60 



234 Dr. FiTTON on the Strata below the Chalk. 



rise a little towards the north from the point of Bere Head, so that sections of the subjacent 



beds are exposed in the cliffs on both sides of that promontory. The beds immediately below the 



chalk are best seen on the shore towards Branscombe, and have been described by Mr. De 



la Beche, who has also mentioned the quarries near that place, from which stone corresponding 



in situation to the firestone of Surrey is extracted *. 



The section at WhitecUff, on the east of Bere Head and of the village of Bere, is thus : 



Feet. 



1 . Chalk : white at top, yellowish below ; very sandy, containing throughout numerous ") 

 small nodules of flints, both in bands and irregularly disseminated, — more numerous at 

 top. Vermetus is a frequent fossil here 



[At the bottom is a course of very sandy chalk, including concretions or lumps of 

 greater firmness, produced apparently by the unequal diffusion of the siliceous matter.] 



Total, 60 or 70 feet 



2. Yellowish grit, with green stripes 1 to 1 2 



3. A conglomerate of lumpy concretions, and apparently of fragments also, of hard matter ; 1 

 with green particles between the lumps. Petrifactions numerous About j 



4. Beds of chert ; both continuous and in irregular concretions, alternating with bands of 1 , 

 sihceous grit ; from 3 or 4 feet down to a few inches in thickness .... Total, about 40 or J 



5. Bluish green and grey sand, with bands of more solid texture, increasing gradually in 1 . 

 number towards the bottom About 30 to J 



6. Bluish moist sand, in some places almost black, abounding in petrifactions, and becoming 1 

 darker in colour downwards, the hue apparently depending on the degree of moisture, j 

 This bed contains Gryphites, traces of large Ammonites, Vermetus, and numerous stems of 

 Siphonia About 50 or 60 feet, y 60 



[This darkly coloured sand contains at the lower part large nodules, consisting of 

 greenish grit, in courses from 3 to 6 feet apart. The stratum is in immediate contact 

 with the red marl. Springs come out at the junction.] 



7. Red marl. At the top containing gypsum in nests ; throughout including spots and 

 patches of a light greenish grey, and alternating with beds, of irregular thickness, of the 

 same hue. (" Bunter sandstein"?) 



I have inserted the preceding list from notes taken during the summer of 1825, as its coinci- 

 dence with that since published by De la Beche, shows the correctness of both. It will be 

 evident, upon comparing these lists with each other, and with that of the sands near Lvme, that 

 the group which here succeeds the chalk is the equivalent of the Upper green-sand ; the local 

 variations in this formation on the Devonshire coast not being greater than those of the range 

 which extends from Folkstone into Surrey; in the course of which the Upper green-sand is 

 in some places almost wholly wanting, while in others it acquires great thickness, and often 

 contains beds almost suddenly developed, no trace of which is to be found in the intermediate 

 spaces. The grizzle of Sutton quarry, and the Beer-stone, are varieties of the siliciferous 

 stone on the confines of the chalk and Upper green-sand, which under various denominations, 

 •' Fire-stone", " Totternhoe-stone", &c., occurs very generally in that part of the series, and is 

 everywhere in request for building. The total absence of blue clay is remarkable in the section 

 at Bere. The place where it might have been expected is immediately beneath the cherty groups 

 of Mr. De la Beche's figures 1 and 2 t ; and if the gault were added to those sections, estimating 



* In a large pit or quarry at the bottom of the chalk, near Sutton and VVidworthy, a stone, 

 called Grizzle by the quarry-men, is dug in the situation of the firestone. The beds are altoo-ether 

 about 5 feet in thickness. It contains green particles, and does not burn to lime. Amono- its 

 fossils is Catillus Cuvieri. 



t Geol. Trans., 2nd Series, vol. ii. pi. 16. 



