404 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
appear in paleeozoic beds in Australia, is represented by the 
jurassic Rhiptozamites in Siberia. 
It is unquestionable that such conclusions, before they can 
be adopted, have to be confirmed by evidence of a still more 
reliable character than the present material for comparison can 
have afforded. 
Returning to the physical conditions under which the surface 
of our globe has been formed and is still forming, I may here 
point out that since Evolution has been adopted by most scien- 
tific men as a beacon to guide them to truth, the greater portion 
of the so-called uniformitarian school of geologists, following in 
the footseps of Lyell, has become somewhat modified in its views 
and may now be called the evolutional school. But let me hasten 
to add that Lyell himself, with his great love for truth, may be 
claimed as one of its first disciples, he having reviewed his own 
writings by the light Darwin held up to us, which is sure to 
advance Geology even more than we can at present realise. 
There is one question of great importance, in the solving of 
which both the geologist and the palzontologist have to go hand 
in hand with the archeologist. There is no doubt that ‘the 
human race existed already in pliocene times; and if we can 
trust the reports of discoveries in Portugal and other portions 
of Southern Europe, man may have lived as early as the miocene 
age. 
However, we want further and clearer evidence before this 
latter view can be adopted. If we consider the enormous space 
of time that separates us from our first ancestors, the oldest his- 
torical facts preserved seem to us as of to-day ; and taking into 
account the wonderful progress the human race has made from 
the condition of the cave dwellers, with their rude stone imple- 
ments, to our present state of civilization, we ought to look 
proudly upon the position mankind has attained. And we can 
therefore scarcely conceive the high degree of perfection, both 
physically and mentally, the human race may reach in future. 
Although, as far as our researches go, the autochthones of 
New Zealand cannot boast of great antiquity when compared 
with the inhabitants of ;the Northern Hemisphere or of the 
tropical regions, there is nevertheless strong reason to believe 
that this country has*been inhabited for a much longer time than 
was formerly generally assumed. 
It is, however, possible that some of the traces we have 
hitherto found of the oldest occupancy of these Islands may 
have been left behind by occasional visitors, adventurers in 
search of new countries, or by crews of wrecked ships coming 
from distant shores. 
But we have only begun to examine these questions; and 
although, as is always the case, the wiseacres will first shake 
their heads, if our researches are only continued without fear 
and without preconceived conclusions, we may be certain that 
valuable results will be in store for us. 
The existence of Loess-beds, often of considerable thickness, | 
