In the central counties of England this deposit expands into a great plain, surrounded on all sides by the coal-measures, while within its own area several basins—as those of Leicester, Warwick, and South Stafford—are included, being completely isolated by the new red. An interesting economic question hence arises—Do the coal minerals occupy the whole or any considerable portion, of the extensive area covered by this formation? An equally important geological problem is connected with the solution of the question—namely, What are the general relations of the older to the newer deposits of the district? The researches of Sir R. I. Murchison, and more recently, of the geological survey, have shown that the three groups of stratified rocks in South Staffordshire, the new red sandstone, coal-measures, and silurian beds, are each unconformable to the other—that the upper rests indifferently upon the two lower formations—and that where the old red occurs, the new is sometimes in immediate contact. It is inferred from this, that there was an uplifting of the silurian rocks, along with considerable denudation, previous to the deposition of the carboniferous strata. Mr. Jukes has observed pebbles of coal, in great abundance, in the lower beds of the new red sandstone, and thence deduces the following conclusions:—1. That there was a movement and denudation of the coal-measures, amounting, in some localities, to their entire destruction and removal, before the deposition of the new red sandstone. 2. That, subsequently to the deposition of the new red sandstone, there was a very great movement of all these rocks, producing their present faults and inclined positions. 3. That the boundaries of the South Staffordshire coal-field, as far as examined, present examples of three kinds of relation between the coal-measures and new red sandstones; _i. e._, by conformable succession; by fault, the coal-measures being present on the downcast side; and, thirdly, where the destruction of the coal-measures has brought the new red sandstone into immediate contact with the silurian strata. The author of this paper is farther of opinion that, while there is a great probability that the larger part of the new red sandstone plain conceals productive coal-measures, there is the presumption that these will not be found at a depth of less than 500 or 600 yards below the surface.