February, 1919.] Annual Address. XV 
briefly to-night the results of recent research on the subject of 
geological Time, especially in its bearing on the question of the 
antiquity of the human race. - 
When geological observation first came to be systematized, 
it was found that the sedimentary rocks of Europe fell natur- 
ally into a number of broad divisions, each distinguished 
a definite and constant position in time and sequence. 
earth’s crust have often disguised the true sequence, the pre- 
sence of fossils has served as an unerring guide in the unravel- 
rocks have been found to fall naturally are known as the Palzo- 
zoic, Mesozoic and Kainozoic groups. Each of these groups 
has again been sub-divided into smaller units, known as sys- 
tems. Most countries have adopted nomenclatures of their 
own but, in every country, whether it be America, Africa, Aus- 
