276 
On the Fanniiu) of Huntingdon. 
generally about 700 feet. The hills on the confines of North- 
amptonshire and Huntingdonshire are of the forest-marble of the 
Lower Oolite, and overhang the Nene. There is a strip of 
green-sand — the lower formation of the chalk — on the south- 
eastern border. The stratification, thus pretty clearly defined, 
ranges between the new red sandstone and chalk. 
The Oolite is interesting in many respects. With this system 
we pass from the fossils, whose forms and organisation bear 
little relation to any which now crowd the earth, either vegetable 
or animal. We pass, from what are called Palaeozoic forms, 
into the stratifications where we can trace distinct approaches 
to the vegetation and the animals of our own era. A new cycle 
of being, in fact, meets us. 
The Oolite has been better examined in England than in any 
other country. Its Wealden, Oolite, and Lias groups, have 
occupied the attention of our most eminent geologists, and yielded 
rich results. The Oolite proper, indicated by its rounded grains, 
resembling the roe of a fish, is an aggregate of rocks and clays, 
and shelly or " brashy " sandstones. It is a marine deposit, 
having been laid down in generally tranquil waters. It contains 
grits, ragstones, and shelly bed, which, being exposed to the 
atmosphere, crumble and form a sandy soil, called by the farmer 
Cornbrash. The fossil-remains are very varied : remains of palms, 
tree-ferns, cycas nearly approaching our existing cycas, and 
zamia, indicating that though the great deposit was marine, yet 
the vegetation of the solid land was abundant. The animal 
remains give us representatives of almost every existing order. 
The general appearance of an Oolitic district is pleasing ; 
sometimes — as near and round Bath' — displaying very charming 
scenery, both varied and picturesque. The Cotteswolds are well 
known for their beauty of rural landscape ; but we do not find 
any high mountains in such a district. 
The Oolitic system is important in an industrial point of view. 
Fine building stone, cement, and mortar, are got from it ; beautiful 
marbles are quarried from it ; also alum, fuller's-earth, ironstone, 
coal, and jet. In coal and ironstone the Oolite is very rich. 
The Lias-land of Yorkshire is especially noted for the latter. 
Northamptonshire also furnishes large quantities. 
Huntingdonshire displays all the characteristics and yields 
most of the Oolite : generally it is fertile, and repays cultiva- 
tion. Even its fen-lands when drained prove very rich. Its soil 
varies : patches of grome, sand, and clay, intermix with alluvial 
clay. Peat is found in some places, and used for fuel. Like 
some Oolitic districts, it is deficient in springs, but the Oolite 
generally being so little broken by upheaval or other causes, is 
