ABOUND THE ESTUARY OF THE DEE. 731 



each occasion have seen fresh faces exposed by the rapidly encroach- 

 ing sea, at intervals, along the whole cliff-line, which is about three 

 miles in length. In every instance the 



Line of Junction between the Lower and Upper Boulder-clays, 

 whether straight or undulating, was so well denned as to suggest 

 the idea that the surface of the lower clay had become either hard- 

 ened or denuded before the upper clay was deposited. This line, 

 in one place, appeared as represented in 



Fig. I. 



( 



Deposits at the Base of the Lower Clay. — At intervals in the lower 

 clay there were pockets and layers of small stones, and likewise of 

 sand. At the base, in several places, the clay graduated into, or 

 became interstratified with beds of bright reddish brown sandy loam 

 (without stones and with stones), which in one place exhibited a qua- 

 quaversal arrangement. I could see few or no shells in these loamy 

 beds ; and there was no appearance of an old sea-bed having been 

 worked up into the substance of the clay above. There were no 

 contortions, such as occur in the drifts all round the borders of the 

 Lake- district. A few feet above the level of the beach the clay 

 resumed its typical character. At Blackpool there are similar loamy 

 beds on the same horizon relatively to the lower clay (Quart. Journ. 

 Geol. Soc. vol. xxv. p. 412). 



Character of the Striated Erratic Stones. — On the day above men- 

 tioned I saw many kinds of erratic boulders and smaller stones I 

 had not previously noticed. Next to " greenstone," Criffell granite 

 was again found to predominate, but in greater variety, including 

 the grey kind with large, sharply denned crystals of felspar, and 

 the reddish-brown kind (resembling Shap granite). Granite of the 

 kinds now quarried in the neighbourhood of Creetown, Kircudbright- 

 shire, were represented, especially the white Fell granite. Most 

 of the stones, both small and large, were striated as follows : — 



1. Irregularly scratched all round (by land-ice before they were 

 transported ?). 



2. Irregularly scratched all round, with the addition of superin- 

 duced flattened surfaces and single or cross sets of parallel grooves. 



3. Merely flattened surfaces, with single or cross sets of parallel 

 grooves. 



The grooves run in all directions relatively to the longer axes of 

 the stones, including large boulders. They are so fresh-lcoking 

 and cleanly cut as to suggest the idea that the stones were not re- 

 transported or jostled about after the grooves were imprinted. The 

 uniformly flattened surface, and the character of the grooves, would 

 both seem to point to rapidity of movement in the glaciating agent. 



