and around the Warwickshire Coal-field. 547 



Another very admirable section has been opened in these rocks, 

 in the Midland Kailway hetween Nuneaton and Stockingford. The 

 eastern end of the cutting is in red and grey or green shales, the red 

 tinge being, as before mentioned, the predominating colour in the 

 lower part of the Lower Silurian shales. The first sheet of diorite 

 is met with a few yards east of the Accommodation Bridge. It is 

 about 50 feet thick and contains a band of shale, 6 inches thick, about 

 3 feet from the top. This shale is of course highly altered, but the 

 shale above and below the diorite has also been baked hard for a 

 distance of about 6 or 8 feet. The top of the diorite is seen on the 

 south side of the cutting and to the east of the bridge. On the west 

 side of the bridge the overlying beds are seen to be pale grey shales 

 with bands of black shale, the whole presenting an appearance very 

 like that of Coal-measures. Further to the west the shales are seen 

 to be traversed by numerous bands of diorite, etc., ranging from 

 1 to 8 feet in thickness, and in most cases following the bedding : 

 but it may be noticed that some of the thicker beds thin out and 

 reappear very suddenly, while on the south side of the cutting near 

 the bridge, a sheet of diorite cuts across the beds of shale at an 

 oblique angle. The western end of the cutting runs through pale 

 fine shales with an occasional black band, or more sandy micaceous 

 rocky bed. The dip increases westwards till the beds become nearly 

 vertical. 



The outcrop of the Lower Silurian shales throughout the northern 

 part of the district ranges from one-half to one mile in width, and from 

 the abundance of intrusive sheets and masses of diorite and other 

 rocks, forms a prettily undulating country. The red beds which lie 

 next above the quartzite can be well seen in Atherstone Outwoods ; in 

 a lane forming the south-east side of Purley Park ; on the north side 

 of Hartshill Heys ; and near Hartshill. They are interstratified 

 with pale grey or olive shales. The upper part of the shales are 

 grey and contain dark, almost black, bands, and are well exposed at 

 Oldbury Eeservoir, in Monks Park, and in the Atherstone and 

 Birmingham high road. The best section of the diorite is afforded 

 by the great quarry at Oldbury Eeservoir, where the whole thick- 

 ness of a great sheet, with its junction with the shales above and 

 below, is clearly seen. The description of this and of the other 

 igneous rocks that have been referred to has been written by Mr. 

 Eutley, and will be found at the end of this paper. 



The following is a list of the fossils which were collected by Mr. 

 Ehodes, fossil collector to the Survey, during the examination of this 

 tract. Many of the best localities were pointed out to me by Professor 

 Lapworth. The specimens have been identified by my colleague, 

 Mr. G-. Sharman. 



Sponge spicules, Protospongia fene- ( Lane on S. side of Purley Park, 30 yards down. 



strata ?, Salt. ( Grey shale. 1 specimen. 



-a ., ( Lane on S. side of Purley Park, near top. 



fyritonema. { Grey shale. 2 specimens. 



Eod-like bodies, Annelids or Plants? j Lane r ° U ^J? °! I^tl/^' ^ ^ 

 ' ( Grey shale. 1 specimen. 



