185/.] SALTER LONGMYND FOSSILS. 203 



of rain have been observed, which appear to be quite the same as 

 those we meet with at the present day, or in strata newer than those 

 under consideration. 



The traces consist, — 1st, of numerous scattered impressions of 

 drops of large and small size (fig. 10), intermingled upon the rippled 

 and sun-dried surfaces of half-a-dozen specimens from a particular 

 bed ; 2ndly, of a close set of prints, more uniform in size, upon 

 another surface ; ordly, of numerous marks of drops occurring upon 

 a ripple-marked slab, which shows too the annelide-holes in part 

 abraded by the surf, or sheltered in the hollows (fig. 1). 



In the first series we have round, or slightly oval, well-marked 

 hollows, with a raised border, more conspicuous on one and the same 

 side in all the prints than on the other. They indicate a somewhat 

 slanting direction for the rain, an inference strengthened by the 

 elongated form of the prints in that direction. In fact, the phseno- 

 mena so well explained by Sir C. Lyell in his ^Manual (5th ed. p. 384) 

 are here repeated. The drops were of irregular size ; some, much 

 larger than the rest, having apparently fallen after the smaller ones 

 had impressed the surface, and having nearly obliterated their im- 

 pressions. In other cases, two or three drops of more equal size 

 have fallen nearly on the same spot, and made a compound im- 

 pression. 



These rain-prints are at first sight not easy to distinguish from the 

 larger annelide-holes. But, besides that they are not in pairs (a very 

 important point, since all the annelide-burrows show this character 

 distinctly), there is a marked difference in the regular even outline 

 and clean hemispheric impression of the rain-print, and the less 

 regular shape and uneven bottom of the half-filled burrow. In rare 

 instances the two occur on the same slab. 



The prints upon the abraded surface (fig. 3) are somewhat dif- 

 ferent, much shallower, and closer together, and frequently impressed 

 the one over the other. In this case the rain appears to have fallen 

 vertically and on a harder surface than in the other case ; and the 

 bottom of the hollows is flat or occasionally slightly raised in the 

 middle, a character usually considered decisive of rain-prints. 



Organic Remains. 



The new species of Arenicolites above mentioned I propose to 

 designate 



Arenicolites sparsus, sp. nov. PL V. figs. 1-4. 



Sp. char. A. gregarius, fodinarum oribus circularibus binis, sese 



remotiusculis. 

 Junior (figs. 1 & 4), fodinis minutis, aggregatis. 

 ^lajor (fig. 2), fodinis i-lineam latis, sparsis. 



These burrows of annehdes, once recognized, are to be found iu 

 great profusion, chiefly on the surface of the finer sandstones or shales. 

 The larger ones are more scattered, nearly a line broad, and with the 

 edges of the holes a httle raised. They are most distinctly in pairs. 



