Nov 9, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



487 



age. The President remarked that the observer of 

 scenery could not fail to be interested in the question 

 of the origin of our hills. For the history of their forma- 

 tion they must look to those physical operations slowly, 

 but surely, changing the form of the earth's surface. 

 The older theories of violent upheavals could now no 

 longer be admitted. The history of the opinions held 

 regarding denudation was then traced from the early 

 " cataclysmal school " to LyelPs marine theory, and the 

 more modern views of the sub-aerial geologists (really 

 the result of Hutton's teaching in 1795, tne application 

 of which has long lain dormant), who had shown that the 

 ordinary operations of rain, rivers, and ice — slow in pro- 

 gress, but constant in action — were sufficient to account 

 for the formation of hills and valleys, without having 

 recourse, on the one hand, to violent disturbance of the 

 strata, or, on the other hand, to exclusively marine 

 action. The theory of escarpments and of longitudinal 

 and transverse valleys was then touched upon, and local 

 instances cited in illustration. A line of escarpment 

 extends from Overton Hill, above Frodsham, to Helsby 

 Crag. The steep sides face the north-west, the gentle 

 slopes of the hills being in the direction of the " dip " 

 of the rocks. A miniature instance of a " transverse 

 gorge " is also seen here. The scarped faces of the 

 Peckforton Hills, so prominent a feature in the 

 scenery of the district, were shown to be due to ordi- 

 nary sub-aerial operations, aided by faults which have 

 brought down the hard keuper basement beds, leaving 

 the softer beds of the upper bunter exposed to denuding 

 influences. The softer rock being more rapidly worn 

 away, the hard keuper rock falls down. This process 

 can be seen in action. In many places on the hills the 

 uppermost keuper beds overhang the bunter rocks, of 

 which the slopes of the range are composed. The 

 important influence of faults in modifying the shape of 

 the ground was explained, but the speaker opposed the 

 theory that valleys always coincided in direction with 

 faults and fissures in the crust of the earth. Referring 

 to the marine theory of denudation, which some writers 

 had brought forward to explain the origin of these 

 escarpments, it was pointed out that the hills of Peck- 

 forton present all the features of escarpments due to sub- 

 aerial denudation ; and when that was known to be 

 sufficient to produce the effects which we now see there 

 was no necessity to bring to our aid supposed prevalent 

 winds or extraordinary powers of marine breakers. In 

 considering the origin of surface features, it should be 

 remembered that the existing configuration cannot have 

 been of long duration, geologically speaking. The pre- 

 sent surface is connected with former systems of hills 

 and valleys, which (if only they could be reconstructed) 

 would help us to understand how the existing outlines 

 attained their shape. Since the deposition and upheaval 

 of the triassic rocks, immense masses have been removed 

 from the surface, the shape of which must have con- 

 stantly been altered, so that the original lines have been 

 lost for ever. Some geologists are apt to forget this, and 

 they construct maps to show the positions of land and sea 

 during various periods of the earth's history upon evi- 

 dence which is insufficient to entitle them to pronounce 

 so positively on what is a purely speculative matter. 

 The hills of Wirral were then described, including 

 Storeton Hill (famous for its labyrinthodent footprints), 

 Bidston Hill, Flaybrick Hill, and on the other side of the 

 peninsula Thurstaston Hill, where there is another 

 instance of an escarpment the formation of which can 



be seen in progress. Near the top of the hill a well- 

 defined band of hard quartzose rock is seen. Under- 

 lying this is a bed of soft sandstone, which is rapidly 

 worn away, and in course of time a further scarped face 

 will be apparent, resembling those of Delamere and 

 Peckforton. Thurstaston Hill is intersected by numerous 

 faults, to which may, in all probability, be attributed the 

 isolation of that rectangular block of sandstone to which 

 archaeologists have given the name of " Thor's Stone." 

 In was pointed out, in conclusion, that the district around 

 Liverpool was not so devoid of geological interest as 

 many supposed. In geology there was still much to be 

 learnt, and there were many difficulties yet to be ex- 

 plained. It was only by the patient observation of ever- 

 acting nature that they could hope to decipher the past 

 physical history of the earth ; and when they reflected 

 upon what the energy and labour of their local workers 

 had already accomplished they might rest undisturbed 

 by conflicting theories, and look forward with increased 

 confidence to the discoveries of the future. 



LIVERPOOL GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 

 The annual meeting of this Society was held on the 9 th 

 October, in the small lecture-hall at the Royal Institu- 

 tion, the presidents, Mr. H. C. Beasley, in the chair. 

 After the transaction of preliminary business, the usual 

 balloting for the Council took place. The President (Mr. 

 Beasley) and ex-President (Mr. G. H. Morton, F.G.S.) do 

 not retire this year. The remaining officers elected for 

 the ensuing session were — Vice-President, Mr. F. P. 

 Marrat ; Hon. Treasurer, Mr. E. M. Hance, LL.B. ; Hon. 

 Secretary, Mr. W. Hewitt, BSc, and members of the 

 Council, Messrs. J. J. Fitzpatrick, C. Ricketts, F.G.S. , 

 T. Mellard Reade, F.G.S., O. W. Jeffs, and the Rev. S. 

 Gasking, B.A. 



The President, in his annual address, dealt in a very 

 graphic and interesting manner with the geology of the 

 district around Liverpool. After congratulating the 

 Society on the work of the last twelve months, he pro- 

 ceeded to show that a large number of unsolved questions 

 relating to our local geology awaited the attention of 

 members of the Society. There was, he said, no ground 

 for the statement so often expressed in the past that the 

 neighbourhood of Liverpool afforded few features of in- 

 terest to those whose aim it is to investigate the strata 

 upon which we live. On the contrary, Liverpool formed 

 an admirable centre for geological. field work, and was 

 especially rich in facilities for the study of the glacial 

 and post-glacial beds and the phenomena connected with 

 them. In the triassic strata of Lancashire and Cheshire, 

 again, there were abundant opportunities for studying a 

 series of formations about which a great deal has been 

 written, but which presented many points of interest 

 still comparatively unworked. Referring to the paucity 

 of remains of animal or plant life in the triassic rocks, 

 the President counselled further and more minute 

 investigation of the keuper strata, with a view to the 

 discovery of the fossilised remains of the bones of those 

 Saurians and other animals whose footprints are found 

 recorded in the rocks at Storston and many other places 

 in the district. So far no remains of the animals them- 

 selves had been found in local strata nearer than 

 the keuper sandstone of Shropshire. With regard 

 to the bunter rocks, there was little hope of any such re- 

 mains being found. A question which had been agitat- 

 ing physical geologists for some time was that of the 



