After passing through the Chalk, and over the marls and sandstone strata of the Cretaceous formation, the Oolitic group (consisting of Portland stone, Kimmeridge clay, &c.), the Lias, New Red or Triassic, and Carboniferous deposits successively appear on the lines of railroad; excepting on those of the South-Eastern, which, upon leaving the Chalk-formation, traverse the fluviatile beds of the Wealden, as we shall hereafter more particularly describe.
EXCURSION TO THE ISLE OF SHEPPEY.
Every one knows that Sheppey is a small island about ten miles in length, lying at the mouth of the Thames, at the distance of between forty and fifty miles east from London; but every one does not know that the Isle of Sheppey is an inexhaustible mine of fossil treasures; and that from its cliffs, and on its shores, may be gathered innumerable relics of tropical plants, of quadrupeds, birds, serpents, turtles, fishes, crabs, lobsters, shells, &c. all belonging to species that now no longer exist.
A visit to the town of Queenborough afforded me, when a boy, the first opportunity of beholding fossil remains in such a state of preservation, and in such profusion, as to excite in my mind an uncontrollable desire to investigate the nature and origin of objects which I had been taught to believe were either produced spontaneously in the earth, or were left in their present situations by the waters of a universal deluge. At a short distance from the inn where we sojourned, was a vitriol manufactory, and considerable plots of ground were covered with the pyritous clay, obtained from the neighbourhood. To my great astonishment, I perceived that masses of this fossil earth were almost wholly made up of stems, twigs, and fragments of wood, with innumerable fruits, seed-vessels, and berries, of kinds altogether unknown to me. These fossils were of a dark colour, some quite black, very heavy, and permeated with the mineral substance termed sulphuret of iron, or pyrites. Many were so brittle as to fall to pieces upon being handled, but others were of a stony hardness, and I quickly filled a handkerchief with my newly discovered treasures, and hastened home to examine them at leisure. They consisted of the usual kinds of fossil fruits so abundant in the island (see [Lign. 63 and 64], p. 188), with casts of shells, and a few claws of crabs, and teeth of fishes.
Most of the specimens fell to pieces in the course of three or four months, but a few were durable, and these still occupy a corner in my cabinet as precious mementos of my juvenile researches. Many years afterwards I revisited Sheppey, and made a large collection of its fossils, which is now in the British Museum. Of late years, the increasing taste for Palæontology has brought numerous visitors to the island, which steam navigation has now placed within a few hours’ distance of the metropolis; and the demand for choice fossils has given rise to several local dealers. The student may, with but little trouble or expense, visit the island, make himself familiar with its geological character, and return laden with the fruits of the ancient spice islands, of whose ruins this mass of clay, in the embouchure of the Thames, is almost wholly composed. As it is some years since I last visited this interesting spot, I have obtained, as a Cicerone for the reader, the most indefatigable and successful investigator of its fossil Flora, Mr. Bowerbank; and as the courtesy of this gentleman is equal to his intelligence and scientific attainments, the traveller will have no reason to regret the absence of the author. A trip from London to Sheppey and back, affording time to procure a good collection of fossils, may be easily accomplished in three days.
EXCURSION TO THE ISLE OF SHEPPEY, BY J. S. BOWERBANK, ESQ. F.R.S.[785]
[785] Abridged from the Annals of Philosophy, by permission of the author.
"The best conveyance is by the Southend and Sheerness steam-packets, which leave London-bridge on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 11 o’clock in the morning, and reach Sheerness about 4 or 5 o’clock in the afternoon. The town is divided into two parts,—the one contained within the limits of the garrison being designated the Blue town, while that beyond the fortifications to the north-east is designated the Mile-town; and it is to this portion that I should recommend the visitor to proceed, and take up his quarters either at the Royal Hotel, or at the Wellington: the latter is an exceedingly snug and comfortable house, to which I have resorted for many years. After having established himself in the inn, he should request the attendance of Mr. Hays (better known perhaps by the name of Paddy Hays), from whom he may purchase, at a reasonable rate, some good fossils, such as crabs, lobsters, heads and portions of fishes, and numerous species of fossil fruits. Our traveller will then have accomplished all that can be done towards the acquisition of fossils until the following morning; there not being, I believe, any other collector in the town from whom purchases can be made.
"On the following morning an early breakfast is desirable, as a considerable extent of ground is to be traversed. It is advisable to go provided with live or six sheets of soft paper, to wrap fragile specimens in; and a few cotton or linen bags, of about four or five inches in diameter, to separate the large from the small fossils; the whole to be carried in a good-sized blue bag, or haversack; a chisel and light hammer are the only instruments required. If the geologist has a desire to view the great section of the London Clay, afforded by the cliffs on the north shore of Sheppey, and is content with the comparatively few fossils which he may be able to procure by his own exertions, he may proceed in the following manner:—Leaving Sheerness by the new town, he will pass along the sea-wall, towards Minster, until he reaches Scaps-gate, where the cliffs begin to rise from the low lands of the western end of Sheppey. A few cottages are scattered round this point, some of the inhabitants of which work upon the beach, collecting either cement-stone or pyrites, the latter being better known by the name of copperas. To these application should be made for ‘curiosities,’ and very frequently excellent specimens, and at a small price, may be thus procured. From this point the route will be under the cliffs upon the shingle, amidst which, dark patches, ten or fifteen yards in length, will be observed, composed of nodules of pyrites, intermixed with pyritized fragments of branches of trees, in great abundance. It is at such spots that the numerous and beautiful specimens of fossil fruits are found; but, to ensure success, the collector must be content to go upon his knees, and carefully search among the fragments. The whole of the beach, from about the parallel of Minster church to Warden Point, abounds with these patches of pyrites; and I have by this means obtained in the course of a morning upwards of one hundred fine fruits of various sizes. Care must be taken in such an investigation of the coast, that it be undertaken during the falling of the tide, or unpleasant consequences may arise from being shut in between the banks of mud which are projected into the sea at many points of the coast.
"If the principal object be the attainment of the greatest quantity of fossils, a different course should be pursued. The collector should then, after having made his purchases at Scaps-gate, direct his steps towards Minster church, passing which, he will proceed on the road towards Warden. About three-quarters of a mile beyond the church there is a lane on the left hand, leading towards the Royal Oak, in which lives a woman named Mummery, and several others, who work upon the beach, and from whom fossils are frequently to be procured. These people will direct him to the cottage of a family named Crockford, who have usually a good assortment of fossils; and to many other parties who also work upon the beach, and reside between this point and Hensbrook, to which place he must now direct his steps. At Hensbrook inquiry should be made for a man named Pead, who has generally a considerable number of good specimens in his possession. From this point (Hensbrook) the collector must proceed along the top of the cliff towards Warden, calling at the various cottages in his way, until he arrives at Warden Point, at which place he must inquire for Mud-row, many of the inhabitants of which work upon the beach, and from whom a considerable addition to the specimens already collected may be purchased. Beyond this point nothing will be obtained, and the best way to return to Sheerness, is by the road which runs through the most level portion of the country; the path along the north cliff undulates very considerably more than the road.