286 J. F. BLAKE AND W. H. HTDLESTON ON 



tatus, spines of Cidar is (not florigemma), and small fragments of corals. 

 This, then, does not appear to be of the age of the true Coral Rag 

 characterized by the last-mentioned urchin, but is perhaps older ; 

 the underlying beds, however, agree in description with those of the 

 nearest point of possible comparison, Calne, in which No. 7 wo aid 

 well represent the oolite clay or marl, and No. 8 the Lower Calcare- 

 ous Grit, which thus appears in somewhat of its usual thickness and 

 importance. 



2. Steeple Ashton. 



The succession of the beds in this renowned locality has been in- 

 dicated by Lonsdale in the paper already referred to ; and he seems 

 to have had superior opportunities to those which are now available. 

 We were exceedingly anxious to ascertain the true stratigraphical 

 position of the celebrated coral-bearing beds, about which our infor- 

 mation was, after all, but scanty ; but so little opportunity does the 

 neighbourhood afford for their study that we cannot persuade our- 

 selves that we have arrived at our conclusions on thoroughly 

 satisfactory grounds. 



Lonsdale describes the Upper Calcareous Grit as occurring 

 here, and consisting of an upper 10 feet of sand and a lower 10 

 feet of ferruginous clay. Of this there is no present exposure ; 

 but the high ground round the village church is highly charged 

 with red oxide of iron ; and pits are said to have been dug here for 

 ore. 



The same author divides his "coral rag" into (a) freestone, 

 (/3) rubbly oolite, (y) irregular beds of Polyparia, and states that 

 the two latter occur near Steeple Ashton, placing the coral-beds 

 below the rubbly oolite. This would be contrary to our usual ex- 

 perience elsewhere ; and though the position of the beds must, un- 

 fortunately be settled entirely by surface indications, as there are 

 no illustrative sections, we think that these prove that the coral- 

 bearing beds lie above the rubbly oolite. 



The numerous corals that have been obtained from this locality 

 appear to have been all collected from the surface of the ploughed 

 fields, we might almost say field, so very local is the area where 

 they are found ; and we could not hear of any excavation having 

 been made in which they had been seen in situ. The field from 

 which they chiefly come is situated on the north side of a road that 

 turns off to the S.E. from the high road between Steeple Ashton 

 and Bratton ; and the area of their occurrence seems to be a narrow 

 band running E. and W. This field, whose every stone is still a 

 coral, though the best have long since been removed, slopes on one 

 side to the S.E. ; and at the bottom of the slope, which is rather 

 rapid, is an old pit now filled up, but with numerous fragments of 

 rubbly oolite about. The coral-bed is here in such a position that 

 to bring it below the oolite would require an amount of dip for 

 which we have no evidence at all, as the corals occupy the whole of 

 the higher surface of the field, where, indeed, they seem to be growing 

 above the oolites, as is usually the case. They are also coloured 



