44 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



in many localities.. Those of Whitecliff are perhaps the first to mention, and 

 at that place are composed of the following elements : — 



1. A yellow compact limestone weathering darker, exhibiting in the fracture 

 minute confervoid ramifying cavities, and full casts of Limncea longiscata 

 and nucules of Char a fmberculata, 



2. Compact creamy yellow limestones, abounding in casts of the before- 

 mentioned shells. This bed is worked for building purposes. 



3. Pale, often white, marly limestone, in some becoming very compact, re- 

 markable for abounding in myriads of a small Paludina glohuloides. 



4. Greenish white limestones, very concretionary, and fossiliferous. The 

 uppermost few inches are very conglomeratic, and weather pebbly. 



At Bembridge and St. Helen's occur three distinct and well separated bands 

 of limestone. The lowest is of a yellow colour, abounding in small con- 

 cretions, and containing few fossils. The second band is a soft greenish- 

 white stone, the prevailing, shell is a Planorbis (P. oligyratus) with the 

 test preserved. The third, or uppermost band, varies in character, the 

 upper portion being conglomeratic and concretionary ; while the middle, 

 and lower, are crumbly and compact in texture respectively. 



At Sconce, and Cliffend, the limestone is of a calcareous nature, and concre- 

 tionary. The distinctive palseontologogical features are the abundance of 

 land shells, and which in some places lie in irregular tufaceous bands, between 

 harder strata. In a line of the tufaceous concretionary portions, is a carious 

 layer in which the remarkable bodies regarded as turtles eggs, also vertebrata 

 remains have been found in this locality. 



At Headon, this important member plays but an inconspicuous part, and 

 are here a series of concretionary and travertinous limestones. The fossils 

 that have been found are almost invariably terrestrial forms. 



Next come the Bembridge Marls, and to take them in the same order as 

 the limestones, we commence at Whitecliff Bay and Forland Point section. 

 Here they appear to be a series of sandy and marly beds, varying in colour 

 from white to dark blue, mostly highly fossiliferous, and containing in some 

 beds remains of turtle [T. incrassatus). 



kt St. Helens we have a similar section, the only peculiarity being the 

 presence, in the brown clay above the oyster clay, of some marine shells, that 

 have not been noticed elsewhere. 



At Thorness point, west of Cowes, there is a good section of the middle 

 beds occuring in the following order 



1. Green clays, containing Meanopsis carinata. 



2. Band of clay, with comminuted Melanise. 



