Miscellaneous, 77 



The facts which I have enumerated seem to indicate that over 

 this ancient land the isothermal lines were curved much as now, 

 and that during the Tertiary ages, there was perhaps as great a 

 difference between the climate of the Pacific and Atlantic water- 

 sheds as exists at present. 



Flint Implements in the Drift. — Very exciting dissensions have 

 lately taken place among geologists in Europe, on the discovery 

 in several places of the remains of man and his works mingled 

 with those of extinct animals of the later tertiary period. The 

 question is still suhjudice, as it appears not yet certainly ascer- 

 tained in most of the cases what are the age of the deposits, or 

 whether they have not been disturbed by land floods, or by hu- 

 man agency. The most probable conclusion of the investigation 

 thus far is, that the deposits containing these remains belong to a 

 time later than the last great elevation of the land, and are the 

 results of local debacles in river valleys, either occurring at a 

 time when man had begun to colonize the regions in question, 

 and certain tertiary animals were not yet wholly extinct, or in 

 which human remains and works of art were caught up and 

 mixed with fossils previously existing under the soil. With re- 

 spect to the first of these alternatives it may be observed, that 

 there is no improbability in the supposition that many animals of 

 the latest tertiary period, remained until the introduction of man 

 and perished subsequently, since we know that some animals 

 thus ancient, as for instance, our American Musk Ox, still survive. 

 The subject is a very interesting one and may lead to important 

 conclusions respecting the commencement of the human period. 

 "We quote from the Geological Journal, a short paper by Mr. 

 Flower, which gives a good idea of the nature of the facts as they 

 relate to the district near Amiens which has been one of the 

 principal seats of these discoveries. 



"The implement or weapon, the subject of these observations, 

 was found by me about a month since, when in company with 

 Mr Prestwich and other Fellows of this Society I visited some 

 gravel-pits near Amiens. When discovered it was imbedded in a 

 compact mass of gravel, composed of large chalk-flints much 

 water worn and rolled, and small chalk-pebbles. It was found 

 lying at the depth of sixteen feet from the upper surface, and 

 about eighteen inches from the face or outer surface of the quarry 

 to which extent the gravel had been removed by me before 1 

 found it. The bed of gravel now in question forms the capping 



