Yol. 57.] THE UPPER COAL-MEASURES OF THE MIDLANDS. 257 



the Newsfcead boring, and near Dresden, 600 yards to the east, and 

 at Hanford, 1| miles to the west, the Keele Series lies on the 

 normal thickness of Newcastle beds. The junction, however, has 

 been proved by actual trenching to be a fault, agreeing in direction 

 with one proved underground to the east. 



Another instance where the Keele Beds are represented ^ as being 

 unconformable to the underlying strata, is near Halmerend Station, 

 where the North Staffordshire branch-railway cuts through some 

 red sandstones dipping at a high angle to the west. These red 

 strata lithologically resemble Keele Sandstone, but it can be shown 

 that they lie in the productive measures. Their exact position, 

 however, is uncertain, owing to the confusion existing as to the 

 correlation and identification of the higher coal-seams of the pro- 

 ductive series in this district. But from information kindly placed 

 at my disposal by Mr. Rigby, the Apedale Coal & Iron Company, 

 and the Madeley & Leycett Coal Company, it is evident that these 

 red sandstones lie conformably on the ordinary Coal-Measures at the 

 horizon of either the New Mine Coal or the Great Row Coal : that is 

 to say, they are Middle Coal-Measure sandstones of a red colour. If 

 they rest on the New Mine Coal they lie IbOO feet below the base of 

 the Keele Series, and may be correlated with the similar sandstones 

 developed at or near this horizon in the Middle Coal-Measures to the 

 east. If they lie on the Great Row Coal, they are about 1700 feet 

 below the base of the Keele Seiies. 



The supposition that these red sandstones are of Keele age would 

 necessitate the existence of a great unconformity confined to this 

 locality ; for, 100 yards east of the railway-cutting,, the Etruria 

 Marls crop out and cover a considerable extent of ground on the 

 north, while on the south the Black-Band Series, Etruria Marls, 

 and Newcastle-under-Lyme Series are developed in normal sequence. 



The presence of Etruria Marls east and north of the railway- 

 cutting is due to a fault with a considerable westerly downthrow, 

 proved in the Minnie sinking near Halmerend Station, and in the 

 underground workings farther north. 



Relation of the Black-Band Series to the Productive 



Measures. 



The various subdivisions of the higher Coal-Measures having been 

 shown to be mutually conformable, the relation of the Black-Band 

 Series to the productive measures will now be investigated. 



As already mentioned (p. 253), the rich pelecypodan fauna of the 

 productive measures slowly dwindled away in the upper portion of 

 the series, as the conditions represented by the deposition of grey 

 sandstones, shales, clays, and numerous seams of coal changed to 

 those suitable for the laying down of the great thickness of red 

 sandstones, marls, and clays forming the higher Coal-Measures. 



1 Geol. Surr. Map, Sheet 73, N.E. 



