22 On the Older Floetz Strata of England, (Juny, 
the coal basins in South Britain are found. A considerable track 
of country in the midland counties of England and South Wales is 
occupied by a red sand-stone sormation, which agrees remarkably 
with the characters of the old red sand-stone of Werner, On this 
sand-stone several, if not all the coal-fields of South Britain, rest. 
In the neighbourhood of this tract the older formations are in many 
places to be seen, asin the range of the Malvern Hills, between 
Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Beginning from these hills, we 
easily trace the succession of rocks from the primitive to the newest 
floetz strata, I shall briefly mention the most important rocks which 
this series contains in this part of England. 
The Malvern Hills, of which Mr. Horner has given an account, 
form a small range running nearly from N.toS. They consist 
chiefly of granite and syenite, in which no stratification can be dis- 
covered, perhaps on account of their being very much concealed by 
soil. On the western side of them, beds of a very hard compact 
lime-stone lie against the feet of the hills dipping towards the west. 
In conformable position with these, and frequently alternating with 
them, are beds of a clay rock, which varies in its appearance. In 
some places it isa hard'slate, and contains scales of mica in great 
abundance ; in others it becomes a mere shale. These rocks con- 
tain a profusion of organic remains, particularly encrinites, madre- 
porites, and terebratulites. Mr. Horner’s account of them is 
minute and accurate: I only mention them for the sake of remark- 
ing their position with respect to the red sand-stone, which I have 
traced, and which appears to fix their place in the geological series. 
Mr. Horner considered these rocks as belonging to the transition 
formation. In this opinion he was right, if, as it appears scarcely 
to be doubted, the sand-stone is the old red sand-stone. 
As we approach these hills from Ross, we perceive that the 
country which lies to the S. W. of the range is occupied by a suc- 
cession of low ridges lying nearly parallel to the direction of the 
Malvern Hills. Most of the observations which Saussure made of 
the calcareous chains of the Alps are here verified in miniature. — 
The ridges generally turn their abrupt sides towards the primitive . 
range, and slope on the other side. They consist of the lime-stone 
and clay rock above mentioned, the beds of which generally dip 
towards the W. and S. W.; but at the northern extremity of several 
ridges they turn round the hills, and dip northward. In the most 
westerly of these ridges, near Fownhope, about 13 miles in a direct 
line from the Malvern Hills, the clay and lime-stone rock dips at 
an angle of about 60° towards the S. W. Here we lose this for- 
mation. , 
Immediately after passing over this western limit of the lime- 
stone, we find the red sand-stone above-mentioned lying upon it, 
and in a position exactly conformable with it. The sand-stone 
forms low ranges of hills parallel to the former. It dips to the S.W. 
at a considerable angle, which diminishes as we recede from the 
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