74 Mr. Brock bank on 



upper portion is a red bedded sandstone, below which are 

 thin bedded yellow sandstones with clay partings. This 

 stone is full of red clay small nodules, and here again 

 occurs a plant bed with true Permian plants of the Ulmannia 

 and Walchia types (see Plate III.). These thin beds are 

 about 2ft. 6in. thick. The red rocks below them are also thin 

 bedded, and show ripple marks, sun cracks, and other interest- 

 ing peculiarities, with numerous small clay nodules about the 

 size of coffee beans. All these sandstones are much spotted 

 with black carbonaceous markings, and have clay partings,, 

 and the surfaces of the beds are ripple marked, and seamed 

 with sun cracks. Some plant remains occur in the thin clay 

 partings, and are very perishable. 



The next good exposure of red rocks is about three- 

 quarters of a mile further up the stream, beyond the village of 

 Hilton, and here again plant remains were found. There 

 is a rock outcrop here, the upper 20 feet of which is a 

 bedded red sandstone of Permian colour, below which are- 

 several thin beds of yellow sandstone, with red marl partings. 

 All these rocks contain the small clay nodules, so perfect 

 in form as to suggest fossils, but I was not able to 

 discover any traces of shell structure. Beneath these 

 a soft red rock, blotted all through with black car- 

 bonaceous spots, and full of the small oval and circular 

 clay lumps. On examining the specimens collected from 

 this furthest group I found that one of the white sandstones 

 which was faced with a shaley film contained very beautifully 

 preserved plant remains under the shaley surface, of the 

 same facies as the other Hilton beds — showing Ulmannia, 

 Walchia, and fern fragments (see Plate IV.). All these red 

 rocks, with their thinner grey and white beds and the plant 

 remains, are evidently one series, the whole of them being 

 much intermixed with carbonaceous matter, and all of them 

 having plant beds of true Permian types. If, therefore, the 

 plant beds of Ashgill are Permian, there can be no doubt 



