Rev. W. D. Conybeare on the Phenomena of Geology. 1 9 



beach on the north side the harbour. Proceeding inland to 

 Sunnyside Hill, where workmen are now employed in widen- 

 ing the great south road to Berwick, two excavations are made 

 in the solid strata. At the northern cut, which is now twenty- 

 two feet deep, the lowest rock is dark-gray encrinal limestone, 

 covered by beds of coal measures of inconsiderable thickness, 

 but interstratified with four thin seams of coal. The southern 

 cut, which is nearer the summit of the hill, is at present four- 

 teen feet deep, the lowest rock is a thin limestone bed; 2nd, 

 a thin seam of coal with a band of shale ; 3rd, limestone ; 

 4th, coal and shale ; 5th, red sandstone ; 6th, coal and shale. 

 The dip is, as usual in this vicinity, to the east. Sunnyside 

 Hill is a mile south of Berwick. Near the coast, I observed 

 no basalt in situ, and the only well-defined dyke of that de- 

 scription met with, was at Ousenton Bourn, a mile and a 

 half east of Cornhill ; the rib of basalt is 18 feet wide, and 

 crosses the bourn from west to east. The blocks lie in a 

 horizontal position, and the stone is dark-gray, approaching 

 to black, with large greenish crystals of glassy felspar. 

 [To be continued.] 



V. An Examination of those Phenomena of Geology., which seem 

 to bear most directly on theoretical Speculations*. By the 

 Eev. W. D. CONYBEARE, M.A. F.R.S. F.G.S. %c. 



[In Continuation from vol. viii. p. 406.] 



Observations on Article V. " The decreasing violence of the 

 Convulsions affecting the Strata at successive Geological 

 Periods." 



"Vl^E have already noticed the effects of the dislocating 

 forces which must have acted during the deposition 

 of the strata referred to the Transition and Carboniferous 

 formations, and we have found that the agency of these 

 forces must have been universal and extreme during the first, 

 and very general and very violent during the second period : 

 in proceeding, we shall find that they are comparatively rare 

 and partial in the formations of later origin, although they 

 have never entirely ceased; and we are led by a strict analogy 

 to ascribe the actual volcanic phaenomena to the same causes, 

 though at present acting with an energy greatly diminished. 



Next to the carboniferous strata occur those of the magne- 

 sian lime, new red sandstone and lias : these as well as the 

 succeeding oolitic formations remain very generally undis- 

 turbed, and in a position so little inclined that they have beea 

 thence denominated by many geologists on the continent as 



* Communicated by the Author. 



D 2 well 



