Correspondence — F. J. Bennett. 47 



of those present at the conversazione who did not closely examine 

 Mr. Warren's specimens may have gone away with an erroneous idea 

 of the flaking which can be produced by pressing one stone upon 

 another, it seems desirable that this matter should be made public 

 and all misunderstanding about it removed. 



J. E,EID MoiK. 



12 St. Edmund's Eoad, 

 Ipswich. 



HOME-MADE NATUEAL EOLITHS, 'THE WAEEENS.' 



Sir, — At the London Geologists' Association Soiree, November 1, 

 1912, there was a most interesting display of the ' Warrens ' as made 

 by Mr. Hazzlediae Warren, F.G.S. Mr. Warren's- method seems to 

 me a fallacious way to prove a natural origin for the Eolithic 

 ' Cupid's bow ' type, such as he showed on Friday night. Surely the 

 proof, if any, is that they are ' Warrens ' and nothing more. For, 

 first, Mr. Warren selects a form of Eolith he deems as quite a natural 

 one, the ' Cupid bow', and then sets to work to see how best he can 

 produce this by a machine he has made. Second, he selects a suitable 

 piece of flint and, further, two equal -sized pebbles, places them 

 securely in position, and applies and so controls the pressure as to 

 produce the best results to him. It seems to rae quite impossible to 

 compare any procedure of nature with all this carefully thought 

 out and carefully controlled mechanical one. ITature, too, shows all 

 her productions, and such as he might deem her successes and failures. 

 Surely to be fair Mr. Warren should do the same. He, too, must be 

 more successful now than he was. Let him, then, so improve his 

 methods and his machine and make, say, palseoliths and neoliths. 

 Would not this prove that nature made these ? Mr. Eeid Moir's show 

 was the opposite, as he produced his home-made rostro - carinate 

 forms, but sought to prove that man made those. Surely this seems 

 far more logical. I see now that as photographs have been taken 

 under water showing the hooked trout fighting with the angler, we 

 may yet hope to see such taken under the sea, showing how water- 

 driven stones really do their work upon each other. In the absence 

 of any facts mere speculation seems useless. 



F. J. Bennett. 

 Acacias, West Malling. 

 November 13, 1912. 



OBITTT.^I?,-^. 



RAMSAY H. TRAQUAIR, M.D., 

 LL.D., F.R.S. L. & E., F.G.S. 



BoEN July 30, 1840. Died November 22, 1912. 



It is with deep regret we record the death of our old and valued 

 friend and fellow - worker in palseontology for so many years, 

 Dr. R. H. Traquair, lately Keeper of the Natural History Collections 



