394 Rev. R. Ashington Bullen — Geology of the Bermudas. 



shell sandstone of aeolian origin. There are about 150 feet of this 

 rock probably, and being the last of the Beranidian rocks it has not 

 suffered so great an amount of denudation as that to which the 

 Walsingham Series has been subjected. The Paget rock forms the 

 principal source of the building and roofing-stone of the islands, and 

 is cut in the quarries with a peculiarly-shaped saw into blocks of 

 suitable size and thickness for building and roofing respectively. The 

 rock is porous in texture and readily admits rain. It consequently has 

 to be whitewashed, and then may be said to be sufficiently impervious 

 to rain to form a suitable building material. Houses so built are not, 

 however, altogether dry. It can easily be seen that the porosity of 

 this rock allows the rain to sink away and prevents the formation of 

 surface streams. Most of the wells are brackish, since the porosity 

 of the rock allows the sea-water to percolate below O.D. Warwick 

 Pond, e.g., seems to be in direct communication with the sea, although 

 far inland. 



It is in this series that the shells of Turbo (Livona) pica are found. 

 They also occur in the Walsingharn Series. These have been carried 

 to various levels by the hermit-crab Cenobita diogenes (L.), , whose 

 fossil remains have been found in them. There is some doubt 

 whether these fossil turbinoid shells ' have not been collected from 

 more modern sand-dunes, having fallen out of the more ancient 

 rocks to the beach, 2 but this is unimportant since the cause of their 

 being found at various levels has been sufficiently demonstrated. 

 Abundant burrows of land crabs are to be seen on the south shore at 

 Astwood's Bay, Kempe's Bay, and elsewhere. 



In the museum at Hamilton is to be seen the head and a part sawn 

 off from the carapace of a leather-back turtle, Sphargis coriacea (L.), 

 Gray ; the locality is not stated, but from the condition of the remains 

 (which were entire when found) it is most probably from the Paget 

 formation. It would have been from 900 to 1,000 lb. in weight. 



Prom the Paget Rock near Hamilton have also been obtained fossil 

 eggs of some indeterminate sea birds (possibly some also of turtle's) ; 

 one from Devonshire parish was found at a depth of 4 feet, another 

 from Smith's parish at 15 feet, and one, in March, 1896, at 28 feet 

 (loc. incert.) below the surface. They were sawn through in the 

 operation of quarrying, but their outline is well preserved, and in one 

 case the inside is filled with shell-sand, having evidently been broken 

 by some accident at the time of laying or shortly afterwards. One 

 turtle and at least one bird seem to have been overwhelmed by a sand-r 

 fall, but whether these belong to this or the Walsingham Series, or to 

 what species they are to be credited', there is no evidence to show. a 



1 Nelson, " The Geology of the Bermudas " : Trans. Geol. Soc, ser. H, vol. v, 

 pt. i,p. 112, says, " It seemed difficult at first to account for these large shells 

 {Turbo pica) being found on heights where from their weight it was impossible 

 to suppose they had been carried by the wind ; but a solution may be found in 

 the habits of the soldier-crab, which on more than one occasion I have seen 

 running about in these shells." See Verrill, " Geology of Bermuda," p. 197, 

 with picture from life of a land hermit-crab in a fossil shell of Livonapica. 



2 I have one specimen of Livona pica, found on the present beach, which has 

 evidently weathered out of the Paget Eock and fallen to the beach. 



3 Verrill, op. cit., p. 195. 



