NEW RED SANDSTONE IN SHROPSHIRE. 



37 



there exists a subcalcareous course in Shropshire, which appears to occupy the place 

 of that formation. This course is exposed on the northern slopes of the Hawkstone 

 and Clive Hills, particularly at Broughton, seven miles north of Shrewsbury, where its 

 geological position is well denned ; for it has previously been shown, that there, the 

 Saliferous Marls or Keuper passing beneath the Lias, rise up to the south-south-east, 

 and overlie the massive sandstones of the Hawkstone Hills. The calcareous band at 

 Broughton dips under the saliferous marls, and distinctly rests upon the solid sandstones 

 of Clive, Grinshill, and Hawkstone ; and hence it seems to occupy precisely the position, 

 which would be naturally assigned to the German Muschelkalk. (The position is ex- 

 plained in this wood-cut.) 



N ' N - W - S.S.E. 7. 



Bilmarsh. Broughton. Clive. Grinshill. 



a. Saliferous Marls and Sandstone. b. Calcareous flags = Muschelkalk. 



c. New Red Sandstone = Bunter Sandstein. c*. White Sandstone of Grinshill included in the Red Sandstone. 



The beds at Broughton are so calcareous, that they have recently been tried for 

 lime-burning, but they proved too earthy and sandy for that purpose. They are so 

 thin bedded as almost to constitute a flagstone, a structure never discernible in the 

 upper or central members of the New Red System, though it will hereafter appear, that 

 this structure occurs in some beds of the Lower New Red Sandstone, and is common to 

 many strata of the Old Red System. The upper beds at Broughton are red, marly, 

 sandstone flags, passing down into hard, grey, fine-grained, calcareous grit, with rough 

 uneven surfaces, breaking into flags three or four feet square, and used as wall-stones. 

 On exposure, these flags weather to a dirty yellowish colour, and they then very much 

 resemble certain sandy and rubbly beds of the Muschelkalk. At the depth of a few 

 feet they are underlaid by beds of yellowish sandstone, containing hard, round, concre- 

 tions of calcareous spar, and of sub -crystalline sandy limestone. In some instances, the 

 lime is so much disseminated through the mass, as to give to the fresh fractured surface 

 of the stone a " chatoyant " lustre, and this appearance doubtless led to the construction 

 of limekilns at this spot, for the rock in question is entitled to the name of bastard 

 limestone. This rock also contains nests of calcareous spar, crystals of grey carbonate 

 of copper, and sulphuret of iron, with occasionally small grains of black oxide of man- 

 ganese diffused. 



Fully aware of the importance attached to the geological position of these calcareous 

 courses, I have twice visited the Broughton quarries, in the hope of detecting some 

 organic remains peculiar to the Muschelkalk, but without success. Still, however, I am 

 of opinion, that, from their stratigraphical position, these calcareous beds of Broughton 

 may prove to be the representatives of the Muschelkalk; and I trust that the day is not 



