Jan. 20, 1876] 



NATURE 



239 



deposited over the Northern Hemisphere, by Mr. Henry Hicks. 

 In this paper the author, after pointing out the lines of depres- 

 sion explained in his former paper to the Society, now further 

 elaborated the views then propounded by him by carrying his 

 examination into the higher Palaeozoic series and into more exten- 

 sive areas. Beginning at the top of the Lower Silurian, where 

 he first recognises any evidence of a break in the Palaeozoic rocks, 

 he proceeded to show that this break was restricted to very 

 limited areas, and almost entirely confined to the parts which had 

 been first submerged, and where the greatest thickness of sedi- 

 ment had accumulated on both sides of the Atlantic, and hence 

 where the pre-Cambrian crust had become thinnest. On the 

 European side this break occurred where volcanic action had 

 taken place, and has doubtless to be attributed to the combined 

 action of upheaval of portions of the crust and the heaping up of 

 volcanic material, the latter in some cases forming volcanic islets 

 of considerable extent. He strongly objected to look upon these 

 breaks, even in the British area, where they are most marked, as 

 evidence of a want of continuity over other and far greater areas ; 

 or to admit that even where there was conformity in the rocks at 

 this point, "great intervals of time are indicated, unrepresented 

 by stratified formations." The conformity found in extensive and 

 widely separated areas is proof also that a gradual contraction 

 took place of an enormous portion of the crust in the northern 

 hemisphere in PalfEozoic times ; and the breaks at the close of 

 the Lower Silurian and in the Devonian are not indications of an 

 arrest in the general subsidence. After indicating the changes 

 which must have taken place in the climate from this gradual 

 spreading of the water and the evidence to be derived from the 

 consideration of the deposits and the faunas, the author drew the 

 following general conclusions : — r. That the condition of the 

 northern hemisphere at the beginning of Palaeozoic time was that 

 of immense continents in the higher latitudes, traversed by moun- 

 tainous ranges of great height, but with a general inclination of 

 the surface, on the one side (European) to the south-west and 

 south, and on the other side (American) to the south-east and 

 south. 2. That these continents were probably covered, at least 

 in their higher parts, with ice and snow ; and that much loose 

 material had consequently accumulated over the plains and 

 deeper parts, ready to be denuded off as each part became sub- 

 merged. This would account for the enormous thickness of con- 

 glomerates, with boulders, grits, and sandstones, found in the 

 early Cambrian rocks, and also to a certain extent for their bar- 

 renness in organic remains. 3. That the depression over the 

 European and American areas was general from at least the lati- 

 tude of 30° northwards ; that the parts bordering the Atlantic 

 were the first to become submerged ; the lower latitudes, also, 

 before the higher. 4. That the depression could not have been 

 less altogether, for the whole of the Palaeozoic, than 50,000 feet ; 

 and that conformable sediments to that extent are found over 

 those parts of the areas first submerged, and which remained 

 undisturbed. That volcanic action was chiefly confined to parts 

 of the regions which became first submerged ; that the imme- 

 diate cause of these outbursts was the weakness of the pre- 

 Cambrian crust at those parts, from the great depression that had 

 taken place, it being too thin there to resist the pressure from 

 within, and to bear the weight of the superincumbent mass of 

 soft sediment. 5. That the seat of volcanic action at this time 

 was at a depth of probably not less than twenty-five miles, as 

 sediments which were depressed to a depth of from nine to 

 ten miles do not indicate that they had been subjected to the 

 effect of any great amount of heat, and are free from metamor- 

 phosis. 6. That the climate at the early part of Palaeozoic time 

 was one of very considerable, if not extreme cold, and that it 

 became gradually milder after each period of depression. That 

 towards the close of the Palaeozoic, in consequence of the eleva- 

 tion of very large areas, and to a great height, the climate be- 

 came again more rigorous in character. 7. That the various 

 changes which took place over the northern latitudes during 

 Laurentian and Palaeozoic times allowed marine and land life to 

 develop and progress in those areas at interrupted periods only ; 

 consequently most of the progressive changes in the life had to 

 take place in more equatoriil areas, where the sea-bottom was 

 less disturbed, and where the temperature was more equable. 

 Any imperfection, therefore, in the Palaeontological record 

 belonging to these early times should be attributed to these and 

 like circumstances ; for wherever an approach to a complete 

 record of any pait of the chain is preserved to us, the evidence 

 points unmistakably to an order of development, through a pro- 

 cess of evolution from lower to higher grades of life. 



