18 D. C. DAVIES ON THE UPPER CARBONIFEROUS 



the equivalent of the Botherham Eed Hock. From its place below the 

 Magnesian Limestone, as well as from its general resemblance to 

 the rocks of group 2, it should, I think, be placed low down in the 

 Permian strata. As in some of the other sections, this group here 

 contains a thin bed of coal. Group 3 is taken from the sinking at 

 Annesley as described by Mr. Headley *. He states that, though 

 not sunk through at Annesley, the lowest stratum of this group is 

 a bed of conglomerate. A quantity of lignite, in the shape of 

 branches of trees, was found in one of the thin limestones. Group 

 4 consists of red sandstones, which are divided by thin and not con- 

 tinuous beds of red marl. 



Section 8 brings us again to the western side of the Pennine chain. 

 I am indebted for it to the kindness of Mr. J. Ward, F.G.S., of 

 Longton. In group 1 we have, as intheCanobie section, a consider- 

 able series of Coal-measures above the $p?rorfo's-limestone, with the 

 difference that, whereas in the Canobie section we have only plant- 

 remains distributed among the shales, here the vegetation has been 

 dense enough to form thin coal-seams. It will be observed that, 

 with these coal-seams, and its other strata, this part of the section 

 corresponds with the same group in the sections of Ardwick, Patri- 

 croft, Ifton, and Alberbury ; and the whole of these, together with 

 the Canobie section, correspond with the same group in the Nova- 

 Scotia section, no. 20. Groups 2 and 3, are described so minutely 

 that they explain themselves. I may say, however, with reference 

 to the bands of hard grey rock in the red marls of group 3, that 

 probably, had they been examined at the time they were sunk 

 through, they would have been found to be more or less calcareous. 

 They may be taken to represent the limestone bands of the sections 

 on either side. 



Section 9 is one well known ; it was referred to by Sir E. I. 

 Murchison f , by whom the limestones were correlated with the 

 calcareous breccia in the same group at Alberbury, section 12. It 

 has since been carefully worked by Mr. Binney, as the leader of the 

 Manchester geologists, as well as by others. Groups 2 and 3 are 

 taken from the sections of Mr. Dickenson J, P.G.S., H. M. Inspector 

 of Mines, and supplemented by the sections of the Geological Survey. 

 The limestones in group 3 are held by Mr. Binney to be the equi- 

 valent of the Magnesian Limestone of the north-eastern counties, 

 with which both they and those of the Patricroft section are con- 

 nected by a series of sections in the north-western counties. Many 

 of these, which were originally worked out by Mr. Binney, are 

 quoted by Mr. Hull § . Por the sake of comparison, and in order 

 to show their connexion with each other, as well as the variations 

 which take place in the same groups over a large area, I subjoin 

 the following examples : — 



* " The Sinking of Annersley Colliery," British-Association Report, 1866, 

 Nottingham meeting, p. 238. t Silurian System, p. 145. 



X Trans. Manchester Geol. Society, vol. iv. p. 155 et seq. 



§ The Geology of the Country around Wigan. The Geology of the Country 

 around Bolton. 



