5 ; ok
? if \ \ t f
\ I

pM cy
Ay pet ‘
sical

una

Eng? by WHLizars Lain?

John Bird det

PEAK

IN it :

THE STRATA

BREAK IN

TEU IRIE MLAIRIKABILIE

IVY OF

See P45,

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

OF THE

Yorkshire Coast:

DESCRIBING THE STRATA AND FOSSILS OCCURRING BETWEEN THE HUMBER

_AND THE TEES, FROM THE GERMAN OCEAN TO THE PLAIN OF YORK:

Llustrated with numerous Engravings :

By tHE Rev. Grorcre Youne, A. M., anv Joun Birp, ARTIST.

WHITBY:
Printed at the Office of George Clark, Wringe=Street ;

50LD BY HIM, BY R. RODGERS, AND B. BEAN, WHITBY; AINSWORTH, AND SEDMAN & WEDDILL,
SCARBOROUGH; WILSON, HULL; TODD, YORK; W. BLACKWOOD, AND W- OLIPHANT,
EDINBURGH; LONGMAN AND CO., PATERNOSTER-ROW; WOOD, STRAND; AND
PHILLIPS, GEORGE-YARD, LOMBARD-STREET, LONDON.

~" 1329.

‘
4
Ber. i
dae
mir ae, ee

iabghhi

CON@ENS.

, Pace
MIE OV UCT LON, coe pe re totete nn lotoretefeceCotorstetntotet ele ee nies ea eee Soarcocon al
PART I. Description OF THE STRATA ......cccccecees 13
The Alluvial Covering ........ SogGiCooonor coe Mu

Phe Malls 1: Rote ees ee, Cee lio o-oin ani 46

The Wipper. Shales... tes. Pes 39, OOF, .. od

Whe Oolite crn we esp. Baas Os ele ss peal 3)

Limestone and Calcareous Sandstone........ 70

LRG SECCINGMIS Tal Ging See eS Nae Ane ee 79

Ironstone and Sandstone ...............008- 90

Bluey maestone egy Phd Pe ee 96

Sandstone, Shale,-and Coal. ................ 109

The Great Beds of Alum Shale ............ 127

Red Sandstone with Gypsum .......... ot. E60
Magmnesian..Limestome on (28 00. ad ce eee ee 169

The Basaltic Dyker... cms «.- es Sees ae a Lal

PARC UL. ,ORGANKCORUBMATINS) araeteyo50. 0) ofccc acs ossce eiustele hu itreies 177
V egetatabe gle crn ann cacicysxase pubs Shassteie valet af HABE 179

DOOPWVUCSI TT Lo wis ee tirae Sete cree sees 193

IEGIITHtGS meme eters nse oaks acces Gece tees 200

1¥

CONTENTS.

PART II. Testacea, or Shells .......... AO Aare Te Soe

iBivalve' Shells"... 2 kee ee
Univalve Unilocular Shells ........

“Multilocular Shells ...... OEE SS

Crustacea 5054.0 eee ee ae AR ane ees

Fishes and Large Marine Animals ..........

Quadrupeds oo coc eu erent ee eke. eee
PART III. Generat OBSERVATIONS .....02..... 0000-00.

Types. kee eee Be Aven > a ya tne EA ei eee

Page

*,* In the list of Organic Remains, it ought to have been noticed, that small beetles

are occasionally found among the vegetables in the coal shale.
authors procured at Danby coal pits, is one of these insects, with greenish black glossy wings

52,

56,
I6I,
216,

228,

313,

322,

ERRATA.

8 QOu~

line 14, for lamina, read lamine

— 2, Same error.

— 10, for sandstone, read red sandstone
— 24, for shells, read shell

— 23, for tretriedra, read tetriedra

— 28, for it, reud they

— 19, for 1816, read 1814.

i

In a specimen which the

INTRODUCTION.

Tue science of GroLocy proposes to investigate the nature and
properties of the different rocks, and other masses, that compose
the crust of our globe; to examine their order and positions; to
consider the various phenomena which they present, and the changes
which they appear to have undergone; and in short, to inquire into
every thing calculated to elucidate the structure of the earth.

This study, though less attractive than the pursuits of the
astronomer, has an equal claim to our attention. There is somes
thing, indeed, peculiarly fascinating in the contemplation of those
bright orbs which bespangle the sky; and the imagination more
willingly attends the understanding, in soaring through the regions
of immeasurable space, and surveying the magnitudes, stations, and
motions of the heavenly bodies, than in viewing the features, and
exploring the depths, of the earth on which we tread. Not only the
celestial regions, but the animal and vegetable kingdoms, possess
more charms than the province of geology can boast. Yet this sci-
ence, fewer as its attractions are, is by no means uninteresting, or
unimportant. While we study the laws which govern the remotest
planets, shall we remain ignorant of the ‘planet which we inhabit?
Shall distant objects engross our attention, to the exclusion of those

A

2 INTRODUCTION.

which are more within our reach? Or shall we bestow so much care
and labour on the animated inhabitants of our globe, and never ex-
amine the structure of their dwelling?

The researches of the geologist are far from being unworthy of
the christian, or the philosopher: for, while they enlarge the bounds
of our knowledge, and present a wide field for intellectual employ-
ment and innocent pleasure, they may serve to conduct us to that
glorious Being, “who by his strength setteth fast the mountains,
being girded with power; in whose hand are the deep places of the
earth, and the strength of the hills.” All his works praise him, the
humblest as well as the grandest; and we see his wisdom and power
and goodness, not only in the luminaries of heaven, and in animated
nature, but also in the rugged rocks, the stones of the brook, and
the clods of the valley.

It is rather surprising, that a study of such importance as geo-
logy, has hitherto had so small a share among scientific pursuits.
At a very remote period, men began to penetrate into the bowels of
the earth, in quest of the shining metals, and other valuable products
of the mineral kingdom; ‘and the attention of the learned, both in
ancient and modern times, has oft been directed to the nature and
classification of minerals: but, till near the beginning of the present
century, few philosophers attempted to investigate the structure of
the earth itself; and the few who pushed their inquiries in that direc-
tion, chose rather to indulge in wild conjectures, than to enter on a
sober and patient examination of facts. It is within the last twenty
or thirty years, that geology has begun to assume her proper rank
among the sciences; and, desisting in a great measure from the
flights of fancy, has been proceeding in the more legitimate track of
laborious research. Imagination, indeed, can scarcely be altogether
restrained from offering her services, in a pursuit where there is so
much that is mysterious or obscure; yet, if her wanderings prove a

INTRODUCTION. 3

stimulus to exertion, producing a larger accumulation of facts, and
a closer investigation of existing appearances, they will forward,
rather than retard, the progress of real knowledge; and, though they
occasion a few partial aberrations, they will ultimately subserve the
interests of science.

Within these few years, the collection of geological facts has
been rapidly accumulating. Still, if we may judge from the jarring
opinions held on the subject, we have not obtained sufficient data, for
establishing a general theory of the earth; in other words, we cannot
satisfactorily explain the natural causes, employed by the Creator
to bring our globe into its present state; which, as all agree, is widely
different from its original state. The chief thing to be done, there-
fore, in the present stage of the science, is to enrich it with ample
stores derived from actual observation; to collect information con-
cerning the characters, and relative positions, of the substances com-
posing the solid part of the globe; to specify their arrangement,
extent, and localities; and notice such hints as they may furnish for
elucidating the history of our planet. Every addition to these stores,
will serve to enlarge and consolidate the basis, on which a true
theory of the earth, if such can be found, must necessarily rest.

It must be remembered, however, that here, as in other depart-
ments of science, there are boundaries which we cannot pass; and:
when our researches shall have been pushed to their utmost limit, it
will still be found, that what we know, bears but a small proportion
to what we know not. As the astronomer, in exploring the celestiat
regions, is lost in immeasurable heights, so the geologist, conducting
his pursuits im an opposite direction, is soon lost in unfathomable
depths. After examining every accessible portion of the globe, and.
penetrating into the bowels of the earth as far as is practicable by
human. labour, and collecting all the information within our reach, we
shall still be totally ignorant of the interior of our planet, and can ne.

A INTRODUCTION.’

more pretend to decide what it is composed of, than we can tell the
composition of an egg, by probing half way through its shell. The
internal structure of this orb, allotted for our residence, is known
only to Him who framed it, or te beings of an order superior to man.
‘Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked
in the search of the depth? Have the gates of death been opened
unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? Hast
thou perceived the breadth of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it
all.” The more we learn, the more we may be sensible of our igno-
rance. If we would fully comprehend any portion of the works of
Deity, we must wait till we arrive at a higher sphere of existence.
Yet we must not abandon our inquiries as hopeless and unprofit-
able, because there are limits beyond which we cannot carry them.
If we cannot proceed so far as we might wish, let us not stop short
in despair, but advance as far as we can: especially as the boundary
of our research may prove to be more distant than was at first antici-
pated. Phenomena that appeared inexplicable in former ages, are
now satisfactorily explained; difficulties once deemed insurmount-
able have been overcome; discoveries have been recently made in the
sciences and arts, of which the ancients could have no idea: and
who, then, shall define the precise limits of human knowledge, or
state the utmost progress which investigation can attain? Geology,
indeed, from the nature of its objects, may seem less likely to be
enriched by new discoveries, than most other sciences; yet who can
tell to what a degree of maturity this infant science may at length.
arrive? A consciousness of our inability to unvail all the mysteries of
nature, in this or in any other department of the creation, should
indeed make us modest and humble in conducting our inquiries, but
ought net to restrain’ us from pushing them to the furthest verge of
human research. Close investigations of the works of Omnipotence, if
pursued with a proper spirit, are so far from savouring of presumption,

INTRODUCTION. Ey

that they are a part of the homage due to the Creator, whose infinite
perfections are more and more illustrated and displayed, in propor-
tion as his works are explored by the light of science.

Much has already been achieved by the labours of weolbatste
They have examined the character and form of large and interesting
portions of the crust of the earth; particularly in different regions of
Europe, and most of all in the British Isles: and from a review of
existing facts, they have arrived at some important conclusions, now
generally ‘admitted. It is well ascertained, that the substances
composing our globe are not thrown together in confusion, but are
disposed in strata, or beds, of various thicknesses, or in crystallized
masses, which, however irregular in form, display a regularity of
structure; and that these beds or masses, which rise one above
another, like successive courses of stone ina building, are not placed
indiscriminately, but in a certain order; which, though it admits of
considerable variations, is so far established, at least in the regions
hitherto explored, that we may expect to find some kinds of rocks
occupying the lowest stations, others in the highest, and athers in-
termediate; while above the whole, there is usually an alluvial
covering, which contains, along with vegetable soil, a promiscuous
collection of detached fragments of rocks of all descriptions. It is

_also found, that the lowest rocks, among which the massive crystal-
lized rocks of the granite family hold a distinguished place, contain
no organic remains, that is to say, no remains of animals or vegeta-
bles; but that such remains occur in great abundance in some of the
higher rocks; for which reason, as well as on account of their relative
position, the former have been called primitive or primary rocks, and
the latter secondary; while the beds interposed between them, con-
taining very few organic remains, have obtained the name of transition
rocks. The secondary strata are sometimes designated Slat rocks.*

* There can be no propriety in retaining the German word fletz as the title of sueh rocks,

eur English word flat conveving the same idea.
B

6 INTRODUCTION.

It is further known, that as there are vast masses of granite and
other crystallized rocks, forming the basis on which other rocks are
piaced, and sometimes piercing into the beds above them in the
form of veins; so there are also crystallized rocks, of a different
structure, that frequently occur among secondary rocks; sometimes
lying upon or among them in shapeless masses, sometimes intersect-
ing them in veins or dykes, and sometimes lying over them, or
interstratified with them, in beds of considerable extent and re-
gularity. This kind of crystallized rock is known by the names
whinstone, basalt, trap, &c.

In speaking of the relative position of rocks, it is necessary to
remark, that those which are the lowest in geological situation, are
often, in respect of some portions of them, the most elevated above
the horizon. Granite, for instance, which is considered as the low-
est rock yet discovered, frequently forms the summits of the highest
mountains, the rocks usually super-imposed over it, being arranged
in inclined planes on the sides of such mountains. ~ Were all rocks
horizontally stratified, the highest in geological position would also
be uniformly the highest in horizontal altitude; but it is well known,
that the strata lie most frequently in an inclined posture, dipping, as
the term is, to one side; and as the upper beds, instead of being
continued over the lower, are generally broken off, or discontinued,
on that side which, owing to the dip, rises highest above the horizon,
it is easy tosee, that by this means, independent of other breaks and
dislocations which frequently occur, the second bed in the series
may, if sufficiently prolonged, rise higher than the first, and the third
higher than the second; and the last, or lowest, beds or masses,
rising from under the broken edges of the preceding strata, may be
protruded to such a height as to overtop them all. Of this we can-
not have a better illustration than in the section of the Yorkshire
Coast, described in this volume; for here the beds, dipping toward

is

INTRODUCTION. 7

the south, are seen rising one after another from the level of the sea,
and in like manner breaking off in succession, as we proceed north-
ward; and the aluminous schistus, the last visible bed on the coast,
is raised at Boulby to an elevation considerably greater than that of
the chalk at Flamborough and Speeton, though the chalk is the
highest rock in the district, in point of geological position. Thus, in
a long series of strata, each bed is successively brought to the sur-
face; and the lowest is as accessible as the highest.

This is one of those provident arrangements, by which the
wisdom and goodness of the supreme Ruler are beautifully illus-
trated. Had the rocks been all placed horizontally, without any
dip, and the upper beds been every where continued over the lower,
we could have had no access to any of the lower beds, without pierc-
ing through the whole superincumbent strata; and this, in many
instances, would have completely excluded us from various mineral
products which are of immense benefit to mankind, and which, by
the present disposition of the rocks, are placed within our reach.
Besides, had the face of the globe been composed of one entire pile
of level strata, without any break or dislocation, where would have
been that beauty and glory with which it is now decked? Where
would have been our hills and valleys, our mountains and plains,
with all those charming landscapes, that richly diversified scenery,
those grand and interesting features of. nature, resultmg from the
inequalities of the earth’s surface? And, supposing the sea to have.
remained, what would have become of our rivers and lakes, our
fountains and streams; with the numerous blessings which they yield
toman? The world, in that case, could not have been a fit habita-
tion for the tenants that now possess it. Here, then, as in other
provinces of his boundless dominions, the infinite Jehovah brings
good out of evil, order and beauty out of seeming confusion and
deformity, and the most precious benefits out of overthrow and

8 INTRODUCTION.

. destruction. As his wisdom and power can levy a tribute of praise

from the disorders of the moral world, the passions and crimes of
men, which he over-rules for the purposes of his glory and grace;
even so, in the material world, he can make the very ruin and wreck
.of nature to shew forth his praise. ;

It has been remarked, that the rocks which form the solid part
of our globe, are not placed indiscriminately, but in a certain order.
This, however, holds true, only in respect of general analogy ; for,
in descending to particulars, we find every region, and every district,
to have its own series of rocks; nor have any two places, remote
from each other, been yet discovered, in which the order of succes-
sion, or even the structure or composition of the beds, is exactly the
same. And, though the order of the strata in some parts of Europe,
appears to be subject to some general rules, it yet remains to be
determined, how far these rules may extend to other quarters of the
world. If Werner discovered a particular series of rocks in the
Brocken mountain in Germany, it does not follow, that we shall find
the same series in other mountains. If chalk constitute the upper-
most bed in our district, and in several other parts of Europe, we
cannot infer, that the same, or a similar bed, is, or has been, the
highest, in Africa, Asia, or America. And, if granite hold the low-
est place in the series, wherever the strata have yet been explored,
we have no right to affirm, that other rocks still lower cannot be here-
after discovered. Let us not bewilder ourselves, nor mislead others,
in assigning to nature imaginary laws of our own constructing, but
advance in our inquiries after truth, by the sure path of patient
investigation.

Perhaps there is no part of the world more interesting to a geo-
Jogist than the British Isles; and, no part has been more attentively
surveyed. But, although much has been done, for ascertaining the
character and succession of the British rocks, much remains to be

INTRODUCTION. 9

accomplished. Great attention has been paid to some districts, and
almost every thing of importance relating to their geological features
examined and made known; yet there are considerable portions of
country, and these not uninteresting, of which no satisfactory de-
scription has hitherto been published; and not a few blanks remain
to be filled up, before the survey of the United Kingdom can be
viewed as complete.

To fill up a blank of this description, the present Work was
undertaken. The strata of the Yorkshire Coast, comprising the
Wolds, the Howardian hills, and the more elevated Eastern Moor-
lands and Cleveland hills, have not been described in any geological
work, except in very general terms; and the authors, having pre-
pared, for the History or Wurtrsy AND THE VICINITY, a compre-
hensive view of the Geology of the district to which that work is
limited, were induced, in compliance with the wishes of some respect-
able friends, to undertake a more full and accurate survey of the
whole coast, from the Humber to the Tees. This survey they have
at length completed, with no small labour; exploring the whole line
of coast, and visiting every part of the interior likely to throw light
on the objects of their research. Scarcely a hill or a valley, a cliff
ora chasm, remains unexamined ; scarcely an alum-work, a coal-pit,
a quairy, or any other remarkable opening in the strata, has been left
unvisited: so that, if the result should not come up to their own
wishes, or the expectations of their friends, they cannot well charge
themselves with want of diligence, patience, and perseverance. At
the same time, they are far from supposing, that the work is free from
mistakes, or that nothing more can be done for elucidating the geo-
logy of the district: on the contrary, their own experience has served
to convince them, that a work of this nature is suseeptible of pro-
gressive improvement; for as, in making this extended survey, they
have been enabled to detect some mistakes in the sketch of the strata

c

10 INTRODUCTION.

contained in the History of Whitby and the Vicinity; so, in the
prosecution of this undertaking, they have been able, in various
instances, on repeating their visits to the same spots, to correct
inaccuracies in their first observations, and every new journey has
supplied them with additional illustrations of the objects of their pur-
suit. Itis natural, therefore, to expect, that such as may trace their
steps, will detect other errors into which they have fallen, and dis-
cover new facts which have escaped their notice; especially as, in a
district so extensive, it is scarcely possible to give the same minute
attention to every particular spot.

The district here delineated, is not distinguished by any of those
grand and striking features, which mark the face of nature in some
parts of the British Isles. It presents no stupendous mountains of
granite, or porphyry, or mica-slate, or any other of the primary
rocks; nor can it boast much of precious gems, or rich metallic ores.
Yet its features are by no means uninteresting; and its mineral trea-
sures, if not the most brilliant, are far from being despicable. In
one kind of mineral riches, viz. organic remains, it may vie with any
other portion of the globe, of equal extent. No where have the fossil
relics of animals and vegetables been found in greater variety and
abundance. Almost every stratum teems with substances formerly
endowed with life and motion; and the fossil conchology of the dis-
trict might of itself occupy a large volume. Hence, not only the
mere geologist, but the student of natural history in its animated
departments, may here find an employment adapted to his taste; in
comparing the recent productions of nature, with those which have
been imbedded in the bowels of the earth, and which are fitly re-
_garded as the medals of nature’s history.

To render this Work more perspicuous, and consequently more
useful, it is arranged into Three Parts. The First, which is perhaps
the most valuable to the geologist, contains a description of all the

INTRODUCTION. “71

strata of the coast, from the Humber to the Tees, in the order in
which they occur; noticing the breaks, contortions, and other phe-
nomena which they exhibit; and stating their connection with each
other, and with the strata of the adjoining districts, as far as has been
ascertamed. In this part of the Survey, the authors have aimed at a
simple detail of facts and appearances; avoiding, as much as possi-
ble, all those terms and phrases which involve any particular theory.
The Map and Sections, accompanying this part of the work, have
been constructed with care, and will, it is hoped, give the reader a
clear idea of the extent and relative positions of the strata.

The Second Part enumerates and describes the petrifactions,
and other organic remains, found in the different strata, or in the
alluvial soil; arranging them into their various classes, and pointing
out their several localities. This part, as may be inferred from a
remark made above, might have been extended to a much greater
length. The illustrative Engravings, which, in this department,
are of more value than verbal descriptions, are fully as numerous
as the proposed limits and price of the work would admit.

In the Third Part are thrown together some general observations
on the facts exhibited in the two former parts; accompanied with
hints and conjectures, designed to explain the phenomena presented,
and to elucidate, in some degree, that interesting but arduous sub-
ject— the structure of the earth. This portion of the work will pro-
bably be deemed the least useful; yet as the hints here thrown out
are chiefly suggested by existing phenomena, it is hoped that they
may be serviceable to the studious inquirer. Where the views
adopted by the authors militate against the favourite theory of any
of their readers, they expect from the reader that candour and indul-
gence which he himself has a right to claim from others. On subjects
involved in so many difficulties, mutual forbearance is indispensable.

12 INTRODUCTION.

On the whole, the authors flatter themselves, that their perform-
ance will not only prove acceptable to the lovers of science, but
interesting unto others. To the manufacturer and the man of busi-
ness, it may be of considerable service, to know the valuable mineral
products of this part of England. The landed proprietor may derive
much profit from an inquiry into the nature of the rocks of this district.
Large sums have been thrown. away in boring for coals, and other
speculations, which might have been wholly saved to the adventurers,
had they been properly acquainted with the strata. Above all, the
admirers of the works of God, will here find matter calculated to
awaken and cherish the best feelings of the soul, to call forth and
keep alive those sentiments of devotion, humility, gratitude, and
love, which, while they honour that infinite Being whose works are
here examined and described, serve also to exalt our understandings,
and improve our hearts. If the authors shall contribute in any degree
to produce such effects, their highest object will be accomplished.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

OF THE YORKSHIRE COAST.

PART 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

Ty HE whole of the rocks of this district, with the exception of a
basaltic dyke that intersects a part of them, belong to the family of
flat rocks. They lie in what is called a conformabdie series, that is,
a series observing a kind of parallelism. Their general dip is towards
the south, but at a great variety of angles, and with not a few contor-
tions and irregularities; the strata frequently bending or undulating,
in a curved form, and exhibiting in some places considerable breaks
or dislocations.

In studying the characters and positions of these strata, at least
where they form a part of the western barrier of the German Ocean,
we have this important advantage, that they are all accessible, and
‘epen to inspection. Here the section of the strata is not, like
the generality of sections, partly taken from observation, and partly
filled up by fancy or conjecture: the whole is a real section, copied
from nature} the steep sea-cliffs disclosing the whole series of beds in
their proper order, together with their contortions and irregularities.

D

14 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

Perhaps it may appear most natural, in ‘giving a description of
the strata, to begin at the lowest visible bed, and proceed upwards:
but. as it is no small advantage, in every study, to set out with what
is most plain and easy, and then advance to what is more difficult
and obscure, it seems best, in the present instance, to commence
with the uppermost beds in the series, and proceed downwards.
Instead, therefore, of conducting the reader from the Tees to the
Humber, we propose to reverse the order; and, commencing with
the alluvium, which alone is visible in Holderness, advance north-
ward to the chalk of Flamborough, and from thence along the coast
to the great bed of aluminous schistus, and the rocks that are found
near the banks of the Tees in the plain of Cleveland.

We begin then with 5

THE ALLUVIAL COVERING.

It may be deemed improper to rank the alluvium among the
strata, as it is not, properly speaking, a part of the series, but a
covering spread over the whole; not only lying over the chalk, in the-
southern part of the district, but lfmg over each of the rocks that
successively rise up behind it, and filling up the intervals where they
are interrupted, or sunk down. But, as it constitutes so large a por-
tion of our sea-cliffs, as there is so much of our district where nothing
else appears above the level of the sea, and as its materials and con-
tents are not uninteresting, it ought not to pass unnoticed; especially
as some of the beds of which it is composed, present in many places
the appearance of stratification, and are considered by some as really
stratified.

‘By inspecting the Map, and the Section of the Coast, the reader
may perceive, that the whole southern part of our district is an
alluvial tract, where no rock is to be seen. . This tract comprises

ALLUVIAL COVERING. I

(or

all Holderness, with the environs of Hull and Beverley, and the rest
of the flat country to the south of the Wolds; extending in length
from the Spurn to Bridlington, a distance of about thirty-six miles,
and in breadth, from the coast to the chalk hills on the west of Hull
and Beverley, about sixteen miles. Besides this large alluvial tract,
which is continued beyond the Humber, on the Lincolnshire coast,
there are several other parts of the district where nothing but alluvium
is accessible. This is the case with most of the extensive vale of
Pickering, which opens towards Filey bay, where we find chiefly an
alluvial‘ cliff. In some parts of Robin Hood’s bay, Sandsend bay,
and Runswick bay, the cliffs are also alluvial; and the plain of Cleve-
land presents, in many places, a deep covering of the same description.

It is scarcely necessary to observe, that this alluvium, occurring
where no rocks are discernible, is not materially different from that
which covers the regular strata, where the latter make their appear-
ance. We may remark, however, that the alluvial beds, as might be
expected, are usually thinnest where the strata are most elevated;
and im some parts of our hills the rocks rise to the very surface.

This part of the crust of our earth is called alluvium, because it
appears to have been formed by the washing away of the other strata.
It resembles the banks of rivers, formed by the accumulation of sand,
gravel, mould, and other substances, brought down by the floods,
and deposited in successive layers, wherever the waters overflow the
lands adjacent to their wonted channels. Every river, except where
its course is very rapid, or confined by rocks, has alluvial banks of
this description, of more or less extent. The beds that cover the re-
gular strata present the same kind of structure, though on a much
larger scale, consisting of vegetable mould, sand, gravel, clay, marl,
fragments of stone, with other substances, variously blended and
arranged; sometimes disposed in beds or layers, and sometimes ex-
hibiting a confused mixture.

iG DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

In several parts of the coast, the alluvium is so regularly disposed
m beds, that it almost deserves to be termed stratified. Instances of
this kind appear in the cliffs between Whitby and Sandsend; but are
more observable in the extensive alluvial cliffs of Holderness. Where
this regular structure is discernible, the successive layers most com-
monly occur in the following order:

1. Vegetable soil, supporting the grassy mantle which clothes
the surface. This valuable covering varies greatly in depth, being
from two or three inches to a few feet.

2. Marl, or a mixture of marl and clay or mould. This bed
is by no means regular, being in some places a few feet in thickness,
in others not an inch, and in many places entirely wanting. The
marl, in some instances, resembles pounded limestone, of a light
blue colour, or blueish white. In a low part of the cliff, a little to
the north of Bridlington Quay, occurs a fine white marl, containing
shells and fragments of shells. Among these a small shell, resem-
bling the Aelia ericetorum, which occurs recent on the Wolds, has
been detected. A small bivalve shell is also found, which seems te
be a species of ¢ellina. All the shells are very thin and brittle.
This white marl has the appearance of powdered chalk, mixed with
a little clay. The marl, both here and in other parts of the coast, is
often deeply penetrated by the roots of vegetables, from the soil
above it.

3. Sand and Gravel. This bed is subject to as much irregular-
ity as the former. In some parts it is several yards in thickness; in
others, an inch or two; while in others it wholly disappears. In some
instances, it forms only one bed; in others, two or more successive
layers, alternating with marl, or clay; especially the latter. In many
places, the sand is found pure, without any gravel; in other spots,
the gravel occurs, with littke or no sand. Almost all the springs that
issue from the cliffs have their sources in the beds of sand and gravel ;

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 17

and where the discharge is copious, the sand must needs be washed
away, and the gravel alone remain. Some of the sand in the cliffs
near Whitby is magnetic, particularly a brown sand found at Upgang.

4. A brown, coarse clay. This clay has an earthy aspect, and
is not very tenacious, being frequently mixed with sand and marl.
It contains numerous pebbles, nodules, and fragments of stone of all
descriptions. This bed forms a large portion of the alluvial cliffs,
being often several yards in thickness. It is frequently met with
immediately below the vegetable soil; the marl, and the sand and
gravel, in such places, being either blended with it, imbedded in it,
or altogether lost. Sand beds often occur in this clay at a great
depth below the surface; as may be seen between Whitby and
Sandsend, where a large bed of sand and gravel is found about half-
way down the cliff.

5. A darker, ash-coloured clay; commonly more compact than
the brown clay, and less mixed with marl or sand; though contain-
ing the same abundance of nodules and fragments of stone. This
bed, like the former, is often of vast thickness. Sand beds some-
times alternate with this clay, as well as with the brown clay. A
bed of brown sand is found at Upgang at the very base of the cliffs.

These two kinds of clay frequently pass into one another, and at
the place of their junction are found clouded and intermixed, instead
of presenting a distinct line of separation.

6. A blueish, or blackish, tenacious clay. This bed, which is
also in some places of considerable thickness, forms the lowest visi-
ble portion of the cliffs, in several parts of Holderness, and in other
alluvial cliffs along the coast. It occurs at the bottom of the cliff
between Upgang and Sandsend; where its slippery, treacherous sur-
face, laid bare by the washing away of the upper beds, and moist-
ened by every returning tide, often makes the unwary passenger fall
flat upon the beach.

18 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

As the brown clay passes into the ash-coloured, so the latter
passes into the blue clay, which often occurs in patches, rather than
in a distinct bed. Indeed, all the three kinds of clay are often seen
blended together in one mass: but we generally find the brown clay
uppermost, the ash-coloured in the middle, and the blue tenacious
clay in the lowest place.

These beds, or divisions, of the alluvial covermg, are perhaps as.
regular as some of the beds of clay and gravel lying over the chalk in
the south of England, which are regarded by many as part of the
regular strata: but since all the beds now enumerated contain more
or less of the fragments of rocks of almost all descriptions, and since
we find nearly the same succession of beds over the sandstone near
Whitby, as are over the chalk in Holderness, it seems most proper
to consider the whole as an alluvial covering. Perhaps it may be
fairly questioned, whether the beds of sand and gravel at Woolwich
and other parts in the south, which have been described as properly
stratified, be any thing more than a part of the alluvium; and the
same remark may very possibly apply to those gravel beds in France
and elsewhere, which have been dignified with the title of fresh-water |
formations.

At the same time, if any shall affirm, that the sand beds in what ,
we have described as alluvium, might in other circumstances ‘have
become sandstone, that the marl might have formed limestone, and
the clay have become shale, we will not dispute the matter with them.
In fact, there are spots where we find marl so indurated as to ap-
proach very near the state of limestone; the clays, particularly the |
darker coloured clays, almost in the state of shale; and the beds of
sand and gravel actually hardened into solid rock. An instance of
this last kind may be seen between Whitby and the Lector Nab,
where some springs that issue from the middle of the cliff, and
deposit lime and oxide of iron, have not only formed calcareous

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 19

incrustations of moss immediately below their source, but have con-
solidated into a kind of breccia, or conglomerate, a large portion of
the bed of sand and gravel through which they ooze. Masses of
this newly formed stone fall down occasionally on the beach.

It is proper also to notice, that these alluvial strata, if we may
so term them, have in some instances undergone the same kind of
breaks and contortions as are seen in the rocky strata. A curious
illustration of this remark was observed by the authors in a part of
the cliff near Skipsey. The brown clay and the sand imbedded in
it are there contorted and twisted in the most singular forms; and
while the outline of the sand bed is deranged and bent in all direc-
tions, the bed itself, being composed of sand of two distinct colours,
brown and yellowish white, arranged in very thin layers, exhibits a
beautiful collection of undulating and twisted lines. A specimen of
these is represented in Plate I. Fig. 1. There is a strong resemblance
between these contorted layers of sand, and the contortions observed
by Dr. Mac Culloch in the primary strata of Glen Tilt.* Another in-
stance no less curious is delineated in Plate I. Fig. 2. It represents
a portion of the cliff near Cowden in Holderness. The brown clay
aaa is broken and contorted; the sand and gravel bed bed, which
is four feet thick at 4, fills up the sinuosities in the clay, particularly
the large gap c; while the marl bed ee, about two feet thick, and the
vegetable mould at the surface ff, about a foot thick, are not at all
affected by the dislocations underneath them. It seems as if the
surface of the clay bed, before the deposition of the beds above it,
had, by the action of currents, or some other causes, been worn into
hollows or sinuosities, which the sand and gravel, subsequently
spread over it, completely filled up, so as to present a level surface
on which the marl was afterwards deposited. ‘

.

* See Geological Transactions Vol. IIL. Pl. 15, 16, 17, &e.

20 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

e

The thickness of the alluvial beds, as might be expected, is
ereatly diversified. The most lofty of the alluvial cliffs on the coast
are from 120 to 150 feet high, or perhaps somewhat more. The cliffs
near Upgang, and those opposite Grimston and Aldborough in Hol-
derness, are among the highest. The alluvium at Aldborough, how-
ever, must be vastly thicker than at Upgang; for at the latter place
the rock is found near the base of the cliff, and may be seen at low
water stretching into the sea; whereas at the former, the rock being
at an unknown depth, there is probably as great a thickness of allu-
vium below the level of the sea, as we find above it.

Though the alluvial beds are in general pretty level, especially
where they fill up the vacancies or breaks in the regular strata; yet
we often see them assuming, in some degree, the shape of the strata
which they cover, and having the same inclination or dip. Hence,
as the chalk of Flamborough, where it sinks beneath the horizon,
dips towards the Humber, the alluvial covering of Holderness, though
broken in many places by the openings of the rivers and meres, pre-
serves a general slope in the same direction; and at its extremity,
the Spurn, becomes a low point, only a few feet raised above the
level of the ocean.*

To enumerate the different kinds of rock occurring in the allu-
vium, in rounded nodules or angular fragments, and the different
kinds of pebbles of which the gravel is composed, would be to go
through nearly the whole nomenclature of the rocks known to exist.
It is easy to meet with fragments of granite, gneiss, porphyry, mica-
slate, with almost every variety of the primary and transition rocks.
Blocks of beautiful porphyry, with large flesh-coloured crystals of
felspar, occur in considerable quantity on the Stainton Dale shore,

* Hence we may observe, that those ‘antiquaries who consider the Spurn as Ptolemy’s
Ocellum promontorium, and derive that name from the British word UcHet—high, must at
least be mistaken in their etymology.

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 21

among a vast variety of stones washed down from the alluvial part of
the cliffs. Masses of the encrinite limestone, mountain litnestone,
white limestone; with various kinds of basalt, and evén lava, have
been disengaged from the alluvium near Whitby. Agates, carnelians,
amethysts, calcedonies, and a great variety of jaspers and jasper-
agates, with various other precious stones, are found on the beach
all along the coast; and are sometimes picked up on the moors,
where the surface is laid bare.*

Yet, while the alluvium presents a promiscuous assemblage of
all kinds of rocky fragments and nodules, it must be remarked, that
a large proportion of them belong to the rocks of this district; such
as chalk, flint, blue limestone, grey limestone, sandstone in all its
varieties, aluminous schistus, coal, &c. Some also belong to ad-
joining districts. In the Whitby cliffs we find masses of.magnegian
limestone, such as occurs at Sunderland, and in other parts of the
county of Durham: and in the Holderness cliffs we often perceive
fragments of coal, of the same kind that is found in the neighbourhood
of Leeds.

One thing more remains to be noticed, respecting these stones
imbedded in the alluvium; and that is, that the fragments which
abound most in any particular quarter of the district, generally be-
long to the rocks of that quarter. Thus, though we find aluminous
schistus in the Holderness alluvium, and chalk and flint in the
Whitby alluvium; yet the schistus is much more abundant in the
latter, and the chalk in the former. In some parts of the alluvial
cliffs between Whitby and Sandsend, fragments of schistus occur in
great numbers, and serve to deepen the colour of the lower beds of
clay, in which they are most abundant. On the other hand, the

* A variety of the minerals belonging to the alluvial beds, though not described as such,
are enumerated in the Scarborough Catalogue of Fossils.

Fr

22 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

Holderness cliffs are speckled with numerous fragments of chalk;
and the white colour obviously mcreases as we approach to Flam-
borough, especially as the marl becomes cretaceous in the neighbour-
hood of the chalk. In like manner, as the gravel near Whitby
abounds with pieces of sandstone, the gravel near Flamborough
abounds with fragments of chalk and of flint.

_It has been observed, that beds: of sand and gravel sometimes
alternate with the lower beds of clay, as well as the higher, and may
be seen near Whitby at the foot of the alluvial cliffs, very little above
the solid rock. Examples of the same kind occur in the alluvium
that covers the chalk; particularly at Bridlington Quay, where a
bed of cretaceous flinty gravel, of considerable thickness, is found
immediately over the chalk. This bed, like many other gravel beds,
is a receptacle for waters, and the parent of copious springs; some
of which are seen issuing from the cliff to the north of Bridlington
Quay, just before we arrive at the chalk rocks.

The most remarkable spring proceeding from this gravel bed, is
the ebbing and flowing spring of Bridlington Quay. This most co-
pious fountain was discovered in 1811, when, with a view to the
improvement of the harbour, the alluvium which forms its bed was
bored through. The alluvium was found to consist of a bed of com-
pact clay, 28 feet thick, and a bed of cretaceous flinty gravel, 15 feet
thick; beneath which was the solid chalk. At first there was no:
indication of a spring, but after the aperture was made, a plentiful
supply of excellent fresh water rose in it with the rise of the tide,
and not only filled the bore completely, but flowed over in a power-
ful stream, being projected some inches above the top of the bore.
It boiled up with most impetuosity at high water, and gradually fell
as the tide retired. "The same phenomenon has continued ever since;
and the inhabitants, to secure the benefits of this valuable spring,
have fixed a tube in the bore, to receive the rising column of water,

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 23

and constructed a reservoir, &c. for the use of the-town and shipping.
There is no discharge from the tube, till the tide has risen to such a
height as to be only about four feet lower than its orifice; and when
the sea has again subsided to the same level, the stream ceases ta
flow till the return of the next tide; the discharge continuing four or
five hours eaeh flood. In high tides, the stream, as may be expected,
flows longer than usual: and after great rains the discharge is both
more copious, and more prolonged; being known to commence when
the level of the tide is about eight feet below the mouth of the tube.
When there is a heavy sea on the coast, an undulation is observable
in the discharge of the water.

The most easy and obvious way of accounting for these facts, is
by supposing, that this spring has an outlet towards the sea, probably
beneath low water mark; which outlet is open at low water, so far
as to permit the spring to empty itself into the sea, but is obstructed
or choaked up by the flood tide; so that the fresh water, accumulat-
ing in its gravelly receptacle, bursts forth at the new opening which has
been made for it; and continues to flow from thence, till the falling
of the tide permits it ‘to resume its original passage. As the obstruc-
tion of this passage will gradually increase as the tide rises, and di-
minish as it falls, and be greatest at high water; being according to
the weight of the sea water over the outlet, and the quantity of that
water pressing into that outlet, and forcing back, or stemming, the
current of the fresh water; the phenomena observed at the orifice of
the tube are just such as, on that supposition, might be expected.
The undulations occasioned by a storm, may be traced to the irregu-
larity of the pressure then felt at the sea outlet, the heavy waves.
forcing the salt water into it by sudden jerks, and giving a corre-
sponding impulse to the fresh water then propelled before it. It is no
less natural to expect, after heavy rains, a larger accumulation of
fresh water, and consequently a more copious discharge at the spring;

24 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

especially as the thickness of the bed of gravel at that spot, and the
slope which it must have from the chalk hills towards the sea, cor-
responding with the dip of the strata, must give great facility to that
accumulation. Nor is it less difficult to conceive, why the water at
the spring is never brackish; for though the force, or weight, of the
fresh water current, is insufficient to clear its passage into the ocean,
when opposed by the weight of the rising tide, it may be fully adequate
to stem the opposing current of salt water, so as never to allow it to
reach the spot where the tube is inserted; especially if, as is proba-
ble, the sea outlet be at a great distance, and the passage to it be
intricate, winding, and parted into several channels. The same con-
siderations, viewed in connection with the comparative lightness of
fresh water, may enable us to understand, why the water in the
spring rises so much higher than the level of the tide.

This ebbing and flowing spring is not the only phenomenon of
the kind. At the mouth of the river Loe in Cornwall, there is a fresh
water lake which communicates with the sea by a subterraneous pas-
sage. The water rises and falls with the tide, yet is always fresh.
An instance of the same kind has been observed in New Holland.*

Strange as this phenomenon may appear, it is not more strange
than some of the notions advanced to explain it. Since the discovery
of the spring, various writers have published, in the literary periodical
works, descriptions of the facts observed, accompanied with theories
proposed to account for them.f Some of these explanations nearly
coincide with the solution given above. Others proceed on supposi-
tions that are wild and improbable. One hypothesis, in particular,
is so extravagant, and rests on assumptions so inconsistent with
facts, that it may be proper to notice it, in order to correct the mis-
takes connected with it.

* See Geological Transactions, Vol. I. p. 140, 141.

+ Philosoph. Trans. for 1815, Pt. I. Philos. Journal XLV. p. 66 & 482. XLIX. p. 230.
3, p. 8I—83, 200—203, 267,268. Repertory of Arts Vol. XXX. p. 342, &e.

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 25

‘Dr. Storer, in the close of his account of this spring, communi-
cated to the Royal Society, had suggested, that this ebbing and
flowing fountain might have some connection with the intermitting
springs called the Gipsies; an idea which he could not have enter-
tained, had he been properly acquainted with the history and situa-
tion of these springs. A writerin the Philosophical Journal, evidently
less acquainted with the country, catches at this unfounded notion,
and assuming that the stratum of clay and substratum of cretaceous
gravel, found at Bridlington harbour, extend over all Holderness,
nay over the Wolds too, beyond the Gipsies, alleges that the latter
“will be found mere perforations of the substratum of clay; and one
and all of them at some seasons, although distant from the sea, to
be more or less ebbing and flowing springs ;” that the pressure of the
tide upon the elastic bed of clay occasions the flowing of the springs,
and the removal of that pressure the ebbing of them; nay, “that the
whole bed (of clay), extending from Flamborough Head to Spurn
Point, will be found to rise and fall with the ebbing and flowing of
every tide “!*

These assertions are not only in direct opposition to facts, but,
as far as regards the last of them, so contrary to the nature of
things, that it is difficult to believe, that a writer who has produced
SO many judicious papers on other subjects, could be serious in ad-
vancing them. Alas! poor Holderness, hard is thy fate! Other
lands may be visited with earthquakes once in half acentury; but thou
art doomed to suffer an earthquake twice a day ;—an earthquake
which heaves thy bowels, and makes thee vomit out thy waters, even
at the distance of many miles from thy coast! Tough indeed must

* Philos. Journal, L. p. 81,82. Another writer in the same volume, p. 267, 268, gravely
remaiks, that this supposed daily earthquake does not extend to Hull. He had resided there
several months; and could attest that during all that period the town stood still. Had he been
stationed on the Holderness coast, he might have borne testimony, that the land there is also

terra firma.
G

26 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

be thy clayey tunic, that has so long held together, under these daily
convulsions. Well may historians report, that part of thy shore has
been lost, and that some of thy towns have sunk in the ocean; for it
- is marvellous that such reiterated shocks have suffered even a frag-
ment of thee to exist. ;

The author of this hypothesis might almost as well have accounted
far these phenomena, by adopting one of the fables of the ancients,
and applying it to this district. He might have alleged, that a mighty
giant, another Enceladus or Typhoeus, such an one as could set
Ossa upon Pelion, or Rosebury Topping upon Black Hambletozrf,
lies buried alive under Holderness and the Wolds, with the Wolds on
his head, and the Spurn on his feet (and spurn seems to have a natu-
ral connection with feet); and that this son of Titan, whenever old
Ocean lashes his sides, begins to puff and blow, trembles in every
limb, sweats at every pore, and vomits forth,— not smoke, and flames,
and liquefied stones, like his brother who groans under the weight of
mount Aitna,— but streams of pure water!

But, to be serious. There is no good ground for supposing that
the clays of the Holderness coast form a continuous covering; much
tess for imagining, that a stratum of gravel uniformly. runs between
the clay and the chalk. In the cliffs near Whitby, we find the clays
in some places resting on the solid rock, while in others a bed of
gravel appears to intervene: and it is highly probable, that the same
irrecularities prevail in Holderness. It is well known, that the scar-
city of water on the Wolds does not arise, as that writer fancies, from
their being coated with a stratum of clay impervious to water, with a
substratum of gravel which steals all the water from the surface; for
no such stratum and substratum exist there, except on part of the
southern skirts of the Wolds, where there is little or no scarcity of
water; but it results from the absorbent quality and numerous fissures.
of the chalk, which rises almost to the surface. Much of the rain

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 27

that falls on the Wolds, like that which falls on the limestone hills of
the vale of Pickering, is speedily absorbed, and collecting in fissures
of the rock, is conveyed by these internal channels, as well as by
channels on its surface, to the lower parts of the hills, where copious
springs burst forth from the openings of such fissures. A large stream
of this description has found a vent for itself at Springhead near Hull ;
and the copious flow of water at Bridlington Quay may be owing to
the bursting forth of a stream from the interior of the chalk, more
than to the collection of water on its surface. Perhaps too, the beds
of gravel, lying over the chalk at those springs, might be formed, or
greatly increased, by the agency of such subterraneous streams; as
the gravel there consists chiefly of fragments of chalk and flint, which
these streams might carry down, from the beds through which they
force their passage. : .

The Gipsies, which rise near Wold-Newton, about ten miles
north-west from Bridlington Quay, are intermitting springs of a very
different description from the spring at the latter place. They never
flow but after great rains; and appear to be occasioned by the super-
abundant waters of a subterraneous stream of the kind now described.
That stream for the most part finds its way under ground; but when
its waters are so swoln, that they cannot get vent by their secret
channel, they are forced to rise to the surface by such crevices as
they can find: and as the bursting out of this new opening, together
with the accumulation of mud, sand, and gravel, occasioned by the
excess of the waters, may partially choak up the usual passage, the
springs at the surface may thus be made to flow longer, and more
copiously, than might otherwise be expected.* These springs, though
they always rise near the same spot, are not confined to two or three

* Our esteemed friend Thomas Hinderwell, Esq. considers the Gipsies as most probably:
the re-appearance of a stream of water running eastward, which is absorbed a few miles west of
Wold-Newton. Hist. of Scarborough, 2nd. Edit. p. 280.

28 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

large orifices, but appear to ascend from a multitude of small crevices
or openings, often trickling through the grass where the ground is
unbroken, and leaving scarcely a vestige of the places from whence
they issued, when the period of their flowing is over. As the rise of
the Gipsies depends on the quantity of moisture imbibed, they usually
rise in the most rainy season of the year; that is, in winter; or in
the beginning of spring, when the snow is melting. Sometimes they
flow for two or three months together, and the discharge has been
known to be so copious, that the current filled a drain six feet wide,
and three feet deep. In other seasons they never rise at all, and in-
tervals of three or four years occasionally intervene between one over-
flowing and another.

It is worthy of notice, that these intermitting springs were known
so early as the reign of king Stephen, when they presented the same
phenomena as they do now, and even passed by the same name.
William of Newburgh, in recording the events of that monarch’s
reign, makes mention of the Gipsies; which he describes as rising
at intervals of some years, and forming, when they did.tise, a consid-
erable torrent. And he observes, that it was a good omen when
they were dry, for their flowing was deemed a sure prognostication of
an approaching famine. We are not aware, that their rise is consid-
‘ered as equally ominous now. Excess of drought is more likely te
produce famine on the Wolds, than excess of wetness; yet as a dry
summer may be expected to succeed a very rainy winter, the break-
ing out of the Gipsies may perhaps, in this light, still portend an un-

favourable season.*

* William of Newburgh was born near the Gipsies. He gives these springs the name
Vipse; but G and V or W were then frequently interchanged. Vasconta was the same with
Gasconia, Willielmus the same as Gulielmus; and Vipse may therefore be said to be the same
name as Gipse. 4

It may be gratifying to some of our readers to give that Historian’s account of these
springs in his own words, He notices them in relating a prodigy, said to have been seen at a

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 29

The celebrated Scarborough springs, whose medicinal virtues
began to be noticed about two hundred years ago, issue from the
lower part of a high alluvial cliff; consisting chiefly of brown clay,
with sand and gravel. The clay contains vast quantities of imbedded
nodules and fragments of stone of all descriptions, among which
aluminous schistus and ironstone appear to predominate. The
springs, which are two in number, percolate through this clay, but
probably have their true sources in the gravel, of which an immense
mass, containing numerous fragments of rocks, is seen in an adjacent
part of the cliff. The fallmg down of the brown clay has in a great
measure displaced or covered the gravel beds, at the spot where the
springs appear, and thus concealed their real sources. In the year
1737, a portion of the cliff, containing near an acre of pasture ground,
with the cattle grazing upon it, sunk perpendicularly several yards;
on which occasion, it would seem, the thick bed of brown clay forced
from beneath it the sand and gravel beds, which were consequently
protruded outwards at the bottom of the cliff, forming a ridge above
100 yards long, 26 broad, and 6 or 7 high. The staith which then
secured the wells with the buildings belonging to them, coming within
the limits of this ridge, rose with it in one entire mass 12 feet above
its former position, and at the same time was protruded forward
about 20 yards. The springs, as might be expected, were instantly

tumulus not far from the springs. His words are as follows: In provincia quoque Deirorum,
haud procul a loco nativitatis mez, res mirabilis contigit, quam a puero cognoyi. Est vicus
aliquot a mari Orientali miliaris distans, juxta quem famosz illz aque quas vulgo Vipse vocant,
numerosa scaturigine e terra prosiliunt, non quidem jugiter, sed annis interpositis, et facto
torrente non modico, per loca humiliora in mare labuntur: que quidem cum siccantur, signum
bonum est; nam earum fluxus futurze famis incommodum non fallaciter portendere dicitur.
G. Neubrigen. 1. I. c. 28. Perhaps Vipse ought to be read Vipsé, with the proper Latin termi-
nation, The distinction between these two terminations is seldom observed in ancient manuscripts,

Plot, in his History of Oxfordshire, p. 30, mentions some intermitting springs, which are
said, like the Gipsies, to be always dry in fertile years, their flowing being considered as the
harbinger of dearth.

H

30 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

choaked up; but by diligent search were again recovered, rising,
most probably, from under the mass of clay that had overwhelmed
them, or percolating through fissures or crevices in its substance.
The virtues of these waters are no doubt owing to the nature of the
minerals through which they pass. Their principal ingredient is
sulphate of magnesia, which is most abundant in the south well.
They also contain muriate of magnesia, carbonate of lime, sulphate
of lime, with a small portion of carbonate of iron, and of muriate
of natron.* :

Before we take our leave of the alluvial covering, it will be pro-
per to advert to those remains of peat bogs or morasses, which are
found under some of the alluvial beds, and which in many instances
occur below the level of the sea at high water, and are hence de-
scribed as the remains of submarine forests.

An extensive morass of this description exists on the banks of
the Humber in the vicinity of Hull, where it forms a sort of stratum
about three feet thick, consisting of moor earth, decayed trees, and
other vegetable substances. Similar remains have been found at
Withernsea, Hornsea, and some other parts of the Holderness coast ;
and it is well known, that they have also been observed in great
abundance on the southern banks of the Humber, and ona great
part of the shores of Lincolnshire. The same phenomenon has been
met with on the banks of the Esk in Whitby harbour, particularly
in digging for the formation of docks; and may be seen also on the
Durham shore, between Hartlepool and Seaton.

In these bogs or morasses are found immense quantities of trees,
of various sizes, with branches, leaves, roots, &c. The trees are of
such kinds as are known to be natives of this country, as oak, ash,
fir, hazel, holly, beech, willow, &c. The fruits of some of them,

* See Hinderwell’s Hist. of Scarborough, 2nd Edit. p. 206.

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 31

particularly hazel-nuts, acorns, and the cones of the fir, are often
met with in great abundance. Immense quantities of leaves are found
matted together; and these leaves may frequently be separated and
obtained entire, by dipping lumps of the decayed masses in water,
and dissolving or breaking them, when the leaves may be seen on
examining the fresh fractures. The leaves are usually intermixed
with decayed grass, and other vegetable remains. On examining the
contents of the bog at Hartlepool, the authors also discerned among
the leaves the remains of insects, particularly the wings of small bee-
_ tles. The trees are generally much decayed; though many of the
oaks are in a good state of preservation. The bark of the hazel and
the birch often appears remarkably fresh, while the wood is com-
pletely rotten.

It has been supposed, that an entire stratum of this kind of bog,
three or four feet thick, passes under Holderness; that the one edge
of this stratum may be seen on the banks of the Humber and of Hull
river, while the other edge may be traced all along the coast from the
Spurn to Bridlington; and that it may be found in any part of the
interior of Holderness, by boring to the same depth.* But thege
ideas are neither consistent with facts, nor agreeable to the nature
and arrangement of the alluvial beds. It is not correct to say, that
such remains may be found at low water all along the Holderness
coast; for they are found only in certain spots, the greater part of
the coast being destitute of them. Did a continued stratum of this
kind really exist, we ought not to find it at one uniform level, but
rising or falling with the curvature or dip of the other alluvial beds,
The truth is, though the morass found at Hull probably extends
through the whole of the flat ground in that vicinity, whether near
the sea or not, the remains of that description observed on the Hol-

* See Dr. Alderson’s Paper on this subject in the Philosophical Sournal for October, 1799.

32 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

derness coast are not the continuation of the Hull bed, but mere
patches, occurring here and there.. These patches have not only no
connection with the Hull morass, but no connection with one another.
The largest of them occur where the cliffis very low, or where there
can scarcely be said to be any cliff at all; and those small patches
which occur where the cliff is lofty, as between Sandley Mere and
Hornsea, are not found at the foot of the cliff, or within reach of the
tide, but always a few feet below the surface. Fragments of this
kind of bog may indeed be found occasionally at the base of the high-
est cliffs; but this is only where they have fallen down from their
proper bed. ’

An instance of this was observed by the authors nearly opposite
a place called Grimston Garth, not far from Aldborough. There, at
the foot of a cliff about 100 feet high, they met with masses of bog
earth, with portions of trees, branches, roots, and other vegetable
substances. Some parts of these masses, in a half dried state, might
be split into thin flexible pieces, forming a -kind of elastic bitumen.
On examining the cliff, it was found, that these masses had been
washed down by the rains from a bed of peat which lies seven or
eight feet below the surface, about a foot in thickness, and extending
horizontally along the face of the cliff a number of yards. The bed
does not appear to reach a great way inward; but it may have ex-
tended outward to a considerable distance, when the sea had not
encroached so far on the land; and probably the broadest and deep-
est part of it has long ago been washed away. This peat bog abounds
with decayed branches of hazel, and other shrubs; and with the
leaves and roots of vegetables, particularly reeds or rushes, the seeds
of which are also very discernible. Over the peat lies a bed of light
coloured marl, of a fine texture. In some places it is tinged with a
beautiful ight blue, in small specks, exactly the colour of those mi-
nute insects that are found in myriads floating on the surface of

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 33

stagnant ponds. ‘The authors also found here an imperfect valve of
a fresh water muscle. The marl in some parts is so indurated as to
have nearly acquired the hardness of limestone; and, in like man-
ner, a few portions of the peat approach to the state of coal. Over
these beds is the highest part of the alluvium, consisting of coarse
clay or clayey marl, with vegetable soil.

Similar patches are found in the cliffs between Cowden and
Hornsea, at a great elevation above the sea, and only a few feet
below the surface. In one of these exposed bogs, near Cowden, an
efflorescence of sulphate of iron was observed in several spots, on
the face of the cliff. Patches of peat bog may also be observed be-
tween Hornsea and Bridlington; but the most remarkable instance
occurs opposite Skipsea. Here a large morass, several feet in thick-
ness, is exposed to the sea, containing as usual decayed trees, and
other vegetable remains. The alluvial covering over it is in general
very slight, and in some parts the peat reaches the surface. This
morass cannot be called submarine, for though the sea washes the
lower part of it at high water, it does not cover the upper part.
Here, as in the cliff at Grimston Garth, the authors discovered the
shells of a fresh water muscle, apparently the mya pictorum.

From these facts, compared with others which are yet to be
stated, we arrive at the conclusion, that these supposed remains of
submarine forests are only the bottoms of fresh water lakes, or meres,
which the sea has broken into, and drained. Wherever the country
has abounded with wood, and this was once the’ case with a great
part of Britain, the bottoms of meres er marshes contain vast quan-
tities of these decayed trees and vegetable substances. They are
found in the bottom of Hornsea mere, wherever it has been dug into;
and were the sea to break through the barriers of that mere, the same
kind of peat bog would be exposed there as we see in the spots al-
ready mentioned: nay, we should find over the peat a stratum of

I

34 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

marl, as in the Grimston cliff, for in the bottom’ of Hornsea mere,
above the vegetable remains, there is a quantity of fine light powder,
which if indurated would form a marl of the very same nature. Dr.
Plot, in his History of Oxfordshire (p. 160, 161, 53, 57), mentions the
discovery of large trees, with other vegetable remains, in the bottom
of ponds; particularly at a place called Blund’s Court; where also
there was found, over the decayed vegetables, a bed of fine light co-
loured marl, which, like that in the cliff near Grimston, contained
“a blueish substance, much of the consistence of flower of sulphur,
and not much unlike to the finest blue starch.” This substance,
which, as. was hinted above, we conceive to be the remains of mi-
nute blue insects, he names’ ceruleum nativum, or native blue; but
he very correctly states, that it is so intermixed with the marl, “that
no quantities can be got for the painter's use.” In the bottom of the
same pond, there was found a stag’s head with the antlers, together
with two Roman urns. ks

It would be easy-to. multiply instances of the same kind, ob-
served in other parts of Britain, and in the north of Ireland :* but
our own district and its vicinity will supply a sufficient number of
facts, to illustrate and confirm the opinion which we have advanced.
When the mere at Seamer in Cleveland was drained a few years ago,
the bottom of it was found to be a peat bog, containing numbers of
trees; and the skulls and antlers of deers, with the horns and bones
of a large species of ox, were also discovered. Similar remains, both
vegetable and animal, have been found at Malton, near the bed of the
Derwent. Ata former period, the course of that river below Malton
appears to have been greatly obstructed, and its waters collecting in
the vale of Pickering, and towards Malton, formed extensive marshes,
the bottoms of which now exist in the form of peat bogs. Hence we

* See Philosoph. Transactions, V. XXII. No. 275, p. 980, &e. Geological Transactions,
V. III. p' 380; LV. p. 443.

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 35

find in Domesday a number of places in that quarter taking their name
from meres, now unknown.* Even at present, the waters of the Der-
went, with those of the Rye and other tributary streams, frequently
overflow the low grounds of the same valley during part of the win-
ter; and they did so to a greater extent, before the formation of the
«New Cut from the Derwent at Everley to Scalby beck, which, like a
safety valve, serves to carry off the superfluous waters. In like man-
ner, the peat bog on the banks of the Esk above Whitby bridge, which
is probably continued in the flat ground at Ruswarp, may have been
formed at some distant era, when the mouth of the river was obstructed
by rocks or banks, not now existing, which completely excluded the
tide, and made the waters of the river to accumulate above it, so as
to form a small take on the site of the present harbour.

The morass at Hartlepool is evidently a continuation of the slake,
the bottom of which contains large trees and other vegetable remains,
with the antlers of deers and other animal substances.f The morass
now exposed to the waves has been the bottom of another slake, or of
another division of the same slake; from whence, at a remote period,
the sea has been excluded by a barrier, now demolished, which per-
mitted the accumulation of fresh water on this spot, and the conse
quent formation of a morass.

That the morasses on the Holderness shore have been the bottoms
ofmeres, may be inferred even from the names of the places where they
occur. Sandley-mere, into which the sea appears to have broken at
no very distant period, speaks for itself; and the names Skipsea,
Withernsea, and Kilnsea, indicate that a mere has existed at each of
these places, as there still is at Hornsea. The termination sea (or sey,
as it is also spelt,) in these names, is not our modern word denoting

* As Odulfesmare, Chiluesmares, Aschilesmares, Maxudesmares, Chigogesmers.
sce Bawdwen’s Domesday, p. 11.
} Sir Cuthbert Sharp’s History of Hartlepool, p. 3.

36 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

the oeéan, but is nearly synonymous with mere.* Both terms are
united in the name Sea-mer, that belongs to two places in our district,
neither of which borders on the sea. Seamer in Cleveland could not
be so named from its maritime situation, being more than twelve miles
from the shore.

That a considerable mere has existed at Skipsea, appears from .
what has been said of the remains that are found there: and the idea
is corroborated by the well known fact, that a large tract of land, on
‘which stood Hyde, Hartburn, and perhaps other towns or villages,
has been swept away from that part of the coast by the violence of
the ocean. That tract of land, forming the barrier of Skipsea mere,
and probably of another mere near Barmston, being destroyed, the
sea broke into these meres, and their boggy substratum became ex-
posed to the waves.

Hornsea formerly belonged to a chain of meres, some of which
have been drained, or otherwise exhausted, on the land side, while
one at least has been destroyed by the sea. The decayed vegetable
remains existing on the shore opposite to Hornsea, point out the site
of a mere in that direction; and on the contrary side were the meres
of Wassand and Seaton. The privilege of fishing in the meres of
Hornsea, Wassand, and Seaton, as also in that of Agnes Burton, was
given to the monks of St. Mary’s abbey at York.| The name of the
last place, Agnes, was formerly written Agnese or Agnesea; having
the same termination as Hornsea and Skipsea, and for the same rea-
son,— the existence of a mere at the place which it designated. We
may remark also, that Seaton, like Seamer, did not derive its name
from the ocean, but from the mere or lake on which it stood.

* The word sjo in the Scandinavian languages signifies a Jake as well as the sea; and the
Saxon word yx might be used in the same way: yet the ancient names of places in our district
seem to be more Danish than Saxon. See Hist. of Whitby, Vol. I. p. 82,83, 84. Vol. I]. p. 897.

+ Drake’s Eboracum, p. 593, 606.

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 37

The vestiges of a mere at Withernsea are less obvious than at
Skipsea; yet the recess in the shore at that place seems to mark the
spot which it occupied. The sea, however, has not only broken into
that mere, but encroached on the land beyond it; the boggy remains
being found, not in the face of the cliff, nor at the foot of it, but at a
considerable distance outward. Some fields on the shore, with part
of the church of Owthorn, have been destroyed at no very remote
period. On looking into Domesday, we find that another mere for-
merly existed in this quarter, called Redmere or Rotmere, with a
town called Redewick. It is possible that Redmere might be so
named, in contradistinction to Wythornsey or White-Hornsey, one
of the ancient names of Withernsea; though it is more likely that Red
or Rede, in the former name, corresponds with the modern word reed,
and that Redmere had its name from the reeds which grew init. Leve-
totholm, and Canutesholm, also mentioned in Domesday, appear to
have been low lands formerly opposite to Holmpton, or Holmtown,
which is likewise named in that record. It contains the names of
various other places in that quarter, as Totele, or Toteley, Cletun,
perhaps Claytown, Andreby, &c.; no vestige of which is known to
remain.

The depredations of the German ocean at Kilnsea and towards
the Spurn point have been still more considerable; and it is probable
that more than one mere may have perished there. Ravenser, or
Ravenspur, with the latter part of which word the name Spurn seems
to be connected, has long ago been lost, with a number of other
places in that vicinity, belonging to Birstal priory; nay, the very site
of the priory itself has been totally swept away.

The marshes along the banks of the Humber, and on those of
Hull river, have been of far greater extent than those of the Holder-
ness shore. It is stated in Dr. Alderson’s paper, above referred to,
as a proof of the existence of a stratum of peat bog under the whole

K

38 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

of Holderness, that the boggy earth was found in sinking a well a
mile from the sea; but the same circumstance might occur many miles
from the sea; for the woody marshes, which produced the peat bogs,
not only existed in the neighbourhood of Hull, and on the banks of
the Humber, but extended northward almost to the vicinity of Drif-
field. We not only read of marshes at Saltagh, Kayingham, Sutton,
and Marfleet (anciently Mereflete); but find them also at Weel,
Beverley, Leckonfield, all around Melsa abbey, and even as far as
Watton priory. Melsa is described as in the midst of woods, waters,
and marshes.* Beverley was similarly situated; for its Saxon name
indicated that it stood in the woods of Deira;+ and we find from
Domesday, that its waters were abundant, for there was “a fishery of
seven thousand eels” here. At Cottingham were five fisheries of
eight thousand eels. In the Earl of Morton’s land at Leckonfield,
there was a fishery yielding four thousand eels, and in William de
Percy’s land, at the same town, ten fisheries yielding two thousand
four hundred eels. A great part of the woods of Deira, as well'as of
its marshes, remained at the era of the Survey; for we find at Bever-
fey wood pasture three miles long, and a mile and a half broad; at
Leckonfield, in Earl Morton’s land, wood pasture one mile long and
one mile broad; and in Percy’s land, wood pasture two miles long
and two broad; not to speak of other large tracts of wood in the same
quarter. The names of Woodmansea near Beverley, and Rotsea
near Watton, bespeak the existence of meres in those places. Indeed
Watton itself derived its name from the wetness of its situation; being
surrounded, like Melsa, by waters and:marshes.§

Woods, marshes, and fisheries of eels abounded also at the era
of Domesday, in the neighbourhood of Howden and Cave, and in

* Nemoribus et frutetis consitum, aquis et paludibus cinctum. Dugdale’s Monast. I. p. 793.
+ Onoyyapuoa. Bed. Hist. L. V. c. 2. :

+ Bawdwen’s Domesday, p. 55, 80, 169, 202, &c.

§ Tts Saxon name was Wezaoun— Fet-town. Bed. Hist. L. V. ¢. 3.

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 39

the flat country on the other side of the Humber and the Ouse, to-
wards Thorn and Hatfield. At Tudworth near Hatfield were twenty
fisheries yielding twenty thousand eels.*

Yet, in these respects, the southern part of Yorkshire was far
exceeded by the adjoming county of Lincoln. A large division of
Lincolnshire obtained, in Bede’s time; the name of Lindi-sey, the
sey of Lindum (the Roman name of Lincoln), as being almost cov-
ered with meres and woody marshes.{ The quantity of wood pas-
ture, coppice wood, meadow land, marsh land, and eel fisheries,
entered in Domesday as belonging to Lincolnshire, is immense. Thus
in the King’s land at Kyme, were two hundred and ten acres of wood
pasture, seven hundred acres of marsh, and six fisheries; besides
what belonged there to other proprietors. The bishop of Lincoln had
in Corby, eleven hundred acres of wood pasture; in Bitchfield, seven
hundred acres; in Sleaford, three hundred and twenty acres of
meadow, and three hundred and thirty acres of marsh; in Louth,
four hundred acres of wood; and in Cainby, four hundred acres of
meadow. In the two Mintings, were two hundred and sixty acres of
meadow, one hundred of wood pasture, and one thousand and ten
of coppice wood. In the Isle of Axholme, between the Trent and
the Dun, there was then a marsh, ten miles long, and three broad.
Vast quantities of woods and marshes stretched along the south bank
of the Humber, and the Lincolnshire coast. At Barton were two
hundred and forty acres of meadow, ‘and coppice wood two miles
long and one broad; and at F erraby, near Barton, were two hundred.
and ten acres of meadow, and two hundred and sixty acres of marsh.
Earl Hugh had in Wainfleet, and its dependencies, a thousand acres
of meadow, twenty salt pits, and eighty acres of coppice wood; and.
in Huttoft, Sutton, and some adjacent places, seven hundred and

* Bawdwen’s Domesday, p. 161, &e. + The same district is still called Lindsey.

40 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

eighty acres of meadow; besides what other proprietors had in the
same places.* These last instances have been quoted, chiefly be-
cause the boggy islets, on the Lincolnshire coast, examined by Sir
Joseph Banks and Dr. de Serra in 1796, lie opposite to Huttoft and
Sutton.} As the sea appears to have made very great inroads on the
coast, at no very distant date, it may be presumed, that the moory
islets now discernible, are fragments of what was meadow or marsh
land at the era of Domesday.

An extensive chain of meres has skirted the shores of Lincoln-
shire, so that their bottoms, now exposed to the sea, form almost
“one continued morass. The barrier which for some ages secured
them against the inroads of the ocean, has long ago been broken
through; yet we need not doubt that such a barrier once existed. If
any should allege, that they are of too great extent to have been so
secured, let them recollect, that there are fens or meres in Lin-
colnshire, of great extent, from which the ocean is still shut out.
Were the sea to break into these fens, their bottoms would become
another large morass, similar to what is now exposed along the shore.
So early as the reign of the Conqueror, the sea had commenced its
inroads on this coast; for we find it stated, concerning some land at a -
place called Wrangle, that “it was waste on account of the flowing
of the sea.”{ As there were a few places on the coast with the term
Dic or Dyke occurring in their names, it seems probable, that some
dykes, or artificial barriers, were constructed even at that distant

era, to check the encroachments of the ocean.
With respect to the morasses on the banks of the Humber and
its tributary rivers, it is most probable, that they have been formed,

<

at a remote period, in consequence of the obstruction of the mouth

* Bawdwen, p. 419, 479, 513, 562, 602, &e. + See Philos, Transactions for 1799,
{ Bawdwen’s Domesday, p. 592.

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 41

of the Humber. It is certain, that the mouths of large rivers are
subject to great variations, being sometimes quite open, and some-
times greatly obstructed by the formation of sand banks or mud
islands. Such shoals have existed, and still in some degree exist, at
the mouth of the Humber; and we may easily believe, that at the dis-
tance of some ages, the mouth of this river was so choaked up, as to
allow only a very partial flow of the tide, and occasion a large ac-
cumulation of fresh water on all the flat lands through which this river
and the streams that feed it hold their course. An obstruction of this
kind would necessarily produce large meres and marshes, throughout
the woody plains of Deira and: of Lindisey.

But here a question arises, which indeed might have been started
sooner, How came the bottoms of these meres or lakes to be so re-
plenished with decayed trees, and other vegetable matter, as to acquire
the nature of peat bogs? To this we answer, that various causes may
be assigned for this fact. Even in the ordinary course of nature,
wherever there are fresh water lakes situated in woods, a deposition
of vegetable matter will gradually take place in the bottoms of the
Jakes, from the annual fall of leaves and decay of plants and shrubs,
and the occasional fall of withered branches and trunks of trees.
This natural process of decay will, in the lapse of some ages, yield a
thick stratum of vegetable matter, as may be seen in the woods of
America. But it is evident, that the hand of man has greatly accele-
rated the accumulation of this matter, in the bottoms of our lakes or
meres. Some think, that our ancestors, in clearing out the land for
the purposes of agriculture, threw the trees into lakes and ponds and
hollow places, as the easiest way of getting rid of them; wood being
with them of no more value, than it is now in the back settlements of
America. This is Dr. Plot’s opinion. The fact under consideration,
however, is far more likely to have resulted from the arts of war,
than from those of peace. It is well known, from the testimony of

L

42 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

Cesar, Tacitus, Dion Cassius, and other antient historians, that the
Britons had their fastnesses to which they fled after any defeat, in
woody marshes, whither the Romans could not easily follow them;
and that it was therefore a part of the policy of the Romans, to cut
down the woods, and fill up the marshes and lakes with the trees.
By this scheme, which was carried on to a great extent, and in com-
pleting which the vanquished tribes were compelled to assist, the
Romans secured their conquests in Britain; for the natives having no
place of retreat left, were compelled to submit.

That such has been the principal cause of the accumulation of
wood in our lakes and marshes, may be inferred from the appear-
ances observed in cutting large drains, or new rivers, in the marsh
lands of Hatfield Chase, above a century ago. Among the vast
quantities of trees then discovered, many bore the marks of the axe,
others appeared to be split with wedges, and not a few exhibited
evident traces of fire; indicating, that that element had been em-
ployed in the destruction of the British forests. The discovery of
several Roman coins, in digging these drains, particularly some coins
of Vespasian, serves to shew the time when, and the people by whom,
this destruction was effected. Other works of art were also found,
some of which might be Roman, and some British. The canoes
found occasionally i in these ancient bogs, were probably those whitch
the Britons used in navigating their lakes and rivers.*

A great number of the trees in these bogs appear to have grown
on the spots where they lie, their roots, from which they have been
broken or cut off, being found beside them in their natural position.
It is stated, however, both in Mr. De la Pryme’s paper now referred
to, and that of Dr. Richardson concerning the fossil wood at Youle
or Gowle, } that the trees in these bogs generally lie in the direction

* See De la Pryme’s Paper in the Philos. Trans. for 1701. + Philos. Trans. for 1697.

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 43

of the current of the rivers in that quarter, having their tops toward
the north-east. This suggests the idea, that the Romans not only
filled up stagnant pools with the wood which they cut down, but
threw quantities of trees into the rivers, which being carried down Isy
the currents were lodged in abundance upon the adjacent banks.
Following this idea a little further, may we not conjecture, that
the obstruction of the mouth of the Humber might be caused by an
accumulation of this floating wood, which lodging in the mud would
become a nucleus or basis for new islets or shoals. These mud banks
being held together, and in some degree consolidated, by the timber,
might for some ages be a barrier at the mouth of the river, both im-
peding the influx of the tide, and the current of the fresh water. In
that case, the river stemmed by this new bar, behoved to rise higher,
so as to flow over it; and this rise of the river would inundate all the
flat country along its course, covering the plains far and wide, where
the woods had lately been cut down, and where some remains of the
ancient forests were still left. Hence the waters, stagnating in low
places over the felled trees, and other vegetable substances, would
in the course of some years convert them into peat bog; and the win-
ter floods would deposit, over this bogey stratum, successive layers of
mud, sand, and gravel, forming a soil adapted for vegetation.* The
obstructions at the mouth of the river being gradually removed, after
the lapse of several years, the waters would retire from the lands
which they had inundated, leaving extensive tracts of soft spongy
grounds, covering the ancient surface, and even the peat bogs, to the
depth of several feet; while large meres and marshes would still

* Several curious observations on. the formation of peat moss in the hottoms of lakes.and-on
the banks of rivers, and of meadow land over.the peat, may be seen in the first Volume of De
Luc’s Geological Travels. We might have noticed, when speaking of the termination sea or.
sey, that see is the usual term for dake in the north of Germany; of which numerous instances,
occur in De Lue’s Map.

