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HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



the mouth of the Tees to Lyme Regis in Dorset, we 

 cut off on the east a roughly triangular portion, 

 containing nearly all the geological formations newer 

 than the Permian. At the same time, we isolate 

 almost the entire region where the nightingale is to 

 be found in this country. This emphatically suggests 

 some geological influence on the distribution of the 

 bird, the exact nature of which does not appear to 

 have been determined. 



And as geology has affected the minor population, 

 so also has it influenced the human. The distribution 

 of the various settlers in Britain — Celts, Saxons, 

 Danes, and Norwegians — shows some striking 

 dependence on the geological structure of the 

 country. 



To determine the various' areas occupied by these 

 races, the most reliable method has been found 

 to be the study of place names. Where the popu- 

 lation has remained Celtic, the root-words in these 

 appellations are mostly in that language, whereas 

 Danish and Norwegian settlers gave their towns 

 names from their own speech. An examination 

 of the names of towns and villages, then, gives data 

 for the construction of a map, coloured according to 

 the different languages from which the place names 

 come. Such a map shows, in the most exact manner 

 possible at present, the districts occupied by the 

 various tribes. A chart of this kind is to be found in 

 Taylor's "Names and Places," showing the distribu- 

 tion of the various tribes of settlers in the British 

 Isles. On comparing it with a geological map of 

 Britain, we are struck by the remarkable way in 

 which the geological structure seems to have 

 determined the areas occupied by the Celts, the 

 Danes, and the Norwegians. 



On the former map, the yellow, denoting Saxon 

 names, has driven the red, or Celtic, into the two 

 districts of Wales and Cornwall. 



This red area in Wales coincides roughly with the 

 Silurian and Cambrian of that district ; while that of 

 Cornwall is approximately the Old Red Sandstone, 

 with frequent patches of granite, which forms the 

 south-west corner of England. It is easy to see why 

 these districts were chosen as places of refuge by the 

 fugitive Britons. Both are rough, mountainous 

 regions, abounding in deep valleys, and steep hills ; 

 and, in ancient times, with impenetrable forests. In 

 them the Britons found a safe retreat from the fierce 

 Saxons. And it is the geology of these regions which 

 made them thus suitable and preserved the Celtic race 

 in England from extinction. 



The Cambrian and Silurian rocks are our oldest 

 formations, except the Archrean. Long exposed 

 to the weather, and the general vicissitudes of time, 

 and lying often at high angles, they have been cut into 

 numerous deep glens, high rugged crags and splintery 

 peaks ; while volcanic agency has likewise helped to 

 produce a wild and rugged region. 



In Cornwall the old red sandstone, which does not 



as a ride produce the grand and rugged scenery of the 

 Cambrian and Silurian, has been broken up by 

 mighty intrusive masses of granite ; and the combina- 

 tion has produced a region of wild and lofty hills, well 

 suited to provide a refuge for the fleeing Celts. A 

 similar influence has preserved a large area in 

 Scotland, north of the Forth, to the ancient Celtic 

 population. 



The next thing to be noted on the map, is the fact 

 that the green, indicating Danish settlements, is all on 

 the east coast ; while the blue, indicating Norwegian,, 

 is on the west. Both penetrate inland in many 

 places. The former range from Suffolk to the mouth 

 of the Tees, with a few small areas scattered about 

 further north and along the south coast, etc. The 

 latter are indicated on the map from the Shetland 

 and Orkney islands down the west coast, continuously 

 at first, and then at intervals, as far as the north shore ■ 

 of the Bristol Channel. On the east they only occupy 

 Caithness and Sutherland, with a few small and 

 scattered areas extending as far south as Peterhead.. 

 No indications of Danish settlements appear on the 

 west coast, and none of Norwegian on the east,. 

 except in the north of Scotland. These distinctions as 

 to inhabitants coincide remarkably with the geological 

 difference in the two coasts. The latter present a 

 striking contrast, owing to the varying nature of the 

 rocks. In Great Britain the older rocks lie in the 

 north-west, and as we proceed in a south-east 

 direction, we pass continuously from older to newer 

 formations. Consequently, from the extreme north of 

 Scotland to the Land's End scarcely any newer rocks- 

 than the Permian enter into the formation of the west 

 coast-line. On the other hand, from the mouth of the 

 Tees southwards we find no rocks older than the Trias, 

 forming our eastern shore. 



Thus it appears that the Norwegians chose the 

 regions where the older rocks opposed their time-worni 

 cliffs to the waves, while the Danes were drawn, 

 towards those parts where the sea washed the less 

 imposing barriers of chalk, mud, and sand of the 

 younger rocks. Let us inquire, then, if this 

 geological difference can in any way account for the 

 Norwegian's choice of the west coast, and the Dane's, 

 partiality for the east. It is clear we cannot 

 attribute it to chance, for the settlement of the 

 Northmen in England was not by one, but by many* 

 invasions. 



If we compare the west coast of Scotland with that 

 of Norway, we see at once a striking similarity. The 

 numerous long, deep, and narrow fjords of the latter 

 are faithfully reproduced in the extensive sea-water 

 lochs, which indent the coast of the former at frequent 

 intervals. Each coast line, moreover, is studded with 

 numerous small islands. The rocky and deeply 

 indented nature of Scotland's west coast is due to the 

 same cause as the rough and rugged scenery of Wales. 

 Those narrow arms of the sea, running inland for 

 such long distances, represent the deep valleys ; while. 



