Miscellanies. 395 



In the early part of last June, there were discovered in the Store- 

 ton quarries, on the under surface of several large slabs of sandstone, 

 highly relieved casts of what the workmen believed to have been hu- 

 man hands; and the circumstance having been made known to the 

 Natural History Society of Liverpool, a committee was appointed, 

 who drew up the report communicated to this Society. 



The peninsula of Wirral consists of new red sandstone ; and to- 

 wards the northern extremity, the formation may be separated into 

 three principal divisions. The lovi^est is composed of beds, slightly 

 inclined towards the east, of red or variegated sandstone, occasional- 

 ly abounding with pebbles partly derived from the coal-measures; and 

 in the bottom strata either angular or little water-worn. Seams of 

 marl are very rare in this division, the argillaceous matter being con- 

 fined to nodules or concretions of clay of the same color as the sand- 

 stone. 



The middle division consists of white or yellow sandstone, in some 

 places argillaceous, and frequently containing round concretions of 

 clay, and pebbles. The strata are separated by seams of white or 

 mottled clay, occasionally almost imperceptible, but sometimes seve- 

 ral inches thick. 



The uppermost division is formed of red or variegated sandstone, 

 inclosing also nodules of clay and pebbles of quartz; and it abounds 

 with strata of red marl. 



The Storeton quarries are situated in the middle division ; and the 

 casts which have hitherto been noticed, occurred on the under sur- 

 face of three beds of sandstone, about two feet thick each. The 

 strata incline 8° to the northeast, but they are traversed by several 

 faults, which range in the strike of the beds. The authors of the re- 

 port are of opinion, that each of the thin seams of clay in which the 

 sandstone casts were moulded, formed successively a dry surface, 

 over which the Chirotherium and other animals walked, leaving im- 

 pressions of their footsteps ; and that each layer was submerged by a 

 depression of the surface. The lowest seam of clay was so thin, that 

 the marks penetrated into the subjacent sandstone. The following 

 account is then given of a hind foot and a fore foot, selected from 

 slabs in the Museum of the Royal Institution, Liverpool. 



Hind Foot, consisting of five digits; one of which, from its resem- 

 blance to a human thumb, has been generally distinguished by that 

 designation. 



Inches. 



Total length from the root of the thumb to the point of the se- 

 cond toe .......... 9 



Extreme breadth from the point of the thumb to the point of the 

 fourth toe .......... 6 



