﻿138 Correspondence — Mr. J. Curry. 



The leaves have never been drifted from afar ; they are often 

 still adhering to the twigs. The leaves are flat and perfect, rarely- 

 even rolled and crumpled, as dry leaves may be, if falling on a muddy 

 surface ; still more rarely have they fallen edgeways and been 

 imbedded vertically. They are, moreover, not variously mixed, as 

 they should be if they had been carried for any distance, but are 

 found in local groups of species. For example, all the leaves of 

 Castanea have been found in one clay patch, with Iriartea and 

 Gleichenia ; none of these have been found elsewhere. A trilobed leaf 

 is peculiar to Studland ; the Alum Bay Aralia, the peculiar form of 

 Proteacece, the great Ficus-, and other leaves occur at Alum Bay only. 

 Each little patch at Bournemouth is characterized by its own 

 peculiar leaves. Such a distribution can only result from the 

 proximity of the trees from which the leaves have fallen. The 

 lorms of most temperate aspect are best preserved, so that, to be 

 logically applied, the Drift theory requires the palms, etc., to have 

 been drifted upwards. To suppose that most delicate leaves could 

 have been brought by torrents 400 miles from Mull or 200 miles 

 from Wales, and spread out horizontally in thousands, witliout crease 

 or crumple, on the coast of Hampshire, may be a feasible theory to 

 Mr. Searles V. Wood, jun., but will not recommend itself to the 

 majority of thinkers. But without invoking these lengthy voyages, 

 the requisite height might have existed near at hand in the granite 

 region of Devon, during the Eocene time. However this may be, 

 so obviously simple an explanation as that the temperate forms grew 

 on high ground and were drifted down and mingled with those 

 growing on lower levels, had of course escaped no worker on these 

 or similar floras, and has been duly considered and abandoned by 

 every one. J. S. Gardneb. 



IS THEEE A BASE TO THE CARBONIFEROITS ROCKS IN TEESDALE? 



Sir, — Some years ago, when out on a geological tour, I crossed 

 over the Pennine Chain from Appleby, in Westmoreland, to High 

 Force in Upper Teesdale. My route was first along the Eden 

 valley plain to High Cup Gill Beck ; next up the side of this Gill 

 to High Cup Nick, at the head of the Beck ; thence across to Maize 

 Beck, which is a tributary to the Tees, following down the south 

 side of this beck to Caldron Snout, and continuing on from here 

 down the side of the Tees to the old Pencil Mill, where my attention 

 w^as arrested by observing the shale, here exposed, to have a striking 

 resemblance to the Silurian shales which I had noticed at the foot of 

 High Cup Gill, on the other side of the chain, and at other places in 

 the Lake District, also on the east side of this district, in Wastdale 

 Beck, near Shap Wells. The Carboniferous strata rise from the 

 vicinity of the old Pencil Mill, in a westerly direction, on the 

 line of the route just sketched, and crop out on the west slope of the 

 chain in High Cup Gill Beck, where there is to be met with one of 

 the finest sections of the Carboniferous rocks in the North of Eng- 

 land. In the lower part of this Gill there is a very thick section of 



