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A bed of earth or rock of one kind, formed by natural causes, and consisting usually of a series of layers, which form a rock as it lies between beds of other kinds. Also used figuratively.

That which is laid or spread under; that which underlies something, as a layer of earth lying under another; specifically (Agric.), the subsoil.

A stratum, or layer, above another.

The layer, or stratum, of earth on which the mold, or soil, rests; subsoil.

n which the fuel is contained in a hopper or chamber, and is fed to the fire as the lower stratum is consumed.

ane (Anat.), a delicate membrane composed of a single layer of flat cells, forming the substratum upon which, in many organs, the epithelioid cells are disposed.

The edge of a geological stratum at the surface of the ground; the outcrop.

The upward direction of a vein in a mine; the emergence of a stratum at the surface.

A layer or seam, or a horizontal stratum between layers; as, a bed of coal, iron, etc.

The upper stratum of fuller's earth.

The upper stratum of coal, as nearest the light or surface.

line of magnetic force, with a horizontal line; -- called also inclination. -- Dip of a stratum (Geol.), its greatest angle of inclination to the horizon, or that of a line perpendicular to its direction or strike; -- called also the pitch.

earth, gravel, etc., before washing. Dirt bed (Geom.), a layer of clayey earth forming a stratum in a geological formation. Dirt beds are common among the coal measures. -- Dirt eating. (a) The use of certain kinds of clay for food, existing among some tribes of Indians; geophagism. Humboldt. (b) (Med.) Same as Chtho…

rills or rills or by trickling; to drain by trickling; as, waters drilled through a sandy stratum. [R.] Thomson.

Drive. Also adj. Driven well, a well made by driving a tube into the earth to an aqueous stratum; -- called also drive well.

A stratum in crystalline rock, containing metallic sulphides. Raymond.

ning), the Millstone grit; -- so called because no coal is found worth working below this stratum. It is used for hearths of furnaces, having power to resist intense heat. Ure.

A thin bed or stratum of stone. Raymond.

-- Hard oyster (Zoöl.), the northern native oyster. [Local, U. S.] - - Hard pan, the hard stratum of earth lying beneath the soil; hence, figuratively, the firm, substantial, fundamental part or quality of anything; as, the hard pan of character, of a matter in dispute, etc. See Pan. -- Hard rubber. See under Rubber.…

The hard substratum. Same as Hard pan, under Hard, a.