THE PICTOU COAL FIELD — POOLE. 333 



Where the seams crop out on McLean's brook the dip has 

 again increased to 27°, as mentioned by Logan in section 9, and 

 on following down that brook to the base of the section the inclina- 

 tion of the strata is found to increase to 58° Further on, near the 

 south corner of the Vale area, the dip of the crop flattens to l.'>°, and 

 this group of measures is lost at the foot of the Cambro- 

 Silurian hills, wliere rests a strip of Lower Carboniferous of the 

 gypsiferous series with limestone. But the overl3dng six feet 

 seam has been traced as the Mountain seam half a mile further 

 to tlie westwardon a course chanmnp- from S. 50° W. to S. 80° W. 

 The limestone occurs on the left bank of McLean's brook above 

 the fork at John McDonald's farm, it is agglomerated like that 

 found on the West river, a mile above Union Centre bridge. It 

 appears to be in place and to lie associated with red 

 rocks, fragments only of which are found in the brook. Below 

 this point the brook enters on the coal measures, of which the 

 lower beds roughly conform to the line of contact with the hill 

 of trap that here forms a shoulder to the mountain range. 



In the Report for 1869 the Sections 6 and 7 are correlated 

 with Number 8, but this view is now abandoned and belief 

 in a simpler structure is held. Sections 8 and 9 are regarded 

 as detailing similar horizons with constituents varying greatly, 

 the localities referred to being some distance apart. In both, 

 beds of greenish grey conglomerate generally with rusty pebbles 

 are characteristic but they often appear to be local substitutes 

 for arenaceous shales, and not persistent. The bluish black oil 

 shales, however, seem to be more uniformly distributed, and two 

 of them that lie between the six and eight feet seams have been 

 recognized extending from the small brook at A. McLean's, past 

 the Whiteburn school house, where a bed of grey conglomerate 

 is intercalated, shewing in the railway cutting at the crossing of 

 the highway bridge, and finally on Marsh brook at Grant's, hav- 

 ing been seen midway in trial pits. 



Behind the village of Thorburn recent explorations have 

 shewn the following modification of the measures below the 

 eight feet seam : 



