162 /. E. Taylor — Ihe Middle Drift-beds in Cheshire. 



seen, liowever, that it is present as a constituent of the older rocks, 

 and its generally altered state is one of several proofs of the chemical 

 and molecular changes which have been produced. 



Whether these rocks should be called Basalt, Dolerite, or Melaphyr, 

 I leave others to decide ; but would again repeat, that we shall have 

 no satisfactory nomenclature, or classification of rocks, till the mi- 

 croscope is as much used by petrologists as it has long been by 

 workers in every other branch of Natural History. 



In the Warwickshire Coal-field igneous rocks also occur in the 

 lower beds of the series ; they differ considerably, however, from 

 those now described, and require a separate notice. 



VI. — Note on the Middle Dbift-beds in Cheshire. 

 By J. E. Taylor, F.G.S. 



THE valuable paper by Professor Harkness on the Middle Drift 

 deposits of Great Britain d'oes not include a notice of their 

 occurrence in Cheshire. About six years ago, a paper of mine on 

 this subject was published in the Keports of the Geological Society 

 of Manchester. I revert to it again, inasmuch as the only locality 

 little dwelt on by Professor Harkness bears out so thoroughly the 

 chief peculiarity about the beds in question. 



The great flat plain, in the centre of which stands the populous and 

 industrious town of Crewe, is underlain by sands and gravels of 

 Middle Drift age. The higher portions of the knolls (they cannot 

 be called hills) are generally capped by a fine Boulder-clay. There 

 are few sections exposed in the neighbourhood of Crewe, but when I 

 lived in that neighbourhood several wells were dug, of which I kept 

 a careful account. Before giving an account of one of the principal 

 of these well-borings, let me notice the great abundance of Chalk 

 flints in the gravels. These are so great that pits are opened in 

 many places for road-mending purposes. At Barthomley, about 

 three miles to the south-east of Crewe, there are several of these pits, 

 each characterized by the abundance of genuine flints, although Chalk 

 strata are so far removed. In the paper above mentioned I suggested 

 that the origin of these flints might be the Irish Chalk. In most cases 

 they are well rounded, except where local fracture has split them up. 

 The following is a list of beds passed through in the sinking of 

 a well for cottage purposes. The thinness of some of the beds is 

 indicative of their shallow -water origin, as well as perhaps of their 

 local extension. But as this is a feature in the Middle Drift sands, 

 as far as I have been an observer, it is not worth while to state more 

 than that I believe the following to be a good typical section of the 

 Cheshire sands : — peet. 



Sand (current-bedded) 21 



Fine Gravel (with shells) 3 



Ochreous Sand 3 



Shelly Gravel 3 



Fine Clay 8 



Stiff Clay, with pebbles and shells 30 



Brick Earth . 8 



Total — 



76 