44 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

remain here and there, particularly in low and hollow places. The
rapid growth of trees and plants in the new formed soil, would con-
tribute to the increase of that soil, and serve to retain the moisture
with which it was saturated. ,

Thus we may account for the phenomena presented by these
submerged forests, without having recourse to the operation of earth-
quakes, or any preternatural elevations or depressions, either of the
ocean, or of the land. The accumulation of an alluvial soil of sixteen
or twenty feet in thickness, over these vegetable remains, is no diffi-
culty in the way, especially as there may have been successive ob-
structions and inundations, and consequently a greater number of de-
positions. We have good evidence of the rapid growth of soil in
low grounds, particularly on banks of rivers. The Roman pavements
discovered in our times are almost all at a considerable depth below
the present surface; and in tracing the remains of our Roman roads,
however distinctly we may see them on the high grounds, we are
almost sure to lose them in the hollows, where they are deeply cov-
ered by the soil. That the land on the banks of the Humber was
increased at some periods, as it was diminished. at others, appears
from the records kept by the monks of Melsa; who state, that after
the frequent and violent inundations of the Humber had destroyed
no small quantity of land at their grange of Ald-Saltagh, and forced
them to remove their grange into the interior, the land near the Hum-
ber began to grow again.*

Perhaps it may be alleged, that the low situation in which these
peat bogs are found, militates against the opinions now advanced,
-and favours the idea of a subsidence of the land, or an elevation of
the sea; -most of the bogs, where they are laid open on the shore,

* Dugdale’s Monasticon, I. p. 795,796. The renovation of some part of their lost terri-
tory is thus mentioned : “Contra quem locum, licet Humbria ibidem terram propius consumpsisset,
terra jam recrescere coepit.””

ALLUVIAL COVERING. 45

being visible only when the tide is out. Let it be remembered, how-
ever, that the bottoms of meres, or fresh water lakes, are often below
the level of the sea; and this might be the case with many of our
meres. Besides, might there not be a subsidence of the bogs them-
selves, where they open towards the sea, or any large river, without
any general sinking of the land? In piercing through the alluvial
beds near Hull, it is found, that beneath the peat bog there is a thick
bed of sand and clay, mixed with water, forming a kind of quicksand;
and in sinking at Sutton and Mablethorpe, near the boggy islets
above mentioned, there is found beneath the boggy stratum about
twenty feet of very soft clay or mud. Now it is easy to see, that
wherever the bog is exposed to the tide, or to the river, with any
such soft bed under it, especially if that bed be of a considerable
thickness, there must be a partial subsidence of the bog; for the soft
clay, or mud, or sand, having nothing to support it, will burst out,
or be protruded, from under the bog; and the tide or current washing
away the part first protruded, will make room for more; while the
weight of the boggy stratum itself, and of the alluvium incumbent
over it, must serve to press out the soft matter from beneath, it; and
thus a subsidence of the bog and its covering will take place, which
will be greater or less, according to the softness and thickness of the
stratum below, and the weight of the alluvium above. Some of the
bogs connected with the Humber are known to have actually subsided
a great number of feet, particularly those between Thorne and Gowle;
and the boggy banks of the Humber may all have experienced a sim-
ilar depression. Where the exposed bog itself is remarkably soft,
the protrusion or compression of its own substance will sink the whole
mass so much the lower.

We have dwelt longer on this part of our subject than may seem
necessary; but the importance of elucidating topics that have been
involved in so much obscurity, may serve as an apology for the length

M

46 DESCRIPTION QF THE STRATA.

of these discussions.— Let us now proceed to describe the regular
strata of the district, beginning with

THE CHALK.

In this district, as in the south-east parts of England, the chalk
is the uppermost rock, in respect of geological position. It holds a
prominent place among our strata; and, as may be seen in the Map
and Section, it is of very considerable extent, forming nearly the
whole of those hills, or elevated grounds, denominated the Yorkshire
Wolds. These chalk hills lie in the form of an arch, or bow, having
one end at Flamborough Head, and the other near Ferriby on the
Humber, while the middle part bends inwards, toward the river Der-
went, making a sweep similar to the bend of that river, and in some
places parallel to it. The middle part is by far the broadest, the
distance from Driffield, where the ‘chalk begins to sink under the
alluvium, to Scagglethorpe beside Malton, being about fifteen miles ;
while at the two extremities of the bow, both that which touches the
ocean, and that which reaches the Humber, the breadth is compara-
tively small. The Wolds, however, do not form one continued
mountain, but are intersected or indented by several valleys, some of
which are of considerable depth and extent. The curvature of the
arch described by these hills is greatest towards its northern termina-
tion, where the chalk, commencing at Flamborough, takes a north-
westerly direction by Hunmanby and Folkton (at which its most
northerly point occurs); and thence proceeds west or west-south-west
to Scagglethorpe. In this part of its course it is attended by the
Derwent, which meeting the Wolds near Ganton, is forced to make
a sharp turn to the west, flowing round the foot of the Wolds by Mal-
ton. From Scagglethorpe, the boundary of the chalk hills runs nearly
south, or south-south-west, by Birdsall and Wilton; after which,

CHALK. 47

diverging from the Derwent, it takes a south-east course by Market
Weighton to Ferriby, where it meets the Humber. The whole cir-
cuit thus described amounts to about sixty miles, without reckoning
the sinuosities of the outline. The chalk stratum, after being inter-
rupted by the Humber, re-appears on the south side of that river; and
traversing Lincolnshire, continues its course, with a few interruptions,
to the southern shores of England.

The highest parts of the Wolds are towards the outer edge of the
arch which they describe; the interior part gently sloping from every
side towards the plain of Holderness, while the exterior presents a
bold and lofty front, or at least a steep declivity. The chalk first
appears on the coast, above the level of the sea, about a mile north
from Bridlington Quay. From thence it gradually rises towards
Flamborough and Speeton, where it reaches the height of about 400
feet or upwards; there being precipitous cliffs at Speeton about 300
feet high, the top of which is many feet below the elevation of the
adjoining heights. In proceeding westward, we find the back part
of the Wolds assuming a much more lofty form. Wilton beacon is
ascertained to be 809 feet above the level of the sea. The hills again
diminish in height as they approach the Humber; yet at Hunsley bea-
con, only about six miles from Ferriby, the elevation is still 531 feet.
-At the same time, it must be observed, that the thickness of the chalk
is not-every where equal to the height of the hills; for where the
Wolds are highest, we find some of the next strata, occupying the
lower part of them, beneath the chalk. The thickness of the latter,
however, cannot be less in some places than five or six hundred feet.

The dip of the chalk strata, as has already been intimated, is not
m one direction only; for the slope of the hills, from each part of the
semicircle which they form, being towards the centre, that is, towards
the middle part of Holderness, it follows, that at Flamborough and
Bridlington the dip is to the south; about Driffield and the middle

48 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

parts of the Wolds, it is to the south-east; and at Riplmgham, Swan-
land, and other places near the Humber, it is to the east; which last
is also the direction of the dip in Lincolnshire. Thus the chalk of
our district forms a kind of basin, or rather half basin, in which the
alluvium of Holderness lies; the chalk dipping beneath that alluvium
on every side. The quantity, or angle, of the dip, is perhaps as va-
rious as its direction. Some have stated it at five yards ina mile;
but in many places it is vastly greater, while in others it may be less.
The distance from the heights near Flamborough, which we have
stated to be 400 feet high, to where the chalk sinks below the level
of the sea, is only about four miles; and the distance from Hunsley
beacon, which is 531 feet high, to the plains of Beverley and Cot-
tingham, can scarcely be more than five miles: so that the dip in each
of these instances is 100 feet per mile. In other places, however, the
declivity is much more gentle; and as we may presume, that nearly
the same inequalities in the surface of the chalk exist under the allu-
vium, as we find in the hills, it is impossible to say, at what depth
the chalk might be found, at any given distance from the foot of the
hills. It is said, we know not on what authority, that at Sproatley
in Holderness, the chalk is only 198 feet from the surface. Accord-
ing to the general dip of the strata, it ought there to be much deeper:
but it is not unlikely, that the chalk, after descending, may rise in
hummocks, forming little submarine, or subterraneous hills. This
idea is countenanced by the fact, that a rock rises in the sea at Smith-
wick sands, opposite Fraisthorpe near Bridlington Quay, and is almost
visible at low water: which rock may be presumed to be a part of
the chalk, which there ascends almost to the surface, a few miles south
from the place where it sinks below the horizon. The great height
of the alluvium at Aldborough and its vicinity makes it very proba-
ble, that there also the chalk again bends upward; and this agrees
with the account of its approaching so near the surface at Sproatley,

CHALK. 49

which is in the same quarter. Similar undulations in the chalk beds
may be observed in Lincolnshire, and in the southern counties.

Chalk is a calcareous rock so generally known, that it is unne-
cessary to give a minute description of it. Yet it will be proper to
make some observations on the structure of a bed which holds such
an important station in our district; especially as our remarks may
assist some of our readers in comparing the chalk of Yorkshire with
that of other places.

In examining the chalk, in the quarries on the Wolds, and in the
cliffs of Flamborough, we see the upper part of the bed not present
ing a smooth surface, but broken and shattered, and intermixed with
the alluvial soil, which is generally very thin. It is intersected by
numerous fissures or seams, both parallel to the general bed, and
perpendicular to it; so that it is easily divided into angular fragments.
As we proceed downwards, the parallel seams, which constitute the
chalk a stratified rock, become less numerous, so that the strata grow
thicker and thicker; and as the perpendicular fissures, which are less
regular than the seams of the strata, also diminish in number, the
middle and lower parts of the great chalk bed are much more com-
pact than the upper part. Indeed, as the broken chalk descends but
a short way from the top, the great body of the chalk, but especially
the lower part, has a massive appearance, with very few horizontal
partings: and as it has a tendency to split in a perpendicular direc-
tion, in preference to a horizontal fracture, the chalk cliffs on both
sides of F lamborough Head, and at the Head itself, have a beautiful
columNar aspect. For the same reason, numerous recesses and
eaverns, some of them highly romantic, occur in these cliffs; parti-
eularly towards the extremity of the Head, where the waves of the
German Ocean, beating with great force into the lower part of the
perpendicular fissures, has hollowed them out into curious grottos
and niches, and sometimes extensive caves, while the more solid

N

50 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

masses of the chalk remain as pillars to support them. The pillars
themselves, after a lapse of years, successively give way, and the
roofs of the grottos fall m; and as the work of excavation still goes
on, the stateliness of some of the present caves is increased by the
remains of the pillars and walls of more ancient grottos, ferming a
kind of porches or antichambers before them. Vast quantities of
chalk in masses and fragments, rounded by attrition, lie scattered
on the shore, from whence many large boat-loads are amnually carried
off, to be burnt into lime near Whitby, and on other parts of the
coast.

it is scarcely necessary to observe, that in the more exposed
parts of the cliffs, the upper or loose chalk is entirely gone, having
been dissolved and thrown down by the winds and rains; and hence,
along the greater part of the Flamborough shores, the compact chalk
forms the highest verge of the cliffs. This is especially the case in
the lofty Speeton cliffs, where the chalk rises in massive columns to
the height of near 300 feet. Here the beating of the rains on the top
of the clifis, has produced an effect analogous to that of the dashing
of the waves on the bottom towards Flamborough Head ; for as there
the waves have hollowed the lower part of the vertical fissures into
caverns, leaving the more solid parts standing as pillars,— here the
rains have produced deep sinuosities and breaks in the upper part of
the same fissures, leaving the firm chalk between them in the form of
tall pinnacles. A spectator from the beach almost imagines himself
at the foot of a stupendous castle, whose lofty walls are surmounted
by a range of magnificent towers. In some parts too, where the pin-
nacles have fallen off, and left the upper surface flat, the massive
columns, having square angles, present the appearance of tall church
towers without spires. ‘The view of these chalk cliffs, from a conve-
nient distance, is truly grand and picturesque; especially when the
beams of the rising or,setting sun are gleaming across them; .the

CHALK. 51

contrast between the brilliancy of the tall milk white columns, and
the shaded vertical recesses between them, being then the greatest.

No caves are found at the bottom of the Speeton cliffs, as the
sea is less boisterous there than at Flamborough Head, and the cliffs
are generally protected from its violence by a sloping mound, formed
by the materials that have fallen from the rock above.

Yet, if the sea had free access to beat against the foot of these
highest chalk cliffs, it would not make excavations of the same form
as:at Flamborough Head; for here the bottom of the cliff, where it is
exposed, is found to consist of another species of chalk, which we
may call the Lower or Cotourep Cuax. This portion of the chalk
strata has the same grain and fracture, and the same absorbent qua-
lity, with the great body of the chalk above described; but instead
of assuming a massive appearance with vertical, fissures, it lies in ho-
rizontal, or at least flat strata, generally of no great thickness, yet
tolerably compact; and instead of a bright white colour, the greater
part is of a dull white, with a greenish, and in some places a: blueish
tinge; while other parts are of a brick red colour, or rather of a duller
red, approaching to chocolate colour. The red chalk alternates with
the dull white, in large stripes, presenting a singular and interesting
appearance. The dull white chalk grows darker as it descends, pass-
ing into a greenish or blueish grey.

The thickness of the coloured or lower chalk bears but a small
proportion to the great mass of the chalk rocks, as it rises only a few
yards in the face of the cliff, and at the places where it is seen, it
cannot be many yards above the shale that succeeds the chalk strata.
In point of hardness, there is no material difference; yet the white
chalk may be called the hardest, especially when compared with the
lowest part of the coloured chalk, which approximates in softness;
and other qualities, to the shale upon which it reposes. This chalk,
therefore, does not correspond -with what: is called the lower chalk

52 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

in the southern counties; for the latter is of a hard quality; but it
dees not appear to differ much from the argillaceous chalk or chalk
marl, found below the hard chalk in these counties. It may be ob-
served, however, that our white chalk is of a harder quality than some
of the upper chalk of the south. The coloured chalk occurs beneath
the white chalk in Lincolnshire, as well as in our district.

The remarkable conformation of these rocks, in having the upper
and middle part massive, while the lower part is in thin flat strata, is
not peculiar to the chalk hills. The same thing occurs in the mag-
nesian limestone of the county of Durham; particularly at the Mars-
den rocks, between Sunderland and Shields. There the great body of
the limestone appears massive, while below it there is a limestone of
a different kind, arranged in thin strata, and even in some places
finely laminated, its thin lamina when separated forming flexible lime-
stone. ‘The line between the upper and lower limestone may be dis-
tinctly traced; especially as the lower, being softer than the mass
above, #s often washed away by the sea, while the upper is left as a
roof over the caverns thus excavated. A similar appearance may be
observed in the hard porphyritic-looking rocks at St. Abb’s Head in
Berwickshire, which are usually designated by the harsh sounding
name grawacké. The lower rocks form flat strata shelving towards
the sea, while above them are lofty and massive rocks, rising in a
kind of towers or columns, parted by vertical fissures.

. Having described the chalk itself, it will be necessary before pro-
ceeding to the next strata, to take notice of some substances that are
imbedded in it. Its organic remains, which are not very numerous,
especially in the coloured chalk, will fall to be considered in another
division of our Work. Here we would advert to minerals of a different
elescription.

A soft grey marl resembling in colour the lowest beds of the grey
ehalk, is found in the fissures of the upper chalk; especially in the

CHALK. 53

seams between the strata. This substance does not seem to have
belonged to the chalk beds originally ; but to have been deposited by
water percolating through the numerous fissures of the loose chalk,
and carrying with it a solution of chalk, mixed with mud washed
down from the alluvium. Some have called this marl fullers’ earth.

Iron-ore is a mineral that occurs both in the white and the grey
chalk: but with this difference, that in the latter it occurs only in the
form of pyrites, in small nodules of crystals, having a beautiful green-
ish yellow metallic hue; whereas in the former, the ore is in nodules
or small masses of a botryoidal form, having a ferruginous colour
without, and a dull iron colour within. This ore may be called a
kind of coarse hematite, as each protuberance of the botryoidal nod-
ules, when broken across, presents the appearance of rays diverging
from the centre. The external surface of some of the nodules seems
hike a collection of imperfect crystals, with numerous angles, points,
and facets,-having a lustre approaching to metallic. In others there
is a rusty coating, the surface being deeply oxidated; and the rust
not only covers the surface, but penetrates into the pores or cracks
occasionally found in the nodules. Even the pyritous crystals in the
grey chalk, often acquire a slight coating of rust, when long exposed
to the action of the air and water. These crystals do not appear to
exist in the red chalk.

In the upper chalk we also find, in small cavities, an ochreous
or ferrugmous substance, apparently the same with that which consti-
tutes the coarse hematite nodules. Whether this substance has re-
sulted from the decomposition of such crystallized nodules, or has
never been crystallized at all, we cannot determine; but as nodules
-are often found in a half decomposed state, the former appears most
probable. Wherever this ochreous substance is found, and indeed
wherever these nodules are imbedded, the chalk is tinged with brown
or yellow, around the cavity or bed. Hence the white chalk abounds

o

54 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

with ferruginous spots, which are larger or smaller, according to the
quantity of the matter imbedded.

But the substance. which occurs most plentifully in ie sate
chalk is flint. This is well known to be the constant associate
of the white chalk; and it has long been, and still is, a matter of dis-
pute, how substances so different in their qualities have become so
nearly related. Without agitating that question, at least for the pre-
sent, we shall merely state the actual connection between the chalk
and the flint, as it appears in our district.

Some have described the flint as interstratified with the chalk,
stating that thin strata of flint are found alternating with thick strata
of chalk; but on a minute examination of the chalk rocks, particularly
at Flamborough Head, where they are most open to inspection, we
can assure our readers, that the flint is not znterstratified with the
chalk, in the ordinary acceptation of that word, but merely imbedded
in it. Sometimes it occurs in irregular tubercular nodules, and some-
times in flat pieces, like thin cakes: and as a number of these flat
plates are often found nearly in contact with one another, or actually
adhering or running into each other, on the same level or floor; when
several of these lines of plates are seen rising one above another, as is
sometimes the case, they present the appearance of alternate strata;
especially as they usually run parallel to one another, and to the
general bed. But if we follow any one of those seams, we soon find
it to run out; and in searching for its continuation further on, instead
of meeting with a seam or line of plates on the same floor, we may
expect to find others a little higher or a little lower; or perhaps we
may find a fresh seam commencing above or below it before its termi-
nation. This is something very different from an alternation of strata;
especially as the seams are not continuous, except for very short dis-
tances; and the intervals between the pieces of flint are all filled up
with the chalk, in the same manner as the intervals in rows of nodules
in some of our schistose strata, are filled up with schistus. ,

UPPER SHALE. 55

The nodules and cakes of flint do not occur in the coloured
chalk, but only in the white; and in the latter they are most abundant
in the middle parts of the beds, being very scanty in the loose chalk.
near the surface, and still more so in the lower part of the white chalk,
where it passes into the grey chalk. The flint is very plentiful among:
the excavations at Flamborough Head.

The flint, as well as the chalk, sometimes contains organic re-
mains. It may also be observed, that many of our nodules of flint,
when broken, exhibit a variety of colours, as yellow, orange, blue,
&c.: and these colours are sometimes disposed in concentric zones,
and sometimes in a clouded irregular form, not unlike the Egyptian
pebbles.

The bed that immediately succeeds the chalk may be designeted

THE UPPER SHALE.

A great variety of the beds ir our district come under the deno-
mination of shale, or schistus. Some of these beds are bituminous, or
coaly; some arenaceous, or sandy; but a much greater number argzlla-
ceous or aluminous, containing a large proportion of clay. Their co-
lour varies according to their ingredients, the coal shale being blackish,
the sandy shale light grey, and the elay shale usually dark grey.
The last two have sometimes a blueish tinge; and we may add, that
the clay shale is often found of a very dark colour, approaching to
black; especially m the recent fracture. In some instances it is of a
pale grey colour; and very often, the exposed surface acquires a
ferruginous hue. The sandy shale is frequently micaceous, abounding
with specks of the shining substance called mica. These three kinds
of shale cannot always be correctly distinguished, as they often pass-
into one another, and the different qualities assigned to them may
sometimes be found blended together in the same bed. All the beds-

56 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

agree in having the same schistose or slaty structure, easily. splitting
into thin lamina, from whence they have the name schistus or schist.
They possess various degrees of induration, but are all a.
soft, scarcely deserving to be denominated rocks.

The shale or schist that succeeds the chalk, which we ‘call the
UPPER SHALE, as being higher in geological situation than any other
shale bed in the district, is of the argillaceous or aluminous kind, or
what is frequently termed slate-clay.* This bed is seen to most ad-
vantage on the shore below Speeton, rising behind the chalk, to the
height of 150 feet or upwards, and extending along the shore about
half a mile. In some parts, the shale is concealed by, or blended
with, the alluvial covermg3; but at its junction with the chalk, it is
quite bare and distinct.

Had we no other means of ascertaining the relative situation of
the chalk and the shale, than the appearances presented at their
junction in the Speeton cliffs, we might suppose that, instead of the
one running beneath the other, they are only placed in juxtaposition:
for, as may be seen in the Section (where 6 denotes the chalk and:c
the upper shale), the shale is too elevated to be considered as run-
ning beneath the chalk, were they in their original position. A deep
channel worn by a rivulet separates between them, and were either
or both extended a few yards, in the line of their dip, they would
abut against one another, but the shale could not go under the chalk,
except at the very lowest part of the shale bed. We have the best
means of knowing, however, that the shale does run under the chalk,
and hes under it ina conformable position; for not only do we find
it cropping out (as ‘the phrase is) from under the chalk, at Knapton,
Thorpe-Basset, Settrington, and other places, but its situation has

* Some also apply to it the term clay-slate, but that name ought to be appropriated to the
hard clay-slale used for roofing.

UPPER SHALE. 57

been ascertained by boring through the chalk. In 1818 and 1819,
Mr. George Rivis of Sherburn bored for coal in a deep dale about a
mile and a half south from Staxton. The boring was continued to
the depth of 114 yards; and after passing through the white chalk,
and the red and grey chalk, the borers came to the blue shale or
clay, at the depth of 96 yards from the mouth of the bore; so that
the boring for the last 18 yards was entirely in the clay. Specimens
of the shale, and of the red and grey chalk, taken from the bore,
were received by the authors from Mr. Rivis. Some beautiful crys-
tals of pyrites were found i in the grey chalk, as at the Speeton clifis.

According to the statement of the borer s, a small seam of bitumin-
ous inflammable shale was pierced through at the depth of five yards
and a half from the surface, and at some distance below, a small
seam of excellent coal: but as no such seams are observed in the
chalk cliffs, nor any where else in the chalk strata, as far as we have
heard, there is great reason to suspect, that the proprietor has been
imposed on, to encourage him to persevere in his fruitless search;
and that the bituminous shale and coal, if extracted from the bore,
were previously thrown into it.

The thickness of the chalk on the heights of the Wolds near
this boring, must be very considerable, as it was found in this deep
dale to descend below the surface 96 yards, or near 300 feet. How
much of this depth is occupied by the coloured chalk, the authors did
not exactly learn, except that, as at Speeton, its thickness bears but
a small proportion to that of the white chalk above it. Indeed, as
the white chalk appears to pass gradually into the grey, itis difficult
to fix the precise limits of each.

In proceeding westward from Staxton, behind the Wolds, we
have access to examine the shale, as at Speeton, without the aid of
borers; for, the chalk rising to a great height, the shale rises along
with it, and crops out from beneath it. At Knapton it is found on

P

58 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

the slope below the chalk hills, about half a mile east from the vil-
lage: and here the clay is dug out, and employed in making a com-
post to improve the soil of the adjacent fields. And truly the soil
has need of a mixture of clay, for it is so light, that the wind, when
it is violent, blows it away in vast quantities; as the authors found in
one of their excursions to their no small annoyance, being here en-
veloped for some time im a thick cloud of dust, raised up from the
ploughed fields. At Thorpe-Basset, a little further west, it is found
in the slope above the village, when the ground is opened to the depth
of a few feet. It has been met with in sinking wells, and the authors
observed it at a pond which had been recently deepened. Advancing
further to Settrington, we find the shale on the sides of the road de-
scending from the Wolds, near the house of Lady Sykes, and con-
tinuing down the bank for a considerable space. It may be found no
doubt in many other spots, behind the higher Wolds, though in sev-
eral places it appears to be deeply covered with the alluvium.

In one of the clay pits at Knapton, we see the junction of the
shale with the red and grey chalk. The clay, where it joins the
chalk, is soft and plastic; and this also is the case with the lower
part of the chalk. The two substances are partly blended together;
the soft chalk, which cccurs here of both colours, approaching to the
state of red and grey clay; while the clay that is next the chalk is
somewhat impregnated with calcareous matter, and is almost divested
of its schistose quality. The same facts are observed in the specimens
from the Staxton boring, and at the junction of the chalk and shale
in the lower part of the Speeton cliffs. By digging in-the bottom of
the water-course formerly mentioned, between the chalk and shale at
Speeton, it has been found that the coloured chalk is nearly in the
state of clay, at the junction, and that both it and the clay are soft
and plastic. )

It is obvious, however, from the facts above stated, that m the
Speeton cliffs, the chalk and the shale are not lying in their original

UPPER SHALE. 59

position, at least in respect of the greater part of their respective
masses, at the place of junction. Their present relative positions can-
not be accounted for, but on the supposition of a dislocation of the
strata, similar to what we shall have to notice hereafter, in not a few
instances. The chalk must have slipped down in an immense mass
upon the shale, and displacing it by the pressure, forced it up into
its present elevated position. The appearance of the chalk at this
point, and its known tendency to split vertically, confirm this idea.
On a careful inspection of the chalk cliff over the shale, we can per-
ceive that large portions of the upper chalk have descended from a
higher station to that which they now occupy; though the uniformity
of their colour, and their retaining the same vertical position in their
columnar masses, serve to conceal the dislocation. Eventhe coloured
chalk has not been exempted from this kind of violent abruption ;
for at a little distance from the junction with the shale, we find a
break in the cliff, rendered very conspicuous by its crossing a seam
of red chalk, which is higher on one side of the fissure, and lower on
the other.

The softness of the slate-clay would make it more easily forced
out of its natural position by the descent of the chalk: for though in
the greater part of the bed it is not plastic, but has its proper schist-
ose form, still it is much softer than the aluminous schistus in the
great bed on the Whitby shores; and it is not imterstratified with
any of those seams of sandstone or limestone, which, usually in-
tersect and strengthen the beds of schistus. It contains, however,
like our other beds of shale, a great number of septaria and other
nodules, with numerous petrifactions; and as some of the petrifac-
tions, particularly among those found at Settrington, appear imbedded
in fragments of a kind of schistose argillaceous limestone, it is not.
unlikely that a seam of that description may exist i the lower part
of the schistus. Some of the nodules containing petrifactions, found

0 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

in the Speeton shale, are of a chalky nature. The septaria are not
unfrequently in a shape resembling the tortoise, being oblong, with
the lowest side flat and the upper rounded; and when they occur with
the septa or divisions, from whence they have their name, appearing
through their outer crust in distinct lines or markings, the resem-
blance is so great, that they are actually collected and sold as petri-
fied tortoises. ‘ i

This shale, like most other beds of slate-clay, also abounds with
erystals of selenite. The most beautiful specimens are found at the
oldest clay pitat Knapton. They sometimes occur in flat rhomboidal
crystals, with bevelled edges: but more frequently in oblong flat
pieces, but with the angles and facets, at their terminations, corres-
ponding with those of the rhomboidal pieces. In the same clay pit,
the authors found some good specimens of those branching tubes, not
unlike the roots of furze, formed by oxide of iron, percolating through
the clay in a fluid or moist state. It is proper also to observe,
that iron pyrites abounds in the nodules that occur in tls shale, as
in almost all the shale beds of the district.

Had this bed occurred above the chalk, instead of lying under it,
there is no doubt that it would have obtained the name of the London
clay; for, as far as can be judged by the descriptions given of the
latter, the two beds are remarkably similar, beth in their substance
and their contents. It is not, however, in this district alone, that
shale of this description is found under the chalk. Im Cambridgeshire
the grey chalk rests on an extensive bed of blue clay, provincially
ealled gault. The grey chalk is there of much greater thickness
than in our Wolds, as it composes the greatest part of the hills of
Cambridgeshire. It is also of a much harder quality; yet, like our
grey chalk, it becomes argillaceous, soft, and of a greenish hue,
where it joins the clay. It contains pyrites, but appears to differ
from our lower.chalk, in being entirely grey, without any mixture of

OOLITE. 61

red stripes.* A similar bed of slate-clay occurs under the chalk in
the north of Ireland, containing thin seams of argillaceous limestone,
with petrifactions of the same kind with those in our upper shale.
Jn most places, however, a bed of what is termed green sand is inter-
posed between the clay and the chalk. The greenish colour of the
lower part of our chalk, may make some fancy it to correspond
with the green sand; but it can with no propriety be called sand, for
itis not arenaceous. The bed of slate-clay, with seams of argillace-
ous limestone, now mentioned, has been termed Lias.t

The shale bed, like the chalk above it, must vary considerably
in thickness; but it is probably not more than between two and three
hundred feet thick, if it ever exceeds two hundred. It is thickest,
as may be expected, behind the highest part of the Wolds, as at
Settrmgton. There it may be traced to a considerable distance down
a steep bank; though in several parts of the bank, particularly at the
foot where the declivity is gentle, it is covered by the alluvium, which,
filling the bottom of a narrow valley through which a small stream
flows, conceals the junction of the shale with the next member of
our strata, viz.

THE OOLITE.

The cliffs in Filey bay furnish no evidence respecting the beds
that immediately succeed the upper shale; for behind the shale we
find nothing but an alluvial cliff, extending from thence to the rocks
called Filey Bridge, a distance of above two miles, in which the
regular strata are wholly interrupted. At Settrington, however, and
along the eastern skirts of the Langton Wolds, we find the slate-clay
succeeded by that remarkable kind of limestone called oolite or

* Geological Transactions, III. p. 243, 248, 249. + Ibid. p. 164, 165, 311, &c.
Q

62 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

roestone; which dipping towards the chalk and the shale, in a con-
formable position, no doubt runs beneath them. After crossing the
stream at Settrington, above mentioned, on the south side of Settring-
ton, and ascending from it along the Malton road, we find ourselves
immediately on the oolite, quarries of which are opened on the side
of the road. There is no doubt, that the narrow valley marks the
line of separation between the shale and the oolite.

The oolite limestone, and the beds of calcareous sandstone, or
sandy limestone, usually attending it, occupy an extensive range of
hills, surrounding the vale of Pickering, except where it is bounded
by the chalk hills. This range, commencing with Oliver’s Mount and
Seamer moor near Scarborough, and Silphoue moor between Hack-
ness and Harwood Dale, proceeds westward by Langdale, Saltergate,
Newton, Cropton, Spaunton, Gillimoor, and Hawnby, as far as the
Hambleton hills, the highest point of which is 1246 feet above the
level of the sea. The western boundary termmates in the lofty pre-
cipices called Rowlston scar and Whitestone cliff, or the White Mare,
overlooking the vale of Thirsk. From thence the boundary turns
round in a south-east direction, proceeding by Wass bank, above
Byland abbey, and by the vicinity of Castle Howard, where the hills
become very low; then crossing the Derwent near Whitwell, passes
by Westow, and along the southern skirts of Jae Langton Molds till
it reaches the chalk hills.

Thus these limestone hills circumscribe the hole of the vale of
Pickering, except where the chalk projects into it: and, with the
exception of the Langton Wolds, where the oolite dips towards the
shale and the chalk, they all dip more or less towards that extensive
valley; the Seamer hills having a declivity towards the south-west,
the long range on the north of the valley dipping south into it, the
hills near Kirby Moorside dipping south-east, those to the west of
Helmsley dipping east, and those to the south of Helmsley, and from

OOLITE. . 63

thence to Malton, dipping north, while they also have a declivity to
the east, in the direction of the Wolds. The middle of the vale of
Pickering may therefore be considered as the centre of a basin,
formed by the oolite hills, which dip into it from all sides, except on
the south-east, where the chalk and shale make a sweep into it. In
a part of the east end of the valley, however, towards Filey bay, the
oolite is entirely gone, .and its place is occupied by a deep alluvium.

It will be seen, from the description now given, that the bend of
the oolite hills does not run parallel to that of the chalk hills, but
makes a much greater sweep to the west; at the same time the one
bears a resemblance to the other, particularly in this respect, that
the highest part of each range is towards the north-west, and that
each after arriving at that point makes a sudden turn to the south-
east. To this we may add, that as the chalk rises again in some
places, after it has sunk under the great alluvial bed in its bosom, so
the oolite presents the same undulations, and to a greater extent,
rising in hummocks in various parts of the vale of Pickering, especi-
ally towards its western termination.

As it is our design, in this part of our Work, to state facts, with-
out proposing theories, we do not mean at present to inquire particu-
larly into the causes of the phenomena here exhibited: yet we can
scarcely avoid remarking, that they cannet well be accounted for,
without supposing that a great subsidence of the strata has taken
place in the vale of Pickering. If we suppose the strata in that
valley, especially on the south and south-east sides of it, to have
sunk down, and a washing away of the upper part of the strata to-
wards the sea to have also taken place, before the deposition of the
alluvium, we can easily conceive why the oolite has disappeared at
Filey bay; and why the oolite hills, encircling the valley, ‘generally
dip towards it, as well as towards the chalk. The same supposition
will also ‘explain, why the oolite between Settrington and Malton

G4 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

presents many abrupt rocks fronting the same valley; as these rocks,
forming the northern berder of the Langton Wolds, seem to mark the
extent of the disruption in this direction, being apparently the con-
tinuation of these strata which once covered the space that is now a
valley, by the breaking off and subsidence of which strata the valley
has been formed. On the same principle, we may account for several
other irregularities in these hills, particularly on the south side of the
valley; where the strata are in some places very flat, and in others
elevated, with great variations in their dip, and not a few breaks and
interruptions. 5

On the north side of-the valley, the hills in general have a re-
markably uniform appearance. Their southern faces gently slope into
the valley; their upper surface spreads into extensive flats, nearly
level, as in what are called table mountains; and, on the nérth, they
terminate abruptly in a steep but smooth declivity, forming an angle
of about forty-five degrees with the horizon. In this respect there is
a striking difference between the escarpment of these hills, and that
of the chalk hills. The chalk hills, except in the sea cliffs, have their
north fronts rounded off, and often exhibit a chain of round knolls,
particularly near Heslerton; but the flat summits of the limestone
hills usually preserve their level to the very verge of their northern
fronts, and.as these fronts descend in a regularly inclined plane, the
profile of each hill appears like the junction of two straight lines, the
level line and the line of escarpment. Hence, as the same angle of
inclination prevails almost universally, a range of projecting points
in the fronts of these hills, viewed in profile, presents the appearance
of regular works of art.

The same uniformity is not observed among the hills on the south
and south-west of the valley; for though they have for the most part
flat summits, there is a considerable variety in the form of their fronts ;
some of them, as has been noticed, presenting bold perpendicular

OOLITE. 65

cliffs, instead of regularly inclined planes. The Howardian hills,
indeed, can scarcely be said to have any line of fronts, as they gen-
erally swell and fall by gentle undulations. Yet several projecting
points, from these hills, stretch into the vale of York; and the ap-
pearance of some of these points exhibits a degree of regularity, ap-
proaching to that of the northern oolite hills.

In speaking of this chain as the ooltte hills, we do not mean to
intimate, that they are wholly or principally composed of that kind
of rock; but the name may be adopted, as the oolite forms a most
important feature in these hills, being the highest bed in the series of
which they are composed, and generally the thickest bed. This rock
is called ooltte or egg-stone, as a great part of its substance consists
of minute globules, like small eggs, such as we see in the roe of a
fish; for which reason it is also called roe-stone. These globular con-
cretions are of various forms, being sometimes oval, though more
frequently round. They -also vary in size, some being as large as
mustard seed, or even larger, while others are so minute that they
can scarcely be discerned by the naked eye. They are not petrifac-
tions, but have their origin in a peculiar kind of crystallization; being
analogous to the large globules that appear in a variety of the Sunder-
land limestone, the crystalline structure of which is sufficiently obvi-
ous. Petrifactions, however, particularly shells, abound in the oolite
to a degree almost incredible; most of this bed appearing as if it had
been composed of a mass of shells, having their cavities and inter-
stices filled up with the oolitic substance. Hence, as that substance
is more easily decomposed than the shells, the fronts of old quarries
in the oolite often present the appearance of grotto work, richly be-
studded with shells.

The colour of the oolite is generally light grey, sometimes ap-
preaching to white, sometimes ash grey, and sometimes yellowish
grey. In some places we find patches or stripes that are blue, or

R

66 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

blueish grey. Where there are most shells, the colour is usually
darkest, the substance of the shells, which is for the most part sparry
and highly crystalline, having a watery or flinty aspect. The ova, or
small globules, often look whiter than the matrix or cement in which
they are imbedded; but this may be owimg to the greater smoothness
of their surfaces, the cement having a more dull and marly appearance.

The oolite bed varies in thickness, from a few feet to fifty or sixty
feet; and at Pickering and some other places its extreme thickness
rather exceeds sixty. It is regularly stratified, having seams parallel
to the general bed; which seams, as in the chalk, are most numerous
in the upper part of the bed, the lower part bemg generally more com-
pact and massive. These seams are crossed by a number of vertical
fissures, which often descend mto the beds below the oolite. The
seams and fissures abound with marl or decomposed lime; and in the
vertical fissures, we find vast quantities of calc-spar, in a great variety
of forms. Some of the forms which it assumes are very beautiful,
especially where the fissures are not filled up, but merely lined with
it; in which case we often meet with the fine pyramidal crystals
called dog-tooth spar.

Among the substances occurring in the oolite, it is necessary to
mention some singular nodules, that are found in the quarries at
Thornton, and other places. They are highly siliceous, yet not with-
out some mixture of calcareous matter, particularly on the outside;
where ova, or globules, like those of the oolite in which they are im-
bedded, occasionally appear. The nodules are usually of a pyriform
or oblong shape, like some of the madrepores found in the chalk, and
part of them are real madrepores, but in others no distinct organiza-
tion can be perceived. Their chief ingredient may be called chert or
hornstone. This forms the exterior part, while in the interior is a kind
of nucleus of chalcedony with a mixture of agate. The chert is of va-
rious colours, being in some specimens light grey, and in others of a

OOLITE. OF

darker colour, approaching to that of flint, but curiously mottled with
small brownish or purplish spots, with a minute light speck in the cen-
tre of each. Some of the nodules are fine hexagon madrepores, which
have been met with, not of a pyriform shape, but in flat masses. The
occurrence of chert in limestone is considered as analogous to that of
flint in chalk; and the analogy is borne out by the fact, that chert
also occurs in some limestone strata in thin beds or seams, as flint does
in the chalk.*

The numerous vertical fissures in the oolite and the beds imme-
diately beneath it, are receptacles for water, as well as for marl and
spar. Most of the rain that falls on the oolite hills, particularly those
on the north side of the vale of Pickering, is immediately imbibed by
the light soil that covers them, and sinking into the fissures, runs:
down the declivity of the hills in subterranean streams, which burst
out at the foot of them in copious springs, nay, even in mighty tor-
rents. Hence these hills are remarkably dry, and a great part of the
valleys that intersect them are streamless. It is rare to find a spring
amongst them in any elevated situation, and wells of water cannot be
obtained without sinking to a great depth. The well at Cropton is
no less than 216 feet deep. Hence also, as all the springs from these
hills break out at the base of their dechvities, where they descend
into the vale of Pickering, a chain of towns and villages skirts the foot.
of the hills all around, built at these springs for the sake of their co-
pious waters.

At the mouths of several of these springs, particularly the smaller
springs, we find incrustations of moss and other vegetable substances,
on which the waters have deposited the calcareous matter with which.
they are impregnated. Many of the springs, however, are too copi-
ous, and burst forth too violently, to admit of such depositions. At.

* Geological Transactions, LV. p. 420. Bakewell’s Geology, p. 388..

68 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

Keldhead near Pickering, the river Costa rises up from the earth at
once. At Brompton a similar volume of water issues from the oolite,
and is collected at its very source into a large mill-pond, so that it
drives a mill in descending from the ledge of rocks out of which it
springs. Phenomena of the same kind are observed at Ebberston,
‘and other places.

These cavernous hills not only absorb their own waters, but
swallow up the rivers and streams which pass through their intervals
from the hills beyond them; for these currents, on reaching the lime-
stone beds in their channels, sink down into the fissures, through
which they flow under ground till they arrive at the valley, when they
burst up again, like new springs, forming a part of the chain of springs
surrounding the valley. Yet a channel is left above ground also, to
convey the surplus waters, which the subterraneous channel, in some
parts of the year, is incapable of admitting. The Rye sinks a little
above Helmsley, and rises at a small distance from its proper channel,
about a mile below. The Riccal disappears about a mile above the
new bridge on the Helmsley and Kirkby Moorside road, and rises at
Haram, a mile below, a few yards from its channel. Hodge beck
descends into the rock, a few paces below Holme Caldron mill, near
Karkdale church; and bursts up again in the frightful basin of How-
keldhead, on the south side of the road, a mile west of Kirkby Moor-
side, and about a quarter of a mile east of its channel. The Dove,
or Dow, sinks about twenty yards below Yawdwath mill, and after
running nearly half a mile under ground, resumes its old channel
about a furlong above Keldholm bridge. Hutton beck, or Catter beck,
disappears about a mile north of Catter bridge, on the Kirkby Moor-
side and Pickering road, and starts up again about haifa mile below.
In like manner, the Seven is swallowed up a little above Sinnington,
and reappears in its own channel, not all at once, but by successive
risings, between Sinnington and Normanby. Thus, in skirting the

OOLITE. 69

foot of these hills, the traveller crosses a succession of subterraneous
rivers.*

On examining the bed of Hodge beck, where it sinks above
Kirkdale church, we find, that the seams, or openings, between the
strata, contribute to the absorption of the waters, as well as the ver-
tical fissures. These seams, in some parts of the channel, particu-
larly in the beds below the oolite, are numerous and open, the strata
being thin and slaty; and, the dip of the strata being more rapid than
the descent of the channel, the seams successively open towards the
current, ready to receive its waters, like the buckets in an over-shot
mill-wheel.

The tendency of the strata in these hills to split vertically, may
be supposed to have facilitated the subsidence of the strata, presumed
to have taken place in the vale of Pickering. On the other hand,
that subsidence, if such there has been, would have the effect of mul-
tiplying and widening the vertical fissures. In a rock near Kirkdale
church, there is a fissure where the appearance of the strata gives
sufficient evidence of a dislocation, the strata on the side of the
fissure next the valley being lower than the corresponding strata on
the opposite side.

As the principal streams which water the vale of Pickering have
not their sources in the oolite hills, but in the hills beyond them, the
channel of each of those streams makes a complete section through
the oolite and the series of beds connected with it. In such chan-
nels, it is not uncommon to find dislocations, or slips, of the strata,
to which indeed these channels may owe their origin. For instance,
the opening of Newton Dale at Pickering, bears marks of such a dis-
location, the oolite on the east side of the stream being higher than
the corresponding bed on the west. In the channel of the Derwent

* History of Whitby and the Vicinity, II. p. 774.
Ss

70 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

also, in which all the waters of the vale unite, the same phenomenon
is observable, at and below Malton; but there the strata on the west
side of the river are higher than those on the east side.

Whether the oolite accompanies the chalk and shale in their
whole progress towards the south, is not known: but it is found be-
hind the chalk at Ketton in Northamptonshire, at Bath, and as far
as Portland isle. Yet the Bath stone and Portland stone appear to
differ from our oolite, in their being better adapted for the purposes
of architecture. Our oolite is chiefly useful in being burnt for lime,
for which purpose large quarries of it are opened all around the vale
of Pickering.

The beds that immediately succeed the oolite are

LIMESTONE AND CALCAREOUS SANDSTONE.

The oolite, as has been intimated, is the uppermost of a series of
beds, composing the hills that encircle the vale of Pickermg on all
sides, except where it is bounded by the chalk hills. The series fol-
lowing the oolite cannot be very easily described; the beds bemg
numerous and diversified, and varying both in number, thickness,
and quality, in the different places where they are accessible. They
all agree in being more or less calcareous; but this quality they pos-
sess in very different degrees; some of them being limestone, others
sandstone, while the greater part are of an intermediate character.

Though scarcely any of these beds can be compared to the oolite
in thickness, the whole together are vastly thicker, especially in the
most lofty of the hills. Their extent too is considerably greater than
that of the oolite; for though the latter is always uppermost, where
the series is entire, it is often discontinued on the heights, without
reaching the exterior fronts of the hills. Thus, between Pickering
and Whitby, the oolite is discontinued a little to the north of Lockton,

LIMESTONE §& CALCAREOUS SANDSTONE. 71

while the inferior beds ascend without it to Saltergate Brow. The
same thing is observed in some of the hills to the north and west of
Helmsley. On the south side of the vale of Pickering too, on the
west side of the Derwent, the oolite is soon discontinued, while the
inferior beds extend towards the vale of York. Even on the inner
slope of the limestone hills, where they descend into the vale, the
oolite is frequently discontinued, instead of coming down to the plain;
as we see at Wilton, Ebberston, and other places, between Thornton
and Snainton. In such places, the gentle southern slope of the hills,
just before it arrives at the plain, is suddenly changed to a steep
declivity, like that of their northern fronts; and the oolite is broken
off at the brow of the declivity, while the inferior beds occupy the rest
of the slope. Here, however, as in the northern fronts, the steep
descent is smoothed with alluvium; so that the strata are for the most
part concealed, though the edges of the harder beds in the series
occasionally crop out.

It would be vain to attempt a minute description of all the beds
in this division of our strata; for the series is by no means the same
in every part where it occurs. Beds that are found in some parts,
belonging to this series, are wanting in others; and beds which in
some parts are separated by thin layers of sand or marl, are seen in
other parts running into one, without any seam or parting. All,
therefore, that can be expected here, is a general description of the
strata, with a more detailed account of some of the most remark-
able beds.

In a few of the beds we find traces of the oolitic structure; and
this is particularly the case with the bed of blue and grey limestone,
which generally occurs immediately under the oolite. This bed}
which is often of considerable thickness, may be seen at Pickering,
at Sinnington, at Kirkby Moorside, at a quarry on the side of ie
York road, a little to the south of Malton, and at a number of other

72 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

quarries and openings, near Castle Howard and in other places. In
some instances, particularly at the Malton quarry now mentioned,
the oolite seems to pass into the blue limestone; the latter retaining
something of the oolitic structure, but with the ova or globules few
in number, and frequently of an unusual size, approaching to that of
small peas. These large ova, when broken across, present the ap-
pearance of concentric circles, with a minute hole in the centre; but
this hole, where the fracture is recent, is generally filled with a fine
powder. The blue limestone is clouded or intermixed with a grey
stone, which may be called sandy limestone; though, from its arena-
ceous quality, it may perhaps be more properly termed calcareous
sandstone. There are large ova thinly scattered in this stone, as
well as in the blue limestone; and it is observable, that the colour
of the ova changes with that of the stone, with this difference, that in
the blue stone the ova are of a darker blue than their matrix, whereas
in the grey the ova are of a much lighter colour than the stone, being
of a dull or yellowish white.

In other instances, this limestone occurs without any mixture of
ova; and it is often of a very fine grain, the fragments presenting a
smooth surface, with no vestige of sand. ‘Some of this limestone may
be seen at Pickering. It also occurs in quarries near Castle Howard,
a little to the north-west of Whitwell; and on the long narrow ridge
on which Dalby stands, not far from that hamlet; at both which
places it is burnt for lime. The prevailing colour of the limestone is
hight blue; but it is more or less clouded with light grey, with some-
times a yellowish or ferruginous tinge.

At the last mentioned places, it is uncertain whether the blue
limestone can be said to be next the oolite or not, the latter being
entirely wanting; yet the limestone corresponds with that which im-
mediately succeeds the oolite at Pickermg and Sinnington; besides,
the blue limestone near Castle Howard is in the vicinity of the oolite,
and may be presumed to run beneath it.

LIMESTONE § CALCAREOUS SANDSTONE. 73

In some places, however, we find a bed of blue and grey lime-
stone under the oolite, not immediately succeeding it, but with some
other strata interposed. This is the case at Filey Bridge, where the
rocks (e¢) form the series under the oolite; which, as was observed,
is there wanting. The uppermost beds, several feet in thickness,
consist of calcareous sandstone; and beneath these is a bed of blue
limestone, clouded with grey; bearig a strong resemblance to what
is found in the Malton quarry mentioned above. It has not the
oolitic structure; but it presents the same clouded mixture of blue
and yellowish grey stone, and the latter, as at Malton, is more sandy
than the blue part of the bed. It may be supposed, indeed, that at
Filey Bridge, the beds immediately under the oolite have disappeared
along with it, and that this bed has no correspondence with those
already described, but belongs to another part of the series. On this
subject we remark, that whatever beds may have shared the fate of
the oolite at Filey, there appears to be no other bed in the series to
which this clouded stratum bears any analogy, except that with which
we are classing it.

Among the varieties of this member of the series may be placed
the limestone of Hildenley, between Malton and Castle Howard.
It differs, however, from all the limestones now described, in the
whiteness and uniformity of its colour, which is that of light coloured
marl; and, being at the same time compact and uniform in its com-
position, it is excellently adapted for architectural ornaments, to
which use it is chiefly appropriated. It is much softer than the fine
grained blue and grey limestone on the south-west side of Castle
Howard, and has a much more dull and marly fracture: but it bears
a strong resemblance to the grey part of the corresponding bed at
Pickering, at least to some specimens of it.

These strata do not abound with organic remains. In some va-
rieties, particularly the Hildenley and fine grained limestone, there

T

74 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

are scarcely any. A few shells, however, occur here and there, in
almost all the beds of this series; and in some of them the number
is considerable.

There are some parts of the oolite hills where no bed has been
discovered analogous to the blue and grey limestone. Itis not found
in Rowlston scar and Whitestone cliff: nor does it exist in Wass
bank, unless we suppose it to be represented there by a bed of whitish
sandy limestone, having a faint resemblance to the Hildenley stone.
The authors did not observe it in the channel of the stream at Kirk-
dale church, nor at any place to the westward of that spot; though
it is found at Kirkby Moorside.

The next remarkable bed im this series is one that consists of
calcareous sandstone with yellow marl. ‘This bed, which is often twa
or three yards or more in thickness, generally occurs a little below
the oolite. It may be seen at Nawton, where the road between
Helmsley and Kirkdale is cut through it, the oolite being there
wanting. It forms a conspicuous feature in the upper part of Rowls-
ton scar. We find it at Dalby; at Terrington; ina bank on the side
of the road between Terrington and Castle Howard; on the side of
the road from Malton to Whitwell, near Cramb bridge; and in de-
scending the bank leading to Kirkham bridge, near Whitwell; in
which place the oolite is seen at the top of the bank, a little above it.
Many other localities might be pointed out; but it will be sufficient
to add, that it is found im the Filey rocks, under the blue and grey
stone, and may be seen in most of the northern fronts of the oolite
hills, as in Silphoue moor, in the slope fronting to Harwood Dale.
In some of these places we see only one bed; in others two or more
beds, with other strata interposed.

This species of rock exhibits a curious compound, the yellow
marl, which is often sandy, being distributed throughout the sand-
stone in numerous irregular patches of all sizes and forms; and these

LIMESTONE §& CALCAREOUS SANDSTONE. — 75

are usually so abundant, that when the marl is dislodged from the
cavities in the stone, the latter presents a singularly cavernous ap-
pearance, like the scori@ from a volcano, or the slag from a furnace,
though on a far larger scale. At Rowlston scar, in particular, where
the winds and rains carry off the marl as soon®as it is exposed, the
face of the bed appears as if excavated into small grottos, caverns,
openings, and sinuosities of all descriptions; while the solid parts of
the rock are left projecting in an equal variety of forms, sometimes
in sharp points or knobs, sometimes in crooked ridges or lines, re-
sembling the roots or stalks of some shrubs. The rock itself varies
in quality, being in some parts very hard, in others softer; in some
so calcareous as to deserve to be called limestone, in others a true
sandstone. The variety is increased in some places by a mixture of
ironstone; and the oxide of iron serves, in many instances, to deepen
the colour of the marl.

In several parts of these beds, the marl seems to have resulted
from the decomposition of limestone nodules; for such nodules, or
nuclei, are often found imbedded in the rock; instances of which
occur at Rowlston scar. In other places, however, as at Nawton,
and near Whitwell, it is far too abundant to be attributed to such a
cause. Indeed, the yellow marl, in some of the spots alluded to,
seems almost to form an independent bed, the proportion of sandstone
intermixed with it being very small. Thin beds or seams of this sandy
marl do actually exist in an independent state, between some of the.
strata in Rowlston scar; but they are much lower than the cavern-
ous bed now described.

In that part of the Filey rocks which corresponds with this bed,
the marl is found in smaller quantity; partly in thin seams or sinuosi-
ties, partly disseminated through the stone in small crevices, and
giving it a yellow tinge when recently broken. The rock also, as at
Rowlston scar, is of very different degrees of hardness; and hence,.

76 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

what has been effected by the winds and rains at the one place, has
been accomplished by the waves at the other; for the strata running
into the sea, and forming Filey Bridge, present a surface so rugged
that it is difficult to walk on it; the soft and marly parts being washed
away, while the hardtr parts, forming a kind of septa between them,
constitute a labyrinth of sharp knobs and ridges, in countless num-
bers and endless diversity. The hardness of this rock is increased by
its numerous petrifactions, the stone being usually indurated wher-
ever they are imbedded. This circumstance, however, is not peculiar
to the petrifactions of Filey Bridge; for the same effect is often pro-
duced by those of the chalk, the shale, and other rocks; especially
when they contain a portion of iron, either in the form of oxide or
of pyrites.

While we are speaking of the Filey Bridge rocks, it may be pro-
per to notice, that their dippmg rapidly towards the south, while
they also descend into the sea towards the east, may be regarded as
corroborating the idea, that a great dislocation of the strata has oc-
curred at Filey bay, occasioning the disappearance of the oolite, and
perhaps of some other beds. The greatness of the dislocation may
be inferred, from the distance between the Filey rocks and the Speeton
shale, viewed in connection with the rapidity of the dip; the interme-
diate space, now occupied with alluvium, being not only sufficient to
contain the thickest part of the oolite itself, but more than sufficient
to comprise the whole thickness of the oolite hills, at their greatest
elevation.

Respecting the other beds in this series, it is unnecessary to say
much. They vary exceedingly in number and quality. To the south
and west of Malton, they appear to be extremely few and thin, nay
in some places they may be said to be wanting altogether; the shale
that succeeds them being only a very little below the oolite. Thus
we find the shale close to the blue and grey limestone, at the quarry

LIMESTONE & CALCAREOUS SANDSTONE. 77

near Malton already mentioned. In the bank near Whitwell, on the
road that descends to Kirkham bridge, the oolite is at the top of the
declivity, the sandstone with yellow marl a little way down, and the
shale presently succeeding. In like manner, in proceeding from Cas-
tle Howard park to Terrington, we find the oolite succeeded by the
blue limestone, and that by the sandstone and yellow marl; a little
below, in the valley on the east side of Terrmgton, we find the shale;
and in ascending to Terrington, we again discover the sandstone and
marl, lying immediately over the shale; or if any beds are interposed,
they must be extremely thin. At Filey, on the contrary, the thick-
ness of the series is considerable, and the beds are numerous; yet
their number is much greater at Wass bank and Rowlston scar; at
which places, as well as at Whitestone cliff, the thickness of the se-
ries, without the oolite, may be estimated at about 200 feet.

In these strata, it is common to find sandstone and limestone
alternating: yet, generally speaking, the calcareous matter diminishes,
and the sandy matter increases, towards the lower part of the series
In Rowlston scar, one of the lowest accessible beds is a sandstone,
mixed with yellow marl, similar to that at the top of the precipice, and
containing a number of petrified shells. Below it is a thin bed of
sandy marl, with shells imbedded in it, not in a petrified state, but
merely preserved. Among the more calcareous beds, is a hard lime-
stone, of a dull brown colour, or brownish yellow; which, when
recently broken, presents a granular texture, and a glimmering lustre;
numerous small crystals, chiefly oblong, appearing in the fracture.
In Wass bank are some calcareous beds more highly crystalline, and
very hard. One of these beds is of an ash grey colour, and there are
two others of a lighter hue. They are very compact; and the thin
edges of their fragments are translucent. :

Though Whitestone cliff, Rowlston scar, and Wass bank are
at a short distance from one another, particularly the two former,

U

78 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

each of them presents a different view of the series. The beds at
Wass bank are, generally speaking, harder, and lighter coloured,
than those at Rowlston scar; containing little or nothing of the yel-
low marl, which abounds in the latter place. At Whitestone cliff,
the beds are also hard, and contain little of the marl; and here the
upper part of the cliff, instead of being composed of a succession of
beds, as at the other two places, forms one immense bed, which
in some places is about eighty feet in thickness, if not more. This
massive bed, like the chalk, has a tendency to split vertically; and
large columnar fragments are successively detached from its perpen-
dicular face. Many of these fragments have fallen down into Gor-
mire, a small lake at the foot of the cliff; while many others are lying
in ruins on the slope that forms its bank. In some places, the heap
of detached materials covers a great part of the front of the cliff; and
here some columnar masses of vast size may be seen. One block,
which the authors observed, might be about eighty or ninety feet long,
forty or fifty broad, and twelve thick. At the top of the precipice
stands a huge wall of the same rock, already parted from the rest of
the bed by a deep longitudinal chasm, and threatening ere long to
fall headlong into the valley, over which it now frowns.

After stating these facts, it is scarcely necessary to add, that
this bed is remarkably hard and compact. It is siliceous, as well as
calcareous; yet it is most proper to call it a limestone. Its general
colour is ash grey; its structure partly oolitic, partly granular or
coarsely crystalline, with a mixture of dull earthy matter. Its im-
perfectly oolitic structure, which it may derive from its immediately
following the oolite, may entitle it to rank with the blue and grey
limestone, some varieties of which it resembles in colour; but in
other respects, especially in its crystalline structure, it differs con-
siderably from all the varieties of that rock elsewhere observed.

SECOND SHALE. 79

Many of the beds in this series, instead of resembling this solid
stratum, are schistose. This has been noticed in speaking of the
channel of the stream near Kirkdale church. These schistose strata
appear most numerous in some of the northern fronts of the oolite
hills; as in the hill at Newton, and in Saltergate Brow; where the
series differs greatly from that observed in the west fronts of the
Hambleton hills. The northern fronts of the oolite hills are, however,
so smoothed by alluvium, that they present few places where the
beds can be properly examined.

The strata now described are succeeded by what we may term

THE SECOND SHALE.

This member of our strata (marked f in the Section ) may be seen
a little to the north of Filey Bridge, rising from under the series last
described. It gradually ascends, as we proceed northward, till, in
the cliffs opposite Gristhorp, it attains a great height; the sandstone
that caps it becoming thinner and thinner, till it wears out altogether,
leaving the shale to occupy the whole front of the cliffs, for a con-
siderable space. It continues to maintain its ascendency as far as
Cayton mill, where it begins to be covered up by broken strata that
will be afterwards mentioned. In some places, nearly opposite Gris-
thorp, the fragments or masses, which have fallen from the cliffs,
have formed an outwork, to protect them from the violence of the
waves.

This shale may be seen in various places round the vale of Pick-
ermg. It is found at Wilton, at the foot of the slope oecupied by
the caleareous series of beds. At Ebberston it has been bored into
to a great depth, m a fruitless search for coal. We find it at Hutton-
in-the-Hole, where it forms the banks of the beck. It is also seen on
the side of the road near Keldholm. At Malton it is found in the:

80 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

channel of the Derwent; at least on its western bank, where the Mal-
ton spaw rises from it. We have already noticed, that it is seen at
the quarry on the south side of Malton, and in the bank opposite
Kirkham priory. At the latter place it rises to a great height, the
strata on the right bank of the river, as was observed, being higher
than on the left bank. The shale, however, is also found on the east
bank, and it has been bored into at Firby, to the depth of 70 yards,
in another fruitless attempt to find coal.

We have already remarked, that this shale occurs in the valley
on the east side of Terrington; and to this we may add the valley on
the east side of Dalby. At Wass bank, the blue shale is the lowest
visible bed, and is found to rise about 100 feet, above the plain where
Byland abbey is situated. At Whitestone cliff also, the shale occu-
pies the lower part of the precipice, and a large portion of the slope
on the north side of Gormire. It might also be expected at the foot
of Rowlston scar; but there it is covered by the alluvium which lies
between that precipitous cliff and Hood hill; a small detached hill,
resembling a hay-stack, serving, with some other smaller elevations,
to connect the Hambleton hills with the plain of Thirsk.

In the smooth northern fronts of the oolite hills, on the north side
of the vale of Pickering, the shale does not make its appearance; for
in these fronts the hard beds only protrude through the alluvium. It
is, however, more than probable, that were the strata there exposed,
we should find, instead of a thick bed of shale, a number of thin
beds, parted by seams or beds of schistose sandstone. Indeed it is
probable, that a great part of what we find in the form of shale, on
the south side of these hills, passes into schistose sandstone, before
arriving at the northern fronts; for that kind of sandstone is found
there in abundance, alternating with numerous beds of shale. Of this
we see an instance, in descending from Newton into Newton Dale;
where such alternate beds of shale and sandstone appear to occupy

SECOND SHALE. 81

the place of the second shale. Similar indications of the same trans-
ition may be seen in several other spots. The shale is generally
divided by thin seams of sandstone; and this transition takes place,
by the enlargement of these seams into thick beds, and the consequent
contraction of the shale beds, which in their turn become thin seams
between the beds of sandstone, nay, are sometimes thrust out alto-
gether, leaving the sandstone to fill up their place.

This change, which is very common in the lower beds of shale,
may be traced on the coast in this second shale. At a point a little
to the east of Cayton mill, the seams of sandstone, interstratified with
the shale, are enlarged; particularly two seams or beds, which at
some distance beyond that point are separated by a thick bed of shale,
but at the point come together, the upper bed descending to: meet
the lower, while the shale is compressed to a thin edge between them.
On the west side of the point, the two sandstone beds again separate,
and the shale between them resumes its former dimensions; but its
progress, with that of the other shale beds above and below, is sud-
denly checked at Cayton mill; an interruption occasioned, not only
by the wearing out of the upper part of the strata, at the cleft or
ravine that leads down to the mill; but especially by a slip in the
strata, at least in the higher strata, which with the alluvial beds have
come down on the north-west side of the mill, and removed or cov-
ered up the shale from thence to Scarborough.

The slip in Cayton cliffs is of a class not uncommon along the
coast. The lower strata have not sunk with the upper, but the latter
have come down in a mass over the former; and while most of the
shale has been pressed out from under the mass, and washed away
by the sea, the sandstone beds, corresponding with those which cap the
shale opposite Gristhorp, have come down to the beach, occupying
the place of the shale that is gone, and covering what has been left.
Portions of the shale are still visible here and there, through openings

x

82 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

in the sandstone beds; the latter, as might be expected, being much
broken and dislocated. On examining the ground above Cayten mill,
and from thence in the direction of Scarborough, we see where the
longitudinal fissure has taken place. The surface of the part:that has
slipped down forms an extensive platform, containing many acres of
pasture ground, while the front of the solid strata from whence it has
descended, appears as a lofty cliff beyond it. Here the beds, from
which the sandstone in the sea cliffs below has been separated, may
be seen in their proper place. | They correspond, as was intimated,
with the lower beds of the Filey Bridge series; which, though they
appear to run out in the top of the cliff to the east of Cayton, are
no doubt continuous in the mterior.. The sandstone is chiefly sili-
ceous, and contains, in many places, imbedded fragments of charcoal.
In this respect it corresponds with several of the lower beds of sand-
stone in this district; with some of which it also agrees, in the irregu-
lar appearance assumed by many parts of the beds, which instead of
being parted by horizontal seams, are traversed by diagonal or irregu-
lar lines, dividing the stone into wedge-shaped blocks, and amor-
phous masses of various forms.

It will be proper to observe, that the surface of the ground that
has sunk, is in some places lower behind than in front; and, as these
low places are receptacles for water, we find there some pools and
marshes; a phenomenon very common wherever any recent slip has
taken place. About twenty years ago, a large portion of a hill near
Kirkby Knowle, in the skirts of the Hambleton hills, shipped down
into the valley; and, the surface of the detached part being lower
behind than in the front, a pool of water has been formed in the
hollow.

In tracing the strata between Cayton and Scarborough, we soon
meet with another derangement, probably of a much more ancient
date than the Cayton slip; for, between the White Nab and the Spaw,

SECOND STALE. 835

the stratified rocks disappear altogether, their place being occupied
by the alluvial cliffs formerly mentioned, in speaking of the celebrated
Scarborough springs. The alluvial beds continue till we arrive at the
lofty promontory where Scarborough castle rears its venerable head.
There, on the east and north sides of the hill, we find a thick bed of
shale, which appears to correspond with the Gristhorp shale, while
the beds above it correspond with the Filey rocks, or rather with the
series of beds at Rowlston scar.

As the strata at Scarborough castle present an epitome of the
contents of the oolite hills, it may be proper to notice them more
particularly. . The following sketch of these strata, as observed on
the north and north-east, will be found tolerably correct.

1. Some beds of whitish or light grey limestone, generally thin.
Among these is a portion of the oolite, of a fine grain, the ova being
minute. These beds may occupy 20 or 30 feet.

2. A thick bed of argillo-calcareous sandstone, with large nod-
ules of limestone, and cavities filled with yellow marl. This bed,
which may be from 6 to 10 feet in thickness, corresponds with the
marly sandstone of Rowlston scar, Nawton, &c. Like that, it is
hollowed into cavities, and sinuosities, resembling grotto work; as
may be seen in the upper part of the castle rocks, fronting the sea
eastward. . The hard nodules are generally of an oval shape, with
their longest diameter parallel to the plane of the strata in which they
are imbedded.

3. Beds of grey limestone, or calcareous sandstone; some of them
of a texture approaching to crystalline. In the fissures of these beds,
and of No. 2, are many beautiful crystals of calc spar. These beds
occupy from 15 to 20 feet.

4. A compact bed of blueish limestone, 6 feet thick, or upwards.
This bed may correspond with the blue and grey limestone of this
series; though, as in the instance noticed in describing the Filey

84 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

Bridge rocks, it does not follow the oolite immediately, but with some
other beds intervening.*

5. Several beds of calcareous sandstone, or sandy limestone}
from 12 to 15 feet.

6. Shale, alternating with thin beds of sandstone; from 20 to
30 feet.

7. Shale; about 50 feet.

Below the shale is the hard bed which is the next member of the
series, occupying the foot of the cliff, and forming a strong barrier,
to defend the whole from the fury of the ocean.

The beds No. 6, as well as No. 7, may be considered as belong-
ing to the second shale; in which, as has been observed, there are
frequently beds of schistose sandstone. Indeed, the upper part of
the shale is found in some instances, to alternate with the lower beds
of the series above it; as we see in the bank opposite Kirkham priory,
where a bed of the shale occurs even above the marly sandstone.

It will be seen, in the preceding sketch of the strata at Scar-
borough castle, that there is no bed there over the shale, correspond-
ing exactly with the siliceous sandstone on the shore near Cayton;
but it is well known, that the sandstone beds vary exceedingly.
Besides, in proceeding from Scarborough castle to the north-west,
we soon meet with siliceous sandstone over the shale, similar to the
sandstone of the White Nab.

It is scarcely necessary to add, that the thickness of the beds,
stated above, is not given from actual admeasurement; but is merely
intended to furnish some idea of the relative proportions of the beds.
The whole height of the rock is said to be about 300 feet.

* A mistake has been inadvertently made in page 74, in mentioning the localities of this
limestone; it being there intimated, that it does not occur at Kirkdale church. The authors
did not find it in the channel of the stream, opposite and above the church; that being occupied
by thin beds of calcareous sandstone, as stated in page 69: but they met with it in a higher
position at the ford below, and ata quarry on the north-west side of the church.

SECOND SHALE. 85

While speaking of this lofty promontory, it may be proper to
remark, that it has been supposed to be vastly diminished since the
close of the twelfth century; as its superficial extent is estimated by
William of Newburgh at sixty acres, whereas it is now less than
twenty acres. But if we consider, that Leland, who wrote little
more than 300 years after William of Newburgh, and about 300 years
before the present time, states the extent to be stwteen acres; we can-
not doubt, that there is a mistake in the text of William of Newburgh,
the word sexaginta (sixty) having been substituted for seadecim (six-
teen); and consequently, that the area occupied by the castle is
nearly the same now, as it was six centuries ago, the ancient acres
being larger than the modern.* ‘In further confirmation of this, we
need only refer to a document drawn up in the 14th. of Edward III,
by which it appears, that at that era, not more than 150 years after
the time of William of Newburgh, the pasture ground in the area of
the castle was reckoned only fifteen acres.f Indeed, that historian’s
own description of the place corresponds so exactly with present
appearances, as to preclude the idea, that these rocks have under-
gone any material change during the last six centuries.— These ob-
servations, it is hoped, will not be deemed superfluous, as they may
serve to correct the erroneous notions which some have advanced,
concerning the rapidity with which our rocky shores are dilapidated.

In proceeding along the shore, north-west from Scarborough, we
find the continuation of the second shale; but the beds are generally
much thinner than in the east front of the castle rocks, and the cal-
careous series above the shale is discontinued; a bed or two of sand-
stone, chiefly siliceous, being all that we find over the shale, except
the alluvial covering. The latter, indeed, in some places comes down

* See History of Whitby and the Vicinity, II. p. 738. Note.
+ See the document in Hinderwell’s History of Scarborough (8vo.) p. 53, 54.

We

86 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

to the very beach; the sandstone, and even the shale,- being inter-
rupted, or covered. The beds of shale are usually of no great thick-
ness, and are interstratified with beds or seams of schistose sandstone:
but in a few places, particularly in a small bay, or wyke, opposite
Burniston, it resumes something of its former importance, occupying
the face of a considerable cliff. HO2 wad

It is rather sigular, that at Cayton, at Scarborough, at Burniston
wyke, and to within a little of Cloughton wyke, the shale beds are
nearly on the same level; for, instead of going out at the top, or
sinking entirely below the sea, they merely rise and fall, in an undu-
lating lme. These undulations are- very numerous between Scar-
borough and Cloughton wyke. The shale descends below the beach
at Peaseholm beck, and rises again beyond it; disappears another
time at Scalby mill, but resumes its place on the further side; and in
like manner rises and fails repeatedly, in its progress northward. It
is scarcely necessary to add, that the other strata, in these places,
are subject to the same undulations.

The transition of this shale into sandstone, as it advances to-
wards the north, has already been noticed. We havea full display
of it before we arrive at Cloughton wyke: for, a little to the north of
Burniston wyke, one of the sandstone beds in the shale is enlarged.
to the thickness of 15 or 20 feet, while the shale is proportionally
diminished; and though the shale, a little after, regains a portion of
its extent, it presently loses ground, and dwindles into an insignificant
seam, scarcely discernible, while the sandstone swells into immense
beds, forming a lofty precipitous cliff as far as to Cloughton wyke.
Herethe shale again shews itself, below the sandstone, though the
latter greatly predominates; but both run out at the back part of the
wyke, the upper strata being there interrupted.

It is unnecessary to trace the further progress of this second
shale; for though something corresponding with it may be found

SECOND SHALE. - 87

among the strata in Stainton Daie cliffs, and other places, it is so
much of a piece with the other numerous shale beds, alternating with
the sandstone in a lower part of the strata, that it can scarcely be
identified; except where we can distinctly observe the beds that im-
mediately succeed it.

This shale, which occupies so large a space in our strata, 1s far
from being uniform in its qualities. In many places, it differs little
from the upper shale; containing a large proportion of clay, with a
mixture of calcareous matter. In others, it is sandy and micaceous;
and indeed there are few places where we do not find in it small
shinmg specks of mica. Its general colour is a blueish grey; some-
times very light, sometimes so dark as to appear almost black, but
commonly of an intermediate hue. In some places too, it is of a dull
ash grey or dusky colour, especially where it partakes very largely
of clay, as in some of the lower parts of the Gristhorp cliffs. In a
part of the slope below Whitestone cliff, a little above a free-stone
quarry, we find some greenish shale, which seems to be the lower
part of the same shale that appears in the front of the cliff. The
shale is generally most sandy, where it is about to pass into sand-
stone, and where it contains most sandstone beds; and yet at the
point east from Cayton mill, where, as was stated, the sandstone
thickens, and the shale is compressed, the compressed bed is so
highly argillaceous, that we find on its surface an efflorescence of
sulphate of alumine, or native alum, as well as some sulphate of iron.
The same phenomenon may be seen in a few other spots, particularly
near the White Nab, on the other side of Cayton, where a portion of
the shale is uncovered.

The sulphur in these native preparations is derived from the de-
composition of pyrites, which is found in several parts of this shale;
sometimes in clusters of elegant crystals, like those in the lower
chalk. Oxide of iron is also very common in many parts of the

88 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

shale, appearing in ferruginous veins and patches; as may be-seen in
Whitestone cliff, and at Scarborough castle. Calcareous minerals,
particularly selenite and gypsum, are also not uncommon in these beds.
Numerous crystals of selenite occur in the Gristhorp cliffs, especially
where the schist is most argillaceous. Thin veins of fibrous gypsum
traverse the shale in various places; of which instances are seen at
Scarborough castle. Some of the specimens have a pearly lustre.

