Revietcs — Horace B. Woodward — Loicer Oolific Rocks. 523 



Under this arrangement the Fuller's Earth, or "Fiillonian," is 

 regarded as a member of the Great Oolite Series, and, indeed, Mr- 

 Woodward considers that its upper portion is intimately connected 

 with the Stonesfield Slate where that phase of the Great Oolite is 

 developed. He also confirms Mr. Etheridge's numerical estimate as 

 to the preponderance of Bathonian species throughout the Fuller's 

 Earth. 



None of the subdivisions of the Great Oolite can be regarded as 

 being constant, and excepting in the Stonesfield Slate its Lower 

 Division contains few, if any, distinctive fossils. Practically there 

 is no zonal grouping, and the fossils for the most part range 

 throughout. Lycett, it will be remembered, drew attention to this 

 circumstance, and was thus disposed to minimize the value of the 

 Great Oolite subdivisions. Indeed, he went so far as to suggest 

 that the Forest Marble and Bradford Clay might be omitted 

 altogether without detriment to science. Doubtless, as marking 

 time in a paleeontological sense, there is much truth in this, and we 

 have always thought that far too much importance was attached to 

 these subdivisions in the south-west of England. However, as local 

 developments, they are worthy of note by a Geological Surveyor, 

 and all the more since Mr. Woodward has shown that the Great 

 Oolite of Bath and Bradford does not pass into the Forest Marble of 

 Dorset. As originally held by William Smith, there seems to be 

 evidence in part of the Dorset area of the mass of the Great Oolite 

 having been eroded. This, at any rate, is Mr. Woodward's view, 

 though it is just possible that the Great Oolite Limestone may have 

 originally been a lenticular deposit, such as the Lincolnshire Lime- 

 stone was described by Judd and Sharp. 



On the whole Mr. Woodward concludes that the Forest Marble 

 or Bradfordian has some claims to be regarded as a subdivision of 

 the Great Oolite Series altogether independent of the Great Oolite 

 itself. And yet he (pp. 271, 272) elsewhere speaks of the difficulty 

 of separating the Forest Marble and Great Oolite, there being no 

 band that can be relied upon as a constant horizon in the series. 

 This uncertainty is exhibited in the difference of opinion as to the 

 position of the " Kemble Beds," which were mapped by Prof. Hull 

 as part of the Forest Marble, though Mr. Woodward endorses the 

 view of the late Prof. Buckman that they should be regarded as a 

 portion of the Great Oolite. Thus, the general section of the Great 

 Oolite (by Prof. Buckman) adopted for the Cotteswold district is as 

 follows : — 



Upper Division. 



Yellowish Oolite [= Kemble Beds] 



Marl, etc., with Lima cardiiformis and Terehratula maxillata 



Hard ljim.e5ione ^\t\i. Purpuroidea, Pachyrisma, etc, 



White Limestone 



LowEB, Division. 



Eough Freestone or Ragstone 



Stonesfield Slate 



125 



