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Article THE SAVANS IN SCOTLAND. ← Page 2 of 4 →
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The Savans In Scotland.
General committee of the association , it was afterwards extended to life members of the association , to gentlemen who had read papers during the late meeting of the body , and to the officers of sections—precaution being , however , taken by the executive of the association that the entire number to whom invitations were issued should not exceed two hundred . It
is not oelieved that this limitation was at the command eleven the desire of her majesty or his royal highness the Prince Consort . It is supposed to have been the act of the council of the learned society to which this distinguished honour was paid , who apprehended that at so short a notice sufficient posting accommodation could not be hacl to convey more than two hundred from Banchory , where the Deeside
Railway ends , to Balmoral , a distance of thirty-three miles . This was , however , a mistake . A larger number might have been carried down ou similar terms to those charged by the association for the conveyance ofthe members to whom they hacl distributed invitations . At all events , parties might have gone by the ordinary public conveyancesor by vehicles hired
, on their own account ; ancl there can be no doubt that the limitation and the mode of distribution fixed upon . by __ the council gave rise to much discontent amongst the general bodv of members . The catcs of Balmoral were thrown onen
with royal hospitality on the occasion , and all who entered , even the most humble , were regaled with right royal abundance . At two o ' clock a splendid breakfast was partaken of by the guests , and shortly afterwards her majesty accompanied by her husband and children joined the party ; and gave the signal for the commencement of the Highland games ivhich she hacl ordered for the amusement of her visitors . The
scene was a very striking one , the presence of three Hi g hland claus contributing not a little to the picturesque and feudal character of the assemblage—these were the Duff Hi ghlanders under their chief the Earl of Eif ' o , the Farquharsons , commanded by Colonel Farquharson of Invercauld , and the Forbes clan under Sir Charles of that ilk . The athletic games which have been so laudably revived and patronized
by the sovereign of late years were never shown to greater advantage , and tossing the caber , putting the stone , throwing the hammer , sword play , dancing , et hoc yenus omne were performed with enormous gusto and as much to the satisfaction of the guests as the exhibitors . At half-past live the Queen left the company , which was
the signal for the party to break up after a most deli ghtful day : the weather was somewhat showery but that meteorological phase appeared to be generally accepted as a necessary adjunct to the Highland scenery , and umbrellas were treated with the contempt which they deserved . After sundry refreshings by the way , the wandering men of learning arrived safely at Aberdeen at one o ' clock in the morning , and thus ended the congress of the British Association for 1859 .
Among the numerous valuable contributions which were I'ead before the association there are two of a particularl y interesting character which we have transferred to our own columns . These are Sir Charles Lyell ' s view of the present state of geological science and Mr . Laurence Oliphant ' s observations on the island of Japan .
Oxford and Manchester contend for the honour of entertaining the British Association next year . Oxford is the chosen , with the preferential reservation in favour of the Lancashire city for next year . Lord Wrottesley is to be the President . The following will assist him as Vice-Presidents : lhe Chancellor of the University of Oxford ; the Rev . the of the of the
^ ice-Chancellor University Oxford ; Duke of -Marlboroug h ; the Earl of Rosse ; the Bishop of Oxford ; the Dean of Christ Church ; C . Daubcny , Esq ., M . D . ; H . W . Ackland , Esq ., M . D . ; W . F . Dinkins , Esq . Major general Sabine has withdrawn from the office of Secretary . J ^ i'of . . Talker has been elected General Secretary . It is
proposed to hold the session next year nearly three months earlier—that is , in June instead of September .
SIK Cir . VRLES LYELL ON GEOLOGICAL . SCIEXCK . No subject has lately excited more curiosity and general interest among geologists and the public than the question of the antiquity of the human race ; whether or no we have sufficient evidence to prove the former co-existence of man with certain extinct mammalia , in caves or in the superficial deposits commonly called drift or " diluvium . " For the last quarter of a century ,
the occasional occurrence , in various parts of Europe , of the bones of man or the works of his hands , in cave-breccias ancl stalactites associated with the remains of the extinct hyjena , bear , elephant , or rhinoceros , have given rise to a suspicion that the date of man must be carried further buck than ive had heretofore imagined . On the other hand , extreme reluctance was naturally felt on the part of scientific reasoners to admit the validity of such evidence ,
seeing that so man ) - caves have been inhabited by a succession of tenants , ancl have been selected by man , as a place not only of domicile , but of sepulture , while some caves have also served as the channels through ivhich the waters of flooded rivers have flowed , so that the remains of living beings ivhich have peopled the district at more than one era may have subsequently been mingled in such caverns and confounded together in one ancl the
same deposit . -Sflic facts , however , recently brought to light during the systematic investigation , as reported on by Falconer , of the Bvixham Cave , must , I think , have prepared yen to admit that scepticism in regard to the cave evidence in favour of the antiquity of man had previously been pushed to au extreme . To escape from what I now consider was a legitimate deduction from the facts alread
y accumulated , wc were obliged to resort to hypotheses requiring great changes in the relative levels and drainage of valleys ; and , in short , the whole physical geography of the respective regions where the caves are situated—changes that would alone imply a remote antiquity for the human fossil remains , and make it
probable that man ' was old enough to have co-existed , at least , with the Siberian mammoth . But , iu the course of the last fifteen years , another class of proofs have been advanced in France in confirmation of man's antiquity , into two of which I have personally examined in the course of the present summer , and to ivhich I . shall noiv briefly advert . First , so long ago as the year 18-1-1 , M . Aymarci , an account of
eminent paleontologist and antiquary , published an the discovery in the volcanic district of Central France , of portions of two human skeletons ( the skulls , teeth , ancl bones ) , imbedded iu a volcanic breccia , found in the mountain of Dcnise , in the environ :, of Lc Buy en Velay , a breccia anterior in date to one , at least , of the latest eruptions of that volcanic mountain On the opposite side ofthe same hill , the remains of a large number of have been detected in
mammalia , most of them of extinct species , tuiheeous strata , believed , and I think correctly , to be of the same age . The authenticity of the human fossils was from , the first disputed by several geologists , but admitted by the majority of those who visited Lc Buy and saw , with their own eyes , the original specimen now- in the museum of that town . Among others , M . Pictet , so well knoAvn to you by his excellent work on Pahcontology , declared after his visit to the spot his adhesion to the opinions previously expressed by Ayniard .
