§ 17. ORGANIC REMAINS OF THE STOXESFIELD SLATE. 509 



by exposure to the frost, admits of separation into thin 

 flakes. 



The resemblance of this calciferous grit to that of Tilgate 

 Forest is most striking ; and when breaking it, and per- 

 ceiving here and there teeth and scales of fishes and bones 

 of reptiles like those of the Wealden, I could have fancied 

 myself sporting on my own geological manor of Tilgate 

 Forest, but for the trigonias and other marine shells, and 

 the oolitic structure which every where prevailed. The 

 grit, like that of Sussex, passes into a conglomerate, formed 

 of smooth rounded pebbles, cemented together by calcareous 

 stone ; beds of sands, clay, and friable slaty sandstone, 

 intervene between the layers of the oolitic rock. Grits, and 

 shales similar to those of Stonesfield, occur also at Wittering 

 and Collyweston, associated with beds of oolite limestone, 

 and contain ferns and other terrestrial plants, and marine 

 shells. 



17. Organic Remains of the Stonesfield Slate. — 

 The fossils of Stonesfield, although of so highly interesting 

 a character, have hithertobeen very imperfectly investigated. 

 The vegetable remains consist of several species of Fucoid 

 plants ; of palms, arborescent ferns, and plants allied to the 

 Zamia and Cycas ; and a genus of Lillacece, named Buck- 

 landia; seed-vessels, leaves, and stems, of several genera of 

 coniferse ; and traces of reeds and grasses. I am not aware 

 that the shells differ from those of the other oolitic strata ; one 

 small bivalve (Trigonia impressa) is extremely abundant. 

 The bones and teeth of the gigantic terrestrial reptile related 

 to the Monitor, the Megalosaurus, which I have mentioned 

 as occurring in the Wealden (ante, p. 421) ; bones of Ptero- 

 dactyles, or flying lizards ; bones and plates of Turtles ; 

 and other osseous remains, apparently of saurians, present 

 a striking general correspondence with the fossils of the 

 Wealden. The elytra, or wing-cases of beetles, and other 

 relics of insects, are of frequent occurrence. The teeth. 



