492 KEPOKX— Ibra. 



work, either by an accident to the bore-hole or from want of funds. Should 

 the boring be continued, the result, whatever it may be, will be a success. It 

 is important that this should be once more distinctly stated, for the Sub- 

 Wealden boring is too often spoken of as a " search for coal ;" so that, should 

 coal not be found, we shall certainly be told that our project has failed, and that 

 so much money has been thrown away by ignorant theoretical speculators. 



Now, while the originators of this undertaking, as well as the members of 

 this Committee, are fully alive to the immense national benefit which would 

 result from the discovery of coal in the south-east of England, they do not 

 put this forward as the primary object, nor has any money been solicited with 

 any such intention. The sole object of the exploration is to discover what 

 beds underlie the Wealden, and especially to reach the Palteozoic rocks. 

 This we have every reason to hope will be done ; and whatever those rocks 

 may prove to be, if we can only reach them, the Sub-Wealden exploration 

 will then have been a success. 



Should the Association think fit to renew the grant and to reappoint the 

 Committee, we may confidently hope that future Reports wUl contain impor- 

 tant additions to our knowledge of the geology of the south-east of England. 

 The present Report must be regarded merely as a preliminary one ; and it 

 may be well at this stage to refer to some general questions, and to clear 

 the way for future Reports. 



Dr. Mantell was the first geologist who carefully studied the interior of the 

 Weald. He divided the Hastings beds (or Hastings sands, as they were then 

 called) into four divisions : — 



Horsted Sand. "Worth Sands. 



Tilgate beds. Ashburnham beds. 



"WTien the geological survey of the Weald was first commenced, Pr. Mantell's 

 terms and divisions were adopted ; but it was soon found that they were in- 

 applicable in some parts. The classification adopted by the Survey is that 

 proposed by Mr. Drew, whose account of it was laid before the Geological 

 Society in 1861. 



Unfortunately the Survey retained Dr. Mantell's term (Ashburnham beds) 

 for the lowest strata, and followed him in considering the limestone beds of 

 Poundsford to be the same as the mottled clays, which are the lowest strata 

 seen on the coast. Not only are the limestone beds of Poundsford below the 

 clays of Eairlight, but neither of these are the equivalents of the strata at 

 Ashburnham itself, which lie near the bottom of the Wadhurst Clay. Near 

 the base of this clay, and lying in or near to the nodules of clay ironstone, 

 which were formerly extensively worked, there is a bed of ferruginous lime- 

 stone crowded with Cyrcnce. Dr. Mantell thought this to be identical with 

 the shelly limestone found near Poundsford ; and wherever he met with it 

 he noted the occurrence of Ashburnham beds. Many of the localities men- 

 tioned are certainly in Wadhurst Clay. 



In Dr. Fitton's opinion, the strata of Poundsford, Archer's Wood, &c. were 

 lower than any others in the Weald ; and he adds : — '• From the general 

 structure of the tract surrounding Brightling, the ravines at the base of the 

 prominence on which the Observatory stands ought evidently to afford the 

 lowest strata of the country"*. 



A detailed survey of the entire district has proved that he was correct, and 

 that it is just at this spot (in Rounden Wood) that the lowest strata are 

 brought to the surface. More recent examination of the district has deter- 

 * Geology of Hastings, p. 54 (1853). 



