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probably even more important than the changes in the ocean currents. Finally,
Harmer dealt with the climatic changes that occurred in the Mediterranean region
during the glacial period and argued that the increased temperature gradient in
southern Europe caused a notable increase of storminess in that region which
resulted in torrential rains for which verifiable evidence is available.
In the discussion which followed the reading of Harmer's 1925 paper, his son,
Sir Sidney Harmer, said he was greatly obliged to the Royal Meteorological
Society for asking him to speak, but he must entirely disclaim being a meteo-
rologist. Although he had no scientific contribution to make to the discussion, he
greatly appreciated the acceptance by this Society of his father's last paper. It was
about a subject in which, as he knew from personal experience, his father took a
very great interest from the time when his first paper was published in 1901. The
manuscript was found after Harmer's death amongst a large number of other
manuscripts, most of them incomplete drafts of work in prospect and it had been
found impossible to make use of the majority of them. This paper, however, was in
a more complete and consecutive form and it seemed possible that it might be
considered worthy of publication. Sir Sidney was greatly indebted to Mr Brooks,
who had made very few alterations to the paper, preparing two figures which had
obviously been contemplated and cutting out certain parts which had to be omitted
in view of more recent information on the subject, but had practically left the paper
as Harmer wrote it. There was, he thought, very little doubt that it was intended to
complete the paper, but a large and arduous piece of work, the monograph on the
Pliocene mollusca of Britain, took up the whole of the remainder of his father's
working years and was practically finished at his death. He, Sir Sidney, felt that his
father, if he had lived, would have come back to the subject of the present paper
with the intention of communicating it to the Society.
Sir William Napier Shaw, F.R.S. (1854-1945), Director of the Meteorological
Office from 1905 to 1920, said he was glad to be present because he had often
discussed the subject with Harmer when the latter visited the Meteorological Office,
situated then in Victoria Street, London. Previously, Harmer had expressed his great
indebtedness to Shaw who not only had allowed him to make constant use of the
valuable library at the Meteorological Office but had been kind enough to give him
the benefit of his (Shaw's) experience and of making some important suggestions.
Shaw continued that Harmer used to lay stress on the fact that formerly shells
were deposited in great abundance on the east coast of England, whereas now they
were not at all abundant in this region. Harmer suggested that it was a change in
the condition of the earth and that the cessation of the shell deposits was due to a
variation in the meteorological conditions. In former times, he stated, the beat of
the waves and the mean strength and direction of the wind were towards the east
coast and brought the refuse of the sea there instead of, as now, leaving sand
behind and clearing away the refuse into the North Sea. The wind must have been
from the east when the fossils were deposited whereas now the prevailing wind is
from the west. Then comes this question: if there were a bar across the North
Atlantic which brought land further south by 500 miles or more, would that so alter
the meteorological conditions as to give easterly winds on the east coast of
