them frequently on that fteep, juft under the foil, in the chalk, and
of a confiderable fize. In the lane above Well-head, in the way
to Emjhot, they abound in the bank in a darkilh fort of marl;
and are ufually very fmall and foft; but in Clay’s Pond, a little farther
on, at the end of the pit, where the foil is dug out for manure,
I have occafionally obferved them’of large dimenfions, perhaps
'fourteen or fixteen inches in diameter. But-as-thefe-did hot
confift of firm ftone, but were formed of a kind of terra lapidoja,
or "hardened clay, as foon as they were expofed to the rains and
froft: they mouldered away- Thefe feemed as- if they were a very
recent production. In the chalk-pit, at the north-weft end of Ehe
Hanger, large nautili are fometimes obferved.
In the very thickeft ftrata of our freeftone, and at confiderable
depths, well-diggers often find large fcallops or peBines, having
both fhells deeply ftriated, and ridged and furrowed alternately,
They are highly impregnated with, if not wholly compofed of,
.the ftone of the quarry.
L E T T E R IV.
TO TH E S A M E -
A s in a former letter the freejlone of this place has been- only
mentioned incidentally, 1 fhall here hecpme more particular.
This ftone is in great requeft for hearth-ftones, and the beds
of ovens: and in lining of lime-kilns it, turns to-good account;
for the .workmen ufe fandy loam, inftead of mortar; the fand of
which fluxes, fand runs by the intenfe heat, and fo cafes over the
d There may probably be alfo in the chalk itfelf that is burnt fbr'lime a proportion o f
iand r ‘for few chalks are fo pure as to have none.
whole
O F 5 E L B O R N E . 9
whole face of the' kiln with a firong vitrified coat likj; glafs, that
it is well preferved from injuries of weather, and endures thirty
or forty years. When chifeled fmooth, it makes elegant fronts
for houfes, equal in colour and grain to the Bath ftone; and fu-
perior in one refpedt, thalt, when feafoned, it does not fcale. Decent
Chimney-pieces are worked from it of much clofer and finer
grain than Portland; and rooms are floored with it; but it proves-
rather too foft for this purpofe. It is a freeftone, cutting in all
directions; yet has fomething of a grain parallel with the horizon,
and therefore fhould not be furbeilded, but laid in the fame pofition
that it grows in the quarry e. On the ground abroad this fire-
fbone will not fucceed for pavements, becaufe, probably fome degree
of faltnefs prevailing 'within it, the rain tears the flabs to
piecesf. Though this ftone is too hard to be acfted on by vinegar;
yet both the white part, and even the blue rag, ferments ftrongly
in mineral acids. Though the white ftone will not bear wet, yet-
in every quarry at intervals there are thin ftrata of blite'Eitg', which
refift rain and froft; and are excellent"for pitching of ftables, paths
and courts, and for building of dry walls againft banks; a valuable
fpecies of fencing, much in ufe'in this village, and for mending of
roads. This rag is rugged and ftubborn, and will not hew to a
fmooth-face; but is: very durable: yet, as thefe ftrata are {hallow
and lie deep, large quantities cannot be procured but at confiderable
expenfe. Among the blue rags turn up fome blocks tinged
* T o furbed ftone i f to fet it edgewiie, contrary to the pofture it had in the qnarry,
lays Dr. Plot. Oxfordjh. p. 77. But furbedding does not fiicceed in our dry walls;
neither do we ufe it fo in. ovens, though he fays it is beft for \Teynton ftone.
f ** Fireftone is full o f falts, and has no fulphur: muft be clofe grained, and have no
« interftices. Nothing fupports fire like falts 5 faltftone perilhes expofed to wet and
** frQft.” Plot's Staff, p. 15a.
c w i t h