428 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [JlinO 18, 



the WHte Ness, near Arbroath. Somewhat more careful investiga- 

 tion convinced me that in this at least I was mistaken ; and this 

 fortunately in time to have the copy of my paper so far altered 

 before it appeared in the Society's Journal for November 1861. 

 From subsequent investigation, I have seen no cause for supposing 

 that in any other locality in Forfarshire has this want of conformity 

 been exhibited ; and in order to be able to fix the horizon of the over- 

 lying and unconformable conglomerate at White Ness, I have been 

 induced to extend my investigations into such parts of Fifeshire and 

 Perthshire as I thought might throw light on this subject. I was 

 the more induced to this, as it was shown in Mr. Geikie's paper*, 

 of January 1860, that a break existed in the Old Eed Sandstone of 

 the South of Scotland ; and hence I suspected that, in all probability, 

 the unconformable conglomerate at White Ness might belong to the 

 upper members of the Old Red. In no instance have I yet found a 

 section sufficiently continuous, and showing the upper and lower 

 portions of our Old Red in connexion, to afford decisive proof that 

 in this supposition I was correct. There are still several localities 

 which I have not as yet visited, where a distinct section showing the 

 succession of these beds may be looked for ; but these are all situated 

 in the neighbouring county of Perth, and I hope to be able more 

 fully to describe the Old Red Sandstones of that county in a future 

 paper ; my present purpose being to confine myseK to a short notice 

 of these formations as seen in Fifeshire, appending a notice of the 

 organic remains found in them. 



The Strata. — The Old Red Sandstones of Fifeshire are cut into 

 two very distinct portions by the trap-rocks of the continuation of 

 the Ochill Range, which, stretching in a direction from nearly south- 

 west to north-east, skirt the Fifeshire banks of the Tay, and may 

 even be traced into Forfarshire, where they appear to have occasioned 

 the great anticline of that county. The sandstones found along the 

 south-east flanks of this range seem to me to belong entirely 

 to the upper members of the Old Red Sandstone ; they form a band, 

 of very considerable breadth, extending all through Fifeshire, sepa- 

 rating the Coal-formation of the south from the trap-rocks of the 

 Ochills, and may be described as consisting of three divisions : first, 

 alight-yellow, rather solid-bedded sandstone, immediately underlying 

 the Coal-formations ; second, a deep-red solid sandstone underlying 

 the first-mentioned ; and third, a pebbly conglomerate. See Map. 



The upper yellow sandstones may be well studied in Dura Den, 

 where they are exposed in considerable mass. This Den is interesting 

 not only for its picturesque beauty, but also on account of the well- 

 known fossil fishes found in its sandstones. These sandstones are 

 of a medium grain, soft and easily wrought when first lifted, but 

 hardening much on exposure to weather ; they rise in unequal and 

 rough flags, and are in very considerable quantity, extending to a 

 depth of several hundred feet. Occasional scales and other remains 

 of Fishes are found aU. through ; in only one layer, however, have 

 entire fishes yet been found ; but, when this is reached, they are 

 * Quart. Journ. Geol. See. vol. xvi. p. 312. 



