Reviews'—Geological Survey of England — -Reading. '317 



Wm. Whitaker, B.A., F.E.S. Edited by H. W. Monckton, 

 F.L.S., F.G.S, 8vo; pp. 92, with 13 illustrations in the text. 

 Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office by Wyman & Sons. 

 London : E. Stanford, Long Acre (or Dulau & Co., 37, Soho 

 Square, W.), 1903. Price Is. M. 



THE author of this meraoii% Mr. John Hopwood Blake, jorned the 

 Geological Survey in 1868, and worked in Somerset, Suffolk, 

 And Norfolk until 1884, when he removed to Reading and was for 

 many years occupied on the re-survey of that neighbourhood, giving 

 special attention to the Drifts, which before had only been partially 

 mapped. He then proceeded to Oxford, where he laboured on, 

 having nearly completed the MS. of this memoir at the time of his 

 death, March 5th, 1901. 



The geology of the Keading area has been rendered classical as 

 the scene of some of the early labours of Prestwich, the fine sections 

 of the mottled plastic clays, so long worked as tile-earth, having led 

 him to adopt the name ' Reading Beds ' for the varied group of 

 strata which here intervene between the Chalk and London Clay. 

 The district is one in which the action of rivers and changes in 

 -their courses are conspicuously shown, a subject which has been 

 dealt with by Mr. H. J. Osborne White and others, but requires to 

 be discussed in relation to a much wider area than is covered by 

 this Sheet (No. 268). 



Mr. H. W. Monckton, who has devoted much labour for many 

 years to the elucidation of the Bagshot Beds and the Gravels of 

 the Thames Valley, has kindly undertaken the task of editing 

 Mr. J. H. Blake's MS. for publication, and, whilst retaining all 

 Mr. Blake's notes, he has freely inserted additions from his own 

 notebook, especially in the chapters relating to the superficial 

 deposits, for which Mr. Monckton may thus be considered to some 

 extent responsible. The map, it is to be regretted, has not at 

 present been printed in colours, but two editions, with and without 

 Drift, were issued in 1898 /«aw(i- coloured. We hope the superior 

 colour-printed map will shortly be obtainable for this district. 



The country around Reading embraced in Sheet 268 represents 

 an area of 216 square miles ; that portion on the north of the 

 Thames being in Oxfordshire, and the remainder in Berkshire, with 

 the exception of a somewhat irregular narrow strip along the south, 

 which is in Hampshire. Reading, the capital of Berkshire, is 

 situated near the central part of the area. The area is drained 

 by the River Thames and its tributaries, the Pang, the Kennet, 

 and the Loddon, together with minor streams. 



The following is a list of the geological formations which are 

 shown on the map by distinctive colours : — 



s— {Tur"°- 



{Loam. 

 Valley-gravel. 

 Clay-with-flints and loam (overlying the Chalk) . 

 Plateau-gravel. 

 Pebble -gravel. 



