126 THE GEOLOGIST. 



feet " find " in the way of ferns, to which I shall again allude. In 

 this shale are detached " balls " of mine— in other words, lumps of 

 iron ore, very rich, and in shape somewhat like quartern loaves. These 

 layers are bedded w^ith a certain degree of regularity, and it is to obtain 

 them that the rock and rubbish are so energetically pulled down. 



Balls of mine " is a very common term when speaking of iron ore 

 w .sz^w, as also are the terms bands," " corners," and ''pins." The 

 next layer, seen in the sketch rather in advance, is one of coal, viz., 

 the Elled coal, about 3 feet 5 inches in thickness, and of very good 

 quality. Below this, again, we see two other thin seams of coal, sepa- 

 rated from each other by a considerable thickness of carbonaceous 

 shale, usually called " partings." I hope that this sketch will furnish 

 the reader with a tolerably good idea how the coal and iron run. 



The Elled i'atch, Bt aufort, South Wales. 

 EXPLANATION. 



1 . The first narrow band from the top consists of surface soil, &c. 



2. Next is hard sandstone. 



3. The thin shaded layer is dark ironstone, not of such good quality as that in 

 the next hiyer (4). This is of great thickness, and consists of shale more or less 

 hard, the heaps of Avhich are shown at the bottom. On these shale slates arc the 

 fern nnprcssions. The little dotatclicd markings are balls of rich ironstone. 



T) Is tlie l-'llled vein ol' coal, about 3 feet 5 inches thick. 



Is a smaller vein worked below it. 

 T Is tiic parting of chinch or rubbish between the veins. The hills to the right 

 ami W\{ in the distance consist of Pennant sandstone. 



