366 J. F. BLAKE AND W. H. HTTDLESTON ON 



Section at the Cross-roads Quarry ; Peasy Hills. 



ft. in. 

 Coral J a. Soil. Brash, which is coralline, and contains spines of 



Eag. \ Cidaris florigemma 7 



N.B. The Coral Rag is best seen in the east corner of the 

 quarry. 



,-. 1n . fb. White oolite, not very fossiliferous 13 



Coralline/ r shelly oolites 1 9 



oolite. ^ c - I Compact fine-grained oolites 2 6 



31 6 



a. There is not much Coral Eag developed here, but quite enough 

 to prove its character. It may be traced along the surface the 

 whole of the way to the Highfield-road quarry, and thence into Old 

 Malton village. 



b. A clean white oolite, with very little paste. The ova are of 

 medium size, regular, distinct, and usually free from shell-fragments ; 

 not many shells are to be seen. These oolites have a fauna some- 

 what approaching that of the Rag ; and this may partly serve to 

 account for the very mixed character of the fossils which come from 

 the Malton district in an undoubtedly oolite matrix. Phasianella 

 striata is plentiful towards the bottom. In an adjoining quarry 

 this group has yielded some remarkable coniferous fruits : see de- 

 scription in the Appendix of a new species of Araucarites. 



c. These are the regular Chemnitzia-be&s of the Coralline oolite, 

 and, in this quarry at least, contain the bulk of the fossils. The 

 uppermost bed is a regular " rabbit-eye," i. e. a mass of Ohemnitzia 

 heddingtonensis in transverse section — along with other shells. The 

 principal shell-bed is thus at the top of the series, as seems fre- 

 quently to be the case throughout the oolitic formations. This 

 group is less oolitic than the overlying one ; and the sedimentary im- 

 purities appear to be rather greater. The fossils most obvious on 

 the weathered surfaces are Chemnitzia heddingtonensis, Nerinaza, 

 Astarte ovata, Lucina aliena, Phil., L. oculus, Bl. & H. ; the less fre- 

 quent are Amm. plicatilis, Cerithium muricatum, Phasianella striata, 

 Pecten lens, Lima Iceviuscula (type form), Cueuttcea (small sp.), Cy- 

 prina corallina, &c. 



The limestone beds below have been proved in the adjoining 

 quarry to a depth of several feet, making a total thickness of 38 feet 

 quarried for lime ; many shells and teeth have at different times 

 been obtained from these beds. There is a well in this lower quarry 

 in which about 8 feet more of beds has been proved; these are 

 stated to be "white and blue rock, all lime," making a total of 46 

 feet of limestone. This may bring us somewhere about the Middle- 

 Cave beds, or even the top beds of the Brows quarry; but no 

 inferences are of much value in such a district. 



It will be perceived from the above statements that within the 

 space of about 30 feet in the Cross-roads quarry we have three dif- 

 ferent classes of rock, with a marked change of character in each, 

 showing an alteration in the nature of the sediment, which not un- 

 likely means a cessation of deposit within the area, or even a partial 

 submarine denudation before each fresh set of beds was deposited. 



