276 
THE GEOLOGIST. 
best ])laccs for collecting arc Ras rAhrasc, McUoo bay, and Port Ccrcewa, 
near Marf'a, in Malia; and at Fort Clunubrc' audtiic cliffs at llanila, in Gozo. 
The next stratniii consists of a uiixUire of yellow, black, and green sand in 
various proportions, and is the one which yields most fossils, although, owing 
to the soft sandy nature of the I'ock, many of them are but casts. Eamla 
cliff, along the nortli-east coast of Gozo, is by far the best place I have visited ; 
but many can also be got on the coast of Malta, between Port Ccrcewa, near 
Marfa and Miggiar, where the great fa\ilt reaches the south-west coast. 
Tlie next stratum is composed of blue and bluish-white marl ; in it fossils 
are more rare, the only connnon one being broken specimens of Peden Bur- 
dignleiifiis ; however, others are to be fomid, and the best places are the cliffs 
under Fort Chambrc, in Gozo, between St. Paul's bay and Melleha bay, and at 
Miggiar, in Malta. 
Below the marls there is a series of beds of light yellow sandstone, the 
common building-stone of the islands, which is rich in cehinodermata ; the 
coast between Fort Tigue and St. Julian's bay, Madalena bay, and particularly 
the large quarries in the centre of the island, near Luca and Micabba are the 
most productive places. I also obtained a large species of nautilus from Gala 
Dueira, on the north-west coast of Gozo. Through these beds runs a band of 
chocolate-coloured pebbles, containing fish-teeth, &c. ; it is well developed ou 
the south-side of Fort Chambre, close to the sea, and ou the north side of the 
Wield Cannott a, near the valley of the Salines, in Malta. 
The next stratum, which is the lowest, consists of semi-crystalline limestone, 
and is generally devoid of fossils ; ou the point between St. George's bay and 
St. Jubau's bay broken specimens of SriifcUa snhmfnndd, and occasionally teeth 
may be found, and I procured a nautilus from the cliffs near Krendi, Malta. 
At a quarry on the sea-coast at Torre Sciulo, near Krendi, there used to be 
a fissure filled with breccia, containing manmialiau remains ; I think it has all 
been removed now, but others may be expected in the high cliffs ou the south- 
west coast of both Malta and Gozo, and ought to be looked for. 
I would recommend any one desirous of making a collection to go to Fort 
Chambre and ask for a Maltese named Mike ; although not very respectable, 
he knows most of the best localities, is used to collecting, and works well with 
a pick — uo pleasant employment in so warm a climate. — Yo\u's truly, F. W. 
HuTTON, Staff College, Sandhui'st. 
Nicker Pits. — Deah Sir, — About two miles from Canterbury, in the 
marshes of West Bere Level, are a number of pools called Nicker Pits. Some 
of them are very deep, and springs of clear water rise up to the surface, the 
water finding its way into the marsh ditches, and thus escaping into the river 
Stour, near the banks of which the pools are siluated. Many of them are 
fumiel-sha])ed in the middle, and when standing on t he margin, any one looking 
into the water can see a long way down. The people in the neighbourhood 
believe them to be of an awful depth. One man told me that an eel-pot had 
been lowered into one of the pits seventeen rods, but it did not reach the 
bottom. 
There is some high ground close to the marshes where probably the water 
which supplies the springs is collected. The soil of the marsh is peaty, and 
that of the fields adjoining of clay. 
The name of these pools, or pits, is remarkable, and makes one fancy that it 
is connected with some early tradition of our Saxon or Danish forefathers. 
Jacob Grimm (Deutsche Mythologie, bb. 45G, Zweete Ausgabe), under the 
article " Niehus," enters somewhat eireumstantially into the derivation of the 
word. NichuH, crocodilus. Nikr, old Norse for hippopotamus, &c. Mones 
111 volkslit, s. liO, Nikkei- has the meaning of evil spn-it, devil. " AUe nikkers 
nit dc hel." Swedish, ndk, nek ; Danish, 7wk, nok, &c., all express the mean- 
