63 
REPORT—1847. 
l»t. Did the seeds of these plants find their way to the canal from the imim 
districts which are their usual habitats? or 
2nd. Did such plants originate from seeds which have lain dormant iniheesitii 
for an inddinite period ? 
The aut hor answers the first of these questions negatively; BDdiacoDMderii»ikt 
second point, describeA the general structure of the Severn valley, espedaih io 
**^T«L^* elevation, due to successive vertical movement. 
That these terraces murk the hciglit of tlie waicr there can be link doubc,atber 
are made up of marine gravel and sand; and in several places these uDdihiM 
yielded specimens of marine shells, at once testifying to the truth of a large unit of 
Mtiiary occupying a position between the Malvern and Cotswold cfaeinsoTbilbi ik 
tollowing IS .1 list of marine shells from the banks of the Severn, near Worcesw*:- 
Anoniia ephippium. i Liilorina lUtoret. 
Astarteffrugmeot of). , Mure* erinaceu?. 
Ostrea odnlis. 
Purpura Lapillos. 
Tcilina soliuula. 
Truchiis cioerariut. 
Tiiirilulln iinguiiiDS. 
■— Terebra. 
Venus (fragiDents of). 
Bucoinnm reticulatnm. 
Bulla ampulla. 
Cypr®.i pediciihis. 
Cyprina fslandica. 
Cardium tuberculatum. 
Dentalium entails. 
DoniiJt (fnigment of). . ^ ^ _ 
These shells, which occur with remains of mammalia, are all undoubtedly msriiK, 
and, ns has been remarked by Sir R. Murchison, they are mostly identical willitJiose 
now inhabiting our coasts; mid tiius no doubt Is left as to the comparatively recent 
epoch when the tract in question was siibiiiergcdt. So that there can be littledoobt 
that, Mtliisaucicnt arm ol the sen— orrather strait— divided Euglandaod WwiaW 
wo islands, marine j)Iant>^ us well asuiiinials imist have flourished on its short": ik 
sea receding would cause the destruction of such plants as reallv required iannemtef 
I e«i’'tence, whilst others only semi-marioe wonli! itiiimssKe 
"I*' ^ following list of such plants now crowing in the vsle ‘k 
Sorern affbrds curious examples in illustration of this point. 
occurring in the vale of the RiverSevem:- 
and Gloucester; pleutiJuloo ihebs^* 
Welland Common, ba.^ of the Malvern-. MrE.Uo. 
““'•llchui^h Common, near Siourport. Mr. E. Le*s- 
Wood, near Tewkesbury. Mr. E. Ues. 
i wMrdmn«._Ncar Stourport. Mr. E. Lees. ^ 
Marsh, near IJptoo-upon-SeTern. J. B. 
maritimua.—Longdon Marsh. J. B. ^ 
^rpvsmantimiu —Longdoii Marsh. J B 
oj""<n.«.-'J'cwkcsburv. J. 0. 
ctrcunisfanws continue their species because the required 
thrierhaJ^L^ » of their seeds were abint; but these seeds ae^- 
i)roiiwich Canal i, ‘*®*troyed, but tbcir germs, as in the case of thoseo^ 
f«vpun.bIct^,ch acou.uTmario^ circomsUn«s 
the Inp« o*fagCT,'ndds—P*^*"*^ ‘‘'“t «*■« t*”!* capable of germiiialim: 
rhr«j9 . ..... 
f eriod wwi, r*t*vern, were occupied unru acoinpsr.w'-v - 
nvo bee^^dv^-il! conclusion, that the Droilwich maricer^ 
*<P<«etl hv tlm in seeds which have long been Ivingibrmant, andh«»™lf . 
tatKf into actiritv bv the subse^e"'^ 
of those wS wr^r*!* P'="“ 
there wlien the saline conditions formerly prevailed. 
• From the Silurian Syatem. f Sil. Syst. vol- i. P- 533. 
