410 
DR. G. J. HINDE ON BEDS OF SPONGE-REMAINS IN THE 
Hythe, Kent .—Sections of about 50 feet in thickness (12'5 m.) of the basal 
division of the lower greensand are shown in the quarries at the back of the town. 
The strata consist of alternating beds of limestone, sand, and sandstone, approximately 
of the same character as those at Maidstone, but less regular as regards the thickness 
of the beds, and no chert is present. The only traces of sponge remains occur in some 
of the layers of limestone, and one bed in particular, in the lower part of the section, 
is so extensively filled with spicules that it may fairly be regarded as a sponge-bed. 
This bed is about 15 inches (‘375 m.) in thickness; it is of a light-gray or bluish tint, 
hard and massive, except in small patches, where the spicules have been dissolved 
aw T ay and the rock is consequently porous. Thin microscopic sections show that the 
matrix is granular and the siliceous spicules have been replaced by crystalline calcite. 
In a few cases the replaced spicules yet show traces of their canals. In addition to 
the sponge-remains, the bed contains foraminifera and fragments of echinoderms. 
The limestone sponge-bed is also shown in a quarry just below the Hythe railway 
station, and in this quarry there is also a thin shell-bed, principally consisting of the 
casts of Trigonia, in a calcitic matrix. The matrix of this shell-bed is completely 
filled with the empty casts of sponge-spicules. 
Folkestone, Kent .—The uppermost division of the lower greensand, which is named 
the Folkestone division, from its prominent development in this locality, contains 
numerous sponge-beds, and in this respect is of a somewhat, exceptional character, 
since sponge remains are of rare occurrence in the strata of this division in other 
localities. 
The best exposure of the Folkestone beds is in the cliffs on the shore between the 
east side of the Harbour and Copt Point. About half-way between these places the 
following section was shown at the time of my visit. I here give it in detail, since it 
illustrates the manner in which the sponge-beds alternate with other beds. 
feet, inches. 
(1.) Above, coarse sandstone and grit.1 0 
(2.) Brown and yellow sands.6 0 
(3.) Sandstone with spicules. 1 0 
(4.) Unconsolidated sand. 4 0 
(5.) Siliceous rock (sponge-bed). 1 10 
(6.) Unconsolidated sand.1 8 
(7.) Siliceous rock (sponge-bed). 1 5 
(8.) Sand. 1 8 
(9.) Siliceous rock (sponge-bed).0 5 
(10.) Sand.2 0 
(11.) Siliceous reck (sponge-bed). 1 4 
(12.) Sand. 5 0 
(13.) Siliceous rock (sponge-bed). 1 0 
