546 
hood of Dumfries. Near the latter place it is in mineral structure 
the same with the red sandstone of Corncockle-moor, and, at both 
places, the red flags contain impressions of footsteps. The author 
therefore asserts that the red sandstone near Loch Maben (visited by 
Mr. Murchison and himself in 1827) was rightly placed in the new 
red group. The lower divisions of the new red sandstone series do 
not appear to range into this part of Scotland. 
To the north of the Galloway chain (the great southern grey wacke 
chain of Scotland), the new red series almost dies away, and is seen 
in very few parts of Scotland. The author found no traces of it 
between Girvan and the mouth of the Clyde. _ Coupling this fact 
with the great development of red sandstones in many parts of the 
true carboniferous series of Seotland, he concludes that the highest 
stratified beds of Arran do not represent the new red sandstone, but 
{more probably) a portion of the carboniferous group. ‘To the upper: 
conglomerates of Arran there is however no counterpart in England ; 
and the exact place of the red beds which overlie them is still left in 
some doubt ; but these upper conglomerates may perhaps be compared 
with some great trappean conglomerates which are subordinate to 
the Scotch coal-fields. 
CaRBONIFEROUS sERIES.—The author briefly notices the changes in 
this series during its range from the northern counties of England 
into the basin of the Tweed, where a coal-field occurs developed after 
the Scotch type, and far below the great coal-field of Newcastle. He 
then discusses shortly the carboniferous deposits of Scotland, which 
are divided as follows, in descending order :— 
1. The rich coal deposits with numerous beds of coal; in their 
subordinate beds of shale, ironstone, fire-clay, and fossils, presenting 
the closest analogies to the great English coal-fields. Their exact 
place in a general scale cannot however be determined, as they offer 
no passages, like those above noticed, into any higher formation. 
2. A great group with many thin bands of carboniferous limestone, 
alternating with sandstone and shale; and generally with well-defined 
thick beds of limestone at the top of the group, so as to form the base 
of the most productive coal-fields. This group also contains beds of 
coal, but generally of inferior quality. The alternating sandstones 
are not unusually of a red colour. 
3. Beds of red sandstone, shale, &c.—They undergo many modifica- 
tions of structure and colour, and are in some places of great thick- 
ness. In some of their higher portions they contain coal-plants, 
and even thin bands of coal; but they pass downwards by grada- 
tions the most insensible, and blend themselves with the old red 
sandstone. Examples of such passages are found on the north side 
of St. Abb’s Head, on the north shores of the Solway Firth, and on 
the coast of Ayrshire. 
The Dumfries-shire carboniferous groups are developed after the 
Scotch type above described; which is the more remarkable, as the 
groups on the south side of the Firth conform to the English type. 
Near Whitehaven there is no passage from the carboniferous lime- 
