WEALDEN AND LOWER GREENSAND
Those were the days of reptiles. Now the earth is the domain of the mammalia. But then great reptiles like the Iguanodon wandered over the land; great marine reptiles, such as the Plesiosaurus, swam the waters; and wonderful flying reptiles, the Pterodactyls, flew the air. Some species of these were quite small, the size of a rook: one large species found in the Isle of Wight had a spread of wing of 16 feet. Imagine this strange world,—its forests with pines and monkey puzzles and cycads,—ferns also, of which many fragments are found,—its great reptiles and little reptiles, on land, in the water and the air. Were there no birds? Yes, but they were rare. From remains found in Oolitic strata,—somewhat older than the Wealden,—we know that birds were already in existence; and they were as strange as anything else. For they had jaws with teeth like the reptiles. They had not yet adopted the beak. And instead of all the tail feathers starting from one point, as in birds of the present day, these ancient birds had long curving tails like reptiles, with a pair of feathers on each joint. Birds of similar but slightly more modern type have been found in Cretaceous strata (to which the Wealden belongs) in America, but so far not in strata of this age in Britain.
Among other objects of interest along this Wealden shore may be noticed a curious transformation which has affected the surface of some of the shell limestones after they were formed, which is known as cone-in-cone structure. It has quite altered the outer layer of the rock, so that all trace of the shells of which it consists is obliterated. Numerous pieces of iron ore from various strata lie on the shore. Through most of English history the Weald of Kent and Sussex was the great iron-working district of England. The ore from the Wealden strata was smelted by the help of charcoal made from the woods that grew there, and gave the district its name;—for Weald means "forest." This industry gradually ceased, as the much larger supplies of iron ore found near the coal in the mines of the North of England came to be worked. Iron pyrites, sulphide of iron in crystalline form, was formerly collected on the Sandown shore, and sent to London for the manufacture of sulphuric acid. This mineral is often found encrusting fossil wood. It also occurs as rounded nodules (mostly derived from the Lower Chalk) with a brown outer coat, and often showing a beautiful radiated metallic structure, when broken. (This form is called marcasite.)
As we walk by the edge of the water, we shall see what pretty stones lie along the beach. When wet with the ripples many look like polished jewels. Some are agates, bright purple and orange in colour, some clear translucent chaldedony. We shall have more to say about these later on. They do not come from the Wealden, but from beds of flint gravel, and are washed along the shore. But there are also jaspers from the Wealden. These are opaque, generally red and yellow. There are also pieces of variegated quartz, and other beautiful pebbles of various mineral composition. These are stones from older rocks, which have been washed down the Wealden rivers, and buried in the Wealden strata, to be washed out again after hundreds of thousands of years, and rolled about on the shore on which we walk to-day.
[1] Blue clays of various geological age, which in wet weather become semi-liquid, and flow out on to the shore, are known in the Island by the local name of Blue Slipper.
[2] The name now adopted is Viviparus. There is also a band of ferruginous limestone mainly composed of Viviparus.
PL. II
 Trigonia Caudata |  Trigonia Dædalea |
  Gervillia Sublanceolata | |
 (Ammonite) Mortoniceras Rostratum |  Nautilus Radiatus |