Haivell : An Oolitic Plant Bed in Nortli Cleveland. 313 



obtained from the northern face of the Upleatham outlier. They 

 consisted mainly of portions of fronds of Williamsonia and 

 Tceniopteris, and interested me greatly, since the rock seemed 

 full of tlie plants laid one upon another, whilst I had previously 

 never met with more than a very few badly-preserved specimens 

 of Williamsonia foliage, and none of Tceiiiopteris or of any other 

 plant except Eqiiisetites colnninaris in the whole of the Lower 

 Oolitic area of Cleveland. I was anxious, accordingly, to know 

 the precise spot from which these interesting plants had been 

 obtained, but Mr. Meek's description of the locality did not enable 

 me to find it. A little more than a year ago, however, Mr. Meek 

 very kindly accompanied me to the place, and we obtained 

 several specimens. Shortly afterwards, having obtained per- 

 mission from Lord Zetland's agent to investigate further, I took 

 a man with me to help to work out the specimens, and on that 

 and various subsequent occasions we obtained more specimens 

 than we could bring away, and I have now a large amount of 

 material. 



The locality from which Mr. Meek obtained his plants, and 

 from which most of my specimens have been derived, is the old 

 Marske Quarry, situate one mile due south of Marske, and 

 about 500 feet above sea level. The first specimens which 

 I obtained, and the great majority of those which I have since 

 collected, have been derived from a spoil heap at the west end 

 of the quarry, consisting of material thrown aside by the work- 

 men whilst uncovering the sandstone which formed the raison 

 d'etre of the quarry. According to the six-inch geological map 

 the section at the point consists of — Carbonaceous shale 15 feet, 

 coal 2 inches, sandstone 20 feet. I have not observed the two 

 inches of coal, and the base of the sandstone is not visible, but 

 the measurements may be taken as approximately correct. The 

 surface of the sandstone is, however, very irregular, and the 

 stone itself is current-bedded, and so much sprinkled with 

 ferrug'inous nodules, mostly concretionary, and varying in 

 diameter from half an inch to half a foot, that I believe the 

 working of it at this point ceased more than twenty years ago. 

 The plants are mainly in the ' Carbonaceous shale ' overlying the 

 sandstone, and occur in the g'reatest profusion immediately 

 above it, in what would much more appropriately be termed 

 ferruginous shales. In fact, the best specimens have been 

 obtained from a somewhat shaly or at least fissile ironstone, so 

 compact and tenacious that blocks 18 inches in length and about 

 6 inches in thickness have been obtained from the spoil heap 



igo-^ August I. 



