W. J. Harrison — Beep-Boring in Keuper Marls. 455 



sistently in streaks and fibrous deposits throughout the greater part 

 of the strata. Many of the cores of marl brought up are remarkably 

 hard, affording a great contrast to the ordinarily soft and crumbling 

 nature of the strata as we usually see them in a weathered condition 

 in brick-pits, etc. 



It is possible that the " red stone and shale " — a hard sandy marl 

 — which forms the bottom bed now reached, marks the incoming of 

 tho Lower Keuper Sandstone. Similar strata were found at the 

 bottom of the Lindley Hall boring. Certainly the depth already 

 reached — 667 feet — is the point at which our previous knowledge 

 would lead us to expect the change to occur. For although the first 

 56 feet is occupied by surface-deposits, leaving 611 feet for the Eed 

 Marls, yet it must be remembered that we are only two miles east of 

 the fault, and that the upper portion of the Marls — to what extent 

 we cannot precisely tell — must have been removed by denudation. 



Just as the boring has reached this most interesting point, an 

 unfortunate accident has temporarily delayed its progress. A tool 

 has broken in the very bottom of the boring, and the removal of the 

 broken piece is a difficult operation. But doubtless this obstacle 

 will quickly be overcome. As to the quality of the water to be 

 obtained from the Keuper Sandstones, the promoters of the boring 

 doubtless hope that it will be similar to that at Burton, where the 

 presence of a moderate amount of gypsum in the water from deep 

 wells sunk through the Eed Marls is found to be of great value in 

 brewing operations. 



The action of a fault when it brings a thick bed of impervious 

 material like clay or marl side by side with a porous sandy stratum — 

 the sandy beds dipping towards the line of fault — is strikingly 

 shown both at Birmingham and Stourbridge. In Birmingham there 

 is any quantity of water to be had from the Sandstones and Pebble 

 Beds right up to the line of fault. The artesian well, about 200 feet 

 deep, in Digbeth, must be within a few yards of the fault-line, and 

 the water obtained is used in the manufacture of mineral waters, 

 and is so highly prized that it may frequently be seen conveyed in 

 a large barrel on wheels to various establishments in the town. 



At Stourbridge exactly the same thing happens. A north and 

 south fault brings Permian Marls on a level with the Bunter Pebble 

 Beds and Keuper Sandstones, the latter dipping towards the Marls. 

 The water is banked up by the Marls and yields an unlimited 

 supply to the wells of the Stourbridge Water Company, which lie 

 just on the right (west) side of the line of fault. 



The railway company occupies the land on the marly side of the 

 fault, and in years gone by they sank well after well in the marls in 

 vain search for water, and the officials were much chagrined and 

 surprised at its absence, seeing that any quantity of the precious 

 fluid was being pumped up within a few yards of their land ! 



