272 Vorks/iin' Xdliinilis/s 11/ /'"cvs/d/i. 



The district is composed of rocks belong"in>^ to the Millstone 

 Grit Series. In the route traversed, sections were rare, but the 

 beds were seen to be much disturbed and folded, beini^ on the 

 line of the anticlinal fold runninj^ from near Skipton to Harro- 

 gate. Most attention was paid to a good section of the ' Shell 

 Bed ' exposed in the north-easterly bank of the Fewston 

 reservoir. This is a bed of hard calcareous grit, cherty in 

 places, probably of estuarine origin. It forms a constant 

 horizon over a considerable area, and, owing to its hardness, is 

 used largely as roadstone. As its name implies, it is very 

 fossiliferous, but the fossils are mostly internal casts of such 

 shells as Produclus, OriAts, and Spirifer. Large slabs were 

 seen covered with these. Fragments of encrinites are common, 

 and a single specimen of Rhabdomeson^ a polyzoan, was noted. 

 In the same bed, at Hampsthwaite, a few miles to the north- 

 east, these are plentiful. The shell bed was seen to be cut off 

 by a roughly north and south fault, and thrown against a bed 

 of flaggy sandstone. 



Vertebrate Section. — Mr. R. Fortune writes: — ^The 

 Vertebrate Section was unusually well represented at this 

 meeting, officially, by its three secretaries, Messrs. Booth, 

 White, and Fortune. 



Unfortunately the limited time at our disposal did not 

 permit of much serious work being done. 



It was interesting to note how the lowering of the water 

 in the Fewston reservoir had left several nests of the Little 

 Grebe stranded, and of course deserted. A new nest of this 

 bird with one fresh ^^f^ was seen. The singing of the Cuckoo 

 was noted, it being rather late in the season to hear the song. 

 Whinchats were very numerous, as a rule busy feeding their 

 young. Three pairs of the Yellow Wagtail were seen, their 

 plumage being not nearly so bright as a month or so ago. 

 Snipe were particularly abundant, and it was interesting to note 

 the occurrence of the Lesser Whitethroat. Altogether sixty-one 

 species of birds were noted, many of them with young. A 

 Linnet's nest, containing five eggs, was one of the very few 

 seen with eggs. 



Of the rareties noted in the circular as nesting in the locality, 

 no traces were seen. This was a great disappointment to the 

 members, as it would have been a great treat to have seen them 

 in their nesting haunts. A visit paid to the ground a few days 

 after the excursion revealed a pair of Tufted Ducks upon 



Naturalist. 



