96 Correspondence—Rev. A. Irving. 
obtained from a boring now in progress at Hunt’s Cross, Wootton, 
much nearer Liverpool than St. Helen’s Junction, for the particulars 
of which I am indebted to Mr. A. Timmins, C.E., who is conducting 
the operation. The spot is near a doubtful boundary-line between 
the Pebble-beds and the Upper Mottled Sandstone, on the Geological 
Survey Map. After passing through 187 feet of drift a bed of marl 
was found, which has been penetrated to the thickness of 200 feet 
—337 feet from the surface—without reaching the bottom of it. It 
would be absurd to call this marl Lower Mottled Sandstone, and 
most likely it is Permian, just below the Pebble-beds, which is the 
usual succession in the country to the east of the boring. Before 
the age of this marl is finally decided, it is very desirable that fossils 
should be obtained, if any occur in it, but the stuff comes up the 
bore-hole in the condition of powdered dust, so that there is little 
chance of finding any at present. Now that attention has been 
directed to the importance of finding fossils, it is to be hoped that 
they will soon be found in some of the localities where the marl 
occurs. Meantime it seems probable that the marl occurs between 
the Pebble-beds and the Lower Mottled Sandstone, and that all the 
strata below the former belong to the Permian in the country around 
Liverpool, as I understand to be the case about Manchester. 
G. H. Morton. 
P.S.—From the great thickness of the marl at Hunt’s Cross, it is 
just possible that the boring may be in the Keuper Marl, but even 
that would be very extraordinary. 
THE PERMIAN QUESTION. 
Srr,—May I be permitted to point out an ambiguity which has 
crept into the discussion of the Permian-Trias question in this 
MacazineE? The term ‘“‘ Upper Permian” has been used by me 
consistently to indicate beds (marls and sandstones) which occur 
above the Magnesian Limestone series, which Murchison designated 
‘Bunter Schiefer.” Such a use of the term implies that the 
Magnesian Limestone series would, in a threefold classification, fall 
into the place of Middle Permian, as in the “Student’s Elements.” 
The sense in which I have used the term “ Upper Permian” is that 
in which it was formerly and recently used by Prof. Hull, and by 
Mr. De Rance in the table of the Lancashire Permian Strata which 
appeared in my paper of last month. The latter gentleman, in last 
raonth’s Number, uses ‘“ Upper Permian” for what (in the classifi- 
cation I originally ventured to criticize) would be called Middle 
Permian. Of course, if the threefold division be given up, these 
become the upper member of a dual series, the existence of which I 
have not called in question. All therefore that Mr. De Rance has 
recently urged, as well as the evidence put forward quite recently by 
Prof. Hull, is beside the point at issue. 
WELLINGTON COLLEGE, A. IrvineG. 
Dec. 9th, 1882. 
We regret to record the death of one of our contributors to this Macazinn, Mr. 
Edward B. Tawney, M.A., F.G.S., Conservator of the Woodwardian Museum, Cam- 
bridge. We shall give a full notice of his work next month. 
