480 
THE GEOLOGIST. 
dence seeins to liavp eansed an eruption of the pea over the 1ow-lyin£f land, 
which then silted up the hollow ; and a new forest, of more noble growth 
than the former one succeeded. This forest was afterwards destroyed, 
though hundreds of the roots and small portions of the trunks of trees still 
remain exposed on the shore. On the old land-surface, but not below it, 
have been found implements, ornaments, and coins of Eoman, Saxon, and 
early Enghsh manufacture. Another bed of silt — a bluish mud — next 
occurs ; then a bed of peat which, though it may be co-ordinated with the 
present surface, where not covered by drift sand, shows clear evidence of 
haA'ing been subject to inundations, for there is a bed of black sandy earth 
above it, containing, in addition to the common shells of the district, teeth 
of the ox, and the leaves and twigs of trees, being a comparatively recent 
deposit." The reason why Mr. Morton infers a subsidence of the whole 
area to the extent of nearly fifty feet, is that when the old land-surface 
beneath the Custom House, now above- forty feet below high-water mark, 
was covered with vegetation, it must have been sufBciently above the 
sea-level to have afforded the necessary drainage for the growth of 
trees. "The most important of these changes, — the origin of the river 
Mersey by the irruption of the sea, in consequence of the subsidence of 
the land, — was probably before the occupation of Britain by the Ro- 
mans ; the subsidence of the old forest-beds of Leasowe, Dove Point, and 
FormlDy, was no doubt of much more recent date, certainly within the 
historical period." 
Catalogue of Geological Collections, etc. By J. E. Gregory. 1863. 
"We have received one of Mr. Gregory's Catalogues of Collections of 
Geology and Mineralogy, Specimens, etc., on sale at his establishment in 
Golden Square. It contains, among other items, a long list of casts of rare 
and imique fossils from various museums and other collections, as also a 
useful list of geological books, periodicals, maps, and diagrams, models of 
crystals, and other objects. This Catalogue has, moreover, the adv^antage 
of being illustrated with eight tolerably good photographs of specimens, 
cabinets, and other desiderata, which will be found very useful by those 
who are about to commence the ^^tudies of geology and mineralogy, as well 
as to those who wish to add to their collections. Mr. Gregory's collections 
can with confidence be recommended, especially his elementary and edu- 
cational series, for which he obtained a prize medal at last year's Inter- 
national Exhibition. 
