Sept. 1 8, 1879] 



NATURE 



489 



The above will sufficiently illustrate the effects of the frosts in 

 two severe winters. 



It is worthy of remark that instead of cold killing the slugs 

 and various pests of plants, they were never known so numerous. 

 Many hardy plants in pots were killed, such as ivy, Pteris aqui- 

 Una, &c., when they escaped if plunged in the ground. 



Recent Additions to the Moss Flora of the West Riding of 

 Yorkshire, by Charles P. Hcbkirk, F.L.S.— After treating of 

 the work of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, in investigating 

 the fauna and flora of the country, the author particularised 

 some of the chief species found since 1873, and gave the history 

 of them, viz., Scligcria tristicha at Littondale ; Aidacomninm 

 turgiaum at Whernside ; Fontinalis gracilis at Malham Cove ; 

 Plagiothccium niiiduluni at Penyghent, &c. Four lists were 

 appended to the paper, viz.: (i) New species, 48; (2) Species 

 found in fresh localities, 142 ; (3) Localities previously known, 

 but not recorded, 29 ; and (4) Species inserted in error in pre 

 vious list, 8; making the total number of species now recorded 

 for the Riding, 327. 



Department of Anthropology 



Flint Implements from the Valley of the Bann, by W. J. 

 Knowles. — I have obtained within the last three or four years, 

 from the banks of the River Bann, a series of flint weapons or 

 tools which differ considerably in type from the ordinary flint im- 

 plements of the North of Ireland. They have been obtained 

 from a deposit of diatomaceous earth nsed for brickmaking, near 

 the toi\n of Portglenone, and are of two types. That which 

 is most numerous appears to have been been made by 

 splitting up nodules into halves and quarters, and then forming 

 these into rude pointed implements by a process of coarse 

 chipping. This kind numbers upwards of fifty, and they all 

 agree in having a cutting point and thick base for holding in the 

 hand. They are as a rule long, narrow, and of a cylindrical 

 form rather than broad and flat, but some of the latter kind 

 occur. Some of the largest are 7 or 8 inches long 'and from 2 

 to 3 inches broad at the base, and there is one fine implement of 

 the flat kind, very like the triangular paln;olithic implements, 

 which is 6 inches long, nearly 4 inches broad at the base, and Ij 

 inches thick. Dr. Kvans, in "Stone Implements and Orna- 

 ments of Great Britain," mentions that he has found implements 

 of paleolithic form on the shores of Lough Neagh, near Toome, 

 and I have alyo found them there myself, but as Toome is only 

 a little farther up the Bann, and the diatomaceous earth is found 

 there, I believe they have been derived from that deposit by 

 denudation. 



The second set of objects may be described as large triangular 

 flakes with a central rib down the back, and having the base 

 wrought into a tang. In the Catalogue of the Royal Irish 

 Academy this form of implement is represented in Fig. 3, the 

 tang being looked on as the first step of development into 

 arrow- and spear-heads ; but I am of opinion that instead of 

 showing a step towards greater perfection, these were perfect 

 implements of their kind, and also manufactured specially for 

 use about rivers. 



There is no means of determining the age of these objects 

 except we form some sort of estimate from the fact of their 

 being found in a deposit underlying peat. If they are of neo- 

 lithic age they are very interesting from being confined chiefly to 

 a river valley, and not being obtained where other neolithic im- 

 plements are found in abundance. This fact would, I think, 

 suggest a reason for the large triangular flints of palaeolithic age 

 being chiefly confined to the old river gravels, while the imple- 

 ments of the same age from the caves are so different. The im- 

 plements of the pointed kind in all cases might not be for general 

 use, but chiefly for the river valleys. They may probably have 

 formed weapons for at Lacking the larger animals when they 

 came down to drink, but the theory that they were used for 

 breaking holes in ice I think a very likely one. I believe the 

 tanged flakes were used mounted probably for spearing fish, as 

 suggested by Dr. Kvans in " Archojologia," vol. xli, p. 401. 



On the Relations of the Indo-Chinese and Inter-Oceanic Races 

 and Languages, by A. If. Keane, M.A.I. — The conclusion 

 arrived at by the author, is that, excluding the dark races, 

 there are in the Indo-Chinese and Inter-Oceanic area two 

 fundamentally distinct racial types only — the yellow or Mongo- 

 lian, and the fair or Caucasian ; and corresponding to them 

 two fundamentally distinct forms of speech only — the mono- 

 syllabic spoken vario tono, and the polysyllabic spoken recto 



touo. All the rest is the outcome of incessant secular inter, 

 minglings. 



