on the krratic blocks of england, wales, and iceland. 127 



Durham. 



Rev. Arthur Watts, F.G.S., Ace, Vice-Principal of Bede College, 

 Durham, describes the following boulders in the village of Harton, near 

 South Shields (co. Durham) : — 



No. 1. At the Ship Inn, nearly opposite the church ; 3 ft. 8 in. x 2 ft, 



9 in. X 2 ft. 8 in. ; greatest circumference (just above ground) 10 ft. 3 in. ; 

 subangular, but rounded on top by attrition ; has not been moved ; no 

 stria; or groovings. 



No. 2. The ' Preaching Stone,' opposite the hall ; 3 ft. 1 in. x 2 ft. 



10 in. X 2 ft. 2 in.; greatest circumference 9 ft. 9 in. ; subangular, but 

 rounded on top ; no stri«e or groovings ; has not been moved. 



No. 3. In the Back Lane, near the Duck Pond ; 1 ft. 10 in. x 1 ft. 

 6 in. X 1 ft. ; no stri^B or groovings ; has not been moved. 



No. 4. In the field on W. side of White Horse Farm ; dimensions 

 cannot now be given, as it has been sunk by the farmer to escape the 

 plough. It was too heavy to remove and too hard to break. 



There are many smaller ones, in walls or on roadsides, scattered over 

 the parish, varying from the size of No. 3 downwards. They are all 

 of basalt or whinstone, locally called ' blue stone'; the nearest dyke is 

 about 3 miles N., near Tynemouth and Cullercoats ; the size of the largest 

 suggests that they may have travelled from the Great Whin Sill. Harton 

 is from 50 to 60 ft. above sea-level. They arc seen only when on the 

 surface, but the plough frequently reveals them, and draining still more 

 frequentlj', so that they occupy the whole of the clay deposit, which 

 covers this area to a thickness which varies greatly in different localities. 



Lancashire. 



Mr. Chas. E. R. Bucknill, of Rawtenstall, near Manchester, i-eports as 

 follows : — 



An isolated boulder is to be seen on the hill known as Seat Naze, in 

 a pasture-field of Seat Naze Farm, in the parish of Newchnrch-in-Ros- 

 sendale, township of Whalley. The land is the property of Mr. Har- 

 greaves of Blackburn, and is farmed by Dr. Wilson of Newchurch. The 

 boulder is situated on the south side of the hill, about 50 yards south of 

 a circular enclosure of stone, formerly containing some few trees. The 

 greatest length is 5 ft., the greatest Avidth 3 ft. 6 in. The higher and 

 northern end stands 2 ft. out of the ground, the lower and southern end 

 only a few inches. May be described as a foreshortened coffin in shape, 

 the angles being only slightly worn. The boulder has not been moved, 

 and has its longest axis pointing N. and S. There are no ruts, striations, 

 or groovings on the exposed surfaces. The upper surface is concave, but 

 this has not the appearance of being produced by grinding or wearing. 

 The rock is a quartzose volcanic agglomerate from the Borrowdale series. 

 Has long been known as the Bellstone, but for what reason I have not 

 been able to ascertain ; is 960 feet above the sea. Is not marked on the 

 Ordnance Survey maps. Perfectly isolated. It rests upon a coarse sand- 

 stone, one of the rough rocks of the Feather Edge, which constitutes the 

 upper boundary of the millstone grit. 



