As we were
cutting an inclining path up the Hanger, the labourers found them
frequently on that steep, just under the soil, in the chalk, and of a
considerable size. In the lane above Well-head, in the way to
Emshot, they abound in the bank, in a darkish sort of marl; and are
usually very small and soft: but in Clay's Pond, a little farther on, at
the end of the pit, where the soil is dug out for manure, I have
occasionally observed them of large dimensions, perhaps fourteen
or sixteen inches in diameter. But as these did not consist of firm
stone, but were formed of a kind of terra lapidosa, or hardened
clay, as soon as they were exposed to the rains and frost they
mouldered away. These seemed as if they were a very recent
production. In the chalk-pit, at the north-west end of the Hanger,
large nautili are sometimes observed.
In the very thickest strata of our freestone, and at considerable
depths, well-diggers often find large scallops or pectines, having
both shells deeply striated, and ridged and furrowed alternately.
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