Golspie, that were examined by Professor Judd several 

 years ago, were pronounced by him to be identical in 

 character with the Cherty Rock of Stotfield. He con- 

 sidered also that the series of sandstones underlying the 

 Cherty Rock near Golspie were similar to the reptiliferous 

 beds of Lossiemouth, and that the strata overlying it were 

 of the age of the Lower and Middle Lias, and from this 

 sequence of strata on the north side of the Moray Firth he 

 inferred that the sandstones on the south side at Lossie- 

 mouth were of Triassic Age. 



The Cherty Rock of Stotfield is, however, perhaps 

 better known to the general public, in consequence of the 

 repeated attempts that have been made to work the lead 

 in it. All these attempts have as yet proved unsuccessful, 

 as might have been expected from the fact that the lead, 

 instead of being collected into veins, is disseminated 

 through the rock. At first, the existence of a few small, 

 isolated patches containing ore at the surface tended to 

 give a false impression regarding the abundance of the 

 metal, but now that these have been exhausted, the pro- 

 spect of a remunerative search for it underground is, to 

 say the least, far from encouraging. 



Near the Mines, in the Old Hythe of Stotfield, there 

 is a patch of soft, greenish -white sandstones well worthy 

 of notice. It is of a more recent age than the Reptilifer- 

 ous Sandstones, and it is evidently faulted against them 

 and the Cherty Rock of Stotfield. It is possible that it 

 is the vestige of a formation that at one time covered a 

 more extensive area, and that it has been preserved from 

 denudation by the hard, indestructible, cherty rock near 

 it. This patch has yielded a very considerable variety of 

 fossils, almost all being in the condition of casts, of which 

 the following may be mentioned : — Pholadomya oblita, 

 Myacites calceiformis, Astarte rhomboidalis, Cypricar- 



