﻿246 
  PKOCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SOCIETY. 
  [Mar. 
  23, 
  

  

  2nd 
  Grit. 
  The 
  Haslingden 
  or 
  Lower 
  flags 
  of 
  Lancashire. 
  Mostly 
  

   a 
  brown, 
  fine-grained, 
  flaggy 
  sandstone, 
  but 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  coarse 
  

   and 
  massive 
  in 
  the 
  upper 
  part. 
  

  

  Shales 
  with 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  thin 
  coals, 
  the 
  Brooks 
  bottom 
  coals 
  of 
  

   Lancashire, 
  come 
  next. 
  The 
  lowest 
  of 
  these, 
  which 
  often 
  rests 
  di- 
  

   rectly 
  on 
  the 
  grit 
  below, 
  is 
  found 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  over 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  

   the 
  district. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  worked, 
  among 
  other 
  places, 
  on 
  Sponds 
  

   Hill, 
  east 
  of 
  Pott 
  Shrigley 
  ; 
  under 
  Great 
  Low, 
  near 
  Bollington 
  ; 
  at 
  

   Tegg's 
  Nose, 
  near 
  Macclesfield 
  ; 
  Thatch 
  Marsh, 
  near 
  Buxton, 
  where 
  

   it 
  is 
  4 
  ft. 
  6 
  in. 
  thick 
  ; 
  Harper's 
  End, 
  north 
  of 
  Leek 
  ; 
  on 
  Congleton 
  

   Edge 
  ; 
  at 
  Bagnall, 
  five 
  miles 
  S.W. 
  of 
  Leek 
  ; 
  and 
  at 
  Foxt, 
  four 
  miles 
  

   N.N.E. 
  of 
  Cheadle. 
  

  

  3rd 
  Grit. 
  A 
  very 
  coarse 
  massive 
  grit 
  and 
  conglomerate, 
  mostly 
  

   red. 
  It 
  may 
  well 
  be 
  called 
  the 
  Escarpment-grit, 
  the 
  edges 
  formed 
  

   by 
  its 
  outcrop 
  being 
  the 
  finest 
  in 
  the 
  country, 
  and 
  often 
  running 
  for 
  

   miles 
  in 
  an 
  unbroken 
  wall 
  of 
  rock. 
  

  

  Shales, 
  with 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  very 
  thin 
  coals 
  in 
  Lancashire, 
  one 
  close 
  

   to 
  the 
  bottom, 
  separate 
  this 
  from 
  the 
  next 
  grit. 
  

  

  4th 
  Grit. 
  Main 
  Millstone 
  or 
  Kinder 
  Scout 
  Grit. 
  A 
  thick 
  mass 
  

   of 
  very 
  coarse 
  gritstone 
  and 
  conglomerate, 
  in 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  beds 
  

   separated 
  by 
  shale. 
  To 
  the 
  south 
  this 
  bed 
  falls 
  away 
  very 
  sud- 
  

   denly, 
  and 
  passes 
  into 
  two 
  sandstone-beds 
  with 
  a 
  thick 
  shale 
  be- 
  

   tween 
  ; 
  these 
  we 
  shall 
  speak 
  of 
  in 
  their 
  place 
  as 
  the 
  fourth 
  and 
  fifth 
  

   grits. 
  

  

  Our 
  classification 
  is 
  the 
  one 
  adopted 
  by 
  the 
  Geological 
  Survey, 
  and 
  

   is 
  similar 
  to 
  that 
  given 
  by 
  Professor 
  Phillips 
  in 
  his 
  ' 
  Geol. 
  of 
  York- 
  

   shire.' 
  Other 
  authors, 
  including 
  Earey 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Binney, 
  place 
  both 
  

   the 
  Rough 
  Bock 
  and 
  the 
  Elags 
  below 
  in 
  the 
  Lower 
  Coal-measures. 
  

   This 
  is, 
  however, 
  only 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  words. 
  The 
  main 
  features 
  of 
  the 
  

   Carboniferous 
  system 
  in 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  England 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  pre- 
  

   valence 
  of 
  coal 
  in 
  the 
  upper, 
  of 
  gritstone 
  in 
  the 
  middle, 
  and 
  of 
  lime- 
  

   stone 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  portion 
  ; 
  and 
  these 
  pass 
  step 
  by 
  step 
  one 
  into 
  the 
  

   other 
  ; 
  the 
  coals 
  get 
  fewer 
  and 
  thinner 
  downwards, 
  and 
  the 
  flag- 
  

   stones 
  of 
  the 
  Lower 
  Coal-measures 
  form 
  a 
  step 
  to 
  the 
  gritstones 
  

   below; 
  while 
  the 
  lime-cemented 
  sandstones 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  

   Yoredale 
  Rocks 
  and 
  the 
  thin 
  limestones 
  at 
  their 
  base 
  lead 
  us 
  on 
  to 
  

   the 
  thick 
  mass 
  of 
  the 
  Mountain-limestone. 
  Also 
  the 
  whole 
  series, 
  

   especially 
  the 
  two 
  lowest 
  members, 
  thins 
  away 
  to 
  the 
  south. 
  

  

  If 
  we 
  keep 
  these 
  main 
  facts 
  in 
  view, 
  it 
  matters 
  little 
  where 
  we 
  

   draw 
  the 
  lines 
  of 
  artificial, 
  though 
  useful, 
  division. 
  To 
  the 
  field- 
  

   geologist, 
  however, 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  great 
  help 
  to 
  take 
  the 
  Rough 
  Rock 
  for 
  the 
  

   upper 
  bed 
  of 
  the 
  Millstone 
  series 
  ; 
  by 
  its 
  coarseness 
  and 
  the 
  marked 
  

   feature 
  which 
  it 
  mostly 
  makes 
  in 
  the 
  landscape, 
  it 
  is 
  easily 
  traced, 
  

   and 
  it 
  makes 
  an 
  excellent 
  geological 
  horizon, 
  being, 
  with 
  one 
  excep- 
  

   tion, 
  present 
  over 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  district. 
  It 
  must 
  be 
  recollected, 
  

   too, 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  south 
  of 
  our 
  district 
  the 
  Rough 
  Rock 
  forms 
  one-half 
  

   of 
  the 
  Millstone-grit, 
  and 
  in 
  Leicestershire 
  is 
  probably 
  the 
  only 
  bed 
  

   present, 
  so 
  that 
  Mr. 
  Binney's 
  classification 
  would 
  sadly 
  impoverish 
  

   the 
  one 
  district, 
  and 
  deprive 
  the 
  other 
  of 
  the 
  Millstone-grit 
  alto- 
  

   gether. 
  

  

  