Reviews — W. C. Lucy on the Oravels of the Severn, etc. 29 



I. — The GrRAVELs OP THE Severn, Avon, anb Evenlode, and 

 THEIR Extension over the Cotteswold Hills. By W. C. 

 LucT, F.G.S., F.A.S.L. 



ONE of our most important local societies is the Cotteswold 

 Naturalists' Field Club, both in subject-matter and illustration ; 

 its volumes of Proceedings maintain a high value, and will bear 

 favourable comparison with those of any other natural history club. 



The number last issued (being the volume for 1869) contains two 

 elaborate papers, one by Dr. Wright, to which we drew attention in 

 the December Magazine ; the other by Mr. Lucy, which forms the 

 subject of our present remarks. 



This paper is illustrated by an excellent geological map, which at 

 once attracts notice. It is on the scale of half an inch to one mile, 

 and includes the country between Chipping Norton and the Malvern 

 Range in one direction, and between Stroud and Alcester in the 

 other. Few districts of equal size contain so great a variety of 

 geological formations, for in it are to be met with representatives of 

 almost every rock, from the Lower Llandovery to the Oxford Clay. 

 The boundaries of these several formations seem to have been very 

 carefully drawn, and the colours by which they are represented are 

 clear and distinctive. But we should mention, as the author of the 

 paper, through an oversight, has omitted to do so, that this part of 

 the map has been reduced from the Geological Survey Sheets 

 (chiefly from Nos. 43, 44, 45, and 54), and the colours adopted are 

 the same in each. It is not, however, with these formations that 

 the present paper deals ; nor is the map entirely a reproduction on a 

 smaller scale of the work of our Government field-geologists. The 

 distribution of the Quaternary gravels, as traced out with great care 

 and labour by Mr. Lucy, is denoted by means of coloured dots over 

 the various subjacent formations, and it is this which gives a special 

 value to, as it is the principal object of, the map. The gravels 

 which are represented are included under two heads, namely, 

 " Northern Drift," and " Oolitic Gravel." 



The author first treats of the geological position and physical 

 characters of the various beds of gravel, and then explains his views 

 of their origin and age. 



The Oolitic gravel appears to be chiefly composed of Secondary 

 rocks, to be of local derivation, lying near and flanking the Cottes- 

 wold Range, towards which it increases in thickness. 



The name Northern Drift is applied to gravels containing 

 materials derived from nearly every formation, from the Silurians to 

 the Chalk, besides Igneous rocks ; and associated with it is a good 

 deal of fine quartzose sand. With the exception of a trace of 

 Oolitic gravel at Highnam, all the gravel on the western side of the 

 Severn belongs to this. On the other side both gravels are found, 

 and where they come together, as at Gloucester, the Oolitic gravel 



