Sir Henry H. Howorth—Geology of the Arctic Lands. 495 
any clear junction between the Middle and Upper Lias that was 
accessible. These cliffs rise in places, with an almost vertical face, 
to 800 or 900 feet; and if we include the higher steep slopes and 
the rough crag of Dun Caan, we have the somewhat dizzy height 
of 1455 feet. Hence the inaccessibility of the rocks in some places, 
and the landslips and tumbled blocks in others, render it impossible 
to follow everywhere the junction of Middle and Upper Lias. On 
this account it will be easily understood how the presence of the 
band of iron-ore escaped the notice of previous observers, who 
naturally devoted their chief attention to the coast-sections and to 
the strata displayed on the fore-shores. It was only by examining 
all exposures of the strata in banks and braes, and along the beds of 
burns, that I found the iron-ore in situ, and ascertained its persistence 
on the same horizon where the strata are exposed. 
Dr. Bryce noticed the occurrence of “slightly ferruginous bands ” 
in the Middle Lias, near Portree, in Skye; and he observed also, in 
the Upper Lias, a band of “ nodular blue limestone, showing oolitic 
structure.” These facts I can confirm from a general examination 
of the cliffs north and south of the entrance to Portree harbour; but 
I failed to find any evidence of a band of iron-ore equivalent to that 
of Raasay. The facts now brought forward, however, serve to 
strengthen the remarks of Dr. Bryce in reference to the Jurassic 
strata of Skye and Raasay, for he says: “The lithological characters 
of the beds have a remarkable similarity throughout, and a close 
resemblance to the structure of the beds on the Yorkshire coast.” ! 
I may add that I was greatly struck with the general similarity 
between the lithological characters of the several divisions of the 
Lias and underlying Red rocks in Raasay, and those familiar to me 
in the West of England; and among the fossiliferous rocks this 
similarity in lithology is accompanied by many identical organic 
remains. ‘The Oolitic Series approximates more closely to the York- 
shire type. 
IV.—Tue Recent Grotocicat History or THE Arctic Lanps. 
By Sir Henry H. Howorrs, K.C.I.E., M.P., F.R.S., F.G.S. 
INCE writing my previous paper on the question of whether, 
during the so-called Glacial period, the Arctic lands had a 
milder and not a more severe climate, I have met with some evidence 
on the subject so important and suggestive that I feel sure it will 
be welcome to some of your readers, especially as it involves a 
considerable departure from conventional views. In 1861 Sir 
Joseph Hooker wrote his famous paper on the distribution of Arctic 
plants, in which he argued that the flora of Greenland is dis- 
tinctly of Huropean type; that Greenland is a sub-region, in fact, 
of the Scandinavian Botanical province. To state his own con- 
clusion in his own words, “the flora of Greenland is almost 
exclusively Lapponian, having an extremely light admixture of 
American or Asiatic types.” This view had already been maintained 
by Charles Martins in 1839, although he had not the same materials 
1 Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. xxix. p. 338. 
