498 Percy F. Kendall — Glacial Geologi/. 



Mag. July, 1892, p. 312) : " More perfect sliells have been found at 

 these high levels, especially at Gloppa, by Mr, Nicholson, F.G.S., 

 than are generally met with in the Drift of the plains." 



'Jlie plain English of this is "at certain selected localities at high- 

 levels the shells are better preserved than in the average of low- 

 level deposits." As a matter of fact, the low-level deposits include 

 Leyland, which has yielded the largest list of shells ever compiled 

 from an English or Welsh Drift-bed, and in point of mere numbers, 

 I would undertake to collect more shells in an hour at Shellag Point, 

 Isle of Man, than Mr. Reade could in a day at Gloppa, or a month 

 at Moel Tr^^'aen. But as a matter of fact, there is, in the N.W. of 

 England, no such thing as a glacial shell-6erf. Anyone coming fresh 

 from the old sea-beaches and sea-bottoms of East Anglia would, I 

 doubt not, regard with astonishment the contents of these so-called 

 marine deposits. 



I turn now to the consideration of the nature of the fauna, and 

 any remarks of a general nature which I may make must be taken 

 to apply solely to the country to the westward of the Pennine Chain. 



The shells throughout the whole area are, I consider, such as 

 coiild not have existed in British Seas during the Glacial period. 

 Mr. lleade, many years ago, remarked that the post-Glacial beds of 

 the Clyde contained a fauna much more indicative of severe con- 

 ditions than that contained in the Drift of the North-west of England. 

 The fauna is not only an inconsistent one in respect of the mixture 

 of shells of diverse habitat, warm-water and cold-water forms, sand 

 and rock-haunting species with mud-loving forms, but, as Forbes 

 pointed out 46 years ago, there is an utter absence of deep-rcater 

 fauna. He says ^ "That in no case, so far as I have examined, the 

 upheaved strata were formed under conditions of considerable depth, 

 such as my region of deep-sea corals [50 fathoms to beyond lOU] 

 now presents, is rendered almost certain by the total absence of the 

 remains of the characteristic inhabitants of that region." Again, 

 " So far as I have seen, there is no British case of an upheaved 

 stratum containing organic remains evidentl}' untransported which 

 may not have been formed at a less depth than 25 fathoms .... 

 and it is probable that between 10 and 15 fathoms would more 

 frequently approach the truth." 



Mr. Reade has repeatedly commented upon the general similarity 

 of the faunge, and on p. 312 of the paper 1 am criticizing, he says — ■ 

 "These sands and gravels [/.e. at 1000-1400 feet above the sea- 

 levelj contain shells of inollusca, speaking generally, of a similar 

 fades to those fragments found in the low-level Boulder-clay and 

 sands." (The "fragments" is refreshing.) Now has Mr. Keade 

 ever considered that with a submergence of liOO feet there would 

 have been a depth of two hundred and thirty-three fathoms over the 

 low grounds of Lancashire, and will he be bold enough to say that 

 Turritella terebra, Purpura lapillus, TeJlina balihira, and Cardimn 

 edule, form the natural assemblage of shells which one should find 

 on a muddy bottom in 200 fathoms of iimtcr ? 



1 Meiu. Geol. Survey, vol. i. p. 376. 