My friend , Mr . Scrope , in the second edition of his Volcanoes of Central France , lately published , also adopted the same conclusion , although after accompanying me this year to Le Puy , he has seen reason to modify his views . The result of our joint examination—a result ivhich , I believe , essentially coincides with that arrived at by MM . Hebcrt and Lartet , names well _ known to science , who have also this year gone into this inquiry on the b to
spot—may thus be stated . AVe arc y no means prepared maintain that the specimen in the museum at Le Puy ( which unfortunately was never seen iu situ by any scientific observer ) is a fabrication . On the contrary , ive incline to believe that the human fossils in this ancl sonic other specimens from the same hill , ivere really imbedded by natural causes in their present matrix . But the rock in which they arc entombed consists of tivo parts , thinllaminated
one of ivhich is a compact / and for the most part y stone , into ivhich none of the human bones . penetrate ; the other containing the bones is a lig hter ancl much more porous stone , without lamination , to ivhich ive could find nothing similar in the mountain of Denise , although both M . Hebcrt ancl I made several excavations on the alleged site ofthe fossils . M . Hebcrt therefore suggested to me that this more porous stone , ivhich resembles in colour ancl mineral composition , though not in structure , parts of the genuine old breccia of Denise , may he made up of the older
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Savans In Scotland.
General committee of the association , it was afterwards extended to life members of the association , to gentlemen who had read papers during the late meeting of the body , and to the officers of sections—precaution being , however , taken by the executive of the association that the entire number to whom invitations were issued should not exceed two hundred . It
is not oelieved that this limitation was at the command eleven the desire of her majesty or his royal highness the Prince Consort . It is supposed to have been the act of the council of the learned society to which this distinguished honour was paid , who apprehended that at so short a notice sufficient posting accommodation could not be hacl to convey more than two hundred from Banchory , where the Deeside
Railway ends , to Balmoral , a distance of thirty-three miles . This was , however , a mistake . A larger number might have been carried down ou similar terms to those charged by the association for the conveyance ofthe members to whom they hacl distributed invitations . At all events , parties might have gone by the ordinary public conveyancesor by vehicles hired
, on their own account ; ancl there can be no doubt that the limitation and the mode of distribution fixed upon . by __ the council gave rise to much discontent amongst the general bodv of members . The catcs of Balmoral were thrown onen
with royal hospitality on the occasion , and all who entered , even the most humble , were regaled with right royal abundance . At two o ' clock a splendid breakfast was partaken of by the guests , and shortly afterwards her majesty accompanied by her husband and children joined the party ; and gave the signal for the commencement of the Highland games ivhich she hacl ordered for the amusement of her visitors . The
scene was a very striking one , the presence of three Hi g hland claus contributing not a little to the picturesque and feudal character of the assemblage—these were the Duff Hi ghlanders under their chief the Earl of Eif ' o , the Farquharsons , commanded by Colonel Farquharson of Invercauld , and the Forbes clan under Sir Charles of that ilk . The athletic games which have been so laudably revived and patronized
by the sovereign of late years were never shown to greater advantage , and tossing the caber , putting the stone , throwing the hammer , sword play , dancing , et hoc yenus omne were performed with enormous gusto and as much to the satisfaction of the guests as the exhibitors . At half-past live the Queen left the company , which was
the signal for the party to break up after a most deli ghtful day : the weather was somewhat showery but that meteorological phase appeared to be generally accepted as a necessary adjunct to the Highland scenery , and umbrellas were treated with the contempt which they deserved . After sundry refreshings by the way , the wandering men of learning arrived safely at Aberdeen at one o ' clock in the morning , and thus ended the congress of the British Association for 1859 .
