42 
H. Gr. EOKDHAM—ON BOTJLDEES 
September, 1880, were lying together in a grass field, near the end 
of a cart-shed, on the north side of the road leading into the village 
from the west, and about 100 yards north of the church, npon the 
ridge already referred to, just on the dividing line or water-parting 
between the Thames and Rhee. (1) Smoothed, with five flat, or 
nearly flat facets on the top and sides as it now stands. Mr. J. 
Vincent Elsden, E.C.S., describes the material from a small speci¬ 
men as ‘ Very much decomposed throughout. The interior shows 
traces of an original dark crystalline rock, containing much magne¬ 
tite which has weathered reddish brown. Felspar crystals (prob¬ 
ably plagioclase) are distinguishable. Probably dolerite.’ 3ft. 4in. 
by 2ft. 9in. by 2ft. (2) Roughly rhomboidal, much worn, and the 
upper surfaces, and to some 'extent the sides, furrowed by atmo¬ 
spheric action. Compact limestone : mountain limestone. 2ft. 7in. 
by 2ft. 6in. by 2ft.” 
In the same report I describe a number of boulders at Hitching 
It will be convenient not to extend this paper by reproducing any 
detailed description of these boulders, especially as they represent 
only a small part of those lying at Hitchin which are worthy of note. 
It will be as well, however, to mention that they are of similar 
materials to those found at Ashwell; the largest specimens being 
in this case of Mesozoic rocks—one (1) 5ft. by 2ft. 5in. by 2ft. is 
almost certainly Lias marlstone; others (5) 4ft. by 2ft. by 1ft. 10in., 
(9) 5ft. 2in. by 3ft. 2^-in. by 2ft. 6in., and (10) 2ft. 4in. by 1ft. 8in. 
by 1ft. 5in. appear to be derived from the same hed or from the 
Inferior Oolite, and one or two others can be identified as Lias. 
Mr. Marlborough R. Pryor, of Weston Manor, Stevenage, sends 
me the following particulars of houlders at Weston. “The largest 
boulder in Weston was found by me in a field called Church Close, 
near the hack of the Wesleyan Chapel, at a depth of about 6 feet, 
in boulder-clay about 30 feet at least in thickness. It appears to 
be diorite. It fell into several pieces on being touched, and may 
now be seen where it was lifted out. In its original position, 
nearly 6 feet below the surface, it would be about 460 to 470 feet 
above sea-level. It measured about 3ft. 9in. by 3ft. 6in. by 
2ft. 3in. Other considerable boulders are mostly quartzites ; some 
are of plumpudding-stone. Boulders weighing 30 to 100 lbs., of 
septarian nodules, mountain limestone, and chalk, are common 
(the latter very), and show ice-scratchings almost always. The 
principal sources of the houlder-clay seem to have been the 
Kirnmeridge and Oxford Clays, and the Chalk; but the plum¬ 
pudding-stone and pebble-bed stuff are noticeable as presumably 
coming from the south.” 
Boulders at Westmill, near Buntingford, have been recorded 
by Mr. R. P. Greg. They are all small, and of Mountain Limestone.f 
Mr. Greg also notices a small boulder, apparently of Millstone- 
grit, and specimens of the common, fine-grained, compact sandstone, 
* ‘Report Brit. Assoc., 1883,’ pp. 144-146. 
f “Third Report of the Erratic Block Committee.” ‘Report of the Brit. 
Assoc., 1875,’ p. 86. 
