﻿AV. 
  SHONE 
  ON 
  THE 
  DISCOVERY 
  OF 
  BOULDER-CLAY 
  FORAMINIFERA. 
  181 
  

  

  18. 
  Discovery 
  of 
  Foraminifera, 
  &c, 
  in 
  the 
  Botjxder-clays 
  of 
  

   Cheshire. 
  By 
  William 
  Shone, 
  Esq. 
  (Bead 
  March 
  11, 
  1874.) 
  

  

  [Communicated 
  by 
  D. 
  Mackintosh, 
  Esq., 
  F.G-.S.] 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Quarterly 
  Journal 
  of 
  the 
  Geological 
  Society 
  for 
  November 
  

   1872, 
  Mr. 
  D. 
  Mackintosh 
  described 
  the 
  Upper 
  and 
  Lower 
  Boulder- 
  

   clays 
  of 
  Cheshire, 
  and 
  he 
  also 
  appended 
  lists 
  of 
  the 
  Mollusca 
  found 
  

   therein. 
  

  

  I 
  cannot 
  add 
  any 
  thing 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Mackintosh's 
  description, 
  it 
  being 
  a 
  

   most 
  accurate, 
  full, 
  and 
  exact 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  lithological 
  and 
  strati- 
  

   graphical 
  characteristics 
  of 
  the 
  drift-clays 
  of 
  Cheshire. 
  For 
  some 
  

   time 
  I 
  had 
  been 
  searching 
  for 
  Foraminifera 
  in 
  these 
  clays 
  in 
  the 
  

   vicinity 
  of 
  Chester, 
  but 
  failed 
  to 
  find 
  them. 
  Last 
  September, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  my 
  friend 
  Mr. 
  «T. 
  B. 
  Manning 
  (Constable 
  of 
  Chester 
  Castle) 
  

   happened 
  to 
  find 
  in 
  the 
  Upper 
  Boulder- 
  clay 
  of 
  Newton-by-Chester 
  a 
  

   boulder 
  bored 
  by 
  Saxicava 
  rugosa, 
  in 
  the 
  cavities 
  of 
  which 
  fragments 
  

   of 
  the 
  shells 
  remained. 
  Wishing 
  to 
  possess 
  these 
  fragments, 
  he 
  

   proceeded 
  to 
  wash 
  them 
  out 
  ; 
  but 
  in 
  doing 
  so 
  he 
  observed 
  that 
  the 
  

   holes 
  were 
  not 
  filled 
  with 
  the 
  red 
  clay 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  boulder 
  was 
  

   found, 
  but 
  with 
  sand. 
  On 
  examining 
  this 
  sandy 
  debris 
  beneath 
  the 
  

   microscope, 
  we 
  found 
  that 
  it 
  contained 
  several 
  shells 
  of 
  Polystomella 
  

   crispa. 
  Mr. 
  Manning 
  thereupon 
  remarked, 
  " 
  if 
  we 
  are 
  to 
  succeed 
  in 
  

   finding 
  Foraminifera 
  in 
  the 
  Boulder-clay 
  we 
  must 
  look 
  for 
  stones 
  

   with 
  holes 
  in 
  them." 
  

  

  It 
  then 
  occurred 
  to 
  me 
  that 
  the 
  turbinated 
  shells 
  of 
  Turritella 
  

   terebra 
  would 
  offer 
  a 
  still 
  more 
  effective 
  shelter 
  to 
  the 
  Foraminifera. 
  

   I 
  happened 
  to 
  possess 
  a 
  considerable 
  number 
  of 
  these 
  shells, 
  gathered 
  

   from 
  a 
  newly 
  exposed 
  railway 
  cutting, 
  which 
  passed 
  through 
  Upper 
  

   Boulder-clay 
  at 
  Newton-by-Chester 
  ; 
  so 
  I 
  put 
  the 
  idea 
  at 
  once 
  into 
  

   practice 
  by 
  washing 
  out 
  the 
  substance 
  which 
  filled 
  the 
  inner 
  whorls 
  

   of 
  the 
  Turritellce. 
  After 
  pouring 
  off 
  the 
  fine 
  muddy 
  particles 
  there 
  

   remained 
  behind 
  a 
  sandy 
  residuum, 
  in 
  which 
  Foraminifera, 
  Ostra- 
  

   coda, 
  Sponge-spicules, 
  and 
  the 
  spines 
  of 
  Echini 
  were 
  abundantly 
  

   distributed. 
  The 
  Foraminifera 
  were 
  in 
  a 
  most 
  perfect 
  state 
  of 
  

   preservation 
  — 
  so 
  perfect, 
  indeed, 
  that 
  I 
  found 
  it 
  impossible 
  to 
  

   distinguish 
  the 
  fossil 
  forms 
  taken 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  Turritellce 
  of 
  the 
  Upper 
  

   Boulder-clay 
  from 
  the 
  recent 
  ones 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  species 
  which 
  I 
  had 
  

   gathered 
  along 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  estuary 
  of 
  the 
  Dee. 
  

  

  On 
  examining 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  Turritellce, 
  I 
  observed 
  that 
  some 
  were 
  

   entirely 
  filled 
  with 
  a 
  remarkably 
  fine 
  greyish 
  white 
  sand, 
  others 
  only 
  

   partly 
  filled 
  with 
  it, 
  though 
  invariably 
  that 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  shell 
  

   nearest 
  the 
  apex 
  ; 
  while 
  some 
  Turritellce 
  were 
  wholly 
  filled 
  with 
  the 
  

   red 
  clay 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  were 
  imbedded. 
  I 
  found 
  that 
  the 
  Fora- 
  

   minifera 
  &c. 
  occurred 
  in 
  those 
  shells 
  which 
  were 
  wholly 
  or 
  partly 
  

   filled 
  with 
  the 
  greyish-white 
  sand, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  TurriteUas 
  filled 
  

   with 
  the 
  red 
  clay 
  scarcely 
  contained 
  any 
  Foraminifera 
  &c. 
  

  

  The 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  Turritellce 
  filled 
  with 
  the 
  greyish-white 
  sand 
  

  

  