Among the numerous valuable contributions which were I'ead before the association there are two of a particularl y interesting character which we have transferred to our own columns . These are Sir Charles Lyell ' s view of the present state of geological science and Mr . Laurence Oliphant ' s observations on the island of Japan .
Oxford and Manchester contend for the honour of entertaining the British Association next year . Oxford is the chosen , with the preferential reservation in favour of the Lancashire city for next year . Lord Wrottesley is to be the President . The following will assist him as Vice-Presidents : lhe Chancellor of the University of Oxford ; the Rev . the of the of the
^ ice-Chancellor University Oxford ; Duke of -Marlboroug h ; the Earl of Rosse ; the Bishop of Oxford ; the Dean of Christ Church ; C . Daubcny , Esq ., M . D . ; H . W . Ackland , Esq ., M . D . ; W . F . Dinkins , Esq . Major general Sabine has withdrawn from the office of Secretary . J ^ i'of . . Talker has been elected General Secretary . It is
proposed to hold the session next year nearly three months earlier—that is , in June instead of September .
SIK Cir . VRLES LYELL ON GEOLOGICAL . SCIEXCK . No subject has lately excited more curiosity and general interest among geologists and the public than the question of the antiquity of the human race ; whether or no we have sufficient evidence to prove the former co-existence of man with certain extinct mammalia , in caves or in the superficial deposits commonly called drift or " diluvium . " For the last quarter of a century ,
the occasional occurrence , in various parts of Europe , of the bones of man or the works of his hands , in cave-breccias ancl stalactites associated with the remains of the extinct hyjena , bear , elephant , or rhinoceros , have given rise to a suspicion that the date of man must be carried further buck than ive had heretofore imagined . On the other hand , extreme reluctance was naturally felt on the part of scientific reasoners to admit the validity of such evidence ,
seeing that so man ) - caves have been inhabited by a succession of tenants , ancl have been selected by man , as a place not only of domicile , but of sepulture , while some caves have also served as the channels through ivhich the waters of flooded rivers have flowed , so that the remains of living beings ivhich have peopled the district at more than one era may have subsequently been mingled in such caverns and confounded together in one ancl the
same deposit . -Sflic facts , however , recently brought to light during the systematic investigation , as reported on by Falconer , of the Bvixham Cave , must , I think , have prepared yen to admit that scepticism in regard to the cave evidence in favour of the antiquity of man had previously been pushed to au extreme . To escape from what I now consider was a legitimate deduction from the facts alread
y accumulated , wc were obliged to resort to hypotheses requiring great changes in the relative levels and drainage of valleys ; and , in short , the whole physical geography of the respective regions where the caves are situated—changes that would alone imply a remote antiquity for the human fossil remains , and make it
probable that man ' was old enough to have co-existed , at least , with the Siberian mammoth . But , iu the course of the last fifteen years , another class of proofs have been advanced in France in confirmation of man's antiquity , into two of which I have personally examined in the course of the present summer , and to ivhich I . shall noiv briefly advert . First , so long ago as the year 18-1-1 , M . Aymarci , an account of
eminent paleontologist and antiquary , published an the discovery in the volcanic district of Central France , of portions of two human skeletons ( the skulls , teeth , ancl bones ) , imbedded iu a volcanic breccia , found in the mountain of Dcnise , in the environ :, of Lc Buy en Velay , a breccia anterior in date to one , at least , of the latest eruptions of that volcanic mountain On the opposite side ofthe same hill , the remains of a large number of have been detected in
mammalia , most of them of extinct species , tuiheeous strata , believed , and I think correctly , to be of the same age . The authenticity of the human fossils was from , the first disputed by several geologists , but admitted by the majority of those who visited Lc Buy and saw , with their own eyes , the original specimen now- in the museum of that town . Among others , M . Pictet , so well knoAvn to you by his excellent work on Pahcontology , declared after his visit to the spot his adhesion to the opinions previously expressed by Ayniard .
My friend , Mr . Scrope , in the second edition of his Volcanoes of Central France , lately published , also adopted the same conclusion , although after accompanying me this year to Le Puy , he has seen reason to modify his views . The result of our joint examination—a result ivhich , I believe , essentially coincides with that arrived at by MM . Hebcrt and Lartet , names well _ known to science , who have also this year gone into this inquiry on the b to
spot—may thus be stated . AVe arc y no means prepared maintain that the specimen in the museum at Le Puy ( which unfortunately was never seen iu situ by any scientific observer ) is a fabrication . On the contrary , ive incline to believe that the human fossils in this ancl sonic other specimens from the same hill , ivere really imbedded by natural causes in their present matrix . But the rock in which they arc entombed consists of tivo parts , thinllaminated
one of ivhich is a compact / and for the most part y stone , into ivhich none of the human bones . penetrate ; the other containing the bones is a lig hter ancl much more porous stone , without lamination , to ivhich ive could find nothing similar in the mountain of Denise , although both M . Hebcrt ancl I made several excavations on the alleged site ofthe fossils . M . Hebcrt therefore suggested to me that this more porous stone , ivhich resembles in colour ancl mineral composition , though not in structure , parts of the genuine old breccia of Denise , may he made up of the older