THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
the remains of a vegetable world. May this expec- 
tation be realised, and may her excellent popula- 
tion be thus redeemed from poverty and misery! ' : 
He little suspected that in the following year, 
1843, his hopes would begin to be realized; which 
by the year 1862, -would be represented by an 
annual consumption of superphosphate of lime, 
made from phosphate nodules, so called “copro- 
lite,” to the amount of 72,000 tons, at an expendi- 
ture of £ 360,000. (1) 
Previous to Dr. Buckland’s discovery, guano 
had begun to be imported (1841) from islands in 
the south Pacific ocean, where it forms a stratum 
many feet thick, being the accumulation for ages 
of the excrement of innumerable sea-fowl. It was 
at that time used as a manure with great advan- 
tage on the coast of Peru, where the soil is natu- 
rally very sterile. Its percentage of phosphate of 
lime in Guano is about 29. Its first trial in En- 
gland (in Mr. Skirving’s Nursery at Liverpool, 
upon grass and turnips) established its reputation 
as being far superior to any known manure; the 
price, moreover of its importation being only from 
20s. to 25 s. per cwt. By the year 1844 the applica- 
tion of Guano had become various and abundant. 
Up to this period Liebig’s speculations had not 
been realized. It was is the year 1843 that Prof. 
J.S.Henslow and his family were staying for a few 
weeks at Felixstow a village on the east coast; 
and although at that time generally condemned as 
a watering place, (2) yet it is seated in one of the 
finest bays in England with excellent and safe 
bathing. It possesses a maritime flora of much 
interest, and cliffs consisting of some of the most 
remarkable of our British Strata. On the north 
of Felixstow high cliffs face the sea, the lower 
and greater portion consisting of the lower Eocene 
beds “London Clay,” a bluish gray, clay-bed crumb- 
ling under exposure to the atmosphere, un- 
fossiliferous but abounding in septaria and nodular 
masses of stone, from one to three feet in 
diameter. Vast quantities of these are collected 
out at sea for the purpose of making “Roman” 
cement. A little flotilla of boats may often 
(1) Midland Counties Herald , Feb. 20, 1S6.3. 
(2) At that time there were only ten lodging 
houses built of tvood. These were burnt down about 
1S50. Of late years Felixstow has been greatly 
enlarged and is now being rapidly extended. 
be seen a mile or so out, dredging for these 
large “ mackles ” or compound crystals of selenite 
which also occur in the clay or well. 
Superimposing the London clay is the “Red 
Crag,” so called from it.-, peculiar yellowish- 
red colour, due to the great prevalence of peroxide 
of iron. It is for the most part a sandy “shore 
bed, abounding in vast quantities of rolled 
and water-wmrn organic remains. Numerous 
sharks teeth varying in size from half an inch 
to those of the great Carcharadon Megabjd n 
so common in the Maltese rocks. Portions of 
whales’ bones, especially the ribs, and the 
petrous tymphanicbone of the ear are particularly 
common. (1) 
He whole thickness of the sandy cliff is 
generally charged with l roken fragments of shells 
the harder kinds, as Fusus antiquus, Nations 
etc. being perfect but rolled. It is at the 
bottom or junction between the London Clay 
and Red Crag where the phosphate pebble-! cd 
lies. 
The nodules appear to have derived their 
origin from the London Clay, in which many 
were found by the late Mr. John Brown of 
Hanway, Essex; differing, however, from the 
former, in the absence of the peculiar dark- 
brown colour on the exterior surface, and from 
a blight yellow, colour being often disclosed in 
the interior by fracture. 
Although this pavement of rolled phosphatic 
nodules lies at the bottom of the Red Crag, 
when this bed is in conjuncton with the London 
clay; there is reason for suspectting that the 
true period of its deposition was at the close 
of the Miocene epoch for an anterior bed, 
known. as the white or (miscalled) Coralline Crag 
(2j has on one occasion been found to 
overlie the phosphate nodules bed. At least 
this was the conclusion arrived at from 
a certain boring which passed through both 
(1 ) So abundant were there “ whales ears ' 
that the Professor had at one time inhis cull action 
upwards of 22 dozen! A description of them may 
be found in Owens British Fossil Mammalia./ would 
add that by carefully comparing about p u> speci- 
mens I found that except mg Balcena affinis, the 
other “ species’ were not distinguishable. 
(2) What were supposed to be corals are now 
recognized as Bryozoa. 
