496 G. JI. Morton — Recent Borings in the Red Marl. 



The progress of the mapping (a small part only of which is 

 completed) will, I hope, throw light upon the relations of this 

 highly ciystalline series to the schists of undoubtedly clastic origin 

 which occur in the island, as well as to those basic gneisses of 

 Hebridean or Levvisian aspect which appear to form part of the 

 same foliated complex. 



VIII. — Recent Borings in the Red Maul, near Liverpool. 1 



By G. H. Morton, F.G.S. 



Boring in the Bed Marl near Altcar, North of Liverpool. 



DURING- the years 1890-2 an important boring was made in 

 the Red Marl, rather under a mile NNE. of Altcar and 

 nearly two miles east from Formby station. Previous to 1890, 

 the formation was supposed not to exceed 400 feet in thickness, the 

 amount proved at Birkdale many years ago. The following is 

 a section of the strata passed through, condensed from details for 

 which I am indebted to Mr. E. Fidler, who was connected with 

 the undertaking : — 



Ft. in. 



Peat 5 



Loam and sand 



Boulder-clay 



Sand and marl 



Bed Marl 



Keuper Sandstone... 



The diamond boring machine was used, and the diameter of the 

 borehole was thirteen inches near the surface, seven and six inches 

 through most of the Red Marl, and five inches in the Keuper 

 Sandstone. The dip of the strata was supposed to be a few degrees 

 to the north-east, as determined by the cores brought up. The 

 marl separated with thin lamina?, and the surfaces were often 

 covered with pseudomorphic crystals of chloride of sodium from 

 an eighth to an inch across, and they were most numerous in the 

 middle and lowest beds. There were many seams of gypsum, 

 which varied in thickness from a quarter of an inch to three or 

 four inches, and a few diagonal cracks filled with the same mineral 

 traversed the beds, and often contained fragments of marl and 

 presented a brecciated appearance. The surfaces of the cores of 

 gypsum exhibited pseudomorphs like those on the marl. Most 

 of the marl was red, but sometimes a greenish grey, and the lower 

 beds contained the tracks of annelids, which have been found on 

 the same horizon in several other places in Lancashire and Cheshire. 

 The Keuper Sandstone below the Red Marl was red and grey 

 in colour, and there was an abrupt change from one formation to 

 the other without any transitional strata between. 



The object of the boring was to find brine or rock-salt, but it 

 was unsuccessful, and the attempt was made in consequence of a 



1 An abstract read before the British Association, Liverpool, September, 1896. 



