22 BLACK MOUNTAIN DISTRICT. 



lines'of road in this part of the covmty. The actual limits fixed for 

 this district are — on the north, the Wye from Clifford to Preston- 

 on-Wye, fi'om thence a Line taking a south-east direction by some 

 roads passing Kingston and Thruxton, to Willock's Bridge farm, as 

 the extreme eastern angle. Prom thence the course of the Worm 

 brook to Pontrilas, as the south-western angle. From Pontrilas the 

 course of the brook is followed north-westward to Ewyas Harold 

 and Dulas ; from which latter place the western boundary is con- 

 tinued by a line drawn along the slope of Cusop Hill to Hardwick 

 and Clifford. Owing to the formation of the ground, and other 

 causes, it is difficult to fix on a satisfactory western boundary for this 

 district, although the district itself is tolerably natural, since it 

 consists of ranges of hills, with intervening vallies running parallel 

 with the ranges of the Hatterel Hills or Black Mountains to the 

 westward ; yet intermediate in character, elevation and climate, 

 between these and the lowlands near the Wye on the east. 



GEOLOGY. — This may be described as a district of Old Eed 

 strata of liills of Cornstones, and sandstones, and denuded vallies. 

 It possesses some important features for the physical geologist, 

 and sundry boulder rocks that rest on high elevations on the flanks 

 and simimits of the hills below the Black Mountain, deserve our 

 especial attention. The 'more I examine into the history of these 

 masses of transported rock, and the masses of Trap and boulders 

 of Llandovery conglomerate on Bradnor Hill, and other hills around 

 Kington, the more I feel assured that these rock masses were 

 deposited when the summits of lulls as high as Merbridge and 

 Bradnor were beneath a sea traversed by ice-bergs and ice-floes 

 transporting those rock masses. 



NO. 14. THE BLACK MOUNTAIN" DISTEICT. 



This consists of the extreme western portion of our county, and, 

 as the name given to it will shew, it contains within its area such 

 portion of the Black Mountain ranges as belongs to Herefordshire. 

 It is separated from District 13 by the line from Pontrilas to Clifford, 

 which was mentioned as the western boundary of that district. 

 The remainder of its outline is defined by the borders of the adjoining 

 counties. 



On the second range of the Black Mountains, reckoning from 



