76 Notices of Memoirs—Mr. Horace B. Woodward’s Address— 
pointed out its resemblance to a bed in the neighbourhood of Mons, 
in Belgium, that attains a thickness of about 200 feet, reposing on 
the Carboniferous Limestone, and immediately underlying the Coal- 
measures. He was disposed to think that this rock at Harwich lay 
on the north side of a coal-basin, in which case the Lower Carboni- 
ferous and Devonian beds would rise beyond it and pass under Suffolk. 
Considering the disturbances before alluded to, we need by no 
means conclude that Coal-measures are likely to be absent from 
Norfolk; on the contrary, the undulations affecting the Palzozoic 
rocks are quite likely to bring in a coal-basin in some portion of this 
area. (See diagram, p. 79.) 
Mr. Gunn, who has brought this subject before you on several 
occasions, has recommended a trial-boring to be made at Hunstanton. 
Of course, in West Norfolk, whether at Hunstanton, Lynn, or Down- 
ham Market, we avoid the Chalk, which we know to be over 1,000 
feet at Norwich ; but we do not know how thick the Oolitic strata 
may be in this district, and at Lynn the depth of 680 feet has been 
reached without passing through them. Whereas, in proceeding 
towards Harwich, we know that the Oolitic strata must gradually 
die out, for at this locality the Cretaceous beds rest directly upon the 
Paleozoic rocks. From these remarks it may be gathered that scientific 
Opinion cannot ever do more than assert the probability of coal 
being met with here or there; and at present it can only assert 
the possibility of coal in Norfolk, without mentionimg any one 
locality as more likely than another to yield it. 
A very important application of geology is in the matter of 
water supply. Mr. Sutton has brought the subject before us, and 
he has pointed out that where water-bearing strata occur beneath 
an impervious bed, which would keep out all sewage contamination, 
there we have the most suitable conditions for a well. He steted 
that the best sources of domestic water in Norfolk are from the 
Chalk or from the porous sands resting on it, where these are 
overlaid by some deposit of clay. These “porous sands” are the 
beds known more familiarly to us as the Norwich Orag Series, 
including thereby not only the Upper and Lower Crags of Norwich, . 
but the Bure Valley beds. This series is overlain to the north and 
north-east of Norwich by the Lower Glacial Brickearth; while 
south and west of Norwich it is extensively overlain by the Chalky 
Boulder-clay. Water is sometimes held up in this sandy series by 
one of the laminated clay beds, and where these are absent, the 
Chalk itself saturated with moisture holds up the water: or again 
it may be obtained at varying depths from fissures or cavities in the 
Chalk. Hence Norfolk has no cause to complain of its capabilities 
of yielding a water-supply, although no single well is likely to yield 
any very large amount. And it is to be hoped that some day 
Government will take up the subject, and insist upon good water 
being supplied to every dwelling in the land. 
[After referring to the recent floods in Norwich, the Presiden 
continued:—] A study of the present physical aspect of our 
land cannot fail to interest us. Who of us in wandering over 
