﻿74 
  Scientific 
  Intelligence. 
  

  

  existence 
  of 
  sheets 
  of 
  land 
  ice 
  in 
  these 
  latitudes 
  in 
  Pleistocene 
  

   times, 
  cannot 
  be 
  discussed 
  here. 
  But 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  remarked 
  that 
  

   the 
  tendency 
  to 
  eliminate 
  cosmic 
  influences 
  and 
  attribute 
  the 
  

   refrigeration 
  of 
  the 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  continent 
  to 
  geographi- 
  

   cal 
  or 
  terrestrial 
  causes, 
  characteristic 
  of 
  later 
  studies 
  respecting 
  

   glacial 
  phenomena, 
  does 
  not 
  seem, 
  so 
  far, 
  to 
  throw 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  

   of 
  light 
  on 
  the 
  question, 
  and 
  may 
  alter 
  all 
  be 
  only 
  a 
  partial 
  view. 
  

   It' 
  the 
  Glacial 
  Period 
  be 
  wholly 
  due 
  to 
  terrestrial 
  causes, 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  such 
  causes 
  must 
  be 
  largely 
  of 
  a 
  local 
  character 
  appears 
  to 
  

   have 
  been 
  overlooked 
  ; 
  for 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  probable 
  that 
  these 
  causes 
  

   would 
  act 
  synchronously 
  in 
  the 
  whole 
  arctic 
  and 
  north 
  temperate 
  

   zones 
  as 
  far 
  south 
  as 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  the 
  glaciated 
  belt. 
  That 
  

   changes 
  in 
  the 
  elevation 
  of 
  the 
  land, 
  changes 
  in 
  the 
  distribution 
  

   of 
  land 
  and 
  water, 
  changes 
  in 
  the 
  atmospheric 
  and 
  oceanic 
  cur- 
  

   rents, 
  a 
  greater 
  or 
  less 
  amount 
  of 
  moisture 
  and 
  precipitation 
  than 
  

   what 
  now 
  obtains, 
  etc., 
  are, 
  taken 
  together, 
  sufficient 
  to 
  bring 
  

   about 
  a 
  glacial 
  epoch, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  phenomena 
  indicate 
  must 
  have 
  

   existed 
  in 
  Pleistocene 
  times, 
  may 
  be 
  seriously 
  doubted. 
  If 
  it 
  were 
  

   attempted 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  such 
  terrestrial 
  conditions 
  were 
  sufficient 
  

   to 
  produce 
  a 
  glacial 
  area 
  locally, 
  on 
  one 
  side 
  or 
  the 
  other 
  of 
  the 
  

   North 
  American 
  continent, 
  for 
  example, 
  or 
  on 
  both 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  

   North 
  Atlantic, 
  the 
  hypothesis 
  would 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  adequate 
  ; 
  but 
  

   these 
  causes, 
  while 
  competent 
  to 
  produce 
  various 
  local 
  oscillations 
  

   of 
  climate 
  and 
  of 
  glacial 
  conditions, 
  have 
  probably 
  been 
  gov- 
  

   erned 
  or 
  modified 
  by 
  some 
  general 
  law. 
  It 
  is 
  inferentially 
  cer- 
  

   tain., 
  therefore, 
  that 
  any 
  hypothesis 
  based 
  on 
  terrestrial 
  condi- 
  

   tions 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  propounded 
  will 
  have 
  to 
  include 
  such 
  general 
  

   or 
  cosmic 
  influences 
  as 
  to 
  affect 
  simultaneously 
  the 
  whole 
  circum- 
  

   polar 
  and 
  north 
  temperate 
  regions 
  of 
  the 
  earth 
  during 
  Pleisto- 
  

   cene 
  time, 
  otherwise 
  glacial 
  conditions 
  cannot 
  have 
  occurred 
  syn- 
  

   chronously 
  in 
  both 
  hemispheres, 
  or 
  even 
  on 
  both 
  continents. 
  

  

  3. 
  Notes 
  sur 
  la 
  flore 
  cles 
  couches 
  perrniennes 
  de 
  Trienbach 
  

   {Alsace) 
  ; 
  by 
  K. 
  Zeiller. 
  Bull. 
  Soc. 
  Geol. 
  France, 
  III, 
  xxii, 
  1894, 
  

   pp. 
  163-182, 
  pi. 
  viii, 
  ix. 
  — 
  The 
  material 
  collected 
  at 
  Teufelsbrun- 
  

   nen, 
  in 
  the 
  Forest 
  of 
  Honcourt, 
  Alsace, 
  from 
  a 
  thin 
  series 
  of 
  

   shales, 
  sandstones 
  and 
  conglomerates, 
  comprising 
  the 
  "Trienbach 
  

   beds" 
  of 
  Benecke 
  and 
  Van 
  Werveke, 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  by 
  M. 
  

   Zeiller 
  to 
  include 
  forty 
  species 
  of 
  plants. 
  This 
  flora 
  embraces 
  

   ferns, 
  Sphenophylla, 
  Calamarice, 
  Cordaitece, 
  Cycadeoe, 
  Coniferce, 
  

   and 
  Iruits. 
  While 
  the 
  greater 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  are 
  found 
  in 
  

   the 
  upper 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Carboniferous 
  proper, 
  nearly 
  all 
  are 
  known 
  

   to 
  pass 
  up 
  into 
  the 
  Permian. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  several 
  species 
  

   have 
  been 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  characteristic 
  ol 
  the 
  lower 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  

   Permian 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  combined 
  evidence 
  leads 
  Prof. 
  Zeiller 
  to 
  cor- 
  

   relate 
  the 
  Trienbach 
  beds 
  with 
  those 
  at 
  Cusel, 
  Stockheim, 
  and 
  

   Igornay, 
  i. 
  e., 
  the 
  basal 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  Permian. 
  

  

  From 
  the 
  paleontological 
  standpoint 
  this 
  paper 
  is 
  of 
  consider- 
  

   able 
  systematic 
  interest. 
  Thus, 
  from 
  a 
  study 
  of 
  abundant 
  

   material, 
  M. 
  Zeiller 
  is 
  convinced 
  that 
  Twniopteris 
  abnormis, 
  T. 
  

   fallax, 
  and 
  T. 
  multinervis 
  are 
  merely 
  variations 
  and 
  phases, 
  due 
  

  

  