532 ME. l.C. CA.NTKILL Off SPIRORBIS-LIMESTOlirE, ETC., [Aug. 1895,' 



having at Sandwell been removed by denudation before the deposi- 

 tion of the red rocks with their Spirorbis-band. 



In 1875 the Hamstead Pit 1 was commenced still farther east, and 

 at a much higher horizon in the red rocks. The shaft passed 

 through 1353 feet of red, purple, and brown sandstones and marls, 

 the latter rich in plant-remains, before the ordinary grey Coal 

 Measures were reached. Within this red series, at a depth of 

 1024 feet, there occurred a Spirorbis-limestone band, 8 inches 

 thick, containing the characteristic fossil. But at the depth of only 

 558 feet there occurred a band, 1 foot thick, of limestone, in which 

 no Sjrirorbis was detected ; it was, however, regarded at the time 

 by several geologists as the representative of the band previously 

 met with at Sandwell. I have myself seen a specimen, and have 

 no doubt that it is a Spirorbis-\imestone band, although the par- 

 ticular part passed through by the shaft has so far yielded no 

 fossils. 



We have here, then, a series of 1353 feet of red rocks containing 

 two Spirorbis-lvmestones, and rich in plant-remains which have 

 been shown by Mr. Robert Kidston to be of Upper Coal Measure 

 species. The Hamstead shaft began very near the top of these red 

 rocks, and not far below the base of the Middle Bunter. The beds 

 above the horizon of the mouth of the shaft appear in all respects 

 similar to those in the shaft itself. There can be no doubt as to 

 the Upper Coal Measure age of the red beds passed through in the 

 shaft (down to 1353 feet), for the abundant fossils collected by 

 Messrs. Meachem and Insley, and identified by Mr. Robert Kidston, 2 

 have shown this, especially for the lower part of the red series. 

 The $piror&is-limestones occur, one in the upper and one in the 

 lower part of the same series. There is no reason, therefore, why 

 we should not extend the conclusion — as to the Upper Coal Measure 

 age of the whole series of red rocks passed through in the shaft — to 

 the hundred feet or so of beds between the top of the shaft and the 

 overlying Middle Bunter, and therefore to the whole of the ' Per- 

 mians ' of the West Bromwich district. 



(3) The Wordesley District. 



Crossing over now to the western side of the coalfield, we have a 

 narrow strip of ' Permian ' rocks stretching from Kingswinford to 

 Oldswinford. When describing this tract of ' pale red calcareous 

 sandstone and red marls ' Jukes speaks as follows 3 : — ' At Auden- 

 ham Bank a concretionary mass of compact pale grey limestone, 

 with a smooth conchoidal fracture, was exposed in the bank of the 



1 See F. G-. Meacheni & H. Insley, Brit. Assoc. Eep. (Birmingham) 188(3, 

 pp. 626, 627. 



2 Trans. Eoy. Soc. Edin. vol. xxxv. (1888) pp. 317-33 5. 



3 ' South Staffordshire Coalfield,' 2nd ed. p. 184. 



