124 RevieiDs — Elgees Moorlands of N.E. Yorkshire. 



II. — The Moorlands OF North-Eastern Yorkshire: their Natural 

 History and Origin. By Frank Elgee, F.G.S. 8vo ; pp. xvi, 

 361, with 70 plates and text-illustrations, geological maps and 

 sections, and maps of the Moorlands. London: A. Brown and 

 Sons, Ltd., 5 Farringdon Avenue, 1912. Price Vis. Qd. net. 



VOLUMES, large and small, descriptive of the scenery and antiquities 

 of various districts and counties in England, are by no means 

 wanting, and the attractions of the Yorkshire Moorlands have been 

 portrayed by many distingnislied writers. The present work is, 

 however, not merely descriptive, illustrated as it is by many excellent 

 photographic plates by the author, with some by Mr. Godfrey Bingley ; 

 it is also explanatory, dealing with the geological history of the 

 Moorlands, the disposition of the strata, and the sculpturing of the 

 hills and dales, with the origin of the moors and distribution of their 

 plant-life, and the relationship in general between the botanical, 

 zoological, and geological features. In short, it is a philosopliical 

 Avork, treating the subject from what is now termed tlie Ecological 

 point of view. 



After referring to the previous literature on the district, the author 

 gives a short account of some of the human aspects, describing the 

 old roads, the ridgeways, the causeways (which are often paved 

 with stone), the standing stones, circles, and crosses. Reference is 

 made to pit-dwellings, some of which, however, like the Killing-pits 

 near Goatland, were probably old ironstone workings, while some 

 holes were evidently due to the removal of slabs of stone, and others 

 have been caused by the dissolution of calcareous strata. 



Tiie highest ground in the Moorlands is at Burton Head on Urra 

 Moor, 1,489 feet above sea-level. The moors are almost exclusively 

 clothed with heather, but some are covered with much cotton sedge 

 and grass. The author discusses the formation of the moorland soil, 

 which comprises surface-peat, resting on about 10 inches of peaty 

 sand, with usually at the base a hard ferruginous layer, generally not 

 more than an inch or two thick, known as the Moor Pan. This layer 

 has tended to prevent the growth of trees ; so also have the strong 

 winds on the higher and more exposed moorlands. Evidence of 

 woods of oak and birch are, however, met with in some of the glacial 

 slacks or overflow channels, where tree stumps are found beneath 

 coverings of peat which destroyed the woodland. In some instances 

 the destruction of the timber was probably accelerated by man. The 

 vegetation on the moorland slopes differs from that on the summits, 

 and the author points out that the aspect, inclination of slope, 

 amount of downwash, and absence of thick peat, have influenced 

 the distribution of the plants. 



The effects of the Ice Age are duly considereil with especial 

 reference to the researches of Professor JP. F. Kendall. The higher 

 uplands afford no evidence of glaciation. The Cleveland Hills on the 

 north presented an impassable barrier to the ice-sheets, so that sundrv 

 moors, though surrounded by ice, were free from any covering of it, 

 and free therefore from drift. The author maintains the view that 

 the driftless areas supported vegetation during the Ice Age, the plants 



