A paper was read by Mr. T.H. Easterfield, of Clare College, Cambridge, upon “Geology of Doncaster.”

To begin with the lecturer pointed out a few general principles upon which the science of geology mainly depended, illustrating his remarks by diagrams upon the black-board. He then drew up a rough classification of the stratified rocks of Great Britain, giving in detail the rocks which occur near Doncaster.

After this the lecturer took his audience for an imaginary walk from Doncaster to Conisbro.’ Starting from St. James’s Church and going towards Balby Bridge, he pointed out that the ground slopes up onto a gentle hill, and in order to see of what this hill is composed the expedition went into the sand pit opposite to St. James’s Cottage.

The strata here consists of a thick incoherent sandstone of a deep red colour capped by a few feet of loose sand and gravel. This red sandstone is known to geologists as the “New Red Sandstone,” to distinguish it from the “Old Red Sandstone” of Scotland and Herefordshire. The red colour is due to the presence of iron, which was demonstrated by a chemical experiment.

The party then proceeded down the lane at the back of Mr. Fisher’s park, going towards Warmsworth Church. Where the lane runs alongside of the railway, attention was drawn to a quarry which shows the “Upper Marl” lying upon the “Upper Magnesian Limestone.”

The walk next brought the party to the railway cutting at Warmsworth, in which the “Upper Magnesian Limestone,” “Middle Permian Mar,” and “Lower Magnesian Limestone” occur. The lower and upper limestones were contrasted, the former being thick and massive, the latter finely laminated and much more earthy. A slab of the lower limestone full of fossil shells of the genus “Axinus” was then exhibited.

Mr. Easterfield then asked the audience to accompany him to the Conisbro’ brick works, where the power limestone is seen to rest upon the coal measures. The coal measures were then described and some of their fossils passed round for inspection. The meaning of the terms “fault,” “deceptive conformity,” and “outcrop” was then explained and illustrated by examples in the neighbourhood of Doncaster. The influence of hard rocks and soft ones when occurring close together upon scenery was then alluded to.

The villages of Conisbro’, Edlington, Clifton, and Melton are all situated upon the hard lower limestone, whilst the valley which lies beneath these villages is composed of softer strata belonging to the coal measures. In conclusion the lecturer asked his audience to observe every quarry and railway cutting, or even openings made in the road when water and gas pipes were being laid, telling them that by constantly noticing the order of the strata as exposed in such openings a very fair idea of the geology of any particular district might be acquired.

A discussion followed, in which the Chairman (Dr. J.M. Wilson), Messrs. Anely,* Easterfield, Furnival, and Walker took part. A vote of thanks to the lecturer terminated the meeting.

*[A correction was made at the side of the page, where the name ‘Anely’ was crossed out and ‘Athron’ added.]