804 
Proceedings of the Royal Soeiety 
in the upper part of the mass, blocks and pebbles would not have 
the same weight above them to keep them down, and, in consequence 
of severe lateral pressure, they would have a tendency to rise. 
North Berioick Law. — (1) An account was given by Mr David 
Stevenson, C.E., regarding striations on the rock of this hill. In his 
paper read to Edinburgh Eoyal Society, 1st February 1875 (vol. 
viii. p. 481), he states that the west side of the Law consists of 
exposed rock, the east side being covered by gravel, clay, and stones. 
On a steeply inclined part of the hill, there is a surface of the 
rock, consisting of felspar porphyry, on which he found smoothings 
forming a sheet of about 200 feet in length, with occasional deep 
striae or scorings on it. He says — “ The grooving of the surface 
is very distinctly marked, and must have been done by the passage 
of some dense but yielding body, which could be moulded to the 
different irregularities, both vertical and horizontal, on the surface 
of the hill. The striae must have been made by the passage of 
sharp-pointed bodies, harder than the felspar porphyry of the Law.” 
“ As viewed from a little distance, the scorings appear to be 
nearly parallel and horizontal ; but on examining such as can 
be reached, I found, on using the clinometer, that this is by no 
means the case. On one patch of rock I found two striae within 
1 8 inches of each other, the upper of which had a dip of 4°, and the 
lower a dip of 20°, and both markings were dipping towards the 
icest, being the directions from whence the movement came, as 
indicated by the ‘ tail ’ on the eastern side of the Law. This rise in 
the direction of motion may have been caused by local pressure, 
due to the obstruction offered to the passage of the mass by the 
Law.” 
Mr Stevenson adds, that “ the rock surface discovered by him had 
been entirely concealed by debris, till it was removed, to allow 
of the rock being quarried. A similar mass of debris extends 
along the whole northern and southern faces of the hill, and, if 
removed, I have no doubt similar markings would be found along 
both sides.” 
(2) The Convener of the Committee, thinking that North Berwick 
Law deserved a farther examination, proceeded to it, and gave the 
results of his examination in a paper read before the Eoyal Society 
of Edinburgh on 7th July 1879 (vol. x. p. 261). 