Anthropological Institute, Jan. 11. — Mr. A. W. Franks, 

 F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. — Messrs. H. A. Husband, 

 E. Croggan, J. B. Lyons, and W. R. Cornish were elected mem- 

 bers. — Mr. W. S. W. Vaux, F.R.S., read a paper on the Maori 

 race of New Zealand. There were three sources from which 

 some information as to the origin of the Maoris might be gained. 

 Firstly, from traditions, among which a very general and remark- 

 able uniformity prevails, pointing to the conclusion that the an- 

 cestors of the Maoris came from the north and north-east in 

 small numbers and a few at a time, the names of some of the 

 canoes in which they arrived having been preserved. The author 

 thought that the evidence in favour of those traditions was con- 

 clusive. Secondly, from their ethnology and customs. With 

 regard to' the former, appearances were at first sight in favour of 

 a mixed origin, the diversities in physiognomy and colour being 

 considerable ; but to that view the author thought the linguistic 

 evidence furnished an unanswerable objection. As to the cus- 

 toms of the Maoris, they did not differ much from those found 

 in other groups of Polynesian Islands, indicating a former inti- 

 mate connection between them all. Thirdly, from language. The 

 general conclusion of the author from that argument was that 

 there was one Polynesian language which had been broken op 

 into many dialects, the Maori being one. That opened out the 

 larger question as to who the Polynesians were, and it was in 

 that direction that inquirers must search for the origin of the 

 Maoris. Evidence finally pointed to Asia for the solution of the 

 problem. — Dr. Hector, F.R.S., exhibited and described at 

 length the collection of stone and other implements he had 

 recently brought from New Zealand, and went minutely into the 

 circumstances of their discovery, their varieties, and uses. He 

 also entered into a discussion on the traditions of the Maoris, 

 their population in the two islands, their manners and customs, 

 their language and physique, drew a comparison between them 

 and the Moriories, and treated of many other topics relating to 

 the past history and present condition of the people. 



Physical Society, Jan. 15.— Prof. Gladstone, F.R.S., pre- 

 sident, in the chair. — The following candidates were elected mem- 

 bers of the society : — Sir David Lionel Salomons, Bart., Arthur 

 R. Granville, and Capt. Abney, R.E. — Prof. Woodward, of the 

 Midland Institute, Birmingham, exhibited and described a novel 

 form of apparatus for showing either the longitudinal motion of 

 sound-wavesor the transverse vibrationsofthoseof light It consists 

 essentially of a series of balls suspended in a horizontal line by 

 strings. These balls rest against a series of transverse equidistant 

 partitions in a wedge-shaped horizontal trough, which can be 

 raised and depressed parallel to itself. If, while a ball is placed 

 against each partition, the frame be drawn aside in the plane in 

 which the balls hang, and then slowly depressed horizontally, 

 the balls will be successively liberated, the order in which this 

 takes place being regulated by the heights of the partitions. As 

 these gradually increase from one end to the other, the appear- 

 ance presented is that of a series of condensations and rarefac- 

 tions, as in the ordinary acoustic wave. If the frame be drawn 

 aside parallel to itself prior to depressing it, the balls wiU rest 

 against one side of the trough and can be liberated in succession, 

 causing them to oscillate in planes parallel to themselves. By 

 this means a vibration of the particles is set up resembling that of 

 polarised light.— Prof. Guthrie suggested that Mr. Woodward 

 should devise a similar apparatus for exhibiting stationary 

 waves. — Prof. Woodward said he would remember thejsuggestion, 

 and stated that he had endeavoured to adapt the apparatus to 

 circular and elliptic wave-motion, but experienced considerable 

 difficulty. — Mr. Lockyer then made a communication on some 

 recent methods of spectroscopy. At the outset he men- 

 tioned that he brought these processes forward in the hope that 

 others present might be induced to take up some branch of the 

 work. The first subject of which he treated was the photograph- 

 ing of the solar and metallic spectra. Mr. Rutherford, of New 

 York, who has produced some of the finest photographs of 

 spectra extant, has shown that to obtain clear photographs the 

 smallest possible portion of the surface cf the prism should be 

 employed. An excellent method for ensuring this is to bring 

 the light on the slit by means of a common opera-glass (as large 

 as possible), which should reduce the beam of parallel rays inci- 

 dent on the prism to not more than a quarter of an inch in 

 diameter. Mr. Lockyer exhibited the four-prism spectroscope 

 employed by himself, to which a camera about four feet long is 

 adapted. By this apparatus a large series of comparisons has 

 been obtained between the sun and metals, the slit employed 

 being provided with five slides, so that the spectra can be 



