﻿6i 
  Scientific 
  Intelligence. 
  

  

  were 
  necessarily 
  accompanied 
  by 
  great 
  migrations 
  of 
  flora 
  and 
  

   fauna— 
  arctic 
  alpine 
  plants 
  coming 
  to 
  occupy 
  the 
  low-grounds 
  of 
  

   Central 
  Europe, 
  and 
  northern 
  animals 
  ranging 
  down 
  to 
  the 
  shores 
  

   of 
  the 
  Mediterranean. 
  

  

  V. 
  Second 
  Interglacial 
  Epoch. 
  — 
  The 
  enormous 
  morainic 
  

   accumulations 
  and 
  fluvio-glacial 
  gravels 
  of 
  the 
  second 
  glacial 
  

   epoch 
  are 
  sufficient 
  evidence 
  of 
  its 
  prolonged 
  duration. 
  Eventu- 
  

   ally, 
  however, 
  it 
  passed 
  away 
  and 
  the 
  climate 
  by 
  degrees 
  became 
  

   temperate 
  and 
  even 
  genial. 
  The 
  arctic-alpine 
  flora 
  and 
  northern 
  

   fauna 
  retreated 
  from 
  the 
  low-grounds 
  and 
  were 
  replaced 
  by 
  tem- 
  

   perate 
  and 
  southern 
  forms. 
  The 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  plants 
  which 
  

   then 
  occupied 
  North 
  Germany 
  and 
  Central 
  Russia 
  is 
  suggestive 
  

   of 
  a 
  milder 
  and 
  less 
  extreme 
  climate 
  than 
  is 
  now 
  experienced 
  in 
  

   those 
  regions 
  — 
  and 
  the 
  mammalian 
  fauna 
  of 
  the 
  epoch, 
  which 
  in- 
  

   cluded 
  the 
  hippopotamus 
  and 
  Elephas 
  antiguus, 
  was 
  in 
  keeping 
  

   with 
  the 
  flora. 
  Britain 
  would 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  connected 
  

   with 
  the 
  Continent 
  at 
  this 
  time, 
  and 
  land-passages 
  probably 
  

   joined 
  our 
  Continent 
  to 
  North 
  Africa. 
  Again, 
  however, 
  the 
  cli- 
  

   mate 
  began 
  to 
  deteriorate, 
  accompanied 
  by 
  renewed 
  migrations 
  

   of 
  flora 
  and 
  fauna, 
  and 
  as 
  the 
  third 
  glacial 
  epoch 
  approached, 
  

   much 
  low-lying 
  land 
  in 
  Northern 
  and 
  Northwestern 
  Europe 
  was 
  

   submerged. 
  The 
  long 
  duration 
  of 
  this 
  interglacial 
  phase 
  is 
  

   shown 
  by 
  the 
  great 
  depths 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  rivers 
  of 
  the 
  epoch 
  suc- 
  

   ceeded 
  in 
  eroding 
  their 
  valleys. 
  

  

  VI. 
  Third 
  Glacial 
  Epoch. 
  — 
  At 
  the 
  climax 
  of 
  this 
  epoch 
  a 
  

   most 
  extensive 
  ice-sheet 
  again 
  overwhelmed 
  the 
  major 
  portion 
  of 
  

   the 
  British 
  Isles 
  and 
  a 
  vast 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  Continent. 
  It 
  did 
  not, 
  

   however, 
  attain 
  the 
  dimensions 
  of 
  its 
  predecessor. 
  From 
  the 
  

   Alps 
  great 
  glaciers 
  again 
  descended 
  to 
  the 
  low-grounds, 
  where 
  

   they 
  dropped 
  the 
  terminal 
  moraines 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  inner 
  zone." 
  These 
  

   moraines 
  form 
  most 
  conspicuous 
  objects, 
  and 
  extend 
  . 
  in 
  curving 
  

   lines 
  between 
  the 
  highly 
  denuded 
  moraines 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  and 
  second 
  

   glacial 
  epochs. 
  Like 
  these 
  they 
  are 
  accompanied 
  by 
  well-marked 
  

   sheets 
  and 
  terraces 
  of 
  fluvio-glacial 
  gravels. 
  Many 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  

   mountains 
  of 
  Europe 
  were 
  similarly 
  snow-clad 
  and 
  glaciated, 
  

   while 
  rubble-drifts 
  accumulated 
  in 
  extraglacial 
  regions. 
  

  

  VII. 
  Third 
  Interglacial 
  Epoch. 
  — 
  The 
  third 
  glacial 
  epoch 
  

   eventually 
  passed 
  away 
  like 
  its 
  predecessors 
  and 
  was 
  gradually 
  

   succeeded 
  by 
  temperate 
  conditions. 
  Of 
  this 
  change 
  the 
  most 
  

   direct 
  evidence 
  we 
  have 
  is 
  that 
  furnished 
  by 
  the 
  youngest 
  inter- 
  

   glacial 
  beds 
  of 
  the 
  Baltic 
  coast-lands. 
  It 
  is 
  probable, 
  however, 
  

   that 
  a 
  considerable 
  proportion 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  alluvial 
  deposits 
  of 
  

   Britain 
  and 
  Ireland, 
  which 
  have 
  hitherto 
  been 
  classed 
  as 
  of 
  post- 
  

   glacial 
  age, 
  really 
  belong 
  to 
  this 
  interglacial 
  epoch. 
  Amongst 
  

   these 
  are 
  the 
  clays, 
  etc., 
  with 
  Irish 
  deer, 
  red-deer, 
  etc., 
  which 
  

   underlie 
  the 
  older 
  peat-bogs. 
  In 
  the 
  Baltic 
  area 
  the 
  interglacial 
  

   beds 
  contain 
  in 
  some 
  places 
  arctic 
  forms, 
  in 
  others 
  a 
  temperate 
  

   marine 
  fauna, 
  in 
  yet 
  others 
  they 
  have 
  yielded 
  mammoth, 
  woolly 
  

   rhinoceros, 
  horse, 
  Irish 
  deer, 
  and 
  urus. 
  It 
  is 
  obvious 
  that 
  these 
  beds 
  

   cannot 
  be 
  strictly 
  contemporaneous. 
  Some 
  probably 
  belong 
  to 
  

  

  