10 
NATURAL HISTORY 
As -we were cutting an inclining path up The Hanger, the 
labourers found them frequently on that steep, just under 
the soil J 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 Clay's Pond, a little farther on, at the end 
of the pit, where the soil is dug out for manure, I have 
occasionally 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 Hangerj 
large Nautili are sometimes observed. 
In the very thickest strata of our freestone, and at con- 
siderable depths, well-diggers often find large scallops, or 
PectineSf having both shells deeply striated, and ridged 
and furrowed alternately. They are highly impregnated 
with, if not wholly composed of, the stone of the quarry. 
LETTER IV 
TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQUIRE. 
S in a former letter the freestone of this place 
has been only mentioned incidentally, I shall 
here become more particular. 
This stone is in great request for hearth- 
stones, and the beds of ovens; and in lining 
of lime-kilns it turns to good account : for the workmen 
use sandy loam instead of mortar ; the sand of which fluxes,"^ 
^ They were in all probability casts of the ammonites, and not the 
shells themselves. — Ed. 
^ There may probably be also in the elialk itself, that is burnt for 
lime, a proportion of sand ; for few chalks are so pure as to have none. 
— G. W. 
