A Ramble in West Shropshire. 187 



leaves of a book, when, "by some accident, pressure is applied 

 to them along their edges, in which case the restraint above 

 and below them, it may easily be understood, would compel 

 them to assume this waved appearance. I have seen a similar, 

 but very much more extensive instance of this curious pheno- 

 menon over a great portion of the country between Bray and 

 Wicklow, in Ireland, and, the strata there, being closely allied 

 to these of the Longmynd, it is interesting to find the same 

 physical conditions accompanying them. 



But we must hasten through this enormous mass of strata 

 to visit a deposit of much interest which occurs near their top, 

 on the western aspect of the hills ; nor will the collection of 

 fossils delay us much in our walk, since they are only remark- 

 able by their absence, so that, except the tracks of worms, 

 and pieces of stone covered with little pits, supposed to be the 

 indentation of rain drops on soft mud, and the ripple marks of 

 primeval tides, there is little which the most ardent collector 

 will care to carry away from this barren tract ; and yet these 

 traces of ancient atmospheric action, and even these worm- tracks 

 cannot but furnish to any thinking mind abundance of food 

 for meditation. We here see proof that this vast deposit was 

 formed under the conditions of a constantly sinking shore, 

 whose surface was left dry after each tide swept over it — here, 

 as to-day, the sun shone, and caused these cracks, the wind 

 blew, and so these ripple marks were formed; then, as now, 

 over those dreary wastes the showers of heaven fell, and a 

 worm similar in its mode of progression to that which is to 

 this day found on our coasts, crawled along its surface. How 

 much could we desire to know whether other animals of a 

 higher organization existed at the same time ? Where, too, were 

 the vast tracts of continent which supplied the materials for 

 these rocks ? Such questions as these will probably remain very 

 long unanswered. It is to be remembered that in geological 

 strata we have only the records of those conditions which 

 exist under water, and that, in but very rare instances, is there 

 any reason to expect the preservation of specimens of land 

 growth. 



The next deposit to which I would direct attention is the 

 conglomerate, which is found along the western slopes of the 

 Longmynd, and which seems to have had, at least in this 

 locality, a very extensive range, as it is also found near 

 Shrewsbury, at Sharps tone Hill, and elsewhere. This deposit 

 furnishes us with some specimens, at least, of still more ancient 

 rocks, water- worn and glued together in a vast mass. The 

 study of these conglomerates, where they occur, is very 

 interesting, since they disclose not only the nature of some 

 of the pre-existing rocks, but even may indicate, to some 



