334 REPORT— 1897. 



newly dug, but hardened on exposure to the air and became light-coloured 

 in drying. When wet, it presented a mottled appearance, the colour being 

 greenish ; when dry, this almost disappeared.' 



In 1856 a collection of fossils from Moreseat, made by Dr. Ferguson, 

 was examined by Mr. J. W. Salter, of the Museum of Practical Geology, 

 Jermyn Street, London, and Mr. "W. H. Baily ; and a list of twenty 

 specimens named by them was presented to the Geological Society of 

 London, and published next year in the Quarterly Journal of the Society, 

 along with a note by Dr. Ferguson. Types of these fossils ai'e preserved in 

 the Museum. Mr. Salter regarded the Moreseat fossils as an indication, 

 in the near neighbourhood, of Upper Greensand in sitti. 



In the memoir descriptive of the sheet of the Geological Survey con- 

 taining Moreseat, notice is taken of the Greensand fossils found there, 

 and of the Chalk-flint fossils found at Bogingarrie, a few miles to the south- 

 west, also described by Mr. Salter ; but the surveyor does not say that he 

 saw at Moreseat any fossils or fragments of Greensand sandstone. 



In 1894 the Secretary of the Committee was lecturing at Cruden on 

 Geology and Agriculture for Aberdeen County Council, and was induced 

 by the mention of Greensand in the memoir to visit Moreseat and make 

 inquiries ; but he could learn nothing further than that fossils had been 

 found in the excavation made for the mill-wheel, and as it was enclosed 

 with masonry nothing could be seen. He visited the place repeatedly and 

 examined all the ditches and watercourses on the farm, but found no 

 fossils. 



The reason of this was seen afterwards. When pieces of the sand- 

 stone were exposed to frost they became a soft paste on thawing, and all 

 trace of the fossils they contained disappeared. He afterwards met with 

 Mr. Alexander Insch, Peterhead, who has made a collection of Chalk-flint 

 fossils found on the ridge running south-west from Buchanness, and who 

 had heard that fossils had been found north of the farm steading. Ac- 

 companied by him and Mr. D. J. Mitchell, Blackhills, Peterhead, he again 

 visited Moreseat. An excavation was made to the north of the ditch seen 

 by Dr. Ferguson, and after passing through a foot or eighteen inches of 

 sandy clay, thin layers of sandstone with fossils were found. The appear- 

 ance of the layers of sandstone was peculiar. They conveyed the idea that 

 they were cakes of some plastic material spread out in a soft state, yet 

 not wet enough to bear great lateral extension without cracking. The 

 layers were full of vertical cracks, which broke them up into small frag- 

 ments. These might have been caused by shrinking on drying, as the 

 excavation was made where the ground would be dry in summer. The 

 method of occurrence was the same as that described by Dr. Ferguson 

 already quoted. The fossils found were chiefly shells and spines. 



Specimens were forwarded to the British Association with an appli- 

 cation for a grant of money to ascertain by deeper excavation whether 

 the bed from which the sandstone had come could be found there. Though 

 the application was unsuccessful, digging was continued by Messrs. Mit- 

 chell and Insch, who collected a large quantity of fossils in various places, 

 over an area a quarter of a mile broad, in the neighbourhood of Moreseat. 



In 1895 specimens were sent to Dr. H. Woodward, of the Natural 

 History Museum, London, with another application for a grant from the 

 British Association. A grant of 10/. was given, and the Committee already 

 named Avas appointed. 



Dr. J. W. Judd, of the Hoyal College of Science, South Kensington, 



