264 Bibliographical Notices. 



the ' Annals.' From early days he gave evidence of a powerful and 

 eminently original genius, and he has continued to develop on 

 these lines until he has arrived at his present eminent position as a 

 practical geologist and philosophic writer. We may confess to a 

 suspicion that such a high-stepper is not best seen in the harness 

 of a text-book ; nevertheless the present work is full of instructive 

 matter, whilst the philosophical spirit which it displays will doubtless 

 charm many a reader, Ji~o one has shown more convincingly than 

 the author that, in all ways, the past contains within itself the 

 interpretation of the existing world — a truth which biologists 

 should lay to heart. At the same time the geographer is taught to 

 seek an explanauon of existing phenomena in the physical revolu- 

 tions (not necessarily catastrophes) of successive ages. 



On a Method to be followed in Prehistoric Studies. [Stir line Methode 

 a suivre dans les Etudes Prehistoriques.~\ By Eugene van Over- 

 loop. 8vo. 114 pp., with three Maps. Brussels : Muquardt, 

 Merzbach, and Falck, 1884. 



In this interesting memoir, dedicated to the Anthropological 

 Society of Brussels, the author insists upon the recognition of the 

 natural surroundings of early man being highly necessary for a 

 knowledge of his ways and habits, and quite indispensable, however 

 much a study of his stone implements and their probable uses may 

 help the inquirer. To this end he has applied himself to a careful 

 examination of a special district, where such relics of prehistoric 

 (or, as ho prefers, " premetallic ") people are abundant — namely, 

 a part of Flanders to the east of the Terneuzen Canal (Canal de Ter- 

 neuse). 



The general flatness of this country and the complicated inter- 

 section of its streams and waterways have not hindered M. van 

 Overloop in his work. Using the ordnance-survey or military map 

 of the district (pi. i., on a scale of TTruTTff)? ^° some extent, with its 

 contour-lines and other indications of the existing condition of the 

 country, the author has carefully examined this particular region 

 (of about 4000 hectares), and mapped the higher grounds as distinct 

 from the alluvial flats (pi. ii., scale jthj-od)' an< ^ mar ked the spots 

 (always on one or other of the plateaus or patches of rising ground) 

 where stone implements have been found. In this he has also 

 judged for himself, by the consideration of natural features, geolo- 

 gical characters, the modes of cultivation and occupation, and the 

 run of former channels of the natural drainage, as recorded in old 

 maps and histories. He has also carried his observations on the 

 altered river-courses further to the south-west, and a portion of the 

 national map (scale yxjnnro) is appended for reference. The actual 

 condition of the fauna and flora, forests and marshes, dry land and 

 rivers, wild beasts, birds, and fisheries of the district under notice in 

 early historic times, as noticed in old writings, is detailed ; and what 

 was known of the former population by the Komans and others is 

 carefully noted. 



