THE PICTOU COAL FIELD — POOLE. 275 



1866 that " the underlying* strata of the Richardson seam rested 

 on the conglomerate dipping to the southward, "^^) and he may 

 hence have in part at least based his remarks on their state- 

 ments. No evidence of the kind was, however, found, the near- 

 est approach being the exposure of a broad belt of conglomerate 

 dipping vertically on the southern face of the escarpment, possi- 

 bly on the edge of the North fault, 25 chains east of the 

 river. The conglomerate may be also seen vertical on the 

 southern escarpment of Green Hill. In his argument con- 

 tending for an horizon equivalent to that of some mem- 

 ber of the Coal Measures stress was laid by Sir W. Dawson 

 on a southerly dip to the conglomerate, but the only 

 known exposures having this direction are at Alma on the 

 Middle river and on the lower stretches of McCulloch's brook 

 where it overlaps metamorphic strata, and as already mentioned 

 has been brought in contact with the Coal Measures by the 

 North fault, plainly to be seen in the bed of the Middle 

 river. 



Although on account of the unconformity between the con- 

 glomerate and the underlying sandstones, and the absence of 

 unconformity in the relation of the Millstone Grit and the Pro- 

 ductive Coal Measures, it is now clear that one or other or both 

 of these disputed members must be given an horizon other than 

 the Millstone Grit and the Coal Measures. Several alternatives 

 are stratigraphically possible. Either the rocks underneath may 

 be Lower Carboniferous and the overlying Coal Measures or 

 strata higher in the series, or the loAver beds may be Millstone 

 Grit or Coal Measures, and the upper Permian. There can be 

 no question about the base being Lower Carboniferous^'-) at 

 Green hill where Gypsum bearing rocks near the church under- 

 lie the conglomerate. The superposition of the conglomerate 

 at Alma on metamorphic rocks, and the presence of Lower 

 Carboniferous on Waters' hill with possible overlapping of 

 conglomerate on its northern flanks, all tend to confirm the 

 conclusion derived from the changes noticed in the character 



(1) Trans., Vol. 2, h't. I, p. 96 ; also Vol. 2, Pt. 3, p. 156. 



(2) Oeol. Suf. Report 1886, Vol. IV, 93 P.. H. Fletcher. 

 Supplement Acad. Geol. pp. 34, 49. Geol. Jour., 1853. 



