264 THE PICTOU COAL FIELD — POOLE. 



Westward of the ran^e of altered rocks at Fishpools beyond 

 the East river there are no good exposures for some distance after 

 leaving- the head of McKay's brook, where rocks assumed to be 

 Millstone Grit are seen dipping at an inclination of 28" north- 

 ward, regularl}' with the overlying measures at Culton's adit. The 

 formation can only be conjectured to be Millstone Grit. On 

 reaching the Foxbrook road a range of high land is found to run 

 northward and to form to the south of Westville the western rim 

 of the coal basin. Across the range prolonged northward pass 

 the Coal Measures but at so slight an obliquity that it is only as 

 they approach the junction of McCulloch's brook with the Mid- 

 dle rivei' near Alma that they are found on the western side of 

 the range in the valley of the Middle river. Parallel with this 

 range of higher land to the west runs a brook in a course almost 

 -due north, called Skinner's or McLeod's brook. In- it, half a mile 

 above the upper mill dam of John Oliver, beds of soft sandstone 

 dip at a low angle to the east 14°. On following the brook down 

 and approaching the head of the pond, vertical rocks are exposed 

 in many places. Again just at the mill and round the turn of the 

 brook below the mill, in all for a distance of some 500 yards, 

 with a width of some 150 yards, they have a uniform strike 

 about N. 8° E. They are more altered than other beds lower 

 down the brook in which are conglomerates holding pebbles of 

 red argillite that appear to have been derived from them. They 

 are veined and break obliquely, and do not even supply stones 

 suitable for rough foundation walls. They are considered to be 

 Lower Carboniferous, certaiidy older than Millstone Grit. From 

 the range of higher ground to the eastward a bi'anch joins the 

 main brook at the mill, 50 yards up it bright red slates have a 

 dip S. 45° E. 55°, and at 100 yards further hard grey sandstones 

 are seen dipping S. 60° E. 45°. 



In the next lateral the exposures are obscure, but in the one 

 below dips are to be found N. 10° W. 50° in the same rocks as 

 those of Oliver's mill. Up this branch another hundred yards to 

 the eastward sandstones and red shales of a softer nature are 

 found dipping S. 70° E. 40°. Further down McLeod's brook, on 

 the ri^ht bank, 200 yards below the bridge, bedded sand- 



