MEETINGS. 83 



pebbles. In some places the upper and lower patches of peat 

 seem to be separated by compact clay. Again, our studies have 

 proved that the upper peat bed of our coast, which I believe to 

 be the middle one of three, is, wherever found, practically the 

 same. The trees are the same ; the animal bones are the same ; 

 and, moreover, the signs of life, human life I mean, are the same. 

 But of the lowest bed, if one exists, we are practically ignor- 

 ant. Mr. Hocart, our energetic peat worker, is watching for 

 us for an opportunity in the near future of examining the 

 lowest level in l'Ancresse Bay, and no doubt the Geological 

 Section will have some information to impart on this question 

 next year. At present all Ave can do is to tabulate our know- 

 ledge in this way. 



" That there are three levels of peat : — 



1st. — A high deposit resting beneath the marshy land 

 within the sea walls and extending inland, where 

 it is found by excavation in several places on 

 the lowlands. 

 2nd. — That at a lower level a bed exists which, as 

 for example the one worked this year at l'An- 

 cresse, is visible as an outcrop only. 

 3rd. — One many feet lower in the bays, of which at 

 present we know only the fact that it contains 

 the remains of fully grown trees. 

 " The middle bed has been prolific in its yield of bones. 

 As you know, the Society has now a large number of these 

 relics of bygone days. Unfortunately they are much broken, 

 and prevent any approach to a complete skeleton, but through 

 them we know that the bed belongs to Neolithic times, and 

 that it may have flourished as a forest at the time of the 

 building of the Cromlechs. As far as we at present know 

 there is only clay between the beds, so that if at any time the 

 Society could afford to sink from one level to another, there 

 exists no obstacle to the work. Such an excavation would 

 yield valuable results. 



" I have not lost sight of the questions raised by last 

 year's work as to a probable local glaciation of the island, but 

 I feel that the question has not been much advanced. We 

 may hold, however, that our observations have strengthened 

 our hypothesis, for the clay examined during the year, with 

 a view of obtaining evidence on the one side or the other, has 

 confirmed our former results. Clays which yielded pebbles 

 last year have again been found to contain them. I feel sure 

 also that the yellow clays of the upper portion of the island 

 separate, as far as the island is concerned, the Paleolithic 



