Reports and Proceedings — Geological Society of London. 43 



deer (Cervus dama) was a Pleistocene species, although hitherto 

 supposed to be a much later introduction. 



2. " The Superficial Deposits and Pre-Glacial Valleys of the 

 Northumberland and Durham Coalfield." By David Woolacott, 

 D.Sc, F.G.S. 



Six volumes, published by the North of England Institute of 

 Mining and Mechanical Engineers, contain a large number of borings 

 made in the northern coalfield. A considerable proportion of these 

 are most valuable in showing the nature and distribution of the 

 superficial deposits. From them and from field-mapping it is 

 possible to form a fairly accurate conception of the pre- Glacial 

 floor of tlie district and its drainage, and also of the relative changes 

 of level before, during, and after the Glacial Period. The chief 

 superficial deposits include the following : — (1) the stony Boulder- 

 clay ; (2) the Upper Clay, including (a) the prismatic clay and 

 (h) the leafy clay ; and (3) deposits of Sand and Gravel occurring 

 below, in, or upon the Clay. The last include raised beaches, 

 which decline in height when traced northward and southward from 

 Cleadon and Fulwell, with a gradient of from 3 to 6 feet per mile. 



The surface deposits lie arranged in the valleys formed before 

 the Glacial Period, and often reach a considerable depth. They fit 

 upon and level up the Glacial inequalities of the country, and are 

 not found above 1,000 feet. The base of the Drift is in some cases 

 as much as 140 feet below sea-level, and in one spot the thickness 

 bored through is 233 feet. By inserting all available borings in 

 maps, it is possible to gain some idea of the direction and depth 

 of the valleys. In this way the following pre-Glacial valleys have 

 been located: — The Tyne and its tributaries, corresponding in 

 general trend with the present Tyne, which is superimposed upon 

 it ; the ' Wash,' which joins the present course of the Wear with 

 the Tyne, and has the Team superimposed on its northern part ; 

 the upper Wear, which received all the waters from the west of 

 Durham county, took up several large tributaries between Bishop 

 Auckland and Durham city, and passed through the 'Wash' into 

 the Tyne ; the Sleekburn Valley ; and the Druridge Bay depression, 

 into which the pre-Glacial Coquet probably ran. Thus in pre- 

 Glacial times the Tyne and the Tees were the major rivers, and the 

 other streams were tributary to them ; the main changes have taken 

 place in the lower, and not in the higher, parts of the rivers. The 

 post-Glacial Wear has breached the Permian escarpment, and many 

 gorge-like valleys have been cut since the uplift which produced 

 the raised beaches. The dependence of the contour of the country 

 on its geological structure was much more pronounced in pre- 

 Glacial times than at present. 



II.— December 7th, 1904.— J. E. Marr, Sc.D., F.E.S., President, 

 in the Chair. The following communication was read : — 

 " The Chemical and Mineralogical Evidence as to the Origin of 

 the Dolomites of Southern Tyrol." By Prof. Ernest Willington 

 Skeats, D.Sc, F.G.S. 



