134 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Nov. 21, 



oxidation of the iron, the Septaria presented extemallv a highly fer- 

 riiginous crust, vet, when the mass was broken, the gi'ey and earthy 

 fracture more resembled an ordinaiy compact limestone ; and further, 

 the constant occurrence of fragments of carbonized wood presented 

 an appearance to which they were not accustomed. !Mr. Holloway, 

 however, informed me that these blocks were foimd to contain about 

 thirty per cent, of hou, and that, moreover, vegetable matter was pre- 

 sent in sufficient quantity to facihtate the reduction of the ore. Many 

 hundred tons of Septaria have been shipped to the iron-works in 

 South Wales ; and the works have already attained sufficient im- 

 portance to induce the proprietor to lay down more than a mile of 

 tram-way, leading along the base of the chffs to the ancient, but al- 

 most deserted, haven of Christchurch. 



The headland of Hengistbury projects immediately west of the 

 Downs bordeiing the haven, and rises to the height of from forty to 

 fifty feet. From this point the chffs trend in a north-westerly direc- 

 tion for a mile, gradually decreasing in height. As shown by Mr. Prest- 

 wich, these cliifs consist of the Barton fossiliferous clays, reposing 

 upon a few feet of fine hght-colom-ed sands. The Septaria occur in 

 three or four bands of such magnitude and regularity that they assume 

 at a short distance the appearance of connected strata. 



The encroachment of the sea on this coast has gradually under- 

 mined the chffs, removing the clays and sands, and leaving the shore 

 almost entirely covered with weathered masses of the Septaria. From 

 their size and hardness they have resisted the transporting power of 

 the waves, and extend a considerable distance into the sea, forming 

 the dangerous reef known as Christchurch-ledge. The quantity of 

 such blocks of ore distributed over the beach has been calculated to 

 amount to many thousand tons. This forms the only available source 

 of the material, for although the clays containing these bands of hon- 

 stone stretch some distance inland, yet they could not be profitably 

 worked. 



The works are of too recent an origin to determine exactly the value 

 of this discovery ; but the circumstance of the ironmasters of South 

 Wales continuing, after the experience of last season, to import this 

 ore, proves that it really possesses considerable commercial value. 



November 21, 1849. 

 Charles Myer, Esq., was elected a Fellow of the Society. 

 The following commimications were read : — 



1. On a Cutting in the Raihcai/ near Buckingham. 

 By William Stowe, Esq. 



[Communicated in a letter to the Very Reverend the Dean of "U'estminster.] 

 I HAVE great pleasure in sending you some particulars relative to the 

 boulders in our railway cutting, to which you chrected my attention 

 last autumn. Many of those you saw have been broken up and 



