ON THK 1SKHATIC BLOCKS 01' ENGLAND AND WALES. 85 



In the district the boulders are used for paving, marking the sides of roads, 

 and protecting the corners of buildings. 



South Devon. 



Mr. Pengelly reports as follows respecting boulders and scratched stones in 

 South Devon : — 



In 1875 Mr. P. F. S. Amery wrote me respecting boulders of "green- 

 stone " on his father's estate of Druid, near the town, and within the parish, 

 of Ashburton ; and during a visit there, in July 1876, he kindly accompanied 

 me to inspect them. 



The boulders occur about -5 mile north-west from Ashburton, in two ad- 

 jacent fields, the easternmost being known as Loin/bottom, whilst that on the 

 west of it is termed Cole's Bottom. In the southern corner of Longbottoni 

 there is a boulder measuring 2-i x 18 X 11 inches, having rudely quadrilateral 

 faces, with the angles well rounded off. It contains no marks or scratches, 

 and it is known that it does not now occupy the place in which it was found, 

 which, however, was, no doubt, in the same field and not far off. It is now 

 near the bottom of the field, and about 30 feet above the level of Ashburton, 

 which is itself about 200 feet above mean tide. 



A similar but smaller stone occurs on the opposite side of the same field. 

 The soil on which both specimens lie, and in which they were found, is a 

 clay, sometimes yellowish and sometimes bluish, in which stones of the same 

 character as the boulders, but of much smaller dimensions, are numerous. 

 The labourers term them " water-stones." 



Near the top of Cole's Eottom there are the fragments of a boulder, which 

 must have been considerably larger than either of those already mentioned, 

 which it resembles in Hthological character. It M'as encountered by the 

 plough in 1875, and unfortunately broken in pieces and dislodged by the 

 workmen who found it. The fragments, which are themselves of consider- 

 able size, are now lying by the hedge in the same field. The boulder appears 

 to have bad all its angles rounded off, like those already mentioned; but on 

 what was probably its lower surface there are several grooves, sensibly 

 straight, about 6 inches long, from 2 to 3 inches broad, and parallel to one 

 another. These grooves are crossed and partially effaced by two others of 

 greater breadth. This specimen is about 70 feet above the level of those in 

 Longbottom, and rather further from Ashburton. It must be confessed that 

 the grooves it bears do not impress one with the conviction that they arc of 

 glacial origin ; and were it not that they occur on what was apparently the 

 lower surface of the mass, they might rather, perhaps, be ascribed to the 

 plough. 



The only greenstone formations known to exist in the immediate neigh- 

 bourhood are those forming Roborough Hill, on the eastern side of North 

 Street, Ashburton, and Sparnhani Hill, on its western side; but to have 

 travelled from either of them, the largest boulder must have ascended an 

 acclivity to the height of 200 feet above the valley separating the spot in 

 which it was found from the hills just named ; whilst the smaller specimens 

 must have performed a similar journey, but failed to attain so great a height. 



In July 1870. Air. Paige-Browne, of Great Englebourne, Harberton, South 

 Devon, was so good as to inform me of the existence of a large number of 

 boulders in his neighbourhood, and to invito me to make him a visit for the 

 purpose of a joint inspection of them. I availed myself of this invitation 



