PROCEEDINGS OF GEOLOGICAL SOCIETIES. 



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from the neighbouring quarries on the hill now appeared alongside the road ; 

 these were quite a treat to look into, but sadly tantalizing withal. We 

 anxiously peered at the semi-enshrined fossils, and reluctantly left them, our 

 small trimming hammers were unequal to the fray, which required a tool with 

 at least a three or four pound head, to shiver such refractory stuff as tough 

 marlstone rock. A pleasant sight was it to see busy teams and men in every field 

 " carrying the wheat," some of these swarthy sons of the soil we descried under 

 a hedge reposing ; they were discussing, in an interval of labour, their cider 

 and bread and cheese. Accosting them, we inquired the way to Beckford Inn. 

 " Three mile," said one, a stalwart reaper ; " will'ee lend us your hammer ?" — 

 " What to do," rejoined we, " to cut our bahyt (i. e. bait or food) wi'," said 

 the fellow, good humouredly. It could not be spared, so we pushed on, not 

 omitting to entertain the inference that the dairy produce must be very hard in 

 those parts, and reached Beckford Inn. This well known hotel stands near the 

 cr<3ss roads. Here, we thought, some track of the Cotteswoldlians must be 

 detected. A young crinolined and ringletted daughter of Boniface appeared, 

 and soon alleviated hopes and fears with news, " that the gents were gone up 

 to Alderton stone quarry." Resuming our way — we had not gone far, ere we 

 learnt from a cow-boy that the people were " up in the brickyard;" and [there 

 they were sure enough, near upon thirty of them, scrutinizing mother earth, and 

 intent upon their work. A very large " brick pit" it was, extending into the 

 very base of Dumbleton Hill. This, as I said before, is one of the outliers, 

 moored as it were off the northern chain of the Cotteswold. The others are 

 Bredori, Stanley, Oxenton, Church down and Robin's Wood Hill, all truly iso- 

 lated ; a few others partake of the peninsular character. Their formation is 

 identical; and what we shall say of Dumbleton will apply to the rest. 



At the "Brickfield" they were excavating a fine stiff clay, making part of 

 the Upper Lias, called " the A. raricostatus Zone," after the ammonite of that 

 name, which pervades it. Some good Lias fossils were here turned ap, among 

 which we noticed ammonites, crenatulse, cucullese and gryphites ; it also yielded 

 to the explorers' havresacs some admixture of fossils of " marlstone type, in- 

 dicating, as some thought, the presence of true " passage-beds" between the 

 Lower and Middle Lias, To this fast growing use of the expression " passage- 

 beds" we venture to take exception, unless it be used with proper restriction. 

 Every formation, every bed almost, is, in a certain sense, a " passage-bed." 

 " Natura non facit saltum" Ascending the spur of the hill we quit the Lower 

 Lias beds that form the lower floor of the vale and basement of the hill, thence 

 passing over the marlstones of the middle Lias, near the top of which the marl- 

 stone rock is exposed by frequent quarrying for road-metal, we come to the 

 Upper Lias entablature of the hill. This consists of blue and yellowish shales, 

 through which, with irregular course, runs the " Fish-bed," a band of " cement- 

 stones," not worked in these parts, but of considerable economic value. They 

 are worked in Yorkshire, at Boulogne, and particularly at De Vagoy, in Trance. 

 Also in Canada and in the States of America. Roman cement is fabricated 

 from them ■ they are first burnt, then ground to powder, and packed closely in 

 air-tight barrels on account of their strong affinity for the moisture of the 

 atmosphere. Tertiary concretions, it is well known, are also used for the same 

 purpose. 



Some of the party were now at the marlstone, of which I will say a word, 

 The under zones of Middle Lias, from being destitute of value, are never 

 excavated, and are, therefore, only to be got at in a chance drain, or deep 

 ditch or lane cutting. Concealment is the rule till we come to the marlstone. 

 This material is of undoubted toughness ; the quarrymen call one bed of it 

 the " Leather Bed ;" still, unlike leather, it gives out a clear ringing sound 

 from the impact of the hammer. Here the company, encouraged by the sight 



