Members arriving by later trains may follow the route of the first party, or 
])roceed by one of the conveyances direct to Studley (fares 6d. each, motor bus Qd.), 
wlien they can either ])roceed up the valley into Si)a CtIII, or down into Mackershaw 
Woods. 
PERMISSION to visit his property has been kindly granted by the Rt. Hon. 
Lord Mar(|uis of Ripon, K.G. Production of the signed card of membership will 
1)6 necessary to enter Fountains Abbey grounds. 
N.B. — Members are requested to take care not to disturb the breeding 
pheasants. 
GEOLOGY. — The Geological Section will be officiallv represented bv the 
Rev. W. Lower Carter, M. A., F.G.S. 
Mr. B. M. Smith writes : — The Skell traverses ilie Magnesian Limestone, which 
is in evidence at Whitecliffe, where the marble Hoor of the Skell is distinctly 
interesting. One peculiarity of this river is that shortly after leaving the lake at 
Studley the volume of water is suddenly diminished and a full stream becomes at 
once a rivulet. This has been known for many years, and a former proprietor of 
Studley built a compensation canal from the lake to below where the water 
disappears at the " IJevil's Chimneys." This canal is still in evidence near the 
lake. Near to Whitecliffe, at "Hell Wath," a very strong spring, which report 
credits with the long lost stream, l)ubbles unceasinglv and runs into the Skell close 
by. 
(There is a spring of mild sulphur water in Spa Gill. The Ripon Corporat o 
have recently built a small suite of Baths and are bringing this water from Spa Gill 
into Ripon to supply the baths. — R. F.) 
The late Rev. J. S. Tute, formerly Vicar of Markington, supplied the following 
for circular of Meeting held at Ripon, March 29th, 1880. — -"The Millstone Grit may 
be studied in the valley of the Skell near Fountains Abbey. There is one series of 
beds (Cayton Gill group) which are three in number ; they may be inspected in a 
little (juarry about half-a-mile west of Fountains on the road to Sawley. The 
uppermost bed consists of thin flags, abounding with remains of Fncrinites. The 
second contains plentiful casts of Brachiopods, and is called the " Shell Bed." 
The lowest is a very hard fine-grained sandstone, mottled with carbonaceous 
markings, and containing Bellerophon costaUis. At Cayton Gill only the two 
upper beds are visible. The fossils found are Oiihis resitpiiiata, O. MicheUiii^ 
Product us sejfiireticulatus, P. cora, P. aculcain^ Spirifera iiiieaia^ S. trigonalis^ 
S. striata^ Spiriferina crisiata, S. oc/oplicaia, Strepiorhynchus creuisiria. Area sp., 
Strophonie)ia analoga, Chouctes Hai dreiisis^ and Rhyjichouella plcurodon. Above 
these beds comes the red grit of the Plumpton series, which further west covers the 
hills at Brimham and forms Guy's Cliff; it may be seen in Studley Park. 
The Permian beds rest unconformably upon the Plum])ton grit. The junction 
may be seen near Fountains above the cliff of grit, and again at a short distance 
below Anne Boleyn's Seat. Many beds are fossiliferous, but in one bed only, near 
Aldfield, are the fossils worth searching for, and in this they are very rare." 
BOTANY. — The Botanical Section will be officially represented. 
Flowering Plants.— Mr. B. M. Smith writes : — The Skell valley is a delight- 
ful botanist's paradise. Formed by two streamlets, one running from Hungate, 
the other from the moors between Grantley and Pateley Bridge, the Skell enters the 
park at (irantley, where, by means of a specially constructed dam, Sir C. Furness 
is enabled to generate the electricity for supplying the hall and drive in connection 
with Grantley Hall. Opposite the hall is a huge hill which for long defied all 
efforts to clothe it with verdure, until a sliot gun was charged with various seeds 
and the desired verdant bank secured. Leaving (irantley Hall, the Skell runs into 
Aldfield Wood and Spa Gill. A mild sulphur water from this part has lately been 
conveyed to Ripon, and visions of an inland watering place are occupying the 
minds of the civic authorities. Numerous ferns and flowers abound, notably 
La7)iium galeobdolon ^ Mercurialis percniiis, both C krvospleniums, Paris quadrifolia, 
several shield ferns, and in the boggy land near Spa House, many marsh plants. 
In Aldfield Wood have been found the Oak, Beech, Lemon scented. Broad Shield, 
Prickly Shield, and Hart's tongue (crested variety) Ferns, while lipipactis latifolia 
and E. palustris are sometimes fairly abundant. Fntering the grounds of Fountains 
