A. R. Norwood — Upper Trias of Leicestershire. 119 



Red Marl and Green Marl and skerries witli five gypsum bands are 

 exposed. In the top bund the gypsum passes laterally into Green 

 Marl. The third band thins out to the north. The second band is 

 fibrous. Between the north and south end of this pit the extent and 

 number of the gypsum bands is very variable. It represents the 

 lovrer part of the Gipsy Lane section. Bed 13 is more massive, and 

 jointed. Below bed 11 the marl is exceedingly hard, and impregnated 

 with selenite crystals, like some Upper Khsetic shales. The skerry 

 in 'Eo. 10 is dolomitic and full of drusy cavities, as at Vass's pit. 

 The gypsum varies greatly in colour from white to greenish-white, 

 yellow or orange to salmon-pink. The upper surface may be covered 

 with spheroidal concretions or is even. The satin spar is often 

 tinged pink. In this and other cases there is abundant evidence 

 that the red colour is secondary. The ball gypsum is exceptionally 

 well developed, showing the plano-convex structure admirably. The 

 masses are isolated, but arranged in horizontal la^^ers. 



In Barrow's pit, west of the Midland Railway, 16-28 feet of 

 Red Marl and Drift is seen in section. The Red Marl resembles 

 that of the Bel grave Brick Company's and Star Brick Company's works, 

 and is stiff and tenacious down to the floor, which is the same as'the 

 base of the Belgrave Pit. The bedding is regular and uniform, each 

 bed retaining the same characteristics throughout, and no better 

 evidence of aqueous deposition could be desired than so clear-cut 

 a section. If the variegated beds convey this impression \>j their 

 regularity and hoi;izontal bedding, a section such as this, without 

 them, adds additional emphasis to the matter. About 12-16 feet 

 of Red Marl below snil and river-gravel is exposed at the Belgi'ave 

 Brick Company's pit adjoining. The Red Marl is the same as that 

 at the Star Brick Company's works, and is very nodular, splitting into 

 rounded nodules, and contains much manganese. Spots of Green 

 Marl occur in the Red at the Star Brick Works. This pit is con- 

 tinuous with Barrow's pit west of the Midland Railway, from which 

 only a bank separates it, and in the latter the floor is used for 

 growing cereals, which do well on the sandier beds. 



On the west side of the River Soar the coarse sandstone representing 

 the Dane Hill Sandstone is seen in the Cossington district in the 

 Eosse Road above Lewin Bridge, in the lane leading thence to 

 Cossington, and the ridge flanking the Soar Yalley on the west is 

 caused by the, feature it forms. By the River Soar west of Syston 

 sandy Red Marl with skerry crops out in the river banks. 



From Chellaston southward gypsum bands can be traced by 

 Gotham Sileby to Queniborough and Thurmaston, and soutli of 

 Leicester at Blaby. It is found in a pit east of Syston on the 

 Queniborough and Barkby road, where a very uniform thickness 

 (30-40 feet) of Red Marl with few green bands representing the 

 lower part of the Gipsy Lane Pit is to be seen. 



From Gipsy Lane northward the Tea-green Marls can be traced 

 nearly to the fault north of the Humber Stone. North of Barkby- 

 thorpe they are only seen just here in a few isolated exposures. 



A coarse sandstone of the Dane Hill Sandstone type is seen near 

 Rothley. In the Great Central Railway cutting at the station at the 



