316 Revieivs — Geological Survey of England — Leicester. 



A large industry, and one which has greatly increased of late 

 years, is the quarrying of roadstone. This is actively carried on 

 at Mountsorrel, where the granite forms an excellent material both 

 for mending roads and for pavements ; it is also used in the 

 preparation of artificial flagstones. These quarries are very 

 extensive, and being connected by branch lines with both the 

 Midland and Great Central Eailways, a large amount of road- 

 metal is sent away to other districts. 



The Keuper Marl is extensively used along the Soar Valley for 

 the manufacture of bricks, and has entirely superseded those made 

 from the Glacial and Liassic Clays, which were worked to a small 

 extent locally for this purpose. 



The rock-bed of the Middle Lias contains a certain amount of 

 ironstone and was formerly worked at Tilton, but it does not appear 

 to have been profitable. 



Gypsum occurs in the Keuper Marl at Thurmaston, and other 

 bands have been met with in borings; but it has not been used 

 commercially in this district, although extensive works exist to 

 the north between Kegworth and Gotham. 



The limestone bands in the lower part of the Lias, from which, 

 the well-known cement at Barrow is made, are worked for lime 

 at Kilby Bridge, but the beds are more shaly and impure than at 

 Barrow. 



Building-stone is also a scarce article, the Lias rock-bed being; 

 generally too soft and friable for the purpose. The Middle Lias 

 yields some hard fossiliferous blocks (called 'jacks'), which have 

 been used on the Melton and Market Harborough Eailway in 

 the construction of bridges, which appear to stand fairly well. 



A carefully prepared catalogue of fossils obtained from the 

 Trias, Ehgetic, and Lias formations of Leicestershire and Rutland 

 (pp. 95-115), giving the range and localities for each, will be 

 found of great use to the palseontologist. 



A long list of borings and well-sections is recorded. There are 

 two well-printed half-tone plates : (1) "Hawclifi" Hill, Mountsorrel, 

 Crags of Granite, showing horizontal bedding " ; (2) " Eailway 

 Cutting at Tilton, showing Upper Lias Shales resting on the Eock- 

 bed of the Middle Lias." The other thirteen illustrations are in 

 the text (a few of them being from Professor J. W. Judd's memoir 

 " Geology of Eutland," prepared in the age of woodcuts). 



The new map (No. 156) of which this memoir is a description 

 is one of the best and most successful examples of colour-printing 

 yet issued by the Geological Survey ; the arrangement of the 

 colours (which of course corresponds with the general arrange- 

 ment of the drainage-lines of the country) giving this sheet 

 a most pleasing and artistic appearance, the colours producing 

 a very harmonious efiect. 



III. — The Geology of the Country around Eeading ; being the 

 Explanation of Sheet No. 268. By the late John Hopwood 

 Blake, Assoc. M. Inst. C. E., E.G. S., with contributions by 



