102 MR. TV. WICKHAM KING ON THE PERMIAN [Feb. 1 899, 



which are fragments of hard sandstone, of qnartzite, and of vein- 

 quartz. In some districts many pyroclastic rocks occur, but in most 

 areas fragments of these are rare and very small. 



(vii) The age of many of the pebbles in the conglomerate-bands 

 can be determined satisfactorily by the fossils which they contain. 



(viii) Many of the pebbles, both fossiliferous and unfossiliferous, 

 belong to special lithological types still existing in place as rock- 

 masses in the Lower Severn basin. 



ly. General Features of the Upper Permian, 



Overlying this calcareous group is a series of breccias, sandstones, 

 and marls. The lowest of this series is the well-known trappoid 

 breccia, which has hitherto been included in the Middle Permian. 

 I find, however, that there are other bands of breccia, in the series^ 

 interstratified with marls and sandstones ; and theretore Ihave classed 

 this trappoid breccia, together with all the Permian rocks above its 

 base, in the Upper Permian of the Lower Severn basin. As these 

 Upper Permian breccias and associated marls and sandstones show 

 a marked horizontal decrease in coarseness, similar to and parallel 

 with that of the calcareous bands of the Enville Middle Permian, 

 they will also be discussed briefly in the present paper. 



V. Eelationship op the ITppER Permian to the Trias. 



The true Permian rocks are always surmounted unconformably 

 by strata of Punter age. In the South-east Shropshire region, the 

 basal bed of the Punter is the Eed Sandstone Series of the Lower 

 Bunter or the Lower Variegated Sandstones. In the South Staff'ord- 

 shire region the base is usually formed by the Middle or Bunter 

 Pebble-bed. 



YI. Stratioraphy of the Middle and Upper Permian. 

 (1) The South-easi Shropshire Region. (PI. XL) 



la. The Enville District. (Section & Table I, pp. 106-107.) 



This is unquestionably the typical district for the succession of 

 the Permian deposits of the Lower Severn basin. The Middle 

 and Upper Permian area itself is 4 miles long and 2| miles broad, 

 and is almost a parallelogram in shape. The Permian strata, 

 which dip to the east-north-east, crop out in parallel bands along its 

 greater length from south-south-east to north-north-west. The 

 oldest Middle Permian band forms its south-western boundary. 



The successive zones of the Middle and Upper Permian follow in 

 regular order, as the area is traversed from west-south-west to 

 east-north-east, and the highest visible zones are followed uncon- 

 formably along the north-eastern border of the parallelogram by the 

 basement-beds of the Lower Bunter. The north-western and south- 

 eastern boundaries of the area are fault-lines. 



