14 T^ATURAL HISTORY 



Cornua Ammonis are very common 

 about this village. As v^e were cutting 

 an inclining path up The Hanger, the la- 

 bourers found them frequently on that 

 steep, just under the soil, in the chalk, 

 and of a considerable size. In the lane 

 above Well-head, in the way to Emshot, 

 they abound in the bank in a darkish sort 

 of marl ; and are usually very small and 

 soft : but in Clays Pond a little farther 

 on, at the end of the pit, where the soil 

 is dug out for manure, I have occasion- 

 ally observed them of large dimensions, 

 perhaps fourteen or sixteen inches in 

 diameter. But as these did not consist 

 of firm stone, but were formed of a kind 

 of terra lapidosa, or hardened clay, as 

 soon as they were exposed to the rains 

 and frost they mouldered away. These 

 seemed as if they were a very recent 

 production. In the chalk-pit, at the 

 north-west end of The Hanger, large 

 nautili are sometimes observed. 



In the very thickest strata of our free- 



