 

 Geological Department of the British Museum (Natural History). 



I also found one or two Foraminifera. 



South of Godrevy lighthouse, resting on a terrace of killas, is 

 a Pleistocene beach. It is made up of pebbles of killas, granite, 

 and quartz, and is overlain by a variable thickness of rubble-drift 

 consisting of similar materials embedded in loam. I did not succeed 

 in finding any organic remains in either of them, but my friend 

 Mr. F. A. Ginever has procured a couple of shells of Patella vulgata 

 from the ancient beach. 



On the top of the clifi's, but lying back some distance from the 

 edge, are extensive Holocene sand-hills or ' towans.' These have 

 long ceased to move, being sealed up under a layer of turf. They 

 contain numerous shells of Ifelicella itala, H. virgata, and //. barbara, 

 whilst I also found one of H. caperata. 



On the further side of the sand-covered gap, where the red stream 

 empties itself into the sea, are Gwithian Towans. From a section 

 in one of them, at a depth of ten feet, I obtained an assemblage 

 of molluscan remains similar to that recorded above, as well as 

 a few shells of Helix aspersa and one each of Coclilicopa lubrica and 

 Vallonia pulchella. 