Organic remains are not so abundant in these strata as in the
upper shale: yet in some places, particularly in the dark coloured
clay at Gristhorp, they are numerous. They consist principally of
shells, with some fragments of wood. The sandstone that alternates
with the shale partakes of its petrifactions. It contains pieces of wood,
sometimes of a considerable size, as well as fragments of charcoal :
and the beds of this kind between Cayton mill and Scarborough,
mentioned above, may be considered as belonging to this class, more
than to the sandstone of the upper series; though, where the strata
are so much broken, there must be a mixture of both.

As this sandstone partakes of the schistose quality of the beds
which it attends, so itis also somewhat assimilated to them in colour;
yet where it begins to predominate over the shale, it lays aside both;
growing solid and massive ‘in its structure, and whitish or yellowish
white in its colour. This is especially the case in the precipitous cliffs
to the south-east of Cloughton wyke, where, as was said above, the
shale is wholly overpowered, and the sandstone becomes independent.

The second shale being one of the lowest beds of the oolite hills,
it may be proper to make a remark or two more, relating to these
hills, before we proceed to the next member of the strata.

At the out-skirts of this range, we often meet with small insu-
lated hills, detached from the main body. Hood hill and other
appendages to the Hambleton hills have already been noticed. Some
hills of the same form, but of a larger size, may be seen at Hawnby,

SECOND SHALE. 89

towards the lower end of Bilsdale. Similar insulated elevations are
found between Silphoue moor and Saltergate, the most remarkable
of which are Langdale End and Blakey Topping. These hills are
not round, but oblong, like hay-stacks. They have flat summits,
and smooth sloping sides, corresponding with the fronts of that range
from which they are detached.

Having mentioned Blakey Topping, it may be proper to notice
here some singular rocks, that run along the margin of a deep ravine,
about two miles south from that hill. These rocks, some of which
are here represented, are denominated

THE BRIDE STONES.

These rocks belong to the series above the second shale, and are
somewhat analogous to the marly sandstone at the top of Rowlston
scar, though they are much more siliceous. They appear in strata of
great thickness, of a yellowish white or grey colour; and being of
very unequal hardness, the soft parts, which are nearly in the state
of loose sand, and are chiefly in the lower part of the beds, have been
carried off by the action of the rains and the atmosphere, forming large
caverns and recesses, while the harder parts remain as roofs and

Zz

90 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

pillars. The Bride Stones are the highest rocks in the spot which
they occupy, which however is lower than the adjacent Saltergate
moor. They are rendered conspicuous by their frequently protruding
above the alluvium; and some portions of them are found insulated,
in various fantastic forms. The most singular of the whole group is
that represented in the centre of the annexed sketch, in the form of
a mushroom, with a slender stalk. It is about 30 feet high, and 20
broad near the top, in one direction; while the stalk or pillar, that
supports it, is only 3 feet across in one direction, and about 7 in
the other.

We have had occasion to notice, that the second shale, in a few
places, alternates with the lower beds of the series above it; and we
have also to remark, that, in some instances, it interferes in a similar
way with the beds that succeed it These beds consist of

IRONSTONE AND SANDSTONE.

Under this head are comprehended some strata, which, like
those succeeding the oolite, cannot be very easily defined; they differ
so greatly in different places. At the foot of Gristhorp cliffs, where
they first make their appearance, they form a large series, to which
there is nothing exactly corresponding, in any other place where their
progress has been investigated. The whole beds occurring there,
including the shale and sandstone im the cliffs, belonging to the fore-
going member of the strata, as observed at low water in a small bay
or indentation of the shore, are as follows:

1. A lofty bed of shale, rising towards the top of the cliff, and
there meeting the alluvium.

2. A bed of grey sandstone, nearly of the colour of the shale.

83, A thick bed of shale, occupying the lower part of the cliff.

4, Whitish sandstone, of considerable thickness, appearing at
the very foot of the cliff.

IRONSTONE AND SANDSTONE. 91

N. B. The beds, No. 2 and 4, are those which meet each other
at the point on the east side of Cayton mill, as mentioned in p. 81,
and No. 3 is the shale bed that is compressed between them.

These four beds belong to the second shale, which may also
appropriate to itself a part of the following, especially as portions of
the shale are found among them.

5. Shale, sandstone, and ironstone, forming the foundation of
the highest part of the beach, and so much concealed by sand and
gravel, as not to admit of a more particular description.

6. Soft white sandstone.

7. Light blue shale, with some ironstone in nodules.

8. Soft whitish sandstone, lke No. 6.

9. Compact grey sandstone.

10. Shale, with ironstone nodules.

11. Schistose sandstone.

12. Shale, with ironstone nodules, like No. 10.

13. Soft blueish sandstone.

14. Shale.

15. Soft sandstone.

16. Hard sandstone, partly ferruginous, being red externally, and
blueish in the recent fracture.

17. Lowest visible bed of shale.

18. Various beds of reddish yellow sandstone.

19. Thick bed of calcareous sandstone, or siliceous limestone;
very hard and compact.

All these beds, from No. 5 downwards, have a dip towards the
cliff; so that their edges are exposed one after another, as the tide
retires. No. 19, which is the lowest, is also the thickest, and one of
the most remarkable. It resembles in structure the immense bed in
Whitestone cliff, being ‘partly oolitic, and partly granular, with nu-
merous small crystals, many of which are oblong. The ova are few

92 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

!

‘and large, with a mixture of what appear to be small fragments of
shells; and the stone is coarser grained than that of Whitestone cliff,
as well as more opaque, the edges of its fragments being scarcely
translucent. Its colour is grey, but of various'shades; being. in some
parts ash grey, in some reddish, and in some approaching to yellow.
When struck with the hammer, it emits a ringing sound: which is
very perceptible even in fragments of the stone. Like the Whitestone
bed, it splits vertically, and is thus parted into huge blocks, often
separated by considerable fissures, into which the waves are driven
at low water, with a hollow murmuring noise.

The ironstone, which holds a conspicuous place in this series, is
extremely hard and compact. It is red or ferruginous without, and
blue or iron grey in the recent fracture. It appears to be partly cal-
careous, partly argillaceous, and has been ascertained to yield 15 per
cent. of iron; being collected for an iron foundery at Newcastle, and
conveyed thither to be smelted. The beds are seldom more than 9 or
10 inches thick; and more frequently consist of nodules, or flat inter-
sected masses, than continuous strata. The ironstone is generally
imbedded in shale, which fills up the interstices between the nodules
or blocks; but sometimes it is found disposed as a crust on the sur-
face of a sandstone bed, the intervals in that case being filled up with
sandstone. The shale beds, in some places, are rather bituminous.
Shells and pieces of petrified wood are occasionally found in the iron-
stone, as well as in some of the sandstone beds.

These strata (marked g) form what we may call the pavement
ofthe shore, not only in front of Gristhorp cliffs, but from thence,
with some interruptions, and various changes, as far as to Cloughton
wyke. The interruptions are more apparent than real, and ought
rather to be called depressions; for these beds undergo in their pro-
gress northward, those undulations already noticed in speaking of the
second shale; nay, the undulations are more striking in them than in

IRONSTONE AND SANDSTONE. 93

the shale, from their position, and their superior hardness. From the
small bay noticed above, where the series is so extensive, the beds
rise towards Cayton point, so often mentioned. In the bay oppo-
site the mill, they are somewhat depressed and broken; and, after
undergoing some lesser undulations and disturbances, between that
and the White Nab, they rise towards that point; but are soon after
depressed more than ever, in the bay opposite Scarborough, the har-
bour being formed in this depression, or apparent interruption. Part
of the depressed strata might formerly be seen between the Spaw and
the piers, being the rocks called Ramsdale scar; but these rocks were
removed, to improve the harbour. Immediately beyond the harbour, :
the hard strata rise again, rather abruptly, at the foot of the castle,
the piers being probably founded on part of them. A strong barrier
of ironstone and sandstone defends the foot of the castle rocks on the
east; rising towards the shale, and constituting the foundation on
which it rests. Opposite the bay on the north side of the castle, the
hard strata again sink down; but they rise again in greater extent on
the further side of it: and thus they continue to fall and rise, in fre-
quent and striking undulations, to within a little of Cloughton wyke.
The elevated points, between the depressed parts of the strata,
invariably project forward, while in the intermediate space the cliff
retires backward, forming a succession of bays, or recesses. The
reason of this is sufficiently obvious, on a bare inspection of these
projecting points; for we find the rocks there so consolidated as to
present a powerful resistance to the attacks of the ocean, whereas the
intermediate parts of the cliff are far more vulnerable. In the bottoms
of the bays, the shale usually predominates; but at the points, it is
commonly excluded by the sandstone and ironstone; insulated masses
of which often stand like pillars in front of these points, marking out
their extent at former periods, and defending them from the rude
shocks of the stormy sea. Examples to illustrate these remarks, may
2A

94 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

be seen at Cayton point, and other nabs to the south of Scarborough;
and still more on the north, between Peaseholm beck and Cloughton
wyke.

These successive elevations and depressions are also attended
with another phenomenon,— the frequent derangement of the strata,
particularly towards the bottems of the recesses on the shore. There
the upper strata, as well as the lower, are often deranged; nay, in
several instances the upper beds are wholly interrupted or broken off.
This is the case at Cayton mill, and still more at Scarborough sands;
as also at Peaseholm beck, Scalby mill, and other places to the north
of the town; where the alluvium comes down to the beach.

From these facts, and the general appearance of this part of the
shore, we may presume, that not only the strata which have slipped
down between Cayton mill and Scarborough, but the other rocks
along a great part of the coast, have at some distant era occupied a
much more elevated place, from whence they have sunk down to their
present broken, undulating, and irregular position. This idea is cor-
roborated, by the low and compressed state of the strata at Scarbo-
rough castle, compared with that of the corresponding strata of
Oliver's Mount and Seamer moor; and by the irregular dip of the
strata along this shore, which is far from being conformable to that
of the strata in the inland hills.

It has been intimated, that the ironstone and sandstone beds, are
not only subject to undulations, in their progress northward, but to
various other changes. Even at Cayton point, there is a perceptible
change, both in the number and qualities of the beds; and it is much
more perceptible at the White Nab. Here, however, we still find
four beds of ironstone, interstratified with several beds of sandstone.
The beds in general appear to be harder than on the Gristhorp shore,
and rather more calcareous, containing a greater number of petrified
shells. A thick compact bed, apparently corresponding with No. 19

IRONSTONE AND SANDSTONE. 95

of the Gristhorp series, supplies large and durable blocks of stone
for the Scarborough piers. In more than one bed, however, we ob-
serve a mixture of the crystalline and oolitic structure.

The very hard rocks, at the foot of the castle on the east side,
form the continuation of this series. They consist of grey calcareous
sandstone, partly incrusted, partly intermixed, with portions of iron-
stone; and contain numbers of shells, which, owing to the hardness
of the stone, it is very difficult to disengage or break off.

Beyond the north sands, the ironstone and sandstone make a
conspicuous figure on the shore. The ironstone frequently covers
the sandstone, as a solid crust; and from this ferruginous coating, the
rocks in many places appear as if they had passed through the fire:
some striking instances of which may be seen beyond Scalby mill.
In other places, the ironstone is found in nodules, as on the Gris-
thorp shore; and a bed of this description is found in the face of the
cliff, among the shale, in Burniston wyke.

Before we arrive at Cloughton wyke, the extent of this series is
vastly diminished: for at the pomt on the south-east side of that
creek, we find nothing that can well be appropriated to it, except a
bed of rough sandstone, partly calcareous, immediately below the
shale; and a bed of hard calcareous sandstone, or coarse limestone,
incrusted or intermixed with ironstone, and abounding with shells,
like the rock at the foot of Scarborough castle. These beds also bear
a considerable resemblance to some of the harder strata at Filey
Bridge; and it is observable that, at each of these three places, there
are some of the same kinds of large shells; though the Filey rocks.
belong to a higher part of the strata.

The ferruginous beds, having reached the upper end of Cloughton
wyke, are discontinued with the strata over them; nor has their pro-
gress been traced any further along the shore. In the lofty Stainton
Dale cliffs, where the authors examined the whole series of beds with

96 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

considerable minuteness, nothing corresponding with this ironstone
could be found; though the next member of the strata is there very
conspicuous. Nor have the hard beds been fully identified in any of
the inland heights, though some resembling them are observed in
various spots. A bed of calcareous ironstone, containing shells, very
like the ironstone beds at the Gristhorp shore and the White Nab,
was found by the authors, on the east side of Newton Dale, north-
east from the village of Newton; and, from its position in the strata,
this bed may be presumed to be the continuation of the same iron-
stone; but the beds in Newton Dale, and other inland places, differ
so greatly from those on the coast, that it is no easy matter to trace
the correspondence between them. The difficulty, in this instance,
is increased by the number and variety of the ironstone beds, occurring
among the inferior beds of sandstone and shale.

Instead, therefore, of attempting to pursue this member of the
strata any further, we pass on to the next, viz.

THE BLUE LIMESTONE.

On reaching this part of our strata, we take our final leave of the
oolite hills: for, though several of the beds which are now to be
described, are known to run under these hills, and form their basis;
yet they hold a conspicuous place in the higher parts of the next
range of hills, to which therefore they ought to be appropriated.

The hills belonging to the northern part of our district, from the
oolite range to the banks of the Tees, are all of one character: the
upper part of them consisting chiefly of sandstone, sandy shale, bitu-
minous shale, and coal; with some limestone and ironstone beds;
the lower, which is commonly the principal part, consisting of the
great beds of aluminous schistus, and the various seams that are inter-
stratified with them. From the occurrence of coal in these hills, some

BLUE LIMESTONE. 97

would term them coal measures, or coal fields; but the coal beds which
they contain are too inconsiderable to give name to the whole range.
If we allot them a particular designation, they ought to be termed The
alum hills; for the great beds of aluminous schistus form their most
distinguishing feature.

The outline of these hills differs greatly from that of the oolite
chain. They have, indeed, generally speaking, a gentle declivity
towards the south, and abrupt cliffs towards the north; but their
summits instead of being flat are rounded, and their exterior or north-
ern faces, instead of being smooth, and forming a regularly inclined
plane, are rugged and broken. In many of their northern fronts, we
find, not far from their summits, a precipitous or steep cliff, of sand-
stone; from the foot of which, the shale beds form a declivity more
or less gentle, descending to the valley or plain below. Sometimes
we find two or more steep cliffs, with gentle slopes in the intermediate
spaces; and it is not uncommon to find the slope between two preci-
pices, or steep descents, forming a terrace of great extent, in front of
the higher part of the hill, which in that case exhibits the appearance
of one hill piled upon another. The lower precipices are sometimes
formed of the beds immediately over the alum shale, and sometimes
of the hard beds that protrude through it.

The alum hills are of great extent, constituting the principal part
of the Eastern Moorlands of Yorkshire. They may be divided into
three ridges or chains, running parallel to one another, from east to
west; all commencing from the shore on the east, and all terminating
in some part of the plain of Cleveland on the west; but differmg much
in length, breadth, and height; the most southerly being in all these
respects the greatest, the middle chain holding the next rank, and
the most northerly being the least. The first, which comprises the
highest land in our district, commences with the Stainton Dale clifis,
the high promontory called Peak, and the Fyling hills; and terminates

28

98 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

with Arncliff, Osmotherley hill, and Silton hill, on the west. Some of
the highest points in this chain are Stoupe Brow hill, Lilhoue cross,
Cock Heads, Ralph Cross, Burton Head, Coldmoor, and Cranimoor.
Cock Heads and Ralph Cross, are about 1400 feet above the level of
the sea, the elevation of Burton Head is 1485 feet, and Coldmoor
and Cranimoor are about the same height.

Kildale, Commondale, and the vale of the Esk, divide these hills
from the second chain; which, commencing with the west cliffs of
Whitby, and those of Kettleness and Runswick, has its western ex-'
tremities at High Cliff Nab, Rosebury Topping, and the hills that
overlook Little Ayton and Easby. Danby beacon, near the centre of
this chain, is 966 feet above the sea, and the height of Rosebury, well
known for its conical summit, is 1022 feet. High Cliff Nab, and a
few other elevated points towards the west end of the chain, may also
rise about 1000 feet.

The third and lowest chain, which is also the most narrow and
broken, is separated from the foregoing by the vales of Dalehouse,
Lofthouse, Skelton, and Guisborough. It begins at the high cliffs of
Boulby, and skirting the shore as far as Huntcliff, proceeds from
thence along the south side of the fertile plains of Marsk and Kirk-
leatham, finishing its course at Hambleton End and Bernaldby moor,
near Ormesby. The summit of this moor, Eston Nab, has an eleva-
tion of 784 feet; that of Boulby or Easmgton heights, at the other
end of the range, is 681 feet; and that of Birdley* moor, beside
Upleatham, which is near the centre, is 533 feet.

Of these three chains of hills, the first is about 35 miles long,
and from 5 or 6 to 10 or 12 broad; the second is about 18 miles in
length, and from 3 or 4 to 7 or 8 in breadth; and the length of the

* The names Birdley and Bernaldby have been sometimes written improperly Burleigh
aud Barnaby, Burton ead has in like manner been transformed into Botton Head.

BLUE LIMESTONE. 99 .

third does not exceed 15 miles, while its greatest breadth is only
between 2 and 3 miles.

The le limestone, which we are now to describe, is found only
in the first and second of these chains of hills; for in the third, the
aluminous schistus comes so near the surface, that several beds oc-
curring in the highest parts of the first two chains, are excluded.
The limestone, indeed, is thrust out, in not a few of the hills in the
first and second ranges; as will appear from a more particular descrip-
tion of its localities.

Though we speak of this bed as introducing us to the alum hills,
we do not mean to intimate, that it is usually the highest rock in
these hills, where their upper beds are entire; for there is often a
considerable thickness of strata over it: but it is the highest of the
rocks discernible on the coast, which we have identified among the
upper beds of these hills. When the great height and extent of the
first chain of the alum hills are considered, it will not be deemed sur-
prising, that many beds exist in the interior, of which we find no
trace on the coast; and on the other hand, that there are some strata
on the coast, which have nothing corresponding with them in the
interior. It is well known, to all who have attended to the study of
geology, that beds which are of a great thickness in one part of the
strata, run out into a thin edge, and often entirely disappear, in other
parts; and that portions. of the strata often change their character,
passing from one kind of rock into another. Instances of such disap-
pearance, or transition, have already been noticed, in describing the
last three members of our strata.

The beds over the blue limestone, which, where that rock exists,
form the upper part of the first range of alum hills, and which de-
scending with their southern slopes, run under the back part of the
oolite hills, are different in different places. They consist of shale
and sandstone, generally siliceous; and occasionally exhibit a mixture

_ 100 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

of ironstone. In some places, as in Harwood Dale, and Newton
Dale, particularly the latter, the sandstone beds are very numerous.
Among these we find a very hard siliceous bed, approaching to the
state of quartz rock. It has obtamed the name of crow-stone; and,
owing to its durability, is the material of which several of our ancient
rude monuments, consisting of upright unsculptured stones, have been
made.* It is whitish, or greyish white; is very compact and fine
grained; its recent fracture shews more of a crystalline aspect than
any other siliceous sandstone in the district; and the edges of its
splintery fragments are translucent. This kind of stone is not of very
general occurrence in these strata: it seems to be most abundant in the
upper part of Harwood Dale, where a ledge of this hard rock may be
seen projecting over the less durable materials, in the upper part of
the cliffs. By its superior durability, it is detected ina similar posi-
tion, in some parts of Newton Dale, to the north of Newton.

A very thick bed of hard siliceous sandstone, but of a coarser
description, may be seen above the limestone, in the summits of some
of the lofty hills of this range, fronting the plain of Cleveland. This
bed may be seen to most advantage on the brow of a hill at the head
of Bilsdale, looking down upon Broughton and Ingleby. Here the
bed, fora considerable space, is divested of the alluvial covering, and
being split by vertical fissures into vast blocks, often rectangular,
presents a singular assemblage of massy pillars, like the ruins of some
fabric of Cyclopean masonry. Its resemblance to a work of art was
much greater some years ago, when one of these square blocks, lying
horizontally on the tops of other two, into which position it had acci-
dentally fallen at some distant period, exhibited the appearance of an
arch or door-way. These rocks have been called the Wazn-stones ;

* See an account of some of these stones, in the History of Whitby and the Vicinity, II.
p- 664, 665, 666.

BLUE LIMESTONE. 101

perhaps from some fancied resemblance which this arch and the group
beside it bore to a waix, or waggon, with its team and driver. The
place was formerly much resorted to by the neighbouring swains, for
their amusement; and numbers of the visitants carved their initials
on the stones that formed the arch: but the lintel of the arch having
been wantonly broken down some years ago, the group no longer
possesses the same interest.* | Many enormous masses of this stone
have fallen down from their native bed, and are found in various po-
sitions a little below.

A thick bed of sandstone, apparently corresponding with the
Wain-stones bed, is found in the front of Silton hill. A large mass
of this rock, projecting from the face of the bed, and nearly detached
from it, has obtained the name of the Hanging stone, from its over-
hanging position; the effect of which is greatly increased by its being
perforated behind, the middle part of the bed having been dissolved,
while the upper part remains over the aperture, forming a natural arch.

In the front of a hill, about a mile to the south of Godeland
chapel, where those singular British remains called the Killing Pits +
are found, there are similar massive sandstone rocks; but they be-
long to a higher part of the strata, and are a kind of crow-stone beds.
Near the same place, a little above Hunt House, occurs a large
bed of siliceous sandstone of a singular description, which may be
regarded as a variety of the crow-stone. It is composed of fine white
quartz crystals, with scarcely any cement or matrix, and having so
little cohesion, that the stone is easily crumbled to pieces between
the fingers. The sand or powder, resulting from its pulverization, is
used by the farmers in sharpening their scythes.

It may be proper to observe, that though we have discovered no
rock on the coast corresponding with the crow-stone, the thick

* Ibid. p. 767, 768. + See an account of these remains, Hist. of Whitby, &c. II. p. 670, &e.
2c

102 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

sandstone beds that form the precipitous cliffs on the south side of
Cloughton wyke, may bear some analogy to the Wain-stones; being
nearly at the same distance above the blue limestone. We may add,
that, besides the instance noticed as occurring in Newton Dale, there
are other spots where ironstone beds, analogous to those of the
Gristhorp and Scarborough shores, may be seen among the upper
strata of the alum hills. Ina bank on the road from Whitby to Scar-
borough, about a mile and a half south from Flask inn, the road has
been made through a bed of sandy shale, containing ironstone nod-
ules, disposed in regular layers. These nodules exhibit a peculiar
variety of ironstone, which occurs also at Burniston wyke. Each
ball or nodule is usually enveloped with a crust in a half decomposed
state, sometimes near an inch in thickness, porous and cellular like
some kinds of slag. This crust is of a rusty colour, with a mixture
of green specks. ‘The green colour is much more conspicuous in the
solid nucleus which it incloses; and which is often of great specific
gravity. Some specimens, from their green aspect, beara great re-
semblance to copper ore.

Having thus noticed the beds that occur over the blue limestone,
let us proceed to examine that rock itself.

The name blue limestone is applicable only to the principal part
of this member of the strata; for a considerable portion of what must
be viewed as belonging to it, is grey. Immediately under the hard
ferruginous beds, at Cloughton wyke, we find a coarse grey lime-
stone, somewhat sandy; and beneath that a hard, compact, blueish
limestone, of a considerable thickness. Both abound with organic
remains. These beds (marked / ) first make their appearance on the
inside of the south-east point of the wyke; and rising from thence
towards the bottom of the wyke, they are found at a considerable
height, immediately beyond the mterruption there, in the face of a

perpendicular cliff, Here some springs, issuing from the upper part

BLUE LIVESTONE. 103

of the rocks, and much impregnated with calcareous matter, have
produced a singular effect on the front of the cliffs. The calcareous
deposition has encouraged the growth of moss in the crevices and on
the ledges of the rocks; and quantities of that moss being successively
incrusted with lime, hang down in curious columns, or stalactites;
so that the face of the cliff is adorned with a kind of rude colonnade
of mossy pillars, some of which appear as if furnished both with
capitals and pedestals.

A little beyond that interesting spot, the limestone beds, with
some of the other strata, are interrupted; but we soon recover them
in the higher part of the Cloughton cliffs. At Haiburn wyke there is
another interruption; but the limestone beds are again continued in
the lofty Stainton Dale cliffs; where they rise to a great height, and
at last, with the higher sandstone beds, go out at the top, a little to
the south of the Peak. Beyond that point, we no more meet with
these beds im the sea clifis; but opposite that part of the shore
which skirts Hawsker Bottoms and Gnipe-houe farm, where there is
a remarkable depression of the strata, the limestone beds, which had
risen to such a great height at Peak, are found not far from the shore,
cropping out along the ridge on the east side of Gnipe-houe, and
again at a small stream, about half a mile further south, and nearly a
mile to the south-east of Hawsker. The beds at these spots dip to-.-
wards the north or north-west, conformably with the bend of the.
other strata, with which also they must needs rise again between
Gnipe-houe and Whitby, and finally go out at the surface; but their
outgomeg, which must be a little to the north of High Whitby, is con-.
cealed by the alluvium.

In the interior of this first range of the alum hills, these lime-
stone beds make their appearance in various places; though in some
of the hills they are entirely concealed. We find them in Harwood
Dale, at Dry Heads, about halia mile nerth from the chapel, and.

yo4 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

‘scarcely two miles from the north front of Silphoue moor, one of the
‘oolite hills. Here the limestone is seen in the south bank of a little
stream, running into the principal deck that waters this dale, a little
above Dry Heads. A bed of coarse shale lies immediately over the
limestone, and above that are some thick beds of sandstone, perhaps
‘corresponding with those of the steep cliffs on the south side of
Cloughton wyke.. The crow-stone beds are found at a greater eleva-
tion, chiefly in a higher part of the principal dale. In the east bank
of that dale, we find the same series of sandstone, shale, and lime-
stone, immediately below the spot occupied by those rows of circular
‘cavities at the Dry Heads, which mark out the site of an ancient
British town.*

The blue limestone has not been observed in Newton Dale. If
found there at all, it must be among the very lowest beds. Much
calcareous matter, however, exists in some of the higher beds of sand-
stone, towards the upper extremity of that valley; for a copious
spring, issuing not far from the top of the west bank, at a point
about two miles north-west from Saltergate, deposits on the bank, in
its descent to the beck, immense quantities of calcareous incrustations
and stalactites, tinged with a mixture of oxide of iron.

The limestone beds have been discovered, three or four miles to
the north of that spot, in the channel of Brockhole beck, which runs
into the vale of Godeland, about half a mile below Brockhole beck
bridge. There can be no doubt, that they are continued through the
heights to the east and north of that place, as they appear on the
other side, at Maybecks, on the Sneaton estate: nay, they run, per-
haps with some interruptions, to the banks of the Esk, at the north-
ern extremity of Sneaton lordship; for they crop out in two woody
ravines, in the valley on the north side of Sneaton. In one of these

* See History of Whitby and the Vicinity, II. p. 671.

BLUE LIMESTONE. 105

spots, the footpath from Whitby to Sneaton crosses the limestone, at
a small stream which flows through the ravine into Shalmrigg beck,
as does also the stream running through the other ravine, a little to
the west.

Towards the western extremity of this chain, the limestone beds
are found cropping out near Swainby, in the south-west bank of Scug-
dale, at a great elevation. Here the limestone is about 15 feet thick;
a bed of shale, 12 feet thick, lies immediately over it; and above
that the sandstone beds rise to a considerable height. In the front
of Coldmoor and of the Wain-stones hill, the blue limestone crops
out at a much greater elevation. In the central parts of this range, to-
wards Burton Head and Ralph Cross, it has not been detected; but
there can be little doubt of its existing there, concealed by the allu-
vium; especially as it is found towards the centre of the second chain
of alum hills, on the north-east side of Commondale, about two miles
to the south-west of Danby or Castleton coal-pits. To what extent
the blue limestone is continued in the rest of the second chain, has
not been ascertained; but its limits cannot be very extensive, for it is
not found in the strata along the shore, and in several of the western
hills of this chain, as well as in those of the third chain of alum hills,
the aluminous beds rise too near the surface, to admit its existence
above them.

As these limestone beds occupy a high position in the alum hills,
so we have evidence that they run under the highest of the oolite
hills; for they appear in some of the valleys immediately beyond
them. This is particularly the case at Sutton-under-Whitestone-cliff,
on the north side of Hood hill; where we find in the plain, the same
blue limestone that crops out in the fronts of the Cleveland hills,
though somewhat different in its qualities. The blue and grey lime-
stone at Coxwold appears to belong to the same beds.

2D

106 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

The qualities of this rock, however, are far from being uniform.
Sometimes, as at Cloughton wyke, we find a considerable thickness
of grey limestone over the blue; in other stances, the grey limestone
is found both above and below the blue, and the latter is almost ex-
cluded; in others, the blue so far predominates, that the grey is
thrust out. Sometimes the one passes into the other, and not unfre-
quently we meet with a clouded mixture of both; as in the blue and
grey limestone under the oohte. The grey is occasionally yellowish,
or brownish; but more frequently dusky or ash-coloured. The blue
is in some instanees very light, or blueish grey; in others, very dark;
and in others, it is more properly black than blue. Some parts of the
rock, especially in the grey limestone, are sandy and schistose;
others are very compact, and highly calcareous. Sometimes the
stone abounds with shells; in other instances, it contains few or none.
In some specimens, the recent fracture presents a dull, earthy aspect;
in others, we see a mixture ef small shining crystals; in others, the
crystals are more numerous; and in a few, the structure is almost
wholly crystallme; in which case, and in some of the other instances,
the crystals are usually large and oblong. The most crystalline speci-
mens are not of the darkest colour, some of them being of a light
grey: yet, in general, the stone is most compact, where it is of the
deepest blue.

We have already seen, that at Cloughton wyke, these limestone
beds succeed the ironstone, or ferruginous sandstone; and we have
now to remark, that although we do not find the ironstone beds at-
tending the limestone in its progress im the interior, yet we find, in
almost every place where the latter occurs, a portion of iren inter-
mixed with it. Ferrugimous patches and veins are very common; the
blocks of stone often appear incrusted with iron; and the weathered
faces of the beds frequently have a rusty aspect, the iron making its
appearance where the stone is partially decomposed.

BLUE LIMESTONE. 107

The presence of so much oxide of iron in the rock, is a great
impediment to the process of reducing it to hme. In some of the first
attempts of this kind, the whole contents of the kiln were run to-
gether into one mass, resembling slag. When care is taken, however,
to separate the ferruginous crusts, and other parts of the stone where
the oxide of iron is most abundant, the blue and more compact parts
of the rock produce an excellent lime. The limestone has for some
time been quarried and burnt for this purpose, at Sutton-under-
Whitestone-cliff, and in Scugdale; and more recently in Commondale,
and at Maybecks. At the Maybecks quarries some specimens of rock
have been obtained, more highly calcareous than any other found in
the district, and scarcely surpassed by any in Britam. The proprie-
tor, James Wilson, Esq., of Sneaton Castle, having procured from
the Royal Institution an analysis of some specimens of that limestone,
and some other limestones in this district, has favoured the authors
with a statement of the result, which may be exhibited in the follow-

ing table:

F | Commondale. Maybecks. |

Thornton. | Lockton.| oy.) No. 9.| No. .{ No.2| No. 3.| No. 4.
Carbonate of Lime... 37.1 32.3 34.9 SB) 55.6 77.6 98.1 69.
Silex and Alumine... 59.6 63.7 61. 63.4 40.6 18.9 6 | 24.3
Oxide of Iron......... 2.5 2.9 3. 2. 2.8 2.5 8 2.7
Waterss ea. screenees 8 Hon 1.1 a) ile 1. 5 4.
——— =——-. =—— — —-- —-= ———_— | —XSX >
100. 100. | 100. | 100. | 100. | 100. | 100. | 100.

The relative proportions of silex and alumine, in these speci-
mens, are not stated, except in regard to No. 4 of the Maybecks or
Sneaton limestone, which, in the 24.3 parts of silex and alumine, con-
tained in 100 parts of the limestone, was ascertained to yield 16.1 of
silex, and 8.2 of alumine. No 3 of the same limestone, is remarkable
for its large proportion of carbonate of lime, being no less than 98
parts in 100 parts of the stone. In this specimen there was found a

108 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

slight trace of magnesia. It ought to be observed, that this speci-
men and No. 2 of the Sneaton limestone, and perhaps we may add
No. 4, may be considered as choice specimens, superior to most of
the blue limestone of our district.

For the sake of comparison, it may be proper here to introduce
a table of the analysis of the magnesian limestone of the county of
Durham, taken from the account of that limestone, communicated to
the Geological Society by N. J. Winch, Esq.*

By the Rev. J. Holme. By Sir H. Davy.
From Denton. From Eldon. From Aycliff.
Carbonate of Lime ....sesesceccorscare CB | sensagaccsnonocoed te | scaoos0a90on canon 48.9
——— of Magnesia .............+ SHS | ||, coscde so0000000606 AS) | cocpotaooqsacne 900 46.6
dla nioag tied Omide of krona loi 2.95 | Troneessseseeees par] uigens love, 1.66
and Bitumen
IWatersirs <cklaws <csiccshehiedocstelereteg saldtete 25 | Residuum TeZe |). Gacigooonobo00d0000 2.84
100 100. 100

From the hardness of our limestone beds, they furnish excellent
metal for repairing the high-ways; for which purpose the stone is
quarried in some places, as at Gnipe-houe, and especially at Coxwold.

In closing our account of these strata, we may observe, that as
the coarse grey limestone is often schistose, so there is reason to
think, that it sometimes passes into shale. It has been remarked,
that in some places, as in Scugdale, there is a shale bed immediately
over the limestone; and perhaps it will be found, that, in such cases,
as there, little or nothing of the grey limestone exists, its place being
occupied by the coarse sandy and calcareous schist into which it has
apparently passed.

* Geological Transactions, IV. p. 7.

SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND COAL. 109

Beneath the blue limestone, we find a series of beds, correspond-
ing with what are usually termed coAL MEAsuRES. These consist of

SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND COAL.

This series (marked 7 ) is usually of great thickness, comprising
the whole of the regular strata above the great beds of aluminous
‘schistus, in the third range of our alum hills; and the principal part
of these strata, in the first and second, viz. all those beds that inter-
vene between the blue limestone and the schistus. It is unnecessary
to point out the geographical limits of these beds more particularly,
as they extend throughout the whole of this triple range of hills, from
the oolite chain to the vale of the Tees.

This member of our strata consists of an alternation of sandstone,
shale, and coal; to which also we may add ironstone, for this some-
times holds a conspicuous place among the other beds. It would be
vain to attempt to give an exact enumeration or description of all these
strata, or even to subdivide the series; for we find here a greater
number of transitions and changes, and more diversity in the number,
order, and character, of the beds, than in any other member of our
strata. The same bed, as it respects geological position, is in one
place, a solid sandstone; in another, contains nothing but shale; and
in a third, presents alternate layers of both: the transitions being
frequent, and often sudden. The coal is subject to the same varia-
tions. In one spot, you will find numerous thin seams running in
the shale; in another, a single seam; and in others, none at all. Some-
times the shale and coal predominate in the higher part of the beds,
and sometimes in the lower part; and not unfrequently the sandstone
almost excludes both; beds of schistose sandstone usurping the place
of the shale. Hence, when we have noticed the order of the beds in
one place, we cannot calculate upon finding the same series in another

ZE

110 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

place; for on proceeding a little distance from the place examined,
we may find an almost entire revolution in the number and order of
the strata. In some instances, however, the series proceeds to a
considerable distance, without being much disturbed.

As the alternating beds are subject to such transitions, we are
not to expect any uniformity in their respective qualities. The sand-
stone is of all descriptions; hard, and soft; fine grained, and coarse;
schistose, and massive; white, grey, yellow, mottled, blue, light
brown, and dark brown. The schist is, in some instances, blue,
sandy, and micaceous; in others, yellowish and ochrey; in others,
black, fine grained, and highly bituminous; and not unfrequently, the
same bed contains shale of various qualities blended together. A
mixture of sandy and bituminous shale is very common. The coal is
also of various descriptions; some of it being little superior to the
bituminous shale, while other parts, particularly in the middle of the
seams, are of an excellent quality, breaking like the best coal, into
cubical fragments, with smooth shining surfaces. It is scarcely ne-
cessary to add, that the ironstone of this series is as variable as the
strata in which it is imbedded.

Having made these general observations on the beds of this se-
ries, let us proceed to notice their order and appearance in some
particular places, especially in the sea cliffs; and to mention some of
the more remarkable beds, both there and in the interior.

To shew the connection of this series of beds with the strata
above them, it may be proper to give the following list of the whole
strata at Cloughton wyke, including those already described. We
find there,

1. Thick beds of sandstone, forming the upper part of the cliff at
the south-east cheek of the bay, or wyke.

2. A considerable bed of shale, which, with the sandstone, runs
out towards the inner part of the wyke.

SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND COAL. 111

3. Rough coarse sandstone, ‘partly calcareous.

4. Caleareous sandstone, or arenaceous limestone, hardened with
iron, and containing shells.

5. Grey limestone, of a dusky colour.

6. Blue limestone, forming a bed of considerable thickness.

7. Thin seams of shale, partly bituminous, alternating with thin
beds of sandstone.

8. A massive bed of sandstone, 8 or 10 feet thick.

9. A bed of shale.

10. Schistose sandstone, splitting into thick slates, or flags.

11. Bituminous shale, of a fine texture, with a mixture of coal.

12. Whitish sandstone; the lowest bed at the wyke.

This series is not seen complete in any one spot, for as the
higher beds in the list are found only on the south side of the wyke,
so the lower beds do not appear till we reach the north side, the rise
of the strata being in that direction.

A bed corresponding with No. 7 is usually found under the blue
limestone wherever it occurs. It varies greatly in its composition;
sometimes, as here, presenting a mixture of shale and sandstone, in
alternate seams ; sometimes, as in Scugdale, consisting of sandy shale;
and sometimes composed entirely of schistose sandstone, of which
we have an instance in the ravines below Sneaton. Under all these
variations, the bed retains more or less of its bituminous quality.

No. 10 affords very good flags, for which purpose it has been
sometimes quarried. Some of the other sandstone beds at this wyke,
and to the north of it, are also quarried, for architectural uses.

In No. 11 we have the first decided appearance of coal. A little
to the north of the wyke, beyond the place where the higher strata
are interrupted, as noticed in p. 103, a seam of coal is found, which
has sometimes been wrought. Like the other coal seams’along the
shore, itis so thin, that, unless where it is of very easy access, it will

112 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

scarcely repay the expense of working. This bed and the strata
above it, rise rather rapidly in the Cloughton cliffs; while fresh beds
of sandstone and shale appear beneath.

Here, however, the lower beds are soon entirely concealed, by
a remarkable slip of the upper strata, extending longitudinally along
the shore, like the slip between Cayton mill and Scarborough; and
producing, like that, a higher and a lower cliff, with an extensive
platform between them. In the higher cliff we see the strata in their
regular order, as at the wyke: but in the lower cliff, which is washed
by the sea, they are, as might be expected, broken and irregular.
The intermediate platform, which no doubt was once on a level with
the surface at the top of the upper cliff, is of considerable extent;
being in some places nearly a furlong in breadth, and reaching in
length above half a mile, the slip terminating at Haiburn wyke, the
next remarkable creek on this shore. The falling of this slip comes
within the reach of tradition. It is said to have taken place at the
distance of about four generations, or within the last 200 years.

At the back of Haiburn wyke, the strata are again interrupted,
by the deep valley, or ravine, through which Haiburn beck flows into
the sea. That this interruption has not been produced by the stream
wearing its channel, nor by the mere washing away of the strata, may
be inferred from the singular appearance of some large beds of sand-
stone at the mouth of the beck, on the north side. These beds are
curiously bent, in the form of a segment of a circle, with the hollow
part uppermost; indicating, that the interruption at this wyke has
been connected with a depression, break, or curvature, of the strata.
The broken appearance of the strata, for some distance to the north
of this spot, serves to corroborate this idea.

Beyond this interruption, we again meet with steep and lofty
cliffs, in which the strata are continued in regular order. And here we
may remark, that as the strata, after their rapid rise from Cloughton

SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND COAL. 113

wyke, become nearly horizontal in the high cliffs to the south of
Haiburn wyke, so they preserve a similar direction in the Stainton
Dale cliffs, their rise being for the most part very gradual.

From what has been observed concerning the transitions and
variations in this series, it will not be expected, that the beds in the
Stainton cliffs, will correspond exactly with those at Cloughton wyke.
The following is a summary of the strata, at some distance to the
north of Haiburn wyke:

1. Thick beds of sandstone, reaching the alluvial surface.

2. A thin bed of shale.

3. The grey limestone.

4. The blue limestone.

5. Another thin bed of shale.

6. A bed of sandstone of vast thickness.

7. Avery large bed of bituminous shale, contaming thin seams
of coal, and thin beds of schistose sandstone.

8. A thick and massive bed of sandstone.

9. A considerable bed of shale, descending to the beach.

This series does not proceed far undisturbed; for in advancing
nerthward, we soon meet with another longitudinal slip of the strata,
of far greater magnitude than any thing of the kind which we have
yet noticed. It is fully two miles in length, and in some places
about a quarter of a mile broad. Here we find double cliffs, as at
the Cayton and Cloughton slips, and a large tract of pasture ground
intervening, with some coppice wood. The lower cliff, as at the
other slips, 1s greatly broken and dislocated; while the cliff that rises
behind the platform, and which in most places is of a much greater
thickness, presents the strata in their regular position. The platform
is by no means a uniform level, the enormous mass of land that has
sunk down, having been rent and disordered in its fall; the fore part
generally swelling into an irregular ridge, while the back part, sink-

2F

114 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

ing much lower, has become a long hollow trough behind it, afford-
ing, as at the Cayton slip, a lodgement for stagnant waters. These
waters form several pools and marshes, and would accumulate into
a considerable lake, were it not for the breaks and cross fissures of
the ridge, through which they have outlets towards the sea. The
ridge is not only divided by these cross fractures, but often exhibits
in front a succession of terraces, occasioned by a like number of
longitudinal rents.
It would be of little use to attempt a particular description of
the broken strata in the lower cliffs, which sometimes consist of a
confused mixture of the inferior beds of the series with those which
the slip has brought down from above, and sometimes of the latter
only, the former being sunk or thrust out.
The following is a sketch of the strata in the higher cliff, taken
about a furlong from the northern extremity of the slip:
Sandstone at the top of the cliff; occupying about 60 feet.
2. Shale, with seams of schistose sandstone; about 80 feet.
3. Grey and blue limestone ; 15 feet thick.
4
5)

—
.

Shale; about 4 feet.
. Hard sandstone; 25 feet.
6. Shale; 30 feet.
7. Sandstone; 25 feet.
8. Shale; 50 feet.
9. Sandstone; 16 feet.

10. Shale; 60 feet.

11. Great bed of sandstone, of a very dark brown colour, and
coarse grain. This is the lowest accessible bed, and its thickness
could not be ascertained, the inferior part of it being covered up.
The whole series may be nearly 400 feet in thickness, the cliffs at this
place being very lofty. The dimensions of the beds, however, are
not given from actual measurement. The inferior beds of sandstone

SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND COAL. 115

and shale, covered up by the slip, may eccupy another 100 feet, or
upwards ; making the whole thickness of the strata, above the level
of the sea, about 500 feet.

In some parts of the sandstone bed No. 5, there are quantities
of calc spar in the fissures or crevices. Some of the crystals are of
the long pyramidal form, called dog-tooth spar; and are highly
transparent, with a yellow tinge.. Aggregated masses of such crystals
are sometimes found in fissures or cavities, with their bases adhering
to one side of the fissure, while their diamond points, crowded
together, form a curiously indented surface. Similar aggregations
occur in the fissures of the oolite, and of the beds immediately
beneath it. It may be questioned, whether the calc spar of this
sandstone, has originated in the calcareous matter, belonging to the
stone itself, or in what has descended from the limestone above it.
The latter is the more probable, as the same kind of spar is found in
some of the fissures of the limestone itself.

The beds below No. 11 consist of an alternation of sandstone
and shale, with a small portion of coal and of ironstone. This lower
part of the series may be seen immediately beyond the termination of
the Stainton slip, particularly at the point where the great bed of alum
schistus first makes its appearance. The beds of arenaceous and
bituminous shale are perhaps more numerous at this spot, than at
any other which the authors examined. Between twenty and thirty
beds, or seams, may be counted in the front of the cliff, alternating
with sandstone of various kinds; the large beds mentioned above.
beimg here subdivided.

The transition of sandstone into shale, or of shale into sand:.
stone, so common in this part of the strata, is sometimes sudden, and
sometimes very gradual. In general, where the shale passes into.
sandstone, we first find seams of sandstone running into the shale,
and these seams sradually thicken, till the shale is completely thrust.

116 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

out. The order is of course reversed, where the sandstone passes
into shale. Not unfrequently, where beds of shale and sandstone
alternate, we find a bed of shale enlarging its dimensions, so as to
encroach on the sandstone above or below, which is hence reduced
to a thin seam, if not thrust out altogether: or vice versa, a seam or
small stratum of sandstone may be seen swelling mto a vast bed,
compressing the shale above or below it into a small compass, or
entirely excluding it. Instances of such transitions may be seen in
abundance along the coast, as in the cliffs between Whitby and Up-
gang, and especially at Hawsker Bottoms, and the cliffs opposite
Gnipe-houe. Jn the latter place, the sandstone a little above the
alum rock suddenly acquires an immense thickness, forming a mas-
sive bed about 40 or 50 feet thick; but this bed continues only for a
short space, being again subdivided into thinner beds, interstratified
with shale. Remarkable transitions may also be observed in the beds
that form the cover of some of the alum-works, particularly those of
Stoupe Brow and Lofthouse.

Though the shale of this series is generally either sandy and
micaceous, or bituminous, or a mixture of both, yet in several in-
stances it contains a large proportion of clay. This is the case with
a bed of shale at the upper end of Tripsdale, a branch of Bilsdale.
It has a dark brown colour, and a soapy feel; and is easily divided
into thin plates, which in their recent state are soft and elastic, but
when prepared by being roasted in hot turf ashes, are used by the
inhabitants of the neighbouring vales for baking cakes, being capable
of bearing the heat of a common fire for several years. From the
use to which these plates are applied, the ravine where they are ob-
tained is called Bakestone-gill.

The shales of this member of the strata contain very few animal
remains, but in the bituminous shale above the coal seams, we find
abundance of vegetable impressions.

SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND COAZ. 117

Many of the beds of shale contain balls or nodules of ironstone,
usually arranged in layers or courses, parallel to the strata in which
they are imbedded. In some instances, the nodules are so numerous
as to form nearly a continuous stratum. The ironstone is usually very
hard; but in many places we find it in the form of a rich yellow, or
yellowish brown, ochre; which occurs in seams as well as in balls.
This ochre exists in considerable quantity in the fronts of some of
the Cleveland hills. In the upper end of Greenhoue Burton, there is
a seam of red ochre, orruddle, of a dark red colour. Like the yel-
low ochre, it is of a fine grain, and soils the fingers. The farmers,
who collect it for marking their sheep, give the cliff where it is found
the name of the Rudd scar.

Ironstone is common in the sandstone, as well as in the shale ;
sometimes occurring in balls or patches, sometimes in seams incrust-
ing the sandstone, like the ironstone between Scarborough and
Cloughton wyke. There is a very hard seam in the cliff at Saltwick
near Whitby, remarkable for the remains of plants which abound in it.
The stems of the plants appear to have been converted into calc spar,
which has been decomposed into a fine white powder, resembling the
finest flour. The stone is partly argillaceous, partly calcareous,
with a very considerable proportion of iron.

The coal seams appearing in the sea cliffs are all too inconsiderable
to be wrought with advantage. In a few instances, however, work-
ings have been commenced, and afterwards abandoned ; particularly
at Cloughton wyke, as noticed above; and at Hawsker Bottoms, near
Whitby. The coal at the former place is the highest seam occurring
in our strata, and that at the latter place is the lowest, being only a
few yards above the alum schist. The latter appears to have been the
most productive, and were it more easy of access, it might yield some
profit to the proprietor.

Yn the interior, where the hills rise to a great height, and the

2

118 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

strata consequently swell into a greater thickness, the coal seams are
more considerable, and have been wrought for 70 or 80 years. This
is particularly the case at Blakey and Rudland, in the first range of
our alum hills; and at Danby or Castleton, inthesecond. The great-
est thickness of coal is at the Danby pits, where the seam is 17 inches.
The depth from the surface varies from 15 to 60 yards. The quantity
of coal obtained here, may be about 200 or 300 bushels per day, on
an average. The other works are less extensive. At the Blakey pits,
the seam is about 12 inches; and at Rudland, it is only 9 inches: but
at both places, the depth from the surface is usually less than at
Danby. A new coal work has commenced at the head of Fryop,
where the seam is about 16 inches, and the depth from the surface
18 yards. Another work was lately carried on at the upper part of
Glazedale; and there is one also at Maybecks on the Sneaton estate,
where the seam is 6 inches. Above 30 years ago, there was coal
obtained at Allen Tofts in Godeland, where the seam was above two
feet thick, being the greatest known in this district; but this was found
to be merely an accidental swell of the coal stratum, which was soon
exhausted. In almost all these spots, the seam wrought is one of the
uppermost in the series, being not far below the blue limestone. The
seam wrought at Maybecks, like that at Cloughton wyke, is only a few
yards beneath the limestone.

As the blue limestone passes through the Hambleton hills, and
appears in the valleys beyond them, so also does the coal. It has
been found at Coxwold, not many yards below the blue limestone.
Here a coal work commenced 16 years ago, and was continued 10
years. The seam was about 12 or 13 inches, where it was thickest ;
the depth from the surface varied from 7 yards to 29 yards, the seam
having a rapid dip towards the north-west. The covering here, as at
the pits in our alum hills, consists of sandstone and shale, the latter
containing hard nodules.

SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND COAL. 119

In all these coal strata, the middle part of the seam usually con-
sists of good coal, breaking into cubical fragments; while the rest is
of an inferior quality, differing little from the fine bituminous shale.

As the coal seams wrought in the interior belong to the upper
part of this series, it is possible, that in some places a richer seam
may be discovered in a lower position, corresponding with the seam
at Hawsker Bottoms, but increased in thickness, according to the
greater elevation of the hills. The boring now going on at Maybecks,
under the direction of the proprietor, James Wilson, Esq., will soon
ascertain whether any such seam exists there or not. That gentleman
having favoured the authors with the register of the borings, as far as
they have proceeded, a copy of that register is here given. The spot
where the experiment is making, is about 20 yards below the six inch
seam of coal, already mentioned; which seam is about 15 yards be-
low the blue limestone. The series through which the boring has
been made is thus stated :

Fathoms. Yds. Ft. In.

Soil and loose stones (7. e. TUITE) ccechob. canecoe = 1. 1. —
Strong brown post (brown sandstone) ...ss0ses000e+ 2. — 1. —
Blue metal and metal stone with post girdles (blue shale,

schistose sandstone with nodules) .s.c..csce+0e apo Lae d 1. — —
OE Ws oaco sn Aopanoagandaqa;opsropocooacomcsredad webesh ew Sree — — — 4
Grey metal stone (grey schistose sandstone) ........ serid. 1. — —
Strong post with a mixture of whin (sandstone with

ZTONSLONE) — reverence pannagocaed soansadasodocanas00nsa _— I. ie 6.
Greyimetali((aneyeshale)icsscueaccetecmentccescrtettesce — — Uo 6.
Dark blue metal (blue shale) .......e:cecsscecoseeceses — _— — 10.
Grey post (grey sandstone) ........... Wenesesissees vee 0, —_ — —
Grey metal with post girdles (grey shale with nodules) 1. — oo —
Grey metal with skares of coal (bituminous shale) — 1. — —
White post (white sandstone) — ..cceccseceeceesenscase _ ule —
Grey metal 4... Se0060090 daddr hogooeeecoctoade . — Me 2:
(Call) waasatadenboadbacsodsaccosenacao dandcadsdac000d paced — — — 5.

Grey metal stone... sss seeee Gopdadadousasooo000eH taseeee Ile By —

120 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

Fathoms. Yds. Ft. In.
White post with water csccssccsersevensssveseeseaserers — _— 1, 6.
Soft white post c.sccorecseersveeecevecerevens seeeenseeess 1. — —
Grey metal stone —.......0.00. pogooodageadocacagnazd000nC — 1, — 3
Black stone with a mixture of coal (bztuminous shale) — — — 6
Blue metal and metal stone —............00- pcoono00d000 > ll — 1 —
Strong white post ......sc.csseeessovcecees pe6aba0R0000 . — 115 —
Blue metal with skares of coal... ..see seeveeseece . I. 1 6.
Grey post with metal partings (grey sandstone
with seams of Shale) ....6cc000 3900099300000 On0000 2. 1. 2. 6.
Wihin' (2707St07e)\ 92) <ice elev nine ne sielofolenelsceetancecielaleesio+ | — — — 4.
Grey post With partingS ...scscosceecerrececersseeeeee 1, — — _
White post with a mixture of whin ....ss0s eeeseeee — — 2, —
Dark Plocimetallye\ocesioscioielowssscleciascenlelolseaivesiecsene/ —= — 2 —
Dark blue metal with skares of coal .........60022 = — — 1. ).
Grey imetalstone) wepecededetalercetieeiselelscerses(e-eses «hk — — 2 6
Grey post with a mixture of whin ......... Bong0s090000 6. — — —
Total ... 37. — — 1.

At the time when this list was obtained, the last mentioned
bed, consisting of sandstone with a mixture of ironstone, had not
been pierced through. From its great thickness, it may have some
correspondence with the sandstone bed in the cliff opposite Gnipe
houe; and, like that, may be very near the alum rock, which is found
cropping out at Falling Foss, above half a mile further down the val-
ley. The elevation of the surface where the experiment is making,
is ascertained to be 530 feet above the level of the sea: that of the
neighbouring heights near Newton House, 766 feet. There must be
a bend in the strata near the place of the boring; for the limestone
and other beds on the south side have a rise towards the south,
whereas the beds at Falling Foss dip towards the south.

It has been already observed, that the sandstone of this series is
of very different qualities, and this is obvious from the list of beds now

SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND COAL. 121

given. Some of the beds are very hard and highly siliceous, approach-
ing to the character of the crow-stone. A bed of this description,
which our borers would call strong white post, occurs in the Stainton
cliffs, in a part of the series above 100 feet higher than the alum schist.
It is remarkable for containing petrified reeds. The same kind of
reeds are found in a bed at the top of the’cliff opposite High-Whitby,
probably corresponding with that of the Stainton cliffs, though inferior
in hardness, and not so much elevated above the alum rock.

Many of the sandstone beds furnish excellent materials for the
purposes of architecture. The freestone quarries of Sleights, Uggle-
barnby, and Aislaby, are the most noted in the vicinity of Whitby.
In these quarries, and many others in the strata over the alum schist,
are massive beds of great thickness, from whence blocks are cut out
of any size that may be wanted. The huge blocks employed in con-
structing the Whitby piers were brought from these quarries, particu-
larly those of Aislaby. Great quantities of the same stone have,
within these few years, been shipped at Whitby, for the piers of
Margate and Ramsgate, the foundations of the Strand bridge at Lon-
don, and similar purposes. ,

Instances of the discovery of living toads, lodged in cavities
within solid blocks of sandstone, have occurred in our district, as in
many other places. Some years ‘ago, one was found ina block among
the materials used at the Whitby piers. Phenomena of this descrip=
tion have been observed in this country at a very early period. William
of Newburgh, in the same chapter in which he mentions the Gipsies,
as formerly noticed, relates among the prodigies of his times, the
discovery of a living toad in a block of ‘stone; but, after the fashion
of the monkish writers, he clothes his narrative with more of the
marvellous than we can receive. Some men, who were quarrying
stone for building, found at a considerable depth a handsome and
curious block, apparently composed of two stones closely cemented

2H

122 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

together. The block being split, i the presence of a bishop who
lived at that place, there appeared in a cavity within it, to the astonish-
ment of the beholders, a live toad, having a chain of gold round his
neck! He had not also.a crown on his head, but being regarded,
it would seem, as the monarch of the quarry, his little dusky
majesty was, by order of the bishop, again shut up in his narrow
palace; and this being replaced in the centre of his territory, was
deeply covered up with rubbish, that no sacrilegious hand might violate
his sacred person, or despoil him of his royal ornaments.

In a marginal note on this passage of Newburgh, in the Antwerp
edition of 1567, it is stated by the writer of the note, C. Lang, that
in the coal pits of his country, m the vicinity of Leeds, it was very
common to find large round nodules, smooth and very hard, contain-
ing live toads, in cavities in their centre, which had no visible com-
munication with the exterior part of the stone.—About 8 or 10 years
ago, a live toad was found in the grey limestone, in the quarry
formerly mentioned, on the side of the York road, a little to the
south of Malton. One of the most recent examples of this kind was
observed about a year ago, in a coal pit in the county of Durham.

It is no easy matter to account for a phenomenon of this descrip-
tion; for whether we suppose that the animal is coeval with the rock
which incloses it, or that the spawn which produced it has been
conveyed by water through some narrow channel or pore, into the
cavity where it is found in a state of maturity, we are involved. in
difficulties which cannot be very easily solved.

Many of our sandstone beds contain petrified wood. Fragments
of charcoal, and even large branches of trees in the state of charcoal,
are still more frequent. In some places we find in the sandstone,
patches of real coal, but of a finer grain than the coal that occurs in
seams, approaching more to jet, but not possessing its solidity, nor its
conchoidal fracture. Real jet has also been discovered in the same

SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND COAL. 123

situations. Such coal patches have been found in the sandstone on
the banks of the Esk, above the upper part of Whitby harbour.

In a great part of the sandstone strata in this series, we meet with
the same appearances already described as occurring between Cayton
mill and Scarborough, the beds being divided by diagonal and irregular
partings, instead of presenting seams parallel to the course of the strata.
Instances of this kind may be seen in the cliffs on the west side of
Whitby harbour, and in numbers of other places along the coast.

Some of the sandstone of this series is a kind of conglomerate
or breccia, having the appearance of sand and gravel cemented into
a solid mass. A remarkable instance of this nature may be seen in
the bank below the church-yard of Whitby, a few yards from the top:
of the long flight of steps leading up to the church. The bed alluded
to bears such a striking resemblance to sand and gravel, that it almost
requires the evidence of touch, to convince the spectator that it is a
solid stratum.

One of the most remarkable beds in this series is the lowest mem-
ber of it, viz. the bed called the dogger, which lies immediately over
the alum schist. This is a singular species of conglomerate, assuming
a variety of forms. In some places, it is a coarse dark coloured
sandstone, with a mixture of light coloured grains, or minute frag-
ments; in others, it is a coarse breccia, containing numerous small
stones of various shapes, generally with rounded angles; and in
others, it contains shells and petrified wood, as well as minute grains,
and small stones. The base is of various colours, being brown,
reddish or purplish, dark yellow or ochrey, dark grey, ash-coloured,
and olive. It is no less various in its composition, being sometimes
so calcareous as to effervesce with acids, sometimes an argillaceous
sandstone, sometimes rather siliceous, and not unfrequently a kind of
clay ironstone. Iron is a very common ingredient in this rock, and
sometimes appears in considerable quantity.

124 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

The imbedded fragments are still more diversified than the basé
that includes them. Some are calcareous, others siliceous, others
argillaceous; some are hard, others soft; some are crystalline and
transparent or translucent, but the greater part are earthy and opaque}
some are flat, but more are roundish; some have sharp angles, but a
greater number are smooth or blunted; some have the appearance of
concretions, like the ova of the oolite, but most of them seem to
have once belonged to other rocks. They are of all sizes, from the
most minute grain, to the size of a pigeon’s egg, which they rarely
exceed. They also exhibit a great variety of colour, most of them
being whitish, giving the stone a speckled appearance ; whilst many
of them, especially the larger pebbles or fragments, are of a dusky
colour, and others black, blue, green, &c. Of the crystalline frag-
ments, some consist of siliceous crystals, others of calc spar. Many
of the white specks in this stone appear to have resulted from the
decomposition of such crystalline fragments.

Besides the crystalline substances derived from pre-existing
rocks, there are other crystals in many specimens of the dogger that
seem to belong to the stone itself, or that have been formed in it.
Some of these crystals are diffused through the stone, others are
collected in thin masses. The most singular mineral found in the
latter state is galena or lead-glance, which exists in slender veins, or in
crevices, accompanied with a sparry substance. It has its usual
metallic lustre, and lamellar structure; but is found in very small
quantity. The authors have ebserved it only between Whitby and
Saltwick, and above the alum works at Sandsend.

In many places the dogger consists of but one bed, which
is thick and hard; but very often it is divided into several beds.
The stone, whether consisting of one bed or more, is very frequently
split into numerous blocks, by vertical partings or cross fissures.
These fissures or cracks, however, are not open, but filled with thin

SANDSTONE, SHALE, AND COAL. 125

ferruginous /amine, or plates, that seem to have shivered off from the
blocks, or with ochrey clay, apparently resulting from the decompo-
sition of such lamine, or of the solid stone. In such instances, and
indeed throughout most of its extent, the dogger contains a consider-
able portion of iron; and rusty coatings often exfoliate from the stone,
where it is exposed to the action of the atmosphere: Ferruginous
plates, however, sometimes accompany the dogger, in situations
where they can scarcely be supposed to be exfoliations, bemg dis-
persed in seams of shale, or of schistose sandstone ; in which situa-
tions nodules of ironstone also occur. Thus, in a part of the cover
of Sandsend: alum rock, the dogger comprises the following beds:

1. Hard ferruginous sandstone; 1 foot.

2. Schistose sandstone, containing rusty plates; 6 inches.

3. Solid blocks, divided by vertical fissures, containing rusty
plates and shale; 3 feet, 6 inches.

4. Shale, containing plates and nodules of ironstone; 3 feet.

5. Another bed of blocks, with cross seams, as in No.3; 3 feet
6 mches.—This bed lies immediately over the alum schist.

As an additional illustration of the nature and connections of the
dogger, we subjoin a list of the whole beds covering the alum rock,
at Littlebeck :

1. Arenaceous shale, containing nodules of ironstone, immedi-
ately under the alluvium; 20 feet.

2. White sandstone, containing fragments of charcoal, with
substances resembling roots of shrubs; 2 feet.

3. Another bed of sandy shale; 2 or 3 feet.

4. White sandstone, with fragments of charcoal; 1 foot.

5. Schistose sandstone, or very sandy shale; containing ironstone,
partly in nodules, partly in veins or plates ; 3 feet.

6. Coarse sandstone, being properly the first bed of the dogger;
1 foot.

21

126 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

7. Second bed of dogger, of a blueish colour, with numerous
specks, some of which are white, and some black and shining; 1 foot
and a half.

8. Third bed, of a brownish colour, with blue patches or seams ;
2 feet.

9. Fourth and lowest bed, lying immediately over the aluminous
schistus, of a brownish colour; 3 or 4 feet.—The last three beds are
parted by cross fractures, in which is found, as in other parts of the
dogger, ferruginous matter in plates or veins, or in a kind of powder.
In these beds also, especially in No. 8, we find quantities of shells,
not generally diffused through the stone, but in clusters or groups, here
and there. The shells are most numerous among the ferruginous matter
that fills up the cracks or cross fissures.

At Falling Foss, which is in the same valley, about a mile fur-
ther up, the dogger beds are of a similar description, but inferior in
thickness. They contain a number of shells, which are most abund-
ant in the seams between the blocks. Where the shells occur, the
stone not only contains much calcareous matter, but is strongly
impregnated with iron, and hence many of the shells have a blueish or
iron-grey coating, while others appear rusty or ochreous. It is rather
singular, that the shells correspond with those which occur in the
oolite, more than with those in the aluminous schistus.

In the sea cliffs at Peak, where the dogger first makes its appear-
ance, it is composed of thick beds of coarse argillo-calcareous sand-
stone, of a dark grey or dusky colour, containing little iron, but |
abounding with specks of mica. Here also organic remains occur in
considerable quantity, partly dispersed throughout the stone, but
principally in calcareous patches or nuclei, imbedded here and there.

To this account of the dogger we may add, that in the hills
fronting the plain of Cleveland, as at Guisborough, Ayton, Carlton,
&ec,, there seems to be no bed corresponding with it; or perhaps it

ALUM SHALE. 127

may be more correct to say, that in these hills it loses its conglomerate
character, and passes into common sandstone.

Having described the series of strata intervening between the
blue limestone and the aluminous schistus, we might notice the
remarkable undulations and breaks in these strata ; but it will be most
proper to defer our account of these phenomena, till we have taken
a view of the next member of our strata, viz.

THE GREAT BEDS OF ALUM SHALE.

The aluminous schistus, as has already been intimated, forms a
most important feature in the three ranges of hills in the northern
part of our district, which we have therefore denominated the alum
hills. This schistus forms beds of immense thickness, interstratified
with seams, or thinner beds, of various descriptions. It begins to rise
above the level of the sea towards the northern extremity of the
Stainton Dale cliffs, nearly a mile to the south of the Peak; and is
continued along the coast, with a few interruptions which will be
noticed, to Saltburn and Redcar, at the mouth of the Tees. On the
western side of the hills, it first makes its appearance at Thimbleby,
near Osmotherley, where it rises from under the north-west skirts of
the Hambleton hills ; and from thence it proceeds along the western
and northern fronts of the Cleveland hills to the mouth of the Tees;
leaving, however, a considerable plain, between the fronts of the
hills and the river Tees, where no alum rock is found.

To give a more distinct view of the aluminous strata, and the
beds subordinate to them, it will be best to describe them as they
appear in the lofty cliffs at Boulby; where these strata are more entire
than in almost any other spot, and at the same time are of easy access.
The whole series of beds, from the summit of the cliffs down to the
beach, may be thus enumerated :

128 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

1. The alluvial covering; 5 feet.

2. Beds of sandstone; 50 feet.

3. Shale, sandy and bituminous, with a few seams of sandstone:
30 feet.

4. Sandstone, with a few seams of shale; 25 feet.

5. Dogger; 5 or 6 feet.

These beds bring us down to the alum works, which are carried
on in the next member of the series.

6. Main bed of aluminous schistus, or alum rock; 200 feet.

7. Imperfect seams, or flat nodules, of hard blue limestone,
mixed with alum shale; 10 feet.

8. Hard and compact alum shale; 30 feet.

9. Ironstone, in beds, or rows of nodules, interstratified with
the shale; 15 feet.

10. Shale, with a few ironstone nodules; 40 feet.

11. Beds of argillo-calcareous sandstone, with some shell lime-
stone, interstratified with seams of shale; 60 feet.

12. Alum shale; 100 feet. This bed comes down to the beach,
where a hard blue shale, on which it rests, is washed by every return-
ing tide.—The shale that occurs below No. 8 is generally somewhat
sandy and micaceous, and of a coarser texture than the higher beds.

By adding the numbers in the foregoing list of beds, it will be
found, that the height of the whole series has been estimated at about
570 feet, exclusive of the sloping bed on the beach. This estimation
falls a little short of the truth; for the beacon on the heights near
Boulby (which Colonel Mudge calls Easington Heights) is 681 feet
above the level of the sea; and the difference of altitude, between
that beacon and the verge of the cliff in front of it, is much less than
100 feet. The beds, however, vary in thickness, in different places ;
though they are much more uniform in their nature and order than
those of the series last described.

ALUM SHALE. 129

Having taken this general view of the alum shale, and the beds
subordinate to it, as they appear at Boulby, let us notice more parti-
cularly the nature of the different beds, in their order.

The first and principal member of this series isthe MAIN BED OF
ALUM SHALE, marked (#) in the Section. This bed varies from about
180 to 200 feet in thickness. It has the laminated or slaty structure,
parting horizontally into plates, which are more or less thin, accord-
ing as they are higher or lower in the bed, the lowest parts of it being
the least fissile. This difference, however, may result from a difference
of exposure and of pressure, more than a real diversity of structure;
for the most compact blocks, taken from the lower part of the bed,
soon split into thin lamine, when exposed to the atmosphere, and
released from the pressure of the superincumbent mass. The slaty
fragments, under the continued action of the atmosphere, will split
again into very thin /amedle, which are blown about with the winds.—
Besides these horizontal partings, this rock is divided by vertical
seams. These are disposed in two sets, the seams of each set being
parallel to one another, but crossing those of the other set obliquely;
and hence, by the intersections of these two sets of seams, the rock
is split into rhomboidal blocks. The seams, however, are not placed
at regular distances, so that the solid rhomboids are more or less
oblong; and since these vertical fissures, like the horizontal partings,
diminish in number as we descend, the rhomboidal sections grow
larger and more compact, according to their depth. Sometimes the
two sets of vertical seams cross each other nearly at right angles,
dividing the rock into parallelopipeds, rather than solid rhomboids.
We may add, that, of the intersecting veins or seams, some are princi-
pal veins which may be traced to a great distance; others are subordi-
nate, running only a short way in the rock.

When broken in the direction of the lamine, the alum schist pre-
sents a smooth fracture, and very fine grain, and feels rather soft and

2K

130 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

unctuous, especially in the upper part of the beds. The cross fracture
is dull, and somewhat rough and hackly. The rock is of a dark slate
colour; but when pounded has a lighter hue, resembling grey clay. Fhe
cross seams, as in some varieties of coal, are often filled with a kind
of coating, and occasionally with calc spar. The coating is generally
an efflorescence of sulphate of alumine, mixed with oxide of iron, which
last gives it arusty colour. The efflorescence sometimes increases by
exposure to the air, and the rusty coating tends, under favourable
circumstances, to preserve the rock from further decomposition.

The schistus of this bed is found to contam alumine, silex,
magnesia, lime, oxide of iron, bitumen, sulphur, and water: the
proportions of which vary considerably in different parts of the bed.
Alumine, or pure clay, is of course a prineipal ingredient in every
part of it; the proportion being often 30 per cent, or upwards. It
also contains a large proportion of silex. The sulphur is most copious
in the upper part of the bed, and the bitumen in the lower part. A
considerable portion of lime is also contained in the schist, being not
only found in seams or veins in the state of calc spar, but diffused in
some degree through the mass of the rock. The minute shining
specks generally discernible in the surface of the lamine, are proba-
bly crystals of selenite rather than mica. Selenite is often found in
the seams, in fine diverging crystals, crossing one another. The same
mineral also occurs in considerable quantity among decomposed
shale, particularly in the old alum works. The formation of crystals
of this kind is a process still going forward; for we often find them
among rubbish at the alum works, in circumstances which clearly
prove, that they must have been formed since the rubbish was depo-
sited.—The specific gravity of the schist is, on an average, about 2.48.

It is from the upper half of this bed that alum is extracted. The
dogger and other covering strata being removed, the rock is hewed
with picks, &c., and the broken fragments are laid in a heap, and

ALUM SHALE. 131

calcined ; a process which is much facilitated by the quantity of sul-
phur and bitumen in the schist. The rock, indeed, under certain
circumstances, is subject to spontaneous combustion, when suddenly
exposed to moisture and the effects of the atmosphere. Some years
ago, a considerable part of the cliff, in a small wyke or bay between
Runswick and Staiths, fell down and took fire, and continued to
burn for two or three years. The upper part of the rock, containing
most sulphur, is the most valuable for producing alum, a cubic yard
at the top producing as much as five cubic yards at the depth of 100
feet. The quarrying of the rock is not carried on to a greater depth
than about 90 or 100 feet, as below that depth it is too unproductive
to remunerate the proprietor. ‘Fhe calcined shale is steeped in pits,
and the lixivium being drained off, is boiled in pans, with a certain
proportion of muriate of potash; and the liquor being conveyed into
coolers, deposits the crystals of alum; which are afterwards washed,
and dissolved by boiling, to be re-crystallized in a purer state.*

The main bed of alum shale abounds with petrifactions, consist-
ing of wood, bones, but especially shells, among which the ammo-.
nites (the well known Whitby sxake-stones) hold a conspicuous place.
The petrified substances often occur in a detached form among the
schistus, but they arg more frequently enveloped with a crust, or
included in hard nodules. These nodules, which occur in almost all.
parts of the aluminous strata, are generally of a kind of blue limestone;.
combined with pyrites ; which last often forms the outer crust of the
nodules, and also penetrates them in the form of veins. Sometimes

* For a more full account of the process of making alum, the history of the alum works,
&c., see History of Whitby and the Vicinity, Vol. IT. p- 806—817. See also Mr. Winter’s
Essay in Nicholson’s Philosophical Journal for April, 1810. In that Fssay, however, there
are a few mistakes. For instance, it is asserted, that both the sandstone and’ schistus, in the
alum district, are traversed by veins intersecting each other at right angles, so that “their
masses always appear in the form of solid parallelograms”; when the truth is, that the sand-
stone is extremely irregular as to its partings, and the seams of the schistus for the most pazt
cross each other obliquely, dividing the rock into rhomboidal masses.

132 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

the nodules consist of solid masses of pyrites, with little or no lime-
stone. They do not always contain organic remains. It is scarcely
necessary to add, that alumine and silex enter into the composition of
these stones, as well as lime and pyrites, though the two last are the
principal ingredients.

