78 
THE GEOLOGIST. 
tlieir esteemed Hon. Sec, Professor Bucknian. The number was increased hy the 
timely arrival of several Warwickshire naturalists, who all proceeded at once to 
the church, an ancient structure containing many points of interest, but spoilt, 
as too many country churches are, by galleries and other deformities. After 
inspecting this, the archa3ologists proceeded to look over the town and neighbour- 
hood, which occupied them satisfactorily during the afternoon. The geologists 
and botanists, who mustered in greater strength than usual, went to the spoil 
banks on the railway, which are the result of the excavations obtained from the 
Mickleton Tunnel, and which have been long famous for their rare and beautiful 
fossils. The strata in which they were discovered belong to the top beds of the 
lower lias, just below the marlstone which is seen cropping out by the side of the 
banks, on the line, near Mickleton, and on the rising ground adjacent. In the 
shale and clay below the marlstone are layers of ironstone rich in ore, so much so, 
that it might he worked with piofit; indeed, a similar bed was formerly worked 
in the same position in the liiis at Robinswood Hill, near Gloucester. Associated 
with it is a bed of sandstone full of organic remains, chiefly marine shells, lying 
together in masses, in great variety and abundance. The rarer forms obtained at 
this locality consist of several new species of starfish, ophinra, Crustacea, and 
some echeriodernus, which were first discovered by Mr. Gavey, the intelligent 
engineer of the line, and have since been figured and described by the late Pro- 
fessor Forbes, in the third Decade of the Geological Survey. In the course of the 
ramble, Professor Buckman, at the request of the Vice-President of the Warwick- 
shire Club, gave a brief account of the geology of the district ; and thus ended a 
■very pleasant and instructive day, which was rendered still more agreeable by the 
beauty of the scenery and many other points of interest in the neighbourhood. 
One of the botanists present discovered an extremely rare, if not an entirely new, 
J)lant, which will probably be shortly figured and described. 
The sectmd summer meeting was held at Dudley, on the 22nd of June. The 
members assembled at the Hotel at 10, where they were joined by the Worccster- 
s hire Naturalist's Field Club, and, under the guidance of Mr. Fletcher, the party 
proceeded to the far-famed Wren's Nest, and the greater part of the day was 
■spent investigating the many interesting geological features which it presents. 
It is composed entirely of Wenlock limestone in the upper Silurian series, which 
here rises up into dome-shaped masses, forming the Castle Hill, Wren's Nest, and 
other lesser elevations, which have been protruded through the surrounding coal 
formation by igneous action from below. At Eowby and other places these 
outbursts of igneous rocks are apparent at the surface, and are formed entirely 
of trap or basalt, which is extensively used as a road-stone. As may be supposed, 
the strata are highly inclined, and dip away at steep angles on all sides of the 
anticlinal. On the summit of the hill the Vice-President (Mr. Brodie), at the 
request of the party, pointed out the geoligical features of the district, and 
briefly alluded to the many curious fossils for which it has been long celebrated. 
Many of the commoner fossils were picked up by the geologists present, who 
formed a numerous body on this occasion. The view from the hill was said to be 
extensive, but a combination of mist and smoke obscured every distant object. 
Returning by the coal-pits, the members were much interested by seeing the 
upturned beds of the coal formation, which have been raised to the surface by the 
upheaval of the Wren's Nest, and dip away from it almost vertically. 
The members now reached the Priory and Castle, both of which afford many 
points of interest to the antiquarian. The morning's ramble closed with an 
