236 Correspondence — Rev. H. H. Winwood. 



GEOLOGY OF NOETH DEVON. 



Sir, — Mr. Kinahan lias made a statement in his communication to 

 you, in February, which. I cannot allow to remain any longer un- 

 noticed. At the end of his "Note in Press," p. 74, whilst attributing 

 but little value to the fossil evidence as determining the position of 

 the North Devon beds, he writes, " The species have been collected 

 without that care and precision which can alone render them of use 

 in marking horizons. The localities assigned to the specimens, in 

 the collections chiefly relied upon, are such as Torquay, Chud- 

 leigh, etc. ; where two, if not more, distinct groups of rocks are 

 developed." Now, I must leave the South Devon geologists to 

 defend themselves, and the care with which their collections have 

 been made, and the localities properly assigned ; they have plenty of 

 hard work before them in their attempt to correlate these extremely 

 puzzling beds with the Northern beds. A recent visit to Torquay 

 strengthens my view of this ; but so far as the fossil evidence affects 

 the question of the regular sequence of the beds, from the Foreland 

 Sandstones to the Pilton beds, I venture to think nothing can well 

 be clearer. As to the care and precision with which the collections 

 have been made, I boldly assert none can be greater. I need only 

 refer to those of Mr. Townshend Hall and Mr. Valpy ; and to the 

 Catalogue of North Devon Fossils published by the former in Quart. 

 Journ. Geol. Soc. 1867, p. 376. Mr. Hall's accuracy and know- 

 ledge of the North Devon strata will not be questioned by any one 

 who knows him. And to Mr. Valpy's keen eye for fossils, his 

 care in assigning the proper localities to them, and his intimate 

 knowledge of the coast-line from the Foreland to Baggy Point, I, 

 who have spent many a long and pleasant day with him, can most 

 fully testify. 



A word as to the stratigraphical position of the beds. If " Jukes's 

 fault" has not been sufficiently disposed of by Mr. Etheridge, I 

 invite my friend Mr. Kinahan to attend the approaching Meeting 

 of the Devonshire Association at Ilfracombe, where he, with his 

 fellow-countrymen, who have looked at the Devon geology across 

 the water from an Irish point of view, will have a hearty welcome ; 

 and I ask him to prove then to the satisfaction of the Secretary, 

 Mr. Pengelly, the disproof of an "hypothetical" fault, which has 

 never yet been proved. Can he do it ? The coat has been trailed: 

 let him take up the challenge. H. H. Winwood. 



Bath, March 21st, 1879. 



KCSTAHAjSTS geology of ieeland. 

 Sir, — In Mr. Kinahan's Manual of the Geology of Ireland (p. 315), 

 I find a reference to Mr. Jukes' explanation of the formation of the 

 valleys in S.W. Ireland, accompanied by the following footnote : 

 " Jukes at the time considered that the Cork rocks were once covered 

 by the Carboniferous Limestone of the central plain. Subsequently 

 he had to allow that this was incorrect, and his theory formed on the 

 supposed Limestone hills therefore falls to the ground, although it 

 is still quoted." 



