Transactions. 77 



a few Biaoliiopoda, rarely with Serpulites, and small Orthocera- 

 tites. It often happens that we tind occasionally in these upper 

 shales a number of small faults in the cleavage joints, so that 

 when we split up the slab and find a part of a Graptolite or a 

 number of them on the surface of the slab, the other por- 

 tions of the specimens will be on another plane, either above or 

 below on the cleavage joint, but they may be rather difficult 

 to find in most cases. 



It will be seen from the specimens on the table that the lower 

 shales are very much harder than the upper ones, and are gener- 

 ally not so much contorted or folded. Slabs of a much larger 

 size can be obtained, and these split much more freely in any 

 thickness of layer down to l-16th of an inch than the upper. They 

 are generally quite free from the aluminous matter, so abundant in 

 the upper shales. Curious as it may appear they give off a very 

 pleasant odour when closely confined — as in a Cabinet drawer — for 

 any lengtli of time. Whether this may be due to the great quantity 

 of organic matter they contain or not, I am not quite prepared 

 to say. The finest section of the lower shales to be found near 

 MoflFat is at Hartfell, on the north side of tlie burn, opposite the 

 Spa, or on the left side looking up the Corrie ; this section is nearly 

 a quarter of a mile long, and about 40 feet below the upper crag. 

 There is another parallel with it, and then a talus of debris at the 

 bottom. From the bed of the burn to the top is fully 300 feet. 

 The principal fossils of these shales are the branching forms, and 

 belong to the following Genera, viz.: — Pleurograptus, Diplograp- 

 tus, Dicranoyraptus, Dicellograptus, ClimacograjHuis, Glossograp- 

 tus, Thamnograptus, Retiolites, and portions of Eurypterx(.s. One 

 bed of these shales does not split up but falls into small tabular 

 pieces under the hammer, caused no doubt by metamorphism, 

 the action of hot vapours, and various other causes. 



On leaving Moffat for Dobbs' Linn, a distance of eleven miles, 

 we go along the Selkirk road for about a mile, when we come to 

 the Frenchland Tower on tlie left ; near that ruin runs the 

 Frenchland Burn, wliicli passes under the road. We may go up 

 either side of the burn, and after passing the ruin we come (at 

 200 or 300 yards' distance) upon an exposure of the black shales 

 with Graptolites. The shale is very hard and tough ; it is on the 

 left hand side of the burn going up. There are also otiier spots 

 here, but they are rather limited in extent. 



The next place we come to on the road is Carmichen Scaurs, 



