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VI.—On the Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous Rocks of the North—East of the Island of Arran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

James Neilson
Affiliation:
Vice-President of the Glasgow Geological Society

Extract

In the Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society (vol. v, p. 316) will be found a notice of a section at Lochrim Burn, a quarter of a mile south of Corrie, where is exposed a bed of red sandy shale containing marine fossils. The catalogue contains fifteen species (certified by Mr. John Young, LL.D.), and every one of these is common in the Carboniferous Limestone series of the West of Scotland. This bed is overlain by another bed containing abundant plant-remains, of which a list of seven species is given. The Rev. D. Landsborough, of Kilmarnock, found here another, viz. Carpolithes sulcatus, L. and H. (“Fossil Flora,” pl. ccxx), which Mr. Kidston considers to be characteristic of the Calciferous Sandstone series. It seems to me, however, that the evidence is rather in favour of these beds belonging to the Limestone series. Then, as already noted, there are the fireclays, of which I have observed several distinct beds along the Corrie shore. There is also a bed of fireclay in the old quarry behind Corrie Hotel (within 100 feet of the Productus giganteus limestone); this overlies a bed of fine white sandstone. Fireclays also occur in the gap between the northern and the great eastern cliff.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1896

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References

page 223 note 1 [The author should bear in mind that many authorities are inclined to group Upper Old Red Sandstone in the Carboniferous system. The “Upper Old Red” of North Wales and the so-called “Old Red” of the Lake District are now grouped as Basement Carboniferous. The uppermost Devonian beds have a Carboniferous fauna. With regard to the Arran limestones, however, Sir A. Geikie has himself corrected the error. See sequel to this paper, p. 227.—EDIT. Geol. Mag.]

page 223 note 2 I measured a square yard in the roof of one of the mines, and counted in it 48 shells of this species. I also counted in the face of the quarry 21 layers of these shells. These figures show that each layer contained (48 x 4840) over 232,000 shells per acre, and this, multiplied by the number of layers, gives nearly 5,000,000 shells per acre; a number which, however gigantic, is, I am persuaded, under rather than over the actual fact.

page 224 note 1 This bed is referred to by Mr. E. A. Wünsch in a paper, “On a Coast Section at Arran,” read before the Geological Society of Glasgow, March 2nd, 1871: Geol. Mag. 1871, Vol. VIII, p. 236.Google Scholar

page 224 note 2 See Mr. E. A. Wünsch's paper already referred to.

page 225 note 1 Explanatory Notes accompanying a new Geological Map of Scotland. 1892.