Ordinary Meeting, October 30th, 1866. 
It. Angus Smith, Ph.D., F.R.S., &c., Yice-President, 
in the Chair. 
Professor It. B. Clifton, M.A., F.R.A.S., late of Owens 
College, but now of Oxford, was unanimously elected an 
Honorary Member of the Society. 
Mr. E. W. Binney, F.R.S., F.G.S., exhibited some speci- 
mens which Mr. Samuel Ogden had procured from a bore 
hole now being made near the new hotel in Birkdale Park, 
Southport, for the purpose of obtaining a supply of water. 
At 65 yards deep from the surface beds of red and light 
coloured marls, with crystals of sulphate of lime and white 
granular gypsum, were met with. At 67 yards similar beds, 
with greater quantities of sulphate of lime and gypsum in 
them. At 69 yards like beds, without sulphate of lime and 
gypsum. All the deposits contained common salt, which 
was very evident on the application of the tongue. He said 
that red and variegated marls containing gypsum similar to 
those exhibited were met with in the upper penman beds of 
Lancashire and the keuper marls of the trias in Cheshire, 
but in the latter alone had salt been yet found, and he was 
therefore inclined to consider the specimens triassic, and the 
strata not very likely to yield an abundant supply of fresh 
water. The thickness of these marls had never been tho- 
roughly proved, but at Fleetwood they had been penetrated 
409 feet, at Poulton Breck 537 feet, without reaching the 
underlying marls and waterstones. At Middlesborough in 
the east of England, and Duncrue near Belfast, these beds 
Proceedings— Lit. & Phil. Society.— Vol. VI.— No. 3— Session 1866-7. 
