﻿Kessingland Freshwater Bed and Weyhourne Sand. 387 



distinct markings in the sand which Mr. Eeid believes to be rootlets 

 are really such ; and this point must be satisfactorily established 

 before any division of these marine sands into two beds by the inter- 

 vention of a land-surface can be admitted. The mere presence of 

 the opercula of freshwater shells, or even of freshwater shells 

 themselves, which Mr. Eeid occasionally finds in these beds, cannot 

 be looked on as conclusive of their freshwater origin, since fresh- 

 water shells are found in those parts of these sands which are un- 

 doubtedly marine, or at most slightly fluvio-marine. Apart, there- 

 fore, from the existence of the black peaty bed at Eunton, but which 

 may be explicable in the way suggested above, we have never seen 

 anything in these Weybourne sands which would justify Mr. Eeid's 

 division of them into two marine beds, separated by a freshwater 

 dejDosit or land-surface. 



Thirdly. The passing up of the "Weybourne sand into the Till is 

 denied by Mr. Eeid. We are surprised at this, for at many clean 

 exposures which we have from time to time met with, this was 

 clearly visible. It was so at Weybourne most distinctly; and it was 

 so over the Eunton peaty bed, where the sand with pebble seams 

 below the Till alternates with bands of clay, indistinguishable from 

 the Till itself; while between Cromer and Mundesley these beds 

 arch up in great thickness above the beach,, and, darkened by and 

 interstratified with lignitic debris, change so gradually into the Till 

 by alternation of pebble seams, chalky silt, and lignitiferous sand 

 with clayey Till, that it is impossible to draw even an approximate 

 line between the two deposits. On the other hand, there are near 

 Hasborough distinct unconformities in the stratified material by 

 which the Till and contorted drift are indistinguishably represented 

 at that end of the cliff section, but these we regard as simply the 

 effect of shoaling and of current action during the accumulation of 

 these beds (see No. II. of the sections accompanying our map in 

 the Supplement to the Crag Mollusca). It is obvious tliat if the two 

 deposits, the pebbly sands and the Till, do not pass into each other, 

 there must exist everywhere a line of denudation between them, be- 

 cause there could not have been an intermediate conversion into 

 land without it ; and this line should be visible everywhere along 

 the coast where the section is clear, and not be confined to the dips 

 or plunges shown in Mr. Eeid's section, which seem to us only part 

 of the disturbances caused by the grounding of bergs in the con- 

 torted drift, by which the Till and that drift have been in places 

 affected, in common with the sands in question. We have also seen 

 these sands interstratified with the Contorted Drift in the neighbour^ 

 hood of Norwich, though Mr. Eeid appeals to Mr. H. B. Wood- 

 ward's experience of that neighbourhood to the contrary. The 

 quarry by Guist Church shows, or did show, also, the same thing. 



Fourthly. As regards Tellina Balthica, Mr. Eeid is in error in sup- 



Tis has ever represeEted tlie forest bed and its associated freshTvater deposits as in 

 situ to the west of Mundesley, but only to the east of that place, where we still 

 believe the freshwater beds with mammalian remains occui- in that state, whatever 

 be the case as regards the arboreal remains there. 



