Clement Beul — Pliocene Beels near Cromer. 
303 
20ft. from what it is at present, whick (if we consider the fall of the 
tides to be unaltered) would bring the colonies of Mija arenaria, 
Mytilus edulis, and Tellina obliqua to a few feet below low-water, 
wkile Pholas crispata would occur between tide marks. Although 
Tellina obliqua and T. Baltliica occur with the valves United at 
Weybourn at a higher level, yet here they are not in their natural 
position, and the beds appear to have formed a sandy and muddy 
beack such as is often seen at the mouths of rivers. 
FRESH- WATER BED. 
Above, and often resting on a slightly eroded surface of the marine 
and estuarine beds already described, are shown extensive deposits 
of freshwater sand, clay, and peat. These beds are muck more ex- 
tensive than is commonly considered, and appear to have been formed 
in shallow lalces like the present “ broads ” of Norfolk. They can 
be traced with but short interruptions from Weybourn to West 
Runton, and again from Overstrand to Mundesley. 1 
In places rootlets penetrate three or four feet into the Weybourn 
Beds, marking the position of islets in the lakes, or perhaps be- 
longing to water-plants, in which case they would indicate wkere 
the fresh- water deposits have been denuded. This “rootlet bed ” 
may be traced at intervals between Happisburgh and Weybourn 
Signal Station, but the rootlets do not always penetrate beds on the 
same horizon. 2 It is noticeable that none of these roots belong to 
anything larger than brushwood, as observed by Mr. Gunn in a 
similar bed at Kessingland. 
The Fresh- water Bed appears to have been formed when the re- 
lations of sea and land were much as they are at present, for although 
in several places between Sherringham and Mundesley it has filled 
hollows a foot or two below high-water mark, the channels seem 
never to be cut deeper, apparently showing that they had reached 
the sea-level. 
The mammals from this bed have been carefully collected at 
West Runton by Mr. A. C. Savin, and the list already contains two 
or three species not known in the Forest-bed. It has also yielded 
the wing-bone of a bird, seeds, 
From this locality I have obtained 
f r esh-water Shells : — 
Paludina contecta. 
vivipara. 
Valvata piscina lis. 
Crista ta. 
Bythinia tentaculata. 
Planorbis albus. 
complanalus. 
contortus. 
corneus. 
■ nautileus. 
spirorbis. 
beetles and numerous mollusca. 
the following species of land and 
limncea palustris. 
peregra. 
■ stagnalis. 
truncatula. 
Ancylus lacustris. 
Limax, 2 sp. 
Succinea putris. 
Helix arbustorum. 
hispida. 
nemoralis. 
Zua lubrica. 
1 It should be remerabered tbat there are two fresh-water beds at Mundesley, one 
older than the Lower Boulder-clay, the otber newer, and probably Post-glacial. 
2 Near Weybourn, where the Fresh-water Bed rests directly upon the Chalk, the 
joints and crevices in this rock are often filled with peat. 
