REVIEW. 227 



It does not appear to us after reading the article that any of his conclusions 

 are based on this fact— or fancy— or, indeed, that the majority have any basis at 

 all. But since he has chosen to take his stand on this point, let us say at onco> 

 that nobody but a professional geologist now believes that there ever was a 

 secondary glacial epoch or a quaternary one either, and that no plain-think- 

 ing people ever will until it has been shown both that a glacial epoch 

 is astronomically, meteorologically and physically possible and that, if one did 

 occur, it could possibly do the things they are postulated to have done, bearing 

 in mind what the potentialities of a glacier are really known to be. 



Hitherto all attempts to account for the occurrence of such periods have 

 absolutely failed, and no really honest attempt even has been made to prove that 

 glaciers could do what they are said to have done even if they had existed 

 and had been superior to the Laws of Gravity. 



We have wasted a good deal more powder and shot on the Professor than 

 he deserves, because, so far as we know, his is the only detailed statement of 

 this Gondwana Continent theory yet made, although it has already become a 

 kind of fetish with some people. 



But in the interests of plain-thinking, clear reasoning and true science, we 

 would appeal to Indian geologists to confine their attention to humbler matters 

 for the present and not to attempt to build up transcendental theories to 

 account for nothing and for which no evidence is forthcoming. 



If Mr. Holland can make abetter case for his continent than Professor 

 Waagen, we should be very interested to read it ; but at the same time we would 

 very much rather that all theorising of this kind with no facts or next to 

 none behind it were left alone altogether. 



It is just possible that two hundred years hence there may be sufficient 

 material collected to discuss the possibility of the former existence of a land 

 area in the Indian Ocean, south of Ceylon. At present there is no geological or 

 geographical evidence of such, and there are absolutely no phenomena in the 

 animal or vegetable kingdoms at present known which require such a trans- 

 cendental explanation. 



L. 0. H. Y. 



