neighbourhood of Grantham. 59 



The junction of the Inferior Oolite and Upper Lias shales may 

 be observed near Stamford, and many of the characteristic fossils 

 have been noticed. It also crops out at the base of some of the 

 numerous longitudinal valleys which traverse the oolitic district 

 round Grantham, and it may cap some of the hills on the north 

 of the town. In a short visit I was unable to examine this part 

 of the series more closely, but as these seem to be mainly com- 

 posed of the ferruginous beds underlying the marlstone, it is 

 probably of limited extent and thickness. These hills overlook 

 a low and extensive flat, occupied almost exclusively by the mid- 

 dle beds of the Lower Lias, so largely developed at the Leigh and 

 other spots throughout the Vale of Gloucester, and in no respects 

 differing from them. The soil is cold and wet, like all clay soils, 

 but the general aspect of the tract is most uninteresting, and by 

 no means equal to the rich and often picturesque valley through 

 which the Severn flows. The Vale of Belvoir, however, more to 

 the west, is a richer country, and the castle, which stands on oolitic, 

 well-wooded hills, commands a fine view over the lias and new 

 red sandstone in Nottinghamshire. In this neighbourhood the 

 marlstone abounding in fossils is largely developed, and also in 

 the descent from Denton Hill into the valley in which Grantham 

 stands. It there occupies the same relative position, and pre- 

 sents the same geographical features as it does in Gloucester- 

 shire, Warwickshire and Somersetshire. 



A railway cutting through Gonnerby Hill close to Grantham 

 has exposed the top beds of the Lower Lias, undistinguishable 

 either lithologically or zoologically from their equivalents at 

 Hewlett's and Robinswood Hills near Cheltenham and Gloucester. 

 The ochraceous and laminated lias of Professor Buckman, with 

 their characteristic fossils, are well seen in a deep cutting, in the 

 latter of which, nodules and layers of ironstone are extensively 

 distributed. The specimens which I procured, and the collec- 

 tions I saw from this part of the series, agree precisely with those 

 obtained in similar strata in Gloucestershire. This division of the 

 Lias constitutes comparatively low hills N.W. of Grantham, not 

 capped by oolite, which takes a more northern course towards 

 Lincoln. A considerable portion of the former town stands upon 

 sand and gravel, but the lower division of the Lias has been pene- 

 trated for wells to the depth, as I was informed, of ninety feet ; but 

 from the difficulty I had in obtaining sections in any of the in- 

 ferior strata, I am unable to say whether it agrees exactly in this 

 respect with those in the Vale of Gloucester. The Lower Lias 

 generally may be best studied N.W. and W. of Grantham, on 

 the S. and S.E. of which the oolitic Wolds rise and rarely display 

 the Upper Lias at their base. West of the town towards Notting- 

 ham the junction of the red marl and lias is probably visible, 



