COAL UNDER SOUTH-EASTERN ENGLAND.
215
The Stutton Boring, etc.
The question now arising with regard to this bore-hole is whether, alike on
geological and on economical grounds, it would be better to continue it or to begin
another a few miles away.
The leading feature of this first boring of the series is the general similarity
of the rocks at Stutton to those of Harwich. The Chalk and Gault are both some-
what thinner at Stutton, the Palaeozoic floor being at a depth of 1,029 feet at
Harwich and 994 feet at Stutton. And in both cases the uppermost Palaeozoic
rock was a hard grey or slate-coloured sandy shale. No fossils have been found
at Stutton, though markings suggesting their presence have been noticed from
time to time. But cores containing the most promising of these having been sent
to Jermyn Street Museum, and carefully examined by
Mr. W. W. Watts and Mr. E. T. Newton, F.R.S., of the
Geological Survey, nothing has been found that could
be recognised. The appearance of the rock itself
suggests Lower Carboniferous age ; or in other words,
rock such as in the coal districts of England is usually
found beneath the Coal Measures. (Rocks of a like
kind sometimes also occur in the Coal Measures.) But
in the absence of recognisable fossils, any guess as to
its probable affinities can have but little weight.
This rock was pierced to a depth of sixty-nine feet
at Harwich, and about 500 feet of it have been passed
through at Stutton. But its dip at Stutton is very high,
and this must give a very exaggerated notion of its
thickness. Perhaps a simple diagram may be useful to
demonstrate this point. If the line a—b represents the

Note.—The dip at Stut-
ton varies from about
40 degs. to vertical.
bore-hole through the Palaeozoic, or bottom rock, at
Stutton, it is obvious that, owing to the high dip, the

thickness as given by the boring may be as much greater
than the true thickness of the rock, as the line a—b is than the line c—d.
Assuming that the rock is of Lower Carboniferous age, there is certainly
a possibility that here, as in Belgium and Northern France, Coal Measures
may be found beneath Lower Carboniferous rocks, owing to the older rocks
having been thrust over the newer by a crumpling force exerting immense
lateral pressure in one general direction, which has caused a reversal of the
beds. For there were very decided indications that the rock at the lower part
of the Stutton borehole has been subjected to much pressure of a similar
kind. But considering the limited funds at the disposal of the Association,
it would seem more prudent to discontinue the Stutton borehole, in order that
more money may be available for other borings. For even if coal were
ultimately found at Stutton, it would almost certainly be at a greater depth,
and less easy to work, than we may fairly expect it to be elsewhere in this
area, considering the moderate depth of the Palaeozoic rocks alike at Culford,
Stutton, and Harwich.
The high dip of the Stutton rock, and the fact that it has evidently been
subjected to intense pressure, gives a strong presumption that its character may
change in a very short distance horizontally in the directions of its rise or dip.
Now, the high dip both at Harwich and Stutton suggests that the line from