Tol. 69.] THE HALESOWEN SANDSTONE SEKIES. 433 



-20. On the Halesowen Sandstone Series of the South Stafford- 

 shire Coalfield, and the Petrified Wood found therein at the 

 Witley Colliery, Halesowen (Worcestershire). By Henry 

 Kay, E.G.S. With an Appendix on Dadoxvlox kayi, sp. 

 nov., by E. A. Newell Arber, M.A., Sc.D., F.G.S. (Head 

 April 23rd, 1913.) 



[Plates XLIII & XLIV.] 



Contents. 



Page 



I. Introduction 433 



II. Historical Notes 434 



III. The Red Coal-Measure Clays or Old-Hill Marls ... 436 



IV. The Halesowen Sandstone Series 437 



V. The Disposition of the Beds 447 



VI. Unconformities 449 



VII. The Petrified Wood at Witley 453 



VIII. Appendix on Dadoxylon Icayi 454 



I. Introduction. 



"The present paper deals with part of the higher beds of the Coal 

 Measures, as developed in the South Staffordshire Coalfield. The 

 generally accepted subdivision of the Upper Carboniferous rocks 

 in this coalfield is : — 



(4) Keele Series = Lower Permian. 



(3) Halesowen Sandstone Series. 



(2) Eed Coal-Measure Clays or Old-Hill Marls. 



(1) Productive Measures. 



The object of the present communication is to describe in greater 

 detail than has yet been attempted the Halesowen Sandstone Series, 

 and more especially its relationship to the Keele Series above, 

 and the Red Coal-Measure Clays below. Special attention to the 

 Halesowen rocks has been stimulated by the fine natural exposures 

 north of the Clent Hills, by the discovery of unrecorded exposures 

 elsewhere (as shown in the sequel), and by the further discovery 

 of the remarkable petrified wood found at Witley. 



The paper is not an exhaustive account of the strata described, 

 but merely an attempt to throw light upon a hitherto neglected 

 subject. 



1 am indebted to Prof. Charles Lapworfh for much encourage- 

 ment in my work, and to Dr. Walcot Gibson for valuable sug- 

 gestions. I am particularly indebted to Dr. E. A. Newell Arber 

 for his scientific description of the petrified wood, and for the 

 ^assistance that he has given in regard to the arrangement of the 



