50 James GeiJde — 0?? Seasonal Migrations. 



quite sure no physicist will adopt. But I shall come to that pre- 

 sently. Meanwhile, geologists may well ask what are the grounds 

 upon which they are invited to believe that during the period of 

 local glaciers, when Britain formed part of the continent, the whole 

 area of the Mediterranean stood some 3000 feet higher than at 

 present ? The only fact adduced in support of this hypothesis is 

 simply this : — remains of Hippopotamus Pentlandi occur at Megalo- 

 polis in the Morea, and in Crete. 



But before this fact can become of any service whatever to the 

 " migration " theory, it will be necessary to prove that the remains 

 in question really belong to late Pleistocene times {i.e. our local 

 glacier period). For aught any one can say, however, the Candian 

 hippopotamus may date back to the early Pleistocene or even to the 

 Pliocene. We know far too little as yet about the synchronism of 

 later Tertiary deposits in different parts of Europe to justify us in 

 at once fixing the precise age of the little hippopotamus. Hippo- 

 potamus major is believed to have lived in Europe during Pliocene 

 times, and there is certainly no a priori reason why the smaller 

 species should not have occupied the same area at approximately the 

 same time. It may belong exclusively to late Pleistocene times, but 

 at present the evidence does not entitle us to hazard this assumption. 



Again, those who believe in the wonderful powers of locomotion 

 ascribed to the Pleistocene pachyderms, may be excused if they 

 should ask whether so great an elevation of the Mediterranean area 

 as 500 fathoms, is really required by the circumstances of the case. 

 Might not an active animal have swum across from Greece to Candia, 

 by way of Cerigo, Cerigotto, and the little islets in their neighbour- 

 hood ? The distance between Cerigotto and Candia is, to be sure, 

 twenty miles ; but that could hardly have been considered a barrier 

 by the enterjDrising hippopotamus of Pleistocene times. If th^ 

 voyage, however, should be thought rather too long, even for 

 a Pleistocene wanderer, we might suppose it shortened by a much 

 less elevation than 600 ^ fathoms — say 250 fathoms. With this 

 amount of upheaval several islets would appear between Candia 

 and Greece, to serve as baiting places, and the hippopotamus might 

 then have performed its journey in easy stages, per mare et terras. 



But we do not need to tax the swimming powers of the little 

 hippopotamus in order to show that an elevation of the sea-bed 

 to the extent of 500 fathoms is quite unnecessary to account for 

 the presence of that pachyderm in Candia. An examination of the 

 Admiralty Charts shows no greater depth than 210 fathoms between 

 Candia, Kaxo, Karpathos, Ehodes, and the mainland of Asia Minor. 

 The depth is even ten fathoms less than this, by way of Ehodes, 

 Astropalia, Kos, and Kalimno. Thus by an elevation of only 

 200 fathoms Candia might, for aught we know,^ become connected 



^ The greatest depth between Greece and Candia indicated upon the Admiralty 

 Chart of the Mediterranean is only 300 fathoms. But the actual depth may be more, 

 as the bottom was not reached by the sounding-line. 



* It must be understood that the Admiralty soundings are not continuous between 

 these islands any more than they are between Cape Malea (Morea) and Cape Spada 

 (Candia). 



