36o 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[February, igo6. 



beds, mainly limestones and calcareous shales, which have been 

 thrown into numerous sharp folds and are occasionally in- 

 verted. The highest beds seen were the Cyathaxonin beds, 

 correlated with the Oystermouth Limestone of the South-West 

 Province. Dr. Matley proposes to continue his investigations 

 into the northern portion of this interesting series. 



R.ocks of the Ludlow District. 



There are few women geologists of front ranU, and for the 

 matter of that, there are unfortunately but few women geolo- 

 gists at all. The times move on, however, in this respect as 

 in other fields of labour, and, to their credit be it said, the 

 Fellows of the Geological Society raised no objection to the 

 presence of ladies at their meeting at Burlington House, when 

 Miss Gertrude L. Ellas, D.Sc, read a joint paper by Miss 

 I. L. Slater and herself, on "The Highest Rocks of the 

 Ludlow District." Unfortunately every new worker on any 

 given set of rocks thinks it well nowadays either to adopt a 

 new classification or to introduce new names to old rocks. 

 Granted that this may be advisable, or even necessary, on 

 occasion, but there should be great hesitation in doing so, 

 except under sheer necessity, whilst even in such case ex- 

 perience shows that new classifications of rocks seldom be- 

 come generally accepted. In the paper in question, the 

 authoresses give the following classification : — 

 Feet. 

 1 , ( Zone of Liiigida cornea and 



' no to 120 c- J,. 



30 to 50 ' Zone of Liit«ula minima. 



III. Temeside Group. 



II. Upper Ludlow 

 Group. 



I. Av.MESTRv Group. 



150 to 160 

 no to 120 

 40 to 150 

 75 'o 250 



' Zone of Clwnites striatella. 



I Zone of RhynchonelUi 



I iiiicula. 



-' Zone of Dayia naviciila. 



I Zone of Conchidium 

 \ Knighti. 



515 to 850 

 A mass of most interesting and technical information is given 

 in the paper, and the remark is made that the main tectonic 

 features of the district appear to be due to the superposition 

 of Armorican movements in rocks with a Caledonian trend, 

 held by some rigid mass to the north, presumably the Long- 

 mynd massif. 



Wa.ter Supply. 

 The cry for new water supplies to satisfy our ever- 

 increasing town populations is heard now in one direc- 

 tion and now in another. Near London there are so many 

 draughts made upon the chalk both for private and public 

 supplies, that Ihe water-level is steadily diminishing, besides 

 which there is the fact, not yet satisfactorily explained, that 

 while one deep boring will yield a bountiful supply another 

 a mile away results in disappointment. Croydon has been 

 fortunate hitherto in sources of supplies at her very doors, but 

 in order to allow for the necessities of a further increase of 

 her present population of 150,000 persons, the local authorities 

 are anticipating an expenditure during the next ten years of 

 nearly a quarter of a million, in order to tap fresh sources of 

 supply. To do this, it will be necessary at length to go outside 

 the borough borders, special stress being paid in the selection 

 of a site as to whether or no the chalk is covered by a sufficient 

 depth of tertiaries to form a suitable filtering medium. It is a 

 matter of opinion as to what quantity of the water obtained 

 actually passes through the overlying deposits, and when 

 those fertile fissures are struck, which water-borers eagerly 

 anticipate, the probabilities are that a very small quantity of the 

 water thus gained ever passes through the covering at all. 



The Yorkshire Cliffs. 



"The Making of East Yorkshire" is a chapter in local 

 geography to which Mr. T. Sheppard, F.G.S., has given his 

 attention, and his booklet on the subject which has reached 

 us is an interesting and popular description of the Yorkshire 

 cliffs, and the coast to Spurn Head, where there are no cliffs 

 to speak of at all. Amongst other remarks, he gives us some 

 idea of the loss of land by erosion by his estimate of the loss 

 of 7 feet per annum throughout a length of 30 miles. Much 

 of the denuded material is helping to extend Spurn Head in 

 a south-westerly direction. 



"Scree" below Snow^don, 



Our illustration gives an idea of the scree formed by 

 tumbling of Silurian blocks down the Capel Curig side of 

 Snowdon. It is a subject for consideration when first the 



"Screu" below Snowdon, 



scree was formed, whether there is any movement in it now, 

 and if so, at what rate the movement is proceeding. 



[The Geological Editor would be glad if readers will bear in 

 mind that he is always glad to receive geological and kindred 

 notes for publication, and also copies of papers read before 

 local societies. They can be sent to him, c o Knowledge, or 

 to his address at 58, Whitworth Road, South Norwood, S.E.] 



ORNITHOLOGICAL. 



By W. P. Pycraft, A.L.S., F.Z.S., M.B.O.U., &c. 

 The Kea. Parrot a.nd Sheep Sla.\ighter. 



We have always felt that if there were any truth at all in the 

 stories of the depredations caused by the Kea Parrot (.Ws/oc 

 notabilis) on New Zealand sheep farms, they must be greatly 

 exaggerated. 



In the Field (Dec. 30), " R. L." gives a brief account of the 

 results of a conference of representative men held recently in 

 Wellington. It would seem that they have been enabled to 

 show that these stories are without foundation in fact. " All 

 the members of this conference were men well acquainted with 

 this bird in its native haunts, but not one of them, either as 

 the result of his own experience, or from the testimony of 

 others, was able to adduce a single item of evidence in support 

 of the alleged sheep-worrying charge." 



It is well that this exoneration comes now. For years these 

 birds have suffered a grievous persecution, so much so that 

 they are on the verge of extermination. Whether of the 

 remnant that is left enough remain to restock the depleted 

 areas time alone will show. 



The Protection of SmaLll Birds. 



We are glad to note that the German Board of .Agricultural 

 Biology and Forestry has taken up the question of the protec- 

 tion of birds useful to agriculturists. Mr. Dunnington Jeffer- 

 son, in the Field (Jan. 13), gives a short account of the efforts 

 that are being made to this end, though we cannot but feel 

 that some mistake has been made concerning his account of 

 the endeavours which are being made by way of tempting 

 insectivorous birds to breed. Not only have nesting-boxes 