These nodules are commonly of a lenticular or discoidal shape,
like flattened globes. Some of them are nearly or entirely globular,
which is particularly the case with several of the smaller nodules,
from 4 or 5 inches to 8 or 10 inches in diameter; the larger masses
being always flattened, many of them resembling millstones with thin
edges. Several of the flat nodules are oval, and others are of an
irregular shape ; but the circular form is by far the most predominant.
It is of more importance to observe, that whatever form the masses
may assume, their flat surfaces or planes are always parallel to the
surface of the general bed; and where they run in rows or courses,
as is often the case, such courses preserve the same parallelism, being
horizontal where the strata are horizontal, and dipping where they
dip. This remark, which we formerly made concerning the nodules
of flint in the chalk, and nodules of limestone in the argillo-calcareous
sandstone below the oolite, is equally applicable to the ironstone
nodules occurring in the shale, bothin the alum hills and in the oolite
district. Even the globular masses in the alum shale are surrounded
or marked with circular zones, the planes of which are parallel to
the plane of the strata in which they are imbedded.

In the quarrying of the schistus for the purpose of making alum,
the nodules are all thrown aside. When long exposed to the air and
the rains, they are partially decomposed, the sulphur of the pyrites
evaporating, and the iron undergoing oxidation; and hence they ex-
change their blue or brassy aspect for a red or ferruginous hue, and
losing their extreme hardness, are split into shivery fragments. It is
observable, however, that the nodules which roll about in great

ALUM SHALE. 133

numbers on the beach usually preserve their colour and their solidity,
the sea water preventing their decomposition. Within the last ten
years, the nodules have been collected, at some of the alum works, to
be employed in the manufacture of ¢erras, or Roman cement. For this
purpose, they are burnt in a kiln; then broken, and pounded with
stampers, and lastly ground to powder inamill. This powder, when
mixed up properly with water, forms a durable cement. The nodules
that contain much pyrites are rejected as unfit for this use, the more
calcareous nodules being the best.

Many of the nodules contain calc spar, which often occurs among
the petrifactions ; the chambers of the ammonites and nautilites being
usually. filled with it. Siliceous crystals are not uncommon in similar
situations, the cavities in the nodules being sometimes lined with them.
Several of the nodules are of the kind called septaria, being traversed
by septa, or cross veins, dividing them into compartments. These
for the most part abound with calc spar.

In the cavities of the septaria, and other nodules, we sometimes
meet with petroleum, or mineral oil. When first exposed, it is gene-
rally quite fluid, and of the colour of oil; but it soon becomes viscid
and black, and at last hardens into a kind of pitch, which readily
melts with heat, and when ignited burns with a crackling noise, and
emits a strong bituminous smell. It is occasionally found in the viscid,
orin the hardened state, at its firstexposure. As this substance is usu-
ally, if not always, accompanied with animal remains, being most com-
monly found in the chambers of nautilites and ammonites, it may be
questioned, whether the animal oil, belonging to the shellfish, may
not have contributed to its formation.

Some of the larger nodules or blocks, of a rounded or oval
shape, are incrusted with a calcareous substance, which has been
termed cone-tn-cone coralloid. It is composed of an immense number
of cones, from an inch to six inches in height, all pointing towards

the central block, having the interstices between them filled with
2.1L

134 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

calcareous matter. The cones. are variously aggregated ; the larger
containing several concentric cones within them, and one cluster often
encroaching on another, or reclining on the side of another, so as
almost to make their apices meet. When the stone is broken, the
cones are very discernible in the fracture, and may often be taken
out singly, or in clusters. They are transversely marked with undu-
lating wrinkled lines, which perhaps point out the margins of the
successive lamelle, or coatings, of which the cones are composed.
This stone has the blueish colour and soft feel of the alum schist. It
is oceasionally found in patches, not attached to any central block.

The jet that occurs in this bed, of the finest quality, and often in
considerable quantity, will fall to. be described in the Second Part of
this Work; for it belongs to the list of organic remains, being obviously
a particular modification of petrified wood.

Having given a description of the main bed of the alum rock
(No. 6 of the series at Boulby), let us proceed to a lower part of the
rock (No. 7), which we have stated to consist of IMPERFECT SEAMS,
OR FLAT NODULES, OF HARD BLUE LIMESTONE, MIXED WITH, OR
IMBEDDED IN, ALUM SHALE.

This part of the strata (marked J) is not, strictly speaking, a new
bed, but a continuation of the same bed somewhat modified ; for there
is no precise line of demarkation between this part of the strata and the
main bed of schistus. When the shale has descended about 180 or
200 feet, the imbedded nodules or blocks become larger and more
abundant, sometimes running in the shale in lengthened rows, approach-
ing to seams. Like the courses of flint in the chalk, they do not form
any continued stratum, but the flat masses are so numerous and broad,
that they may be traced in a kind of imperfect seams through a consid-
erable space. The shale in which these courses of flat masses are
imbedded, is similar to that of the main bed, but of a harder quality-

Among the imbedded masses of this part of the rock, we find
the same variety as in the upper part of the schist. Some of them

ALUM SHALE. 135

are highly pyritous, others strongly bituminous; some of them abound
with organic remains, others contain few or none; some are incrusted
with the cone-in-cone coralloid, others are septaria.

The greater part of these flat masses are composed of a hard
blue limestone, similar to what is called the Nas limestone. Some
have even designated our aluminous strata the as formation ; and the
lias is known to be interstratified with blue shale abounding with petri-
factions ; but though there is some analogy between our aluminous
beds and the shale of the lias strata, and both occupy a similar
position among the secondary strata, it would surely be improper to
give the name lias to the whole series, when we find here only a few
courses of imbedded nodules to which that designation can be strictly
applied.

Where these masses of blue limestone are overflowed by the sea,
near low water, they are often perforated by shellfish of the pholas
family, who hollow out their little cells in this smooth fine grained
stone, as they also do in some of the harder beds of alum shale.

In the rocky pavement of our shores, the limestone masses are
often seen elevated above the surface; the shale, which is softer, be-
ing worn or washed away all around them. Where a regular course of
flat masses, like thin edged millstones, is thus exposed, it presents the
singular appearance of a collection of little round eminences, each of
which resembles the base of a cone. A fine collection of these
protuberances, each having its millstone covering, may be seen on
the shore a little to the south of Peak; and something of the same
kind occurs between Sandsend and Kettleness.

Though most of the flat masses consist of a blue limestone, that
has a fine grain, and a smooth and somewhat conchoidal fracture, there
are others of a smoke grey colour, having a coarser texture, and a
more dull and earthy aspect. The latter are remarkable for the un-
pleasant, and strongly bituminous smell, which they emit when struck
with the hammer. In the recent fracture, there are a: number of

136 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

extremely minute shining crystals, which however are scarcely
discernible with the naked eye. This kind of limestone is found in
other parts of Britain along with the blue lias, and is called the black
or fetid has.*

That part of the alum rock which abounds with these large mas-
ses, or imperfect seams, of limestone, may be estimated at ten feet ;
though it is sometimes less, and sometimes considerably more. This
part of the rock we may distinguish by the name of the Sandsend beds,
as in tracing the series from Whitby to the heights at Boulby, we find
these seams of lias first making their appearance on the shore below
the Sandsend alum works.

We now descend to the next member of the aluminous strata,
which consists of HARD AND COMPACT ALUM SHALE, No. 8 in the
Boulby series. This also is not a new bed, but a continuation of the
great bed of schistus. It differs from the upper part of the bed,
chiefly in being much more solid and compact, and in containing less
sulphur: and it differs from that part of the rock last described, in
containing fewer imbedded nodules or masses, and those generally
smaller. In other respects, its nodules are similar to those in the
schistus above it. They consist of limestone and pyrites, and are
extremely hard ; and owing to the hardness of the rock itself, they are
not very easily detached from their beds, so that they often stand out
from the face of the rock as protuberances. This part of the rock
often appears as a firm perpendicular wall, more or less incrusted
with the rusty coating formerly mentioned. Sometimes it is also
stained with a white substance, washed down by the rains, or oozing
through the cross seams of the higher parts of the strata. This white

* See Mr. Horner’s Essay on the Geology of Somersetshire, Geological Trans. III. p: 368.
There are several varieties of fetid limestone. A fibrous and radiated kind, of a brown colour,
occurs in the Sunderland rocks. A fetid limestone, of a greyish white colour, is found at the
Dead Sea, and at some of the Egyptian pyramids. See Clark’s Travels, II. p.538. I11. p. 130.
Some of these varieties are called stink-stone. The emission of a gaseous sulphuretted hydro-
gen is considered as the cause of the strong odour.

ALUM SHALE. 137

matter, which occurs in various parts of the alum rock, seems to
be akin to rock-milk. It contains, however, a mixture of alumine,
or pure clay, along with calcareous matter.

Notwithstanding the compactness of this part of the rock, it has
its vertical seams, or cross veins, intersecting one another obliquely,
and dividing it into rhomboidal blocks; though its ves are fewer,
and its sections are consequently larger, than what we see in the
higher parts of the rock. As this schistus, like the chalk of Flam-
borough, has a tendency to split vertically; so, like that, it is liable
to be penetrated by the sea, which forms in it curious recesses and
grottos. This remark applies not only to this part of the beds, but
to the alum rock in general. One of the most noted caves in the
schistus is Hob-hole in Runswick bay, which some years ago had a
most romantic appearance, having a double pillar in the middle of the
entrance, as represented below.

The pillar has been demolislied by the waves; but the cavern is
still 70°feet long, and'20 feet wide at the mouth.*

* Wor an-account, of the srperstitions connected with Hob-hole, presumed to lave been
the residence of a hobgoblin, see Hist. of Whitby and the Vicinity, [1. p. $53.

2M

138 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

While the compact schistus generally presents a perpendicular
face, like a vast wall, very frequently smooth and even, the whole
of the aluminous beds, where they front the sea, form steep cliffs,
sometimes. perpendicular, and sometimes overhanging. Hence, as
the higher parts of the rock have such a tendency to split, the exa-
mination of the beds beneath is attended with danger, especially after
frosts, or heavy rains. Fatal accidents have in many instanees occur-
red, by the falling of portions of the rock on persons. below. The
most singular accident of this kind ever known, happened about 13
years ago, on the shore between Staiths and Boulby. While two
young girls, sisters, of the name Grundy, belonging to Staiths, were
sitting together on the scar, or rocky pavement of the shore, a splinter
which fell from the higher part of the cliff, and by hitting some pro-
jecting ledge of the rock acquired a rotatory motion, struck one of
the girls on the hinder part of the neck, and ina moment severed her
head from her body. The head was thrown forward, and rolled
along the scar to the distance of several yards.

The thickness of the hard and compact schistus may be stated
at 30 feet. This statement, however, is simply intended to give a
general notion of its relative magnitude. Its actual dimensions can-
not be given with much precision; there being no distinct line of
separation, between this part of the rock and that which precedes it.

There is, however, a well defined parting, between the compact
shale and the next member of the aluminous strata (marked m), which
consists of IRONSTONE, IN BEDS, OR ROWS OF NODULES, INTERSTRATI-
FIED WITH SHALE.

The ironstone beds or seams of this portion of the strata bear a
strong resemblance to those of Gristhorpe, Cayton, and Burniston ;
consisting, partly of solid seams, most of which are from 5 or 6
inches to 8 or 9 in thickness; partly of rows of nodules, having their
interstices filled up with coarse shale. These seams abound with

ALUM SHALE. 139)

shells, and in some instances are so highly calcareous as to form a
kind of ferruginous limestone. In most places, however, they con-
tain a large proportion of iron, which some have estimated at from
30 to 60 per cent; an estimation perhaps beyond the truth. Silex
and alumine also enter into the composition of the stone. Quantities
of the ore have been collected, and conveyed to Newcastle to be
smelted at the founderies.

The number of the ironstone beds and the intervals between them
are greatly diversified. In some places, we find only 3 or 4 seams ;
in others, 12 or 13, if not more. Some of the intervening beds of
shale are only a foot or two in thickness, while others are three or
four feet. Here the shale begins to lose its fine grain and smooth
surface; becoming rather rough and sandy, with some specks of mica.
Where the shale comes in contact with the iranstone, it is often
partially indurated, through the effect of the iron.

In giving the series of beds at Boulby, we have estimated these
ironstone seams (No. 9) at 15 feet in thickness; but they often occupy
more than double that space, particularly where the seams are very
numerous. As these beds rise up at Kettleness, we may denominate-
them, by way of distinction, the Kettleness beds.

The next part of the strata (No. 10), consisting of SHALE, WITH
SOME IRONSTONE NODULES, may be described in a few words. It is
a continuation of No. 9, but with a smaller proportion of ironstone ;-
the latter usually presenting only a few scattered nodules, or strag-
gling rows of nodules. We have stated this member of the Boulby—
series at 40 feet; but where the ironstone seams are very numerous,
so as to occupy a large space, its dimensions are proportionally
reduced. This part of the series and the former are so connected,
that where the shale predominates, the ironstone is scanty ; and where
the ironstone abounds, the limits of the shale are contracted. We
might therefore have considered both as forming one bed, consisting

140 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA

of shale, somewhat sandy and micaceous, with ironstone seams and
nodules imbedded in it, principally occupying the higher part of the
bed, but often descending more or less towards the lower part.

Below this portion of the aluminous strata, we find interstratifi-
ed with the shale, some beds of ARGILLO-CALCAREOUS SANDSTONE,
WITH SHELL LIMESTONE. ‘This member of the series (No. 11) forms a
very conspicuous band in the aluminous cliffs, wherever it rises above
the sea. It consists chiefly of sandstone, arranged in various beds;
two or three of whichare generally thick and massive, while the rest
are more thin and schistose. The sandstone is of various colours;
such as, ash grey, blueish grey, pale brown, and yellowish grey. It
abounds with specks of mica, particularly in the schistose beds or
seams; which also contain the greatest number of shells.

In the upper part of these beds there are two or three seams of
shell limestone, consisting almost entirely of shells, with very little
cement. These seams are seldom more than a few inches in thick-
ness. Sometimes a seam of this kind may be found adhering, like
a crust, to a bed of sandstone. It is also not uncommon, in this
member of the strata, especially in the upper part of it, to find sand-
stone beds or seams covered with a crust of ironstone.

All these rocks, of whatever kind, are interstratified with seams
or thin beds of shale; which, however, is often so sandy and
micaceous, as to differ very little from the schistose sandstone. The
whole together occupy a space of about 60 feet, at Boulby; but in
several places they are not so thick, while in other places, particu-
larly at Huntcliff, and between Skinningrave and Lofthouse alum-
house, they swell to the thickness of 80 or 100 feet, a large portion of
the cliff consisting of sandstone beds, parted by thin seams of shale.

As the strata now described (marked in the Section) rise up at
Staiths, we may, name them the Stacths beds.

We are now arrived at the LOWEST ALUM SHALE (marked 0),

&

ALUM SHALE. 14]

No. 12 of the Boulby series. This is the lowest part of our strata,
appearing in the sea cliffs; for the hard blue shale, forming the scar
at Boulby, is not a new member of the series, but the inferior part of
this ; the shale being hardest in the lowest portions of ‘the bed, espe-
cially where the sea water prevents or retards its decomposition.
Like the main bed of aluminous schistus, this lowest shale is of great
thickness. At Boulby it rises more than 100 feet above the level of
the sea, and in some parts of Huntcliff, about 130 feet. Its depth
below the sea is yet unexplored; for though borings for coal have
been tried along our northern shores, in various spots, near Skinnin-
grave, Saltburn, and Coatham, they have never been-carried to such
a depth as to penetrate beyond the blue shale. The boring at Coatham,
conducted under the direction of Sir Charles Turner in ‘1788, reached
the depth of between 40 and 50 fathoms. This may be considered
as the lowest point in the aluminous strata hitherto attained’; for the
rocks opposite Redcar and Coatham belong to a lower portion of these
strata than the foot of Huntcliff.

The lowest shale is of various qualities; but in general it is more
or less sandy and micaceous. It is only imperfectly schistose; for it
does not, like the principal bed, split into thin lamine, smooth and
fine grained; but has a coarse, earthy, dull aspect, and splits, or
rather breaks, into rough irregular pieces. Though we speak of this
shale as one bed, it is subdivided, especially towards the lower part
of it, into a number of successive beds, or courses; each of which
has usually a kind of hardened crust on its surface, while the rest of
the bed is more soft and friable. These crusts, generally speaking,
may be considered as various modifications of the shale itself, rather
than bands of other kinds of rock. In some of them, the shale is
indurated by a copious mixture of sand, so as to approach to sand-
stone; in some, it is hardened by oxide of iron; and in not a few,
at derives its hardness from an increase of calcareous matter, which

2N

*

142 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

the shells imbedded in it have served to augment. Sometimes there
is so much lime in the shale, that it readily effervesces with acids.
There are some instances, however, in which these crusts, or part-
ings, may be said to consist of sandstone, ironstone, or limestone,
rather than of indurated shale; as we may see in some of the Redcar
rocks, where we find an immense number of shelving beds succeed-
ing one another, each having its indurated surface or covering. In the
beds forming the scar, opposite the alum works of Stoupe Brow and
Peak, belonging also to the lowest part of the aluminous strata, we
find a number of successive courses of shale, some of which are
covered with considerable crusts. of limestone, ironstone, or sand-
stone.

Nodules of pyritous limestone are as common in the lowest shale,
as in the main bed of alum rock. They are generally small and often
nearly globular, resembling cannon balls. Sometimes we meet with
two connected together by a slender bar, like a double shot. The
pyritous balls of Huntcliff have been celebrated since the days of
Drayton.* Most of them contain organic remains, which are also
plentifully distributed throughout the shale. The nodules are some-
times arranged in partial rows; but more frequently occur in a
detached form.

Such are the different beds belonging to the aluminous series.
In closing our description of them, it may be proper to remark, that
while they preserve nearly the same order throughout the alum hills,

* The Rocks by Moultgrave too, my glories forth to set,
Out of their cranied Cleeves, can give you perfect Jet,
And upon Huntclip nab, you every where may find,
(As though nice Nature lov’d to vary in this kind)
Stones of a Spherick forme of sundry Mickles fram’d,
That well they Globes of stone, or bullets might be nam’d,
For any ordnance fit: which broke with Hammers blowes,
Doe headlesse Snakes of stone, within their Rounds enclose.
Drayton’s Poly-olbion.

ALUM SHALE. 143

they are subject to considerable variations, in regard to their qualities,
and the spaces which they severally occupy. Sometimes the upper
part of the main bed of shale is sandy and micaceous, like the lowest
shale. This is especially the case, where the dogger is either wanting,
or materially changed ; asin the top of Kirkby alum works, where the
shale acquires a greenish hue to the depth of about 10 feet; and still
more, at the spot where the alum shale first rises above the sea, a
little to the south of Peak. There the dogger and the shale, where
they come in contact, seem to have mutually exchanged some of their
respective qualities ; the dogger acquirimg something of the softness
and colour of the shale; while the shale, to a considerable depth, is
sandy and micaceous like the dogger, and of a lighter grey than is
usual in this bed. The shale partakes also with the dogger, in its
ferruginous and calcareous matter; the latter being in some places so
copious that the shale effervesces strongly with acids.

But the variations in this’series are most observable, in the hard
bands of limestone, ironstone, and sandstone, that run in the shale.
In some places, as has been intimated, the Sandsend or lias band is
contracted ; in others, itis dilated: and the same remark applies still
more to the Kettleness or ironstone band. The latter sometimes de-
scends towards the Staiths or sandstone band; which is equally
subject to variations, the two or three thick beds, of which it is
principally composed, being in some places almost in contact with
each other, while in other places they widely diverge, considerable
beds of shale intervening between them. Illustrations of these re-
marks may be seen between Hawsker Bottoms and Robin Hood’s
Bay ; and in the lower part of the hill at Kirkby alum works, as also
in some others of the Cleveland hills.

Having taken a view of the beds composing this series, let us
now attend to the most remarkable breaks or dislocations in the alum
hills, and the principal undulations in their strata.

144 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

In a few instances, we meet here with longitudinal slips of the
strata on the coast, similar to those of Cayton, Cloughton, and Stain-
ton; forming a higher and a lower cliff, with a long terrace between.
One example of this kind occurs at Holmsgriff, between Sandsend
and Kettleness; another on the north side of the village of Runs-
wick. The village itself stands on a kind of terrace, or rather on a
series of terraces, on the side of the cliff; and it is not uncommon
to find in this romantic place, houses that have shrunk down with
the ground on which they stand. About 150 years ago, the whole
village then existing, with the exception of a single house, sunk down
in one night, the cliff giving way beneath it. The ground that sunk,
which probably consisted chiefly of alluvium, was to the south of the
present village.*

Dislocations of another kind, which must be nearly as ancient
‘as the rocks themselves, are frequently observed in the aluminous
strata, and the beds above them. Some of these breaks are very
trivial, consisting merely in the subsidence of one part of the strata,
at a vertical fissure, a foot or two below the corresponding strata on
the opposite side of the fissure. Thus ata place below Sandsend alum
works, near Holmsgriff, we find on the:scar a fracture of the schis- ;
tose beds, running out obliquely from the cliff, in the direction of
one set of the cross veins. It runs in two parallel lines, two or three
feet asunder; and the surface of the bed on one side is a foot or more
below the surface oh the other side; while the intermediate space,
between the two parallel lines, forms a sort of inclined plane con-
necting the higher surface with the lower. This intermediate part is
much disordered and shattered, the broken edges of the lamine of
the schist standing up on the higher side, giving evidence of the vio-
dent manner in which the dislocation has been effected. A little

* For a more full account of this catastrophe, -see Hist. of Whitby &c. II. p. 649.

ALUM SHALE. 145

further on, at Kettleness point, a similar break is perceived. It has
only affected one of the cross veins, but the subsidence has been
greater than at the former slip, the difference of level between the
corresponding beds on the opposite sides of the fracture being nearly
six feet. The redness of the ironstone bands makes this break very
conspicuous.

Such breaks, however, are scarcely worthy of notice, when
compared with the enormous dislocations of the strata observed in
other parts of the alum hills. Of these the largest is that of Peak, a
view of which is given in the Frontispiece to this Work. The view is
taken from one of the outermost ledges of the broken rocks, lying
off the north-east point of the promontory. To the left, that is, to the
south, is seen, at the distance of about a mile, the point where the
alum schist, covered with the dogger, first rises from the sea.- The
gradual ascent of the schist and its covering is partly concealed in a
recess on the shore, so that their progress is not observed from that
point of view, till they have acquired a considerable elevation. They
are seen forming a prominent feature in the cliff on the left hand, with
sloping banks of rubbish at their base, and above them an extensive
slope of sandy and coaly schistus, rising to a great height, and sux
mounted by massive beds of sandstone, which are the highest rocks
at the Peak. The whole of these strata advance northward without
interruption, till they pass the summit of the Peak, immediately be-
yond which, we find the upper strata discontinued, and a huge mass
of sandstone strata, apparently brought down from the strata at the
top, may be seen near the middle of the cliff, on a level with the
dogger beds and the lower part of the sandy shale. Adjoining to
this sandstone mass on the north, and directly over the three female
figures, we come to strata of a very different description, forming a
steep cliff, descending suddenly to the sea. At the top of this cliff,
which has a triangular summit when viewed from the sea, there is a

20

146 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

portion of the lowest part of the Staiths beds, beneath which is the
lowest shale, occupying, as at Boulby and Huntcliff, more than 100
feet, and stretching along the shore towards the right, that is, towards
the north-west. Here, therefore, a dreadful convulsion must have
occurred, either by the elevation of the strata on the north, or the
subsidence of those on the south; and as the dogger, on the left hand
side of the slip, is nearly on a level with the inferior part of the Staiths
beds, on the right; and the beds here seem to be of the same general
thickness as at Boulby, we cannot estimate the quantity of subsidence
at less than THREE HUNDRED FEET!

The place of the fissure in the cliff is concealed by alluvium,
broken shale, andrubbish, heaped together in wild confusion; and the
whole shore bears marks of violent disruption. The rocks in the fore-
ground, where the females are collecting limpets, consist chiefly of
the upper part of the Staiths beds, which are stretched out to a con-
siderable distance from the point. On the west and north-west, these
rocks abut against the ends of the very lowest visible beds of the
alum shale, with their indurated coverings, corresponding with the
beds at Huntcliff foot, or with the Redcar rocks. As these beds and
the Staiths beds meet at right angles, and dip in different directions,
the line of junction on the scar is remarkably distict; and it presents
very strong indications, that the break has been occasioned, not by
the elevation of the beds on the north, or north-west, but by the
subsidence of those on the south or south-east: for while the beds of
the lowest shale are comparatively little disturbed, the Staiths beds
that meet them, and are a little above their level, are terribly broken
and shattered ; and portions of them stand up with sharp edges at the
line of junction, as if thrust into that position by the violent crash of
their subsidence. To the south of this first and principal fracture,
we meet with a succession of fractures, in the strata along the shore ;
so that portions of the Kettleness beds, and presently after the Sands-

ALUM SHALE. 147

end beds, make their appearance; bringing us to the main bed of
alum shale: but the rocks have been thrown into the greatest disorder,
dipping in all directions, and presenting numerous bends and disloca-
tions. Thus it appears, that the subsidence has not taken place all
at once, in a single fracture, but in successive breaks.

As the main bed of the aluminous schistus exists, to a certain
extent, at this point, an alum work was formerly carried on at the
shore, immediately to the south of the great slip; but the present
Peak alum works are on the north side of the slip, and consequently
are at a great height above the shore. Their position is faintly seen in
the View, near the highest part of the back ground on the right. It
may be proper to add, that the sketch was taken when the tide had
begun to cover some of the lowest parts of the scar.

That this great slip has been nearly coeval with the strata them-
selves, is obvious, not only from the bends or contortions in some of
the beds, which must have taken place when they were in a semi-
indurated state; but also from there being no vestige of it on the
surface, the alluvial covering filling up the chasms and inequalities
above, and thus affording proof of its having been deposited after this
catastrophe. There is nothing in the shape of the hill above, that
gives any indication of such a break; for, though the strata on the
south have subsided 300 feet, the upper part of those on the north of
the shp have been so washed away, previous to the deposition of the
alluvium, that the hill, instead of falling to the south and rising to
the north of the great fracture, presents an appearance just the re-
verse. This precludes the possibility of tracing the slip to the
westward, or ascertaining the extent of its course into the interior.

From the promontory of Peak to the north side of Robin Hood’s
Bay, the upper strata are not found along the shore; having been
washed away or removed, probably at the time of the great subsidence.
We find the main bed of alum rock, with its covering, at the alum

148 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

works of Peak and Stoupe Brow, not only at a great elevation above
the shore, but at the distance of about half a mile from it. In the
interior of the bay, which appears as a fine sloping crescent, forming
the district called Fylingdales, the upper aluminous strata are entirely
wanting, and the lower are covered with a deep alluvium. In a few
places, the alluvium comes down to the beach, the rocky cliff dis-
appearing ; but most of the bay is encircled with a steep cliff, coms
posed of the lowest shale, with hard bands running in it. The scar,
or rocky pavement, washed by the tide, consists of the lower part of
the same beds. Here also we perceive, in several places, marks of
subsidence and disruption. On the north side of Peak, near the great
slip, the strata dip toward the south. In followimg the curvature of
the bay, below the alum houses of Peak and Stoupe Brow, we soon
find them dipping to the west, which they continue to do in the inte-
rior of the bay. At the stream which descends from Fyling mill, we
find a small break, the strata on the south being lower than those on
the north. At some distance to the north of the stream, and a little
to the south of the village of Robin Hood’s Bay, we meet with a
succession of small breaks, not parallel to each other, but at various
angles. ‘These breaks are rendered conspicuous by the change in the
dip of the strata, attending most of them. At the commencement of
the breaks, the strata dip westward ; beyond the first or second, the
dip is towards the north-west; and at last, opposite the village, the
strata dip northward. Thus in the whole of the semicircular margin
of the bay, the strata dip towards the land, and raise their broken
edges towards the sea; having a south dip on the south side, a west
dip in the bottom or west side, and a north dip on the north side.
Some interesting appearances are presented at the breaks near
the village; the positions of the strata being very distinctly observed,
owing to the hard crusts or bands covering the successive beds of
shale. At some of the fissures, the strata alternately rise and fall;

ALUM SHALE. 149

being in some spots higher on the one side of the break, and in others
on the opposite side. In one or two instances, we find two breaks
meeting in a point, near low water; and instead of crossing each
other, the one is arrested in its progress on meeting the other, an
angular portion of the strata being inclosed between them. Where
the dip of the strata is altered by the breaks, it is curious to observe
the disrupted beds meeting each other from different directions, and
at various angles. But the most singular phenomenon exhibited here,
is a break where the strata on the opposite sides do not correspond,
the one having, at the time of the dislocation, moved several feet be-
fore the other. Such horizontal movements may have taken place at
several other slips without being perceived; but here the fact is strik-
ingly obvious, from the arrangement of the strata into hard beds or
crusts, rising in ridges, with soft shale between them, hollowed into
long furrows: for at this slip, the broken edges of the hard shelving
strata, instead of lymg opposite those from which they have been torn,
are opposite the hollow furrows on the otherside. As the ridges are
nearly at an equal distance from each other, and the horizontal
movement of the beds on one side is about half that distance, this
curious alternation goes on as far as the break can be traced, the end
of each hard bed on the one side being opposite to the soft shale on
the other.

Ow the north side of Robin Hood’s Bay, the strata having acquired
a northerly dip, continue to sink in that direction, as far as the
northern part of Hawsker Bottoms, opposite Gnipe-houe. In the
lofty cliffs occupying this space, the upper beds, that are disconti-
nued on the northside of Peak, successively make their appearance.
The Staiths beds, consisting chiefly of two thick beds of sandstone,
parted by a bed of shale about 30' feet thick, first'appear in the top
of the cliff; not far from the village; and descending gradually,
as the lowest shale sinks under the sea, they come down to the beach,

2P

150 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

at the point which terminates the north cheek of the bay. These
sandstone strata are succeeded by the Kettleness beds, consisting of
12 or 13 bands of ironstone, in seams or rows of nodules. The
Sandsend bands follow, and then the main bed of alum shale, which
occupies from 180 to 200 feet. The dogger at last appears at the top,
and is surmounted by beds of sandstone and shale, with seams of
coal. While these higher strata resume their places, the lower beds
gradually sink beneath the sea, till the dogger itself descends close
to the beach, opposite Gnipe-houe ; where, as was formerly noticed,
the sandstone beds acquire a vast thickness, and even the blue hme-
stone of Cloughton wyke is found in the high ground, at some dis-
tance from the sea cliff. Beyond this. point, the dogger and the alum
shale rise again, and attain a considerable height in the cliffs of
High Whitby and Saltwick; so that, in a few places, some part of
the Sandsend or lias bands may be seen on the scar. Between Salt-
wick and Whitby, the dogger again descends to high water mark; but
it rises again to the height of 60 feet, or upwards, before it arrives at
Whitby harbour.

At the mouth of Whitby harbour, in the bed of the Esk, we come
to the second great slip in these strata. The alum shale proceeds to
the middle of the current, more than half way across the harbour,
and there terminates abruptly, nothing but sandstone rocks being
found on the other side. To what depth the strata on the west or
north-west side of the harbour have sunk, cannot be very correctly
estimated, especially as the sandstone beds are so variable, that it is
difficult to trace the correspondence between those on the one side of
the slip, and those on the other: but as the sandstone beds that come
down to the beach at the battery appear to correspond, either with
the highest beds of the east cliff, or with a higher portion of the sand-
stone strata there wanting, we can scarcely reckon the amount of the
slip less than 100 feet.

ALUM SHALE. 151

In attempting to trace the progress of the break to the south and
west, we find ourselves lost amidst the irregularities of the strata. It
appears sometimes to follow the course of the Esk, and sometimes
not. The strata, which form high cliffs at the mouth of the river, dip
rapidly to the south or south-west on both sides; those on the right
bank sinking or disappearing in Bagdale, and those on the left at Spital
beck, a little further up. Immediately beyond the harbour, the strata
rise again on both banks, and as the sandstone cliffs on the opposite
sides appear to correspond, we see no vestige of the slip. Proceed-
ing about half a mile further, we find the beds on both sides discon-
tinued, or receding from one another, and the fine circular vale of
Ruswarp, about half a mile in diameter, left in the midst. This vale,
like the middle of the large vale of Pickering, seems to be a kind of
centre of subsidence, the strata dipping towards it from every side,
and rising all around it in the form of an amphitheatre. Here the strata
on the south-east bank seem to have sunk deeper than those on the
opposite side; for the blue limestone, that occupies so high a position
at Gnipe-houe, is here found in the low ravines below Sneaton, as for-
merly noticed ; and to what was stated on that subject we can now
add, that it is found in a position still lower, in Cockmill wood, imme-
diately below the mill-dam, and not many yards above the level of
the sea.

The depression of the strata on the left bank appears to continue
till we arrive at Sleights, where the beds rise to a great height, and
the alum shale is discovered in a lofty position at Blue-bank, so named
from the blue colour of the shale. The vale of Yburn dale, which
opens on the left into the vale of the Esk, appears to have derived its
origin, partly from the washing away of the strata, and partly from
their subsidence: for though we find the aluminous beds, both at
Littlebeck on the Sneaton side of the vale, and at Godeland banks on
the Sleights side, they are more elevated at the latter than the former.

152 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

On comparing the elevated strata of Sleights and Eskdale side,
with those of Woodlands, Newbigging, and Aislaby, on the right
bank of the Esk, we see clear indications, that there must be a break
in the strata, in or near the channel of the river, probably the conti-
nuation of the great break at its mouth. The thick sandstone beds of
Aislaby are indeed at a very great elevation; but as they dip toward
the south, like the strata on the left bank, were they continued across
the valley in the plane of their general dip, instead of meeting the
corresponding sandstone strata in the top of Sleights Brow, they
would meet the alum shale in the slope of the hill. The same indi-
cations mark out the course of the break through the vale of the Esk,
as far as Castleton; from whence it appears to pass through Common-
dale and Kildale to the plain of Cleveland; the line of the break
corresponding with the division between the first and second ranges
of our alum hills. On the left of this line, the hills, though somewhat
broken by dales, rise to a great height, presenting abrupt faces towards
the north, in which the aluminous strata are often seen at a great ele-
vation; whereas the hills on the right are considerably lower, and
their surfaces have a gentle slope towards the south, in which the strata
consist of the higher beds of sandstone shale and coal, covered in
some places with the blue limestone, and the strata above it. Perhaps
in some parts of this line, particularly about Danby and Castleton,
the slip may be as great as that of Peak, if not greater; though the
subsidence is in the opposite direction. |

On the north-west side of Whitby piers, the numerous contor:
tions, cracks, and dislocations, in the strata of sandstone and sandy)
shale, give evidence of the catastrophe that has here occurred. These
strata, which are near 100 feet high beside the battery, gradually de-
scend, with some undulations, till they sink below the level of the sea,
at the distance of about a quarter of a mile, leaving only an alluvial
cliff. Before we reach Lector nab, they, again rise to a considerable

ALUM SHALE. 153

height; but soon after descend to the beach, and the cliffs exhibit
nothing but alluvium, till we get beyond Newholm beck. Between
that beck and the foot of Dunsley lane, the dogger makes its appear-
ance in the cliff, with the alum shale below it, but scarcely any
sandstone above it. These strata gradually rise from the beach; but
at Dunsley lane they are suddenly discontinued. Beyond Sandsend,
they resume their course in the sea cliffs; and, as we find them here
at such an elevation as they might be supposed to have reached, had
no interruption taken place, we may presume, that whatever subsi-
dences or breaks have produced the openings at the becks of East
Row and Sandsend, they have not affected the general disposition of
the strata. The two becks run parallel to one another for two or three
miles, parted only by the high and narrow ridge on which stands the
old castle of Mulgrave. The front of the ridge at Sandsend is
alluvial, but we find the alum shale in it, not far above the village.

In the lofty cliffs beyond Sandsend, we not only find the alum
shale and its covering of dogger rising to a great height, but a consid-
erable thickness of the sandstone beds above them, often to the
amount of 50 or 60 feet. On the scar below, the lias seams begin to
appear, a little to the north of Sandsend alum house; from which
circumstance we have named them the Sandsend beds. Beyond them
the compact shale rises up like a wall; and, as has been noticed, the
ironstone or Ketéleness beds rise up at Kettlenesspoint. At that point,
the schistose beds rise to a great height; but the sandstone beds
above them disappear, or retire backward.

Beyond Kettleness, the course of the strata is again interrupted,
at the back of Runswick bay. Instead of continuing to rise beyond
Kettleness point, the strata descend a little towards Hob-hole. There
a great portion of the upper strata have been washed away, while the
lower have partly subsided, at a small stream on the south side of the
cave. ‘The cave itself isin the compact shale. Beyond it, the whole

2@

154 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

strata disappear, and the bay is skirted by an alluvial cliff, till we
reach Runswick.

Here a very considerable break of the strata must have occurred,
though it is concealed by alluvium; for instead of meeting in the
Runswick cliffs the compact shale, as at Hob-hole, we find only the
upper part of the main bed of alum shale, covered by the dogger, and
by very thick beds of sandstone and sandy schist. The longitudinal
slip, formerly mentioned, partly conceals the state of the strata at
Runswick; yet we can see clearly, that they rise towards the north,
or north-west: so that the back part of Runswick bay is, to a certain
degree, another centre of subsidence.

Proceeding along the shore from Runswick, we find the strata
rising with considerable regularity ; the lias bands, the compact shale,
and the ironstone bands, successively appearing below, while some
of the upper strata disappear above. But on approaching the village
of Staiths, at the opening of the valley or ravine of Dalehouse, we
see the progress of the strata again interrupted. The sandstone beds
above the dogger are lost ; the dogger itself, after growing very thin,
wears out; and the whole schistose strata above the sandstone bands
are discontinued in the valley ; so that the sandstone bands, which
we have called the Staiths beds, may be seen at the village, forming
the channel of Dalehouse beck, and appearing in the lower part of
the cliffs. These sandstone beds, corresponding with those which
sink at the north cheek of Robin Hood’s Bay, make their appearance
on the scar, a few yards to the east of Staiths.

Just before we reach that spot, we meet with a succession of
breaks in the strata, indicating, that the valley which separates the
second range of alum hills from the third, like that which divides the
the first from the second, has been formed by a subsidence of the
whole strata, as well as by a washing away of the upper strata. One
of these breaks, not far from a singular bluff point to the east of

ALUM SHALE. 155

Staiths, is somewhat peculiar. It does not coincide with one or more of
the cross veins, so as to make the fracture nearly vertical, but forms an
uregular diagonal line, making an angle of about 50 degrees with the
scar. The slope, or inclined plane, formed by the fracture, descends
towards the west; and, as is usual in such breaks, the strata have sunk
on that side. The quantity of the subsidence is about 30 feet; but in
some parts, where there is a double fracture, the angular pieces in the.
middle have sunk only a few feet. The Kettleness or ironstone bands,
appearing here, make it easy to observe the extent of the fracture.
The same remark applies to another diagonal break, about 100 yards
further west, where the strata have sunk about 6 feet, on the same
side of the fracture. A little nearer the village, at the spot where the
Staiths beds begin to appear, there is a vertical break of greater
magnitude than either of these; but the subsidence is in the contrary
direction, the Kettleness bands, and the coarse shale beneath them,
having sunk down, while the Staiths or sandstone beds abruptly rise
up. This rise seems to be greater than the amount of the subsidence
at both the breaks now mentioned. The vale of Dalehouse bears
marks of the irregularities, occasioned by these convulsions in the
strata.

From Staiths the strata rise in an unbroken series to Boulby, the
sandstone bands gradually ascending, while the beds or courses of the
lowest shale rise up below, and the upper strata, which had disappear-
ed beyond Staiths, successively resume their stations above, as the
height of the cliff imcreases.

At Boulby we arrive at what may be called the back part of the
aluminous strata; for as these strata have their general dip towards
the south, and the cliffs there begin to run directly to the west, we
seem to be behind the strata, in following their course in that direction.

The beds of the Boulby series proceed to the west by Rockcliff,
where the Lofthouse alum works are carried on, maintaining their

156 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

regularity, and their great elevation, to a considerable distance: but,
before they reach Lofthouse alum house, the upper strata are partly
discontinued, while the lower gradually descend; so that, immedi-
ately beyond the alum house, the Staiths beds come down to the
beach. From thence to Skinningrave, these beds are of a great
thickness, forming a perpendicular cliff; but little or nothing of the
higher beds appears above them.

At the deep ravine of Skinningrave, there is another interruption
of the whole strata; probably occasioned by a partial subsidence, as
well as by denudation or washing away. In Huntcliff, the lower beds
rise to a great height, in the most northerly part of the cliff; but most
of the upper beds are still wanting, or rather, are retired back from
the front of the cliff, and concealed in the alluvial slope. In goimg
round Huntcliff, we observe the beds on the west side of it descend-
ing with great regularity towards Saltburn, where they are covered
with a deep alluvium.

It is proper to remark, that the apparent rising and falling of the
strata, along the coast between Staiths and Saltburn, is more owing
to the dip of the strata, than to any real undulations in their course:
for, as they have a regular dip towards the south, we find them lower
in the more southerly parts of the coast, as at Staiths, Skinningrave,
and Saltburn; and higher in the more northerly parts, as at Boulby,
Rockcliff, and Huntcliff. The last, beg the most northerly point,
is the place where the lowest shale acquires its greatest elevation; and
had the cliffs been continued further in that direction, we might have
found it rising still higher. There is, however, a real undulation at
Skinningrave; the indentation of the shore at that creek being msufli-
cient to account for the great depression of the strata.

Detached from Huntcliff, at the distance of about five miles, are
the Redcar rocks, a large group of shelving beds, covered by the sea
at high water, and very dangerous to mariners. They belong, as has

ALUM SHALE. 157

been already stated, to the lowest shale; and as they are more norther-
ly than the foot of Huntcliff, they are a lower part of the series. Their
separation from Huntcliff, however, has been occasioned, not by a
mere washing away of the strata, but by some terrible convulsion ;
for instead of dipping to the south, like the strata at Saltburn, they
dip rapidly to the west and north-west, presenting their broken edges
to the east and south-east, in a long succession of parallel lines.
Hence the rocks nearest to Saltburn are the lowest part of them, in
geological position; and therefore, the most eligible spot for ascer-
taining by boring, what strata are the next under the aluminous beds,
must be on the shore a little to the east of Redcar, opposite the first
of these shelving beds. These rocks are named the Salt Scars.

To the west of Saltburn, the remainder of the third range of alum
hills retire from the shore, forming the heights called Birdley moor
and Bernaldby moor. These hills, of which the latter is higher than
Boulby cliff, resemble the hills on the shore now described, having
gentle slopes towards the south or south-east, and steep cliffs towards
the north or north-west. These cliffs would be as precipitous as Rock-
chff and Huntcliff, had the sea access to wash away the debris that
crumbles down from their fronts; but that debris having accumulated
at the foot of the cliffs, the hills are skirted even on the north with
grassy slopes, more or less considerable. The aluminous strata, and
the beds above them, crop out in the cliffs at various heights; but
are generally so concealed by the debris and the alluvium, that their
state cannot be examined with the same accuracy as in the sea cliffs.
It is easy to see, however, in taking a general view of the strata of
these hills, that they have been separated by some violent convulsion
from the hills on the east, and that a vast break or subsidence must
have taken place between them and the next range of hills on the
south ; for if the beds at Eston Nab, the highest part of Bernaldby
moor, were continued southward in the plane of their dip, to the

2R

158 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

Guisborough hills or Rosebury Topping, instead of meeting the cor-
responding beds in these hills, they would sink deep below their
bases. In like manner, were the beds in Rosebury Topping prolong-
ed in the plane of their dip, to Greenhoue Burton, or Battersby bank,
they also would sink beneath the base of the latter; bemg on the
opposite side of the great break formerly mentioned, that runs through
Kildale, Commondale, and the vale of the Esk. The hills of
Bernaldby moor and Birdley moor, with the hill of Skelton and some
other small hills near them, may be viewed as vast detached masses ;
their strata having little or no continuity with those of the great chains
to which they approach.

As there are inland cliffs in our alum hills, as well as sea cliffs,
so there are also precipices on the coast which may be called swbma-
rine cliffs. We have repeatedly mentioned the rocky pavement of the
shore, vulgarly termed the scar. That pavement, which skirts all our
aluminous cliffs, stretching out into the sea to a considerable distance,
and forming a broad margin at low water, is no doubt the lower part
of what formerly constituted the cliffs of the coast, when the sea had
not encroached so far on the land. Judging of the past by the pre-
sent, we can easily see how this scar has been formed. ‘The fronts
of the cliffs, exposed to the united attacks of the waves, the winds,
the rains, and the frosts, have gradually crumbled down; while their
bases, continually moistened by the sea water, which serves to harden
rather than to decompose, are preserved ; being subject only to the
very gradual wasting, resulting from the friction of rolling blocks.
Now, in tracing the scar outwards, it is found in several places to
terminate abruptly, presenting a steep face towards the deeper parts
of the ocean: so that, were the waters of the sea removed, we should
find another range of cliffs, more or less steep, encircling the present
cliffs at some distance, while the scar would appear asa broad platform
or terrace between them. The sea may indeed be expected to fill up

ALUM SHALE. 159

the inequalities in its bed, by what it washes away from the shores ;
especially on this coast, where the waste is so considerable; yet
inequalities by no means trivial are still found in front of our cliffs.
The rock that lies before Whitby harbour, known by the name
of Whitby rock, affords illusigations of these remarks. This rock,
fatal to many a gallant ship, forms a kind of triangle, the base of
which extends from Saltwick to the point of Whitby east pier, while
the apex lies about N. N. E. of the pier head, at the distance of nearly
seven furlongs. The angle formed at the pier head is somewhat
obtuse, being a little larger than a right angle. The side extending
from thence to the apex coincides with the line of the great break
formerly mentioned. It forms a steep edge throughout its whole
extent, especially towards the apex ; for while the depth of water on
the rock, when the tide is out, is only five, six, or seven feet, even
towards the outermost point, the depth immediately on the west side
of the rock is three or four fathoms about the middle of the line, and
increases, towards the apex, to eight, ten, twelve, or even fourteen
fathoms ; nay, at a short distance out from the point of the rock, it
reaches nineteen or twenty fathoms. Along the other side of the
triangle, from the apex to Saltwick, the water deepens still more
rapidly. Hence, the point of Whitby rock forms a submarine pro-
montory, having submarine cliffs on the west and on the north-east,
nearly equal in height to the cliffs on the west side of Whitby harbour.
As the sea water appears to preserve the rocks which it covers,
and as the western edge of Whitby rock is in a line with the great
break at the entrance of the harbour, we may presume, that the limits
of that rock mark out nearly the original extent of the cliffs on the
east side of the harbour, at the period when the present bed of the
sea on this coast was formed, by the general sinking of the strata on
the outside of the rock, and the partial subsidence of those on the
west. On this supposition, we might calculate the time when the

160 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

catastrophe took place, could we ascertain the ratio of the decay of
our cliffs. That ratio is by no means so great as some imagine. That
the site of Whitby abbey, at its first erection by Lady Hilda in 658,
was a mile from the sea, as asserted by some writers, is a groundless
fancy, resting on no authority whateyer. The average waste of our
cliffs, as far as it can be computed from facts within our knowledge,
does not exceed ten yards in a century, and probably has not been
greater for many centuries past. At a more remote period, when
the whole force of the ocean was directed against the apex of the
triangle, or against its base when it was very narrow, the waste would
be vastly greater, especially as the strata might then be softer. Making
allowance for this difference, our calculation may easily carry us back
to the era of the deluge, as the time when the cliffs of the promon-
tory on the east side of our harbour, coincided with the outline of
the submarine cliffs on the edges of Whitby rock.

For the sake of future calculations, it may be proper here to re-
peat what we have stated in the History of Whitby (II. p. 775, 776),
that the distance from the verge of Whitby east cliff, to the nearest
part of the abbey, measured in the line of the transept, was found in
1816 to be exactly 680 feet; including 46 feet, which is the breadth of
a hole, or old quarry, on the margin of the cliff. The distance from the
middle of the outer court gate of the hall of Charles Cholmley Esq.,
to the verge of the cliff, taken in a line with the old cross, is 714 feet.

Taking our leave of the aluminous beds, we now come to the
last member of the strata of our district ; which may be called

RED SANDSTONE WITH GYPSUM.

As the junction of the red sandstone with the aluminous beds is
concealed by a deep alluvium, we cannot say with certainty, that the
one immediately succeeds the other; yet, as the lowest shale with its

RED SANDSTONE WITH GYPSUM. 161

hard seams, may, like the Sandsend bands, be viewed as somewhat
analogous to the lias beds; and as the latter are said to be succeeded
by red sandstone in other places; particularly in Somersetshire, and
in the north of Ireland ;* we may infer, that our lowest shale is imme-
diately followed by the red sandstone of Cleveland. Some think,
that a considerable seam of coal exists under the aluminous beds be-
tween Redcar and Saltburn, as great quantities of coal are often
washed up on the sands there, especially aftera storm. The sea-coal
of Redcar sands was well known above two centuries ago.f This
coal, however, may be partly drifted from the mouths of the Tyne
and the Wear by the flood tide, and partly supplied from the many
wrecks of coal vessels on the Redcar rocks. No coal has been
found in the red strata in the interior, though there are thin layers of
coaly matter in the alluvial beds over it; yet it is possible, that coal
may exist in the strata on that part of the coast, as it is found near
sandstone in some other parts of Britain.

The title which we have given to this part of our strata (mark-
ed p) does not fully express its qualities. Red sandstone is indeed
the most prominent feature in these strata; but their nature and
colour are subject to great variations, similar to what may be seen in
the extensive tracts of the same strata, occurring in several of the
western and middle counties of England, and in some parts of Scot-
land and Ireland. In most places, this rock is a proper sandstone ;
in many, it is a kind of soft marl, so that it often obtains the name
of red marl; and there are also instances where it becomes a species
of limestone; while in a few places, a great proportion of clay enters
into its composition, on which account it has also been termed red clay.
Some specimens are highly schistose and micaceous ; some, mode-
rately schistose, and contaiming less mica; some, not fissile, but

* Geological Transactions, II]. p. 165, 373, &e.
+ See an ancient M. 8. quoted in Graves’s Hist. of Cleveland, p. 399.

2s

162 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

breaking into numerous indeterminate fragments; and some, solid
and massive. Like the alum schist, it usually increases in solidity
as it descends. Its colour is sometimes a deep red, like the darkest
ved ochre; but the most common colour is a brick red, of various
shades. This passes into a very pale red, and that again into yellow;
which in many places, especially in the lower beds, changes to white,
or yellowish white. These colours are not always in distinct layers,
but are often clouded or blended together. The rock frequently
contains hard bands of grey sandstone, and stripes or seams of a
greenish blue substance, partly clay and partly lime. Calcareous
matter is indeed so generally diffused through these strata, that most
of their varieties effervesce with acids. The red and yellow colours
are probably owing to a mixture of ferrugmous or ochrey matter.
Balls of ochre and nodules of ironstone appear to exist in some parts
of the strata. We may add, that as the red rock is supposed to be
indebted for its colour to oxide of iron, so the greenish stripes are
considered as deriving their hue from oxide of copper.*

Owing to the thickness of the alluvium that covers the plain of
Cleveland and the vale of the Tees, there are few places where these
strata are exposed to view; and such places are almost all in the
channels of the Tees and the Leven. The red sandstone may be seen
in the bed of the Tees, at Croft bridge near Darlington, and at some
distance to the westward of that bridge. It may be seen not far from
the western skirts of the highest of our alum hills, in the bed of the
Leven, below Crathorne ; particularly at a mill a little below Foxton
bridge, and at Middleton mill dam, neara mile lower. At the latter
place, we find the yellow sandstone along with the red. The same
strata appear further down, about Leven bridge not far from Yarm,
and from thence to the Tees. The channel of the Leven, in most of

* Geological Transactions, I. p. 191, 192.

RED SANDSTONE WITH GYPSUM. 163

these places, runs between high alluvial banks. At the whinstone
quarry of Preston, on the north-west bank of the Tees, opposite
Barwick, a little below the junction of the Leven with the Tees, the
sandstone is found of a white colour, or yellowish white; and is
more hard and siliceous than in the places now mentioned.

We have not found the red sandstone itself in the eastern part of
the plain of Cleveland ; but an interesting portion of this member of
the strata is exposed at the mouth of the Tees, at the foot of Lazen-
by fields, about two miles from Lazenby, and the same distance
from Kirkleatham. It is a considerable bed of what may be called
argillaceous limestone, or calcareous claystone; generally of a fine
grain, and of a light olive or greenish colour, with reddish streaks or
patches. The stone is much cracked, and is easily broken into irre-
gular fragments; and being moderately hard, it might be termed
indurated clay mart.

It is in this stratum that we find the Gypsum, known to have
been procured in this spot above two centuries ago, under the name
of plaster or alabaster.* The stratum occupies the lower part of the
bank of the river, the upper part being alluvial; the height of the
whole bank scarcely exceeding 15 or 20 feet. In tracing the bank
from its north-eastern extremity, where it partly sinks, and partly
retires backward, we find the argillo-calcareous bed gradually rising
towards the south-west. At first we discern in it only a few thin
strings of gypsum; but after proceeding 50 or 60 yards, we find it in
the lower part of the bed, appearing in large branching veins. These
veins are often found in large bundles, curiously ramified and inter-
laced; and as the interstices are filled up by the olive coloured stone,
the rock has a singularly striped and mottled appearance. Some of
the veins are two or three inches in thickness ; and, in several of the

* M.S. quoted in Graves’s Hist. of Cleveland, p. 400.

164 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

bundles, they are so thickly reticulated and crowded together, that
the quantity of gypsum greatly exceeds that of the clay. Where the
gypsum becomes plentiful, the upper part of the stratum in which it is
imbedded begins to wear out, its place being occupied by alluvium ;
and the latter having been partly washed away by the river or the rains,
the bundles or masses of gypsum are laid bare to a considerable dis-
tance along the foot of the bank, till the strata smk down, and the
bank becomes wholly alluvial.

The gypsum, in the recent fracture, resembles fine white sugar ;
but its crystals are considerably larger, and many of them are of an
oblong shape and very thin. It has in most places a reddish tinge;
its oblong laminated crystals, when separated, are found highly trans-
parent, like selenite; and the whole vein is translucent, especially
near the edges. Many of the specimens are soft and friable, easily
crumbling between the fingers; others are moderately hard and firm.

On the opposite side of the mouth of the Tees, at Seaton near
Hartlepool, we find a very remarkable specimen of these strata. To
the south and the north of Seaton, the cliffs are alluvial; but directly
opposite that village, the strata rise up in the form of a ridge or arch,
the highest part of which stretches out from Seaton towards the sea,
nearly at right angles with the shore, but rather inclining towards
Hartlepool; while the strata bend down on both sides of the ridge,
dipping towards Hartlepool on the north, and towards Coatham on the
south. Onthe shore at Seaton, the waves have worn away the higher
part of the rocks, and displayed in the cliff a beautiful section of the
party-coloured strata. In the middle of the arch, the upper strata
are gone, and are replaced by alluvium ; but we see what they have
been, by tracing them on both sides of the ridge. The whole series
may be stated as under:

1. A bed of sandstone, 6 feet thick ; half of which is red, and
the other half yellow, or yellowish grey. ;

RED SANDSTONE WITH GYPSUM. 165

2. Yellowish grey sandstone ; 8 feet.

3. Another bed of the same; 5 feet.

These three beds are parted in some places by seams of blue
clay.

4. Indurated marly clay of a greenish blue colour, containing a
slight mixture of sand and mica; 7 feet. In this stratum are a few
bands of sandstone, particularly one red band, which in some places
is about 2 feet thick.

5. Grey sandstone, harder than No. 2 and 3; 2 feet.

6. Greenish blue marly clay, rather paler than No. 4, and con-
taining a few beautiful crystals of pyrites ; 1 foot.

If these green stripes are coloured by oxide of copper, these
crystals may be presumed to be copper pyrites.

7. Red sandstone, forming the lowest part of the series here
displayed ; visible to the depth of about 10 feet.

The red strata are of a pale brick colour, very soft and marly in
many places, but in others hard and sandy. Some of the most sandy
specimens are highly schistose and micaceous. Thin masses, or
imperfect seams, of greenish or blueish clay, are found here and
there, imbedded in the red rock.

On the south side of the ridge at Seaton, the strata dip rather
rapidly below the level of the sea; but on the north side, where there
are some breaks and irregular bends, the red sandstone continues for
a considerable distance along the shore; till, arriving at the com-
mencement of the submarine bog formerly mentioned (p. 30, 31, 35),
it recedes from the shore, and stretches out into the sea, forming
another ridge, covered at high water, near the entrance of the har-
bour of Hartlepool. In some parts of the shore, the sandstone has
a broken and mixed appearance, like breccia.

Besides these spots, where this member of our strata reaches the
surface, we may notice others where it has been examined by boring.

27

166 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

In 1789, several trials for coal were made at Dinsdale on the Tees, be-
tween Croft bridge and Yarm. Some of the borings merely penetrated
the alluvial beds, consistigg of sand, gravel, clay, &c.; and entered
a few feet into the red sandstone. Two of them, however, were car-
ried to a great depth, the one to about 66 fathoms, the other to 74
fathoms ; passing through various beds of red, white, grey, and blue
rock ; some of them soft, like clay or marl, others moderately hard,
and a few very hard. These last were found running in bands in the
softer strata. Gypsum was found in both borings, at a considerable
depth; and in both it seemed to be connected with the blue seams.
The last 32 fathoms of the deepest boring consisted almost wholly of
white and grey sandstone, without any mixture of the red strata. A
similar result was obtained from a more recent and much deeper
boring, at Entercommon near Smeaton, about three miles to the
south of Dinsdale, and on the south bank of the Tees. Here the
borers penetrated to the depth of 2231 yards. The first 10 yards
consisted of alluvial beds; the next 100 yards of red sandstone, in
various beds, with a few bands of hard stone, &c.; and the remain-
ing 113 yards consisted of red, grey, and white sandstone, including
several very hard bands; the lowest beds being entirely grey or
white, as at Dinsdale.*

At the deepest of the Dinsdale borings, viz. that of Woodhead on
the north bank of the Tees, a sulphureous spring, hike the Harrowgate
spa, was found to issue from a blue stratum, lying under gypsum, at
the depth of about 192 fathoms. This spring, now termed Middleton

* The authors received this account of the Smeaton or Entercommon boring from J. Ash,
the borer, employed by G. Allan, Esq., of Grange. The borings at Dinsdale were conducted
by G. Rawlings, employed by the late General Lambton. The authors were favoured with the
lists of these borings some years ago, by N. J. Winch, Esq.; who has since published them in
the Geological Transactions, 1V. p. 97, 98. The boring No. 1 descended only 10 fathoms,
of which 2 feet consisted of red sandstone, and the rest of alluvium. No. 4, which reached
16 fathoms 2 feet, presents us with 15% fathoms of alluvial strata, and only 4 feet of red
sandstone.

RED SANDSTONE WITH GYPSUM. 167

spa, has lately acquired some celebrity, as a place of resort for
invalids. A similar spring issues from the same strata at Croft bridge,
on the south bank of the Tees, which is also a place of resort in.
the summer months.

It is natural to expect sulphuretted springs, in strata that contain
so much gypsum, or sulphate of lime. The same kind of strata in
Somersetshire contain also sulphate of strontian ; and were our strata
less concealed by alluvium, quantities of the same mineral might be
found here also. It is said, indeed, to be found on the banks of the
Nidd near Knaresborough ; not, however, in the red sandstone, but
in the limestone.*

The rock salt of Cheshire and Worcestershire is imbedded in
strata corresponding with those of the vale of the Tees ; but no brine
springs have been discovered in our district. There is a salt spring
issuing from the interstices of a basaltic vein, in the bed of the Wear
at Butterby, two miles to the south of Durham ; but it is too far from
our red strata to have any connection with them.}

The deep alluvial covering of this member of our strata, pre-
vents us from giving an accurate view of its extent. It appears,
however, to occupy almost all the plain of Cleveland, with a con-
siderable portion of the north bank of the Tees; and as it extends to
the westward of Croft bridge, so it proceeds round the west skirts
of our oolite hills, by Northallerton and Thirsk, near which are some
gypsum quarries ; and from thence it is supposed to advance further
south into the vale of York.

The occurrence of the red sandstone in the plain of Thirsk, not
far from the west front of the Hambleton hills, naturally leads us to
conclude, either, that our aluminous strata which are of a vast

* Geological Transactions, III. p. 370, &e. IV. p. 196, 202, 214, 445.
+ Ibid. I. p. 38, &e. If. p. 94, &e. IV, p. 24.

168 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

thickness at Cranimoor, and which sink under the north skirts of the
Hambleton hills at Thimbleby, make a bend upwards, and run to a
thin edge, on the borders of that plain, so as to allow the red sand-
stone to succeed them there; or else, that the red sandstone does
not lie under the aluminous strata, as the next succeeding member

of the series, but merely abuts against the broken edges, both of

these strata, and of the strata over them, occupying the valleys in
the form of what has been called an upfilling. It is certain, that the
red sandstone appears in the latter form in several parts of England ;
particularly in the extensive plain, in which Appleby, Penrith, and
Carlisle are situated; and in the vale of the Avon, near Bristol :*
and it is not unlikely, that our red rock may be in the same predica-
ment. It has not been found wnder our aluminous strata; nor, as far
as we know, has it been seen over the magnesian limestone, which
commences at Hartlepool. Besides, its position has no conformity,
either with the one or the other; for the beds observed in Cleveland,
instead of dipping towards the alum hills, so as to appear to run
beneath them, rather dip in the contrary direction; and where the
sandstone makes the nearest visible approach to the magnesian lime-
stone, near the entrance of Hartlepool harbour, both are dipping
towards one another, the limestone dipping towards the south, and
the red sandstone towards the north; so that we may suppose them
to meet each other abruptly under water, at the entrance of the har-
bour. It is obvious, however, that great dislocations of the strata
have occurred at Hartlepool harbour, as at that of Whitby, the Slake
appearing to be another centre of subsidence; and for this reason,
and the entire concealment of the junction between the red rock and
the strata adjoining it, both on the south and on the north, we cannot
speak on this point with certainty. Should it be found, that the red,

* Geological Transactions, IV. p. 105, &c.; and p. 193-196, 205-209.

.

MAGNESIAN LIMESTONE. 169

or rather, party-coloured strata, are not of the regular series of rocks,
but merely fill wp intervals between them, occupying deep valleys
and extensive plains; in that case, such strata would bear some ana-
logy to the alluvial beds, and form a kind of link, to connect these
beds with the regular strata of the hills.—It is observable, that we
have not found in these party-coloured beds any appearance of organic
remains ; though such remains occur in the strata on both sides.

The Macnesian Limestone of the county of Durham (q) is
without the bounds of our district; yet, as it succeeds our red strata,
we may briefly notice it. This limestone, commencing at Hartlepool,
occupies the Durham shore, with a few interruptions, to within a mile
er two of South Shields, where it leaves off abruptly, its northern
termination appearing like a steep wall, but of no great height. From
thence, its limits in the interior are traced in a south-westerly direc-
tion, by Bolden, Painshaw, Sherburn, Ferryhill, &c.; passing along
the skirts of the coal district, and arriving at the Tees below Winston
bridge, about ten miles above Croft bridge. The limestone that
passes behind our district, by Ripon, Knaresborough, Tadcaster,
Brotherton, and Knottingley; and that stretches to the south by
Doncaster, as far as to Nottingham ; is understood to be the conti-
nuation of the same rock; but we do not know that its continuity
has been distinctly ascertained.

Numerous and interesting are the forms which this limestone
assumes. Some of the most singular varieties occur near Sunderland.
Of these we have already had occasion to mention the botryoidal or
pisiform variety, which is a kind of oolite ona large scale, composed
of clusters of crystalline globules. Another variety, no less remark-
able, occurs in some rocks to the north of Whitburn. {¢ contains
numerous radiated crystalline cones, with their apices downwards,
the radiations of which are so arranged, that when their bases are

2¥

170 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

exposed on the weathered surface of the rock, they present the
appearance of the sunflower, having a circular disk in the centre,
with a margin of petals diverging from it all around.

Even in the Hartlepool rocks, the limestone exhibits consider-
able diversity of structure and other qualities. In some places, it is
decidedly oolitic, resembling the finer varieties of the oolite; in
others, it is earthy : in some, it is soft, marly, and friable ; in others,
it is hard and compact. Some specimens contain quantities of loose
marl, lodged in numerous minute pores or cavities; others abound
with small holes or pores, which are empty. Most of the rock is of
a dull yellow or buff colour; some part is of a dull grey; while a
considerable part is white, approaching to the colour of chalk, which
it also resembles in many of its other qualities. Indeed, the Hartle-
pool cliffs, though much lower than the chalk cliffs of Flamborough,
bear a considerable resemblance to them; being parted by vertical
fissures, into which the sea rushes violently, and forms a variety of
caves and grottos, often supported by massy pillars. Several detach-
ed rocks stand in the sea, at a short distance from the front of the
cliffs, and of the same height; and as the waves have hollowed out
their bases into numerous arches, they present the romantic appear-
ance of the ruins of an aqueduct, supported by huge pillars: The
general dip of the rock is towards the south.

The magnesian limestone of Hartlepool does not abound: with
organic remains; yet a few shells may be found in almost all the
varieties of the rock, and in some spots, especially in the white stnttas
the number is not inconsiderable.*

* For a further account of the Magnesian Limestone, and the strata that succeed it in
Durham and Northumberland, see Mr. Winch’s Paper on the Geology of these Counties, in the
Geological Transactions, Vol. 1V.—Mr. Winch is mistaken in asserting (p. 7), that the white
oolitie limestone of Hartlepool “contains no shells or marine exuyie : 2? the authors found in it
both univalves and bivalves, especially the latter.

BASALTIC DYKE. 171

Having described all the strata, or flat rocks, of our district, it
now remains, that we attend to a rock of a different nature, which
intersects a large portion of them, viz.

THE BASALTIC DYKE.

This singular rock (marked r) crosses our alum hills in the
form of a vein, intersecting the strata nearly at right angles. It is
one of the most remarkable whinstone dykes in Britain, as it has been
traced on the surface to the extent of 60 or 70 miles, and is in some
places 70 feet wide, or upwards. It runs nearly in a direct line,
north-west and south-east, from Cockfield Fell m the county of
Durham, to Maybecks.

In several parts of its course, the dyke protrudes to a consider-
able height above the surface ; as at the ridge called Parker’s houe,
in Glazedale ; at a place in Lownsdale; and especially at Cliffrigg,
and Langbargh, in Cleveland; where it forms a very prominent ridge,
crossing the plain from the west side of Rosebury to the Tees, to
which it proceeds by Nunthorp and Stainton. In other parts, it
barely reaches the surface, or rises a foot or two above it; as in its
course from Maybecks to Silhoue, and its descent from thence to-
wards the Mirk Esk. In many other places, it does not reach
the surface, being covered by alluvitim, often to a great depth.
Whether there be any spots where it is also covered by a part of the
regular strata, remains to be ascertained. Ina quarry at Whitley near
Cullercoats, where there is an extensive mass of the magnesian lime-
stone, detached from the great beds of the county of Durham, there
is a similar dyke or vein, which intersects the coal and sandstone
strata, under the limestone, but does not pass through the latter. It has

been supposed that, in a similar way, our basaltic dyke passes under

173 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

the magnesian limestone, in its progress from Cockfield to the Tees.*
This supposition, however, is by no means probable; for, whether
we consider the red sandstone of the vale of the Tees as lying over
the limestone, or as an upjilling between that and the aluminous
strata, itis difficult to conceive, how the dyke should traverse the
sandstone, without also intersecting the limestone, which is inter-
posed between the sandstone and the coal district. Perhaps in a
few spots, both in the alum hills and in the limestone, the vein may,
as at Whitley, be covered by a portion of the upper strata; but the
thickness of the alluvial covering, in the plains which it crosses in
running north-west from the Tees, is sufficient to account for its
rarely appearing at the surface, without supposing it to be covered by
any part of the regular strata. At Preston quarry, where the dyke
crosses the Tees, a little below Yarm, the alluvium is of such a thick-
ness, that had not the channel of the Tees made its way through it,
the whin dyke would not have been known to exist there.

As this dyke intersects the strata nearly at right angles, and as
the dip of the strata in the alum hills is generally towards the south
or south-east, the dyke in traversing these hills, hades, or inclines, to
the same quarter. In general it runs in a straight line, N. W. and
S. E.; or more correctly, W. N. W. and E. S. E: but it sometimes
deviates from the rectilineal course. Among the alum hills we meet
with some deviations more apparent than real, at the crossing of the
valleys: for where the dyke descends from the heights, as it does
below Silhoue, it seems to bend toward the north; because, as the
dyke leans towards the south, the higher parts of it are further south
than the lower. In other parts, however, there is a real deviation
from the straight line. For instance, the line of the dyke at Preston
quarry, instead of bearing in the direction of Langbargh ridge,

* This is the opinion of Mr, Winch. See Geolog. Trans. IV. p. 25.

BASALTIC DYKE. 173

diverges to the south about twenty degrees, and would, if prolonged,
arrive at Battersby, Ingleby, or Greenhoue.

It is observable, that this large vein is thickest in the middle,
and thinnest at the two extremities. At Cockfield, its width is but
17 feet; at the quarries of Preston and Langbargh, it is 70 feet, or
more; at Silhoue, it is diminished to about 30 feet; and at Maybecks,
its eastern termination, it seems to be scarcely any wider than at Cock-
field. Thus the vein appears to swell in the middle, and to run to a
narrow edge at the extremities. As such dykes, however, are justly
regarded as large fissures or breaks in the strata, filled with basalt,
the thickness of the dyke at the bed of the Tees and in the plain of
Cleveland, may be otherwise accounted for; because, on the suppo-
sition that the vein has been filled from below, we may expect to find
it widening as we descend; and consequently, it must be wider in the
vale of the Tees, than in such elevated situations as Silhoue and
Cockfield Fell. Yet our observations do not warrant us, to attribute
the difference of width in this vein, solely or principally to a differ-
ence of depth; for it appears of a great thickness at Cliffrigg, where
it is protruded to a considerable height, as well as at Langbargh
quarry, which lis in the plain immediately below. We may add, at
the same time, that wherever the ridge protrudes greatly above the
surface, it occupies a much wider space than the mere thickness of
the vein; for the higher portions of the ridge, having nothing to sup-
port them, have fallen down on both sides, especially on the south
side to which the dyke leans.

The basalt in this dyke is disposed in blocks of various sizes and
forms, generally oblong, and lying across the vein, parallel to one
another, and sometimes approaching the form of columns, but with
little regularity. One of the nearest approximations to the columnar
form may be seen at Cliffrigg, where the blocks are often long, and
appear like rude pillars, lying piled up horizontally. The blocks are

2w

174 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

coated with a ferruginous crust; and the interstices between them
are filled up with ferruginous clay, or decomposed basalt.

The rock is not uniform in its qualities. Most of it exhibits, in
the recent fracture, a rough granular surface, of a dark blackish blue
colour, with a number of shining specks, sometimes of the same co-
lour, sometimes darker, and sometimes lighter. Very often the stone is
quite black, with scarcely any tinge of blue. The shining crystals are
frequently oblong and thin, like those in the blue limestone. We have
not perceived among them any olivine or augite. The rock is remark-
ably hard, and supplies excellent materials for making roads ; for which
purpose it is quarried in several places. It seems to owe a great part
of its hardness to the quantity of iron contained in it; from whence also
the blocks derive their rusty coating. Some varieties of the stone ap-
pear like a mixture of clay and iron, and abound so much with the lat-
ter, that their recent fractures often exhibit a grey iron colour, which
soon acquires a rusty hue, on being exposed to the weather. These
specimens are not so compact as the black or blue basalt ; but often
abound with veins or crevices; many of which are filled, or lined, with
calc spar, while others are empty. Similar cavities sometimes occur in
the black basalt, containing crystals of calc spar; some of which are of
a dull white colour, while others are highly transparent and beautiful,
having laminated shining surfaces. Along with such crystals, we find
in some of the crevices or small veins, a soft substance, consisting of
very minute jet black grains, slightly adhering to each other, and having
a glimmering lustre. When a portion of this substance is subjected to a
red heat, the black colour is discharged, and it acquires a yellow brassy
or pyritous aspect, the grains having a metallic lustre, and adhering
more closely together. During this process there is no appearance of
ignition. The substance is evidently a metallic oxide, and is probably
the black oxide of iron, with aslight mixture of sulphur. Rhomboidal
crystals of glassy calc spar are imbedded in it.

BASALTIC DYKE. 175:

Along with the basalt, we find, in some parts of the dyke, that
clayey substance known by the outlandish name wacké. It is usually
of a greenish grey or light olive colour, with some ferruginous stains,
especially in the seams or cracks, with which it abounds. Some of
these cracks are filled with cale spar. It is generally rather soft and
friable, but often occurs hard and compact. Inshort, it bears a strong
resemblance to the indurated clay accompanying the gypsum at the
mouth of the Tees, but does not like that effervesce with acids, and
has a more coarse and earthy aspect. It is found among the blocks
of basalt in patches, or irregular vems. A vein of wacké, three or
four feet wide, occurs in Stainton quarry; where the authors also
observed some of the most interesting varieties of the basalt.

As such dykes are known to be connected with breaks or slips
in the strata, it is natural to expect, that in some parts of this long
ridge, there will be found obvious marks of dislocation. This is the
case at Cockfield, where the strata on the south side of the dyke are
three fathoms higher than the corresponding strata on the north side..
Had we access to examine the strata on both sides of the dyke, in its
progress through our district, we might probably discover a number.
of similar phenomena, particularly about Cliffrigg, and at May-
becks, at both which places there are indications of breaks. At
Maybecks, the dyke terminates abruptly on arriving at a stream, the
channel of which seems to have been produced by a break, the
ground on the east side being considerably higher than that on the
west. We have discovered no traces of the dyke from thence to the
shore; but as it bears somewhat in the direction of Peak, or more.
nearly in that of Haiburn wyke, it may be connected with the slip at
one of these places. We have not perceived what effect it has had.
on the great break in the vale of the Esk, which river it crosses a.
little above Egton bridge.

