﻿28 
  ME. 
  H. 
  T. 
  BB0WX 
  OX 
  IBS 
  HHHPOt 
  

  

  these 
  breccias 
  owe 
  their 
  present 
  position 
  to 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  water 
  * 
  only 
  

   (and 
  we 
  have 
  no 
  evidence 
  whatsoever 
  that 
  ice 
  played 
  any 
  part 
  in 
  

   their 
  deposition) 
  we 
  are 
  precluded 
  from 
  looking 
  far 
  afield 
  for 
  their 
  

   point 
  of 
  origin, 
  since 
  the 
  angularity 
  of 
  their 
  component 
  fragments 
  

   is 
  too 
  great 
  to 
  he 
  consistent 
  with 
  a 
  transportation 
  by 
  streams 
  for 
  

   more 
  than 
  a 
  very 
  few 
  miles. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  already 
  drawn 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  whilst, 
  in 
  the 
  

   northern 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Coal-field, 
  the 
  breccias 
  have 
  a 
  tendency 
  to 
  

   die 
  ont 
  and 
  to 
  be 
  replaced 
  by 
  marls, 
  there 
  is. 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  a 
  

   tendency 
  towards 
  greater 
  angularity 
  in 
  the 
  fragments 
  as 
  the 
  beds 
  are 
  

   traced 
  southward. 
  These 
  facts 
  alone 
  would 
  lead 
  us 
  to 
  search 
  for 
  the 
  

   natural 
  quarries 
  of 
  the 
  breccias 
  in 
  a 
  southerly 
  direction, 
  and 
  we 
  are 
  

   thus 
  led, 
  both 
  on 
  stratigraphical 
  and 
  penological 
  grounds, 
  to 
  look 
  to 
  

   the 
  Upper 
  Cambrians 
  of 
  the 
  Nuneaton 
  and 
  Lickey 
  districts, 
  with 
  their 
  

   underlying 
  volcanic 
  (Caldeeote 
  secies, 
  as 
  a 
  probable 
  source 
  from 
  

   which 
  our 
  Permians 
  have 
  been 
  mainly 
  derived. 
  

  

  On 
  examining 
  the 
  rocks 
  of 
  the 
  Xuneaton 
  district 
  I 
  find 
  that 
  the 
  

   felspathic 
  grits, 
  which 
  are 
  so 
  predominant 
  in 
  the 
  Permian 
  breccias, 
  

   can, 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  part, 
  be 
  identified 
  with 
  the 
  Hartshill 
  quartzite 
  

   series. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  softer 
  and 
  more 
  shaly 
  beds 
  of 
  the 
  Hartshill 
  

   rock, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  grits 
  at 
  its 
  base, 
  are 
  also 
  exactly 
  represented 
  in 
  

   the 
  Permian 
  breccias, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  more 
  perfect 
  

   gradation 
  from 
  quartzites 
  into 
  fine-grained 
  argillaceous 
  felspathic 
  

   grits 
  than 
  is 
  observable 
  in 
  the 
  Xuneaton 
  rocks. 
  These 
  argillaceous 
  

   fragments 
  of 
  the 
  breccias 
  have, 
  however, 
  a 
  close 
  resemblance 
  to 
  some 
  

   of 
  the 
  gritty 
  shales 
  of 
  the 
  Dosthill 
  exposure 
  of 
  the 
  Stockingford 
  

   Shales 
  on 
  the 
  western 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Xorth 
  Warwickshire 
  Coal-field. 
  

  

  Some 
  of 
  the 
  grits 
  of 
  the 
  Permian 
  breccias 
  are 
  parallelled 
  very 
  closely, 
  

   as 
  pointed 
  out 
  to 
  mc 
  by 
  Professor 
  Lapworth, 
  by 
  the 
  felspathic 
  grits 
  

   into 
  which 
  the 
  Lickey 
  quartzite 
  passes 
  downwards 
  at 
  the 
  south- 
  

   w 
  eetern 
  exttemity 
  of 
  the 
  Lower 
  Lickey 
  Range. 
  

  

  The 
  Caldeeote 
  Series 
  is 
  represented 
  in 
  the 
  breccias 
  by 
  fragments 
  

   of 
  volcanic 
  ash, 
  and, 
  as 
  we 
  have 
  seen, 
  we 
  are 
  not 
  without 
  repre- 
  

   sentatives 
  of 
  the 
  dioriies 
  which 
  occur 
  in 
  intrusive 
  sheets 
  in 
  the 
  

   Stockingford 
  Shales. 
  Of 
  the 
  softer 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  Stockingford 
  

   Shales 
  we 
  have, 
  as 
  might 
  be 
  expected, 
  no 
  recognizable 
  trace 
  ; 
  but 
  

   this 
  is 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  wondered 
  at 
  when 
  we 
  consider 
  the 
  ready 
  way 
  in 
  

   which 
  these 
  shales 
  disintegrate 
  under 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  the 
  weather 
  f\ 
  

  

  Although 
  there 
  can 
  be 
  little 
  doubt 
  about 
  the 
  series 
  of 
  rocks 
  from 
  

   which 
  the 
  Permian 
  breccias 
  of 
  the 
  Leicestershire 
  Coal-field 
  have 
  

   been 
  derived, 
  there 
  are 
  several 
  reasons 
  for 
  believing 
  that 
  the 
  actual 
  

   source 
  of 
  the 
  fragments 
  was 
  not 
  the 
  existing 
  outcrop 
  in 
  the 
  Xun- 
  

  

  * 
  Sir 
  A. 
  Ramsay 
  believes 
  that 
  ice 
  has 
  played 
  an 
  important 
  part 
  in 
  the 
  accu- 
  

   mulation 
  of 
  those 
  massive 
  beds 
  of 
  breccia 
  -which 
  form 
  such 
  a 
  striking 
  feature 
  

   in 
  the 
  Permians 
  further 
  south, 
  and 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  beds 
  we 
  are 
  considering 
  are 
  

   but 
  meagre 
  northern 
  representatives. 
  I: 
  has, 
  however, 
  been 
  strongly 
  maintained 
  

   by 
  Prof. 
  Bonney 
  that 
  the 
  so-called 
  glacial 
  stria 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  upon 
  a 
  

   few 
  of 
  the 
  fragments 
  are 
  attributable 
  to 
  earth-movements, 
  and 
  have 
  not 
  the 
  

   characteristics 
  of 
  true 
  glacial 
  markings. 
  

  

  t 
  It 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  variegated 
  marls 
  of 
  the 
  Permian 
  have 
  been 
  derived 
  

   in 
  part, 
  at 
  any 
  rate, 
  from 
  the 
  washing 
  down 
  of 
  the 
  Stockingford 
  Shales. 
  

  

  