348 Extract from Mr. Forster's Report 



ped out upon the base of the transition hills. Here, however, 

 I was disappointed ; for in every part that came under my ob- 

 servation, the sandstone formed a complete junction with the 

 transition rocks, thus effectually preventing any coal-measures 

 which might happen to intervene, from making their appear- 

 ance on the surface. 



Thus circumstanced, it was judged best to abandon all 

 further examination of the strata immediately around Leices- 

 ter (from which alone the, certain existence of coal-measui'es 

 there could be established), and to commence a survey of the 

 nearest coal-fields already known ; and by tracing the/lirection 

 in which such coal-fields extended, the rocks with which the 

 coal-beds were associated, and their relative position to the 

 transition measures and the new red sandstone, I expected 

 to be able to ascertain xhe probability o^ the existence or non- 

 existence of coal in the immediate neighbourhood of Leices- 

 ter : for owing to causes already stated, I had given up all 

 hopes of establishing the certainty of its being found there. 



From a previous knowledge of that district, I was aware 

 that the Warwickshire coal-field did not extend to Leicester ; 

 having seen indications of its final disappearance along its 

 eastern boundary near Nuneaton : my attention was therefore 

 wholly directed to the coal-field extending around Ashby-de- 

 la-Zouch, and Cole Orton. I traced the outbreak or disap- 

 pearance of this coal-field (shaded black in the sketch) in its 

 south-eastern extremity ; or in other words, on that side of 

 it lying nearest to Leicester, which outbreak or disappear- 

 ance is also shown on the accompanying sketch by the line 

 J, h, b, b *, extending on the west of Ibstock (a village about 

 twelve miles W. from Leicester) to its junction with the 

 transition rocks at Thrinkston. The transition rocks ai'e 

 shaded purple in the sketch; and their extent to the S.S.W. 

 and S.E. is shown by the dotted line a, a, a, a, where they are 

 bounded by the tract of new red sandstone (shaded red) so 

 frequendy mentioned. On examining the sketch, it will be 

 observed that the extreme visible extent of the coal-measures 

 towards Leicester is bounded by the red sandstone on the 

 W. of Ibstock, from which place their junction extends in an 

 irregular line to Swannington, beyond which, at Thrinkston, 

 both formations are terminated by a bed of limestone, which 

 appeared to abut against the transition rocks of Charnwood 

 Forest. The line b, b, b, b, it is repeated, shows die appa- 

 rent south-eastern extent of the coal-measures of Ashby-de- 



* It will be observed that the ymeb,b,b,b is broken by the extension of 

 the new red sandstone towards Ashby ; the exact limit of which, from want 

 of time, I could not satisfactorily ascertain. 



la- 