It is well known, that where a basaltic dyke passes through,

176 DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATA.

coal strata, the quality of the coal is changed; not only where it
comes in contact with the dyke, but for several yards on both sides
of it; appearing charred or burnt. This effect has been produced by
our dyke, where it traverses the coal at Cockfield ; the coal being
reduced to a cinder, and the sulphur sublimed from the pyrites.
Were the junction of the dyke with the coal seams at Maybecks,
and other parts of our district, exposed, we might expect to witness
the same phenomena. It would be desirable to know what effect the
dyke has had on our alum shale; but we have not found any spot
where the basalt and the shale are seen to come in contact. We
have observed, however, that in its passage through the sandstone
and the alluvium, the parting between the dyke and the strata which
it traverses is commonly very distinct, so that there is no difficulty in
detaching the basalt ; and when it is removed, the sides of the vein
appear lined with several coatings of a clayey substance, hard and
whitish. In some places, this crust is smooth, like plaster or stucco;
in others, we find the surface adorned with raised lines, curiously
reticulated and ramified, in a manner analogous to the dendritical
impressions, so frequently observed in the partings of sandstone and
other rocks. This curious coating often looks as if it had been
baked ; while in some spots there are perpendicular markings, which
seem to have been made by the motion and friction of the whole vein,
upwards or downwards, rubbing against its sides. The substance is
not a pure clay, but contains a mixture of calcareous and siliceous
matter; numerous small fragments and grains of various kinds of
stone being imbedded in the clayey cement.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

OF THE YORKSHIRE COAST.

PART Ii.

ORGANIC REMAINS.

P ETRIFIED or preserved remains of the animals and vegetables
of a former world, are so commonly met with in the rocks of almost
all countries, that they have attracted the attention of the learned in
every age. Herodotus, the father of Greek historians, mentions in
his Second Book ( Euterpe), the existence of sea shells in the moun-
tains of Egypt. Strabo, in the First Book of his Geography, speaks
of petrified cockles, oysters, pectines, and other shells, observed in
various regions remote from the sea; which statement he makes, not
only on his own authority, but on that of more ancient Greek writers.
Pliny, in his Natural History (Lib. xxxvii. c. 10), notices the cornu
ammonis, the ostracite, and other petrifactions ; and in another pas-
sage (Lib. xxxvi. c. 18) he mentions, on the authority of Theophrastus,
an ancient Greek naturalist, the discovery of fossil ivory and
petrified bones. Tertullian, one of the christian fathers, observes in
his treatise De Pallio (c. 2), that the whole globe was once covered
with waters, and that sea shells yet lodge in the mountains. Oro-
sius, another early christian writer, speaking of the deluge, in the
First Book of his History, mentions, as a proof of that catastrophe,
2x

178 ORGANIC REMAINS.

rocks abounding with oysters and other shells, in mountains remote
from the sea.*

The petrifactions of our district have been noticed at an early
period. The jet, which is found here in considerable quantity, and
which is obviously a kind of petrified wood, is mentioned, as Camden
observes, by Solinus and other ancient writers: and the Whitby
snake-stones have an honourable place in the early history of our
abbey, being connected with the fabled miracles of Lady Hilda.

It is only within these few years, however, that the nature of such
remains has been properly investigated, and correct ideas of them
have begun to be formed. The learned, at no remote period, were
wont to regard them as mere sports of nature, produced by an occult
plastic power. Mr. Charlton, in his History of Whitby, published
only 42 years ago, after describing the petrified shells and wood
found near Whitby, with what he calls petrified bones of men and
horses, declares himself fully persuaded, according to the opinion of
Dr. Lister and others, “that none of these petrifactions were ever real
animals, or in any other state than that in which we now find them.”
Such notions are now universally exploded; and though men of
science still differ as to the time and the manner in which these
substances have been imbedded in their rocky habitations, all agree
in pronouncing them to have been real animals or vegetables, at
some remote era.

Viewed in this light, how interesting must these relics appear!
They are the medals of the natural history of our globe, recording the
changes which it has undergone, and setting before our eyes innumer-
able specimens of nature’s early productions, a part of the animated
stores with which the sea and the land were once replenished, at a
period far beyond the limits of profane history. They carry back

* See other testimonies of this nature, in Parkinson’s Organic Remains, I. p. 15, &c.

VEGETABLES. 179:

our thoughts to a time when the British Isles had no place, in their
present form, on the map of the world; and when land and sea,
mountains and valleys, rivers and plains, continents and oceans,
must have been arranged in a manner completely different from what
we now see. And while their extreme antiquity commands our
veneration, their immense number, and inconceivable variety, with the
beauty and perfection of many of them, impress us with sentiments
of wonder, and may well excite us to admire and praise that infinite
Creator, whose works in every age have been great and marvellous.

This district in particular seems like a vast storehouse, which
nature, in primeval times, has filled with her choice and varied
productions, embalmed and preserved by her own hands, to supply
the latest ages with specimens of her ancient workmanship. Were
all those relics restored to their pristine state of animation, our hills
would teem with life: most of the calcareous strata would be found
immense heaps of shellfish, piled up in countless myriads; while the
aluminous beds would swarm with living creatures, in an endless
diversity of forms and sizes. Even our vegetable remains, were they
to experience such a resurrection, would be sufficient to replenish
large forests, and to deck many a lawn, and many a mead, with
verdure and beauty.

It would be vain, therefore, to attempt giving a complete list of
all the specves, or even all the genera, of the petrified animals and
vegetables of the district. We can only present a general account of
them, beginning with the least animated kinds, and proceeding
upwards in the scale of life-——We begin then with

VEGETABLE REMAINS.

In describing the alluvium, we have noticed the decayed’ wood
and other vegetables, found in the bogs of this district, where vast

180 ORGANIC REMAINS.

quantities of such .materials have been preserved for a number of
ages. Besides these vegetable remains, contained in the alluvial beds,
there are others of a more ancient date, which occur in the regular
strata, and which are both abundant and various. They abound most
in the sandstone; the ironstone, and the different kinds of shale.

Petrified plants, or impressions of the leaves and stems of plants,
are very numerous in the shale that lies over the coal seams; as is
the case in all coal districts. Some of these plants are ferns, others
are reeds; but there is a confused mixture of a great variety of
vegetables; some small, others large; some with minute and delicate
leaves, others with broad and spreading foliage. There is a strong
analogy between the shale containing these impressions or petrifac-
tions, and the bog earth containing preserved leaves and plants.
In both, the vegetables are confusedly mixed, and commonly very
imperfect; and in separating the lamine of both, we discover new
specimens in every new seam or fracture that is laid open. In the
bogs, however, the plants are of the kinds now growing in the British
Isles, which is not the case with the generality of those occurring in
the shale. On this account, and owing to the imperfect and friable
state of the plants in the coal shale, it is difficult to assign them to
their proper genera and species. In most of the spécimens, the
substance of the plant seems to have been changed into a_ black
‘coaly matter. Some of them are impregnated with pyrites.

Remains of plants are found in other kinds of shale, aS well as
in that immediately over the coal. The authors discovered seeds of
vegetables, apparently seeds of a kind of rashes or reeds, imbedded
in what they have called THE SECOND SHALE, near Kirkham priory.
These seeds are not petrified but merely preserved; being in a soft
and rather pliant state. Their colour is brown or rusty; which is
also the colour of some imperfect remains of leaves, found along
with them. Some thin bivalve shells also accompanied them.

VEGETABLES. 181

In some of our ironstone seams, particularly in the cliff at
Saltwick, vegetable impressions are very common. The plants are
often larger than those in the coal shale; though in both there is
a mixture of plants of various sizes and kinds. The impressions in
the ironstone are usually better defined, and, from the hardness of
the stone, are more easily preserved than the specimens in the shale.
The substance of the plant is here also generally blackish and
bituminous, though impregnated with iron. The stems, leaf-stalks,
middle ribs of the leaves, and other thicker parts of the plants, have
undergone, in most specimens, a double transformation; having been
converted into a sparry substance, partly black and partly whitish,
which has been subsequently dissolved, and is now found in the
form of a fine powder, retaining the same colours. The mixture of
the black and white parts presents a curious appearance, the black
exhibiting numerous cracks, both longitudinal and transverse, as in
charred wood, while the white fills up these cracks. In several
instances, the spar has not been decomposed, but remains in its
original crystalline state.

Similar petrifactions occur inthe sandstone, but in less quantity.
The best vegetable impressions are in the harder beds of sandstone,
particularly some of the crow-stone beds; but, as may be expected,
we seldom meet with such delicate and well defined impressions in
the sandstone, as we see in the ironstone or the shale.

If we suppose, with some authors, that the beautifully ramified
substances in our moss agates, have been real vegetables, which, by
some unknown natural process, have been enveloped by a solution
of flint, and preserved in their form and colour while it has crystallized
around them,—we shall find here another class of vegetable remains,
much more delicate than those now mentioned. -Great numbers of
these moss agates, or jasper agates, as they are also called, are
washed out of the alluvial cliffs, in nodules of various sizes, generally

2¥

182 ORGANIC REMAINS.

rounded ; and are found on the beach in various parts of the coast,
particularly between Whitby and Sandsend, on the Scarborough
shores, and especially in Filey bay. The mosses appearing in these
stones are of various colours, among which yellow and greenish grey
are the most predominant. Many of them, when shewn in polished
sections, are of such extreme delicacy and beauty, as no pencil can
imitate.

It may be fairly questioned, however, whether any of these
ramified substances have been real mosses. Similar appearances are
often seen in the mineral kingdom, in cases where no vegetable
substance is present. Not to speak of the numerous dendritical
impressions in the seams of sandstone, chalk, and other rocks, we
know that metals, or metallic solutions, assume, under certain circum-
stances, beautiful arborescent forms; of which we have a striking
example in zink. Metallic solutions, blended with silex, may have
produced all those delicate and richly coloured ramifications, by
which our moss agates are distinguished.

The seven Figures in Plate IJ, and Figure | and 2 of Plate III,
are correct delineations of a few specimens of the petrified plants,
occurring in the coal shale, the ironstone, and the sandstone. All
the specimens in Plate II are from the Saltwick ironstone, except
No. 4 and 5, which are from the shale at Fryop coal pits. No. 1
of Plate III is from the Castleton coal shale, and No. 2 is from the
sandstone above Sandsend alum works. Most of these petrifactions
are evidently ferns, a class of plants which, from the hardness of
their stems and leaves, are the most likely to be found in this state.

Of the plants here figured, No. 7 of Plate I] is the only one
that appears to have its recent analogue in this district. It is an
imperfect leaf of the scolopendrium, or hart’s tongue. An entire leat
is not often met with; but on comparing different specimens, some
of which contain the stalk, others the point of the leaf; and some

VEGETABLES. 183

shew the upper surface, others the under; we observe the correspond-
ence of the petrified with the recent plant.

Among the plants not figured, for we could only give a few
specimens, we have found the ruta-muraria, or wall-rue; with some
other small leaved ferns, one of which appears to be the ceterach,
while others may be assigned to the polypodium family. The best
impressions of these plants are in the Saltwick ironstone.

No. 3 of Plate II is probably an asplenium: it approaches the
ruta-muraria in the form of its leaves. No. 4 is another delicate
leaved plant, but evidently of a different species. No. 1, which is
reversed on the Plate, is very distinctly marked, having sessile,
striated or nerved, oblong, recurved leaves, or leafets, placed alter-
nately. It appears to bea fern. No. 5 may also be a fern, though
it has something of the tufty appearance of some of the spiked plants
belonging to the didynamza class.

Figures 2 and 6 of Plate II appear to belong to one plant; the
former being a leaf, somewhat imperfect, and the latter the head or
fruit of the plant. The head is nearly entire, though depressed on the
upper surface, and resembles that of the artichoke, cynara integrifolia,
the covering, or calyx, consisting of numerous lanceolate and striated
leaves, partly lying over one another, though not quite in the
imbricated form. ‘The correspondence of the leaves of the calyx, and
some broken leaves adhering to the head, with the leaves or leafets in
Fig. 2, appears to mark them out as belonging to one plant. Some
imperfect stalks, in a decomposed state, which may have also
appertained to this plant, have been found in the same place. In
Fig. 6, may be seen the spot where the stalk has been attached to
to the head. The leaves of this singular plant often occur in the
ironstone at Saltwick; but no other specimen of the head is known
to have been found. The lanceolate leaves, or leafets, are often
larger than those in Fig. 2; and generally present a convex surface,

184 ORGANIC REMAINS.

the middle of the leaf being raised. In correspondence with this,
the under side of the leaves of the head are depressed in the middle.

Fig. 1 of Plate 111 has the bushy aspect of the hippuris, or
mare's tail; but is more likely to be a fern. Fig. 2 appears also to be
afern. Some specimens in the sandstone bear a great resemblance
to the pteris aquilina, or common brake.

Some of the harder sandstone beds, above the alum rock,
particularly some whitish beds, abound with markings of roots,
and slender branches, of trees or shrubs. Few of these afford very
interesting specimens, especially as the woody substance is generally
gone, and only a cast of it remains in the rock, covered with a thin
blackish crust, or bark.

Fig. 3 is a specimen of one of the most singular vegetable
petrifactions, occurring in this district. Itis part of a kind of reed
or cane, found in a sandstone bed at the top of the cliff opposite
High Whitby. The bed is four or five feet thick, resting on a bed of
bituminous and clayey shale, in which there is a coal seam. Over
the sandstone is astratum of sandy shale. ‘The reeds, which are very
numerous, are arranged parallel to one another, and perpendicular
to the plane of the strata ; as if they had grown on the spot, previous
to the time when the strata acquired their present dip, with their
roots in the clayey shale below.

The stalks are from an inch to near two inches in diameter,
and are divided by joints placed at intervals of from two or three
inches to eight or nine. At each joint, as may be seen in the Figure,
there is a brown striated band, similar to what we see in the equise-
tum; and this band has been fringed, though it is only in some
instances that we can discover the fringe diverging from it into the
surrounding stone. From above each joint, a lateral branch has
proceeded; and this takes place alternately, so that where a branch
has gone from the right side at one joint, it issues from the left at the

VEGETABLES. 185

next. Yet in many instances, we find more than one branch at each
joint. These lateral branches, which have been very slender, are
rarely seen in the stone. The bands are frequently double, divided
by a cross line in the middle. On examining the lower part of the
bed, we find several portions of the roots, the jomts growing
shorter and shorter, till we find nothing but a mass of bands, which
gradually diminish in size, the reed tapering away. These roots,
or tapering ends, are generally black, or very dark brown. At
the upper part of the stratum, the reeds are broken off abruptly,
on meeting the sandy shale. According to the proportions of the
stalks and their joints, they must have risen to a great height in their
entire state.

On comparing these petrified plants with a recent specimen of
the sugar-cane, saccharum officinarum, we perceive so striking a
resemblance, both in size and form, that we may consider our canes
as of the same family, if not of the very same species.

These reeds occur also in the Stainton cliffs, about the same
distance above the alum rock. Their matrix at that place is rather
whiter and harder than at High Whitby, being something of the crow-
stone. They may probably be discovered at a similar height in the
strata, in several other parts of the district.

Reeds of the same kind are found in the sandstone accompany-
ing coal, in other parts of Britain; as at the coal pits of Alloa in
Scotland. In these places, the stalks are almost always found
compressed and flattened; but in our district they are for the most
part in their natural cylindrical form. Yet a few of the canes at High
Whitby are found flattened; and a few are lying across, in an irreg-
ular manner, instead of being in the usual upright posture. We have
only to add, that though the line of separation between each cane
and the surrounding matrix is very distinct, yet there is no appearance
of internal organization in the reeds, the inside consisting of the same

2-2

186 ORGANIC REMAINS.

sandstone as that which is without. Hence we may regard them as
casts, rather than petrifactions.

This last remark applies to another class of vegetable re-
mains, found in the sandstone, and sandy bituminous shale,—those
cylindrical fossils, which have their surfaces adorned with curious
markings, disposed in rows in the quincunx.form. These markings
correspond with the impressions made by the leaves of trees of the
pine family; the roots of the leaves, especially in the young branches
of such trees, making rows of indentations, placed in the same style,
around each branch. Specimens of this kind have been found in the
sandstone, several feet in length, and displaying in the cross section
a mark im the centre, corresponding with the pith of the tree. The
indented impressions are always alike in the same specimen, but vary
in different specimens. Two fragments are given as examples, Plate
Il], Fig. 4 and 5: the former of which is from the sandy shale, or coaly
sandstone, connected with the coal; the latter, with the arrow-head
markings, from the hard sandstone, or crow-stone. Several other
varieties occur. In some, the indentations consist of minute circles,
each having an elevated point in its centre; in others, the surface is
beautifully reticulated and dotted, having elegantly waved lines, like
those of No. 4, running between the rows of indented marks.

Nodules resembling nuts or fruits are not uncommon in our
strata, especially among the aluminous beds; but real _petri-
factions of fruits are rarely met with. Figure 7 of Plate III is a
petrified nut of a singular kind. It is from the ironstone nodules
occurring in the sandstone, in the cliffs on the west side of the
battery at Whitby; where it was found by Dr. Campbell. The
crust, or shell, is of hard ironstone, of a dark reddish brown hue, and
marked with high longitudinal ridges, finely striated. The nucleus,
or kernel, which is laid open at the top, where the shell has been
broken, consists of a soft pale grey earth, or ochrey clay. _

VEGETABLES. 1877

Petrified wood occurs in a number of our strata, as in the sand-
stone, the ironstone, the dogger, and especially the aluminous
beds. Large portions of trees, some of them with the appearance of
roots, have been found in the sandstone; but smaller pieces of wood
are much more common. Very often the wood in the sandstone is
in the state of charcoal, some of the strata containing an infinite
number of fragments of charred wood, of various sizes. Beds of this
description may be seen between Cayton mill and Scarborough, and
especially among the sandstone strata immediately over the alum
rock, both on the shore and in the interior.

In the aluminous strata, petrified wood is found in abundance,
and in a variety of forms. Fig. 6 of Plate III exhibits a small
specimen, containing a knot, from whence a branch has issued. The
grain of the wood is very discernible, as it usually is in what we find
in the alum rock. Sometimes the wood contains cale spar, disposed
in veins or cracks, after the form already noticed as occurring in the
stalks of plants in the Saltwick ironstone; the wood being rent or
cracked both longitudinally and transversely, as in charred wood,
and the sparry matter filling up all the cracks. Very often, instead
of spar, we see pyrites occupying the fissures; and a great proportion
of the specimens in the alum shale have more or less of a pyritous
crust. In many instances too, siliceous matter is distributed through
the veins or cracks, and it is not uncommon to find specimens highly
siliceous, or completely agatized. In almost all the siliceous spe-
cimens, however, and in a great part of the other varieties, whether
calcareous, pyritous, or argillaceous, the wood has no appearance of
having been charred, and the stony matter, instead of being distribu-
ted in veins or cracks, is diffused through all the pores and inter-
stices of the woody fibres, with which, especially in the siliceous
petrifactions, it is intimately combined. It is not uncommon to find
ul or most of the varieties, now mentioned, in the same specimen;

188 ORGANIC REMAINS.

some parts of a petrified tree, or large piece of wood, being calcareous,
others siliceous, others argillaceous, and others pyritous; or, instead
of occupying different parts of the specimen, the petrifying substances
may be found blended together.

In many instances, we find portions of the wood not petrified,
but preserved; being in a soft friable state, like common decayed
wood, and retaining its inflammable quality. Such preserved por-
tions are found in almost all the varieties above mentioned, not
excepting the hardest siliceous specimens; one part of the same
piece of wood being petrified, while another is merely preserved.
Sometimes we also meet with preserved pieces in a detached form,
imbedded in the alum shale by themselves. Instances also occur,
in which only the fibrous part of the wood has been petrified, the
sap vessels and pores being left open. In some cases too, especially
where the trees are of a considerable size, the bark is found as a
crust, enveloping the ligneous matter, as when the tree was growing;
but in most specimens, no vestiges of bark are to be seen. We do
not often meet with trees of a large size, most of the wood being
found in fragments, and much of it in a bruised or compressed state:
yet round trunks of trees, twelve feet long and upwards, and a foot
or more in diameter, have occasionally been discovered at Whitby ;
and at Sandsend, Rockcliff, and other places. The colour is generally
a blackish brown or grey, but it is often yellowish, or light grey;
varying according to the petrifying substance. A transverse section
of one of the largest trees is generally very interesting, displaying
the concentric zones, or annual growths, together with the veins of
pyrites and other substances.

We have already hinted, that jet is only a variety of petrified
wood. That this is the fact, must be obvious to every naturalist
who examines the state in which it appears on our coasts. Some-
times we find, in the same petrified specimen, one part siliceous,

VEGETABLES. 189

pyritous, or calcareous, and another pure jet; or even one part
preserved wood, while another is real jet. Sometimes a crust of
excellent jet, an inch thick, is found on the outside of a log of
pyritous or siliceous wood. Even the pieces of jet which occur
by themselves all betray their ligneous origin. They are in the form
of flattened branches or trunks of trees; or compressed fragments,
like pieces of the common petrified wood; and the outer surface
is always striated with longitudinal markings, like the grain of wood,
while the transverse fracture, which is conchoidal with a resinous
lustre, displays the annual growths in elliptical zones; which are
more or less flattened, according to the degree of compression
which the wood has undergone. The same facts are also exhibited
in the longitudinal fracture. Besides, we often observe branches
diverging from the principal mass; and on taking up such specimens,
their bed is found to be the exact impression of the trunk of a tree
with its branches. The larger masses are about ten or twelve feet
long, eighteen or twenty inches broad, and only from an inch to two
inches thick. Their great flatness is a striking peculiarity. It would
seem that, by one of those processes which have been carried on in
nature’s laboratory, the wood imbedded in the strata has been
reduced to a soft pulpy state, and in that state has been compressed
into flat pieces by the weight of the superincumbent mass. The flat
surface, as might be expected, is generally parallel to the plane of
the strata; which is also the case with the flat pieces of commen
petrified wood, especially the larger specimens, and even with most
of the petrified plants. When a core of siliceous wood remains
within the block of jet, it is only partly flattened; the silex having
obstructed the natural process.

The electric property and beautiful black lustre of jet are well
known. Within these few years, great quantities of it have been
manufactured at Whitby and Scarborough into ornaments and trinkets

3A

190 ORGANIC REMAINS.

of various kinds; and several hundred-weights have been sent to
Edinburgh and other distant parts, for the same purpose.

The principal repository of jet is the main bed of alum shale,
but it is not limited to the aluminous beds. We found some of it in
the second shale near Terrington, and it has been often found in the
same bed at Malton. Even the sandstone sometimes contains. it;
though in that matrix it is generally brittle, and holds a kind, of
intermediate station between the best jet and coal. In the front of
the cliff, on the north-west side of Haiburn wyke, is the petrified
stump of a tree, in an erect posture, about three feet high, and fifteen
inches across; having the roots, which are in a bed of shale, in the
state of coaly jet; while the trunk, which rises in the sandstone,
consists partly of common petrified wood, and partly of decayed
wood, which has a sooty aspect.

The affinity between jet and coal, particularly what is termed
cannel coal, is well known; and having considered jet as a particular
modification of petrified wood, we would. venture to pronounce coal
another of its varieties. As we find specimens of petrified wood
consisting partly of jet, so we also find not a few in which there is
real coal, breaking into cubical fragments, in the usual form. This
is the case, both in large blocks of petrified wood, and smaller
pieces. The coal occurring in such specimens, whether imbedded
in the alum shale or the sandstone, is not to be distinguished from
that of the proper coal seams. We find also, in examining the latter,
evident vestiges of trees or branches, betraying the vegetable origin of
this most useful mineral; which is further confirmed, by our uniformly
observing vegetable impressions in the shale that covers the coal
seams.

As the blocks of petrified. wood. in our strata, are generally
found lying flat, with their longest diameters in the plane of the
strata, a number of such blocks, in the coaly state, lying together,

VEGETABLES. 191

with branches and smaller vegetables filling up their interstices,
would form a coal seam; and a large accumulation of such materials
would constitute a bed of coal. We know notindeed, by what process
nature has’ converted wood into jet, or into coal; but we are equally
ignorant: of the way in which wood has been transmuted into silex,
ora mass of shells into limestone. Since however, we are sure, that
the process has been conducted on a:small scale, why not also on a
large? The same power that converted a single tree into jet, might
form an assemblage of such trees into a seam of cannel coal, or
Bovey coal: and the same process that reduced a detached block of
wood to the state of common coal, might produce, from accumula-
tions of such blocks, the largest beds of pit coal. The quantity of
the materials required is‘no obstacle in the way of this hypothesis’;
for if the stores of nature could furnish such prodigious quantities of
shellfish, to fill our oolite and other beds, her magazines of vegetable
matter, if in the same proportion, would more than suffice to replen-
ish all the coal’ pits hitherto discovered.

Marine plants: are not commonly found in‘a petrified state; yet
the group represented in Plate IV, Fig. 9, may almost be affirmed to
be of that class, Itis a specimen of long cylindrical bodies, found in
great quantities on this coast, bearing a striking resemblance to the
stalks of the common ¢angle, and’ often appearing in pairs, as these
stalks- are wont to grow. Like these stalks, they have a brown
coating; and the appearance of brown leaves among them, or of a
brown substance that may have been formed of the leaves, strength-
ens the analogy: The cross section of the petrifaction has also, in
some instances, a resemblance to that of the plant, displaying the
same concentric zones; but the petrified bodies are seen, in some
places, to run into one another, or to be connected by lateral
communications, such as we do not know to exist in any species
of the recent plant.

192 ORGANIC REMAINS.

These petrifactions may be seen in their most perfect state, in a
recess on the shore between Runswick and Staiths, from whence this
specimen, Fig. 9, was taken. They lie in a kind of beds or seams,
covering some of the bands of ironstone which we have named the
Kettleness beds. They are found in similar situations in other parts
of the coast. We also meet with them in the ferruginous sandstone
of the Scarborough and Cayton shores, and in some of the hard
sandstone beds at Filey Bridge.

The existence of iron in most places where these remains are
found, may occasion some doubt as to their vegetable origin. It has
been already remarked, that metallic solutions often assume arbores-
cent forms, and we know that depositions of iron at chalybeate
springs are sometimes curiously ramified, and that ferruginous matter
frequently sinks down in clayey beds, where it hardens in the form of
roots of shrubs: but the bodies now under consideration seem far
too uniform in their size, shape, and arrangement, to admit the
supposition of their having been produced in the same way. Besides,
undoubted petrifactions of wood, and other vegetable substances,
are often found impregnated with iron, or even imbedded in iron-
stone, the iron lending its aid in preserving them; and this has
probably been the case in the present instance.

Some have described such bodies as spongites; but it is more
likely, that they are the remains of marine plants. It is possible,
however, as some of the sponges branch out in a similar way, and
as sponges are found to grow among marine plants, that the
petrified substances, found in the situations now mentioned, may
consist partly of both.

ZOOPHY TES. 193

Passing from the vegetable to the animal kingdom, we meet, on
the confines of the latter, with that singular class of creatures known
by the name

ZOOPHAYTES.

ZooPHyTEs, or animal plants, as the term denotes, hold a'kind
of intermediate place between animals and vegetables; partaking of
the characters of both, and linking them so closely together, that it is
difficult to determine where vegetation’ ends, and vitality begins:
Previous to the last century, they were classed with vegetables; but
the more accurate researches of modern times have established their
claim to be ranked among animals.

When we consider, that this: order of animals comprehends the
whole of those hard, bony, or rocky substances, denominated corals;
it is natural to expect, that a great quantity of them should be found
in a fossil state. The sponges and alcyonia, which are for the most part
soft and gelatinous, are also supposed to be found petrified in’ con-
siderable abundance. It is, however, very unlikely, that any animals
of that kind are really discovered in a fossil state, except' such as —
have a coriaceous and. firm substance. Whenwe recollect, that the
parts-of animals and vegetables usually found petrified, are such as
are naturally hard; as the shells of testaceous’ and crustaceous
animals, the bones and teeth of fishes and quadrupeds, the ligneous
parts» of: shrubs: and: trees, with the hard stalks and leaves of ferns
and reeds,;—it will require strong evidence to convince us, that ‘fleshy,
pulpy, or gelatinous substances, may be found transmuted into stone.
Who would expect to find a petrified medusa, or a petrified snail? It
is'more: than: probable, that a large proportion of what are called
alcyonites, may be particular kinds of coral; \ and that a great part’of
the-supposed spongztes, may be:either' corals; or petrified stalks ofthe

3B

194 ORGANIC REMAINS.

harder kinds of alge, and other marine plants, such as those repre-
sented in Plate IV, Fig. 9.

The corals are divided into various genera, as tubipores, madre-
pores, cellepores, &c.; differmg from one another in their internal
structure or organization. Several varieties of them are found in the
regular strata of the district, but a much greater number in the
alluvium.

Tubiporites, or petrified tubipores, occur in the alluvial beds,
chiefly in nodules of limestone, which are washed down by the rains,
and found among the gravel on the beach. The Scarborough
Catalogue of Fossils enumerates four different species as occurring on
the coast; one of which is the tubipora musica, resembling organ
pipes, and another the chain coral. A few others have been noticed
by the authors on the Whitby shores, and more may yet be discover-
ed, as there is an almost endless variety of fossils in the alluvium.
We have not observed any specimens m the regular strata. This
kind of coral is composed of erect hollow cylindrical parallel tubes,
commonly joined together by small cross tubes.

Madreporites, or star-stones, distinguished by their stellular con-
formation, are a beautiful class of corals, frequently met with in this
district. Numbers occur in the regular strata, and many more are
found on the beach, in limestone nodules that have fallen from the
alluvial cliffs. They display great variety and beauty, particularly in
their polished cross sections.

The madrepores are distinguished into simple and compound,
the former shewing only one star, the latter an assemblage of stars.
Both are found in our strata, particularly in the oolite and the
chalk.

Many of the simple madrepores bear a great resemblance to
some kinds of mushrooms; while others resemble pears, and other
fruits; rising up from a stalk, by which they appear to have been

ZOOPHYTES. 195

‘fixed, generally swelling out, or spreading, either suddenly or grad-
ually, and having a depression or cavity in the upper surface.

A few specimens of simple madrepores, partly from the oolite,
and partly from the chalk, are figured in Plate IV, No. 1, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8.—No. 8 is a large and beautiful star, resembling a flower; and
is supported by a short stalk. It is from the oolite at Malton; and,
like most other madrepores in the oolite, consists partly of lime, and
partly of flint or chert. The stalk, as in the other specimens, shews
the longitudinal edges of the septa, or internal lamellated partitions
in the madrepore. The upper edges of the same septa, diverging
from the centre, give the fossil its stellated aspect.

No. 5, which is from the chalk, bears a considerable resemblance
to No. 8 in the upper surface; but it has no stalk, except a small
protuberance below, from whence the septa diverge to the circumfe-
rence, as on the upper surface; which last has a slight depression in
the centre. The edges of the lamelle are less conspicuous than in
No. 8, their interstices being more filled up with calcareous matter.
It resembles in shape the madrepora porpita, or shirt-button mad-
repore.

No. 4 is an elongated turbinated madreporite, from the Malton.
oolite. The upper part terminates in a kind of cup, and‘the whole
fossil resembles a collection of cups, placed one within another, the
lowest ending in the stalk. A section of the same fossil is given in '
Parkinson’s Organic Remains, Vol. II, Plate IV, Fig. 8. The edges
of the lamellz are visible in the stalk, but not prominent.

Nos. 1, 3, 6, and 7, are specimens of what are usually called
alcyonites, being regarded as petrified alcyonia. Numbers of these
fossils are found both in the oolite and the chalk; appearing in
various forms; some being like mushrooms, as No. 7; others resem-
bling pears or figs, as No. 3; and others as No. 1, and 6, partly
fungiform, partly in the shape of a trumpet, being furnished with a

196 ORGANIC REMAINS.

very longstalk. Others have an oblong oval form, and bear some te-
semblance to almonds. The appearance of such fossils has often made
them pass for petrified fruit, or petrified fungi; and indeed’ we could
as soon believe, that fruits and mushrooms might be converted into
stone, as that soft gelatinous alcyonia could undergo this transmuta+
tion.—No. 3, which is from the oolite, and highly siliceous, displays
traces of the longitudinal edges of the lamelle; though they are
detected: rather by their dark colour than their prominency. The
starry disk, though obscure, may also be perceived. Many fossils of
the same shape are found in the chalk, some of them of a considerable
size; and in several of them little or no trace of the madreporean
structure can be seen: Some of them are in the shape of a cucum-
ber. They all appear to be varieties of madrepore, or at least of
coral,

Yet, No. 1 and No. 6, which are both from the chalk, and’are
obviously the same fossil in different states, are not of the same
species as No. 3, and probably were never crowned with a star; their
upper surface, which is depressed in the centre, exhibiting a multitude
of pores; several of which are open in No. 6 to a certain depth, but
which are all filled with silex in No. 1. In this specimen, as in many
others, there are numerous warty excrescences, both on the ‘disk and
on the lateral surface. The edges of the lamelle, if these two fossils
have had any, are entirely concealed.

Figure 7, which is from the oolite, and is remarkable for its
fungiform shape, has the same porous upper surface as we find in No.
6, but, the lateral edges of the lamelle are very distinet and ‘prominent:
traces of them may even be seen on the border of the disk. The
deeply channelled. surface wader the disk, together with the shape of
the latter, and of the stalk, makes the fossil bear a very striking
resemblance toa mushroom. It has no doubt, like other’ madrepores,
derived its form: from the labours:of the animals called polypes; and

ZOOPHYTES. 197

had not their operations been accidentally directed to one side, in
preference to the other, its disk might have been round, as in the
other specimens figured. The pores are not placed promiscuously,
but appear to run in rows between the lamelle.

Some specimens nearly in the shape of No. 8, have their disk
in the form of a cup. Others, which also terminate in a cup, have
not a short tapering stalk, but swell out in the middle, like a turnip,
or a boy’s top. In some of these fossils, found in the oolite on
Langton Wolds and near Malton, the edges of the lamelle have
a curious striped appearance, being alternately thick and thin; a
circumstance sometimes observed in other varieties of these madre-
porites.

Next to the petrifactions now described, we may notice those
madreporites which present the appearance of an accumulation of
simple madrepores, heaped one above another, or rather growing one
out of another. From the disk of one, two or three others arise, each
terminating in a single star; and considerable clusters thus formed,
are sometimes met with in the oolite, and in the alluvium. With
these we may notice the branched corals, which also belong to the
oolite, and are found near Malton and at Kirkby Moorside. Some of
them have slender branches, about the size of a quill; in others, the
branches are from half an inch to near an inch in diameter. Two,
three, or even four branches, may be found diverging from one stalk.
The branches are often striated, the edges of the lamelle appearing
around them; and each, when entire, terminates in a single star.
Some specimens of branched coral, found in the Malton oolite, re-
semble that figured in Parkinson’s Organic Remains, II, Pl. V, Fig.
5; but without the cross bands: and coincide exactly with the
recent coral represented in the Philos. Trans. (Abridged) Vol. X, PI.
V, ‘Fig. A.

198 ORGANIC REMAINS.

Most of these branched corallites, found in our oolite, are highly
crystalline or sparry; so that their cross fractures shew little of their
internal organization. In the fungiform kind and others above-
mentioned, there is generally very little spar; the septa or lamelle
being often highly siliceous, and the interstices filled with a less
compact matter, chiefly calcareous. Such fossils are frequently
dipped in acid, to dissolve the calcareous matter adhering to them
when recently found, and display the edges of the lamella more
fully. When they have passed through this process, their surfaces
appear finely glazed.

But the most beautiful of our fossil corals are those which pre-
sent an assemblage of stars on their upper surface; and especially
these in which the stars are connected into asystem, and disposed at
regular distances. Of these, one of the most common, and at the same
time the most beautiful, is that of which a specimen is given in Plate
lV, No. 2. It corresponds with the recent madrepora ananas; having
the stars arranged in hexagonal or pentagonal compartments. Each
star is deeply depressed on the disk, and has usually a minute cone,
or papilla, rising in the centre, and is inclosed by an elevated circular
margin, on the outside of which are fine diverging série, filling up the
rest of the hexagonal compartment. These minute stripes are not
represented in the figure; in which also, the hexagonal septa are
made much more distinct than they are in the fossil. The specimen
is from the oolite at Helmsley, and consists chiefly of chert, or rather
of calcedony. Madreporites of the same kind occur at Malton and
other places. Polished sections of them exhibit a beautiful net-work,
which is well represented in Parkinson’s Org. Rem. II, Pl. V, Fig. 1.

Another beautiful madreporite of this family also occurs in the ~
Malton oolite, bearing a considerable resemblance to the last, but
having neither the elevated circle, nor the central papilla; the stre
formed by the edges of the lamelle, proceeding from the centre, which

ZOOPHYTES. 199

is somewhat depressed, to the hexagonal septa. The stars of this
fossil nearly correspond with those of the specimen figured in Parkin-
son's Org. Rem. II, Pl. V, Fig. 3; except that they present no
appearance of concentric circles. In a specimen of this kind from
Malton, the stars are very distinct on the upper surface, which con-
sists of chert or calcedony to the depth of about a line; but the
interior of the fossil displays no vestiges of organization, being com-
posed of calc spar, in crystals of a singular form, each crystal being
nearly discoidal, with a sharp edge.

Did our limits permit, we might notice a great many other
madreporites, occurring in the regular strata and in the alluvium. The
latter contains the greatest variety, chiefly in nodules of limestone,
which are often washed down from the cliffs, and are found rolling
on the beach. Several of these are susceptible of a fine polish,
displaying beautiful sections of the starry columns. In some of them,
the stars are not arranged into a system, so as to occupy the whole
matrix in regular compartments, but are scattered or straggling.
Even in some of these, however, we may perceive great beauty; as
in a specimen which the authors lately found at Sandsend, having
the rays of each star crossed by concentric circles, as in the Tran-
sylvanian fossil figured in Parkinson’s Org. Rem. II, Pl. V, Fig. 8.

The madrepora arachnotdes, or spider-stone, and the Lithostrotion or
basaltiform madreporite, with several other species belonging to our
district, may be found described in the Scarborough Catalogue, a
considerable portion of which has been allotted to zoophytes.

Whether any real alcyonites occur in our district, may be fairly
questioned. Several of the chert nodules in the oolite, formerly men-
tioned (p. 66, 67), have been allotted to that family. Some of these
nodules are pyriform or tuberose, others are shaped like a cucumber.
Specimens are found about 10 inches long, and 44 inches thick.
Their cross fracture displays numerous small specks or dots, probably

200 ORGANIC REMAINS.

the sections of minute tubes. As they exhibit no appearance of stars,
they cannot be properly termed madrepores; but they appear con-
nected with the coral tribes, and ought rather to be considered as
millepores than alcyonia. ‘This remark may apply even to the digitated
fossils, which bear a striking resemblance to some recent madrepores
as well as recent alcyonia. Some of the chalk fossils called alcyonites,
appear to be madrepores, which have had their organization destroyed
or altered; others appear to be millepores. To this last family we
may assign some chalk fossils, that exhibit a collection of minute,
straight, parallel fibres, not unlike petrified wood.

Next to the corals, it will be proper to place that remarkable
class of zoophytes distinguished by the names ENCRINITEs and
PENTACRINITES, or the more familiar term stone ilies. These fossils
bear a strong resemblance to plants, having stalks from which
numerous branches diverge, and many of them having heads like
those of lilies. Their stalks and branches are columns of small
joints, or vertebre, each of which, when detached, shews on its disk
the figure of a star or a flower; a circumstance which serves to
connect this family with the madrepores. These detached joints are
well known by the name of Sé. Cuthbert’s beads.

Animals of this kind are rarely found in a recent state, but their
fossil remains occur in great abundance, and in an endless variety of
forms. They are arranged into two divisions; the encrinites, which
have rounded stalks; and the pentacrinites, whose stalks or columns
are pentagonal. These two divisions are nearly allied, for the head
of the encrinite has a pentagonal base, and its joints often display
a star with five points, or a flower with five petals. We meet with
portions of both in the same specimens; and indeed, had not the
pentacrinus been discovered recent, we might have supposed, that the
whole had originally rounded columns, but that in the pentacrinites
the exterior part of the columns had peeled off, leaving the interior

pentagonal part displayed.

ZOOPHYTES. 201

These two kinds of fossils occur both in our regular strata, and
in the alluvial beds; but they are not very plentiful in either. They
are chiefly found in the aluminous strata, especially in the lower
beds. They are also seen in the dogger, but rarely; and have been
observed in the oolite, the upper shale, and the second shale.

In Plate V, we have given a few of the most interesting spe-
‘cimens which have come to our hands. No. 5 isa curious fossil from
the alluvial cliffs at Whitby. It shews the head of an encrinite im-
bedded in a piece of blue limestone. The pentagonal base is very
conspicuous; and from it ten branches, or arms, are seen to proceed ;
one from each side of each of the angular terminations of the
pentagon. These arms, instead of folding together to form the head
of a lily, are widely expanded. Each of the arms, at the distance of
near two inches from the base, divides into lesser arms, branching out
in various directions. It is observable, that on the back of this
specimen are found some of the starry ends of pentacrinite columns.

No. 4 is a polished section of a specimen of encrinite, contained
in a nodule from the alum rock at Saltwick. It displays on the left,
a considerable stalk, or vertebral column; and on the right, a curious
bulb or turnip shaped figure. These principal figures are surrounded
by numerous small branches.

No. 6 is also from the aluminous strata. In the immense number
of its branches, or arms, and their manner of spreading, it corresponds
with the briarean pentacrinite, figured in Parkinson’s Organic Re-
mains, Il, Plates XVII and XVIII: it may therefore be termed the
briarean encrinite. One peculiarity in this interesting specimen
must not be overlooked ;—a number of its branches, or arms, instead
of being round, are greatly flattened. This flatness may have resulted
from compression, especially as there is a longitudinal crack in most
of the flat parts, as may be seen inthe upper part of the figure on the
left hand. Yet, as the flat parts are intermixed with the round, their

3D

202 ORGANIC REMAINS.

flatness may possibly originate in a difference of organization Two
belemnites, one large and the other small, are seen imbedded among
the portions of the encrinite; and in the other side of the stone is a
piece of petrified wood.

No. 1 is part of a pentacrinite of an uncommon size, from the
aluminous beds near the north cheek of Robin Hood’s Bay. The
whole specimen exhibited a number of large branches, with many
smaller ones, lying in a confused state, and occupying several square
feet on the scar. Many of the branches, or arms, are above a quarter
of an inch in diameter, and some of them run nearly in a straight line
for about ten inches or a fuot; but most of them are bent, and not a
few distorted and broken. Though its arms are less crowded than
those of No. 6, we may view it as the briarean pentacrinite, especially
as it corresponds with the specimens given by Parkinson, Vol. Hi,
Pl. XVII, Fig. 15 and 16, in having its strongest arms, or vertebral
columns, composed of thicker and thinner vertebre, placed alternately,
and forming curiously waved lines at their junction, greatly adding
to the external beauty of the columns. Like many of the pentacri-
nites, it does not display on its vertebre a star with five points, but a
flower with five petals; and the exterior profile of its column is not
pentagonal, properly speaking, but presents five rounded projections,
something in the way of the clustered pillars in Gothic buildings.

Pentacrinites with sharp angled columns are more common in
our strata, but we generally find them in a very broken state. No.2
exhibits a specimen of pentagonal stars, of the usual form. They
occur of various sizes, some of them being very minute. Encrinites
are also found, having very slender stalks and branches. An elegant
specimen of this kind, imbedded in a small nodule of limestone, is in
the valuable collection of Thomas Hinderwell, Esq., at Scarborough.
It was found on the beach near that place, among the stones washed
down from the alluvial cliffs.

ZOOPHYTES. 203

No. 3 is a specimen of a rare fossil, which we hesitate about
classing with this family, as the stalks of this sort present no appear-
ance of internal organization, being all in the state of spar. In one
of the few specimens which we have met with, and which are all
from the Malton oolite, there is a kind of bulb or root, considerably
thicker than the stalks, but of no regular shape; and from thence
five or six stalks have spread out in various directions, as appears
from their mutilated remains. The stalks, which in all the specimens
are round like those of encrinites, are plain and smooth towards this
root; but at the distance of an inch from it, they begin to assume
that beautifully zoned appearance represented in the figure; being girt
with belts alternately elevated and depressed, at regular distances,
and the elevated zones being each surmounted with a row of tubercles
or short spines. In what these singular stalks have terminated, we
have not been able to ascertain. We find them running for several
inches in the oolite, but have not traced them to any thing like a
head, the specimens shewing only detached portions of stalks or
columns, partly straight, and partly bent. The thickest of the
columns are half an inch in diameter; and all of them are ofa brownish
colour without, and consist of a dull whitish spar within. This spar
splits obliquely, the faces of its crystals being neither parallel to the
axis of the column, nor perpendicular to it, but crossing it at an angle

of about 45°. This oblique disposition of the crystals, or lamine,_

prevails in almost all the sparry petrifactions.
Along with these nondescripts, we may notice another uncom-

mon fossil, delineated i Plate VI, Fig. 11. It is about the size of ©

one of the largest hazel nuts, which it greatly resembles in shape.
The upper, or conical part, is not round, but has three angular pro-
jections, or ridges, extending from the apex to the base, and nearly
equidistant. The base would be almost flat, were it not that these
three ridges are continued across it, meeting in an elevated point in

204 ORGANIC REMAINS.

the centre. There is also around the margin of the base, a row of
tubercles, or short spines, resembling the tuberculated rings in the
fossils last described. Like these, it is from the oolite, the only two
which we have heard of, being found together near Kirkby Moorside.
It is also brownish without, and sparry within; but it is of a more
glassy spar than these fossils, being translucent. Whether it is
really a petrified nut, or an animal substance belonging to the zoo-
phyte family, we presume not to determine. 1t is obviously not an
echinite. A splinter having broken off from near the apex, shews
some faint appearance of a nucleus, or kernel, in the interior: but
we may easily be deceived by the strong resemblance which some
zoophytes bear to fruits. The first Figure delineated in Scheuchzer’s
Herbarium Diluvianum, which he calls an ear of corn, appears from
its joints and form to be a species of encrinite.

While speaking of uncertain fossils, we may introduce to the
notice of our readers a substance, which we have not hitherto seen
described, and which, if a petrifaction at all, seems more connected
with the zoophytes than with any other tribe. It consists of myriads
of parallel fibres resembling hairs, with numerous minute open pores,
forming interstices between them. The substance occurs in the
oolite, at Malton, Silphoue, and other places, in flat irregular masses,
of a brown or blackish colour; varying in thickness, from a line, or
little more, to an inch, or an inch and a half; and often extending
several inches in length and breadth. Each mass is usually thick
towards the middle, and thin at the edges; but we find the mass in
some places leaving off abruptly, with a thick edge. The fibres are
nearly perpendicular to the plane of the mass; so that, where it is
thin they are very short; and where it is thick, they are longer.
Where it is bent, they are also bent; and where it forms a kind of
arch, they diverge around the arch, like a fan. Some parts of the
surface of the mass, in a few specimens, are smooth, in which case

ECHINITES. 205

the pores are concealed: but in general we may see the pores on the
surface, at least with the help of a glass. Where the surface, or
rather any thick edge, has been long exposed to the weather, it dis-
plays a singularly cancellated, or reticulated appearance; a multitude
of cross markings, which are but faintly seen in the recent fracture,
being then conspicuous. This is the case in part of the specimen
given in Plate VI, Fig. 12, which is from Silphove. This fossil is
also remarkable, in having been penetrated by the pholas and the
teredo. If we consider this substance as a zoophyte, its innumerable
pores might well entitle it to be called a millepore. The pores, how-
ever, are not of a determinate shape, and the hair-like fibres, which
may often be detached singly from the mass, vary in their form as
well as their size. The substance is calcareous, effervescing strongly
withacids. It bears a resemblance to petrified wood; and might have
been considered as such, had the fibres been differently disposed.*

The Ecuinus, sea-urchin, or sea-egg, is so closely allied to the
zoophyte family, that it seems proper to introduce here the petrified
remains of animals of this genus, known by the name of echinites.

The echinus is an animal of a roundish form, covered with a
kind of shell or crust, generally thin, which in the recent state is
beset with rows of spines, and marked with rows of pores, disposed
in avenues. It has a flat base, often somewhat concave, in which the
mouth is always situated. The vent is variously placed; and the
whole family is divided into three classes, according to its situation;
—the anocysti, which have the vent in the vertex, or centre of the
upper part; the catocysti, which have it in some part of the base; and

* The screw-stone, which occurs in the oolite, might have been noticed among the
zoophytes. It is evidently the cast of the encrinite column, the body of the column having
been dissolved. The entrochite limestone, which is found in blocks in the alluvium, owes its
peculiar feature to fragments of encrinite columns.

3.5

206 ORGANIC REMAINS.

the pleurocysti, which have it in the side, or on the upper surface. Some
species of all the three classes occur in our district, being found in the
chalk, the oolite, the calcareous sandstone, and in nodules of flint m
the alluvium; and a few specimens of them are given in Plate VI.
The first class (anocysti) comprises two divisions; the e¢dares, ov
éurban, and the clypeus, or buckler. No. 1, Pl. VI, is a beautiful
cidaris from the Malton oolite, corresponding with that figured in
Parkinson’s Organic Remains, III, Pl. I. Fig. 6, and considered as a
variety of cidaris papillata. Wt is marked with five double rows of
large mammilie, or tubercles, disposed alternately; each of which is
surmounted by a small papilla, having a minute hole or puncture in
its centre, and a crenulated ring surrounding it. Around the base of
each tubercle, except where it comes in contact with that of the next
in the same row, is an elegant circle of mmute mammille, shaped
exactly like the large mammille which they inclose, each having its
punctured papilla in the centre. The portions of these circles in the
interior of each donble row come nearly together, and form two lines
of minute-warts, curiously waved, with a bending suture between the
lines. Immediately beyond the exterior portions of the same circles,
in the space or area left between the double rows of large tubercles,
we find on each side a double row of minute pores, each having
usually an elevated margin; which rows run in a bending line, fol-
lowing the curvature of these portions of circles. Each of the five
spaces contains two of these double lines of pores, between which is
left a small space, adorned with two rows of small mammille, placed
alternately. ‘Towards the vertex where this space is very narrow,
these mammille are minute; but near the base they become larger.
Between these two rows runs another flexuous suture, like that in
the interior of the main rows; and as cross sutures, passing between
every two of the large tubercles, join these longitudinal sutures, the
whole shell is thus divided into compartments or plates. Some very

ECHINITES. 207

minute or granular tubercles often run along the line of the suture.
The vent is circular, and has a beautiful pentagonal border. The
middle of the base is depressed.

No. 3 is another elegant species of cidaris, which occurs both in the
oolite and in the chalk. It appears to be a variety of cédaris miliaris,
or rather ctdaris diadema ; coinciding nearly with the specimen given
in Plot's Oxfordshire, Tab. VY. Fig. 5; but more exactly with that in
Parkinson’s Organic Remains, III. Pl. I. Fig. 4. Its tubercles are of
the same form as those of No. 1, and disposed in a similar way; but
instead of having five double rows very large and five very small, it
presents us with five double rows of moderately large tubercles, and
five double rows only a little smaller and closer, alternating with
them. Ten double rows of pores pass between these ten aree, as in
No. 1; but they run nearly in straight lines. We also perceive nu-
merous small tubercles, disposed between the larger mammille, and
sutures dividing the shell into compartments ; but with less regularity
than in No. 1. This fossil too is considerably flatter than the other,
and its base is not quite circular, the five smaller aree projecting a
little beyond the broader aree. The vent in this specimen is not
distinct; but it has no doubt been pentagonal.

Figure 10 is the cédaris corollaris, corresponding with that in
Parkinson’s Organic Remains, II]. Pl. L. Fig. 7; which is considered
as a siliceous cast. This specimen like that, has a knob of flint above
and another below, concealing both the vent and the mouth; the
result, as Mr. Parkinson thinks, of an excess of siliceous matter;
beyond what was required to fill the shell. The markings of this
fossil, which is from the alluvium, are elegant. Like No. 3, it is
divided into five larger and five smaller avez, parted by. lines of
pores; which lines are only double towards the base, but quadruple
on the upper surface. The lesser spaces, which bear but a small
proportion to the greater, present two prominent ridges with a furrow

208 ORGANIC REMAINS.

between them. In the perfect state of the shell, it must have been
adorned with rows of tubercles, asin Nos. 1 and 3. Vestiges of risings
and of waved sutures are still visible.

Of the second division of this class of echinites, the clypeus
stnuatus occurs in the oolite. It is a flat and broad fossil, some spe-
cimens measuring above four inches in breadth. It is figured in
Plot’s Oxfordshire, Tab. II. Fig. 9, 10; and in Parkinson’s Org. Rem.
Ill, Pl. Ul. Fig. 1. The upper surface is adorned with ambulacra or
avenues of pores, disposed in the form of a flower with five petals.
The margin of each petal, on each side, is somewhat sunk in the
shell, and is formed of rows of pores, connected by delicate cross
lines. The two avenues, or sides of each petal, which diverge on
leaving the vertex, converge near the margin of the shell, and proceed
thence in one avenue to the mouth. The rest of the shell, both above
and below, is thickly marked with minute circles, each having a small
papilla in its centre. Between two of the petals, on one side of the
upper surface, there is a deep groove, running from the the vertex
to the margin.

This last feature is the principal thing that distmguishes the
‘disk of this echinite from that which we have given in Figure 5.. The
latter displays also a flower with five petals, the beauty of which is
increased by the distinctness of the marginal lines of pores, and the
mathematical accuracy of their curvature and intersections. The rest
of the surface is occupied with very minute circles and papille, as in
the clypeus sinuatus. Yet, notwithstanding these points of resemblance,
this fossil appears to belong to another class of echinites, viz. the
catocysti, which have the vent beneath. It resembles the echinanthites
orbicularis of Mr. Parkinson (III. Pl. I. Fig. 2); but is so much
more elegant in its form, that we may consider it as a different species,
especially as there is no appearance of the two lateral sinuosities
observed in Mr. P.’s figure. Our fossil, which is from the calcareous

ECHINITES. 209

sandstone of Silphoue moor, is unfortunately incomplete in the
margin.

To another division of the same class belongs No. 13, which
appears to be conulus albogalerus; the same kind of fossil that is
figured in Plot's Oxfordshire, Tab. HU. Fig. 13, and in Parkinson’s
Org. Rem. III. Pl. II. Fig. 10, 11. The specimen, which is from the
alluvium, is rather defaced; and having something of a projecting
ridge at the narrower end, extending from the vertex to the base, it
perhaps ought rather to be considered as a cassis, or helmet-stone.
Like most other echinites, it has ten double rows of pores, or biporous
ambulacra, as they are called; with intervening spaces, alternately
broad and narrow. The conulus albogalerus occurs in the chalk and
the oolite, as well as in the alluvium. In the oolite and the chalk is
also found that species of cassis called echinocorys scutatus, figured in
Parkinson’s Org. Rem. III. Pl. Il. Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 represents a very interesting though imperfect specimen,
from the alluvium at Whitby, which is also of the catocysti class. It
is distinguished by this peculiarity, that instead of avenues of pores,
it has avenues of minute short spines. These spines are so dis-
posed as to form a flower with five petals, as in No. 5; and as in that,
the petals are depressed; but with this difference, that whereas the
middle part of each petal in No. 5 is elevated, and only the margin
depressed, the whole of each petal in No. 6 is depressed, and the
middle more than the margin. The vertex or centre of the flower is also
sunk, and has five spines around it, opposite the five spaces between
the petals. The petals, properly so called, do not occupy the whole
breadth of the disk, but terminate about half way between the vertex
and the margin. Each petal contains two double rows of minute
spines, diverging from the edge of the central or vertical hole ; and at
the termination of the petal, the double rows converge, and become
single rows; so that, imstead of four rows, only two proceed from

3 °F

210 ORGANIC REMAINS.

each petal to the margin and the base. The spines are not tapering
and sharp, but cylindrical and blunt. They are most slender, and
most closely set, in the petals; and are longest in the middle or
deepest part of each petal. Each of the spaces between. the petals
is divided by a waved or zigzag suture, passing from the vertex to
the margin, and giving off lateral sutures at each of its angles, in an
alternate form. The entire shell has been heart-shaped, having a
sinus or depression at its broadest end; and one of the petals points
to this sinus. It corresponds nearly with the echinite figured in
Plot’s Oxfordshire, Tab. III. No. 1 and 2; but the latter is not
cordated, but oval, and has its central part net round but oblong. A
species of this kind, with raised points instead of pores, is named by
Linnzeus echinus pustulosus; but the reference is erroneously made to:
Tab. II. Fig. 14 of Plot, a fossil similar in shape, but with avenues of
pores. Our specimen is wholly composed of a light grey flint, and
the small spines are therefore translucent, and have a whitish ap-
pearance. ‘The base is very imperfect, but it appears to have beer
marked as in Dr. Plot’s specimen, Tab. III. Fig. 2.

Of the third class of echinites, the pleurocystz, that have their vent
in the side, or on the upper surface, some species also occur in our
district. No. 2, which is the cor anguinum of Linnzus, occurs in the
chalk. It is shaped like a heart, and is marked on the upper surface
with a flower of five petals, sunk or grooved; each petal having two
double rows of pores connected by minute cross lines, the whole con-
verging at the termination of the petal. The largest petal passes into
a furrow that forms the depression of the top of the heart, and is the
only petal that reaches the margin. It is partly continued on the base,
towards the mouth. Directly opposite this petal, and between
the two shortest petals, is a keel or elevated ridge, passing from the
vertex to the vent, which is at the point of the heart, in the margin. |
The rest of the surface, between and beyond the petals, is adorned,

ECHINITES. 211

as in many other echinites, with minute circles inclosing papille.
These markings are made too conspicuous and too regular, in Dr.
Plot’s figure, Tab. II. Fig. 11.

No. 9 of our Plate, is of the same class, but from the alluvium.
It bears a considerable resemblance to No.2; but is of a more
oblong form, and has its. largest petals towards the point of the heart,
and the smallest in the sulcus, or furrow, at the top. The two petals:
next to that, also reach the margin; and the two largest approach to
it. The vent in this specimen is very conspicuous.

The last echinite which we would notice particularly, is re-
presented in Figure 4, A and B. Though it is one of the most
common in our oolite, at Brompton, Silphoue, Malton, and other
places, we have not found it described by any author. It perhaps
ought to form a fourth class of the echinite family; for its vent is
neither in the vertex nor in the base, neither on the side nor near
the margin of the upper surface; but is situate at the upper end of a
deep sulcus, which runs from the margin to very near the vertex.
The vent is, therefore, near the vertex; yet it does not open vertically,
but laterally, having its aperture towards the deep groove, and the shell
between that and the vertex forming an arch or roof over it; so
that it resembles a cave opening into a deep ravine. The shell is
nearly cordate, and contrary to what we generally find, the vent is
towards the broader end, the deep sulcus forming the depression at
the top of the heart.

The upper surface (A ) displays a flower with five petals, each
of which contains two double rows of pores; and the pores in each
double row are connected by delicate cross lines, as in No. 2 and
No. 5. The petals do not end abruptly on the disk, but all extend
to the margin; from whence, as in No. 5, the pairs of biporous am-
bulacra are continued along the base, the whole terminating in the
mouth; as may be seen in Figure B. The base of the shell, especially

212 ORGANIC REMAINS.

at the mouth, is greatly depressed, and the ambulacra on the base
are a little sunk, as they also are in some specimens on the disk.
The middle part of each petal is often slightly raised. There is no
petal in the deep sulcus where the vent is, but it has one on each
side of it, and one directly opposite to it; the remaining two being in
the intermediate spaces. The whole surface of the shell, except
in the sutures and lines of pores, is marked with very minute
circles, each with its papilla in the centre; and as serrated or zigzag
sutures pass between the petals, from the vertex to the mouth, sending
off alternate lateral sutures; and the latter are also zigzag or waved,
and a little raised above the surface,—the whole shell, when viewed
with a glass, presents an appearance truly beautiful.

Having examined a number of specimens of this kind of fossil,
we have observed several varieties of it. Some have the vent very
near to the vertex; in others, it is about half way between the vertex
and the margin; some are very flat, others more convex; some have
a deep sulcus and are strikingly heart-shaped, others have a slighter
depression at the broad end, and approach more to a rounded or
oval shape. The latter bear a considerable resemblance to the fossil
figured by Parkinson, III. Pl. III. Fig. 8; which he calls spatangites
brissoides ovalis.

The fossils which are considered as spines of echini, and which
may therefore be termed spinites, are found in our oolite, in great
abundance and variety. They are long cylindrical bodies, resembling
the spikes of some species of plantain; having a short stalk, which
near its extremity has an elevated band encircling it, and beyond that
is presently contracted, ending in another ring slightly raised, in
which is a conical hollow, with a deep puncture in the centre; as if
the end of this stalk had been fixed ona small cone, with a prominent
papilla. The terminal ring is sometimes found crenulated, as if

intended to articulate with the larger tubercles of No. 1 or No. 3 of
Plate VI.

ECHINITES. 213

The stalks of these fossils are mostly smooth, but the bodies
themselves are beset with rows of minute knobs, placed in the
quincunx form. The rows are often connected by slender threads,
running from the stalk to the opposite extremity. This extremity is
sometimes blunt and sometimes rather pointed; the bodies being in
various shapes, compared to cucumbers, olives, &c.

Fig. 7 (Pl. VI) from Malton, is a good specimen of a spinite. It
is thicker than most fossils of this class; but there are others of a
more rounded or bulbous form, like olives, of a much greater thick-
ness. Those which occur most frequently are more slender than No.
7, and longer in proportion to their thickness; and their ends are
less blunted.

Fig. 8 exhibits a singular group of spinites, from Kirkby Moor-
side. They have a gentle bend to one side, which seems quite
natural, there being no mark of violence, to indicate that they have
been forced out of their proper shape. In other respects, they are
exactly similar to the common spinites.

These bodies are invariably found in the state of spar, and, as in
many other sparry petrifactions, their cross fracture is always oblique,
their crystals never cutting their axis at right angles. In many
specimens, a central hole is perceived, passing from the stalk to the
point, like the pith in trees, as is the case in the vertebral columns
of the encrinite. These fossils are found in great quantities mixed
with corals, and they might have been classed with zoophytes, had
not their connection with the mammillated echinites of the cidaris
family been fully established, as may be seen in Parkinson’s Organic
Remains, Vol. III.

In some specimens of blue limestone, found in the alluvium, we
discover small hair-like substances mixed with shells, generally
brown and shining, with a lustre like copper. These acicular spines,
if we may so call them, are some of them in contact with roundish

3G i

214 ORGANIC REMAINS.

bodies, nearly in the shape of an echinus cidaris; but very differently
marked. Lach of these bodies displays numerous série, diverging
from the centre to the disk, and passing down the sides; and these
lines are crossed, especially on the disk, with several concentric
circles. These elevated lines, both longitudinal and transverse, are
in several places slightly tuberculated. We have not obtaimed a
complete specimen; but Fig. 14 of Plate VI will give some idea of
the appearance of these bodies. They are not entirely round, but
have four projections in the sides, presenting the appearance of a
square body, with its angles rounded off.*

The AsTertias, or star-fish, is nearly allied to the echinus; but
we have found no petrified remains of that animal in the district.
We therefore proceed to the next and largest class of our petrifac-
tions, viz.

TESTACEA, OR SHELLS.

Were we to describe all the genera and species of shells, dis-
covered in a petrified state in this district, we should give the reader
an extensive system of conchology. The limits of our work will only
admit a sketch of the most interesting articles in this department.

Shells are divided into three grand classes; MULTIVALVES, con-
sisting of more valves or pieces than two; BIVALVEs, or shells
having two valves; and UNIVALVEs, which consist of only one piece,

* Since the description of the substance figured in Plate VI, No. 12, was printed, we
have examined some other specimens of a more decisive character, and have been led to
think, that it is a peculiar modification of petrified wood, similar to that described in Parkinson’s
Org. Rem. V. I. p. 384. Pl. VI. Fig. 11, 16. We may add, that we have recently seen an
echinite of the helmet shape, from the Flamborough chalk, corresponding exactly with that in
Dr. Plot’s Oxfordshire, Tab. II. Fig. 14. It is closely allied to that which we have given in
PL VI. Fig. 13.

BIVALVE SHELLS... 215

and strictly speaking have no valves at all. The last class is sub-
divided into uNILocULAR, having only one chamber or cavity; and
MULTILOCULAR, having several chambers.

The multivalve class is very small, containing only the depas, or
barnacle; and the chiton; to which some add the pholas, which,
besides two principal valves, has small accessory valves upon the
hinge and posterior slope. A good specimen of the lepas tintinnabu-
lum, a shell that exists in the recent state on the British shores, is
figured in the Scarborough Catalogue, Pl. I. Fig. 1. It was found
adhering to a fragment of a pectenite, i the calcareous sandstone at
Scarborough castle. Having seen few other interesting shells of this
genus, and none of the chiton or the pholas,* in our strata, we pass
on to the next class, viz.

BIVALVE SHELLS.

Fossil shells of this class occur in immense numbers, many of
them corresponding with those which our seas still produce, but a
much greater number that have no recent analogue on our shores;
not a few of which have never been discovered, in the living state, in
any part of the world. Before attempting any enumeration of genera
and species, we would make a few preliminary remarks.

Great difficulty is experienced in arranging our fossil bivalves. .
There are many that can seldom be obtained in a complete state;
and in such as are complete, it is a rare thing to find an opportunity
of examining the hinge, from which the discriminating characters of
bivalves are principally drawn. Nor is it easy to ascertain, whether
a shell has been close, or gaping; and whether its sinuosities,

* The pholas, in its recent state, abounds on our shores. For an account of that. singular
animal, which burrows in the alum rock and the lias beds, see History of Whitby, II. p. 799.

216 ORGANIC REMAINS.

depressions, &c. be natural, or only accidental; as the shells must
have been liable to suffer great alterations in their form, when passing
from the recent to the petrified state.

The difficulty of distinguishing the genera and species is further
increased, by the changes which the very substance of the shells has
undergone; their appearance being varied, according as they are
found in the state of sandstone, limestone, ironstone, pyrites, agate,
chalcedony, or calc spar. Shells in the latter state, which admits of
many varieties, are generally much thicker than recent shells of the
same kind. It would hence appear that, as water expands in being
crystallized into ice, the substance of the shells has expanded in
crystallizing into spar.

On these accounts, we rarely meet with fossil shells exactly
corresponding with recent specimens; but if we find a general agree-
ment between the one and the other, we may in many cases be
satisfied as to their identity. It is a common fault with authors, to
multiply the species of fossil shells to an unreasonable degree. Instead
of making allowances for the causes of difference now stated, a very
trivial variation is with them sufficient to constitute a new species ;
though we know well, that there are great variations in recent shells
confessedly of one species. We may add, that allowance should be
made for such variations as depend on difference of climate, as well
as for those occasioned by the process of petrifying, the difference of
the matrix, or of the substance into which the shells has been con-
verted ; for an attentive observer may perceive, that at the era or eras
of the formation of our strata, the productions of various climates
have been blended together, as is the case with the animals and
vegetables of the sea and the land.

We remark further, that though most of the shells be found with
the valves adhering, and appear to have been imbedded in the strata
while the animal was yet contained between the valves, yet vast

BIVALVE SHELLS. 217

numbers of valves are found single, and many of them water-worn ;
so that these must have been imbedded a considerable time after the
death of the shell-fish, and after many of them had been worn among
sand.and gravel, like the dead shells which we pick up on the shore.
Entire seams of worn shells are sometimes met with, though in
general we find both complete and single shells in the same stratum.
Some of the strata too abound with minute fragments of shells, with
which whole shells are often intermixed.

It is also worthy of remark, that several shells, or parts of shells,
are found preserved, not petrified; and this is particularly the case
in some of the clay strata, especially in soft marly clay, such as we
find in the calcareous beds under the oolite.

These things being premised, we shall now give a list of the
principal genera and species of bivalves, belonging to our strata:
which we shall do, without arranging them exactly in the order of the
Linnean system.

Soten. Razor-shell. Several species of solen occur in the oolite,
the calcareous sandstone, and the lowest shale. Among these we
may distinguish the »S. seliqua, the S. ensis, and a smaller straight
shell resembling the S. legumen. A specimen of the S. ensis, or
scymetar solen, is represented Pl. VII. Fig. 1. It is from one of the
hard seams in the lowest shale, at Robin Hood’s Bay; and, though
not quite entire, shews the striz, and even something of the colour, of
the recent shell. The oolite abounds most with shells of this genus,
especially in the quarries of Pickering and Thornton, where large
specimens of the solen siliqua are often met with.

Myvritus. Muscle. Of this genus, one of the most singular
species is the mytilus lithophagus, or stone-eater; which, like the
pholas, burrows in rocks, and not unfrequently in corals. It occurs
in the oolite, or rather in masses of coral imbedded in the oolite, at
Ayton, Malton, and other places. Fig. 5 (Pl. VII) is an interesting

3H

218 ORGANIC REMAINS.

specimen, containing one of the shells with both valves entire, nearly
half of another, and portions of two or three more; together with
vestiges of cavities, now empty, worn by shell-fish of the same spe-
cies. The shells are in the state of spar, of a yellowish colour, thin
and brittle.

The M. edulis, or common muscle, occurs in several parts of the
strata. No. 3 is a beautiful pyritous specimen, from a nodule in the
alum shale. No. 2 is another handsome muscle, from the calcareous
sandstone; differing a little from the common muscle, especially at
the beaks, where it resembles the M. curtus, or young M. modiolus.
The latter occurs in the oolite, in its largest size, and with very thick
spathose valves. No. 10, which is also from the oolite, appears to be
the M. ungulatus. No. 4 is the M. avicula, or a variety of M. hirun-
do, from the Malton oolite. Small shells, resembling the WM. lingua,
and others in the form of M. margaritifera, or M. unguis, are found
in the oolite, in the ironstone, and in the aluminous strata.

Fig 7 represents a curious cast, from the Kettleness or Staiths
bands, or the beds most nearly corresponding with them in the front
of Coldmoor. Its general shape approaches to that of the M.
modiolus; but, besides the proper beaks, it has on the anterior slope
two secondary beaks, or prominent inflections of the wnbones, which
standing up like ears, give that end of the shell an appearance re-
sembling the head of a horse. It seems to be akin to M. vulgaris, or
M. plicatus.

Analogous to this shell is No. 9, which is a cast from the oolite.
It has on the anterior slope two large folds of the umbones, which
diverging from the hinge again converge, so as nearly to meet,
inclosing a kind of cylindrical channel. The base of the shell is
rather truncated and keeled. The posterior slope is also keeled ;
and at the beak end are two large oblong knobs, one on each side of
the beaks, which therefore terminate in a kind of gland. On the

BIVALVE SHELLS. 21

anterior slope, at the opposite end of the channel between the folds
of the umbones, are two similar knobs, rather larger, forming a con-
siderable swell. In the channel between these two pairs of knobs
runs the hinge; which, were there an opportunity to examine it,
might perhaps be found to be that of an arca rather than a mytilus ;
the shell having some relation to the arca modiolus.

Mya. Gaper. Various shells that may be assigned to this
genus, are found in our strata. Among these we may place No. 6
(Pl. VII), which is from the Malton oolite; or rather, from the grey
limestone under the oolite. It seems akin to M. ovata. Other oval
shells occur at Malton, resembling the M. pictorum. The unio
acutus of Sowerby, Mineral Conchology, Tab. 33, may be noticed
under this genus; though its shape rather entitles it to be reckoned
a donax. It is very common in some of our beds of ferruginous
sandstone, particularly in the Kettleness and Staiths bands, as found
in the front of the Cleveland hills. A cast corresponding with the mya
mandibula of Sowerby, Min. Conch. Tab. 43, has been observed in
the oolite. In Pl. VIII. Fig. 7, we have given the unio Listeri of the
same author, Tab. 154. It is from the aluminous strata, where it is
pretty common; but it may rather be regarded as a ¢ellina or a
donax, than a mya or unio.

Donax. Wedge-shell. If the shell last mentioned may not be
assigned to this genus, it may at least claim that which we have given
in Pl. VIL. Fig. 8. This shell is from the Staiths band, in which, and
in some other parts of the aluminous strata, it is very common. In
shape it resembles the D. denticulata, but has the margin entire, and
has a depression at the truncated end, immediately beyond the beaks.
It is slightly striated longitudinally. In many specimens, one of the
valves projects a little beyond the other, at the beaks; and in many,
there is a contraction or indentation of the shell in the posterior edge:
but as these marks vary in different specimens, being sometimes:

220 ORGANIC REMAINS.

striking, sometimes barely perceptible, they can scarcely be viewed
as the characters of a distinct species. The specimen figured, which
is from the front of Coldmoor, retains something of its original purple
colour.

Fig 11 (Pl. VIL) represents a shell of a similar form from the
oolite. The depression at the truncated end is rather deeper than in
No. 8, and the other end is broader and more rounded. Besides,
the shell is not only striated, but antiquated; a character which is
seen very faintly, if at all, in No. 8, and other specimens of this
donax from the aluminous strata. This fossil is sometimes met with
of a considerable size, measuring above three inches in its greatest
diameter.