IVIr. Sydney B. J. Skertchly, F.G. S., H.M. Geological Survey, 

 read a paper On the Evidence of the Existence of the Paleolithic 

 Man during the Glacial Period in East Anglia. The object of 

 the paper was chiefly to record the sections in which the author 

 had discovered pala:olithic implements beneath the chalky 

 boulder clay in East Anglia. He said: — "The beds which 

 yield the implements are a series of loams, clays, and 

 sands, to which the author has given the name of Brandon Beds. 

 They occur at the top of the middle glacial series of Messrs. 

 S. V. Wood, jun., and F. W. Ilarmer, and underlie the chalky 

 boulder clay or upper glacial of the above-named authors. They 

 have yielded palaeolithic instruments in many places, but only 

 those will be described in which the chalky boulder clay overlies 

 the Brandon Beds at the present time. Near Mildenhall, on 

 the River Lark, in Suffolk, two sections have yielded implements. 

 They are at Warren Hill and Mildenhall Brickyard. The 

 section at Warren Hill is as follows : — i. Saudy soil, &c., two 

 feet. 2. Chalky boulder clay six feet. 3. Gravel four' feet. 

 4. Loamy clay four feet. 5. Boulder clay six feet. 6. Chalk. 

 This spot has yielded great numbers of flakes and many imple- 

 ments. It was originally described by Professor Prestwich, but 

 the boulder clay has only recently been exposed above the tool- 

 bearing loams. At Mildenhall Brickyard the section is — 

 I. Sandy soil one foot. 2. Chalky boulder clay six feet. 

 3. Loam ten feet. 4. Chalk. From this place many implements 

 and flakes have been obtained. They occur in the loam. 

 Culford in Suffolk : Tlie Brandon beds are here dug under 

 fifteen feet of solid boulder clay ; from these I obtained two 

 flakes. West Stow, in Suffolk : Boulder clay overlies, under- 

 lies, and wraps round the Brandon beds at this place ; some 

 «ell-worked implements have been obtained, one of which was 

 dug out by the author. Brandon : Near Brandon the same 

 beds are being dug beneath boulder clay, and have yielded very 

 good implements. The jpeculiarities of the implements are 

 pointed out, and the mode of distinguishing them from speci- 

 mens from the gravels is indicated. The author in this paper 

 merely desires to emphasize the fact that from several sections 

 he has himself dug out palaeolithic implements from below 

 tough, undisturbed chalky boulder clay. These proved the 

 existence of man in these districts previous to the glacial 

 periods. 



The Chairman said that if Mr. Skertchly's facts were sound 

 and his inferences well warranted it was obvious to all the 

 matter was one of the greatest importance. He invited 

 discussion. 



After some remarks from Dr. John Evans, Prof. W. 

 Boyd Dawkins (Manchester) said there was no evidence that the 

 glacial period was to be looked on as a dividing line in classi- 

 fication. He fancied that all the animals that were living after 

 that period of extreme cold had pasfed away appeared in' Europe 

 before that cold was felt, and he could not therefore, look on 

 the glacial period as a hard and fast line. It seemed to him 

 if they applied that consideration to the examination of the 

 question of the antiquity of man there was no h p> iori reason 

 for supposing that man was not here in the pre-glacial age. 

 .Seeing that animals were living in Europe before the cold period 

 arrived at its maximum, it was probable that man was here too. 

 Man was living in the south of this country when the area north 

 of the Thames was submerged — when the sea there was 

 bearing icebergs which were accumulating the boulder clay. 



Sir John Lubbock, said that as geologists they must be 

 careful before they came to any definite conclusions on 'a 

 matter of this importance. He confessed that after listening to 

 the paper which they had just heard he felt considerable difficulty 

 in resisting the conclusions which Mr. Skertchly had drawn from 

 the facts. He thought there could be no doubt that the imple- 

 ments before them were the work of man. 



Professor Huxley said that without the slightest desire to dis- 

 courage the excellent efforts Mr. Skertchly had made, he confessed 

 he could not attach any great importance as to whether those 

 particular deposits were post-glacial, inter-glacial, pre-glacial, or 

 how. There was not the slightest doubt that at the end of what 

 was commonly recognised as the tertiary period there w.as a 

 time in which the climate of this country became extremely 

 severe — there was a great formation of .ice. There was no 

 doubt that the animals which existed in this part of the world 

 immediately before that deposit, were practically the same as 

 those just after. If they looke 1 at the glacial epoch as a period 



