Vol.51.] IN THE ' PEEMIAN ' BOCKS OF WYEE F0BEST. 547 



It seems, then, that we have in these beds a gradual passage from 

 the Yellow Upper Coal Measures of the Wyre Forest Coalfield into 

 the Trias, with its absence of coal-seams and Spirorbis-limestones, 

 its paucity of plant-remains, its conglomerates and breccias, and its 

 universally prevailing red colour. 



I venture, therefore, to submit that the "Wyre Forest [=Enville] 

 ' Permians ' would be better described as Coal Measure Passage 

 Beds; that is, a series of beds exhibiting the gradual passage of 

 Coal Measure characters and conditions into those of the New Red 

 Sandstone, in this district represented by the Bunter and Keuper. 

 As we have seen, at Bridgenorth there is a great overstep of the 

 Lower Bunter across the ' Permian ' strata. It is, therefore, quite 

 possible that still higher beds come in between the Upper Sand- 

 stones and Marls of Claverley and Bobbington and the Lower 

 Bunter, in a north-easterly direction, which may prove to be more 

 allied to true Permian strata as developed in other districts — for 

 example, the North-east of England. 



Y. Conclusions. 



We have now passed in rapid review the evidence which has been 

 of late years accumulating in South Staffordshire as to the very 

 close relationships which exist between the beds usually described 

 as ' Lower Permian of Salopian type' and the Upper Coal Measures. 



The evidence of the fossil flora and the Sjnrorbis-limestones and 

 coal-seams in South Staffordshire, together with that of the 

 /SpirorfoVlimestone and coals in the Wyre Forest district, leads us 

 to regard the associated red rocks as Upper Coal Measures, 

 exhibiting a gradual passing away of Coal-Measure characters and 

 conditions and a gradual oncoming of those of the New Red 

 Sandstone (=true Permian and Trias); while in the absence of any 

 palaeontological evidence of the presence of a Permian fauna and 

 flora these Passage Beds must be regarded as much nearer the Coal- 

 Measure than the Permian or Triassic end of the transitional 

 period. 



How far these conclusions, if they appear reasonable from the 

 evidence afforded in the two districts specially considered, may 

 be applicable to the other areas of Salopian ' Permian ' rocks, 

 may at present be left an open question. But it should be pointed 

 out that, so far as our present knowledge goes, the ' Permians ' of 

 Anglesey, Denbighshire, Lebotwood, Shrewsbury, Coalbrookdale, 

 "Wyre Forest [=Enville], South Staffordshire, Warwickshire, 

 Leicestershire, and North Staffordshire are all essentially similar ; 

 and there are now very good a priori reasons for expecting that — 

 when all these areas shall have been explored by mining and other 

 operations even to so small an extent as is the case in South Stafford- 

 shire — additional evidence of a similar nature will be forthcoming 

 from these districts also. 



Of course, it is quite possible that further investigations in these 

 Q. J. G. S. No. 203. 2 q 



