658 C. CALLAWAY ON A NEW AREA OF UPPER 



in the following order, commencing on the south-west : — Harnage 

 Shales, Coal-measures, Quartzite, Hollybush Sandstone, and Mill- 

 stone Grit. Mr. Croft and myself have detected the Shineton Shales 

 within the disturbed area of the Harnage Shales. In a section of 

 about 100 yards, on Cound Brook, just above Cound-Moor Quarry, 

 we have the following perplexing succession : — 



(1). Shineton Shales, dip easterly at 55°. 



(2). Harnage Shales, dip N.N.W. at 55°. 



(3). Conglomerate, dip unknown. 



(4). Shineton Shales, dip unknown. 



The beds are so dislocated in this area that I can make out no 

 definite relations between the Shineton Shales and the newer rocks ; 

 and I have not attempted to map these fragments of the older 

 series. 



4. Dip and Strike. — The general strike of the shales is about 

 south-west, agreeing with the direction of the great fault and of 

 the so-called igneous elevations of the district ; but towards the 

 south-west end of the area it bends round to the west, correspond- 

 ing with the strike of the overlying Caradoc. The mean dip of the 

 greater part of the shales is about 30° to the south-east ; but in the 

 lower part of the series, where they approach the fault, it becomes 

 higher, then vertical, then dips steeply to the north-west, the 

 evidence pointing towards the existence of an anticlinal. To the 

 south-west, where the beds incline to the south below the Caradoc, 

 the dips are below 30°, averaging 15° to 20°. A few examples will 

 illustrate my statements. At Bull-Hill Cottage, near Evenwood, 

 where an upper branch of Cound Brook cuts through the escarp- 

 ment of the Hoar-Edge Grits, the grits dipping at 25° rest upon 

 the shales inclined at about the same angle. One mile to the east, 

 above Harnage Grange*, Caradoc at 15° is underlain by shale at 

 12°. One mile to the east of the last locality, where May-Hill 

 Sandstone lies on the Shineton Shale, both dip at an angle of not 

 more than 6°. Two miles to the north-east, at Shineton, the shales 

 dip at 45° and the May Hill at 10°. Most of these dips and 

 strikes were first taken by the Rev. C. Croft, to whom I am 

 indebted for many valuable suggestions and much effectual assist- 

 ance, and on whose judgment I can entirely rely ; but in the great 

 majority of cases I have confirmed his results by my own observa- 

 tions. A few dips in different parts of the area are discordant with 

 the general strikes, but they are probably due to slight local dis- 

 turbances. I estimate the thickness of the Shineton Shales at not 

 less than 1500 feet. 



5. Stratigraphical Position. — The Shineton Shales underlie the 

 May-Hill Sandstone unconformably ; they are therefore older than 

 that formation by an interval. They underlie the Caradoc, and are, 

 of course, of greater antiquity. There is no formation which they 

 clearly overlie ; they may therefore be of any age anterior to the 

 Caradoc. I shall endeavour to show that they are of Tremadoc age. 



* This locality must not be confounded with the village of Harnage, one 

 mile and a half to the north. 



