The Ancient Fauna of Essex. 23
the Cyrena brick-earth at Grays, it seems to inosculate with
the gravel which (as shown in the Section at page 62 of the
third volume of the 'Geological Magazine'; and Trans. Essex
Field Club, vol. i., p. 32) partially underlies the brick-earth
at that place. I, however, believe that this inosculation is
not real, but that the gravel, e, really lies up against
the beds of gravel, sand, and brick-earth which form the
Cyrena-deposit of that place, and which are shown in the
present Section under the letter b. All the gravel and brick-
earth beds occurring in the valleys of the Thames, and of its
tributaries, are now pretty generally admitted by geologists
to be posterior to the true Glacial period; and their relation
to the extensive deposit of Glacial clay which covers so much
of the midland and eastern counties (Bed No. 6) is shown by
Section on page 32, Trans. Essex Field Club, vol. i.
(reprinted from page 43 of the fifth volume of the 'Geological
Magazine,' 1868)."
"To return to the Ilford brick-fields: the Cyrena brick-
earth here attains a thickness of nearly twenty feet. It may
be seen in the field on the London-road resting in one part
direct on the London-clay, while in another part it has a thin
band of shingly gravel beneath it. In the Uphall brick field
its position relatively to the newest gravel is best shown,
the two deposits being unconformable.
" When we consider the limited area from which the col-
lection of the late Sir Antonio Brady has been made, it seems
not a little remarkable that it should so well represent the
vertebrate fauna characteristic of these deposits, in regard to
the number of species ; whilst it greatly exceeds in number
of specimens any hitherto attempted from this neighbourhood.
The relative proportions of the remains of the several families
are also such as are generally found in similar deposits in
other localities.
" Of the Carnivores the remains are few,—only eleven,—and
belong to the Lion, Fox? (one fragment), and the Bear. The
first is represented by two examples; but, as we might expect
from the known active habits of the Felidae, their remains are
comparatively rare in all aqueous deposits, being more gene-
rally found in caves and rock-fissures. Of the Bear one species
is recorded as having been found at Ilford, viz., Ursus ferox.