644: Proceedings. 



bution of land and water has been clearly enough established by tbe 

 writings of Croll, Geikie, and others, which are admirably summed up in 

 Mr. A. R. Wallace's interesting work on " Island Life," in which he also 

 gives a very complete account of the distribution of plants and animals 

 within the area affected, and it is impossible to rise from the perusal of 

 this work without being convinced that the causes mentioned were suf- 

 ficient to bring about the effects investigated without resorting to such 

 an hypothesis as that propounded by General Drayson. The General 

 assumed, too, that the glaciation in question completed its retreat from 

 the area affected within the historic period, for he fixed it at about eight 

 thousand years ago. It would be curious if the area now occupied by 

 England and Ireland — all of which, except a small portion of the more 

 mountainous districts, was absolutely hundreds of fathoms deep below 

 sea-level during the glaciation — should, when the Phoenicians traded to it, 

 upwards of three thousand years ago, have been found inhabited by a 

 race so far civilized as to carry on mining operations and the manufacture 

 of metals, clothed with forest, and possessing a fauna since but little 

 changed, hut which had unquestionably for ages after the close of the 

 glacial epoch been roamed over by the lion, the hyena, the cave-bear, the 

 rhinoceros, and other animals not found in Europe for thousands of 

 years anterior to tbe period of the Phoenicians' visits. These animals 

 could only have found their way there when England became, on its 

 re-emergence, united with the Continent of Europe by a tract of inter- 

 vening land, which has since disappeared owing to a fresh subsidence. 

 The commencement of the glacial epoch in the Northern Hemisphere 

 has been fixed by Croll and others at about 260,000 years ago, and its 

 termination at about 80,000 years ago, for during the whole of the inter- 

 vening period the eccentricity of the earth's orbit was at its maximum, and 

 winter occurred there when the sun was in aphelion. These, combined 

 with matters affecting the then distribution of the land and water within 

 the districts affected, seem fully to account for the occurrence of the 

 glacial epoch ; and much more cogent grounds than those advanced by 

 General Drayson would be necessary to displace those upon which the 

 authors referred to have based the views they have propounded. 



Mr. Blair said that there were two works lately published by Sir 

 H. Howorth, K.C.I.E., F.R.S.— viz., "The Mammoth and the Flood" 

 and "The Glacial Nightmare" — which threw quite a new light on this 

 glacial question, and which the President had not seen. He would also 

 call the President's attention to the remarks on these works in the 

 Quarterly Review of January, 1888, and January, 1894. There seemed 

 to be great difference of opinion on the subject, and it had been by no 

 means settled. Instead of glacial action, we must look to that of water 

 and snow. 



Mr. M. Chapman had a great deal to say on the subject ; but, unfor- 

 tunately, there was no time at present. 



General Schaw remarked that General Drayson had stated facts, and 

 no one had yet contradicted them, and he did not think they could. 



Second Meeting : 27th June, lS9d. 



Major-General Schaw, President, in the chair. 



Neiv Member. — Mr. A. E. Atkinson. 



Papers. — 1. " On the Abundance of Vanessa itea in Wel- 

 lington during Season 1894," by W. P. Cohen. (Trans- 

 actions, p. 281.) 



