238 THE PICTOU COAL FIELD — I'OOLE. 



more correctly placed. To all of these faults reference will again 

 be made. 



As to the South fault '"' the (juestioii is raised whether the 

 known western exposures of strata on the assumed line of dis- 

 location do not partake more of the character of unconformal;)le 

 deposition with minor displacements than of an enormous disloca- 

 tion ; and the suggestion is now made that the chief fracture 

 that oave elevation to the southern rang-e of hills is to be found 

 on the south side of the axis and not, as located on the north 

 side, the conditions being somewhat similar to those attend- 

 ing the formation of the northern rim of the valley, where 

 the general conditions seem to be, a disturbance on the south 

 side of an elevated range of conglomerate resting unconform- 

 ably on a surface of denudation, dij)ping northward and con- 

 formably overlaid b}^ newer rocks inclined in the same direc- 

 tion. 



Should the supposed character of the southern margin be 

 iDorne out by closer investigation, the natural sequence would be 

 to consider the conditions along the eastern rim somewhat anal- 

 ogous, and to regard the strata shewn to rest on Lower Carboni- 

 ferous as the reduced representatives of the great thickness of 

 measures found in the centre of the field, greatly modified it is 

 true in colour and constituents, but not more so than has been 

 found to accompan}^ the approach of beds to the assumed limits 

 of deposition in the Albion section. 



Of the minor dislocations proved on working the coal seams, a 

 definite parallelism is noticeable, and it is in some sections asso- 

 ciated with a hading uniformly in i?he one direction. In the 

 Albion mines section at Stellarton it is found that all the north 

 and south faults lying to the west of the English slope are down- 

 throw\s to the west without exception — unless it be the secondary 

 slips often accompanying the breaks and perhaps some small 

 faults taking this subordinate position to the great McCuUoch 

 brook fault. In the opposite direction, to the eastward of the 

 English Church, the downthrows are found to l)e the reverse and 

 to the eastward. The same condition occurs eastward of the 



