II.—Observations on the General Relations of the Drift Deposits of Ireland to those of Great Britain

Abstract

The valuable paper by Professor Harkness on “The Middle Pleistocene Deposits of Britain,” published in the pages of this periodical, was a completely successful attempt to synchronize the members of the Drift series of Ireland with those of England and Scotland. He shows that there exist in the East of Ireland detached portions of an Upper Boulder-clay resting on the shelly sands and gravels of the “ Middle Drift,” and that in other localities these sands and gravels may be observed resting on the Lower Boulder-clay, which is generally supported by rock with a glaciated surface. The order of succession of the members of the Drift series is, therefore, precisely similar to that of the North-western counties of England, where we have at the base (a) Lower Till or Boulder-clay; (b) Marine Sands and Gravels; (c) Upper Till or Boulder-clay; —an order of succession which I have for some years felt satisfied would be found ultimately to hold good over the whole of England.