t>32 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Dec. 21, i? 



this, he suggested that they might be remnants of more 

 tropical ones. He said that the greater number of 

 brilliantly coloured scentless flowers in our climate might 

 be accounted for by the visits of butterflies, etc, a varia- 

 tion towards increased brightness inducing more frequent 

 visits from insects, and hence the plant has a greater 

 chance of setting its seeds and propagating the species ; 

 and hence, by the law of heredity, the variation in the 

 colouring matter is passed on and rendered permanent, 

 and even increased in amount. He gave, as an instance, 

 the flowers of East Norfolk, where the soil is dry and 

 light ; they are distinctly brighter than the same wild 

 flowers in Northamptonshire, where the soil is heavier 

 and the air more moist. Foliage, Mr. Jecks said, is, as a 

 rule, much deeper in colour in the tropics than in the 

 temperate zones, the only exception being the foliage of 

 the trees in New Zealand. The condition in a tropical 

 forest, namely, the comparative absence of light, and the 

 warm, damp atmosphere, would tend to produce a deep 

 foliage, whereas the cool, dry atmosphere of more 

 northern regions would produce a lighter hue. 



DUNDEE NATURALISTS' SOCIETY. 

 At the meeting held on December 5th, Mr. James 

 Durham, F.G.S., President of the Society, read the con- 

 cluding paper of a series which he has given at intervals 

 on "The Geology of Dundee and District" On this 

 occasion Mr. Durham dealt specially with the geological 

 period known as the post-glacial. He explained that 

 towards the end of that great time of cold — the glacial 

 period — the land sank into the sea until it stood at a 

 level more than 100 feet lower than it does at present. 

 In the course ot this subsidence floods of water from the 

 melting glaciers swept vast quantities of the debris of 

 moraines from the land into the sea, where it accumu- 

 lated to a great thickness round the shores, so that when 

 in course of time the land rose again a vast terrace of 

 sand and stones was found spreading all over the low- 

 lying country. The remains of this terrace now form a 

 striking feature in the landscape of the seaward parts of 

 Fife and Forfar, and, indeed, all round the Scottish coast. 

 If we desired to picture to ourselves the Dundee district 

 during the formation of this 100 feet terrace, we must 

 imagine all the ancient burgh of Dundee under the sea, 

 whose water would stand, roughly speaking, two-thirds 

 the height of the Old Steeple, and consequently well up 

 the Constitution Road and Hilltown slopes. All the 

 flat lands between Dundee and Perth and the valley 

 of the Earn would be far under the water level. The 

 Howe of Fife and nearly all the land between Dundee 

 and Arbroath would be submerged. Indeed, a large 

 part of Scotland would be cut up into groups of islands, 

 round which rolled the waves of a sad and melancholy 

 sea, in which icebergs floated. It would be a dreary and 

 miserable land, into which no man or animal cared to 

 come, which was perhaps the simplest reason for the 

 absence of the remains of living creatures in the remains 

 of the sea bottom represented by the 100 feet terrace. 

 Mr. Durham went on to describe how the action 

 of denudation removed the greater part of this terrace, 

 especially when the larger rivers ploughed their way 

 through it, while the wave of the sea materially aided in 

 its destruction. As the land rose, standing much higher 

 than now, the action of various denuding agencies 

 formed upon the remains of the terrace an earthy soil 

 suitable for vegetation. The climate having become mild 



and temperate, a luxuriant growth soon covered the 

 ground, and great torests spread over the valleys far up 

 into the high lands, and out over parts of the present 

 bed of the North Sea. Remains of this forest bed are 

 still found at manv parts of the Firth of Tay, and Mr. 

 Durham exhibited a collection of roots, twigs, leaves, 

 and nuts found at the Stannergate. Afcer a period of 

 unknown duration the land was again depressed to the 

 extent of 40 or 50 feet, and the sea swept over the low- 

 lying forest parts. Simultaneous with this the climate 

 became colder, and probably in the Highland glens 

 glaciers again formed, as the Tay and Earn were at the 

 same time laden with extremely fine material likely to 

 be derived from the grinding action of glaciers on the 

 rocks of their valleys. This fine clay, with sand and 

 gravel, covered the submerged forests, and formed what 

 are now called the carse lands of our Scottish firths. 

 At length the land again rose steadily until it stood 25 

 to 30 feet lower than at present, resting at this level for 

 a very long time, and a great and most important beach 

 was now formed, for on the terrace which is now repre- 

 sented by this beach nearly all our seaport towns are 

 built. Indeed, as the lecturer pointed out, the fact that 

 it forms such a convenient means of approach to the 

 ocean makes it not improbable that the maritime 

 supremacy of the British Islands is greatly owing to 

 the existence of this beach. After this the land again 

 rose until it reached its present level, at which point it 

 has probably stood for many thousands of years. Mr. 

 Durham, in the course of his paper, pointed out the 

 localities which helped to bear out the story of the 

 geological history of Dundee and neighbourhood. 



BOURNEMOUTH SOCIETY OF NATURAL 

 SCIENCE. 

 At a meeting held on Nov. 30th, the Rev. G. H. West 

 in the chair, a paper wzs read by Dr. Hyla Greves 

 upon "The Hand; its Mechanism in Man and Brute." 

 The lecturer said, to prevent misconception, he would 

 first define the term " Hand," which was intended to in- 

 clude not only the human hand and that of the quadru- 

 mana (or four-handed animals), but all modifications of 

 the fore limb of the vertebrata. We may, he continued, 

 here enumerate the various uses which the hand and arm 

 serve in the animal kingdom. In its simplest form, as in 

 fishes and birds, for example, it is used almost entirely 

 for the purpose of locomotion in water and air respec- 

 tively ; in man, on the other hand, its use in locomotion 

 is practically nil (its use in swimming excepted), but it 

 is as a prehensile instrument and organ of touch that it 

 finds its chief use. Again, in the monkey tribe and the 

 sloths it serves for both the purposes of locomotion and 

 apprehension, and to a less extent the same may be said 

 of the carnivora, e.g., the lion and cat, which use the paw 

 firstly as a means of locomotion, and secondly as a pre- 

 hensile organ in procuring prey ; while in the ungulata, 

 or hoofed animals, it is solely used as an organ of loco- 

 motion. In comparing the structure of the human 

 hand with that of other animals we recognise the bones 

 which form the upper extremity or arm of man in the 

 fin of the whale, the wing of the bat, the paddle of the 

 turtle, and the wing of the bird. We see the same 

 bones perfectly suited to their purposes in the paw of the 

 lion and the bear, and equally fitted for motion in the 

 foot of the horse and camel, and adjusted for climbing or 

 digging in the long-clawed foot of the sloth or bear. It 



