THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 147 



DESCRIPTION OF THE RAILWAY CUTTING. 



Bead before the Geological Section of the Hamilton Association, Jan. 2J:th, 1896. 

 BY MR. A. E. WALKER. 



Beginning at the base of the cutting, west we find three feet of 

 blue till, covered by two feet of jointed clay, three feet of sand and 

 concrete covered by ten feet of yellow brick clay ; this is covered by 

 four feet of red sand and clay loam, where the red sand rests on the 

 clay shows a damp water line. These strata increase in thickness 

 as we reach Poulette street, where a great undisturbed mound of 

 dark red Madina shales rises from the base of the cutting to about 

 seven or eight feet to the surface, dipping more rapidly on the east, 

 the blue till rests on the ragged edges of this mound on the east. 

 The shale in this mound is dark red with bands of pale green shale 

 intermixed, and about two feet from the base there is a layer of pale 

 green shale about one foot thick. East of this mound, and resting 

 on its edges, we have twelve feet of the blue till, covered by eight feet 

 of yellowish clay, the lower part of this clay that rests on the till 

 seems to be of much the same character, containing the same sub- 

 angular pieces of stone, and appears to be an homogeneous clay, 

 but as it nears the surface, or rather the red sandy loam that rests 

 upon it, it becomes stratified clay, on this rests four feet of red sandy 

 loam, being the surface soil. 



This describes the cutting up to Locke street. The ten 

 foot band of blue till continues east to Pearl street, but the 

 yellow brick clay feathers out to Pearl street, and the over- 

 laying red gravel and sand rests now, with the exception of a 

 thin band of yellow clay, on the till. The formation is of the same 

 character until you reach Ray street, at Ray street there were two 

 strong springs of water coming out between the red sand and the 

 blue till, the surface water sinks down and rests on the blue till, as 

 this is impervious to water, whenever you reach this layer of sand rest- 



