392 kepoet— 1878. 



It was stink as an experiment to test the water-bearing capabilities of 

 tbe New Red sandstone ; it is perfectly straight from top to bottom, and 

 has the same diameter, 26 in., the whole distance. Cores have been re- 

 tained at regnlar intervals, and at every slight change of strata, and 

 have all been examined by your Reporter ; a large number of them have 

 also been examined by Mr. Morton. 



From the section accompanying the Report it will be seen that more 

 than 900 ft. passed through the Pebble Beds, a thickness at least one-third 

 more than they have been known to attain before ; a fact of considerable 

 importance regarding the well-known water-bearing capabilities of this 

 stratum. It will be noticed that thick beds of shaley marl which gene- 

 rally occur at intervals in the Lancashire and Cheshire wells do not occur 

 in this boring ; some thin seams are present, but the more marked feature 

 is the boring in the presence of bands of various thicknesses of exceedingly 

 fine-grained and compact sandstone or rag, which alternate with open 

 porous hackly sandstones, holding much water, the rag seams acting as 

 planes of division between the various water horizons. The first of these 

 planes occurs at 268 feet from the surface, from which point down to 

 368 feet the beds are interstratified with a number of these hard bands, 

 and the character of the rock between is very compact, and probably only 

 moderately porous. 



From 368 to 590, part of the series is very porous, where one of 

 the compact belts comes in from 590 to 636 feet, below which a good 

 water-bearing rock comes in, down to 806, where a compact bed of marl 

 comes in, below which to 830 occur many bands of marl and compact 

 rock. From this point downwards, the beds are rather softer in grain, and 

 of an open porous character. 



Pebbles first appeared at the depth- of 415 feet, and were seen for the 

 last time at a depth of 975 feet, when a decided change in the character 

 of the sandstone occurred, the grain being exceedingly fine ; but whether 

 this sandstone is referable to the lower mottled sandstone, or is merely a 

 fine-grained band in the pebble beds, which in that case are more than 

 1000 feet thick, cannot be determined without sinking the boring to a 

 great depth. 



It is a matter of regret that the arbitrary depth of 1000 feet was 

 fixed in the contract, and was now placed at 1000 feet. Had the pebble 

 beds not reached the unprecedented thickness now proved, this smaller 

 depth would have been ample to solve several questions of the greatest 

 scientific interest and practical value, not merely to the district around 

 Liverpool but of national importance — First, as to the water-bearing capa- 

 bilities of rock at great depth ; second, the nature and thickness of the New 

 Red sandstone, and possibly Permian beds, that underlie the pebble beds in 

 that area ; third, as to the character and depth of the coal measures under 

 Liverpool. That they exist there, there is little doubt, but to what part of the 

 series they belong can only be determined by boring, and your Committee 

 look forward with much interest to hear that the Water Committee of the 

 Liverpool Town Council have determined to go on with the work dis- 

 continued a few days ago on reaching the contract depth of 1000 feet. 

 For should the boring be left at its present depth, it will add to the list 

 of deep borings in the country that have been discontinued at the precise 

 point where the largest amount of information can be obtained. 



The level of the water in the new boring is 51 feet from the surface, 



