58 



Goldsmid, Esq., F.S.A., G. R. Wright, Esq., F.S.A., and Mrs. Wright, E. 0. 

 Darmer, Esq., the Kev. rrebeiidary H. M. Scarth, M.A., F. K. Southern, Esq., 

 (ex-Mayor of Ludlow), the Rev. George Fyler Townaend, Mrs. Willie, John 

 Leach, Esq., and Miss Leach, T. Sydney Smith, Esq., and Miss Smith, Mrs. 

 Hutchins, Miss Hodson, and numerous other ladies and gentlemen who have 

 accompanied the association during the Ludlow congress. The general rendezvous 

 was the Craven Arms, and the confusion here in the matter of carriage 

 conveyance was heightened by the fact of one of the carriages having broken 

 down on the road, "our great drag, sir, what wud hold more nor any on em." 

 The perfect good temper and politeness of the Rev. J. D. La Touche, who by 

 common consent was looked upon as consoler general, was however quite equal to 

 the occasion, and somehow or other the Cirriages, when loaded to their very 

 utmost, were allowed to jiroceed. 



The weather, which was threatening, and occasionally something more, did 

 not display to the best advantage the line bold scenery of the route. In spite 

 of the grey sky, however, and the lowering clouds that hid the distant prospect, 

 the striking alternations of hill and valley, seen by most of the party for the first 

 time, gave a high idea of the beauty and almost the grandeur which many parts 

 of the prospect must possess when seen under a more favourable aspect. 



At Clunton the carriages were abandoned, and the route was directed 

 towards the Bury ditches, a distance of fully two miles, under the guidance of 

 W. W. Morris, Esq., of Clun. The road up the hill led past the Gunr dge 

 quarry, and here Mr. La Touche pointed out to the visitors that it was a quarry 

 of the upper Ludlow rock, and showed well on its surface the characteristic 

 rounding oij of the Silurian rocks fi-om exposure to weather. The rock peels off 

 like the coats of an onion, to which it had' been compared. At the upper end 

 of the quarry the slaty cleavage was well shown. For want of limestone in the 

 neighbourhood this rook is quarried for road material, and miserable metal it 

 makes, for it quickly turns to mud. There are very few fossils to be found in 

 this quarry, indeed, only an occasional Orthoceratite. A small portion of one 

 was knocked out at the time by one of the gentlemen present, and was thought 

 to be the Orthoceras Ludense. 



R. LiGHTBODY, Eiq., almost doubted whether the rock was upper Ludlow, 

 and thought if it was, it must have been deposited at the bottom of a very 

 deep sea. 



J. E. Lee, Esq., remarked that the peeling onion-like character was well 

 shewn in a similar manner in the Silurian rocks exposed near Cardiff. 



After this slight halt had been made, the ascent was continued, and on 

 arriving under the shelter of the very fine spruce firs, which grow luxuriantly on 

 the " ditches," it was evident that the news of the intended visit had been 

 spread far and wide. Here were ladies on ponies and donkeys, expectant 

 clergymen, and every representative of the native population, from the sturdy 

 yeoman to the ragged little urchin, who was ready to do anything for the 

 smallest coin of the realm, from standing on his head to picking whortleberries. 