We are at a loss to decide, under what genus the shell figured
in Pl. VII. No. 12, should be placed ; but it seems to be related to
the donax family. Mr. Parkinson, who is equally at a loss to class
it, has figured it in his Organic Remains, III. Pl. XIII. Fig. 16. Our
specimen, like his, is a cast; but is much more perfect and beautiful.
We have other specimens with the shell, but less perfect. The shell
is marked with the same kind of straight ribs, passing across each
valve in a peculiar form; those from the anterior slope being nearly
at right angles with the line of that slope, and those from the
posterior slope leaving it also at right angles; so that, as the two
slopes make an obtuse angle at the beak, the two sets of ribs on each
valve, those at least that are not remote from the beak, converge in
the middle of the valve, in a line passing from the beak to the base.
Towards the beaks, there are a few slight cross markings, between
the two sets of ribs. In the shell, at least in the larger and ( we
may presume) older specimens, the ribs do not reach the margin;
but each valve has a plain border, beyond the ribbed part, marked
only with concentric strie. A few concentric or transverse lines also
cross the ribbed part of the shell. This curious fossil shell occurs

BIVALVE SHELLS. 221

chiefly in the oolite; but it is also found in the ironstone beds, and
an the dogger that covers the alum rock. Our largest specimen
measures two and a half inches in the one direction, and near one and
a half in the other. In its general shape it is very like No. 6 of Pl. VII.

Here also we may introduce the shell figured in Pl. TIX. Fig. 15.
It is from the lowest shale, or the hard seams in that shale; and is
chiefly found in Robin Hood’s Bay. It is shaped nearly like No. 8
of Pl. VIL; but is much more gibbous, has more prominent beaks,
and has a deep depression at the place of the cartilage, besides that
at the truncated end; whereas the corresponding depression in the
other shell is generally slight. It has several strong ribs passing
from the beaks towards the base, and these are more or less crossed
by transverse concentric ridges, especially near the base, or rounded
margin. ‘The transverse lines are most prominent in the older shells;
and in these, as was remarked of No. 12, Pl. VII, the ribs do not
reach the base, but there is a margin marked only with the concentric
lines. ‘The truncated end is more slightly marked than the rest of
the shell. Each of the slopes, viewed in front, has the appearance
of a heart-shaped leaf. ‘The number of the ribs varies considerably ;
and they are most numerous in the younger shells. Some shells,
similar in size and form, apparently without ribs, occur in the same
place; but of these we have not procured any good specimen.

Puacrostoma. Wry-mouth. Under a genus of this name,
Mr. Sowerby has classed a pretty numerous family of shells, which
Mr. Parkinson, with some hesitation, placed under the genus donax.
This kind of shell, like the donax, has the area straight, flat, ani
lengthened; and the base rounded. Its grand discriminating charac-
ter is, that it has small ears, one on each side of the beaks, forming
alme that crosses the beaks obliquely; and has in the one valve a
triangular cleft or opening, at the beak, while the other valve is entire,
or nearly entire. This cleft is principally in the right valve.

I3

222 ORGANIC REMAINS.

Mr Sowerby has enumerated eight species of plagiostoma;
but they may perhaps be all reduced to two or three. If every little
difference in the shape or the marking of shells be admitted as the
foundation of a new species, we shall find one in almost every new
specimen.

Fig. 3 of Pl. VIII is a most beautiful specimen of Mr. Sowerby’s
plagiostoma rigida, from the oolite near Malton. One of the ears is
broken off, and indeed few specimens have both perfect. The shell is
handsomely marked with slender longitudinal ribs, somewhat zigzag,
or waved; and these are crossed in various places with concentric
markings, or rings of growth, especially toward the base, where these
circular lines usually form a rich border, as is the case in this specimen.
As the original brownish or purplish colour of the shell partly remains,
and as the concentric lines are here of a lighter coleur, the beauty
of the border is the more striking; and even the zigzag disposal of
the ribs contributes to enhance it.

It is observable, that though this is a deft valve, it has the trian-
gular cleft at the beak very conspicuous, and Mr. Sowerby’s figure
seems to have the cleft in the same valve.* In most specimens which
we have examined, the right valve displays the cleft; or rather, we
may say, the principal cleft; for both valves contribute to form the
aperture at the beaks. The differences on this head do not appear
to constitute different species. The same remark applies to the size
of the shells, and still more to the concentric rings that traverse
the ribs, as these are scarcely alike in any two specimens. We may
even extend this observation, in some measure, to the general shape of
the shell. Some spécimens, like the one figured, resemble a cockle
or a pecten; some have the oblong and wedge-like shape of a donax ;

* Mineral Conchology, Tab. 113. Fig. 1. By some oversight, Tab. 113 in the engravings,
here referred to, corresponds with Tab. OXIV in the printed description ; and Tab. 114 corre-
sponds with Tab. CXIIL.

BIVALVE SHELLS. 223

some are flat and broad in the form of the letter D; and some
approach the shape of the trigonia; yet, as some of all these forms
are marked with the same waved or zigzag ribs, crossed by the same
kind of zones, we can scarcely consider them as any thing more than
different varieties of the same species. By adopting an opposite
course, we might multiply species ad infinitum; so many shades of
difference being discernible. Sowerby’s plagiostoma ovalis, p. cardit-
formis, p. obscura, and even p. pectinoides, may all be varieties of p.
rigida. Nay, we may perhaps add p. punctata, and p. gigantea. The
former differs from p. rigida, chiefly in being striated more finely,
and marked with fainter circles; which may be accounted for by a
difference of the matrix, as well as some accidental variation in the
shell. In one of our specimens, of the donax shape, part of the
shell is nearly or entirely smooth; part is striated with rows of points,
as inthe p. punctata; and part of it is marked with the deep waved
lines of p. rigtda; according as the shell has been more or less ex-
posed, the difference having apparently been produced by friction.

P. gigantea seems to have no better claim to rank as a distinct
species. We have a deltoid specimen from the grey limestone, about
four inches in diameter, corresponding with Mr. Sowerby’s speci-
men. Its surface is mostly smooth, or marked with faint strie ; but
the faintness of its markings may be viewed as the result of age, or
of the decomposition or removal of the outer part of the shell;
for in the front, where it has been least exposed, we find some
strongly marked ribs, somewhat waved.

P. spinosa of Sowerby, must be regarded as a distinct species ;
not only on account of its spines, which are sometimes wanting, but
also on account of the coarseness of its ribs or furrows. Among our
specimens is one very coarsely ribbed, from the oolite, as large as ©
that last mentioned, but with scarcely any vestiges of spines. It is
more ofa deltoid shape than Mr. Sowerby’s specimen, and the absence

O24 ORGANIC REMAINS.

of the spines, of which it bears but equivocal traces, makes us doubt
whether it can be reckoned of this species or not. It may, however,
be a variety of it.

As the waved ribs or strie appear to form a characteristic mark
of the species first mentioned, it may be proper to name it undata,
rather than rigtda; as the latter character does not appear essential.
It appears to be further distinguished by a complicated tooth-like
process at the end of the anterior ear, on that valve which is the least
cleft. This process being usually dressed away, by those who
discover or clear out the specimens, we have met with it only in two
or three instances. It is formed by a raised fold of part of the ear,
and a piece projecting from the end of that fold; but we are not
sure that we have seen it in a complete state. Mr. Parkinson found
itin only one specimen, and considered it as a lateral tooth: Mr.
Sowerby does not appear to have seen it at all; his observations being
chiefly made on p. spinosa, in which it is not found. In one of our
smoother specimens, this process; or something similar to it, appears
at the very beaks. Perhaps on a more full examination of the shells
ef this singular genus, the form or disposal of this process may be
found to constitute an important specific character.*

We may only add, that all the specimens of plagiostoma which
we have seen are from the oolite, or the grey limestone under it.
They are principally obtained from the neighbourhood of Malton,
particularly from Swinton. Several of them are much compressed.

Triconia. This new genus of Bruguiere, which has been dis-
covered recent in some parts of the world, may be introduced here,

* See the figures referred to in this article, in Sowerby’s Min. Conch. Tab. 77, 78, 113,
114. Parkinson’s Org. Rem. III. Pl. XIU. Fig. 6. Sowerby (p. 175) quotes the latter
erroneously as Fig. 3. The Scarborough Catalogue gives a good specimen in PI. I. Fig. 3;
but in the printed description, p. 107, the reference is made by mistake to Plate Il. Fig. 1;
which last is an indifferent specimen of the fossil which we have given in Pl. VIL. Fig. 12.

BIVALVE SHELLS. 225

as being somewhat akin to the plagiostoma; as it also is to the venus,
the arca, the mytilus, the cardium, and the tellina. Some species of
trigonia have been found in our strata; chiefly in the oolite, and the
calcareous sandstone, but partly also in the dogger over the alum rock.

Fig. 18, Pl. VIII, is a specimen of the trigonia clavellata, from
the oolite at Pickering; where this kind of shell is principally found.
It is handsomely studded with tubercles, disposed in rows; and
exactly agrees with Parkinson's figure, III. Pl. XII. Fig. 3; and with
Sowerby’s, Tab. 87.

Fig. 18 a is the curious hinge of this species, as it appears in
the right valve. It greatly resembles the hinge of the recent shell, the
trigonia margaritacea, represented in Parkinson’s Org. Rem. III. PI.
XII. Fig. 2. We have not succeeded in clearing out the hinge of a left
valve; but no doubt it would correspond with Fig. 1 of Parkinson’s
Plate.* Two muscular impressions are found near the hinge; but
the smaller one is so close to a part of the hinge, that it is apt to be
confounded with it, or overlooked, especially in the right valve: yet
in some of our specimens, particularly in a left valve, the smaller
impression is very distinct.

Fig. 19 is a beak of the trigonia costata, also from the oolite.
It is less common than the ¢. clavellata. The umbones in this shell
are adorned with smooth ribs, instead of rows of knobs. The &
aliformis and one or two additional species are said to have been
found in alluvial nodules; but we have not had an opportunity of
examining them.

A beautiful trigonia occurs in our dogger, at Falling Foss
and some other places, differmg from any which we have hitherto

* Hither that author has by mistake interchanged the words right and left, or has
adopted a different definition of these terms, as applied to valves, from that of Burrow, in his
Elements of Conchology, p. 33. 2nd. Edit. Hence our right valve corresponds with Mr.
Parkinson’s /eft valve, and vice versa.

3 K

226 ORGANIC REMAINS.

seen described. It greatly resembles t. clavellata; but instead of
rows of knobs, it is adorned with ribs; and these are not smooth, as
in t. costata, but each of them is surmounted by a row of very minute
tubercles. In the area, or front, the shell bears so strong a resem-
blance to t. clavellata, that it may possibly be no more than a variety
of that species, perhaps in a younger state ; these shells in the dogger
being smaller than those of t. clavellata in the oolite. Fig. 20 is the
beak of one of these shells.

Carpium. Cockle. Many cockle-shaped shells oecur in our
strata; but only a small number of species have been ascertained to
belong to this genus.

C. edule, or the common cockle, is said to have been found in the
Malton quarries; but it has not come under our notice. Fig. 4, PI.
VIII, is a beautiful cockle, from the grey limestone in that quarter,
resembling c. levigatum; but it is of a rounder and more handsome
shape than any shells of that species which we have seen; and is
rather more elegantly marked. The number of the ribs is fifty, or
upwards. Sowerby’s c. semigranulatum, Tab. 144, is akin to it.

C. pectinatum, called also @olicum, or one greatly resembling it,
is the most abundant species in our strata. It is striated longi-
tudinally in the front, but transversely on the disks ; as may be seen
in the specimen, Fig. 5, Pl. VIII. It is found in great abundance in
the bands that run in the alum shale; both the ironstone and sand-
stone bands. Peak, Boulby, and the fronts of the hills near Stokesley,
are the places where it is most common. Yet, though it is so plenti-
ful, we rarely meet with a specimen in which the shell is complete:
for the shell is usually gone, and only the heart-shaped gast left ; or
the latter comes out entire, while the former is broken to pieces, or left
in the matrix. The best specimens are obtained from the ironstone.
There is much variety in their size; some being only half an inch
long, while others are an inch and a half, or upwards. The average

BIVALVE SHELLS. 227

dimensions are,—about an inch long, an inch and a quarter broad,
and three quarters of an inch thick.*

The shell figured by Parkinson, II]. Pl. XIII. Fig. 3, and named
by Sowerby (Tab. 14) c. Atllanum, is not the same with our cockle.
The principal strie in the front of our shell are elegantly bent,
meeting in the line of the hinge; and these curved striz are crossed,
in the parts furthest from the beaks, by a few straight striz, rather
faint, diverging from the hinge line. The curved strie not only
cover the area, but encroach a little on the disks, on each side. The
beaks are incurved, so as nearly to meet.

Small shells resembling the c. ciliatum, are not uncommon in the
lias seams and nodules, in the oolite, and the calcareous sandstone.
Fig. 16, P]. VIII, represents a specimen from the oolite, which in the
number and minuteness of its ribs, or longitudinal striz, resembles
c. serratum. Nodules containing large collections of shells of this
kind, some of them very minute, are frequently met with in the alum
shale near Whitby. Not having seen the hinge, we have doubts
whether these shells belong to this genus. Fig. 1 is another small
shell, from the ironstone, resembling Fig. 16 in the number and
minuteness of its strie; but it is more ventricose, and has a more
depressed area.

Teviina. Of this shell a few species only can be particularized.
Fig 2, Pl. VIII, corresponds with the ¢. crassa. It is from the
Malton oolite. It differs little from the ¢. obtusa of Sowerby,
Tab. 179, Fig. 4. A shell like ¢. fragilis occurs in the ironstone
beds, and others that may be ranked under this genus are found in
the oolite.

* Tt may be necessary to apprise some readers, that the /ength of a shell is the distance
from the beaks, or the region of the hinge, to the opposite margin ; and the breadth is a line
at right angles to that direction. In some shells, particularly those of the solen family, the
breadth is vastly greater than the length.

iD

28 ORGANIC REMAINS.

The deeply sulcated shell, Fig. 17, imbedded in a piece of dogger,
may be noticed here; though it is so much entangled in its matrix,
that we cannot decide, whether it is a tellen, a venus, a mya, ora
shell of some other genus.

Venus. Under this genus we have also but little to introduce.
Fig. 6, Pl. VIII, is a handsome cast of a venus from the dogger.
It resembles the v. rugosa. A beautiful flat lenticular shell resem-
bling v. edentula, occurs in the nodules in the logger beyond Peak,
at the place where the alum shale first rises to day. The inside of
it has a rich shining surface, somewhat nacrous.

Awnomia. This genus is one of the most abundant in our district,
occurring in the chalk, the oolite, the various kinds of shale, the
calcareous sandstone, and the ironstone. The shells are chiefly
distinguished by a hole in the point of the upper or larger valve; at
least most of the species found here have the beak perforated.

Fig. 13, Pl. VIII, is from the chalk. It is the terebratula sem-
globosa of Sowerby, Tab. 15, Fig. 9; being a small shell, nearly
globular, distinguished by the remarkable waved line, marking the
junction of the two valves. The middle of each valve is smooth.

Fig. 9 is also from the chalk. It corresponds very nearly with
terebratula intermedia of Sowerby, Tab. 15, Fig. 8. It has in some
places a slight tinge of red or brown. Fig. 12 agrees with Sowerby’s
t. tretriedra, Tab. 83, Fig. 4; which seems to be the same species
with his ¢ media, Fig. 5. It abounds in the sandstone and
ironstone bands, belonging to the aluminous strata; where also
Sowerby’s ¢. lateralis, or t. crumena (for they seem to be varieties of
one species) may often be met with.

No. 11 is a smaller shell, not unlike No. 12, but much more
flat; and instead of a sudden rise of part of its plaits or ribs, it is
distinguished by a gentle undulation of the whole; the plaits, which
are numerous and small, proceeding round the base, in an unbroken

BIVALVE SHELLS. 229

series, and forming a handsome bending line. Its margin is sharper
than that of any other species, owing to the flatness of the shell; on
which account, as it does not appear to have been hitherto described,
we would name it anomia compressa. It is from the oolite ; in which,
and in the grey limestone, this species and No. 12 are not un-
common.

Fig. 10 represents a large anomia from the second shale. It
abounds in the cliffs near Gristhorp ; but is seldoff found entire,
being generally mutilated at the base. It appears to be the terebra-
tula ovoides of Sowerby, Tab. 100; of which his ¢. lata is only a
variety. In the form of the beaks, the gibbous and oblong shape of
the shell, the disposition of the striz in the valves, and the absence
of undulations at their junction, this shell also coincides with t. digona
of Sowerby, Tab. 96; which may possibly be another variety of this
species, being often found without the angular projections. As our
specimens are almost all either mutilated or compressed at the base,

indicating a weakness of structure in that part of the shell, some of
them may have had angular projections. The shell is of an olive
colour, and has often a smooth and shining aspect, the strie, which
are all transverse, being very fine. This species likewise resembles
t. biplicata of Sowerby, Tab. 90; but has not the folds of that shell.

No. 14 is very common in the nodules and bands of the alumi-
nous strata, both in the sandstone and ironstone. It corresponds in
Shape with the ¢. subundata of Sowerby, Tab. 15, Fig. 7; being .
broad and flat, with the margin very faintly undulated. Our shell is
somewhat striated in both valves, longitudinally as well as trans-
versely. It is often of a considerable size, some specimens being
about two inches long, and an inch and a half broad. Sowerby’s ¢.
ornithocephala, Tab. 101, is nearly allied to this species, if not the
very same.

230 ORGANIC REMAINS.

No. 8, which is from the chalk, differs from any species which we
have seen described. It is a smooth shell, nearly as long as No. 14,
but narrower, and more gibbous. Its chief discriminating character is
the marginal line, which, except a slight depression near the beaks, is
straight till it reaches the middle of the shell, when it bends upwards
into a considerable arch, that reaches to the base. The line of the
base, connecting the arch on the one side with that on the other, is
nearly straight€nd occupies a space equal to half the breadth of the
shell. If this shell is not a variety of ¢. subundata of Sowerby, we
might name it anomia arcuata.

The anomia ephippium is often found in our strata, adhering to
fossil oysters. We may here add, that on a closer examination of
the singular shell, figured in Pl. VI. No. 14, it is found to corre-
spond with the a. producta of Martin, delineated in Parkinson’s Org.
Rem. III. Pl. XII. Fig. 9, 10. Sowerby makes this shell a new
genus, which he names PRoDUCTUs ; and it may be noticed, that as we
discovered hair-like substances connected with our specimens, several
of those which he has figured, Tab. 68, 69, display minute spines.

Macrra. Shells resembling the m. stultorwm occur in the alumi-
nous strata; and large shells like the m. dutraria, are found both in
the oolite, and in the ironstone bands.

Sponpytus. A species approaching to the s. radula of Lamarck,
of considerable size, is noticed in the Scarborough Catalogue (p. 108,
109), as occurring in the Malton oolite, and in the ironstone beds
near Scarborough. We have not had an opportunity of examining it.

Cuama. The beautiful little shell, Fig. 5. Pl. IX, has a strong
resemblance to the chama calcarata of Lamarck, figured by Parkinson,
HII. Pl. XIV. Fig. 13; and if not the same species, must be near
akin to it. It is from the ironstone, and retains something of its
original colour and pearly lustre. It is marked with concentric
transverse plaits or rings; and the intermediate spaces are adorned

BIVALVE SHELLS. 231

with rows of oblong knobs, which appear to have terminated in
minute spines, now broken off.

In the oolite at Old Malton, we found a fragment of a large shell
of this genus, with very deep ribs covered with scales; but whether it
belongs to the c. gigas, or to some other species, we cannot decide.

As the handsome pyritous shell, Fig. 15, Pl. VIII, approaches the
shape of c. calcarata, we may notice it here, though it very probably
may belong to another genus. It is imbedded in a pyritous nodule
from the alum shale, and is only imperfectly seen. It is finely striated
or ribbed, with transverse concentric lines.

Arca. Ark. Of this kind of shell, only a few species are
known to exist in our strata. The most common is that figured in
Pl. VIII. No. 21, which abounds in some parts of the alum shale;
especially near Whitby east pier. Mr. Parkinson placed it under the
genus ¢ellina, with some hesitation, Org. Rem. III. p. 192. Pl. XIII,
Fig. 4; but the hinge which we have figured, No. 21 a, shews it to
be an arca; and to belong to that division in which the teeth are
in a broken line. It corresponds so exactly with the recent British
shell, the arca rostrata, both in its shape, its size, and its strie, that
there can be little doubt of their identity. There are two muscular
impressions in each valve, one at each end of the hinge; in which
respect, as well as in its external form, it appears to coincide with
the recent shell. The fossil shell being in a state of spar, is thicker,
as may be expected, than the recent shell usually is; but it has
evidently been a weak shell, great numbers of the specimens being
much bruised or compressed. It often retains something of the
original horny colour, but in some of the hard nodules it has 4
bluish tinge.

No. 22 is the right valve of a large ark, from the oolite, which
does not agree with any species that we have seen described. Its
shape is somewhat ovate and gibbous; and, like the arca noe, it has

232 ORGANIC REMAINS.

incurved remote beaks, with a broad flat space intervening; which
space or area is elegantly marked with four sets of straight lines,
parallel to the edges of the area, meeting in the hinge line at one end,
and in a line passing from beak to beak at the other. The shell is
marked with transverse lines; but the markings in our specimens are
somewhat defaced.

In some of our ironstone beds, we find a shell greatly resembling
the arca glycymeris ; but we have not discovered the hinge.

Prcren. Scallop. Few shells are more abundant in our strata
than this; the oolite, the ironstone, and the calcareous sandstone
being replenished with a great variety of speties. These species it is
not very easy to distinguish and describe; as they generally occur in
single valves, with the ears more or less mutilated. Some of our
most beautiful and singular scallops are delineated in Plate IX.

Fig. 8 represents the inside of a valve, belonging to a species
that is either the pecten subrufus ( or opercularis ), or one nearly allied
to it. It is from the Staiths beds, and measures two inches each
way. Very large specimens, of the same form, measuring four or
five inches, occur in the sandstone and ironstone bands in the alumi-
nous strata. They have been supposed to belong to p. maximus or
p. jacobeus; but they differ considerably from both these species,
having both valves convex, though not equally so. Of these shells
we may distinguish two species; one with decussated striz, or strie
both longitudinal and transverse, which we may consider as the p.
subrufus ; and another having remarkably rounded ribs with flat inter-
vals, marked only with fine transverse strie. The latter species
agrees with the p. equivalvis of Sowerby, Tab. 136; only the ribs in
our shells, instead of being narrower than the intermediate spaces,
are usually much broader. The number of ribs, both in this species
and in the p. subrufus, varies from eighteen to twenty-two, twenty
being the average.

BIVALVE SHELLS. 233

No. 9 agrees with the p. varius, having unequal ears, and
between twenty and thirty spinous imbricated ribs. The ribs vary in
number, especially as we often see two ribs coalescing into one, or
one dividing into two; as may be observed also in the very correct
figure of the recent shell in Pennant’s Zoology, IV. Pl. LXI. This
shell, which measures two inches or more in length, and somewhat
less in breadth, is found in the oolite near Malton. In the same
place, we meet with a shell greatly resembling it in form and size,
but with only about eighteen ribs, and these not spinous, but trans-
versely wrinkled, and sometimes rather scaly. It appears to be p.
citrinus, or a variety of p. senatorius. In the oolite we also find a
pecten, sometimes three inches long or upwards, having ten large
ribs, with imbricated transverse strie. The ribs appear to have been
somewhat prickly, and the shell is perhaps allied to p. sanguinolentus
(or ostrea sanguinolenta ) ; but our specimens of it are all imperfect.

No. 3 is a perfect valve of a beautiful little pecten, very common
in the oolite, and m the calcareous sandstone under it. We may
term it p. sulcatus, as it corresponds very nearly with Dillwyn’s ostrea
sulcata ; having eleven or twelve prominent ribs, traversed by sharp
seales, or oblong spines. The grooves between the ribs are faintly
marked with transverse strie, connecting the scales that cross the
ribs. Only a few longitudinal strie are discernible, so that the
shell differs a little from o. sudcata.

No. 12 is about the same size as No.3, each of them being
nearly an inch long. They have also the same number of ribs; but
those of No 12, which is a wider shell, are rather broader and flatter;
and instead of sharp scales, are traversed by slender undulating
membranaceous strie, which cross the grooves as well as the ribs,
and are so closely set as nearly to cover the whole shell. This
seems to be the p. fibrosus of Sowerby, Tab. 136. Fig. 2; and it is
probably allied to the ostrea striatula of Linneus, which has sixteen

3 M

234 ORGANIC REMAINS.

ribs, with transverse membranaceous strie. It belongs to the
oolite, and the grey limestone. A shell resembling this and No. 3,
but with sixteen smooth ribs, occurs in the ironstone.

Fig. 10 represents the inside of a handsome shell, of a larger size,
and more oblong shape, from the hard sandstone at the foot of Scarbo-
rough castle. Some specimens are three inches long, but it is very
difficult to get any entire. Both valves are convex, and, as in No. 12,
are closely invested with transverse membranaceous strie, somewhat
sharp and rough, crossing both the ribs and the intermediate grooves.
There are nine ribs, which are broad and rather flat, but each has an
elevated ridge running along the middle of it, surmounted here and
there with oblong spines, or sharp scales, crossing the ridge. As this
species does not appear to have been hitherto described, we may
name it p. Scarburgensis.

No. 11 agrees pretty well with p. puso; but one of the ears in
our fossil has no distinct line of separation between it and the valve.
The specimens, which are all from the oolite, differ considerably ;
their numerous filiform ribs being more or less crossed by transverse
scaly wrinkles. In some, the ribs are minutely echinated, and alter-
nately smaller; and as the number of the ribs is seemingly doubled
where this alternation takes place, such specimens are allied to
p. tslandicus or cinnabarinus.

No. 1 is a beautiful shell from the Malton oolite, which we have
not seen described by any author. It is nearly circular, and is
commonly about two inches in diameter. The ears resemble those
of No. 9; and the valves, instead of being ribbed, are adorned with
innumerable longitudinal strie, finely waved, scarcely visible at the
beaks, but growing more and more distinct towards the margin.
These strie are crossed by a few concentric rings, which mark the
shell in the antiquated style, the margin growing lower and lower
beyond each successive ring. These rings have no determinate

BIVALVE SHELLS. 935°

number or position; but there are generally two or three, the shell
appearing as if it consisted of three or four thin valves, of different
sizes, adhering to one another. This fossil and No. 11 have
generally a reddish or brownish hue. They are both flat and thin
shells. In honour of Malton, where so many interesting fossils are
obtained, we may name this shell p. Maltonensts.*

No 6, from the ironstone bands of the aluminous strata, is
perhaps another nondescript. It is the cast of a shell resem-
bling p. Danicus (or ostrea triradiata ), having very unequal ears,
the valves marked with very minute longitudinal striae, and with
four or five ribs or elevated plaits; the ends of which project at
the margin, the intervening marginal spaces being either straight or
slightly bent inwards; giving the shell the appearance of the webbed
foot of an aquatic fowl. Some of our specimens are three inches in
diameter, which is double the size assigned to p. Danicus.. Should
our shell prove a new species, we would name it p. cygnipes.

No. 4, from the same strata, is perhaps the flat valve of a smaller
shell of this species, having markings somewhat similar ; but it has no
angular points in the margin; the plaits, though corresponding in.
number, are not elevated but sunk; and instead of proceeding to
the margin, disappear at about two thirds of the length from the.
beak. This valve is rather concave in the middle; and is marked,
near the margin, with two or three transverse rings, or lines of
growth. If this shell belong to the same species as No. 6, it cannot
be the p. Danicus ; but it is not unlikely to be another species.

Nos. 2 and 7 are of that class of pectens which have a crooked
appearance, leaning or bending to one side. No. 2 is very abundant
in the ironstone and sandstone beds of the aluminous strata. It is a
smooth shell, marked with about ten slender ribs, handsomely bent ;

* Specimens of most of the Malton fossils may be procured from Mr. John Larkum of that.
place, an indefatigable collector.

236 ORGANIC REMAINS.

and seldom exceeds an inch in diameter. The ears are of a moderate
size, nearly equal. As it abounds about Rosebury Topping, we may
name it p. Roseburiensis. A similar shell from the same strata, inferior
in size, but with about fourteen ribs, approaches the common shape of
a plagiostoma, and may therefore be called p. plagzostomus.

No. 7, similar in shape, is from the oolite. It has seven or eight
ribs, of which those in the middle are vastly larger than those on
either side. If it is not the p. flavicans, we might name it p. cnequt-
costatus.

Ostrea. Oyster. This is another shell abundant in our strata;
and were we, with Linnzus, to include the scallops under this genus,
the family would be numerous in the extreme. The fossil oysters
occur in more of our beds than the pectens ; for we find them in the
ironstone and sandstone bands of the alum shale, in the alum shale
itself, in the dogger, in the blue limestone, in the calcareous sandstone
and ironstone of Scarborough and Filey, in the upper and second
shale, in the oolite, and in the chalk.

The o. edulis, or common oyster, is found in all its varieties ; large,
and small; rough, and smooth; round, and irregular; water-worn, and
entire; in single valves, and in double. The Staiths beds include
large seams consisting almost entirely of oysters, of various kinds,
and in various states. Some of the shells are of a handsome circular
form, others of a deltoid shape; some are large and thick, others
small and thin. Very large oysters, from six to nine inches or
upwards in length, are occasionally met with in the higher iron-
stone beds, near Scarborough and Filey; as also in the oolite, and in
the upper shale. Several of the shells alluded to may be distinct
species, rather than varieties of 0. edulis. At any rate, we find several
other species of this genus, a few of which will require to be noticed.

Fig. 14, Pl. TX, represents a handsome plaited oyster, occurring
in the calcareo-ferruginous sandstone of Filey, and of Scarborough.

BIVALVE SHELLS. 237

The specimen is from Filey Bridge. This is the o. diluviana
of Linneus, figured by Parkinson, IJ. Pl. XV. Fig. 1; and by
Sowerby, Tab. 48, under the name o. Marshii. The recent o.
Sinensis is probably of the same species, which admits of many
varieties. Fig. 1, Pl. X, displays the plaited edge of an oyster
of this family, from the upper shale. The great thickness of its edge,
with some differences in its shape, might entitle it to be regarded as
a distinct species from that last mentioned, had we not intermediate
specimens to connect them. It would seem, that in the younger
shells, such as No. 14, Pl. IX, the plaits are few, and only two or
three of the lamine that compose them reach the margin, while a
succession of other lamine may be seen proceeding towards it, at
different distances ; whereas in the old shells, such as No. 1, Pl. X,
the plaits are very numerous, and their lamine have all, or almost
all, arrived at the margin, where they forma solid zigzag border.
In the former, we find a protuberance, more or less broad, in the
region from whence the plaits diverge; in the latter, this protuber-
ance covers most of the disk, appearing like another valve adhering
to the back of the shell. Further, the young specimen is somewhat
oblong oval, measuring about three inches long, and above two
broad ; but the old specimen is of a deltoid shape, having a pro-
jecting lobe on one side of the base, and measures above four inches
long, and nearly four in breadth, from the point of the lobe to the
opposite side. The growth of lobes often forms the difference
between old and young univalves, and the same curious fact seems
to occur here. The hinge of this shell is striated across.

Fig. 2, Pl. X, is a singular oyster from the Speeton or upper
shale, resembling the hoof of an ox, and having a narrow incurved
beak. The shell is smooth without, or marked slightly with lines of
growth. It has a deep oblong cavity within, extending from the
beak to the base. The one side of this cavity is the flat part or base

3 N

238 ORGANIC REMAINS.

of the hoof; the other is a thick ridge running along the inside of the
curved part of the hoof. Above this thick ridge rises a thin lobe or
margin, which seems to have been continued round the base of the
shell, but is always found imperfect. We have not seen a specimen
with the smaller valve, or cover. From its remarkable shape, we may
call this shell 0. unguis. Its curved beak resembles that of a gryphea.

In the same shale, we find a large, massive, and very deep
oyster, of a deltoid or subtriangular shape; with a very rough knotty
exterior, but smooth within. Its beak is incurved, like that of
o. unguis ; but it is rough and irregular in its appearance, with trans-
verse coarse markings, which are more or less continued on the disk,
and which are so distorted, that they can scarcely be called either
strie or folds. The inside displays a large and deep subtriangular
cavity. The cover, or lesser valve, is of course subtriangular; and it
is concave, having a considerable hollow in the middle. Both valves
are very thick; and in both, especially in the smaller valve, the large
muscular impression is deeply marked. Beside it, in the larger
valve of our best specimen, is a knob containing a pearl. This specimen
is five inches long, four broad, and nearly three in depth. It weighs
twenty-six ounces. This oyster, like o. unguis, appears to be a non-
descript; and, from its large cavity, we may term it o. capax.

Fig. 16, Pl. EX, is the 0. gregaria of Sowerby, Tab. 111; called
by some o. frons, and not unlike the o. pectinata of Lamarck. It is
found in the oolite, and in the calcareo-ferruginous sandstone. The
shell is finely plaited, and the margin displays zigzag markings, as
in o. diluviana. It has often a bend near the beaks; where also we
sometimes find a lobe, or excrescence, on one side. The shells of
this family are often found in clusters, adhering together. A thin
parasitical shell, with obtuse plaits in the margin, like the o. foliwm,
occurs also in the calcareous sandstone. It is not uncommon to find
even large oysters adhering together, particularly in the upper shale.

BIVALVE SHELLS. 239

Fig. 13, Pl. 1X, represents a small shell from the oolite, of an
oblong form, and singularly marked; being striated longitudinally
towards the base, but transversely near the beaks. It is difficult to
say, whether it is an ostrea, or a chama, or neither. This remark
applies also to a very large shell, found in the Flamborough chalk ;
very similar in shape, and marked with coarse transverse furrows,
that are deepest near the beaks. This is the largest of our oysters, if
we may include it in the family. One of our specimens has measured,
when entire, about a foot in length, and seven inches in breadth.

No. 3, Pl. X, is a shell from the oolite, whichalso we hesitate to
place in this family. It has the ruggedness of an oyster, with the
ribs of a pecten; which last it agrees with in shape, but we have not
discovered any ears. The margin, like the surface, is very irregularly
waved. Some specimens exceed four inches in diameter.

There are many ostracites, in the bands of the aluminous strata,
having one valve remarkably gibbous. They seem to be of two
different species; one being very small, roundish, and wrinkled ;
the other oblong, nearly smooth, and two or three inches long. The
latter resembles the shells of the next genus.

GrypH#a. Boat-oyster, or miller’s thumb. Gryphites are found
in our strata in considerable quantity; particularly in the lowest shale,
as in Robin Hood’s Bay, at Boulby, and at Redcar rocks ; and in the
calcareous sandstone, as at Scarborough, Filey, and Rowlston scar.
Like the ostracites, they are seldom sparry, but retain the appearance
of recent shells. Fig. 23, Pl. VIII, represents the most common
species ; corresponding with that of Parkinson, HI. Pl. XV. Fig. 3;
which Sowerby, Tab. 112, names g. zncurva. It occurs in various
states ; small, and large; smooth or slightly striated, and strongly
wrinkled. Numbers are often found clustering together.

Fig. 4, Pl. X, is Sowerby’s g. dilatata, Tab. 149. It occurs in
the hard sandstone at the foot of Scarborough castle, in Rowlston.

240 ORGANIC REMAINS.

scar, and a few other spots. It is commonly smoother than g.
incurva, and considerably broader, with a lobe on one side. The
lobe is sometimes very faintly marked, but is more frequently
distinct. Shells of this species are found in a seam of yellow sandy
marl, at Rowlston scar, not petrified, but preserved; while others
occur there petrified, in the calcareous sandstone.—A shell like g.
incurva, deeply striated or sulcated transversely, occurs in the chalk;
but we have not ascertained its genus.

Perna. Shells of this genus, resembling those figured by Sow-
erby, Tab. 66, but much larger, occur in the oolite, at Thornton and
other places. They are apt to be confounded with the solens ;
especially as it is very difficult to obtain a complete specimen, the
shell being converted into a brittle spar.

Pinna. This shell is not very abundant in our strata, yet we
have two or three distinct species.

No. 5, Pl. X, occurs in the calcareous sandstone under the
oolite, at Scarborough, Falsgrave, Silphoue moor, and other places.
It is bent and tapering, like a goat’s horn, which it resembles in
colour, and in its angled shape, the middle of each valve rising in a
longitudinal ridge, so that the cross section is somewhat quadrangu-
lar. It has longitudinal strie, or slender ribs, towards the beaks ;
but the ribs gradually become obsolete, and entirely disappear towards
the base; where it is marked with transverse strie and wrinkles.
The shell is often much wrinkled, presenting a rugged appearance,
especially near the base, which is rather truncated. The two valves,
in the specimen figured, are parted near the base, where the shell is
very thin. It is six inches and a half long, and the base is two inches
and a half broad. This species resembles the p. zncurva of Linnzus,
but may be fitly named p. capricornus. i

No. 6 displays the inside of a valve of an elegant pinnite, from
the lowest shale at Robin Hood’s Bay. It occurs in the same shale

UNIVALVE UNILOCULAR SHELLS. 241

at Boulby and Huntcliff. This fossil reaches fifteen inches or more
in length, but seldom exceeds four inches in breadth; being an
oblong shell, rounded at the base, and greatly resembling a lettuce
leaf. As the shell is thin and brittle, perfect specimens can rarely
be obtained. Each valve is marked, near the beak, with numerous
longitudinal ribs, which grow obsolete before reaching half way to
the base, giving place to transverse striz, or lines of growth. The
inside is smooth, or slightly waved across, having a pearly aspect;
the beauty of which is increased when the shell is pyritous. The
shell is more straight, thick, and rounded, than No. 5; but the spe-
cimens are usually found much compressed and broken. It is perhaps
a variety of the p. rotundata (or gigas ); if not, we may term it p.
folium.

A small pinnite, still more rounded, its section being quite cir-
cular, occurs in the Staiths beds; but we have not seen an entire
Specimen.

UNIVALVE UNILOCULAR SHELLS.

Of this division of shells we have no great variety to produce;
for though immense quantities of univalves occur in the oolite, we
do not find so many different genera and species as might be expected.
Of the numerous genera, conus, cyprea, bulla, voluta, strombus, murex,
and helix, we have scarcely an instance. A few specimens of cones
are said to be found in the oolite. Mr. Parkinson (III. p. 56) men-
tions a very fine volute, which he supposed to be from the neigh-
bourhood of Whitby; but we have discovered nothing of the kind.
Shells resembling the murex erinaceus, the m. antiquus, and the m.
corneus, occur in the oolite; but we have not been able to identify
them.—A few genera of this class may be noticed as decidedly
occurring.

242 ORGANIC REMAINS.

Buccinum. Whelk. No. 8, Pl. XI, may be assigned to this
genus, though the lips and beak are too imperfect to enable us to
speak with certainty. Like b. flammeum of Dillwyn, it is longitudi-
nally plaited and transversely nodulous; having two rows of large
tubercles on the body whirl, and one row on each of the other
whirls. The plaits are undulated, but are somewhat defaced. This
shell, which is from the oolite, measures above two inches long, and
nearly two broad.—B. undatum, to which this shell bears some
analogy, is said to be found on Langton Wolds.—The large cast,
Fig. 9, greatly resembles B. striatum; yet it probably belongs to the
next genus.

Turso. Wreath, or Whirl. Under this genus may be placed
several shells found in the oolite; some of which belong to the new
genus MELANIA. Of this the shell, Fig. 9, last named, is an example ;
being evidently the melania striata of Sowerby, Tab. 47. Mr. Sower-
by, by: putting two fragments together, belonging to specimens of
different sizes, has made his figure of too long a shape. The shell,
or rather the cast, is pretty common at Pickering and Malton. Some
specimens are from six to eight inches in length, and between three
and four in breadth.—Fig. 7 is the cast of a small shell, nearly the
same in shape, but quite smooth, and no doubt of a different species.
It is rather rare—Fig. 8 is a handsome east, very like the ¢#. twmidus
of Pennant. It is akin to the helix family, and resembles the pha-

stanella angulosa of Sowerby, Tab. 175. Some shells, similar to this,
approach the ¢. littoreus.

Vast numbers of our tapering oolite shells may be assigned to
this genus; many of them resembling ¢. ¢erebra, others more elongated,
in the form of buccinum strigilatum. Of such it is extremely difficult
to obtain more than the cast, the shell itself being a brittle spar.
No. 10 is one of the most common species. It greatly resembles the
melania Heddingtonensis of Sowerby, Tab. 39; having a kind of

UNIVALVE UNILOCULAR SHELLS. 243

elevated band at the upper part of each whirl; but it is smoother
than his shell. It is often four inches, or upwards, in length. Shells
of the same form are found, without any appearance of a band at the
sutures._No. 11 is a more elongated shell, nearly corresponding with
the turritella conoidea of Sowerby, Tab. 51, Fig. 1, 4; or. his. ¢.
elongata, Fig. 2, obviously a variety of the same species. There is a
slightly elevated thread at the suture, on the upper side of each whirl ;
but in many specimens the thread is scarcely, if at all, discernible.
Other shells of this form resemble Sowerby’s turritella edita, Tab. 51,
Fig. 7. Almost all these shells are finely striated across, that is,
spirally, in the direction of. the whirls.—Shells of the same form
occur, but rarely, in the dogger; where also we find others resem-
bling No. 8. Minute shells, like the latter, are seen occasionally in
the lias and pyritous nodules.

Trocuus. Yop-shell. Shells of this genus occur in the oolite,
the grey limestone, the blue limestone, the dogger, and the Staiths
band. No. 4, Pl. XI, from the blue limestone, resembles ¢. zizyphi-
nus, but is differently marked; and having the appearance of an
umbilicus, it may be more akin to ¢. radiatus. The granules of the
numerous transverse striz are connected by slender threads. The
aperture is rhomboidal; and the base is flat, or a little convex, and
marked with concentric lines. The markings in the specimen
are somewhat worn off. We found also in the blue limestone,
an imperfect cast of a large trochite of the same shape, above three
inches in diameter, with an oblique or spiral umbilicus.—No 1, from
the Malton oolite, resembles ¢. magus, being a flat shell, striated
transversely, and with the whirls plaited on their upper margins. It is
near two inches broad, and little more than one inch deep.

Fig. 6 represents the cast of a large shell from the grey limestone,
which has measured nearly four inches in breadth, and above two
in depth. Though resembling a trochite, particularly ¢. concavus, it

244 ORGANIC REMAINS.

more properly belongs to Sowerby’s new genus EVOMPHALUs, Tab,
45, 46, 52; or rather, as the aperture has not been angular but quite
round, it may be assigned to his genus cirrus, Tab. 141; although
the spire is much more flat than that of any species described by
him. It has a deep and wide umbilicus, displaying the interior of
the whirls—The Scarborough Catalogue, after Mr. Parkinson,
notices shells of this kind under the genus DELPHINULA.

Nerita. Nerite. To this genus must be assigned No. 2, PI.
XI, from the oolite, two inches long, and of equal breadth. It has
some resemblance to x. glaucina; but as we cannot speak with cer-
tainty, either of its umbilicus or its lips,-we shall only add, that it is
a smooth shell, except that the body whirl is marked with the lines
of growth, and a few faint transverse strie at the base. Perhaps we
should consider it as x. maxima of Dillwyn.—No. 5 is a beautiful
little shell, also from the oolite, of a yellow colour, deeply cancella-
ted. As the aperture is marginated, it is akin to ». marginata of
Dillwyn, if not the same species.

Pateitta. Limpet. No. 12 is a small limpet, pretty common
in our lias nodules. Sowerby names it p. levis, Tab. 139, Fig. 3, 4.

Dentatium. Tooth-Shell. No. 13 is a group of dentalia from
the lowest shale, belonging to d. entalis, or a species akin to it.
These shells are often found compressed and broken. ‘The inside is
a white spar, frequently decomposed. Dentalia, both round and
angular, occur in the oolite.

Serputa. Numbers of serpulites, in almost all their multifari-
ous shapes, occur in the oolite, the alum shale, and other strata,
generally adhering to other shells. No. 14, from the dogger at Peak,
is a group of serpulites, of a species resembling s. afra, having about
three whirls. A similar shell is figured by Parkinson, II. Pl. VII.
Fig. 8. The same serpula occurs in the upper shale.

MULTILOCULAR SHELLS. ° 245

_ We now proceed to a division of shells comprising an immense
number of highly interesting petrifactions ; viz.

MULTILOCULAR SHELLS.

-This division includes three grand families, or genera, the am-
monites, the nautilites, and the belemnites; in all of which, the shell
is divided internally into numerous chambers. The body of the animal
has lodged in the outer chamber, but has communicated with the
interior chambers by a tubular substance called the siphuncle, which
has pierced through all the septa, or partitions. By inflating or
compressing this tubular substance, the animal has had the power of
raising itself to the surface of the water, or sinking to the bottom.

Cornu AMMONIS or AMMONITES. Ammonite or Snakestone.
We place this genus in the front of our multilocular shells, both be-
cause it is the most abundant, and because it is that for which Whitby
has long been celebrated. Who has not heard of the fame of our
petrified snakes, renowned both in fable and in song? The shells of
this genus have acquired the name of snakes, from their resemblance
to serpents coiled up. Indeed they were long supposed to have been
real snakes; and the want of heads was no valid objection to the hy-
pothesis, since monkish tradition alleged, that the whole race of ser-
pents, by which the territory of Lady Hilda had been infested, were at
once decapitated and petrified, through that good saint’s prayers! *

Small shells of the heliw genus, or rather of the new genus planorbis,
are found recent in the river Tees, greatly resembling our ammonites
in their outward form, but they are not divided internally into cham-
bers. Notwithstanding the great number and variety of the fossil
ammonites, scarcely one species has hitherto been discovered recent.

* See History of Whitby, I. p. 213,
3 P

246 i ORGANIC REMAINS.

Shells of this genus are found in all parts of our aluminous stra-
ta, but especially im the main bed of alumshale. The best specimens
are procured from the pyritous or lias nodules; but great numbers
are found disengaged. In several places near Whitby, the scar seems
paved with them; and the pavement has a rich appearance where
they are coated with shining pyrites. Most of the shells that are
found without a nucleus are imperfect, the inner whirls being decay-
ed, or the whole shell being broken and flattened. It is observable,
that they are almost always found in the plane of the strata, their flat
surfaces being parallel to the horizontal partings; a remark which
applies to our fossil oysters, and other flat shells, as well as to the
flat pieces of fossil wood.

Ammonites are found also in the lower chalk, the upper shale,
the second shale, the oolite, the grey limestone, the calcareous sand-
stone, and ina few of the ironstone beds. We have observed about
thirty different species, of most of which we have given specimens in
Plates XII, XIII, and XIV. t

No. 3, Pl. XI, is the most plentiful of our ammonites, and is
hence called by Sowerby ammonites communis, ‘Tab. 107, Fig. 2, 3.
The aperture is round; and its edge, or lip, when entire, is reflected
or partially folded back, like the edge of a trumpet or a bell; as is
the case in some species of the helix family. The ribs are numerous,
and generally sharp, and each of them at the back is divided into two, or
a short rib comes between every two long ribs. The shell has generally
five or six turns ; but in this respect, as well as in the closeness and
sharpness and curvature of the ribs, there is much variety. This
species abounds in the main bed of alum shale. It seldom reaches
four inches in diameter.—A shell, apparently of this species, or ap-
proaching very near to it, occurs in the lower chalk, and in the upper
shale, where it is generally in a highly nacrous state-—An ammonite
greatly resembling this species, but much flatter, and often of a larger

MULTILOCULAR SHELLS. 247

size, occurs in the grey limestone at Malton.—The a. angulatus of
Sowerby, Tab. 107, Fig. 1, which occurs in nodules in the alum shale,
is on the contrary a much thicker shell than a. communis, though the
ribs have nearly the same form.

No. 8 also resembles No. 3, both in size and in form; but differs
from it in being rather more flat, and especially in the slenderness of
its ribs, from which we may name it a. tenuicostatus. Like a. angula-
tus, it is not very plentiful.

No. 1 is very abundant in the alum shale, and often attains a
great size, measuring six or eight inches, or upwards, in diameter. It
is the a. Walcotii of Sowerby, Tab. 106. We would rather name it
a. Hildensis, in honour of our Lady Hilda. It is more flat than a.
communis, and has fewer whirls. The back has a keel between two
furrows. The ribs are somewhat sigmoidal, especially near the
mouth, where the shell when entire also displays minute sigmoidal
strie. A furrow, more or less deep, usually divides each whirl into
two parts, and on the inner part the ribs are rather faintly marked.
In this respect, however, there is much variety in the shells of this
species. Most specimens are only casts, and display the elegantly
ramified edges of the septa, resembling flowers. The original shell
appears from its remains in some specimens, to have been of a choco-
late brown colour, handsomely spotted with white.

No. 2 is a very reduced figure of what we may call a. ingens,
being one of our largest ammonites. The specimen is from the oolite
at Pickering, and measures fourteen inches broad, and four in thick-
ness at the aperture, which is nearly round, with a slight approach
to quadrangular. It weighs twenty-nine pounds. The ribs are strong,
but not very numerous, and are discontinued on the back: in which
respect it differs from a. giganteus (Sowerby, Tab. 126), a large shell
which also occurs in the Pickering and Malton oolite; the ribs of
which are very numerous, and each of them on the back is parted

248 ORGANIC REMAINS.

into three or four slender ribs. The same, or a similar shell, occurs
in the upper shale. Another very large shell is met with in the oolite
and the grey limestone, resembling a. ingens, but having the aperture
more square, and the ribs more acute, each of which terminates
towards the back in a sharp knob. This shell, of which we have no
entire specimen, may be termed a. acuticostatus.

No. 12, Pl. XIV, is a much smaller shell, from the blue limestone,
or rather from alluvial nodules of blueish limestone, having also very
sharp ribs, but continued round the back; and having the aperture
round. The original shell is brown with some white spots, as in a
Hildensis ; so that we may name this species a. maculatus. A similar
species, or a variety of the same species, also from the alluvium, has
on the sides two small knobs upon each rib; the one towards the
back, and the other, which is the smallest, towards the inside.

No. 13, Pl. XIV, has also sharp ribs, and has a sharp keel run-
ning along the back. It occurs in the lowest shale at Robin Hood’s
Bay, and other places. A large shell generally found imperfect, but
apparently of the same species, occurs in the Redcar rocks. The
a. Bucklandi of Sowerby, Tab. 130, seems to be a cast of this species.
We would prefer naming it a. Redcarensis.

No. 6, Pl. XIII, is a very small but handsome ammonite, also
from the lowest shale, and common in Robin Hood’s Bay. _ Its ribs
are sharp on the sides, but thick and flat on the back. As it is
generally found in a pyritous state, shining like gold, we might call it
a. aureus; but it seemis to be the same with a. planicosta of Sowerby,
Tab. 73.

We have met with no shell corresponding exactly with Mr.
Sowerby’s a. armatus, Tab. 95; which he states to exist in our alum
shale, in numerous varieties. We have several distinct species of
knobbed ammonites, but have seen none with striated knobs, stuck
on like barnacles or small patelle, as in the outer whirl of Mr.

MULTILOCULAR SHELLS. 249

Sowerby’s shell. We must therefore suppose, that the latter is so
rare, that it could not be found among all the thousands of spe-
cimens which we have examined; or that Mr. Sowerby has been
misinformed as to its locality; or, which seems most likely, that he has
made out his figure by combining two specimens together, of which
the outer one has not belonged to our alum shale, and the inner one
has had some of its knobs altered, to connect it with the other. No. 9,
Pi. XIII, is the inside of Sowerby’s a. armatus, with a little variation
in the knobs, which are not striated but plain, and rather sharp. The
specimen appears to be nearly entire, and we have no reason to think
that it has had another whirl, like that in Sowerby’s figure. Yet in
tracing the spire inits several volutions, we see, as in his shell, a succes-
sion of different markings. Towards the mouth, the ribs are alternately
knobbed and plain, and the knobbed rib parts into three at the back,
immediately beyond the knob, while the plain rib goes round the back
single. At the distance of half a whirl from the mouth, the single
ribs disappear, and each knob is connected with a double rib, resemb-
ling a loop attached to a button; each double rib passing into three
or four on the back. This kind of marking, common to most of out
knobbed ammonites, continues inward through the next two whirls;
beyond which, the knobs gradually disappearing, the interior part of
the shell is plain, and fine ribbed. This part greatly resembles small
specimens of our a. tenuicostatus; but the latter is a distinct species,
growing to a considerable size. We have one entire specimen, above
three inches broad, with part of the reflected lip.

No. 11, Pl. XIV, is a shell with similar markings, but of a species
quite distinct; for the spire, instead of being nearly rounded, appears
as if greatly compressed from the back inwards, and the interior
shews a deep cavity on both sides, the outer whirls forming a high
border around it. Besides, the button and loop marking does not
give place to plain ribs in the interior part, but continues towards the

3 Q

250 ORGANIC REMAINS.

centre. Its knobs are more strong and prominent than those of the
last shell.—No. 3, Pl. XIII, is another distinct species ; and it is the
most common of our knobbed ammonites. The button and loop
marking continues to the centre, as in the last shell; but the centre,
though depressed, is far from being so deep; the body of the spire is
more round, the knobs are generally much smaller, and the ribs finer.
—If we name No. 9, Pl. XIII, a. armatus, we may call this species a.
subarmatus ; and No. 11, Pl. XIV, a. perarmatus.—We have a frag-
ment of a large shell, that has measured four inches in diameter, of a
species closely allied to a. subarmatus, but thicker, and more deeply
umbilicated. It has the termination of the outer whirl, shewing a
part of the reflected lip; but instead of resembling the outer whirl of
Sowerby’s a. armatus, it is marked with very small and simple knobs,
less than those of the next whirl. Perhaps it is only a variety of a..
subarmatus.

Figures 4 and 5, Pl. XII, represent fragments of two knobbed
ammonites that are rare and singular. No. 4, which is from the lower
part of the aluminous strata, is part of the outer whirl of an ammonite
that has measured about ten inches in diameter. Its aperture or
section is subtriangular, the back being not rounded but with two
acute angles, and the sides sloping inwards, especially one side, which
is more strongly ribbed and knobbed than the other. The knobs on
the plainest side, in this specimen, consist chiefly of galena, a sub-
stance which we noticed (p. 124) as occurring in the dogger, and
which is not uncommon in the petrifactions of the aluminous strata.—
No. 5 is from. the calcareous sandstone below the oolite, on Silphoue
moor. It has belonged to an ammonite equally large, and with larger
ribs and knobs, placed at greater distances. The back is somewhat
rounded, and that and the intervals between the ribs are striated;
whereas in No. 4 they are smooth. Unless more appropriate names
can be found, when entire specimens are obtained, No. 4 may be
termed a. subtriangularis, and No. 5, a. Stlphouensis.

MULTILOCULAR SHELLS. 251

The markings of No. 9, Pl. XII, resemble those of a. communis,
and still more those of a. giganteus. Like the latter, it is from the
oolite, and is of a great size, our specimen being eight inches broad,
and two thick; but it differs froma. giganteus, in having the exterior
whirl vastly larger than the next, which it partly conceals, as is the
case also in No.1. This shell we may name a. Prckeringius.
Sowerby’s a. Nutfieldensis, Tab. 108, resembles it.

This shell and a. Hildensis make a distant approach to the
nautilus family, in having a very large outer whirl, partly concealing
the interior whirls. This remark applies much more to the ammonites
that remain to be described, which ought perhaps to be arranged
under a new genus, distinguished by the appropriate name amMo-
NAUTILUS, as suggested by Mr. Parkinson.

No. 7, Pl. XIII, corresponds with the a. elegans of Sowerby,
Tab. 94, Fig. 1; having the same form, the same sigmoidal ribs, sharp
keel, and truncated internal angles. It is not uncommon in the lias
nodules. The specimen figured is small, but singular, having
portions of the chambers hollow, containing when discovered a
considerable quantity of oil—No. 8, Pl. XIII, greatly resembles
this last shell, and has the same localities; but the internal
angles of the aperture or spire, instead of being truncate or bevelled,
are sharp and rather prominent, the margin of the outer whirl pro-
jecting somewhat over the next whirl. ‘There is also a groove, as in
a. Hildensis, generally dividing the whirl longitudinally, or rather
spirally. This shell is often pyritous, and of great beauty. As it
occurs chiefly on the shores of the Mulgrave estates, we may nameit a.
Mulgravius.—No. 4, Pl. XIII, belonging to the same strata, differs
from No. 7, chiefly in having the internal angles rounded, giving the
aperture an oval form. Hence we may call it a. ovatus. It differs
from the a. ellipticus of Sowerby, Tab. 92, Fig. 4, in having sigmoidal
ribs.—No. 5, Pl. XIII, also from the aluminous strata, appears to be

252 ORGANIC REMAINS.

a small specimen of Sowerby’s a. concavus, Tab. 94, Fig. 2. It has
a faint spiral furrow on one side.—We have another shell with the
same kind of strong waved ribs, but having the internal angles of the
aperture sharp, as in No. 8. This species, which is also from the
alum shale, and which is not figured, may be named a. Boulbiensis.
No. 6, Pl. XII, is of a different character from the five species
last described. Its spire is not flat, but rounded, and without a keel,
the aperture being nearly circular; and its ribs, or rather strie (for
they are very small) are not sigmoidal, but straight. It greatly re-
sembles the spiral horns that are used as snuff-boxes ; and as it is
generally found in the state of cast, with the beautifully foliated septa
displayed, it has a rich appearance, especially when it is pyritous.
This species, which is trom the alum shale, we may name a. cornucopia.
No. 10, Pl. XII, and Nos. 10, 11, Pl. XIII, approach still nearer
to the nautilus family, having only a small part of the inner whirls
exposed. They differ from the ammonites already described, in
having crenulated keels.—No. 10, Pl. XII, is found in the oolite and
the grey limestone of Malton. It is a lenticular shell, with a sharp
crenulated keel, and sagittate aperture; having half the outer whirl
marked with large and distant ribs; and the other half, towards the
keel, with numerous curved small ribs. The a. splendens of Sowerby,
Tab. 103, is marked like it; but, as it does not fully coincide with it,
we may name our shell a. Maltonensis.—Another shell of the same
shape, but with slender strie instead of ribs, is also met with in the
Malton limestone. It seems to be Sowerby’s a. excavatus, Tab.
105. This species and the last are nearly of the same size, each
measuring four or five inches in diameter.—No. 10, PI. XIII, is a rare
and beautiful little flat shell, from the calcareous sandstone of Rowlston
scar. It has on the back a double crenulated or serrated keel, or
rather, a double row of minute knobs, with a narrow space between
the rows, rather depressed. ‘The knobs are at the ends of its waved

M ULTILOCULAR SHELLS. 253

ribs, which are numerous towards the back, but fewer and more
prominent towards the inner side of the whirl. The aperture ap-
proaches to ovate. Sowerby’s a. Calloviensis, Tab. 104, Fig. 3, and
a. Duncani, Tab. 157, resemble this shell; but as they both differ
from it, we may name it a. Rowlstonensis. A beautiful nacrous shell,
not unlike this species, occurs in the upper shale; but we have no
complete specimen.—No. 11, Pl. XIII, is another small, beautiful, and
rare ammonite, from the beds corresponding with the Staiths band in
the front of Cranimoor. It resembles a. Maltonensis, both in its
shape and its markings ; but its ribs are waved, and are less prominent,
and extend across the whirl to near the crenulated keel, where they
bifurcate. We may name this shell a. Clevelandicus.

A very large globose smooth ammonite, with a deep cavity or
umbilicus on each side, occurs in the Malton oolite, which, from the
great size of the cavity, may be named a. capax. Sowerby’s a.
sublevis, Tab. 54, resembles it, but is not the same species.—A few
more species of the ammonite family are described in the Scarborough
Catalogue.

Navutitus. The difference between the ammonite and the nau-
tilite is merely this, that in the former all the whirls are exposed,
while in the latter the outer whirl conceals all the rest. We have
dismissed the ill defined genus AMMONOIDES, under which some au-
thors include part of the ammonites last described; and we have
contented ourselves with naming the proposed genus AMMONAUTILUs,
intermediate between the ammonite and nautilite; because it would
be difficult to fix the limits of such a genus, there are so many grada-
tions between those species in which the whirls are fully exposed,
and those in which they are almost entirely concealed. In like
manner, the transition from the latter to the umbilicated nautilus is
so short,that there is perhaps an impropriety in making even the
nautilites a distinct family. We may notice, however, that in general

3 Q

254 ORGANIC REMAIN S.

the siphuncle is more conspicuous in the nautilite than in the ammo-
nite; and whereas in the latter it commonly runs along the back,
particularly in the keeled species, in the former it is usually near the
middle of the whirl.*

No. 2, Pl, XIII, may be termed nawtzlus pompilius ; for it so
nearly corresponds with the recent nautilus of that name, that it may
be viewed as a variety of the same species. Sowerby’s x. ¢mperialts,
Tab. 1, almost coincides with our shell; but the siphuncle in our
specimens is more central, as in the recent shell. There is, however,
considerable variation as to the disposal of the siphuncle, both in
recent and fossil specimens. This species, which is found in our alu-
minous strata, rarely displays the shell entire, the exterior being so
far gone, as to shew the edges of the septa; from the curved form of
which, it is denominated the lobster-tailed nautilus. It sometimes
is near a foot in diameter.—The n. scrobiculatus of Dillwyn, which is
very like x. pompilius, is a recent ammonite, shewing the interior
whirls.

No, 1, Pl. XIII, is the most common of our nautilites. It is a flat
umbilicated discoidal shell, often of a large size; the specimen figured
being sixteen inches broad. The aperture is somewhat ovate, the
back being rounded; the sides towards the mouth are marked with
prominent ribs or undulations, which grow obsolete before arriving
at the back, and also gradually diminish in size as they recede from

*JIt may be proper to observe, that what we call the back, viz. the exterior edge of the
disk, corresponds with what Mr. Sowerby names the front. We reject Sowerby’s definitions
of the two genera, taken from the undulations in the margins of the septa ; because the characters
ofa genus should be drawn from perfect specimens, not from imperfect; and the margins of the
septa cannot be scen, till the shell itself is destroyed or removed. Besides, great confusion
must arise from admitting Mr. Sowerby’s distinction; and hence he himself has not strictly
adhered toit. We have an instance in nawtélus truncatus, Tab. 123, in which the edges of the
septa are finely foliated, though the ribs or strie, which he seems to confound with them, are
straight,

MULTILOCULAR SHELLS. 255

the mouth, till they entirely disappear. The ribbed part mdeed is
wanting in most specimens. The whole shell, both where it is ribbed
and where it is plain, is striated from the umbilicus outwards, the
strie being continued round the back; but very often the shell is
partially gone, and the foliated edges of the septa, which are arranged
in the most elegant form, are displayed in all their beauty; as may
be seen in part of the specimen figured. This nautilus, like the
former, is found in our aluminous strata, particularly in the main bed
of alum shale. The siphuncle runs along the back, in which respect,
and in the aperture, it differs from Sowerby’s n. truncatus, Tab. 123 ;
which, however, by his own account, was figured from fragments of
different specimens, part of which, we suspect, might coincide with
our shell. As there is nothing truncate in our fossil, we shall
name it n. Whitbiensis.

Fig. 7, Pl. XII, represents a rare and handsome umbilicated nau-
tilus, also from the alum shale. It is distinguished by a flat space
running along the back, divided im the middle by a slight ridge, or
imperfect keel. The sides are marked with fine strie, and with
irregular undulations ; and the edges of the septa, where exposed, are
beautifully foliated. This species is not so flat as n. Whitbiensis,
nor so globose as n. pompilius, and is much smaller than either. N.
“ineatus of Sowerby, Tab. 41, resembles it, but is obviously another
species. From its imperfect keel, we may designate our shell x.
subcarinatus.

Polished sections of nautilites or ammonites, from the aluminous
strata, are often very beautiful and interesting; the chambers being
filled with a light coloured spar, while the septa and exterior shell
are of a darker colour. The mixture of pyrites sometimes adds to
their beauty, though the highly pyritous specimens do not take a
good polish. In some sections, particularly those of the lobster-
tailed nautilus, the siphuncle is finely displayed.

256 ORGANIC REMAINS.

One or two species of nautilus are said to occur in the oolite,
but we have not seen any genuine nautilites in that kind of rock.

BeLemnites. Belemnite or Thunderbolt. This is one of the
most singular shells in existence, and having no recent analogue,
except perhaps a few microscopic shells, it is difficult to ascertain
with precision what it has been in the recent state, especially as it is
rarely, if ever, found entire. The chambers, instead of being dis-
posed spirally, are arranged one above another, so as to form a cone,
more or less tapering; the septa being a series of cups, very small
towards the apex of the cone, and increasing in size as they approach
the base or mouth. These cups, like the septa of the recent nautilus,
have their hollow sides towards the mouth. In the last and largest
of them, which probably had some peculiar margin, the animal has
lodged, maintaining a communication with the other chambers, by a
siphuncle that pierces all the cups or septa, and has no doubt served,
like the siphuncle of the nautilus, to regulate the ascent and descent
of the animal in the water. The process has perhaps been facilitated
by a singular appendage belonging to the shell, enveloping the
conical part like a sheath, extending beyond it, in a cylindrical or
rounded form, and at last tapering to a point. This appendage,
which varies in shape, is always found in a sparry state, and the cross
fracture displays a number of lines radiating from a centre, like a star.
The centre of the star is not always in the middle, but often ap-
proaches to one side; being determined by a line passing from the
apex of the chambered cone, to the exterior apex, or point of the
belemnite, which line is not always central. The part that envelops
the chambered cone is radiated from the surface of the cone outwards.
The exterior surface of the belemnite is generally smooth, and has
more the aspect of horn than of shell, especially as it is often trans-
lucent. Under certain circumstances it acquires a rich silky or
pearly lustre.

MULTILOCULAR SHELLS. 257

The chambered cone, which is called the alveolus, is not only
enveloped by this radiated appendage, but has a thin shelly coating
of its own, concealing the edges of the septa and the chambers.
Towards the mouth, this is the only covering of the alveolus; for the
radiated envelope grows thinner and thinner, in proportion as the
cone enlarges, till the latter becomes fully exposed. Such at least is
the case in the fossil shell; in which also the inner covering of the
alveolus is often found decomposed, so that the edges of the cups
and the chambers appear. The latter are generally extremely small,
their breadth being less than the thickness of the cup on either side.

The alveolus is often highly pyritous, the septa appearing like
golden cups, and the shelly coating having the same splendid lustre;
which is never the case with the radiated part of the fossil. Yet the
latter is the most firm and durable part, for it is generally entire,
while the former is more or less mutilated, often compressed, and
very frequently altogether lost. The alveolus, in many instances, is
found detached from its radiated sheath ; though this does not occur
so often in our strata, as in some other countries. In this detached
state, the alveolus has been viewed as a shell of another genus,
called ORTHOCERA, a genus which we have no hesitation in rejecting.
Mr. Sowerby, who adopts the term as comprehending the belemnite
family, judiciously intimates, that the orthocere which are considered
as too large to belong to any known belemnite, may have had a thin-
ner and shorter envelope which has been lost. Some of our alveoli
expand to such a size, as to seem greatly too large for their belemnitic
terminations, which only cover about half their length.

No shell is more extensively diffused in our rocks than the
belemnite. It occurs in all our strata, from the upper chalk to the
lowest shale, except the siliceous sandstone, the sandy and bituminous
shale, and the coal. It is most abundant in the aluminous strata, the
upper shale, and the calcareous sandstone.

3 R

258 ORGANIC REMAINS.

No. 1, Pl. XIV, is the most common of our belemnites. It
abounds in the alum shale, and in the calcareous sandstone; though in
the latter, as also in the dogger, the belemnite has in many instances
been decomposed, and nothing but the cast left. The cast is of a
singular description; the radiated part, or sheath, being entirely gone;
and its place left empty, while the cast of the chambered part, or
alveolus, projects into the oblong cavity. The specimen figured has
a great part of the alveolus laid bare, exposing the edges of the cups.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section, shewing the manner in which the
point of the alveolus terminates in its radiated sheath. This belem-
nite is sometimes ten or twelve inches long, and two inches across,
at the broad end. It is seldom quite round, being generally some-
what flattened on two opposite sides, so that its section is oval rather
than circular. This compression is usually greatest near the point,
from which a slight groove runs a little way along each of the flatten-
ed sides. Sometimes a third groove is seen on one of the intermediate
spaces, which is often a little flattened, and in a few instances a fourth
groove appears on the side opposite.—This species is named by
Sowerby (Tab. 60. Fig. 1, 2, 3) orthocera conica, from the conical
form of the alveolus, a circumstance not peculiar to this species. As
it is the most common species, we may name it belemnites vulgaris.
The mutilated form in which it commonly occurs, may be seen in the
specimens figured in the mass of encrinite, Pl. V, Fig. 6.

No. 4, Pl. XIV, is a species nearly allied to No. 1. It differs
from it, in being generally more blunt and more angular. It has one
side very flat, the opposite side rounded, and the two intermediate
spaces partially compressed. We usually find on each of those two
sides a slight groove at the point, and on the flat side an oblong de-
pression rounded at one end, as represented in the Figure. The
apex of the alveolus, which is nearly central in No, 1, always inclines
in this species to the flat side; as is shewn in the ‘section, Fig. 5;

MULTILOCULAR SHELLS. 259

and hence, the line running internally, from that apex to the point of
the belemnite, is nearest to the same side. For this reason, we
may name this species 6. eacentralis. It is found in the oolite, the
upper shale, and the chalk. The specimen, Fig. 4, which is from the
oolite, is large, but imperfect. In its entire state it has probably
been a foot long. The belemnites in the shale at Speeton seldom
reach half that length; and are commonly much mutilated, the
alveolus being lost.

No. 2 is the 6. fusiformis of Parkinson. It is from the Speeton
shale, and like all the specimens which we have seen, is imperfect,
the conical broad termination, containing the alveolus, having been
broken off at the narrow neck. The form of the entire shell may be
seen in Parkinson’s Org. Rem. IIT. Pl. VITI, Fig. 13. Our fossil some-
times displays two faint longitudinal furrows, or grooves, on opposite
sides; but it is remarkably round and smooth. The internal line
passing to the point is quite central; and the transverse section not
only shews diverging rays, but concentric circles crossing them, as
in some madrepores. In the Speeton shale, this fossil is often highly
translucent, as is the case with b. excentralis, but in the Staiths beds,
where we also discovered it, it shews the same dark grey and nearly
opaque spar as the b. vulgaris. It occurs also, but rarely, in the lias
nodules. Some specimens in the upper shale are very small; and
hence they have been taken for spines of echini.

No. 6 is a very singular belemnite, from the alum shale at Salt-
wick, the only place where we have found it. The alveolus is.
conical and nearly central, as in No. 1; and, as in that species, is
often replenished with pyrites and occasionally with galena: but the
body, or sheath, is very long, slender, and cylindrical. Some of our
specimens are about a foot in length, of which the alveolus occupies
scarcely more than two inches; whereas in b. vulgaris, the alveolus
is sometimes more than half the length of the entire shell. Another

260 ORGANIC REMAINS.

peculiarity of this species is, that we never find it ending in a point,
but in a flattened broad edge, like that of a chisel; as if the belem-
nite had terminated in an open tube, the sides of which have been
compressed. This idea is corroborated by the fact, that the cross
fracture towards this end shews no radiations, nor central line, nor
any marks of a sparry structure. This species, which we have never
seen described, may be named 6. tubularis. In this, as in No. 1,
the siphuncle is on one side of the alveolus: we have not seen the
siphuncle in the two other species.

CRUSTACEA.

In the class of crustaceous animals, we have but few species to
notice; and all of them are of the genus CANCER, or nearly allied to it.

Fig. 7, Pl. XIV, represents a rare and beautiful specimen of an
animal allied to the lobster, or the prawn. The folds or plates of the
tail are observable; but the head is mutilated. The rings on the
body are numerous, and each of them has a row of minute spines on
the front edge of it. A few similar spines are scattered on the tail part.
The whole is of arich blue colour. A small brown limpet adheres
to the back. This fossil we found in a nodule in the Speeton shale. |

No. 8 is another rare and interesting fossil of this family. It
agrees so exactly with a large prawn, that we may consider it as one
of that species. It was found near Malton, imbedded in the oolite;
and now belongs to the valuable collection of Thomas Hinderwell,
Esquire, Scarborough.

No. 9, from the same quarter, and the same collection, is also a
beautiful fossil, which we may consider as belonging to another
branch of the crab family. Only half of the shell is exposed in the
Figure. Itis of a blueish colour, and handsomely imbricated with
prominent scales. At the broad end, the shell is in one large piece:

FISHES AND MARINE ANIMALS. 261

towards the narrow end, it is divided by grooves into various plates or
pieces. This fossil and No. 8 are found imbedded together in the oolite.
No. 10, also from the Malton oolite, is nearly allied to No. 9; but is
less divided towards the narrow end, where it is marked with six longi-
tudinal rows of minute spines. The rest of the shell is marked with
numerous punctures, or depressed dots, instead of having imbricated
scales. Both halves of the shell are seen in the figure. An imperfect
and distorted specimen is given on the Title-page of the Scarborough
Catalogue.
Nos. 9 and 10 have obtained the name beetles, from their resem-
blance to the beetle tribes.

FISHES AND LARGE MARINE ANIMALS.

Under this head also we have few articles to introduce; but
these few are highly interesting.

