90 
the land displayed in this section, I cannot help thinking that the present 
state of things is one of encroachment of the sea on this coast. The usual 
marks of retirement of the sea from the shore, namely, the formation of 
inland cliffs, with a gradual slope of the intervening land, are here wanting. 
As the land rose and the beach emerged from the sea -level, the natural and 
inevitable tendency would be to lengthen the distance between the cliffs and 
the water. Twenty feet rise of the land with a shelving beach such as this, 
would be equivalent to a very considerable horizontal distance, yet the waves 
dash against the rocks immediately under the old beach. Not a single foot 
does the sea appear to have really retired, In the case of a precipitous cliff 
with deep water, of course perpendicular elevation would effect no amount of 
horizontal distance. But the old shore was evidently like the modern one, 
a sandy and shelly beach with a ridge of pebbles at the highest part. It 
therefore seems to me, that after retirement to such a distance as would be 
equivalent to a perpendicular rise of twenty feet or more, a pause has taken 
of sufficient duration to allow the sea to eat its way back through the founda- 
tions of the ancient beach, which it has swept away, the superincumbent 
deposit falling into ruin, and carried out with the tide ; » and still at high 
spring tides I doubt not it continues to assail the lower deposits which remain 
and thus to bring down portions of the upper by the force of gravitation, for 
1 find that the end of the wall overhangs the cliff to the extent of some inches, 
and ere long unless attended to, its component stones will come down upon 
the shore and mingle with the natural detritus of the rocks from whence they 
were quarried. 
Contents of the ancient beach at Woodspi'ing. — In the paper above referred 
to I enumerated three or four species of mollusca found in this beach. To 
these I have since added several others, and by the kindness of Mr. Henry 
Woodward and Mr. Gwyn J effrey s, who have taken the trouble to look over 
the specimens and name them, I am now able to give the following list : — 
Tellina 
Baltica v. solidula 
Littorina 
littorea 
j > 
obtorsata 
? i 
rudis 
Nassa 
incrassata 
reticulata 
Cardium 
edule 
Murex 
erinaceus 
Pupa 
Helix 
virgata 
campestris 
Ostrea 
edulis 
