256 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



FLORA OF THE FIRST INTERGLACIAL PERIOD 



In the "Forest Bed of Cromer" on the eastern coast of England the 

 arrival of Abies is significant because although known in Miocene times 

 in the Arctic region of Grinnell Land this is the first appearance of the 

 fir tree in central Europe ; the fir is also found in the interglacial lignites 

 of Switzerland and has since constituted an important member of the 

 European forests. Including the fir, all the trees composing the forests 

 in the region of Norfolk belong to living species, such as the maple, elm, 

 birch, willow, alder, oak, beech, pine, spruce, still indigenous to this re- 

 gion, latitude 52° 40' N. A notable fact in examining this flora of the 

 Norfolk and Suffolk coasts of England is its correspondence with the 

 modern flora in spite of the immense period of time that has elapsed and 

 the great changes in climate during which all these plants were driven 

 to the south and again permitted to return. "However," continues 

 Reid, 37 "though very similar, we find in the fossil flora several exotic 

 species which give it a slightly different character and we notice also the 

 absence of several modern forms." From this tree flora Eeid concludes 

 that the climate of southeastern England was nearly the same as at pres- 

 ent, but slightly warmer. 



The flora of Durfort (G-ard) in southern France is associated with re- 

 mains of the southern elephant (E. meridionalis) , the etruscan rhinoce- 

 ros (D. etruscus) and the Pliocene horse (Equus stenonis). 38 It in- 

 cludes numerous plants of species now represented in the Caucasus, Per- 

 sia, southern Italy, Portugal and Japan. Again, in the interglacial for- 

 ests of Moret (Seine valley) we find the fig (Ficus) and the Judas tree 

 (Cercis), indicating a mild temperature. The tree flora of France like 

 that of Norfolk thus indicates somewhat warmer conditions of tempera- 

 ture than prevail at the present time, a temperature of 4° of latitude to 

 the south. 



MAMMALS OF THE FIRST INTERGLACIAL STAGE 



For our knowledge of the mammalian life of the Forest Bed of Nor- 

 folk and contemporaneous deposits of France we are indebted principally 

 to Dawkins .(1880, 1883), Newton (1880), Gaudry (1893), Boule 

 (1902), and Pohlig (1907). Dawkins many years ago (1883, p. 579) 

 estimated the ratio of living, extinct and newly arriving mammals in the 

 Forest Bed as follows: 



37 Reid, C, and Reid, E. M. : "The Pre-Glacial Flora of Britain," Jour. Linn. Soc, 

 Botany. Vol. xxxviii. pp. 206-227. Jan.. 1P08. 



38 Gaudry, A. : L'filephant de Durfort. Paris, 1S93. 



