29 
same characteristics, but at the same time belonging to two totally different 
periods. I have here a stone which inform is a purely Palaeolithic implement, 
characterized by the rude chipping of the period, and in all its essential 
features it is similar to the implements found in the drift ; but I happen to 
be able to give you the origin of it, for I chipped it myself with a round 
pebble. With regard to Mr. Michell’s argument that has been brought 
forward as to sand having the power of chipping flint, there is 
no doubt that sand does possess a certain polishing power, and in many 
instances, in the case of implements found in sandy beds, they are observed 
to have a very fine polish on their surfaces ; but that polish always follows the 
lines of the chipping by which the implement was originally fashioned ; and 
in the case of the flints exhibited by Mr. Michell, you may see, in some 
instances, the impression of the bulbs of percussion, showing where the 
splinters have been dislodged in the shaping of the implements ; while in 
others you may see the lines of the conchoidal fracture, preserved by the 
action of sand. I think I have now said enough to show what are the views 
held on this subject by myself, views which I think Mr. Whitley has in one 
or two cases misapprehended. 
Mr. Whitley. — I have not the honour of being a member of this Insti- 
tute, but I have brought from Cornwall a great number of the flints which 
you see on the table, and which I have collected during the past ten years. 
I have had the opportunity, in the prosecution of my profession as an 
engineer, of observing the mode in which they are distributed, and the 
extent to which they are deposited over the whole of the south-west of 
England. In addition to this, I have taken a good deal of interest in 
the subject we are discussing, and the result of my investigations has 
been to convince my own mind that a mistake has been made by some 
of our scientific men. With all due respect for the opinions of those 
who differ from me, and for the high and prominent names by which 
this flint implement theory has been supported, I have come to a conclusion 
contrary to that at which they have arrived, and think I have good reason 
on my side for believing that these so-called implements have been formed 
by natural causes, and not by the hand of man. (Hear.) I am more 
accustomed to the field-work of an engineer, than to addressing an audience 
in a room like this, and I trust you will excuse me if I do not refer in detail 
to all that Mr. Evans has said wdth regard to myself ; but I do say most 
confidently, that I have been very careful not to misquote him, and on all 
occasions to refer to my authorities where it has been necessary. If he 
will adduce any instance of a misquotation, I shall at once, with 
the greatest pleasure and sincerity of purpose, acknowledge my error. Mr. 
Evans has done me the honour to refer to the arguments which, simply and 
plainly, I have used against the implement theory. I have observed in my 
paper, and, I believe, on Mr. Evans’s authority and that of Sir John Lubbock, 
that all the implements of the Palaeolithic period are made of flint, and I 
think if I "were to search their works I should be able to certify that this is 