Of the finny tribes, those fishes which have hard scales are the
most likely to be found petrified. A beautiful fish of this description
has been recently discovered in the compact shale. Fig. 7, Pl. XVI,
shews the head of this kind of fish, and part of the body; and Fig. 8,
nearly the whole body, with about one half of the tail, and a portion
of the head, or rather, of the gill-covers. This fish seems to belong
to the genus Esox (the pike), several species of which have bony
scales; and it seems most akin to the esox Leverianus, or the esox
Chilensis. The head is rather compressed, and is shorter than in
most pikes. It is covered with black, shining, bony plates, regularly
and beautifully arranged; generally smooth, but marked in some pla-
ces with raised dots or prickles, and branching lines. The frontal
plates, and the plates next to the large gill-covers, bear most of these
markings. The teeth are numerous, small, and sharp; as in most
pikes. The body is covered all over with large and thick quadrangular

38

262 ORGANIC REMAINS.

scales, disposed in oblique rows. These scales are generally brittle
and easily detached; and are all covered with a dark brown or black-
ish enamel, giving the fossil a rich appearance. They are nearly
rectangular in the thickest part of the body, but become rhomboidal
towards the tail, where they also grow smaller. They are very hand-
somely imbricated, the middle of each scale lying over the junction
between two scales before it. The front of each scale, or rather, one
half of the front, is often more or less indented ; especially where the
scales are large. The tail has not been rounded, like that of the esoa
osseus, but sharp-angled and somewhat forked, like that of esox stomias.
The rays of the tail are composed of numerous small joints. The large
specimen, Fig. 8, has measured, when entire, two feet or more, in
length; and about six inches or more, in its greatest breadth. The
Figure does not shew the whole breadth, nor the proper shape, of
the fish; but that of a pyritous nodule in which it is fixed. An
oblong piece of pyrites is seen attached to the surface of the
fish. The tail appears to have been about six inches broad, at its
termination. The imperfect specimen, Fig. 7, has been a smaller
animal; and might be about eighteen inches long, when entire. The
fragment placed behind it has not belonged to it, but to another of the
same size. In that fragment are the vestiges of a fin, but it is out of
its natural position. In No. 7, and ina similar specimen, belonging
to Mr. George Watson, there is a pectoral fin, much bruised.

Fragments of this kind of fish have frequently been found.
They were considered as glossopetre, or shark’s teeth, till the speci-
mens here mentioned were discovered.

Remains of fishes that seem to have belonged to the ray or skate
family (the genus RAJA), have been found near Whitby, in the alum
shale, particularly at Saltwick. Some specimens are very large; but
they are generally so confused and imperfect, that we have not given
a figure of any. One of our specimens might have been figured, to

FISHES AND MARINE ANIMALS. 263

shew the oddness of its shape, which approaches that of the human
frame. It was brought us as the remains of a petrified child!

The most remarkable of our large petrifactions are the fossil
remains of the animal now called the prorEosaurus; formerly sup-
posed to be the crocodile, or the alligator. A good specimen was
found on the scar between Whitby and Saltwick, in 1758, when it
was drawn and described by Capt. William Chapman and Mr. John
Wooller. The description and drawing may be seen in the Philosophical
Transactions, Vol. L; in the Gentleman’s Magazine, Vol. 30; and in the
Scarborough Catalogue. It measured twelve feet in length; but lay in
a curved form, like a crescent. Another skeleton, fifteen feet long,
was discovered on the scar, a little to the east of Staiths, in 1791;
between which period and the publication of the History of Whitby,
only a few very imperfect specimens were found, some of which are
noticed in that work, Vol. II, p. 780. Since that time, the researches of
the learned into the nature of these organic remains, and the eagerness
of the public to obtain them, having much increased, a great number
of specimens have been found. Within these three years, more than
twenty skeletons, in various states, have been discovered and taken
out of the alum shale, chiefly by the indefatigable industry of Brown
Marshall, a carpenter belonging to Whitby; to whose labours we are
also indebted for a variety of other interesting fossils. These large
skeletons were almost all found near Saltwick, or between Saltwick
and Whitby, in the main bed of alum shale; only a very few being
discovered in the compact shale beyond Sandsend, and the lowest
shale beyond Staiths.

For an acquaintance with the structure and habits of this fossil
animal, the learned world is under great obligations to Sir Everard
Home, Bart. His persevering researches have ascertained, that this
animal, though resembling a crocodile, is more nearly allied to fishes
—that it has lived in water, and moved by swimming, but has breathed

264 ORGANIC REMAINS.

air—that its structure is analogous, in some respects, to that of the
ornithorhynchus paradoxus ; in others, to that of the proteus—and that
it has curious paddles or fins, four in number, composed of a number
of small bony substances, and bearing some analogy to the pectoral
fins of sharks; with other interesting particulars, published in the
Philosophical Transactions for 1814, 1816, 1818, 1819, and 1820.
Sir Everard names the animal prorEosaurus—the lzard-proteus.
Perhaps it would be better to adopt another name, which also occur-
red to him, 1coTHyosAurus—the lizard fish.

The most entire specimen which we have obtained, and which
was found in the compact shale only a few weeks ago (in October,
1821), is shewn on a very reduced scale, Pl. XV, Fig. 1. The head
is a little imperfect, having been some time exposed on the scar. It
lies on one side, displaying one of the eyes, but none of the teeth.
The spine is remarkably entire, and contains, from its commencement
to the point of the tail, one hundred and thirty two vertebre. Some
of these stand upright, some lie backward, and some forward; the
whole having sustained a great pressure when imbedded in the shale,
in consequence of which, part of the spine has been pressed forward
upon the cranium. ‘The whole skeleton, following the curvature
of the spine, measures eight feet eight inches; of which length the
head occupies nearly eighteen inches. The larger vertebre are near
two inches broad, and near one inch thick at the edge, the middle
being very thin, as in the vertebre of the shark. The ribs are slender
and numerous, there having been more than forty on each side. They
are all crushed flat, those on the one side being thrown across the spine,
so as to meet those of the other side. Of the two fore paddles, or
pectoral fins, only one is distinctly seen, at A; and it was partly injured
in taking up the fossil. The two hind paddles are both seen at B,
lying on the same side of the spine. They are much smaller than the
fore paddles, being only about seven inches long, while the fore

FISHES AND MARINE ANIMALS. 265

paddle has been about ten inches, including the bone that looks like
a handle. Behind the handles of the two small fins, are two flat
oblong bones, with which they have articulated, and by means of
which they have been connected with the spine, some other bones
perhaps intervening. Sir Everard Home describes the animal as
having a pelvis similar to that of the crocodile.

Fig. 2, Pl. XV, exhibits, on a larger scale, the imperfect remains of
a specimen from Saltwick, which has been about the same size, the
head being sixteen inches long, and having apparently lost about two
inches of its length. The head is compressed laterally; but shews
part of the teeth, and gives an interesting view of the eye, where we
observe a circular bony plate inclosing a round cavity. If the bony
ring corresponds with the iris, or the sclerotic coat, and the central
cavity with the pupil, the eye must have been very large, the ring
being above three inches in diameter. It shews no marks of crystal-
lization, like what we see in some of Sir Everard Home’s Figures.
In this specimen, there are portions of both the pectoral fins, with
some of the ribs, and a part of the spine.

No. 3 is an interesting specimen belonging to Mr. Geo. Watson.
It was found between Whitby and Saltwick, in February 1819, within
ten yards of the cliff, and very near the dogger. ‘The head is a yard
long, and has been some inches longer; and as we find in entire
specimens, that the head is about a sixth part of the whole length, the
animal when entire must have measured eighteen or twenty feet. The
upper jaw has been pressed down upon the lower, and twisted a
little to one side, displaying part of the inner surface of the lower jaw,
and shewing several of the teeth. The teeth are conical, and smooth,
or slightly ribbed; the cross fracture exhibiting concentric circles.
The beak is pressed into a portion of the spine, which meets it at
right angles: another fragment of the spine is found detached on the
same side near the neck; but a much larger portion remains in its

3 7

266 ORGANIC REMAINS.

natural position, behind the cranium, with which it is connected
by a singular bone, corresponding with the aélas in quadrupeds.
Several of the spinous processes are seen attached to the vertebre
behind the cranium, but thrown over to one side. These processes
are not parts of the vertebre, but distinct bones attached to them;
and being easily separated, they are often wanting, or found detached.
The canal for the spinal marrow is formed by a cleft passing through
their bases, close to the vertebre. The small processes of the tail
vertebre in No. 1, are very distinctly seen in the specimen, but too
minute to appear in the figure. Their cross section resembles a spur.

No paddle was imbedded with No. 3; but the separate paddle,
No. 4, was found near the same spot, and may have belonged to it.
It exceeds seventeen inches in length, including the handle ; and has
been some inches longer. It has also lost part of its breadth. The
arrangement of the small bones is somewhat obscured by portions of
pyrites ; and may be seen more distinctly in the imperfect fins of No.
2. Two bones are joined to the handle, three succeed, and are fol-
lowed by four; and thus the rows, or phalanges, increase from the
handle outwards, till they become seven or eight in some specimens ;
after which they again decrease, towards the end of the fin; the bones
all along diminishing in size, according to their distance from the
handle. The rows, and consequently the bones, appear to be most
numerous in the larger and older animals. In the last specimen
figured by Sir Everard Home, there is a fin composed of above two
hundred little bones, forming eight phalanges in the middle of the
fin. The largest pair of paddles found with any of our specimens,
may be seen in Pl. XVI, Fig.1. They are about the same size as No.
4, Pl. XV, has been; but are broader, having four phalanges. They
are nearly in their proper position, as pectoral fins; but the skeleton
to which they belong is very imperfect; the head, which is a yard long,
being mutilated on one side, and the spine &c. greatly dislocated and

FISHES AND MARINE ANIMALS. 267°

broken. It is curious to observe, that the pyritous mass in which
the vertebra &c. are imbedded, has assumed something of the shape
of the animal, as in the fossil pike, Fig. 8, Pl. XVI.

On the top of the cranium in Mr. Watson’s specimen, Fig. 3, Pl.
XV, there is a deep hole, corresponding in situation with the blow-
hole of the whale or the dolphin, which led us to conjecture, that the
animal might belong to the cetaceous tribes; an idea which the form
of its snout, its teeth, and its fins, might serve to corroborate; as we
have noticed in the description of this specimen, published in the
Memoirs of the Wernerian Society, Vol. III. Wehave not, however,
discovered the same kind of hole in other specimens; on the contrary,
the animal appears to have breathed by nostrils, rather than by a blow-
hole. Faint traces of nostrils may be detected even in this specimen,
and they are conspicuous in a fossil head in the collection of Mr.
Hinderwell, Fig. 2, Pl. XVI; in which also may be seen, the sockets
of both the eyes in their natural position, and across section of the
snout. No. 3, Pl. XVI, is a fragment, shewing the way in which the
teeth of the one jaw lock into those of the other.

The largest entire specimen lately found, measures fifteen feet
four inches, if extended at length; but it only occupies thirteen feet
four inches, two feet of the tail being bent back. It shews one hun-
dred and forty four vertebre ; and has part of both pectoral fins, and
of one of the small fins. The head, which is nearly a yard long, has
been injured by long exposure on the scar. This interesting specimen,
which was found near Saltwick, has been purchased for the Museum
of the University of Edinburgh. Much larger animals must have been
imbedded here, for vertebre are found measuring five inches across,
whereas those of this specimen are only about half that size, and
those of Mr. Watson’s three inches.

These fossil remains, however, do not all belong to one species.
Considerable differences in the cranium, and other bones, have been

268 ORGANIC REMAINS.

observed, and particularly in the vertebre. Figures 4, 5, and 6, Pl.
XVI, shew different kinds of vertebre that occur. No. 4 is a bent
piece of spine of the most common vertebra, deeply cupped, and re-
sembling those of the shark. Their thickness at the edge is only about
half their diameter. No. 6 is a specimen of vertebrae much more ob-
long; their thickness, or length, being somewhat greater than their
diameter. The vertebre of the Whitby animal of 1758, appear to
have been nearly of the same form and size, as far as we can judge
from the imperfect drawing and description of them. Yet the ribs in
No. 6 have been so much stronger than those of the common proteo-
saurus, and have been attached to the bases of the spinous processes
in a manner so peculiar, that we doubt whether they can be assigned
to an animal of this genus. The vertebre, No. 5, can hardly belong
to the proteosaurus; for their spinous as well as lateral processes
are parts of the vertebre, and not separate bones; and the spmous
processes (which are mutilated in the specimen) are winged, as in
quadrupeds, having oblique processes diverging from their bases.
Besides, the canal for the spinal marrow is much larger than in the
proteosaurus, and on the opposite side of the spine there is a flat or
depressed space in each vertebra, marked with two holes. The length
or thickness of each vertebra is less than its diameter; but the joints,
instead of shewing deep cups, are nearly in the ball and socket form,
to which also those of No. 6 approximate. No. 5, if not also No. 6,
may therefore be assigned to some cetaceous animal, or perhaps to
an animal of our next and last division.

QUADRUPEDS.

That the vertebre, Fig. 5, Pl. XVI, may belong to a quadruped,
is rendered probable from the discovery of a large scapular bone,
together with an os innominatum, which could scarcely belong to a

QUADRUPEDS. 269

marine animal. Charlton, in his History of Whitby, p. 355, states,
that the skeleton of a horse was found in the alum shale at Saltwick,
in 1762; but the correctness of that statement, and of his accounts
of a complete human skeleton, said to have been discovered here in
1743, may be fairly questioned. We have heard similar accounts, of
the discovery of bones of horses and of men in our alum shale a few
years ago; but not from persons whose judgment could be relied on.

The remains of the ELEPHANT have been discovered in our allu-
vial beds; particularly the grinders, and the tusks, the most durable
parts of that huge animal. Two grinders were found in the alluvium
near Robin Hood’s Bay about sixteen years ago. The largest is in
the possession of Jonathan Sanders, Esq. It corresponds with the
grinder of the Asiatic elephant; the masticating surface displaying
twelve or thirteen double plates of ivory, alternating with a yellow
bony substance. This surface is more than six inches long and three
broad; the depth of the root, from that surface, is nine inches; and
the diagonal or greatest dimension of the tooth, twelve inches. It
weighed above thirteen pounds when found, but has lost a little of
its weight and its compactness. The roots and angular parts had
been rounded off by friction; and were further mutilated by the
person who found it. Some of the plates nearest the root, as in the
living elephant, do not run quite across, but display only their digi-
tated processes in lines of rigs; and the rudiments of newer plates
appear in similar round processes, on the sloping surface descending
towards the root; as may be seen in the drawing, Fig. 1, Pl. XVII.
The small grinder found with this, is very compact, and has the
roots; but its shape has also been injured by attempts to zmprove its
appearance. It has belonged to a younger elephant, having fewer
plates on the upper surface, and a greater proportion of them dis-
playing rows of circles. Another grinder of a larger size, but less
compact, was found some years ago near Lofthouse; and a larger

3U

270 ORGANIC REMAINS.

one, approaching to the size of the one figured, was discovered within
these two years at Bridlington Quay. The latter has the roots pretty
entire, and shews thirteen plates on the masticating surface.—Part of
an elephant’s tusk, eighteen inches long, and fiye in diameter at the
broadest end, was taken out of the alluvial cliff near Scarborough
spaw, some years ago. Similar fragments have been found at Brid-
lington and other places.

But the chief repository for the bones and teeth of quadrupeds
in our district, is a cavern in the oolite, recently opened at Kirkdale
near Kirkby Moorside; and we feel much pleasure in being able to
gratify our readers with an account of this interesting spot.

We have already noticed ( p. 68, 69) the caverns and fissures in
the limestone about Kirkdale. Among the places where we had
seen vestiges of fissures was the quarry on the side of the road, a
little to the south-east of Kirkdale church. This quarry, which is
wrought chiefly to procure stone for repairing roads, fronts the south
or south-west, and is in the upper part of the eastern bank of Hodge
beck, the stream that flows past Kirkdale church. Here the oolite
strata gently dip towards the south, till they sink under the alluvial
plain, less than a quarter of a mile to the south of this spot; and
hence the banks of the stream, which are lofty at some distance above
Kirkdale, are here scarcely higher than fifty or sixty feet. They
present the same steep but smooth slopes as we find in the northern
fronts of the oolite hills (see p. 64), the broken edges of the strata
being covered with the alluvial soil, in which trees are here growing.
The oolite at the quarry is of a hard quality, especially where it ac-
quires a blueish colour; passing into a kind of blue or grey limestone,
that is only imperfectly oolitic. We may here take occasion to intro-
duce a remark, which should have been made before; that this blue
and grey limestone, which we stated to occur usually under the oolite
(p. 71, &c. ), is often found in patches in the oolite, at a considerable

QUADRUPEDS. 71

height; of which we have examples at Pickering, and in the quarry
on the west side of Kirkdale church, as well as in this quarry.

In July last (1821), the labourers at the quarry, having removed
the alluvium from above a fresh piece of the rock, in the north part
of the quarry, and having wrought this rock downwards for a few feet,
discovered an oblong opening or cavern, running horizontally from
the slope of the bank eastward, and then making a turn to the north-
east, in which direction it was found to penetrate far into the rock.

The operations of the workmen laid open that part of the cave
which extended from the bank to the remarkable turn now mentioned,
a distance of forty-six feet. The aperture towards the slope was
nearly square, being about two feet each way; but it became con-
siderably wider towards the turn, and a little higher. The stratum
forming the floor was flat and unbroken, and was thickly covered
with bones and teeth, not lying in distinct skeletons, but strewed
about in the greatest confusion, and mixed with a soft marly earth,
apparently resulting from the decomposition of bones. The bones
had scarcely any appearance of being water-worn; a few of them
were tolerably entire, but the greater part consisted of broken frag-
ments of leg bones, thigh bones, jaw bones, &c.; and many of them
were greatly decomposed, being nearly in the state of phosphate of
lime, and ready to crumble into powder. The teeth were found,
partly in the fragments of jaws, and partly detached. The quantity
of bones, in this part of the cavern, was reckoned to exceed a cart-
load. The roof and sides of the cavern were, in many places, incrusted
with stalactites, masses of which were also mixed with the bones.

It is of importance to observe, that the mouth of the cave had no
communication with the surface of the ground, being covered with the
alluvial beds on the slope, consisting of two feet of fragments of lime-
stone, or a kind of limestone gravel, which the workmen call rubbish,
covered by two feet of yellowish marl and soil. The undisturbed

272 ORGANIC REMAINS.

state of these alluvial beds clearly shewed, that there never had
been any hole or passage through them into the cavern; but there
were appearances of a small opening by which water may have flowed
down the slope, wnder these alluvial beds, from the mouth of the cave,
towards the beck, which is above a hundred feet distant, and thirty-
six feet below the level of the cave.

From the entrance to the first remarkable turn, the cave had a
slight bend upwards in the middle, ascending from the mouth, and
descending towards the turn, where it is greatly enlarged. Here is
the present entrance of the cave, which is three feet high and seven
feet wide. The roof and the floor are both flat, and the latter is
higher than the level of the floor on the outside, the broken edge ofa
stratum presenting itself as a step that must be ascended. Over this
entrance the limestone rises to the height of ten feet, and it appears
very compact, except a stratum of six inches forming the immediate
roof of the cavern, which is cracked. The limestone is covered by five
feet of alluvium, viz. three feet of rubbish, and two of marl and soil.

From the present entrance, the cave runs in a north-easterly
direction, and for the space of about forty or fifty feet it gradually
ascends, and contracts, the floor ascending rather more rapidly than
the roof, while the sides also converge. At the time when the cave
began to be noticed as an object of curiosity, and was first visited and
examined by several gentlemen in the neighbourhood, and by one of
the authors of this work, the cave had been penetrated no further
than fifty feet in that direction. Since that time, however, the
stalactites which obstructed the passage being removed, the cavern
has been explored to the extent of one hundred and ninety-nine feet;
making the whole length, from the original mouth of the cave, two
hundred and forty-five feet.

From the strait part of the cave now mentioned, which is only
two feet or two feet and a half high, the passage gradually descends,

QUADRUPEDS. 273

and then rises a little, without enlarging much, till, at the distance of
sixty feet from the present entrance, it opens into a kind of grotto,
about six feet high, seven feet wide, and little more in length. From
‘thence the passage makes a sudden turn to the right, but winding
round a projecting part of the rock which is partly undermined, it
presently resumes its former direction, in which it runs above forty
feet, and then bends a little more towards the left. From the grotto
to this bend, the floor is nearly on the same level; but the roof, instead
of being flat, appears arched, the middle part of the strata above being
gone, and their broken edges approaching each other at distances
which gradually shorten upwards, till a solid bed seems to form the
central part of the arch. Beyond the bend last mentioned, the pas-
sage has a considerable ascent for about twenty feet, leading to
another chamber, where persons can stand upright. It has a higher
roof than the first grotto, but is very narrow. Here a narrow fissure,
in which also a person may stand upright, meets the main cavern
from the right, at a very sharp angle, running southward and growing
narrower as it proceeds, till it ends in a perpendicular crevice in
the rock, on the south-east side of the quarry. The main cavern
continues its north-east course for about eighty or ninety feet beyond
this lateral passage, partly on the same level, but rather descending.
Towards the extremity, it is much contracted, and its narrow dimen-
sions, with the impediments occasioned by stalactites and fragments
of the rock, have prevented its being explored any further. About
half way between the opening on the right and the end of the cave,
another branch is sent off on the left, in a north-west direction, leading
towards the slope. It has been penetrated for about fifty feet or more,
though a man in exploring it must crawl on his belly. The water .
which percolates through the roof at this end of the cavern, probably
finds here a passage towards the beck or its subterraneous channel,
like that at the first entrance of the cave, the place being damp and low.
3X

274 ORGANIC REMAINS.

Owing to the oozing of water through the cracks and pores of
the rock, the roof and walls were found in most places incrusted with
stalactites, forming beautiful pillars, icicles, and mammillz or cones;
some of them highly crystalline and translucent, shewing in their
cross sections a radiated structure, like that of belemnites. Bones
and teeth, mixed with marly clay, were found dispersed along the
floor, especially in the broadest places, presenting the same ap-
pearance as in the first part of the cave. It deserves to be remarked
also, that here, as in the celebrated caverns of Gaylenreuth in
Germany, some bones were found on the sides of the cave, at or near
the roof, incrusted with stalactites; a clear proof, that the caverns
have been filled with water, which floating the bones, lodged some of
them in crevices or on ledges towards the top, where, after the with-
drawment of the water, they have been incased with stalactitic matter.
Such bones, however, like those on the floor, are not petrified, but
only preserved. It is scarcely necessary to add, that none of the
bones are found imbedded in the rock itself, which exhibits only the
shells most common in the oolite.

Though our cavern cannot bear a comparison with similar caves
in Germany, in point of extent; yet it appears to surpass them and
all other caves of this sort hitherto explored, in the variety of the
relics entombed in it. The skill of a Cuvier would be requisite to
assign them accurately to their several genera and species; but the
following animals may be distinguished.

Evernant.—tThe grinders of the elephant occur in broken frag-
ments; one of which, belonging to John Holt, Jun. Esq., shews two
double plates, with part of other two, from the front of the tooth;
which appears to have been of the same size as the grinder figured in
Pi. XVII, No. 1. As the fracture is not recent, the tooth would
seem to have been broken before it was deposited here. Several very
large femoral and crural bones, some of which measure above six
inches in thickness at the joints, probably belong to the elephant.

QUADRUPEDS. 275

Rarnoceros. Figure 12, Pl. XVII, is a molar tooth of the
rhinoceros, corresponding with that figured by Mr. Parkinson, III.
Pl. XXI. Fig. 2. The masticating surface is above two inches long, and
nearly two broad. Perhaps No. 7, Pl. XVII, may bea smaller grinder
of the same animal; to which also several of the large bones belong.

Hippopotamus. We are not sure whether any of the teeth
which we have obtained belong to this animal. Some of the large leg
and thigh bones, that are very short in proportion to their thickness,
may fairly be assigned to it. The existence of its relics in the cavern,
we state on higher authority than our own, viz. on that of the Author
of the Organic Remains, of whose valuable researches we have so
often availed ourselves.*

Horse. The grinders of the horse have been found in consider-
ble quantity ; and several of them are in a state so sound and com-
plete, that on receiving sume of them, we at first suspected that a trick
had been played by some relic-monger, till we ascertained them to be
genuine.—No. 14, Pl. XVII, is a bone analogous to one of the

* Among those who explored the cavern, Mr. Gibson of Stratford, Essex, took an active
part; and that gentleman having shewn his large collection of bones and teeth to Mr Parkin-
son, the latter politely favoured us with his opinion of some of them. We are indebted also to
the Rey. Jos. Smyth, A. B., the Rev. Wm. Eastmead, and Mr. Harrison, Surgeon, all of
Kirkby Moorside, for many interesting specimens from the cavern, and much valuable in-
formation respecting it.

Here we may take occasion to observe, that all the Figures in the sixteen Lithographic
Plates, illustrating the Organic Remains of the district, were drawn from specimens examined
by the authors. Most of these are in their cwn possession ; and for the use of others they have
been principally indebted to Mr. Geo. Watson, and Mr. Henry Weatherald, Whitby ; Thomas
Hinderwell, Esq., Scarborough; and Mr. Waters, Bridlington Quay. The stone used for the
Plates is that of the district, being partly from the Hildenley limestone, but chiefly from the blue
limestone connected with the oolite at Pickering. The Figures, if inferior in beauty to those in
some Geological Works, are on the whole superior in accuracy ; as might be expected from
this circumstance, that the whole process of drawing, engraving, printing, and colowring,
has been done under the eye of Mr. Bird, and chiefly by his own hand.

276 ORGANIC REMAINS.

fetlock bones of the horse; but it evidently belongs to a different,
and probably a larger, animal. The Figure is less than half size.

Ox. No. 9 corresponds exactly with the innermost grinder on
the right side of the under jaw of an ox, having the additional lobe
belonging to that tooth. It differs from the same tooth in the stag,
not only in size, but in shape; and still more from that in the horse,
to which we at first assigned it. The animal must have been large,
as the masticating surface is an inch and three quarters long, and
three quarters broad. No. 10 is one of the half expanded molar teeth
of a large ox, or of an enormous stag. It is the foremost grinder on
the left side of the upper jaw. Many other ox teeth have occurred.

Deer or Exx. No. 13 is the root ofa stag’s horn, of a large size,
being above three inches in diameter. The elk having been found of
a prodigious size, the tooth, No. 10, may have belonged to it; especially
as we have several large grinders, which appear, from their thinness,
to be those of the stag, rather than of the ox. There are several
bones which either animal may claim; such as the shank bone, No.
4; which is more than double the length and breadth of the Figure.

Hyz#na. The remains of this carnivorous animal are by far the
most abundant; particularly portions of the lower jaw, and the teeth
belonging to it. No. 15 is a specimen of the left side of the under
jaw, nearly entire; shewing the tusk, and four grinders; the last of
which is sharp like an incisor tooth, and displays a double cone,
having an additional lobe. The jaw is above six inches long.

Wotr or Doe. Fig. 2, Pl. XVII, shews the tusk on the right
side of the inferior jaw of an animal of this kind; with two of the
sockets of the incisor teeth. We have seen no other specimen.

Bear. Having obtained one or two large tusks, much greater
than those of the hyzna, and of a form and size exactly corresponding
with the bear’s tusk from the German caverns, Parkinson’s Org. Rem.
IL. Pl. XXII. Fig. 9, we do not hesitate to assign them to this genus.

QUADRUPEDS. 277

PaLfoTHERiuM. The large tooth, Fig. 6, Pl. XVII, agrees so
well with the description of the middle grinders in the lower jaw of
this fossil animal, given by Mr. Parkinson, Vol. III. p. 382, 383, that
we cannot assign it to any other. The outer surface shews two por-
tions of cylinders, and the masticating surface, as well as the inner
surface, shews the form of the letter W. The masticating surface is
above two inches long; and hence the species must be the pal@othe-
rium magnum. No. 7, if not belonging to the rhinoceros, may be an
upper grinder of the same animal; having the surface nearly square,
with the same appearance of two cylinders on the outside, and of the
letter W on the upper and inner surfaces. No. 8 has the same charac-
ters; but being much smaller, may be ascribed to a lesser species of
palzotherium. The remains of this extinct animal have hitherto been
discovered only in France.

No. 11, Pl. XVII, is part of a jaw with two grinders, of some
unknown animal, about the size of ahorse. The teeth are remarkably
smooth, and nearly quadrangular on the upper surface; which, in the
largest, measures one inch by three quarters.

No. 5 is a crural bone of an animal about the size of a hare, but
with shorter and stronger legs.—No. 16 is a fragment of a rib, be-
longing to some animal about the size of a weasel.

No. 3 is a fragment of a hollow bone, of a very singular descrip-
tion, being the only fossil relic which we can assign to any of the
feathered tribes. Small as the fragment is, its character is so well
marked, particularly in its thinness, compactness, and translucency,
that we do not hesitate to consider it as part of a pinion bone of a
fowl, of the size and form of a goose, or a duck.

It is observable, that we have not seen, or heard of, any entire
cranium found in the cavern; and few vertebre and ribs have been
met with. Among other specimens, we have examined an astragalus,
or heel bone, greatly resembling that of a hare, but vastly larger ;
and some blade bones like those of the ox.

3.Y

278 ORGANIC REMAINS.

From the facts above stated, it would appear, that the animals
whose bones have been discovered in the cavern, never lived there ;
and that their bones have been floated into it, in a shattered state,
previous to the deposition of the alluvial covering. The same remarks
may be applied to the relics in the German caves, and to those in
the rock of Gibraltar, and in similar situations. These relics, with
others found in alluvial beds, such as those discovered by Mr. Parkin-
son, at Walton, in Essex, have probably been all deposited at the
same era. What that era was, will be considered in Part Third,

Kirkdale cavern is not the only fissure containing fossil bones,
discovered in England. An instance of the same kind cccurred a few
years ago, in the limestone, near Plymouth; and the Rev. Professor
Buckland, whose politeness we are bound to acknowledge, informs
us, that he has recently found a similar deposit of bones in a cavern
near Swansea. We are inclined to think, that other instances have
occurred, which have not attracted the notice of the learned. Twenty
years ago, or more, a fissure in the oolite was found a little to the
north of Kirkby Moorside, containing great quantities of bones. The
bones were presumed to be those of men and horses, and their accu-
mulation there was considered as the result of a battle, and no further
investigation took place.

We cannot close this part of our Work, without expressing our
astonishment, at the rich variety and beauty of the animal remains
discovered in our strata. Here, as in the living creation, the works
of the Deity appear more beautiful and interesting, the more closely
they are examined. Whether we survey the largest, or the most mi-
nute; whether we contemplate those whose beauty is chiefly external,
as most shells; or those which are most beautiful in their internal
structure, as madrepores, we see matter for the highest admiration,

and the warmest praise. ‘Great and marvellous are thy works,
Lord God Almighty!”

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

OF THE YORKSHIRE COAST.

PART III.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

Tue materials for the Second Part having exceeded our ex-

pectation, accumulating upon us during the progress of the work, we
are under the necessity of confining our general and theoretical re-
marks within narrow limits. This circumstance many of our readers
will not regret, considering that, in the science of geology, facts are
much more valuable than theories. Yet we never meant to occupy
this department with idle speculations, but to collect together some
of the leading facts, appearing in the two former parts, and state some
inferences that may be deduced from these facts; at the same time
offering such hints, or throwing out such conjectures, as may serve
to explain or elucidate the phenomena observed. This we shall now
attempt, in a compressed form; arranging our observations under two
heads; the one, which we entitle racts AND INFERENCES, compre-
hending what may be regarded as certain; the other, entitled HINTS
AND CONJECTURES, Comprising what is only probable.—We begin with

FACTS AND INFERENCES.

Some of the propositions introduced under this head are so ob-
vious, as to need little or no illustration: others will require to be

280 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

stated and discussed at greater length. For the sake of reference,
and for greater perspicuity, we have numbered them.

1. The whole of our rocks (the whinstone dike excepted )
have been formed by aqueous deposition.—The parallelism of the
beds, the arrangement of the organic remains in seams, and the
position of the large and broad shells, skeletons, and pieces of wood,
which have their flattest sides placed in the planes of the strata in
which they are imbedded, all concur in proving, that the materials of
each stratum must have successively floated in water, and subsided to
the bottom.—It follows, as a corollary, that all our strata have been
covered by the sea, at the time of their formation.

2. Hence it appears, that the strata must have been originally
horizontal, or nearly horizontal.—In depositions by water, there is
always a tendency to the horizontal posture; and where we see beds
that are the result of aqueous deposition running parallel to each
other for several miles, we must conclude, that they have been de-
posited horizontally, or on a declivity so gentle as not to affect their
apparent parallelism.

3. Some powerful force, acting upon the strata, has thrown
them, in almost all places, out of their horizontal position, and pro-
duced extensive dislocations and contorsions.—Into the nature of
that force, we do not at present inquire; but its effects are every
where visible, in the present irregularities of the strata, described in
Part First. No one who attentively observes the breaks and undula-
tions at Whitby, at Peak, at Scarborough, and other parts of the
coast, can suppose that the strata were originally deposited in their
present form. When we see the aluminous beds gradually descending
at Hawsker Bottoms, and after various undulations, suddenly break-
ing off at Whitby harbour, and then rising again at Sandsend, in the
same order in which they had sunk, we are compelled to believe,
that they were once continuous, and that their continuity, as well as

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 281

their horizontality, must have been disturbed by some mighty agent,
elevating the strata in some places, and sinking them in others.

A. Besides the irregularities appearing in breaks and undulations,
there are others which have been produced by the washing away,
or removal, of large portions of the upper strata.—Examples of such
denudations, as they are called, occur in every part of the coast.
Thus, the strata at Filey Bridge must have been covered with beds
of oolite, corresponding with those of Seamer and Ayton; and the
strata that break off on the south side of Robin Hood’s Bay, must
have formerly been connected with the corresponding beds that
begin abruptly on the north side; though the interval now presents a
blank, down to the lowest shale. Denudations of this kind appear
in the interior, as well as on the shore; particularly along the northern
and western fronts of all our ranges of hills. We cannot well sup-
pose, that the chalk hills, the oolite hills, or the Cleveland hills, had
originally the abrupt faces which they now wear; and no rivers flow
round their bases, capable of effecting such a demolition of the upper
strata as must have taken place. Similar abrasions appear on the
; summits and southern slopes of the hills. Thus, the oolite of Picker-
ing, instead of advancing to Saltergate Brow, leaves off abruptly a
little to the north of Lockton; and the same phenomenon is common
in other parts of the oolite range.

5. The alluvial beds have been deposited after the occurrence
of these breaks and denudations.—This is clear from the fact,
that the alluvium is observed to fill up the breaks of the strata, and
smooth the surface. It adapts itself indeed to the larger undulations
of the strata, rising as they rise, and falling as they fall; but it
conceals the smaller inequalities, and even very considerable breaks,
filling up the hollows and chasms. Thus, the ground between Whitby
and Dunsley lane is nearly on a level, except at the ravines of Up-
gang and Newholm, while the strata beneath repeatedly rise and fall.

2

ov Z

282 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

The surface gives no clear indication of the bendings of the strata be-
tween Whitby and Hawsker Bottoms, or even of the great break at
Peak. A few contortions and denudations have indeed occurred in
the alluvial beds themselves, as we found on the Holderness coast
(see p. 19, and Pl. I); but the contortions and breaks of the regular
strata have all, or almost all, preceded the deposition of the alluvium:
In fact, the alluvial beds appear to be composed of materials derived
from breaks and denudations.

6. Our vales, river courses, bays, and creeks, have been formed
chiefly by such breaks and denudations.—Some eminent geological
writers have maintained, that the valleys have been formed by the
streams which flow in them; that every -river has hollowed out. its
own channel in the hills through which it passes; that bays and inlets
on \the shore have been excavated by rivers, and by the action of the
sea; and that the alluvial beds, even in the highest situations, have
been deposited by rivers, that once flowed there. The phenomena
which our district exhibits, can by no means be reconciled with such
notions. The agency of rivers has indeed had a considerable effect
in modifying their channels, but the channels have derived their origin
from breaks and denudations of the strata; to which also, the inden-
tations of the coast are principally owing. This is so much the case,
that we observe some dislocation of the strata, at almost every bay and
inlet on the coast, and at the mouth of almost every stream that runs
into the ocean. The Esk did not cut its way into the sea through our
rocky cliffs, but its channel was opened by a vast break in the strata,
and by the denudation or washing away of the loose materials, disen-
gaged by the shock which this dislocation produced... The river may
have filled up some hollows and inequalities of its original channel,
but it cannot have excavated those extensive and diversified dales
through which it runs. This is obvious, from the circular shape of
some of them, as that of Ruswarp; from their general form and

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 285

arrangement; and from decisive indications of breaks, elevating the
strata on the south side, and sinking those on the north. The nu-
merous dales that open into the vale of the Esk from the south, have
originated in an equal number of fractures in the strata, aided by
denudations of these strata: and in some instances, as at Fryop, and at
Danby, there has been a compound fracture, the dale which is single
at its upper end, branching into two before it reaches the Esk, and
inclosing between the branches a delta-shaped hill, detached from the
principal chain. This phenomenon, together with the steepness of the
sides of these dales, and the roundness of their upper extremities, must
wholly set aside the idea, that they could be hollowed out by the
petty rivulets which meander through their rich alluvial bottoms. As
a proof that the Esk has not hollowed out its bed, we may also no-
tice, that a little below Danby castle, it turns aside to the right, out
of what appears its direct course in the valley, and passes through
Cronkley Gill, in a deep rocky chasm, the margins of which are
much higher than the middle of the vale, through which we might
have expected the river to flow, and into which it again returns at
Lealholm Bridge. Now, if the river had excavated the middle part
of the valley, and formerly flowed there, how could it forsake that
natural channel, to cut a circuitous passage through rocky strata,
the surface of which is considerably higher than the alluvial vale
which, on that supposition, it deserted? A similar instance occurs ia
that small branch of the Esk which flows from Tranmire and Stone-
gate. A little below Stonegate, the stream bends to the right, and
runs in a deep rocky fissure on one side of the alluvial valley; the
middle part of which is left dry, though greatly below the level of the
banks of the stream, as if artificial means had been used to turn the
rivulet out of its natural course. A third instance, fully more remark-
able, occurs in the Esk, near where this stream joins it. The river,
before arriving at Arucliff, leaves the valley, and-seems to make-a

284 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

sweep through part of a hill. In a similar way, the Derwent, which
rises in the moors between Whitby and Scarborough, does not run
down to the sea by the opening at Scalby, but passes on between steep
banks to Ayton, and into the vale of Pickering; and on approaching
the chalk strata, it does not turn to the left in the direction of Filey,
which seems the most natural and easy passage, but flows round the
foot of the Wolds, by Malton and Howsham, finding its way between
banks that are higher and stronger than the obstacles which opposed
its progress in the other direction. In such cases, it is quite clear, that
the streams have neither cut their channels, nor deposited the alluvium
that covers the principal part of the valleys through which they pass.
Many of the valleys, indeed, bear marks of their having been formed
or modified by the flowing of waters; yet not by the flowing of their
own little streams, but by the waters which once covered the whole
of our rocks; and which in retiring have washed away vast portions
of the more loose or exposed parts of the strata, and employed the
materials, thus obtained, in forming the alluvial covering.

In like manner, the river Tees, and its tributary streams, cannot
be conceived to have given the fronts of the Cleveland hills their
shape, and formed the deep recesses between them. The Leven,
which collects a great part of the streams that flow from them,
makes its way through deep beds of alluvium, which it cannot have
deposited ; but though it has deepened its channel, by wearing away
the soft alluvial beds, it has made little impression on the sandstone
strata, in the few places where it reaches them. To ascribe to cur-
rents so limited in their operations, effects of such magnitude as the
shaping of mountains, and the formation of extensive valleys and
plains, is altogether unphilosophical.

Besides, what shall we say of those valleys in which there are no
streams, of which we have so many in our oolite hills and chalk hills?
And what shall we say of the subterraneous channels of the becks

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 285

that flow into the vale of Pickering? Have these channels also been
excavated by the streams? Or how shall we account for another
singular fact, that the becks or rivulets which flow southward from
the highest range of the alum hills, on arriving at the oolite hills, pass
directly through them, instead of turning into the valley that runs
along their northern fronts? Had a river run in that valley, all these
becks would have fallen into it, and pursued their course with it to
the ocean, without breaking through the oolite hills at all; or, at the
most, one passage through these hills would have served for the
whole. When, therefore, we see each of these becks holding a
straight course through an opening in the oolite hills, exactly oppo-
site its channel in the alum hills, there is no way of explaining the
phenomenon but by supposing, that both parts of its channel have
been formed by the same break in the strata.

Another proof that river courses have been produced by such
breaks and denudations, we find in those places where the heads of
two opposite valleys run into one; their heads forming a low marsh,
from whence the waters flow in contrary directions. Thus, Newton
Dale is connected with the vale of Godeland by a narrow marshy
vale or hollow, above a mile long, called the Fen. This fen, in which
the waters are stagnant, has the same kind of high banks as the dales
which it unites, and of which it is obviously the continuation. Now,
if we could suppose, that the beck of Newton Dale has cut its channel,
a supposition highly improbable, the channel being extremely deep,
and carried through thick beds of crow-stone and other hard rocks ;
the question would remain to be solved, What hollowed out the fen?
It is clear, that the formation of the fen, and of the dales which it
unites, must be attributed to one great break, passing from the vale of
Pickering into that of the Esk. An instance of the same kind occurs
in the two opposite vales of Commondale and Kildale; which form
but one long narrow valley, connecting the vale of the Esk with the

4A

286 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

plain of Cleveland. As the whinstone dyke passes through part of
this valley, the idea of its being the result of an extensive break is the
more confirmed.

In regard to the indentations of the shore, there is no doubt
that the sea has greatly modified their shape, but their origin must
be ascribed to breaks and denudations of the strata. Wherever
bays have been formed on the coast, as at Filey, Robin Hood’s
Bay, Sandsend, and Runswick, we can trace their formation to
breaks, subsidences, or interruptions, of the strata. Even our pro-
montories and cliffs must have been formed by similar means. Vast
masses of the strata have sunk down, and become part of the bed
of the ocean, while the rocks from which they were detached have
remained as sea-cliffis. How can we account for our submarine cliffs
and promontories, but by supposing, that the rocks which are below
the level of the sea have experienced dislocations, like those above it?
Indeed, the form and position of Whitby rock (see p. 159) may suffice
to shew, that the breaks in the strata have extended outwards
beyond the line of the shore.

7. In several places, the strata, through the effect of subsidence, are
disposed in the shape of a basin.—Some instances of this kind have
been noticed in Part First, particularly the chalk strata, and most of
all, the oolite strata. The vale of Pickering is like a vast basin, the
central part being sunk or depressed, while the oolite strata dip to-
wards it all around, except where it is bounded by the chalk. Many
writers speak as if the basin form were almost peculiar to coal strata,
but any other strata must assume this form, where the middle part of
a district, or extensive mass of strata, has sunk down, while the
outer parts slope towards it on every side. The coal beds of our
district are perhaps the least thrown into that shape of any of our
strata; though even in them we find here and there small round de-
pressions, or basins, of which the circular vale of Ruswarp has been

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 287

noticed as an example*. In many instances, through a fondness for
generalizing, or an attachment to theory, authors have bestowed the
name coal basin where it is by no means appropriate. Thus, we read
of “the coal basin of Newcastle”, or “the coal basin of the Tyne
and the Wear,” though the coal strata of that district are no more in
the form of a basin, than the metalliferous limestone on which they
are understood to repose, or than the magnesian limestone which
reposes. over them: for if the coal measures lie in the bosom of the
metalliferous. limestone, the magnesian limestone lies in the bosom
of the coal strata. Nay, we may say further, that the red sandstone
lies in the bosom of the magnesian limestone, and the aluminous series
in the bosom of the red sandstone; and that each of the remaining
members of our strata seems to embrace that which precedes it,
extending round it, and under it, in a form more or less curved.
Indeed, we know of no district where the strata are disposed in
rectilineal planes, without any degree of curvature.

8. Many of the strata are found to wedge out, or run to a thin edge;
and this may have been the case with all the strata.—We have ascertain-
ed, that there are beds in the interior which do not make theirappearance
on the shore, and beds on the shore which are not found in the interior ;
and that, im not a few instances, strata of great thickness, grow
thinner and thinner, till they wholly disappear. Not to speak of the
seams of ironstone and coal, we find great beds of shale, of crow-stone
and other sandstones, and even of oolite, thus wedging out; for to
the south of Malton and of Castle Howard, we find the whole oolite

* Since the two preceding Parts of our Work were printed, we have seen a Paper by N.
J. Winch, Esq., entitled “ Observations on the Eastern part of Yorkshire,”’ published in the
Fifth Volume of the Geological Transactions. In that Paper, Mr. Winch states, that the coal
formation which ccvers the alum shale forms a basin. Wad that gentleman examined our dis-
trict himself, instead of attempting to describe it from scraps of information collected from others,
he might have avoided that mistake, as well as several other errors into which he has fallen.

288 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

series reduced within a small compass, and ready to vanish. Analogy
would therefore lead us to think, that each stratum may have originally
been a kind of flat lenticular mass, wearing to a thin edge on every
side. It has been justly observed by some authors, that the crust of
our globe is rather to be described as squamose, like an artichoke or
the root of a lily, than tunicate, with concentric coatings, like an onion.
The notion of universal formations, or of rocks of any one kind that
have completely enveloped the globe, is not borne out by the facts
before us. Some of our strata may indeed be traced in certain directions
to a great extent; particularly the chalk, the oolite, and the aluminous
strata with their lias seams: but as we find them all wedging out on
some of their sides, and other strata doing the same on all sides, we may
reasonably presume, that these more extensive masses, if traced out,
would be found to terminate in a similar way. The chalk strata
reach, with some interruptions, from Flamborough Head, to the south
of England; and are found to extend into France, and other parts of
Europe; but though we should suppose the whole to have once
formed a continuous mass, which is by no means certain, it does not
follow, that these strata once encircled the whole globe. It is true,
that the strata of our chalk hills, and those also of the oolite and
alum hills, leave off so abruptly on some of their northern and western
fronts, as to make it evident that they must have extended much
further to the north and the west: yet we have no right to infer,
that all or any of them have ever reached the Pentland Firth, or the
Hebrides. The magnesian limestone may have stretched much further
than it now does, over the coal measures of Durham and perhaps of
Northumberland; the red sandstone, if it be not a mere upfilling,
may have extended a great way over the magnesian limestone; the
aluminous beds and lias seams may have reached far over the red
sandstone; and each of the succeeding members of the series might
spread out in a similar way; but each of them, we may presume,

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 289

successively terminated in a thin edge. During the convulsions which
threw the strata into their present form, these thin edges, being the
most vulnerable parts of the strata, would be most liable to be
shattered to pieces and washed away; especially where the softer
strata, such as the chalk, the shales, and the red marl, were thus
exposed. Accordingly, the greatest denudations have taken place,
behind the chalk and the upper shale, in the south part of our district;
and in the region of the alum shale and the red marl, in the north part.
9. Hence it appears, that we are not to expect in other parts of
Britain, the same series of strata as are found in our district; much
less can we presume, that the same series may be traced round the
globe.—Attempts have been made, to arrange all the beds composing
the crust of our globe into a complete series, exhibiting the order in
which, with a few variations, the strata have been deposited, and
may be expected to occur. Such attempts, however, have failed in
establishing any precise order observed by the strata; they have only
succeeded in tracing, in many instances, a considerable analogy, be-
tween the series occurring in different places. From the extent of the
chalk, the oolite, and a few other rocks, we may infer, that the de-
position of these strata has taken place on a grand scale; but neither
these, nor the strata associated with them, have been deposited
according to fixed laws, in respect of extent, succession, or relative
position. One stratum wedges out in one place, and another in another 5
and the series rarely continues the same to the extent of fifty or sixty
miles. Could we penetrate the strata at Whitby, so as to ascertain
what rocks are under the aluminous beds, it is by no means certain,
that we should fall in with the series of Durham and Northumberland ;
and we know, that some important members of our series have not
been met with beyond the Humber; as, on the other hand, beds that
lie under the chalk in the south of England, have no place here. No
beds have hitherto been discovered in any other district, corresponding
4B

290 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

with our coal measures. They bear a strong resemblance, though
on a smaller scale, to the coal strata of the Tyne and the Wear;
but to such as plead for a regular succession in the strata, they must
appear quite out of place; nothing of the kind being found elsewhere
above the lias or aluminous beds; unless the bituminous shale called
Kimeridge coal be deemed an approximation to our coal strata. On
the other hand, we find nothing here corresponding with the green sand
formation of the southern counties. Some have fancied, that they dis-
covered it in the Filey rocks, where several of the petrifactions have a
greenish hue: but there it would be out of place, these rocks being
inferior to the oolite. ‘The difficulty of establishing any settled order,
or complete series, appears very striking, on a comparison of our strata
with those of Lincolnshire. In that county, red chalk succeeds the
white chalk, as at Speeton; but among the beds beneath it, we look
in vain for any correspondence with our rocks: the strata are so
changed, that we can scarcely identify one member of the series.
The red chalk is neither followed by green sand, nor by shale;
but by a considerable bed of coarse brown sand; under which is a
bed of calcareous clay, twelve or fourteen yards thick, containing
oolite, partly in seams, and partly in masses or nodules. Into this
small compass are the vast strata of our oolite hills here reduced.
Beneath this, occur sandstone strata of a greater thickness, containmg
marine shells; and these are succeeded by a series of beds, bear-
ing some analogy to our aluminous strata; consisting of several
varieties of shale, some of them highly bituminous, parted by hard
seams of different descriptions, among which are a few bands of iron-
stone; the whole shewing a mixture of pyrites, and of calcareous
matter. This series has been penetrated to the depth of an hundred
yards.* It is difficult to say, whether it corresponds with our second
shale, or with our aluminous strata.

* Geological Transactions, III. p, 394, &e,

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 291

It may be proper to notice, however, that some ofthe strata,
after beg discontinued, are found, in several instances, to resume
their stations. Thus, the upper shale, which is wanting in Lincoln-
shire, reappears in the gault of Cambridgeshire, and perhaps in the
blue marl of Folkstone, which is continued on the opposite coast of
France.* Yet our upper shale, as was formerly observed (p. 60), is
so like the London clay, that had it occurred above the chalk, it would
doubtless have received that appellation. Indeed, as the green sand
is found under the chalk in some places, and above it in others,t the
position of the clay may admit of the same variation.

In some parts of Somersetshire and Dorsetshire, the chalk comes
in contact with the red sandstone, all the intervening strata having
disappeared ; but in other parts of that district, the series bears a con-
siderable analogy to ours; there being an upper shale (termed Oak-
tree clay ), some oolite and sandstone strata, aluminous or lias strata,
and red sandstone. It would seem also, that our second shale occurs
in some spots, under the designation of clunch clay. There are, how-
ever, few places where this analogy is distinctly seen; and when we
attempt to trace it out of Britain, and especially out of Europe, we
soon find ourselves completely lost.

10. Some parts of the strata are so nearly allied, that they often
pass into one another, and occupy the same beds.—This observation
applies particularly to sandstone and sandy shale, to coal and bi-
tuminous shale; and, we may add, to oolite and grey limestone;
which, as we have observed (p. 270), pass into one another, at Kirk-
dale and other places.—Here it may be also remarked, that in other
respects, the qualities of beds are hable to great changes and transi-
tions. The dogger is perhaps the most variable of all our rocks; but

* Geological Transactions, III. p. 343; V. p. 37, 49.
+ Greenough’s Geology, p. 255. This Work contains a most valuable collection of facts,
many of which serve to illustrate and confirm our statements.

292 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

even the blue limestone, which is one of the most constant, undergoes
a material change towards Sutton and Coxwold. These variations
in the nature of beds increase the difficulty of tracing the connections
of the strata.

11. Some portions of the strata are subordinate to others; and
some seams, or inclosed masses, appear to be secretions from the
beds that contain them.—Among the rocky substances of this sub-
ordinate rank, we may notice the following; flint, in the chalk ; chert,
in the oolite; the rounded nodules or balls, in the calcareous sand-
stone; ironstone nodules, veins, and seams, in different kinds of shale,
and of sandstone; lias and pyritous septaria and nodules, in the upper
shale; the same nodules, and the lias seams, in the alum shale;
and blue and green seams, with gypsum veins, in the red marl.
All these substances, which do not form separate beds by themselves,
but are included in other members of the strata, are to be regarded
as subordinate to the beds which contain them; and most, if not all
of them, appear to be secretions from these beds. The process of
secretion, however, is by no means of a recent date; as is the case, in
some instances, with the formation of calc spar in crevices of the
strata, and selenite in shale; but must have taken place about the
time when the strata were deposited, or before they were fully indura-
ted. The appearance of the flat nodules, and imperfect seams, of
flint, of ironstone, and even of lias, strongly impresses us with the
idea, that these substances were originally diffused through the mass
of the strata to which they respectively belong; and trickling down-
wards, were collected into the horizontal seams of the strata, spread-
ing themselves according as they could find room to collect or
expand, and accommodating their forms to the vacancies, or softer
spaces, into which they insinuated themselves. Thus, the nodules
and seams of ironstone are most abundant towards the lower part of
the shale beds containing them; and where a bed of sandstone closes: -

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 293

the series, the ironstone forms a crust over it, as if it had subsided to
the bottom. Any hard seam, either in the chalk, the shale, or other
principal beds, would suffice to cut off the communication with the
beds below ; and this accounts for our finding the secretions stopping
at different stages, instead of descending wholly to the bottom. Even
where the seams of nodules form nearly continuous beds, as is the
case with the flint, the ironstone, and the lias seams, they may still
have been secretions from the beds in which they run. The notion
which some authors have adopted, that these substances, particularly
flint, may have been forcibly injected from below into the principal
beds, like melted lead, is utterly irreconcilable with the phenomena
presented. Where are the openings through which the fused sub-
stance was forced? Why has none of it stuck in the strata which it
pierced? Or how could it assume, in the case supposed, the form which
it now wears! We may, indeed, feel a difficulty in conceiving, how
such secretions could take place; but it is as difficult to conceive,
how the consolidation of the strata was produced. If chemical
agents effected the one, might they not also accomplish the other ?—
This leads us to remark,

12. The members of the strata are in very different states of indu-
ration, and as the difference is not according to the order of succes-
sion, it must be owing to a difference in their intrinsic qualities, and
in the circumstances of their deposition, rather than to any extraneous
cause.—We have seen, that some of the strata are remarkably soft,
while others are extremely hard. Some of the calcareous beds consist
of loose marl, others are highly crystalline, approaching to marble;
some of the sandstones are very friable, and nearly in the state of
sand, while the crow-stone beds are hard and compact, like quartz
rock; and some of the shales are soft, like clay, others are hard and
splintery. We have observed a similar difference in our organic re-
mains, some being merely preserved, others in various states of

4c

294 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

petrifaction ; and even among our ironstones, or ferruginous balls, we
have found some in the state of soft ochre, while others are in a hard
metallic form. It is not easy to investigate the causes of these differ-
ent degrees of induration; but we may safely state, that they have
not originated in any extrinsic agency, operating either from below
or from above. Had the consolidation proceeded from below, we
should have found the hardest beds lowest; had it proceeded from
above, the order must have been reversed; but as we find the
hard and soft strata alternating, without observing any such grada-
tion, we must look for the reason of this diversity in the original
qualities of the substances composing the strata, their chemical
affinities and attractions, or similar causes operating about the era of
their deposition. The structure of some of the beds might be influen-
ced by those immediately over them; for we have noticed (p. 115),
that the blue limestone appears to have sent down a large portion of
calcareous matter into the sandstone that succeeds it. Some time
may have been requisite to complete the consolidation of the hard
beds; but time alone has not effected the change ; for the softer strata
cannot be inferior in age to the compact beds with which they alternate.

13. Our strata cannot have been formed at the bottom of a
former ocean, in the same gradual way in which the earthy sediment,
brought down by the rivers or detached from the shore, is now de-
posited in the bottom of the sea.—It is the opinion of many geologists,
that our present strata have resulted from the gradual demolition of
more ancient strata, the materials of which, bemg washed away by
the rains and streams, were deposited in the bottom of an ancient
ocean; and that, through the effect of a supposed central fire or heat,
in the interior of the globe, they were consolidated, and then raised
up to form our present dry land. Such authors assert, that the same
process is now going forward ; the spoils of our present strata, carried
down by rivers, or detached from the shore, bemg deposited in

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 295

the bed of the ocean; from whence, at a future era, they will rise in a
stratified form, constituting new continents and islands. Against
these notions, a host of objections might be started ; but it is sufficient
to remark, that the peculiar character and vast thickness of some of
our strata, particularly the chalk and the oolite, preclude the possi-
bility of their having been formed by such a process. The sea receives
from the waste of the land, quantities of mud, sand, gravel, &c.;
which it deposits in thin layers, partly on its shores, and partly in
the deeper parts of its bed; but these thin layers bear no proportion
to the massive strata of our rocks. To produce such a series of strata
as exists in our district, in the way supposed, a long succession of
ages would be requisite; and, during some of these ages, the rivers
behoved to send into the sea nothing but sand; during others, nothing
but mud or clay; during others, nothing but materials for oolite;
and during others, nothing but chalky matter. One of the most
learned of the authors alluded to, has stated, that it would require at
least a century, to waste away the surface of the land to the depth
of one foot, and deposit it in the bottom of the ocean.* Now, if we
estimate the chalk strata at three hundred feet in thickness, it would
require, at this rate, thirty thousand years, to form the chalk strata
only ; even supposing the ancient sea to be of no greater extent than
the dry land: and during this immense period, the rivers behoved to
convey into the ocean, where these beds were forming, nothing but
materials for chalk and flmt!!! It is clear, that our strata must
have been produced by very different means, and deposited on a far
grander scale.

14. Some of the strata abound with organic remains, others
contain few or none; and this diversity is not according to the order
of their succession.—The beds that contain most organic remains,
viz. the oolite and the alum shale, are neither the highest nor the

* Playfair’s Illustrations, p. 424, Note.

296 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

lowest; and there are beds between them, particularly sandstone and
sandy shale, containing almost none. In general, the siliceous strata
contain the fewest, and the calcareous and argillaceous the most;
yet in the red sandstone, which is both calcareous and argillaceous,
we have found none. There is no doubt, that quantities of animal
and vegetable matter, originally imbedded in the strata, have been
entirely dissolved, as we find only the harder substances remaining ;
and these too in various states of preservation, according to the
quality of their matrix.

15. The organic remains, in some of the strata, consist wholly
or chiefly of marine productions; and in others, of land productions ;
while in most, there is a mixture of both: nor is there any thing in
our strata, that favours the hypothesis of an alternation of fresh-water
and marine formations.—The petrifactions discovered in the coal and
the bituminous shale, in the siliceous sandstones and some of the
sandy shales, have been derived from the land; consisting of wood,
and other vegetable substances; in other strata, as in the blue lime-
stone, we have seen only marine shells: but most beds abounding
with organic remains, display a promiscuous assemblage of petrifac-
tions of both sorts. The most natural inference to be drawn from these
appearances is, that when the strata were deposited, the productions
of the sea and the land were blended together; and that, as
might be expected, they were lodged in the different strata im
various proportions; some beds containing most of the one kind,
some most of the other, some both, and some neither. Some French
authors, however, to whom science is otherwise much indebted, having
discovered among the strata over the chalk near Paris, some beds
containing what appeared to be fresh-water shells, alternating with
others containing marine productions, have accounted for this pheno-
menon, by supposing, that such spots have been alternately over-
whelmed by the sea, and by a fresh-water lake; a notion which has

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 297

been imported into England, and zealously patronized. But, how
could this alternate submersion of the strata, in salt water and fresh,
take place, without destroying their conformity? Convulsions of
such magnitude as to expel the sea, and introduce a fresh-water
lake, and again destroy the lake, and restore the sea, could not have
occurred, without violently agitating and breaking the strata, so that
there could be no conformity or parallelism between beds thus de-
posited. Is it possible, that, after depositing the alum shale and the
dogger, the sea, in this quarter, gave way to a mighty lake, which
formed our coal strata; that this lake was, in its turn, expelled, the
sea returning to form the blue limestone; that the fresh-water again
prevailed, but after leaving the crow-stone beds as monuments of its
prowess, finally quitted the field, allowing old ocean to resume his
pristine sway ;—and that, during this dreadful struggle for the as-
cendancy, the operations of both agents proceeded in unison, so as
to leave no vestiges of the direful contest, not a trace of such mighty
revolutions? Some of the methods employed by the authors of this
hypothesis to bolster it up, betray a disposition to set up theory
against fact. In one of their supposed fresh-water formations, marine
shells of the genus cerzthium were discovered. What then? Must the
hypothesis be abandoned? By no means:

the sea-faring straggler,
being found in such company, is to be deemed a landsman, a new
fresh-water shell, and is therefore dubbed a potamides !* We wonder
that its presence was not rather imputed to the pranks of some mis-
chievous sea-gulls, who might amuse themselves in picking up shells
from the sea shore, and dropping them in the fresh-water lake!
There is reason to suspect, that a great number of the supposed
fresh-water shells of these authors, are in reality marine shells; it
being difficult, in many cases, to distinguish between them. {

* Geological Transactions, II. p. 230, Note.
+ It appears from the experiments of M. Beudant, that some fresh-water shells may live
in salt water, and vice versa. See Philosophical Magazine, Vol. XLVIII. p. 223.

4D

298 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

16. Of the organic bodies imbedded in our strata, some are in a
high state of preservation, others are greatly mutilated, compressed,
or otherwise injured; and we have no evidence to prove, that any of
them ever lived on the spots where they are found.—It is contended
by not a few authors, that a great part of the animals and vegetables
which we find petrified, formerly lived where they are now imbedded ;
because they are found in a high state of preservation, and some
of them, especially shell-fish, are found lying in that regular order
which we may suppose them to have had when alive. But appear-
ances of this kind, though not uncommon in our district, are not
sufficient to determine the point. The most remarkable instance of
the regular disposition of organic bodies in our strata, is that of the
petrified reeds near High Whitby, mentioned p. 184. Most of these
reeds stand erect, as if they had grown on the spot, with their roots
in the clay that is below their sandy matrix. It is most probable, that
they did grow in the clay; yet, may we not suppose, that the clay,
with the reeds in it, might be floated hither, at the formation of the
beds, accompanied with the sand, which lodging among the reeds,
became their matrix? This idea is corroborated by two circumstan-
ces; one of which is, the total absence of the upper part of the stalks,
which all terminate at the surface of the sandstone bed, as if they
had been broken off; and the other is, that their roots are almost all
bent, and bent in one direction, as if they had been dragged along
from some distance. The orderly position of some beds of shells
may beaccounted for in a similar way; or it might be effected by the
regularity of the successive waves that deposited the strata with their
contents.—Nor is the high state of preservation, in which many of
the shells are found, a proof that they have not suffered transporta-
tion. The most delicate shells might float round the globe without
being injured, provided they were entangled in any mucilaginous,
clayey, or soft matter, that might serve to defend them; and we have

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 299

great reason to believe, that the nuclei of many of our lias and iron-
stone nodules, which contain the best preserved petrifactions, original-
ly consisted of such matter. Besides, when we find in the same bed,
shells that are well preserved, associated with others that have been
violently broken, distorted, or mutilated, what can we think, but that
incidental circumstances have preserved the former, from the violence
that injured the latter? It is well known, that very entire shells are
found even in gravel beds, where they might be expected to be
broken or water-worn.

After all, what can be meant by the assertion, that the shell-fish
have lived and died on the spot? Can it mean, in regard to such
beds as our alum shale or oolite, that the animals imbedded actually
lived in the clay or caleareous matter? That is physically impossible.
Pholades, or similar shell-fish, might burrow in beds of clay or marl;
but that is not the state in which our petrified shells are found, and
we rarely meet with shells of that description. The stone in which
the mytilus lthophagus occurs, is very different from the oolite in
which it is found, and may be presumed to have been transported
from a distance. Does the assertion mean, that the shell-fish lived
on the surface of the stratum below, and were covered by the de-
position of the clay or calcareous matter over them? Had that been
the case, we should have found the mass of shells at the bottom of
the beds that overwhelmed them. Does it mean, that the animals
lived on the surface of these beds, and were covered up by the
succeeding beds? Then we should have seen them all in the upper
part of the clay or oolite. Or, does it mean, that these beds, particu-
larly the limestone beds, were formed by the calcareous matter
resulting from the decay of successive generations of shells? In that
case, we ought to find the entire shells only in the upper part of the
beds, and the lower parts should consist of nothing but lime, or of
finely comminuted particles of shells; whereas we see the shells and

300 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

the fragments promiscuously dispersed in the beds; and in some
parts of the oolite, near the surface, we find neither shells nor frag-
ments.—In short, the idea that the animals have lived and died on
the spot, cannot be reconciled with the phenomena presented ; which
rather indicate, that the shells have by some means been entangled in,
and mixed with, the clay, the marl, or whatever other substance has
formed their matrix, and floating along with it, while it was carried in
a semidiluted state, have thus been deposited where we now find them.

17. ‘'hough some organized bodies are found only, or chiefly, in
certain beds, yet, on the whole, the organic remains are so much dis-
persed and intermixed, that the attempt to identify the several strata
by their respective fossils, must be confined within narrow limits.—As
attempts have been made to arrange all the strata into a regular series,
so it has also been attempted, to assign to each member its proper
fossils, on the supposition that we may distinguish each stratum by its
organic remains. The latter idea, like the former, may be admitted to
a certain extent, but the arrangement is far from possessing that univer-
sality and certainty which some suppose. We find some organized
fossils in the lowest shale only, some in the compact shale only, some
in the main alum shale only, some in the oolite only, and so of the
rest of our strata containing such fossils; and it is well known, that
several corresponding fossils have been found in strata analogous to
ours in other parts of England. Where there is a correspondence
between the strata, it is natural to expect some agreement between
the fossils imbedded in them; and this idea may assist us in tracing
their correspondence. Yet the assistance thus furnished must be
very limited ; for if some fossils appear peculiar to certain beds, there
are others very extensively diffused; and how can we be sure, that
such as we deem peculiar to the beds which they occupy, may not
be discovered, like their companions, in other beds of a very different
description? Most of the shells in the dogger correspond exactly

FACTS AND INFERENCES. — 301

with shells that occur in the oolite; nay, some of the same species of
belemnites and ostracites are found in the lowest shale at Boulby,
and in the upper shale at Speeton. Indeed, belemnites and oysters
occur in almost all the strata containing shells. The tchthyosaurus
has been thought peculiar to the alum shale; but we now observe, as
we might have done before, that it occurs also in the second shale,
at Malton, immediately below the oolite; some large vertebre of that
animal having been dug up there a few years ago. Nay, it would
seem, that animals of this family occur in the oolite, the chalk, and even
the mountain limestone.* Some fossils, as the tubular belemnites,
are found only in certain spots; and we might as well pronounce
them peculiar to the spots, as peculiar to the strata. Besides, there
is scarcely more difference between the fossils of different strata,
than between those of the same stratum in different places. In the
fronts of the Cleveland hills near Guisborough and Stokesley, we
find in the alum shale, no specimens of tchthyosaurus, of pike, of
arca rostrata, &c.; but we meet with several shells not hitherto
observed on the shore. In like manner, some of the oolite fossils
that occur at Malton are not seen at Pickering, and vice versd;
there being several shells in the oolite strata, found only in par-
ticular spots. We may add, that our strata contain organic remains
not known to exist in the strata analogous to them in the south
of England; and many fossils occur there, which have not been
observed here. :

18. Of our fossil organized substances, some correspond with re-
cent animals and vegetables, others have no recent analogues hitherto
known; and these two classes are so intermixed, that we cannot re-
gard the latter as more ancient than the former.—lIt is a fashionable
opinion among geologists, that the animals and vegetables imbedded

* Geological Transactions, V. p. 591, 592.

4k

302 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

in rocks, are more or less ancient, and differ more or less from
the present animals and vegetables, according as they are lower or
higher in the series of strata. Such authors speak of different races
being successively created and destroyed; each succeeding race
approaching nearer to the present genera and species. According to
them, there was first a world of zoophytes; and this being de-
stroyed was followed by a world of cockles, or such like bivalves ;
which cockle world being also ruined, was succeeded by a world of
crocodiles or huge lizards, destined to perish in their turn, to make
way for other creations; a few stragglers from each lower world
being allowed, however, to ascend and hold a station in the world
next above: but all the inhabitants of these numerous worlds
became extinct, before the creation of man, and his present fellow-
tenants of the globe. Some go so far as to assert, that not one fossil
species agrees exactly with any living species; except a few species
found in the alluvium, which by peculiar favour have obtained a kind
of apotheosis, having ascended from the world last destroyed, to
figure in the present.—These notions, which seem to have gained
currency chiefly through their novelty and their wildness, it is impos-
sible to reconcile with facts. No such gradation exists; but we see
in all the beds, whether high or low, organized substances that have
recent analogues, and others that have not; and find as large a pro-
portion of the latter in the oolite and the chalk, as in the aluminous
strata. Zoophytes abound most in the chalk and the oolite, while in
the lowest shale we see oysters and other shells, corresponding in
every respect with living species. Indeed, there are some shells,
particularly ostracites, ammonites, and belemnites, that exist in al-
most all the strata containing organic remains. They occur in the
chalk and the oolite, and in the lowest shale: nay, they occur in much
lower, or to use the common phrase, older strata; for Dr. Macculloch
discovered belemnites in Garvh island, in limestone alternating with

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 303

gneiss and quartz rock.* The idea, that none of our fossil animals
or vegetables can be assigned to any recent species, cannot be ad-
mitted, without shutting our eyes against the clearest evidence; and
several genera and species now regarded as extinct, may yet be
found recent. Many countries, rivers, and creeks, remain to be
explored; and doubtless the ocean contains living treasures hitherto
unseen. Brown in his travels in Egypt, &c. (p. 70), observes, that,
with the exception of some eels, none of the fishes which he found in the
Nile correspond with the European fishes: and every scientific travel-
ler discovers in distant parts of the world, new species, and even new
genera, of animals and plants. Within these few years, the trigonia,
which was deemed an extinct genus, has been found recent; and the
same remark is applicable to a few other genera. After the recent
accessions which natural history has acquired, particularly the dis-
covery of the ornithorhynchus and of the animal of Stronsay, we
need not despair of seeing the lizard-fish in a living state.

The authors of the hypothesis of successive creations, or forma-
tions, as they are more frequently termed, have not told us, what we
are to make of the extensive strata containing no organic remains, or
next to none, intervening between strata that abound with them.
Was the creative power suspended or contracted for some ages? Did
worlds of barren sand alternate with worlds replete with life?

We have other objections to produce against this theory, but
they will appear with more advantage under the next observation.

19. We have reason to believe, from the facts before us, that no
considerable interval occurred between the deposition of the several

* Description of the Western Islands, IJ. p. 512. It is worthy of notice, that Dr. M.
observed in Rasay and Sky, a series of strata, reposing on graywacké schist, conglomerate, and
gneiss, bearing a strong analogy to part of our strata; consisting of white sandstone, dark blue
shale with thin seams of coarse limestone, and below that, red sandstone. The shale contains
ammonites, ostracites, gryphites, belemnites, &c, Ibid. I. p. 250, &e.

304 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

members of our strata; but that they were all deposited nearly about
the same period.—The doctrine of successive formations is connected
with the opinion, that ages intervened between one formation and _
another; and that the lowest strata are of very high antiquity, while
the upper strata, such as the chalk beds, are comparatively quite
modern. To the same system belong the notions, which we have
already exploded, that the animals petrified in the several formations
are peculiar to these formations, and that they have lived and died -
on the spots where we find them.

As the formation system has many learned and zealous advo-
cates, it is the more necessary to set forth the leading facts, from
which we draw the conclusion, That the different members of our
strata have been all deposited nearly about the same period.

(1.) The breaks in the strata are not limited by the boundaries
of any particular member of the series, but affect the whole mass of
the strata at the places where they occur. Had the strata been
deposited in successive formations, separated by ages, or long pe-
riods of time, we ought to find in the lower formations their own
peculiar breaks and irregularities; and might expect to see, in nu-
merous instances, breaks leaving off at the limits of the several
formations; and to observe the materials of the higher formations
descending into the fissures of the lower. Now, when we perceive,
on the contrary, the same breaks passing directly through the alumi-
nous beds, the coal measures, the oolite, and all the intermediate
strata, without any regard to supposed formations, it is natural to
conclude, that the division of the strata into such formations is the
work of fancy. We do not, indeed, find any one break crossing the
whole series; but we see a succession of breaks connecting the
different members, and shewing the whole to be, not a series of
formations, but one grand formation.—The effects of the denudations
of the strata lead to the same conclusion; for the chalk, the upper

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 305

shale*and the oolite, have been swept away together between Spee-
ton and Filey; and the aluminous beds and red sandstone have been
involved in the same destruction towards the Tees.

