1883-1884O ^^5 



6 1 952 t^^s ^^ th® square yard, and this, on the supposition of a 

 continuous molten layer, would continually tend to squeeze mat- 

 ter from regions of greatest pressure towards the edges where the 

 pressure decreased. The displaced matter would find relief 

 under areas of least resistance, and these would coincide most 

 frequently with sea margins, because they would be the nearest 

 lines free from accumulating sediments. For a long time the 

 expansion would only show itself in upheaval, and the character 

 of the basaltic floras certainly shows that their plateaux must have 

 been of considerable elevation, and then, as the strain became 

 more severe, in eruption. But when the strain was lessened 

 through such vast and repeated outbursts, and the tension 

 withdrawn, the enormous weights of the erupted matter would 

 in turn make themselves felt, and slowly submerge and drown 

 the land. The steady rise of land in Eocene times would shut 

 out the ice-laden waters of the Arctic Ocean by uniting England 

 and America, and its submergence, by gradually opening wide 

 the channels, would re-admit ice-bergs in vaster quantity, and 

 prepare the way for a glacial epoch. These causes may not 

 have been independent of astronomical changes, but the help 

 of such changes in the distribution of land and water in our 

 Northern Hemisphere would alone render such extremes of 

 climate possible. 



Such probably may have been the causes which led to the 

 elevation and drowning of a vast stretch of land which enabled 

 the Mammalia and plants of Europasia to invade and to a 

 large extent replace the indigenous and less developed flora and 

 fauna of North America. The basalts of Antrim are but a frag- 

 ment of it, but as such they are of surpassing interest. 



At the conclusion of the paper, several members spoke of the 

 great importance of such a communication, and the desire was 

 expressed that it would be a valuable addition to the Club's 

 Proceedings if published in extenso. Mr. Gardner having kindly 

 handed his manuscript to the Secretaries, it was unanimously 

 resolved that the entire paper be embodied in the Club's 

 Proceedings. 



