228 NATURAL SCIENCE. Oct.. 



Underground Geology. 



The President of the Geological Section, Mr. W. Whitaker, 

 devoted the greater part of his address to a discussion of the under- 

 ground geology of East Anglia. The underlying geology of this 

 district is, in the first place, obscured by Drift ; but the well-sections, 

 which Mr. Whitaker has always been so indefatigable in recording, 

 have enabled the lines to be drawn with far greater precision than 

 was formerly the case ; especially have the older Tertiary beds been 

 found to have a greater northward extension than is depicted on the 

 older maps. Our knowledge of the deeper palaeozoic rocks has like- 

 wise been greatly increased, partly from borings made for water, 

 partly from borings with the direct object of investigating those rocks, 

 often with the ulterior motive of searching for coal. Reasoning from 

 the southern outcrops of the British Coal Measures, Mr. Whitaker 

 cannot see why we should expect anything but a like occurrence 

 of Coal Measures, in detached basins, in our vast underground tract 

 of old rocks. He therefore urges fresh trial-borings. " The long gap 

 between the distant outcrops of the Coal Measures near Bristol and 

 Calais has been lessened very slightly by the working of coal under 

 the Triassic and Jurassic beds near the former place, but much more 

 by our brethren across the narrow sea," who have not only proved, 

 but actually worked coal beneath their Jurassic and Cretaceous beds. 

 The one trial that we have made, the Dover boring, has succeeded 

 in proving the presence of coal under eastern Kent. But there is no 

 reason why we should stop with this one boring, or even along this 

 one line. In this case we cannot say that " one trial will suffice." 

 It is our duty to seek, in East AngHa and elsewhere, for the other 

 basins that so probably exist. Nor should we be discouraged by one 

 or two failures. Among other reasons, the apparent absence of coal 

 from a boring that strikes rocks older than the Coal Measures may be 

 due to overthrust faults ; such have been actually proved to occur in 

 the adjacent Coal Measures of the Continent. " Our trial-work does 

 not yet lead us to consider such disturbances. We have at first to 

 assume a normal succession of formations, and not to carr}' on 

 explorations in beds that can be proved to be older than the Coal 

 Measures ; but the time may come when it will be otherwise." 



Subsequently, in the same section, Mr. F. W. Harmer made a 

 plea for the systematic exploration of the subterranean geology of 

 Great Britain and Ireland. He pointed out that at present our 

 knowledge of the structure of the rocks below the surface is due either 

 to isolated and occasional borings, such as that of the Ipswich 

 Syndicate in search of coal, or to deep wells sunk by mercantile firms. 

 He urged that the discovery of new mineral beds enriches, not only 

 the lucky landowners, but the whole State : Apart from the increased 

 employment and general prosperity of the district, he calculates that 

 for " every ;^ioo of yearly unearned increment the State is benefited 

 in one way or another by £2^, or one-fourth of the amount." His 



