CAUSE FOE THE OEIGIN OF THE TRADITION OE THE FLOOD. 295 



subject, but I wonld say — read Mr. Belt's Naturalist hi Nicaragita, 

 and tliere you will find another explanation of what is called the 

 universal deluge, how the water from tbe ice and snow gradually 

 acciitnulated over the lauds wliich had become populous and 

 civilized, and then gradually melted away, and only those people 

 and animals that got on the tops of the hills in the consequent 

 deluges were saved. I think Professor Prestwich has pointed out 

 well that some submergence* had taken place in this part of the 

 world. He does not go further, he does not go beyond that which 

 he knows and what he has seen and learnt ; but he does refer to 

 a great many of those points that have been mentioned. He alludes 

 to those other parts in the East, but he says carefully that he does 

 not venture on them because he does not exactly know, and I 

 doubt not he will learn a good deal yet. 

 The Meeting was then adjourned. 



REMARKS ON THE FOREGOING PAPER. 



The Rev. R. Ashixgton Bullen, B.A., F.G.S., writes: — 



I visited the fine sections at Portland Bill and at Sangatte, and 

 can corroborate Dr. Pre.stwich's statements about the angular and 

 subangular character of the flint and Rubble Drift. 



The latter section is interesting as it shows that the main features 

 of the land surface were (at the time of the deposition of the Rubble 

 Drift) mainly what they are now. The tertiary strata had been 

 already denuded from the chalk heights. The outlier of tertiary 

 sandstone on Les Noires Mottes rests directly on the chalk. f 

 Among other places mentioned in Dr. Prestwich's paper which 

 I have visited was Broom Ballast Hole in January last. It is 

 situated in the valley of the Axe. Here we have a low hill with 

 higher land in the East and West. The accumulation of which it is 

 composed does not appear to belong to the valley drifts, and 

 standing as it does cannot be caused by rain wash. 



It consists of much-rolled pebbles of quartz from older and 

 higher beds, hard, dark grey siliceous rock and chalk flints mingled 

 with chert fragments, which are angular or subangular. There are 

 seams of sand such as at Sangatte, Brighton, Chichester, &c., occur 

 in the chalk delnns. There is also sandy clay mixed with the 

 stones. I found no traces of shells or bones at Broom. 



* Q.J.G.S., vol. xlviii., p. 263. 



t The late Profes.sor Challi.s touched on thi.s question in his paper on 

 The Deluge and Physical Science '' {Trans. Vict. Inst., Vol. x, p. 66). — Ed. 



X 



