20 
ally to those of deeper water. But from the commencement of 
the Bunter period to its close, conditions of excessive salinity 
appear to have been the rule, to which, at present, no exceptions 
have clearly been proved. Hence the almost entire absence from 
this great sandstone series of traces of plant remains. Where they 
do occur they will probably be found to agree generically with 
those in the Lower New Red, or, at any rate, not to differ from 
them more than the vegetable remains from the Millstone Grit do 
from those obtained from the underlying Yoredale Rocks. 
Mr. W. Brockbank has lately* recorded a find of vegetable 
remains from near Helton, which he courteously allowed me to 
examine. ‘They are correctly figured in the plates illustrating his 
very interesting paper, and one cannot help regretting that the 
fossils in question were not sufficiently definite to admit of their 
identification, or, at least, of their being referred to one or other 
of the Orders at present recognized by paleeobotanists. In the 
hope of being able to obtain more satisfactory specimens, I paid a 
visit in June, 1892, to the section indicated in Mr. Brockbank’s 
paper ; but, although long familiar with every exposure of rock 
near Helton, I was not fortunate enough to meet with any such 
specimens after a long day’s search. I obtained some beautiful 
dendrites of manganese, wonderfully like carbonised vegetable 
impressions, and got, too, some shale-galls resembling s¢herza, 
also some excellent specimens of suncracks, as well as of footprints, 
so that the journey was not altogether wasted. Still, it is quite 
worth while to keep a look out for true plant remains, and geolo- 
gists will feel much indebted to Mr. Brockbank for calling attention 
to this very interesting section. In this connection it may be well 
to mention that Sir Roderick Murchison (Sz/uria, 4th Ed., p. 317) 
informs us that in Russia the Bunter Marls and Sandstone there 
overlying the Magnesian Limestone, contain ‘‘Plants and Protero- 
sauri which are found to be identical with species from the 
Roth-Liegende of Germany,” [which, no doubt, will prove to be 
very generally the case elsewhere. | 
After the formation of the St. Bees Sandstone, quiet and slow 
* Trans. Man. Geol. Soc., 1892. 