(2) Most of the breaks or dislocations have taken place when
the strata were but half consolidated; so hard as to break, yet so soft
asalsoto bend. This fact deserves particular notice, as being, in our
opinion, the most decisive evidence of the point in dispute; especially
when viewed in connection with the fact last stated, and with the
remarks made above ({§ 12) on the induration of the strata. Had the
strata been of different ages, we should have found at the breaks
that pass through several members of the series, indications of the
greater hardness of the lower beds, and softness of the upper, at the
time when tl.ese breaks occurred. But, instead of this, we see in the
bends, undulations, and contortions, accompanying the breaks, indu-
bitable proofs, that the beds which are now the hardest were capable
of being bent at the era of these dislocations, and the lowest as much
as the highest. The undulations in the ironstone and hard sandstone
on both sides of Scarborough; those in the sandstone at Haiburn wyke;
those in the hard bands of the aluminous strata at Peak and Robin
Hood’s Bay; and those in the dogger near Saltwick, on the east side
of Whitby harbour, and in the sandstone on the west side, may be
quoted as examples. They shew, that as the great breaks on the
coast run through the entire mass of the strata, wherever they occur,
so they must have taken place when every part of the mass was
somewhat flexible. In some instances, indeed, the curvature of a bed
is partly owing to small cracks or rents; but independent of such
cracks, there is a real bending of the mass of the stratum.—Even the
denudations present appearances, indicating that they must have
occurred when the strata were but half consolidated ; for it is difficult
to explain, on any other principle, the extent to which the hard strata
have thus been demolished.—These facts it is impossible to reconcile

with the formation system.
4 F

306 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

(3) The conformity and close succession of the strata, viewed in
connection with their contents, also furnish insurmountable difficul-
ties in the way of the system.—The members of the strata succeed
each other so closely, and with so little appearance of interruptions,
or long intervals, between their deposition, that the abettors of this
theory must find it difficult, if not impossible, to determine where one
formation ends, and another begins. The members of the series often
run into one another. The chalk might be deemed one of the most
distinct formations; and yet we have seen (p. 58) that at its junction
with the upper shale, there is a gradual transition of the one into the
other, the clay growing chalky, and the chalk clayey. Similar ap-
pearances occur at the junction of other members of the series; and
even where there is a distinct line of separation, the evenness of that
line is a proof, that the inferior member has not lain so long uncovered
by its successor, as to allow the hand of time, or accidental causes,
to produce inequalities in its surface.—Besides, the contents of the
strata do. not accord with the formation system. If each member of
the series was formed so leisurely, and if its animals expired on the
spots which they occupy, why are almost all the larger petrifactions,
particularly the large marine animals, so mangled and broken; often
parted into a thousand pieces, and their fragments scattered in all
directions —Again, if the strata were formed in the way supposed,
why do we find in so many of them, both low and high, masses or
fragments of petrified wood? Why is there wood in the alum shale,
the ironstone, and the oolite, as well as in the coal and sandstone
strata? Had each world its own trees, as well as its own animals?
Where are the soils in which the successive races of vegetables grew?
And why are the plants and the shells, the trees and the fishes, of
these numerous creations, blended together?—On the whole, the
formation system may please the imagination, and give scope to
the fancy, but it will not stand the test of an appeal to facts.

FACTS AND INFERENCES. 307

20. The basaltic dyke bears such strong marks of having been
composed of fused matter, thrust upwards through a fissure in the
strata, by volcanic agency, or something akin to it, that we may
reasonably presume, that such agency may have been employed
in raising the strata, out of the ocean in which they were deposited.
—Some may think, that we should have placed this observation
among our conjectures, rather than among facts and inferences: but
the appearances of igneous origin presented by our whinstone
dyke, and other similar dykes, are so strong, as nearly to reduce
the matter to absolute certainty.* Had the fissure occupied by the
whin dyke been filled from above, as some suppose, whence were
the materials derived? There are no strata above capable of filling
it; and if we could suppose that all the higher members of the
series once extended over the space through which the dyke runs,
which of these strata could supply the requisite materials?’ Why are
the numerous cracks and fissures, in the oolite and’ other strata, not
filled with the same substance? And, since so many of the upper beds
consist of limestone, why does the dyke contain so small a portion
of calcareous matter? If the fissure was filled from above, by secre-
tions from beds that have been washed away; why does it not’ every
where reach the surface? Or rather, as it is harder than the strata
washed away from it, why does it not every where stand up above the
surface like a wall, as it does at Langbargh and some other places?
Besides, why are its contents disposed in large oblong blocks, lying

* The Rey. A. Sedgwick, Woodwardian Professor, Trinity College, Cambridge, examined
the rocks of this coast a few months ago, and having paid particular attention to our basaltic
dyke, and to some trap dykes near Newcastle, and in High Teesdale, was fully convinced, that
the evidence for their igneous origin appears quite complete. Near Caldron Snout, he found
the limestone, where it comes in contact with the trap, converted into a granular mass, in which
you lose all trace of organic remains ; but gradually recovering its usual texture at the distance

of a few feet. The coal shale, under the same circumstances, is so indurated as to resemble a
piece of Lydian stone.

308 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

across the fissure; and not rather arranged in a stratified form, or
suspended in stalactitic masses? Above all, why is the dyke through-
out its whole length composed of crystallized matter, and that matter
not at all affected by the nature of the various strata through which
it passes? In its progress from Maybecks to Cockfield, it crosses the
blue limestone and the sandstone strata above it, the coal measures
of our hills, the aluminous strata, the red sandstone of Cleveland, the
magnesian limestone, and the Durham coal measures, arriving at, or
approaching, the metalliferous limestone; yet the diversified nature
of the beds through which it runs has no effect on it. Now, as the
substance and structure of the dyke are nearly uniform, and have no
connection with the nature or composition of the beds which it tra-
verses, we are compelled to think, that it is all derived from one
common source, and that source not above but below. And when
we also see along its course, effects produced by it, exactly corres-
ponding with the effects of ignited matter, what are we to believe,
but that its substance has been forced upwards in a state of igneous
fusion?—Hence, as we have seen that this dyke is connected with
slips or breaks of the strata, it is natural to conclude, that the same
kind of agency which forced up ignited matter into fissures of the
strata, may have been employed in raising the strata themselves, out
of the ocean in which they were formed.

We might have drawn another argument against the formation
system, from the manner in which the basaltic dyke crosses so many
members of the series of strata; but it is high time to proceed to the
next and last division of our subject, which we denominate

HINTS AND CONJECTURES.

From the foregoing statement of facts, and chain of reasonings
from facts observed, we have arrived at some important results, with

HINTS AND CONJECTURES. 309

regard to the nature of our rocks, and tie circumstances of their
formation. We have found, that the strata have been deposited by
water, and were originally nearly horizontal; that through some power-
ful agency, they have suffered great changes, in numerous breaks and
denudations, by which valleys and water-courses have been formed ;
that the different beds are not continued round the globe, nor over all
Britain, but wear out successively to thin edges, so that we cannot
arrange them into any regular or constant series ; that some beds, or
portions of the strata, pass into others, and some are secretions from
others; that the strata have not been formed by the gradual deposition
of sediment, such as is now deposited in the bottom of the ocean ;
that the difference between the strata, in point of hardness, and in the
nature and quantity of their organic remains, is not according to
the order of their succession; that they have not been produced by
alternate depositions from salt water and fresh, nor by successive
creations, or formations, separated by ages or long intervals, and
distinguished by peculiar animals or vegetables, but appear to
have been formed nearly about the same period; and that volcanic
agency, having produced the whinstone dykes, may have been em-
ployed in raising the strata, and may have caused some of the breaks
in them.—It now remains to be inquired, at what period, and in what
manner, the strata may have been deposited.

It is a fashionable opinion among geologists, that all the strata?
including even a great part of the alluvial beds, were deposited before
the creation of man; and some of the most respectable geological
writers have attempted to reconcile the formation system with the
Mosaic account of the creation, by supposing that the six days of the
creation are six indefinite periods, of great length, corresponding with
the eras of the different formations. Such writers fancy, that they
have discovered a coincidence between the order in which organized
bodies occur in the strata, and the order of the creation of vegetables

4G

310 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

and animals, as recorded by Moses. Our readers must have seen,
from the statements given above, that we have observed no such
coincidence; and as the notions just mentioned cannot be reconciled
with facts, it is equally impossible, in our opinion, to reconcile them
with the sacred scriptures.

The very attempt to extend the period of the creation to an inde-
finite length, looks like detracting from the honours of the Almighty,
whose power, instead of requiring six ages for the work, could easily
have accomplished it in six hours. The instantaneous execution of
the several parts of the work, is represented as an important accession
to its grandeur: ‘“ He spake, and it was done: He commanded, and
it stood fast.” Independent of this, the formation system cannot be
made to agree with the narrative of Moses. He describes the work
of each day, and then represents the Creator as thus reviewing the
whole, at the close of the sixth day: “And God saw every thing
that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” With what pro-
priety could these words have been used, if the work of some of the
preceding days had been destroyed, before the sixth day began?
Besides, each of the days is stated to consist of ‘morning and even-
ing;” language which could not, without the most violent straining,
be applied to the formation periods. It is true, that the terms day,
morning, and evening, are often in scripture, as in other writings, used in
a metaphorical sense; but it is contrary to the rules of sound criticism,
to understand them in this sense, in the simple narrative of the work
of creation. The mention that is made of the seventh day, seems to
put the matter beyond a doubt. God rested from his work on the
seventh day, which was therefore consecrated to be the sabbath; and
man was directed, after the example of God, to labour six days of the
week, and rest on the seventh. Now, that this may be a suitable
motive with us, to devote a seventh part of our time to sacred rest, we
must understand, that the six days of the creation and the sabbath

HINTS AND CONJECTURES. 311

succeeding, occupied no more than the space of a week; or at least,
that the seventh day was of the same length with each of the six. If
therefore, each of the six days was along period, of a thousand or an
hundred years, the seventh day must have been of the same duration;
an idea which is glaringly inconsistent with the narrative of Adam’s
history.—We may add, that in the sacred volume, the misery and
destruction of the creatures are represented as the bitter fruits of
man’s transgression; and how then can we admit, that the catastro-
phes belonging to the formation system, were antecedent to the
introduction of sin, and even to the creation of man?

Instead of assigning such high antiquity to the whole of the
strata, why may we not rather suppose, that a great proportion of
them, particularly such as contain organic remains, might be formed
at the era of the deluge? We are far from adopting on this subject
the crude notions of Dr. Woodward; yet we are persuaded, that he,
and Mr. Howard and others, who ascribe to the deluge the principal
changes which the crust of our globe has undergone, in so far come
nearer the truth, than those who would throw back those changes
into long ages that preceded the creation of man, involving them in
the darkness of the chaos. Aware that our sentiments on this sub-
ject differ materially from those of a great proportion of our literary
friends, we would beg of them a patient hearing; that they may not
condemn our remarks, till they have candidly weighed them.

It is common to ascribe to the deluge only the formation of some
alluvial beds; nay, some authors will scarcely allow it a share even in
forming the alluvium. A writer in the Philosophical Journal, for July,
1820, alleges that, “according to Moses,” the deluge was only “a quiet
effusion of water upon the surface of the earth;” by which “the surface
was not torn up or moved, so as in any material degree to disturb and
root up the vegetable races;” and which did not wash away even the
vegetable mould. In proof of which view of the deluge, the writer

312 - GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

asserts, that “ Noah on quitting the ark, or very soon after, planted a
vineyard.’—The charge which that writer prefers against Professor
Buckland, of “not having carefully considered the words used by
Moses in describing the Noachian deluge,” may with great justice be
retorted upon himself. From the notice taken of Canaan the son of
Ham, in what is said about the vineyard, we may infer, that it was not
planted till several years after the deluge. Indeed, had the deluge been
nothing more than what that writer conceives, the wonder is, why
Noah would think of planting a vineyard at all; as he had his choice
of thousands of vineyards, left by the antediluvians, and rendered
more fertile by a slight coating of mud!

Had Moses given no intimation of violent means employed for
the submersion of the earth, the simple fact which he states, that the
waters overflowed the whole globe for an hundred and fifty days, and
the lower parts of the land much longer, implies great and extensive
changes. Were our present strata submerged so long in the ocean,
exposed to the action of the waves and currents, besides the agitation
occasioned by the rising and falling of the waters, could we suppose
that the surface would scarcely be disturbed? On the contrary, might
we not expect, that the alluvial beds, with vast quantities of the softer
strata, would be wholly dissolved, or terribly broken; and that even
the solid rocks, or masses of strata, dashing against one another,
would to a great extent be ground to powder? Such effects must have
been produced by the deluge, even if waters had been created on pur-
pose to drown the world, to be afterwards annihilated when they had
fulfilled their commission. But how much greater must the cata-
strophes have been, when the waters of the ocean were employed to
cover the dry land? We are expressly informed by the sacred histo-
rian, that while “the windows of heaven were opened,” to pour down
rain, ‘all the fountains of the great deep were broken up;” words
evidently intimating, that the waters rushed up from the depths of the

HINTS AND CONJECTURES. 313

ocean, if not from the interior of the globe, in order to overflow the
earth; which implies, that the bed of the sea was elevated, and the
land proportionally depressed, and consequently that the strata were
extensively broken and deranged. Moses, indeed, repeatedly states,
that the earth was destroyed, as well as its inhabitants; and the
Apostle Peter, in the last chapter of his Second Epistle, considers
that destruction of the earth by water, as somewhat analogous to
the final destruction of the globe by fire; and since he describes the
latter as a dissolution of tiie substance of the earth, particularly of its
crust, where the works of man are carried on, we must, to preserve
the analogy, understand the former of a similar dissolution, though
by another element.

As collateral proofs of the extent of the revolution effected by the
deluge, we may notice the abridgment of the life of man immediately
following, and the change that seems to have taken place even in the
atmosphere. No mention is made of rain before the deluge, but only
of mist employed to water the ground; and as the rainbow was
appointed a token of God’s covenant with Noah, it seems probable,
that it then appeared for the first time, and consequently, that the
state of the atmosphere was materially altered. The shortening of
human life may be presumed to be connected with this alteration,
and with corresponding alterations in the earth’s surface, occasioning
great changes of soil and climate.

Even the duration of the deluge is a presumptive evidence, that
it was intended for other purposes than the mere destruction of the
inhabitants of the globe. The waters prevailed on the earth an hun-
dred and fifty days (including, it would seem, the forty days during
which it continued rising); after the ark took the ground, above two
months more elapsed, before the tops of the mountains were distinctly
seen, emerging from the ocean; and other four months were almost
expired, before Noah and those under his charge were permitted to

4H

314 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

quit the ark, which had now been their habitation upwards of a year.
Many years, indeed, might revolve, ere the ocean subsided to its
present level. Now, if the object of the deluge was merely to drown
the inhabitants of the world, that might have been accomplished in
a few days; and a week or two might have sufficed to dry the earth,
had there been only “a quiet effusion of water upon its surface.” Is
there not, then, strong ground for presuming, that the globe was so
long immersed, to effect the most important changes in its crust; that
during the deluge, the old strata were extensively demolished, and
new strata formed out of their ruins; and that, as the ocean subsided,
the new strata rose, experiencing in their rise those breaks, undu-
lations, and other irregularities, with which they are marked?

To establish the theory here proposed, many queries demand
to be answered, and not a few objections require to be met. Our
limits will not allow us to enter very fully into the subject; but the
following remarks may serve to elucidate and confirm the general
ideas now thrown out.

Ifit be asked, To what extent were the ancient strata demolish-
ed? We reply; that probably the whole were dissolved, except the
primary rocks, containing no organic remains. Dolomieu, an accurate
observer of nature, notices, that a great catastrophe seems to have
taken place after the birth of the primitive rocks, and before that of
the derivative; that the shell of the earth has been broken through
by some vast shock, and the strata, originally horizontal, thrown
up to a great height, some vertically, and others obliquely; thus
forming the principal inequalities on the earth’s surface. Mr. Green-
ough, after quoting these expressions, makes this judicious remark:
“Without assenting to every part of this doctrine, I cannot. but
consider the almost universal occurrence of conglomerate and grey-
wacké on the confines of what are called primitive rocks, as one of
the most important and striking facts yet established in geology: it

HINTS AND CONJECTURES. 315

seems to prove, that, at the epoch at which these beds were formed,
a deluge took place, &c.”* The deluge which formed these con-
glomerate beds, is supposed by Mr. Greenough to have been more
ancient than “that which determined the present outline of the earth;”
but why may we not regard it as the very same? The beds alluded
to seem to mark the extent to which the primeval strata were dis-
solved by the deluge. '

_ But how could the deluge dissolve so large a portion of the
earth’s ancient crust? To this we answer, that the beds so demolished
might be much softer than some of our secondary strata now are;
and might bear some analogy to our alluvial beds. The ancient
world may be presumed to have been more fertile than the present ;
as the people of that world lived to a great age, though they were
not, as far as we know, permitted to use animal food. Hence it is
probable, that the primeval earth was covered with a rich and deep
soil; and it is by no means unlikely, that vast beds of clay, of sand,
of marl, or calcareous matter, as well as quantities of gravel, were
lying over the solid strata: and even. the latter might not then have
acquired their utmost hardness. If such was the case, it is easy to
see, how sufficient materials might be supplied, for forming our strata
.of sandstone, limestone, and shale; without attributing to the waters
of the deluge any preternatural power of decomposition.

If the inquiry be made, How could the antediluvian world
furnish the inconceivable quantity of animal and vegetable matter,
contained in our present strata? We reply, that if we take into con-
sideration the superior fertility of the ancient world, the difficulty will
vanish. Even our present earth could perhaps yield a supply of such
matter, little or nothing short of the quantity observed. Were the
vast forests of America, for instance, rooted up, and floated in masses,
they would go far towards furnishing materials for coal strata, equal

* Greenough’s Geology, p. 212.

316 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

to all the coal beds hitherto known; and no doubt the antediluvian
forests were far more extensive and luxuriant.—As trees are often
found lodged at a great depth, in the channels of rivers, and at the
bottoms of lakes, we need scarcely inquire, how the masses of wood
could be deposited at the bottom of the ocean, instead of all floating
at the top. Yet we may notice, that the trees being torn up with all
their roots, branches, and leaves, would naturally become much
clogged with the mud or clay of the soil in which they grew; and
this clay would not only facilitate the deposition of the vegetable
masses, but supply materials for the shale beds which uniformly
accompany coal. The leaves and small plants, floating in the upper
part of the mass, would occasion those vegetable impressions found
in the coal shale, immediately over each bed of coal; and often in the
coal itself. Some of the thinner seams of coal, as the Maybecks
seams, appear to owe their origin to floating masses of branches,
shrubs, and small plants. The process by which such vegetable
matter might be converted into coal, is well described by Mr.
Parkinson, in the First Volume of his Organic Remains. The coal
beds would be formed by successive floating masses of wood, beds
of clay or sand being interposed between them.

The exuberance of animal life in the ancient world, may be pre-
sumed to correspond with that of vegetation. Immense quantities of
shell-fish, with the exuvie of those of former ages, being strewed
along the shores of the seas and the rivers, would, at the breaking
up of the strata, be swept away by the waters; intermixed with the
sand, marl, or clay, on which they reposed, now destined to be their
matrix; and masses of animal matter, including shells, remains of
fishes, &c., after floating for some time, would be deposited in the
beds, and become the nuclei of future nodules of stone.

Some may be ready to ask, Why are the beds so regular, and in
many instances so homogeneous! Why do we not find them presenting

HINTS AND CONJECTURES. 317

a more confused mixture of different substances? These questions it
is not very difficult to answer. Among subtances set afloat in a
mixed state, an elective attraction, as it has been called, tends to
draw together such parts of the mass as are of the same nature. This
we see exemplified on our own beach; where the sea often deposits
seams of burnt alum shale, of mud or clay, of drift coal, of white
sand, of brown sand, of gravel, &c.; each tolerably homogeneous, as
far as it goes. We see also quantities of sea-weed deposited in beds,
instead of being confusedly dispersed along the shore; and quantities
of shells, often of one species, arranged in a similar form. The same
phenomena, but on a far grander scale, appear in the formation of
the secondary strata; the clay, the sand, the lime, the wood, &c.,
having settled to the bottom in separate strata, or extensive lenticular
masses, each running to a thin edge.

Again, it will be demanded, How could the waters of the deluge
hold so much matter in a state of solution? To this we reply; that
these waters being composed of the whole contents of the ocean, and
of all the lakes and rivers of the world, with all that the atmosphere
could supply, not to speak of what might issue from caverns in the
interior of the globe; this immense collection would suflice to float a
quantity of matter, adequate to form at least a very large proportion
of the secondary strata; especially as, from the manner in which
the shells and pieces of wood are distributed in the beds of shale,
&c., the solution seems to have been, in some instances, very thick
and slimy, containing but little water. Besides, it is not necessary
to suppose the whole materials of the strata to be suspended in the
waters at once: they might be dissolved and deposited in successive
portions, according as the ocean rose higher and higher, and extended
its depredations on the ancient crust of the globe; and the waters
which deposited the first part of the strata, would thus be set at
liberty, to assist in dissolving and arranging the last. Thus far we

41

318 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

may admit the doctrine of formations; that the beds may have been
deposited in successive assemblages, and there might be only one as-
semblage or series afloat at a time, in any particular place or region;
though we have no right to suppose, that any one series extended
round the whole globe, so as to constitute a universal formation.

We have already (§ 20) anticipated the queries that may be
made, respecting the agent employed in breaking up the crust of the
earth, and subsequently elevating the new formed strata. These
operations were most probably effected by volcanic agency, or some
expansive force acting from below. The bed of the sea was thus
heaved upwards in various places; and this could not be done with-
out a corresponding depression of the land; for wherever any portion
of the earth’s crust was elevated, the chasm beneath it would naturally
be filled up with matter rushing in, or pressed in, from all sides;
and this matter being abstracted from under the adjoining strata, the
latter would necessarily sink. The violence attending these opera-
tions, would greatly facilitate the dissolving of the strata, in the early
stages of the deluge; while the strata that remained undissolved,
would be thrown into that wild confusion which the primary rocks
now present; some masses being raised on their edges vertically,
and others at high angles, as we see in accumulated fragments of
broken ice. In the later stages of the deluge, when a great part of
the new strata had been deposited, the expansive force might, in
many instances, continue to act on the same parts of the earth’s crust;
and consequently would produce dry land where the ancient ocean
had flowed, while large portions of what had been dry land, sunk
down, and became the bed of the present ocean. Yet, in other in-
stances, we must suppose the volcanic agency to have changed its
direction; allowing the former bed of the ocean, which it had ele-
vated, to sink down and become the bed of the ocean still; and
causing what had been dry land, to rise and become dry land again.

HINTS AND CONJECTURES. 319

This we may presume to have been the case with the mountains of
Armenia, where the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, mentioned in the de-
scription of paradise, have their sources; and where the ark took the
ground. Yet, it is likely, that these mountains, and many of our
present mountains, acquired by the deluge an elevation which no
mountains had attained before; owing principally to the way in which
masses of the earth’s crust were then raised on their edges. The
peaks of the Himalay mountains, the most lofty in the world, are
huge fragments of primary strata, elevated at a high angle; as appears
from Mr. Fraser’s paper in the Geological Transactions, Vol. V.
Other lofty peaks, such as those of the Andes, are craters of volca-
noes; of which there were probably none before the deluge.

While the new strata were rising, they would unavoidably be
bent, cracked, and broken, in various places; especially as the ex-
pansive power that heaved them up, could not be expected to act on
every part with equal force; and wherever that power was suddenly
suspended or withdrawn, a subsidence would take place, which would
greatly increase the dislocations and bends. As the rise of the strata,
corresponding with the subsiding of the waters, took place in succes-
sive stages, this would occasion breaks and veins of different dates,
as well as upfillings, unconformable strata, and other irregularities.
Hence, we find veins and masses of trap, and other unstratified rocks,
of different ages. Such veins, as already intimated (§ 20), we con-
ceive to have been forced upwards in a state of fusion; and the flat
masses might originate in ‘the overflowing of the veins; and where
this overflowing matter became covered with new depositions, such
rocks would appear stratified. We need not doubt, that the interior
of the globe, which supplies matter for so many volcanoes, could be
made to yield abundance of materials for trap dykes, metalliferous
veins, and unstratified rocks. Whether granite belongs to this class
of rocks, or not, we do not stop to inquire.

320 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

The abrasions or denudations of the strata, appear to have been
occasioned, chiefly by the rushing or hasty retiring of the waters, from
a higher to a lower position, as the strata ascended; and the materials
abraded, with fragments detached at the breaks, and lighter matter
yet floating or held in solution, would form the alluvial beds; the
higher regions generally supplying materials for the alluvium of the
lower. The quantity of gravel required for the alluvium, need not
cause any serious difficulty, if we consider, that the waters of the
deluge migiit not retire from the lower regions, till many years after
Noah quitted the ark. The gravel of the old world would suffice for
the ancient breccias and conglomerates. Perhaps some of the phe-
nomena observed, must be explained by supposing, that the strata in
some places have been twice submerged; and those who make the
strata dance up and down at pleasure, to produce fresh and salt water
formations, cannot object to this double submersion.

If it be asked, How could the earth, after such a catastrophe, so
soon become a firm habitation for man and beast? We reply; that
since the consolidation of the strata was not the work of time, as we
have already seen ({ 12), there is little or no difficulty in the case,
especially as the volcanic heat might serve to accelerate their con-
solidation. Besides, the place where the ark rested, might consist
chiefly of primary strata; and men might live on the mountains, till
the valleys were fit for their reception.

Again, it will be inquired, How was the vegetable world pre-
served, and so quickly restored? Why were not all vegetables, and
even all marine animals, overwhelmed by the breaking up of the
earth’s crust, or destroyed by the volcanic heat? We answer; that
no doubt a great proportion of the vegetables and marine animals
perished, and several species, and even genera, appear to have become
extinct; but others were preserved, like the ark, towards the surface
of the waters, in sufficient quantity for replenishing the new world.

HINTS AND CONJECTURES. 321

The seeds and roots of vegetables, and perhaps whole trees and
shrubs, would float in considerable quantity; and being left by the
retiring waters, mixed probably with a fine loam, would speedily
vegetate, and deck the new earth with verdure. In like manner, the
fishes, and other marine animals, though vastly reduced in numbers,
would still suffice to stock the new seas, lakes, and rivers. It need
not be objected, that the salt water would kill all the vegetables; for
the salt water was then diluted in fresh water; nay, it would seem,
from the quantities of salt found imbedded in the strata, that it then
deposited much of its salt in a crystallized form.—As to the effect of
the volcanic heat on animal and vegetable life, the chief region of that
heat must have been at such a distance from the surface, that it could
have no fatal influence; except in a few spots, where the fused matter
overflowed the fissures of the strata, and formed overlying masses:
and even there it would soon cool, on approaching the surface. It is
well known, that animals and vegetables live and thrive on the skirts
of AXtna, Vesuvius, and other volcanoes; and the volcanic heat at the
deluge might have a genial influence, occasioning a more rapid resto-
ration of the vegetable world, as soon as the land emerged from the
ocean. We need not then wonder, that at the distance of four
months after the ark ceased to float, the dove should find a fresh
olive leaf, which she plucked off and brought to Noah. And let it
be remembered, that the top of mount Ararat, whatever it may be
now, could not then be cold and bleak; for it would enjoy the same
atmosphere in point of density and warmth, as that of any low island
now situated in the same latitude.

Further, it will be urged, as a formidable objection against our
theory, Why are not the remains of quadrupeds found in great quanti-
ties, imbedded in the strata? Why, especially, are no remains of man
found in them? To these questions we reply; that if, in most instances,
what was dry land before the deluge became the bed of the sea after it,

4K

322 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

and vice versa, this is a good reason why the organic remains of our pre-
sent strata should consist chiefly of marine productions; the remains of
land animals being found sparingly, as they would be chiefly imbedded
in the strata which now compose the bottom of the ocean. Besides,
during the gradual rise of the waters, both men and beasts, especially
the former, would betake themselves for refuge to the hills and higher
grounds; where they might survive the first catastrophes of the earth’s
crust, and consequently escape being imbedded in the lower strata.
Being afterwards swept away in vast crowds, when the waters reached
the highest eminences, they would form floating masses of animal
matter, in which the most fat and bulky animals, as the elephant,
rhinoceros, &c., would hold an important place. It is acommon, and
very probable opinion, that the raven which Noah sent out, found
sustenance by feeding on the floating carrion. Some portions of this
animal matter, especially when loaded with mud, might be expected
to sink, and be imbedded in the newest strata; in which situation
animal remains have been discovered, in one of the supposed fresh-
water formations of the Paris basin. If Mr. Whitby’s account of the
discovery of some remains of the rhinoceros, found in 1816, imbedded
in a mass of clay in the solid limestone near Plymouth, be correct, a
mass of such animal matter, loaded with mud, must have been in-
closed in that rock whilst it was forming. We have in our possession,
a tooth resembling one of the grinders of a horse, but smaller, which
was found in the summer of 1821, with some ribs and other bones,
imbedded in a seam of marl in the magnesian limestone, at Pallion
quarry, near Sunderland. The seam containing the bones was twenty
feet below the surface of the solid rock, and sixty-five feet below the
surface of the ground, and the spot was at a great distance from the
original front of the quarry; nor was there a vestige of any cave or
vertical fissure, by which the bones could be introduced. These
particulars we learned from Mr. Baker of Wearmouth, an intelligent
gentleman, who examined the rock when the bones were taken out.

HINTS AND CONJECTURES. 323:

But most of the masses, composed of remains of quadrupeds,
appear to have kept afloat, till all the regular strata were deposited,
and till breaks and fissures began to exist even in the newest strata.
Floating on the surface of these strata, quantities of bones, accompanied
with softer animal matter, which proteeted them from being water-
worn, were lodged in crevices and openings; and these openings,
whether caused by breaks, or by the shrinking of the rock while it
was consolidating, being most numerous in limestone, it is in calca-
reous rocks chiefly that such remains occur. At that era, the bones
found at Kirkdale, were floated into the cavern. They present, as
might be expected in a collection detached from the floating masses,
a confused mixture of bones and fragments of bones, of animals of
various kinds, large and small, herbivorous and carnivorous, and even
of fowls as well as beasts; accompanied with marly clay, resulting
chiefly from the decomposition of animal matter. As far as we can
judge, from descriptions of the animal remains in the German caverns,
in the clefts of the rock of Gibraltar, and in several places on the
shores of the Mediterranean, they appear to be similar collections,
deposited in the same way. If the bones in the German caverns.
had not been floated, how could they be found in considerable quan-
tity, lodged on the sides and towards the roof, at a great height
from the floor? These remains being deposited before the alluvial
beds were formed, are not accompanied with sand and gravel; but a
great proportion of the animal masses having continued floating till
the denudations commenced, and the alluvium began to be deposited,
they were lodged in it at various depths. The bones left near the
surface, among which might be a quantity of human remains, would
soon be decomposed; while the relics deposited at greater depths,
particularly those of the larger animals, would be preserved. It is
unnecessary to inquire, whether the elephant, rhinoceros, hyzna, &c.,
were floated hither from tropical climates; for we have no right to

, a F
WN ee
“ie? ae

Hf

—— Bae ee

YOR! SHIRE

fN Ahan Works

ee Coal Pits

Vamborough

{| (Zeal

HHIDLINGTON QUAY
=

Rlrithwick Sands

= TLORNSEA

\ or.
sire mmm tO L D

(

Lp
? Rudston

Se
E

KILHAM 4

DRIFFIELD /

Leckontidd:

a
Seagoletharp *
gt
fo S\

\ *
- < sce
AT et
—

pr a ene
(etiam

Swanland

Fevriby

=a Tunsley Beacon,

MAREE’? 44 weiGaTon Hipidirvaticery vs
ay { org

™ 4 4 = Fy
“ ' a Pe y
swan) \, 4 es =

|? OCKLING TON

a \ s " =, rs q hs q “te \ @

Dood.

7H EASINGWOLD @
™

HOWDEN
EAA

Winteringham

BARTON

Allusizan.

Chalk

Upper Shale

Second Shale

; Sandstone Shale Coal

dhundnows Strata

Red Sandstone with 6
ey

GRIMSBY I

Scale or Miles

Eng xy WiiLizars Edin”

poiba ie ve Ra

EPS en

ne Sila ete gc

ii

SNe ee Se cee

lid

m

i

o) * vy
‘ 9 , = i ay »
" Ley tesa alee tn
Y * *
> X
7 =
j
%,
. 1 ay vd
» F
we 5
“ . alge Pheer, er bi ta urate
7 ’
f TS) oy
ya

” ne ¥ ¥} ae tie pape: teh in r pennerdenrtal pemephaehin bp
' ahi, len ee

;

we
, Sele
‘ sai ;
A ener eit ge

a
+ By ave atin U's |

Soe spate ce: | Merete) ih

t Arne 5h. > lt anemia cre

of iy '
hy oat
. i Ae Se
t ? a i
i ah TH Wray
; ,

veh)

nie)

C Sabie Vi He © Lei fou le aa Suan be i Haillgeol.

Hobmptan Withertnosea

Kilnsea

“gic

TIORNSEA |

Filey Bridye

Flamborough Head

Searrer Moor

Gristhorp

Cayton Slip g sc sR ROROUGH Coughton Whe Cloughten Slip Haiburn Wine * Stanton Slip R, Hoods Bay

Ralph Cross Rocket

Wheeldate CochHeaas Danity Freeburgh Hilt
Beacon ‘9

His lay —=

oo Midgar Castle

Gnipeher _ SS ; eaton Castle = R - 1 esr ;
rs = or. S0P) (LS CPL PV '
Lisa Saltwick writny ¢ @ i Sandsend
ae ee ee :
'
a 2
Y ose _Nei Cranimeer 2

ee Pe ee 23 as we Carlton
te nelly << eS _Amdyy
Resebras <

a i —~ NS
Bintley Moor Eston =
es x

Yarsie o— o— Redcar (vatham

HARTLEPOOL q

Tres Mouth

AE svi 6.) chatk ¢ Tomer “—- a werume — Limest & Gate Sanudst YR 24 Shale. = Tronst.& Sandst ena BB vinctor Shetek cath G Main Mam Yhute (FF Sandvend Bats nF Kettlenge Beds 1 Statths Beds 0) Lowest Shade PBB et Sani ranesLanest

a 9 mex ei
{ew | fal, b v4 Kei sty f Sone ae

NW,
Vv . Conley

in y ;

| fe Q ; / G ! , 5
ets | lg ¥ 2 ly a Cont brat bw Pe . 4 ieee Seer we ses — fed fur : _

D ler

tee Tatton, |
& iy

Sip heehee

of ] { i
Sethe 08 Se Ee

% f
AR adaayes :

Pe ultima
i ak

FIGs

BSPLEANATION

OF THE

PLATUS.

Puate I. Page 19.

FIGs
1. Contortions in alluvial clay and sand near 2. Singular appearance of alluvial beds neat
Skipsea, Cowden.
Puate I. Vegetable Impressions. P. 182, &c.
PIG. FIG.
1. From Saltwick ironstone. 5. From the coal shale at Fryop.
2. From the same. 6. From Saltwick ironstone. Apparently the
3. From the same. head of the plant No. 2.
4. From the coal shale at Fryop. 7. Leaf of the scolopendrium. Saltwick.
Puate Ill. Vegetable Impressions, §ce. P. 182, 184, &e.
FIG. FIG,
1. Plant from the Castleton coal shale, 5. Arrow head impressions in sandstone.
2. Fern in sandstone, from near Sandsend. 6. Petrified wood, with a knot; from the alum
3. Reed, or cane, from High Whitby. shale.
4, Impressions in coal shale. 7. Nut; from a nodule in sandstone.
Puate IV. Zoophytes, fc. P. 191, 195, &e.
FIG. FIG.
1. Simple madrepore, or alcyonite. Chalk. 6. Madrepore with open pores. Chalk.
2. Madrepora ananas. Helmsley oolite. 7. Fungiform madrepore. _olite.
3. Fig-shaped madrepore, or alcyonite. Oolite. 8. Flower-shaped ditte. Malton oolite. —
4. Tarbinated madrepore. Malton oolite. 9. Group of cylindrical bodies, like petrified
5. Button-shaped madrepore. Chalk. tangle. Runswick.
Puate V. Encrinites and Pentacrinites. P. 200, &c.
FIG

09 00

FIG.

- Briareean pentacrinite. Robin Hood’s Bay. 4. Polished section of an encrinite.
. Pentagonal stars, or joints of pentacrinites. 5. Head of an encrinite.

Rare fossil. Malton oolite. 6. Briarzean encrinite ; with belemnites.

abt,

FIG.

1,
2.

Q
oO.

4A.New species of echinite.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

Puate VI. Echinites, &c. P. 205, &c
2 R FIG.
Cidaris papillata. Malton oolite. 7. A-spinite. Malton oolite.

Cor anguinum. Chalk.
Cidaris diadema. Oolite.
Ditto.

4B.Under side of ditto.

oO.

6. A flint echinite, with rows of small spines ;

Puate VIII. Bivalves. P. 219, 222, &c.
FIG. FIG. :
1. Shell resembling a cockle. Ironstone. 14. Anomia ornithocephaia? Alum shale.
2. Tellina crassa. Malton oolite. 15. Pyritous shell. Alum shale. P. 231.
5. Plagiostoma rigida. Ditto. 16. Cardium? Oolite.
4, Cockle; from the Malton grey limestone. 17. Vellina? Dogger.
5. Cardium pectinatum. Alum shale. 18. Trigonia clavellata. Pickering oolite.
6. Venus rugosu? Dogger. 18a. Hinge of the right valve.
7. Unio Listert of Sowerby. Alum shale. 19. Trigonia costata. Oolite.
8. Anomia arcuata. — Chalk. 20. Trigonia; from the dogger.
8): intermedia. Ditto. 21. Arca rostrata. Alum shale.
10. ovordes. Second shale. 21a. Hinge of the same.
aS compressa. Grey limestone. 22. Valve of a large ark. Oolite.
12. -——— tetraedra. Sandstone. 23. Gryphea incurva. Alum shale.
13. semiglobosa. Chalk.
Puate 1X. Bivalves. P. 232, &c.
riG. FIG.
1, Pecten Maltonensis. Oolite. 9, Pecten varius. Oolite.
2. Roseburiensis. Sandstone. 10. Scarburgensis. Sandstone.
3. sulcatus. Oolite. 11. pusio? Oolite.
4. cygnipes. Flat valve. Alumshale. 12. fiorosus. Grey limestone.
5. Chama calcarata. Ironstone. P.230,. 13. Ostrea? Oolite.
6. Pecten cygnipes. Raised valve. 14. diluviana. Sandstone.
Eo inequicostatus. olite. 15. Donax-formed shell. Lowest shale. P-22%..
8. subrufus? Sandstone: Boulby. 16. Ostrea gregaria. Oolite.

. Solen ensis.
- Muscle; from the calcareous sandstone.
. Pyritous muscle.
. Mytilus avicula.
. M. lithophagus. Oolite.

. Mya ovata? Malton oolite.

A species from calcareous sandstone.

perhaps casts of the pores.

Puate VII.

Lowest shale.

Alum shale.
Malton oolite.

Bivalves.

8. Bent spinites. Kirkby Moorside oolite.
9. Flint echinite; from the alluvium.

10. Cidaris corollaris. Flint: alluvium.
11. Substance like a hazel nut. Oolite.

12. Petrified wood. Oolite. P. 214, Note.
13. Conulus albogalerus. Flint.

I

4. Anomia producta. Alluvium. P. 230.

P. 217, &e.

FIG.
7. Cast of a muscle; from Coldmoor.
8. Donax; from the same place.
9. Curious cast; from the oolite.

10. Mytilus ungulatus. Oolite.

11. Donax; from the oolite.

12. Ribbed bivalve. Oolite.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

Puate X. Bivalves.

FIG.

1. Ostrea Sinensis ? Upper shale.
2. unguis. Ditto.
3. Ostrea? Oolite.

327

PS AIScc:

FIG.

4. Gryphea dilatata.* , Sandstone.
5. Pinna capricornus. Ditto.

6. -- folium. Lowest shale.

* The shells in the chalk resembling gryphites, noticed p. 240, belong to the new genus InocrRamus,

Puate XI. Univalves. P. 242, &c.
FIG. FIG.
1. Trochus magus? Oolite. 8. Turbo tumidus? Oolite.
2. Nerita maxima? Ditto. 9: -- striatus ( Melania striata). Ditto.
3. Buccinum flammeum? Ditto. 10. Melania Heddingtonensis ? Ditto.
4. Trochus radiatus? Blue limestone. 11. Turritella conoidea. Ditto.

5. Nerita marginata? Oolite.
6. Cast of a cirrus. Grey limestone.
7. Turbo? Oolite.

Pirate XII.

FIG.

1. Ammonites Hildensis ( Walcotiz ).
Alum shale.

2. ————. ingens. Pickering oolite.

3. ———— communis. Alum shale.

subtriangularis. Lowest shale

5. ———— Silphouensis. Sandstone.

A

Puate XIII.

FIG.
1. Nautilus Whitbiensis. Alum shale.

2. pompilius. Ditto.
3. Ammonites subarmatus. Ditto.
4. ovatus. Ditto.
5. concavus. Ditto.
6. planicosta. Lowest shale.
Puate XIV. Multilocular Shells, §c.
FIG.
1. Belemnites vulgaris. Alum shale.
2. Susiformis. Upper shale.

3. Section of b. vulgaris.
4, Belemnites excentralis.
5. Section of b. excentralis.
6. Belemnites tubularis. Alum shale.

7. A species of lobster or prawn. Upper shale.

Oolite.

Multilocular Shells.

Multilocular Shells.

Alum shale.
Lowest shale.
Dogger.

12. Patella levis.
13. Dentulium entalis.
14, Group of serpulites.

P. 246, &e.

FIG.

6. Ammonites cornucopia.
7. Nautilus subcarinatus.

8. Ammonites tenuicostatus.
9, ————. Pickeringius.
10. Maltonensis.

Alum shale.
Ditto.
Ditto.

Oolite.

Oolite.

P. 248, &c.

FIG,
7. Ammonites elegans. Alum shale.

8. ———— Mlulgravius. Ditto.
9 ———————anmatus: Ditto.
10. Rowlstonensis. Sandstone.
1]. —————Clevelandicus. Alum shale.

P. 248, &c.

Tic.

8. Fossil prawn. Oolite.

9. Akind of crab, resembling a beetle. Ditto.
10. Another species. Ditto.
11. Ammonites perarmatus. Alum shale.
12. maculatus. Alluvium,

13. Redcarensis.* Lowest shale.

* This appears to be a smaller species than a, Bucklandi, which is also found in the lowest shale,

both at Redcar and Robin Hood’s Bay.

328 EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.

Puate XV. Fishes, §&c. P. 261, &c.
All from the alum shale.

FIG.
I. Ichthyosaurus. Fine specimen,
2. Another specimen.

ric.
3. Another of a larger size, but less perfect.
4. A fin, or paddle, of the ichthyosaurus.

Puate XVI. Fishes, §&c. P. 261, &e.

All from the alum shale.

FIGs FIGe
1. Imperfect ichthyosaurus, with two fins. 4,5, 6. Specimens of vertebra. No. 6 may

2. Head of an ichthyosaurus. belong to the plesiosawrus. See Geolo-
3. Fragment of a head, shewing the order of gical Transactions, V. p. 582, &c.

the teeth. 7, 8. Pikes, with shining bony scales & plates.

Puate XVII. Teeth and bones of Quadrupeds, &c.
All from Kirkdale cavern, except No. 1, which is from R. Hood’s Bay.

I
H
Q

FIG.

I. Elephant’s grinder, very large. 11. Part of a jaw, with two grinders, of an

2. Part of the jaw of a wolf. unknown animal.

3. Part of the pinion bone of a fowl, 12. Grinder of a rhinoceros.

4. Shank bone of a large quadruped. 13. Part of a stag’s horn.

5. Leg bone of a small quadruped ; full size. 14. Fetlock bone of a quadruped.

6. Grinder of the palgotherium magnum. 15. Jaw of a hyzna, with the teeth.

7. Another large grinder. 16. Smallrib; probably of arat, as the jaw ofa
8. Grinder of a small palzotherium. rat from the cavern is in the Rev. J.
9. Grinder from the under jaw of an ox. Smyth’s collection.
10

. Half expanded molar tooth of an ox, or
large stag.

it} The Binder will place the Map, Section, and Lithographic
Plates, at the end of the Work, immediately before the Index; and
is requested not to deat the Plates.

Se.

ae

‘ Ems

ne

\h

HS fy i .

He

te
aw
12

A oe

oe Pao ee
Nee et

viet 4

in %

ae

Sh TL eeiene

Beak

Bars

5

ySTh ata 75

ax

oH)

tie?

\

ST TI = rae s

Me hg
Mey

Sessa gous”

Pl.

ee an

scliigiees
ADI y
te

é

=

Plxzn.

»

Rays

MY

LF DALIES

cae

Paki von

ricky

Y gnee

ad Oe i

Buea
oh Cia

it

a

x

Eb ok VL

TON DW 1h 28.

—=ie
Pace Pace
INGALEB csrecestasteoscsrssovstssesesecce 21, LOD COUACER onc bien denne ere at eaatnes 2O0
Aleyonites ...sscssseceseeee Reso. oF Cane, petrified....... a ens ie mie inrec tal Sy
AllUvium s.sseeeesseeerees 1445, 281, 320 Cardiume.. seccesccssnre Brera coniesneen eee 226
Alum hills ...... boesecereeeeee srsevseee OT, Ke. Cavern at Kirkdale .....++.. 270—278, 323
Alum making «.++.++++++. seveeeene ten eeeee 131 @aytomielprencstsscecnseeareee- =" ‘ebstiia 81
Alum native ss.ssesseseeseeseeseesseers 87, 130 @htalleecevensterscovevtece veunsenceean oe 46—55
Alum shale .s.s0.s.ecccsessccsssene 127—160 OUAMG, cetescsses ccscavcdreccertenncssesees 930
Ammonites .,.....+40. seaeseesnceeene 245—253 ChierBive-eeees Telecel poet eas Sasasess 66, 292
Analysis of limestones ........0+0+ 107, 108 Clay iscsscsesesssces 17, 55, 56, 87, 130, 161
ANOMIA, ..ecerevee BDOOUCDUDO COT DOOCOONOIDDONOO 2298 Cloughton slip Pn ae Be Pt Bn wa aatenice nests 112
Aqueous deposition, strata formed by... 280 Cloughton wyke, strata at......++. 110, 111
Ard sressvesveeesoore seeeeesereceeveserenes 231 Coal strata <.,--c.00.:. 109—126, 315, 316
Coal pits ....- ceeveee ovesenemsiserrecines seeeee 118
Basaltic dyke .......-. 171—176, 307, 308 @oloured chalkeesse-escesecceaveccocecs cess 51
Basin-shaped strata...... GODONOOUCOCOUCOOUD 286 Colamnar rocks 49, 78, 93, 100, 137,
Bead Pavers RL IRR “276 170, 173
Belemnites,.......ssscesecesseceses .. 256—260 Compact alum shale ssccccsssereessvreee 136
Bivalve shells .....cosecscocvscsesee ZLIS—241 Cone-in-cone COTaOIl) weciec Seecowcensc 133
Blue and grey limestone ...... soovee T0—T74 Conglomerate, or breccia 19, 123, 165, 320
Blue limestone ......ssss000e0ee0008 I6—108 Conjectures, and hints ....... se00e 308—324
Bogs, OF MOLASSES «.ssseveeesesceeeeees 30—45 Contortions. See Undulations.
Bones, fossil ......+++ .» 261—278, 321—324 Wordle ete esa tenncrceeaeeceee os
Borings...... seeees teecene - 57, 119, 141, 166 Corn AMMONES ..ccscreevecveccevccrcesses L4D
Boulby, strata at........+0060 oeeeceeevenes 128 Crow StONe ...sscrcecsesccesecereorereeeeee 100

Breaks in the strata 59, 63, 76, 94,
112, 144, 145, 280—286, 304, 305, 319
Bride-stones ; with a Wood-Cut ......... 89
Bridlington Quay, remarkable spring at 22
IBUECINWMN ..cosssvuncceteesseserevtvedere renee

Calcareous sandstone ......... 74—78, 140
Cale spar Ceoererecvvoce0cle 66, 115, 117, 130

CUStACED srvssosersoreeee voereeveee 260, 261

Days of the creation, not indefinite periods 309
TEP cBocece popgbooAaO sescesserccccrevcees, 240
Deluge, great change produced by 311—314
Dentalium wissesccocsecsoeccovevecsescsrsee 244
Denudations of the strata...281—286, 320
Deposition of the strata 280, 294, 316, 317

4M

330 INDEX.

Pacer
Dislovations of the strata. See Breaks.

DOO Wefalevelelahelalntorstelatotaletetelyietotetetouekeln eo 0.0
selvsieieinie) GG, ALS
seeeeeees 123—126
Domesday, illustrations from .... 35—40
IDOE soacbocac09bSooDRNO00000 PIS
Dyke, basaltic...... 171—176, 307, 308

Dog-tooth spar ......
Wor eereererteliestelare

IEICHIMICES Severelelelclaleleiciereleieleteley SOO — cl:
Blephant <\.)-2).stecielicsie sieie COO 214s
WK: sszesshs.ciapegeus. of sxsiois, srajsiwielerapiaheren Ree
Encrinites and pentacrinites ..,. 200—204
ESO 26 eo sc. s,.615,< sta|a,sisiajsislaielsinve ae hoa
Facts and inferences .,.,..... 279—308
sevccess 192—1S4:
Fishes and marine animals .... 261—268
Fissures in the strata 49, 67, 144, 270, 323
Flamborough cliffs ..... soeceee 49, &e,
WLU aeevetercnsteteicrers So000oD00000 BH, AD
Forests, submarine ........«0.. 30—45
Formation system, remarks on 18, 296—306

Ferns, petrified,.....

(GAIT “Gooaodob0cpodcjoc060 LBL GH)
Gipsies, intermitting springs ..... 25—30
Girl beheaded by a splinter of alum rock 138
Grey and blue limestone..,...... 70—74
Gristhorp cliffs, strata of ........ 90, 91
(Giypaieges comoancasodaadcococbs0 28h)
Gypsum ..,....... 88, 163—168, 292
@
Haiburn wyke, strata at ...... 112,113
Hanging-stone. .......s.0....00.. 101
Hartlepool, strata &c. at 31, 35, 164, 170
IBIAS po gdanooddso0Kbaucdone UG, Bal
Hildenley limestone .........00..., 73
Hills, ranges of .........2.. 46, 62, 97
Hints and conjectures .......- 308—324
Hippopotamus. vesvesreceescesese, 21D

Pace

Hob-hole, Wood-Cut of ...e.eecee0. 137
Horizontal position of the strata .. . 280
necnca GBh Bt)
FLONSEM (i¥ls oie cieie.c wieivverieicionis, LOOK 275
Eni) \morassiatereieiicreieieeceieereeee rst
EWEN. Gaccoodassooducdodcaooae LMS

Hornsea mere ....eseee0

Ichthyosaurus ......-....2-. 263—268
Igneous origin of basalt ...... 307, 308
Induration of the strata .......... 293
Inferences, and facts ......... 279-308
Iron-ore......53, 92, 102, 117, 125, 139
Ironstone and sandstone ........ 90—96
Ironstone in the coal strata ...... 109, 117

Ironstone in the aluminous strata ...138, 139
Velmeleelelveleleiisisiei) ei 1 o4s ul SR -10n)

Kettleness beds ........ece00- 138, 139.
Kirkdale cavern ........ 270—278, 323

IGA SbOobOuODOROOe SH oom acne. Ne
Lias limestone, nodules and seams of 61,
134, &e.
Limestone and calcareous sandstone 70—78
Limestone. See Oolite, Blue, Grey,
Hildenley, Magnesian.
Tiimestones, analysis of ........ 107, 108
Dower: chial ep 3i 0.0.8 Ale ei :0, viain.c Clatotele to
Bowvestishale’é « ta ericie wien: sicierecse octet AO)

Mlactrtath. isis »,a0eisietie\idieiotes tel elo RM ZOO
Madreporites .....e.ssseee0 194-200
Magnesian limestone ...00.!)cs0 000052 169
Man, fossil remains of. ....2<.. 321—324
Marine animals ....+.s00+e020+ 261—268
Marine plants ...........-, 191, 192
Marl. ....0++0.+0.16, 52, 74,77, 83, 161
Maybecks, or Sneaton, limestone 104; 107

INDEX. 331

Pace
Meres, or lakes ....cecce0+000. GO—49

Morasses, or peat bogs ......2. 30—45
Multilocular shells ...,....2. 245—260
Multivalve shells ......seeesee0e. 215
Myas, cn\soebvi ee soonest Ancol
Vesta lreste rte tole fateh atal> olots ile steieyels eae @

IETTVAUE? GRGO gO BACTIIRCE were 203—255
INCITS: SODOROREECI CONOR TIC ce
Newburgh, W. illustrations from 28, 85, 121
NUS: 566)... cnr scissile se Ll SHy:203

Oohre’ |... acceAnnnaddog eBay Liz. Wee
QMliteps esisierisisiotelrivictaisls voutzs Ol2—7/0
OF EC AOR AD OOP ROD MECH cesses a0
Cr Gannaaasjoodocncodocem sn Se
Paleotherium ..... Pleletete aleetslelofelsimoe
ELGG vscis;ecersceroie;seleeiaimith olete vows 244
Peak, great break at.....seeessees . 145
Peat bogs ......0 eeverrreseves J0—45
DLCTHAT (Se pp ne steleliciwiele'ate a Dom
Pentacrinites and encrinites.... ,.. 200—204!
ECL SoS O BCDC ROOUORECE soon AD)
Rete LeTAL ...sererescscreroicrevers weirs aden 133.
Pickering, vale of ........+. 62, 63, &e.
Bike teeter statevetetets dDdcdcon0n000 Pal
Pinna sreNolsfarsra) svalclelstelerciarenaictere 240
Plagiostoma ........4 so0o0u0N00 221
Plants, petrified ........ 180—186, 191
Brawintastetees es se Salelolslatctaleleiatereiste 260
Precious stones, or pebbles ...... 21, 181

Proteosaurus. See Ichthyosaurus.
Pyrites .. 53, 87, 132, 136, 142, 165, 292

Quadrupeds ...... 268—278, 32I—323
Quarries ........ 70, 107, 111, I2I, &c.
Queries, proposed and answered 814—324

Pace

11) Ge WP BEN? go ononoapansdoonse. BEY
Raising of the strata ...... 307, 308, 318
Red sandstone, or marl ...... 160—168
Reed ssmetritied|s.4 aesievey ue veletsiatele res 184
Blin oceras) <i ctorelclelc mois ogc NUR 275
River courses, formed by breaks &c.282-286
Roestone. See Oolite.

ReVeacmurarwa i... ei Meee eel oo

Salt Scars, or Redcar rocks'...... ae 157
Sand and gravel .........-.. 16, 123, 320
Sandsend beds ..........200. 136, &e.
Sandstone, calcareous-...... 74, 78, 140

Sandstone, in the Second: shale... 802-88
Sandstone,. with ironstone ...... 90—96
Sandstone, with shale and coal .. 109126
Sandstone, in the aluminous strata.... 140
Sandstone, red-....ses005 «+++ 160—I168
Scar, or rocky pavement‘of the shore.. 158
Scarborough, strata &e. at... 0...

Scolopendrium .o.c..cccccccccens 182
Seaton, strata-at, {eee eo! 164, 165
Selanitent, wane Shoe uil baer 60, 88, 130
Septania Wht s ccs vee ee ee BO 199
SERPUlA Krotreheaeteltclsiciicieioe tee 244
Shale, upper ....... So0000000 55—60
Shalevsecondigiyes-picn soy scien 79—90
Shale, with sandstone and coal 109—126
Shale, alum, main bed of ...... 129, &e.
Shale, compact ........ mieYaretetercictors 136
Shale, lowest .........0- Biever sie ekehataxc 140
Shells, fossil ..,..., eee -orees 214 —2960
Sicatey Mette esters enstetertvere J>2- 262
Skipsea, mere &c. .......... > 19, 33, 36
Slips of the strata (See Breaks ) 59, SI,
TI2, &c,

Snake-stones. See Ammonites.
Sneaton limestone. See Maybecks.

332 INDEX.

Pace
SOLE? ataloial ale etelolalslalefelelalsVelelaiateteletsys 217
SSPAWWALCLSI arco wrelclolelereteteleterere 29, 166
Speeton cliffs ......... es» 50, 56, &e.
Spinites (spines of echint) ......212, 213
Spondylus .....0.+ Bice stotelstelorcter= -» 230
SSPON sites ipierctel shite eretse eee seers 192, 193
Spontaneous combustion of alum shale I3I
Springs, intermitting &c. ....... - 22—30
Springs, petrifying ......... 18, 67, 103, 104
Spurn, mistake concerning ...... 20, Note.

EER prergonnn ae coabepccodguncocasa Luke
Stainton cliffs, strata and slip ... 113, 114

Staithswbeds. ...:0..42. caweees ch agees 140
Submanine’ cliffssr pereti-elersa tick ceils 158
Submarine forests .............. 30—45
Subterraneous channels of streams ..... 68
Dellinger he aoe eb eacRRe 16, 227
Terras, or Roman cement........... 133
TCSEACED oi) .s2y 50 wis fox AINA AIAS 214—260
Theory of the Earth, proposed ... 31J—324
Thunderbolt, or Belemnite......... 256

Toads, living, found in stone ..... 121, 122
Transitions of strata 58, 80, 86, I15, 116, 291
Drigontalnceccreise aac sissscyisin ee

¢ Pacz
Trochus «<i eveoenwee DOO OOUOOU OO cM o)
DUOWWIUES coonconcocsodno6oboe 194.
Turbo de cir« cares eat wale Peeede

Undulations, bends, and contortions of
the strata 19, 86, 93, 112, 152, 156,
164, 165, 280, 319

Univalve shells .......... » -+- 241 —244
Upper shale ....-...-...-e00e 55—60
Valleys, formed by breaks, &e. ,. 282—286
Vegetable remains ..........-. 179—192
IAW 5 snecouccouceeoecaesooadas 288

Volcanic agency in raising the strata 307, 318

Wal nStON Sana crayporareverencyatoisneleye Wie/ereise 100
Waste of the cliffs ...........-- 85, 160
Wedging out of the strata ....... 99, 287
Whitby, great break at......... 150, &e.
Whitby rock ......... hopoatoc ~--. 159
Woolfioee ss ase sistavecss pocaogceuoase 276
Wolds, Yorkshire ...........--- 46, &e.
Wood, petrified....... eters Les. rang 187, 188:

Zoophytes ...... «+.» 193—205:

FINIS.

Subscribers’ Names.

HLS JAAGLSTHM’S LLBMAWY, Kopal Paper.

Mr. Francis Agar, Whitby

Mr. Matthew Akenhead, Whitby

John Alderson, M.D. Hull

Mr. Alexander, Bookseller, York, 2 Copies
George Allan, Esq., F.S.A. Grange

William Campbell, M.D., Whitby
Robert Campion, Esq., Whitby

Mr. William Cave, Engraver, York
Sir George Cayley, Bart. Brompton
Mr. Challoner, Bedburn

Sir Charles Anderson, Bart., Lea, near Gains-||Abel Chapman, Esq., Stakesby

borough; royal

Mr. James Audus, Whitby

Mr. Thomas Baker, Sunderland

Robert Bald, Esq. F.R.S. Edin., M.W.S.

John Barclay, M.D. F.R.S. Edin., M.W.S. ri.

A. R. Barclay, Esq. Iondon

Mr. Joseph Barker, Whitby

Mr. Thomas Barrick, Whitby; royal

T. Bateman, M.D. F.L.S. &ce.

Mr. B. Bean, Bookseller, Whitby; 2 Copies

Mr. Wm. Bearcroft, Aislaby, near Pickering

Mr. Henry Belcher, Whitby ; royal.

Mr. A. S. Bell, Brompton

Wm. Bell, Esq., W.S. Edinburgh.

Messrs. Bentham & Ray, Sheflield

Colonel T. J. Birch

Mr. Oliver Bird, Pickering

Mr. Birdsall, Surgeon, Pickering

Mr. James Blackburn, Whitby

Mr. John Blanchard, York

Rev. F. W. Blomberg, Chaplain to His
Majesty; royal

Mr. John Bolton, Whitby

F. Borton, M.D. Soc.Ex.Soc.R.Phys.Ed.
Whitby

John Boulby, Esq., Sleights

Mr. Geo. Brigham, Hutton Rudby

John Broadley, Esq., Hull; royal

John Trotter Brockett, Esq., Newcastle; royal

Thomas Brodrick; Jun., Esq., Esk House

Mr. Thomas Brodrick, Macclesfield

Mr. William Brodrick, London

Mr. Gideon Buck, Whitby

Rev. Wm. Buckland, B.D. M.G.S. Prof. of
Mineralogy, Oxford, 6 copies

4wn

Mr. John Chapman, Stakesby ; royaé

Edward Chapman, Esq., Whitby

Jonathan Chapman, Esq., London

Aaron Chapman, Esq., London

H. Cheales, Esq., Sleaford, Lincolnshire

Mr. Harrison Chilton, Whitby

Charles Cholmley, Esq., Whitby Abbey; royul
Francis Cholmley, Esq., Brandsby

E. D. Clarke, LL.D. Prof. of Miner. Cambridge
Mr. Thomas Clark, Whitby

H. Clarke, Esq., Guisborough

Mr. John Clark, Whitby; royal

B. Clarkson, Jun., Esq., Holme House
Mr. John Cole, Scarborough

Rev. W. B. Collyer, D.D. F.S.A. London
M. Constable, Esq., York

Sunderland Cook, Esq., Stoupe Brow

H. Cook, Esq., Scarborough

Mr. William Cooper, Whitby

Mr. John Coverley, Bridlington

Messrs. Cowton, Bridlington Quay, 3 Co. 1 ri.
Miss Ann Dale, Bruce Grove, Tottenham
Rey. Daniel Dewar, LL.D. Glasgow

iMr. William Dixon, Govan Hill, Glasgow

Mr. Garbut Dixon, Stokesley

Sir E. Dodsworth ; royal

T. Donkin, Esq., Bishop Burton

|Rt. Hon. Lord Viscount Downe; royal

Charles Duncombe, Esq., M.P. Duncombe
Park ; royal

Mr. A. H. Duthie, at Sir H. Nelthorp’s,
Lincolnshire

Rev. Wm. Eastmead, Kirkby Moorside

Mrs. G, L. Edgar, York

Rey. Edward Edwards, Lynn, Norfolk

-

34

Richard Ellison, Jun., Esq., Beverley ; royal

M. A. Andersen Feldborg, Copenhagen

Thomas Fishburn, Esq., Whitby

Thomas Fishburn, Jun., Esq., Whitby

Mr. Wm. Forth, Bookr. Bridlington, 2 copies

Mr. Richard Foster, Edinburgh

Colonel Fothergill, Kingthorpe; royal

Messrs. Fourdrinier & Co., London, 2 copies

Mr. John Frankland, Whitby

Mr. W. K. Gardner, Bridlington Quay

Mr. John Gibson, Stratford, Essex

Rey. Joseph Gilbert, Hull

Rey. W. R. Gilby, Beverley

Thomas Gillespy, Esq., London

Dr. Goldie, York

Thomas Graham, Esq., Ayton

Mr. George Young Graham, Stockport

Rev. John Graves, Yarm.

Rt. Hon. Lord Gray, F.R.S.Edin. M.W.S.; ri.

William Gray, Esq., York

Mr. Thomas Gray, Pickering

Mr. M. J. Gray, London

G. B. Greenough, Esq., F.R.S. F.R.S. M.G.S.
Loudon

Rev. Wm. Greenwood, Malton

S. Hailstone, Esq., Bradford

Frederick Hall, Esq., Reeth; royal

Rey. John Harding, Sleights

Rey. Jos. Harrison, Marsk

Mr. Harrison, Surgeon, Kirkby Moorside

Rev. Thos. Hayes, Ebberston

Mr. Matt. Hayes, Pickering

E. H. Hebden, Ksq., Scarborough

Rev. H. Hildyard, Stokesley

Thos. Hinderwell, Esq., Scarborough

Rev. Wm. Hinmers, Guisborough

John Holt, Jun., Esq., Whitby

Mr. Robt. Holt, Sunderland

Mr. John Hornsey, Scarborough

Mr. John Huddleston, Newark ; royal

Mr. Thos. Hunter, Whitby

Mr. Robert Hunter, London

Mr. Wm. Hurst, Doncaster

Mr. Wm. Hyslop, Whitby

Rey. P. Inchbald, LL.D. Doncaster

Rey. John Innes, Camberwell, London

Rev. Thos. Irvin, Jun., Scarborough

Mr. Thos. Jackson, Whitby

Mr. Wm. Jackson, Kirkby Moorside

Mr. Wm, Jamieson, Whitby

Robt. Jameson, Esq., F.R.S. Prof. of Nat. Hist.
Edin., Pres. of the Wernerian Soc.; royul

SUBSCRIBERS’ NAMES.

Wm. Jardine, Esq., M.W.S. Applegirth

Rev. John Jefferson, Wakefield

Sir. Geo. M. Keith, Bart.

Mr. Robt. Kirby, Whitby

Mr. J. Kirby, Rousby

Mr. Robt. Knox, Scarborough

Lieut. Col. Landmann, Southend, Hult

Mr. Wm. Langborne, Whitby

Mr. John Larcom, Malton

Mr. Geo. Lawton, York

Wm. Leetham, Esq., Wakefield

Mr. Lempriere, Whitby

Mr. W. H. Lizars, Edinburgh

John G. Ley, M.D., Whitby

Rev. Fras. Lundy, Lockington

Chas. Lutwidge, Esq., Hull

Mr. Geo. Lynass, Whitby

Mr. M. Mackreth, Guisborough

Mr. Thos. Marwood, Jun., Whitby

Mr. Thos. Mease, Stokesley

Mr. Richd. Medd, Bilsdale

Mr. Jos. Mellanby, Whitby

Mr. John Mewburn, Whitby

Mr. Fras. Mewburn, Darlington

Wm. Middleton, Esq., Whitby ; royal

Lady Milner, Nun-Appleton

Rt. Hon. Lord Vise. Milton, M.-P. F.R.S. &e.

Mr. Milton, Sunderland

Rev. Robt. Moffat, Whitby

Mr. Charles Moon, Hull

Vice Admiral Sir R. Moorsom, K.C.B.

Richd. Moorsom, Esq , Airy Hill; royal

Richd. Moorsom, Jun,, Esq , Whitby; royal

Rt. Hon. Earl of Mulgrave, F.S.A; royal

Mrs. Myddleton, Grinkel Park

Patrick Neill, Esq., A.M. F.R.S.Edin. F.L.S.
Sec. to the Wern. Soc. Edinburgh

Sir Henry Nelthorp, Bart. Scawby, Linc,; rf.

Mr. Edwd. Nettleship, Whitby

Newcastle Literary & Philosophical Society

Mr. Nichol, Edinburgh

Mr. Geo. Nicholson, Malton

Miss Norcliffe

Capt-A. Otty, R.N.

Mr. Geo. Ouston, Whitby

S. Parkes, Esq , F.L.S. M.R.I. &c., London

Jas. Parkinson, Esq., Hoxton

J. R. Pease, Esq., Heslewood, near Hull

Thos. Peirson, Esq., Whitby

Geo. Peirson, Esq., Whitby

Robt. Peirson, Esq., London
Geo. Peters, Esq., Handale Abbey; royal

SUBSCRIBERS’ NAMES.

Rev. D. Pettiward, Onehouse, nr. Stowmarket,
Suffolk ; royal

Wm. Phillips, Esq., George-Yd. Lom. St. Lon.

Rev. F. S. Pope, Whitby

Mr. Robt. Preston, Whitby

Mr. Joshua Priestman, Thornton

Mr. Isaac Priestman, Malton

Rev. Thos. Rankin, Stourport

Mr. Christopher Rawson, Halifax

Rey. T. C. R. Read, Sand Hutton

Wm. Reynolds, Esq., Mount; royal

Christopher Richardson, Esq., Field House

J. Rimington, Esq., Broomhead Hall, Sheffield

Mr. Richd. Ripley, Whitby

R, M. Rolf, Esq., Lincoln’s Inn, London

T. Routh, M.D. Henley, Oxon.

J. R. Rowntree, Esq., Stockton

Mr. Wm. Rowntree, Thornton Risebro’

Mr. Jolin Ruddock, Whitby

Richd. Rudyerd, Esq., Whitby; royal

Mr. Wm. Russell, Scarborough

Mr. Geo. Sanders, Whitby

Mr. J. W. Sanders, Newcastle ; royal

Mr. Andrew Sanders, Whitby

Mr. John Sanderson, Whitby

Scarborough Agricultural Library

Mr. Wm. Scoresby, Whitby

Mr. Wm. Scoresby, Jun., F.R.S.Edin., M.W.S.

Rey. A. Sedgwick, M.A. F.R.S. M.G.S.
Woodwardian Prof., Cambridge

Mr. Wm. Sedman, Jun., Scarborough

Sir Cuthbert Sharpe, F.S.A.; royal

Rey. Richd. Shepherd, Hutton Rudby

Henry John Shepherd, Esq., Beverley

Henry Simpson, Esq., Meadow Field

Wm. Skinner, Esq., Whitby

Rev. Wm. Smith, Rector of Brandsby

Miss Smith, York

Rey. Jos. Smyth, A.B. Kirkby Moorside

Mr. J. M. Sowerby, Lyth Hall

Mr. Chas. Stewart, Edinburgh

Chas. Stokes, Esq., F.A.S. F.L.S. M.G.S. Lon.

Sir Wm. Strickland, Bart., Boynton

Rey. Christopher Sykes, Westow

Mr. Henry Teal, Jeeds

Rey. R. S. Thompson, Bilborough

Anthony Thorpe, Esq., York

A. Tilloch, Esq., M.R.L.A. M.R.A.S.Munich,
&c,, London

Ef
R35

J. Tindale, Esq. Scarborough

Miss Mary Tindale, Scarborough

R. Tindale, Jun., Esq., Scarborough

Major Tod, Lofthouse; royal

Mr. Todd, Scarborough

Messrs. Todd, Booksellers, York

Wm. Travis, Esq., Scarborough

Edmund Turton, Esq., Larpool ; royal

Mr. Andrew Tweeddale, London

G. C. Twisleton, Esq., York

J. C. Twisleton, Esq., York

Mr. Wm. Usherwood, Jun., Whitby

Mr. Robert Usherwood, Whitby _

Rev. John Van Hemert, Hinderwell

Mr. James Walker, Whitby ; royal

Miss Walker, Masbro’ House, Rotherham

John Walker, Esq., Malton

H. Warburton, Esq., M.G-S. London

Mr. Wardell, Whitby ; royal

Mr. J. Waters, Comptroller of the Customs,
Bridlington Quay

Mr. Francis Watkins, Whitby

Mr. George Watson, Whitby

Mr. Henry Weatherald, Whitby

Mr. Thomas Weatherill, New York; royal

W. Wells, Esq., Pickering ; royal

Wernerian Natural History Society; royal

William Whytehead, Esq., LL.B. Easingwold

Mr. James Wilkinson, Whitby

Dr. Williams, F.L.S. Prof. Bot., Oxford; royal

Mr. John Williams, Beverley

Mr. Alexander Willison, New Gardens; royal

James Wilson, Esq., Sneaton Castle, 5 copies
1 royal

Mr. Isaac Wilson, Bookr., Hull, 6 copies; 3 rl.

Miss Wilson, Boulby

Richard Wilson, Esq., Scarborough; royal

Mr. William Wilson, Scarborough

Mr. J. Wilson, Scarborough

Mr. John Wilson, Jun., Hurlet, near Glasgow

Mr. Wood, Bookr., Strand, London, 2 copies

John Woodall, Jun, Esq., Scarborough

Rey. John Woodwark, Doncaster.

Mr. Richard Woodwark, Whitby

Rev, Fras. Wrangham, M/A. F.R.S, Archdeacon
of Cleveland; royal

Writers to H.M.Signet, Library of, Edin.; royal

H. W. Yeoman, Esq., Woodlands

Mr. William Young, Builder, Edinburgh

ADVERTISEMENT.

a Ge

_ The whole of the present Impression of this Work being sub-
scribed for, except a very few copies, the Authors will be happy to
receive subscriptions for

A SECOND WDITION.

As the Work has exceeded the original calculation by nearly an
Hundred Pages, and as some addition, both to the Plates and the
Letter-press, may be required in a Second Edition, the Price: to
Subscribers will be, £1 11s. 6d.,on Demy Paper; and £2 8s., on
Royal Paper: the Plates for both being coloured.

Subscribers’ Names may be forwarded to the Authors, or to any
of the Booksellers named on the Title Page.

SS PE CS ELI EES)
Works Published by the Rev. Geo. Young, A.M.

A History of Whitby, and the Vicinity, to the distance of 25 Miles.
Two Vols. 8vo. Price £1 1s. Or with eleven extra Plates £1 6s.

“Mr. Young has taken much laudable pains to produce a well digested History of a
Town of no small consequence; and has furnished a brief sketch of an extensive rauge of country,
in what might with much propriety be called the Terra incognita of Yorkshire.”

Gent. Mag. for May, 1818.

“The entire work forms a learned and comprehensive account of the district, to the topo-
graphy of which it is consecrated ; and it will be considered as a welcome addition to those
libraries, which are intended to include the voluminous set of our county-histories. So much
Saxon learning, indeed, so judicious a criticism of monuments, so compressed a collection of
materials, and so complete an inclusion of every expedient topic, are seldom to be found in the
local chroniclers. ;

“We have only to wish that volumes so remarkably well executed may speedily attain a
second edition, and be re-printed in a more magnificent form, to which honour they are well
entitled.” Month. Rev. for Oct. 1819.

Evangelical Principles of Religion Vindicated, and the Inconsistency
and dangerous Tendency of the Unitarian Scheme exposed; in a
series of Letters, 8vo. Price 5s.

See Eclectic Review for Feb., 1813.—Edinburgh Christian Instructor for April, 1813.

Lectures on the Book of Jonah, designed chiefly for the use of
Seamen: with two Discourses to Seamen, and some Prayers and »
Hymns, to be used at Sea. In one Vol. 8vo. Price 5s.

See Evan. Mag. for Sep., 1819.—Christ. Rep. for Nov., 1819.—Eclectic Rey. for Dec., 1819.

Printed at the Office of G, Clark, Whitby.

‘,
Seinen stunenss!

ion es
Cour ims eaternerett

Serta seen

Feel meee
et onne te