Reviews — Dr. Rowe on the White Chalk of Yorkshire. 229 



and paleeontologists alike liave watched his progress with admiration 

 and with critical interest ! The results which he has alreadjr 

 achieved are of far-reaching importance, and the paper before u^ 

 shows that he has not yet reached the zenith of his powers. 



The zonal correlation of the Yorkshire Chalk with the Chalk 

 of the South of England presents many difficulties, and in spite 

 of the brave attempt made by Dr. C. Barrels over a quarter of 

 a century ago, it has been long recognized by local workers that 

 the problem was still unsolved. This problem Dr. Rowe has taken 

 as his latest holiday task, and with the aid of his trusty coadjutor, 

 Mr. C. D. Sherborn, has shown that by proper methods even the 

 sturdily resistant mass of Flamborough Head may be sliced up into 

 •zones more or less closely equivalent to those of the south, with 

 well-nigh the same ease as the less obdurate cliffs that overlook 

 the Channel. 



On taking his giant-stride northward, however, Dr. Rowe has 

 found himself confronted by many conditions that were new to 

 him and by many problems that for the present he is content to 

 waive. He has wisely concentrated his forces upon the establish- 

 ment of the broad correlation, and has regarded other matters as 

 side-issues to be dealt with when the opportunity occurs. 



The keynote of his attitude is struck in the introduction to his 

 paper and is well sustained throughout. " We have long cherished 

 a furtive ambition," he writes, " to explore this mysterious and 

 legendary coast." And again, " There is a glamour and fascination 

 attached to the unknown, which, coupled with the acknowledged 

 difficulties of a coast like this, greatly adds to the zest of the work. 

 For this coast is unknown. It is a veritable terra incognita.''^ 



Now, this last sentence will seem a hard saying to the assiduous 

 local investigators to whom Dr. Rowe warmly expresses his in- 

 debtedness ; and even to anyone knowing only the previously 

 published literature it may appear high-pitched. But the author 

 justifies his statement in the context, by explaining that the only 

 kind of information which he himself desired was not available 

 until he had explored the land. After all, he has only taken the 

 customary privilege of the explorer of new regions, with whom the 

 nncoordinated local knowledge of the aborigines does not count. 

 And in similar manner it may happen in the future that Kent itself 

 will prove a terra incognita to a worker carrying some special line 

 of investigation southward from the Northern Chalk, for it is certain 

 that there is still an open field for research in every part of the 

 formation. 



Dr. Rowe's Yorkshire work is of peculiar interest inasmuch as it 

 reveals not only the strength but also the weakness of the zonal 

 method of correlation when applied to districts lying apart. We find 

 that again and again is the author startled by the strangeness of his 

 northern experiences, until at last he is constrained to declare — 

 "The record of the fauna in this area constitutes a veritable zoo- 

 logical romance. Verily it is a land of strange zonal occurrences and 

 of still more strange zonal omissions. It is, indeed, the remarkable 



