240 Correspondence — Alfred Bell. 



his iron pipes and sluices let the streams out at low-water, and kept 

 the sea out at high- water. Nature, in millions of cases, had partially- 

 done the same by running pebble banks across the mouths of small 

 estuaries ; that she had thus drained land below high- water mark, and 

 had grown trees thereon. Mr. Kinahan (Valleys, and their Rela- 

 tion to Fissures, Fractures, and Faults, p. 208) replies that oak and 

 most other trees cannot be grown except on drained land, which could 

 never exist naturally below high-water mark." Lest people should 

 take this unsupported ipse dixit negative for granted, may I state an 

 imaginary case in exemplification of my theory ? We all see the 

 volume of water which passes under our bridges in London during 

 the flood -tide, and most of us would at once allow that, directly as 

 this flow was checked, the volume of water and the height of high- 

 water would decrease. Suppose that at low-water Puck were to re- 

 place London-bridge with a bank of pebbles higher than high-water, 

 The flood-tide, instead of flowing, would filter through the pebble-bank. 

 Suppose this filtration and the river water to rise only to half-tide mark, 

 and that the water then filters out with the receding tide. The slopes 

 between the former half-tide and high-water mark would become 

 " drained land," and would grow any trees to any size. Now sup- 

 pose Puck to shift his pebble-bank to the site of Southwark-bridge. 

 The trees between that and London-bridge would die from being 

 flooded every twelve hours, and their roots would be seen below high- 

 water mark. In nature this results from the sea eroding the line of 

 coast, driving the pebble-bank landward, and exposing the roots 

 which it had covered. 



So-called submerged forests may be seen on the south coast op- 

 posite the middle of Hastings; at the mouth of MantelFs "Diluvial 

 valley" at Pebblesham ; at the west end of St. Leonard's ; at Pevensey 

 Level, near Eastbourne ; and at Torre Abbey, near Torquay. Eoman 

 remains on Dover beach prove no submergence for nearly 2,000 

 years, while raised beaches prove ancient upheaval. 



Bkookwood Pakk, Aluespokd. George Greenwood, Colonel. 



ON A NEW LAND-SHELL FEOM THE GAULT OF FOLKESTONE. 



Sir, — I have the pleasure to announce the discovery of (if I am 

 not in error) the first land-shell of the Upper English Secondary 

 Deposits. The specimen in question is a Helix, closely resembling 

 the common garden snail, H. nemoralis. It is somewhat depressed 

 without being flat, and is not quite symmetrical in outline, as it is 

 longer one way than the other. Test thin, nearly smooth ; sutures 

 well defined, giving the whorls a flat concave appearance ; lip, 

 slightly reflected. As the upper portion of the specimen only is 

 exposed, I am unable to say if the shell is umbilicated or not. 

 Formation, Gault ; locality, Folkestone. 



Should it prove a new species, as I believe it to be, I propose 

 naming it Helix Woodwardi. 



Alfred Bell. 



