V.—The Wexford Gravels and their bearing on Interglacial Geology

Abstract

The shell-bearing gravels of the county of Wexford have become so well known on account of their fossil contents that the boulder-clays associated with them have received scanty recognition. Very diverse statements have been made in regard to thè position of the gravels in the succession of superficial deposits, and they have, frequently been confused with the 'marl' which was extolled by early writers upon agriculture. Nearly all the references to the manurial value of such materials in Co. Wexford refer to this marl, that is, to a shelly and calcareous boulder-clay. The gravels, however, have been commonly styled 'manure gravels' by geologists, and R. J. Griffith, as far back as 1836, distinctly states that the shells are sometimes so very numerous “that the gravel is raised for manure”.