Leonard Horner

“ It is true that the direction of the strata is in general parallel to that of the range; but there are some remarkable exceptions to it, as in the limestone of Stony-way Quarry, where the direction of the strata is from E. to W. exactly at right angles to that of the range: again, the strata nearest the range are in general quite vertical, and even in some places dip towards it, that is, eastward at an angle of 60°; and so far from the same stratified rock always occurring next the unstratified, it is in some places sandstone; in others, the argillaceous rock; and in others, limestone. ”

“ The last place, where I found the rock exposed at the south end of the range, was about half a mile beyond the Holly-Bush Hill ; it was called the Ragstone Hill by some quarries whom I found at work. The rock that occurs here is different from any other I met within these hills. It is of an olive green colour, and, as far as the closeness of its texture enables me to say, is composed of felspar and mica, united by a ferruginous clay, forming nearly a homogeneous mass, and occasionally traversed by veins of calcareous spar. It occurs massive, without any signs of stratification. ”

“ The first stratified rock that is exposed in turning round the End-hill from Great Malvern, is a coarse-grained sandstone of a purplish-brown colour, composed of rounded and angular fragments of quartz and felspar, but chiefly of the former, few of them exceeding the size of a pea. This rock is loosely aggregated, particularly in those parts where the fragments are largest, as the ferro-argillaceous cement is in very small quantity, and even appears to be itself composed of minute grains. It occurs in strata seldom exceeding a foot in thickness, in a vertical position, and bearing N. and S. ”

“ The central part of the range, and nearly the whole of the eastern side consist of the different compounds of felspar, hornblende, quartz, and mica, I have already alluded to. These are irregularly heaped together in large masses, and in no part could I discover them disposed in any way that could be considered as continued stratification. In some instances, the materials of the rock are so arranged as to give it a fissile appearance, and in these cases, the slaty structure is either vertical or very highly inclined. But the masses themselves I never found to be of any great extent ”

“ The ground is quite unbroken in the whole extent of the plain, except where an occasional rising has been cut through for the sake of preserving the level of the road; and as the rock is not adapted to economical purposes, there is no quarry where it is exposed. But at the termination of that part of the plain which is opposite to the Worcestershire Beacon, the right bank of the Severn is nearly 70 feet in perpendicular height, so that a good section of the rock is exhibited in that place. ”

“ But wherever they can be seen to any extent, they exhibit a great degree of irregularity, the different kinds of rock being found in large masses confusedly heaped together. The granite chiefly occurs in the lower part of the hill, and the veins of it, which penetrate the other rocks, become more slender as they ascend, in all those places where they can be distinctly traced. ”

“ If the geologist strictly guards himself against the influence of theory in his observations of nature, and faithfully records what he has seen, there is no danger of his checking the progress of science, however much he may indulge in the speculative views of his subject. ”

“ The structure of the granite is very irregular, it is generally of a red colour, and it is found in veins that probably shoot from a great body of rock: it is frequently traversed by veins of quartz, and is not stratified. The rocks in which hornblende exists correspond with some of the varieties of primitive trap, and of sienite, as described in the same work. ”

“ On the summit of the North-hill, a very small portion of the rock is laid bare, and it is so much decomposed, that a gentle blow of the hammer makes it break down into very small fragments. I succeeded however in obtaining a fracture that shewed the composition of the stone, which is a mixture of hornblende and reddish felspar in very small grains, similar to that noticed § 17 as occurring on the south-east side of the End-hill, and as prevailing very generally throughout the range. ”

“ Between the Worcestershire Beacon and the chasm called the Wych, the rocks, on the eastern side, are similar to those I have already mentioned, except in one instance on the top of the hill, where a rock is found composed of greenish-brown mica, intermixed with hornblende. Although mica is the chief ingredient, this rock has not the slaty structure which most micaceous rocks have, but the laminæ which are pretty large, are irregularly. grouped together, and cross each other in all directions. It is an insulated mass of very small extent. ”

“ I am therefore of opinion, that the fragmented appearance arises from a disposition in the rock to split into small irregular pieces with decomposed surfaces, a peculiarity I have already noticed as being common to most of the unstratified rocks of the Malvern hills.
§29. In a lower part of the hill, and close by the high road, there is a very loosely aggregated red and white quartzose sandstone, accompanied with patches of reddish-brown clay, containing fragments of a granitic rock, and of the sandstone itself. The situation of this sandstone is remarkable ”

“ Muriate of soda, or mangesia, by exp. d. c; probably the latter; for in one experiment, the entire solid ingredients were, by accident, dried at a heat that must have decomposed the muriate of magnesia, that earth being found in the insoluble residuum in greater quantity than when the evaporation had been carried on with a gentle heat, and there was only a trace of it discovered in the part soluble in water. ”

“ The granite is sometimes found in the highest parts of the hills, but chiefly prevails in the lower parts, particularly towards the northern extremity, either in large masses, or what is very frequent, forming veins which traverse the other rocks. ”

“ This peculiarity renders it very difficult to obtain such a fracture as shews the real nature of the rock, and makes it almost impossible to procure good cabinet specimens.
§9. When I first began to examine the rocks of which these hills are composed, I was particularly struck with the great variety that presented itself, for almost every specimen which I detached within a very limited space, offered a new character. ”

“ The unstratified central rocks are so much concealed, that any inferences with respect to them are liable to more uncertainty than those we are enabled to draw from the frequent exposure of the stratified rocks on the western side. ”

“ Such remarkable variations in the direction and dip of the stratified rocks, can only be accounted for, on the supposition of some violent force, that has elevated them from the horizontal position in which they must have been originally deposited, and thrown them into the different situations in which they are now found ”