WITH THE YORKSHIRE COAL-FIELD. 
97 
to be adopted, he thought it should be along the line of the Sheffield 
and Manchester Railway, as then they would have the plans drawn 
and the sections correctly taken. If the northern (or Leeds) line 
mentioned in the report were chosen, it would go through the un- 
profitable part of the Lancashire Coal-field, and it would be 150 yards 
below the Sheffield Coal about Ormskirk. It would not suit either 
the line or dip of Lancashire. In that county the dip was generally 
to the South West, so that to follow the proposed north line would 
take the range of the coal instead of the dip. The southern (or 
Sheffield) line suggested would cut out the Lancashire Coal-field 
nearly altogether, and would extend into Flintshire, and into the 
Silurian or Slate system of rocks. The middle (or Barnsley) line 
which had been pointed out was not, perhaps, the best that could be 
chosen, but for the reasons he had stated it was preferable to either 
of the others. Perhaps the best plan would be to take a line from 
the central axis near Salter's Brook to Mottram, and then diverge 
into two lines, so as to embrace the whole of the great Lancashire 
Coal-field. On the Lancashire side there would not be more than 
fifty miles of coal-field to traverse, which would give only five miles 
to each of ten persons, instead of seven as on the Yorkshire side. 
With respect to the sections, he thought they ought to represent the 
" cleet" of the coal amongst the other particulars. In the Lancashire 
Coal-field some of the different beds were not to be identified by 
either fossils or anything else, so that the cleets, which were in Lan- 
cashire very useful, might not avail in Yorkshire. The Pecten which 
Mr. Teale had stated was to be found only over one description of 
coal in Yorkshire, was distinctly found over three kinds in Lancashire. 
Therefore neither salt water nor fresh water shells would serve them 
in Lancashire to the same extent as in Yorkshire, but still they might 
be useful. 
Mr. Embleton spoke in favour of the Barnsley line, and hoped 
that some understanding would be arrived at with the Manchester 
gentlemen as to the line of section to be adopted. Mr. Bull said he 
would be glad to assist in the cost of the undertaking, and recom- 
mended that at the end of ever)^ quarter of a mile marked on the 
section, a permanent bench-mark should be put down in the ground, 
