198 H. R. Soivorth — The Mammoth in Europe. 



■without value. The section in question, which attracted the attention 

 of a local geologist, Mr. William Semmons, and myself, is at a point 

 on the coast whei-e the sea is encroaching upon the sand-dunes, and 

 washing them away at the base leaves the face almost vertical. The 

 resemblance of the sand to rock is most striking, presenting all those 

 peculiarities of cross-bedding and lines of erosion we are familiar 

 with in some of the Triassic sandstones of the neighbourhood. 

 During the last twelve years, in walks along the shore, 1 have often 

 observed the laminations of the blown sand disclosed by denudation, 

 but never so strikingly as in the present case. The beds not only 

 display delicate laminations, but stand out in ribs and cornices, 

 simulating Gothic mouldings in profile. On trying how so loose 

 a material as blown sand could retain these projecting forms, I was 

 surprised to find the projections comparatively hard and solid. On 

 breaking a piece off, the reason became apparent ; for instead of the 

 usually dry incoherent grains of sand, below the surface-skin the 

 sand was quite damp. A very little addition of siliceous or 

 calcareous cement would turn the mass into rock. 



The explanation is obvious. The late very wet winter has allowed 

 the entire mass of the sand-hills to become saturated with moisture, 

 and the water adhering to the grains gives them cohesion. The sea 

 saps the base, and the wind acting upon the A^ertical face of the sand 

 so produced, developes the latent form of rock-structure contained 

 within it. 



The microscope shows that the grains are much rounded, but 

 in this case not solely by wind action. There is no doubt that the 

 grains of sand, before being finally built up into sand-dunes, are 

 washed over the shore again and again. They are blown over the 

 shore at neaps in strong winds, and as often devoured again by the 

 sea. We are also unaware of the initial shape of the grains, as 

 I have no doubt they are primarily derived from the Triassic rocks, 

 and secondarily in part from the drift. The rounding may therefore 

 be the result of ages of abrasion. What wonder then that Mr. 

 Phillips finds that five miles of travel down stream did little or 

 nothing towards rounding grains of siliceous sand ! 



Outside the estuary of the Mersey are great sand-banks, such as 

 the Burbo Bank, continually shifting, yet preserving a certain 

 permanence of form. Admiral Spratt, F.E.S., the Acting Con- 

 servator of the Mersey, in his report for 1879, considers that the 

 sand is continually travelling in great circles, in directions he 

 particularly describes, round these banks. Here then is a great 

 grinding mill for rounding the grains, as doubtless many of them 

 have been on the banks before getting washed on to the shore. 



IV. — The Mammoth in Eukope.' 

 By Henry H. Howorth, F.S.A. 



HAVING considered the conditions under which the Mammoth 

 lived in Siberia, we now propose to turn to the parallel 

 problem in Europe, and to show that the mode of life was practically 

 1 Continued from the Geological Magazine, 1880, Decade II. Vol. VII. p. 5G1. 



