310 THE PICTOU COAL FIELD — POOLE. 



was opened and traced for some distance. With these exceptions 

 the measures of this neighbourhood appear barren of coal. On 

 McCulIoch's brook no coal is known until the bridge of the Inter- 

 colonial Coal Mining Co. is reached, here a li feet seam was got 

 dipping southward. Mr. Hartley carries a line to represent the 

 crop of this seam over the Westville section, but it is unknown 

 in that direction. The measures exposed in the brook between 

 Muir's and the bridge in question are sandstones with some coarse 

 grits ; and round the turn below the bridge the broken measures 

 of a great fault are seen to cross. This fault, elsewhere called 

 the Fletcher fault, which may be the North fault, does not seem 

 to have been detected ly the first survey, but it is important, 

 and has already been discussed. The beds north of it are 

 nearly flat except as they approach the great fault which separates 

 them from the Lower Carboniferous and metamorphic rocks of 

 Water's hill. They contain some coarse grits, mottled red and 

 gre}^ sandstones and argillaceous beds of a red colour. 



Cannel like beds similar in appearance to that opened on the 

 East river above Potter's brook, though not in all cases so com- 

 pact, are found on McLellan's brook between Black's mill site and 

 Patrick's oil coal, and are in the Section described as compact 

 black carbonaceous shales ; their compact structure gives them a 

 marked appearance and readily distinguishes them from the 

 ordinary black shales. A similar bed is also seen on the river 

 bank north of Potter's brook dipping S, and lower down N 60 E 

 22*^. To reach and test it in depth a pit was sunk by the 

 General Mining Association in 1860 east of tlie old graveyard 

 that lies near the iron railwa}^ bridge, and it seems that the band 

 was reached in the sinking and found of fair quality. At a depth 

 of 45 feet the beds dipped E IS'', and at 72 feet the inclination 

 was S 80 E 25", the measures being very wet. On the opposite 

 side of the river below pensioner Calder's a similar bed 10" thick 

 rests on the top of arenaceous measures dipping S 40*^ E 28'^ 

 and it is overlaid liy black shales. This order of superposition 

 is the reverse of what is found near the iron bridge and again at 

 Chisholm's (Connolly's) mill pond, where black shales are suc- 

 ceeded by sandstone beds. 



