Correspondence. 23 1 



THE DRIFT OF THE WESTERN" AND EASTERN COUNTIES. 

 To the Editor of the Geological Magazine. 



Sir, — I see that Mr. Hull has favoured you with a simple classifi- 

 cation of the drift deposits of Lancashire and Cheshire, which he 

 asserts to consist of (3) Upper Boulder-clay or Till, (2) Middle 

 Sand and Gravel, (1) Lower Boulder-clay or Till. Now some 

 twenty- five years since, in a, paper printed by the Manchester 

 Geological Society, I gave the following general classification : — 



1. — Beds of stratified and unstratified gravel and sand, containing 

 well roimded pebbles of primitive Primary and later Secondary 

 rocks. 



2. — Till, a thick deposit of marl or brown clay, mixed with 

 angular or rounded pebbles of various sizes without any order of 

 deposition. 



3. — Beds of stratified fine roiled gravel and forest sand, often con- 

 taining beds of clay or loam. 



4. — Deposits of gravel and sand, both stratified and unstratified, 

 found in the beds of valleys and low lands adjoining rivers and 

 brook courses. 



In addition to the above a bed of rich loam is frequently found in 

 the valleys, covering the last-named deposit. 



The Till or Boulder-clay of Lancashire and Cheshire, as seen at 

 Blackpool and New Brighton on the coast, is one thick bed inter- 

 calated with beds of silt, sand, and gravel ; but when we approach 

 the sides of the Pennine Chain, a very different series of beds 

 occurs. At Broadstairs Colliery, near Hyde, the following section 

 in the descending order was met with, viz, : — 



FT. IN. FT. Ilf. 



1 Clay 110 8 Quicksand and Loam 6 



2 Quicksand 2 6 9 Gravel 3 



3 Strong Marl 22 6 10 Loam 7 6 



4 Quicksand 2 6 11 Gravel and Sand 3 



5 Loam with Pebbles 12 6 12 ClayaudLoam 15 6 



6 Buck-leaf Marl 19 13 Gravel and Soft Marl con- 



7 Dry Sand 9 taining Pebbles 10 



I give this section as an instance to show the dilficulty of classify- 

 ing the drift deposits, either by my old arrangement or Mr. Hull's 

 new one. At present, probably both must be considered as provi- 

 sional, to be perfected when the deposits have been more thoroughly 

 investigated and better known. 



The eastern part of England, I imagine, is in about the same con- 

 dition; for, after some years examination of the Drift deposits in 

 Notts., Lincoln, York, Durham, and Northumberland, I have not 

 been able to make the sequence of the beds, as Mr. S. V. Wood, jun., 

 appears to have found, more to the south. 



I remain, Sir, yours truly, 



E. W. BiNNEY. 



Manchester, April 8, 1867. 



