CAMBRIAN SHALES NEAR CAERNARVON. 139 



Mr. Hicks, in roply, said he could not agree with Prof. Ramsay 

 that there -was a break in the series at this point, either in the 

 south of Scotland, in Cumberland, in Shropshire, or in Wales. The 

 faunas and the sediments in each of these places show that very 

 similar conditions prevailed when the rocks were deposited. In 

 nearly all, the conformity between the beds also is most clearly shown. 

 These shales near Caernarvon, he thought, were undoubtedly dropped 

 down against the older beds by two or more faults, and were not 

 unconformable to the older rocks, as supposed by Prof. Ramsay. 

 There is no evidence to show that any changes took place over this 

 limited area at or before the time these beds were deposited which 

 could have produced such an effect. The sections are acknowledged 

 to be for the most part hidden by drift ; there is no actual uncon- 

 formity seen, and the whole is assumed on the strength of very 

 imperfect data. There are no alterations in the sediments such as 

 would indicate beach-conditions ; and many of the beds are greatly 

 metamorphosed, and their age in most cases doubtful. It seems, 

 therefore, far more reasonable to suppose that the ground here is 

 greatly faulted, and that, as in very many other areas, the absence 

 of a series at any one or more places is due to some accidental cause, 

 and not to an unconformitv. 



