﻿20 
  ME. 
  H. 
  T. 
  BEOWN 
  ON 
  THE 
  PEEMIAN 
  

  

  age; 
  but 
  this 
  staining 
  can 
  readily 
  be 
  accounted 
  for 
  by 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  they 
  must 
  have 
  originally 
  been 
  directly 
  overlain 
  by 
  true 
  

   Permian 
  breccias 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  iron-staining 
  has 
  been 
  derived 
  by 
  

   weathering 
  and 
  percolation 
  of 
  water 
  *. 
  

  

  The 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  Boothorpe 
  and 
  Moira 
  Grits 
  makes 
  it 
  almost 
  

   certain 
  that 
  they 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  highest 
  known 
  Coal-measures 
  of 
  

   the 
  Ashby 
  Coal-field, 
  but 
  nevertheless 
  I 
  am 
  not 
  disposed 
  to 
  regard 
  

   them 
  as 
  Upper 
  Coal-measures. 
  We 
  have, 
  as 
  we 
  shall 
  see 
  later 
  on, 
  

   the 
  strongest 
  possible 
  evidence 
  that 
  the 
  Coal-measures 
  of 
  the 
  Leicester- 
  

   shire 
  and 
  North 
  Warwickshire 
  districts 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  area 
  of 
  

   deposition, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  true 
  Upper 
  Coal-measures 
  of 
  Warwickshire, 
  

   with 
  their 
  associated 
  Spirorbis 
  Limestone, 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  traced 
  over 
  

   an 
  area 
  of 
  about 
  10,000 
  square 
  miles, 
  must 
  at 
  one 
  time 
  have 
  spread 
  

   completely 
  over 
  the 
  Leicestershire 
  Coal-field. 
  All 
  traces 
  of 
  these 
  

   beds 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  denuded 
  in 
  the 
  Leicestershire 
  district 
  prior 
  to 
  the 
  

   deposition 
  of 
  the 
  Permian, 
  leaving 
  as 
  the 
  highest 
  surviving 
  repre- 
  

   sentatives 
  the 
  Boothorpe 
  and 
  Moira 
  Grits, 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  found 
  to 
  

   resemble 
  very 
  closely 
  certain 
  grits 
  of 
  the 
  North 
  Warwickshire 
  area, 
  

   occurring 
  above 
  the 
  " 
  four-foot 
  coal 
  " 
  at 
  Polesworth. 
  

  

  Windmill 
  Spinney. 
  — 
  There 
  only 
  now 
  remains 
  for 
  consideration 
  a 
  

   small 
  patch 
  of 
  so-called 
  Upper 
  Coal-measures, 
  which 
  is 
  coloured 
  red 
  

   on 
  the 
  Survey 
  map, 
  and 
  covers 
  a 
  small 
  area 
  occupied 
  by 
  the 
  rising 
  

   ground 
  of 
  Windmill 
  Spinney, 
  about 
  -J 
  mile 
  north-west 
  of 
  Newhall 
  

   church. 
  From 
  the 
  occurrence 
  of 
  certain 
  fragments 
  of 
  coarse 
  grit, 
  

   resembling 
  Millstone 
  Grit, 
  on 
  the 
  summit 
  of 
  this 
  hill, 
  it 
  was 
  con- 
  

   sidered 
  by 
  the 
  geologists 
  of 
  the 
  Survey 
  (Survey 
  Memoir, 
  p. 
  56) 
  to 
  

   be 
  an 
  outlier 
  of 
  sandstone 
  resting 
  horizontally, 
  and 
  hence 
  uncon- 
  

   formably, 
  upon 
  the 
  inclined 
  Coal-measures 
  below. 
  These 
  sandstones 
  

   were 
  regarded 
  as 
  being 
  identical 
  with 
  the 
  Moira 
  and 
  Boothorpe 
  

   Grits 
  described 
  above. 
  A 
  careful 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  spot 
  has 
  failed 
  

   to 
  confirm 
  these 
  conclusions 
  ; 
  for 
  whilst 
  the 
  boring-rod 
  proved 
  the 
  

   summit 
  of 
  the 
  ridge 
  to 
  consist 
  of 
  the 
  ordinary 
  sandy 
  clays 
  and 
  

   shales 
  of 
  the 
  Middle 
  Coal-measures, 
  further 
  evidence 
  of 
  a 
  like 
  

   character 
  has 
  been 
  recently 
  afforded 
  b]^ 
  a 
  heading 
  driven 
  into 
  the 
  

   side 
  of 
  the 
  hill. 
  It 
  is 
  perfectly 
  true 
  that 
  fragments 
  of 
  coarse 
  grit 
  

   are 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  on 
  the 
  hill 
  ; 
  but 
  these, 
  I 
  have 
  ascertained, 
  are 
  in 
  no 
  

   way 
  an 
  index 
  of 
  the 
  underlying 
  rock, 
  but 
  are 
  merely 
  the 
  fragments 
  

   of 
  the 
  millstones 
  from 
  a 
  long- 
  dismantled 
  windmill 
  which 
  once 
  crowned 
  

   the 
  summit 
  of 
  the 
  ridge. 
  I 
  have 
  called 
  attention 
  to 
  this 
  erroneous 
  

   observation 
  more 
  fully 
  than 
  I 
  should 
  otherwise 
  have 
  done, 
  since 
  I 
  

   believe 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  principal 
  cause 
  of 
  the 
  equally 
  erroneous 
  view 
  

   that 
  the 
  Moira 
  and 
  Boothorpe 
  Grits 
  are 
  unconformable 
  to 
  the 
  main 
  

   mass 
  of 
  the 
  Coal-measures 
  ; 
  for 
  if 
  these 
  grits 
  had 
  really 
  occurred 
  

   on 
  Windmill 
  Spinney 
  Hill, 
  as 
  stated, 
  their 
  unconformity 
  would 
  have 
  

   been 
  beyond 
  all 
  doubt, 
  as 
  in 
  this 
  spot 
  they 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  almost 
  

  

  * 
  Professor 
  Lebour 
  (Geolog. 
  Assoc, 
  Proc. 
  ix. 
  p. 
  569) 
  mentions 
  the 
  staining 
  

   of 
  the 
  Coal-measures 
  of 
  some 
  parts 
  of 
  Northumberland 
  by 
  the 
  overlying 
  Per- 
  

   mians 
  having 
  led 
  to 
  the 
  erroneous 
  belief 
  at 
  one 
  time 
  that 
  the 
  former 
  represented 
  

   the 
  Rothtodtliegende. 
  

  

  