1873.] JOTD THE SECONDARY ROCKS OF SCOTLAND. 163 



ft. in. 



Dark grey clay with Cyrena 1 



Hard white band, made up of shells, Cyrena, Perna, &c. (same species 



as at Brora) ._ 9 



Dark grey clay 2 6 



Band of argillaceous limestone 6 



G reenish grey sandy clay passing into green sandstone 3 



Light-coloured argillaceous limestone 1 



Light-grey indurated fire-clay 2 



Argillaceous limestone 9 



White sandstone about 20 



Light-blue sandy clay (faulted against the Lower Old Red Sandstone 



and Conglomerate). 



The question of the economic value of the coal-seams of Suther- 

 land need not be entered upon in this memoir. The former his- 

 tory of the mining operations in the district, a history, unfortu- 

 nately, like that of the workings in the similar rocks of the north- 

 east of Yorkshire, of almost continual disappointment and loss, has 

 been already sketched, by both Sir Roderick Murchison * and Hugh 

 Miller f. The possibility of the profitable working of these thin 

 coal-seams, under the existing somewhat adverse conditions, is a 

 question belonging solely to the mining engineer. I may state, 

 however, that the present noble proprietor of the estates has deter- 

 mined that a trial of the capabilities of the district, under the most 

 advantageous conditions possible, shall be made, so as finally to settle 

 a question of so much importance in connexion with his extensive 

 property in the Highlands. The old Brora mines are now being 

 pumped out, and will in a short time be again in working. The 

 reports which have been circulated of the discovery of new deposits 

 of coal in the district are altogether destitute of foundation. 



The last point at which we have to notice the existence of Lower 

 Oolite strata in the east of Scotland is at Stotfield, in Elginshire. 

 This highly interesting patch of fossiliferous rocks was brought 

 under my notice by Dr. Gordon, of Birnie, to whom it has long 

 been known. There is no reason whatever for doubting that the 

 strata yielding the fossils here are in situ ; and, as already pointed 

 out (page 128, fig. 12), they appear to be faulted against the 

 " Cherty rock of Stotfield " and the Reptiliferous Sandstone. 



The rocks here appear to consist of soft greenish white sandstones, 

 graduating into very hard quartzite-like rock, sometimes containing 

 carbonaceous markings. These rocks frequently weather on the 

 shore to a bright red colour. Only one bed, which can be traced 

 for some distance along the shore, yields fossils ; and these are almost 

 all in the condition of casts. In all respects these Lower Oolite 

 rocks in Elginshire agree very closely with their equivalents in 

 Sutherland, which I have already described. 



I am indebted to Mr. Grant, of Lossiemouth, who has spared no 

 pains in making as complete a series as possible of the rather ob- 

 scure but very highly interesting fossils of this rock at Stotfield, 



* Trans. Geol. Soc. 2nd ser. vol. ii. pt. 2 (1826), p. 324. 

 t Sketch-book of Popular Geology (1859), p. 253. 



M 2 



