Excerpt from The Structure of the Earth

But there is another group which presents itself in many places. Let us take one of the most striking instances, and transfer ourselves in imagination to Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight. Those singular vertical layers of diverse-coloured sands call for an explanation, but let us pass them by for the moment and mount the rough Slopes of Headon Hill on the northern side. Very soon we find ourselves treading upon shells, in some respects resembling, in others difiering from, those now to be found in our own or in other countries. Their condition and aspect suggests that they have been long dead they do not correspond in form with those which we know to be still living. When first we find them they may be lying loose on the surface, but a little search, as we mount upwards, shows that they were once embedded in the successive beds of marl or soft limestone, over which we pass in mounting upwards. In one place we find some that so closely resemble those now living' in seas that we feel sure they must have had their home in salt water; yet, as their burial-ground is far above the reach of the waves in even the wildest storms, they must have lived and died where they are found. In another place the shells resemble those still living in streams or lakes, and by degrees we begin to perceive that the remains found in the different beds suggest alternations of fresh-water, or estuarine, or marine conditions. Other places present similar prob lems, though in diverse forms, and when we havep suc ceeded in solving them we find that we have deciphered a few pages of the earth's history, and begin to wonder whether it contains many chapters, perchance even volumes.

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