GROCER SCIENTIST

Evening Star, Issue 17319, 6 April 1920, Page 3

GROCER SCIENTIST

TRIUMPH OYER EXPERTS. Mr B. Harrison, a jovial old grocer geologist of Ightom, has just celebrated his eighty-second birthday. For the past 50 years he has given all his spare lime to exploring the geological possibilities of iho Kentish Downs (says the ‘Daily Express’). Ho has collected and indexed about 5,000 specimens of antique stones and flints. From the shape of his beloved “Eoliths” (relics of a pre-glacial period) he claims that they were fashioned by human hands into tools for various purposes, thus proving the existence of man in some form ■a 1 ; anyl tiling from 200,000 to 900,000 roars ago. The discoveries of the village grocer were

considered sufficiently important to arouse considerable discussion among scientific authorities, and it is characteristic of Mr Harrison that ho enjoyed the scepticism ot some as much as he appreciated ■ the tributes of others. Lord Avebury, who took great interest in idr Harrison’s works, says in his book * Prohistoric Times’: "Mr Harriso.i has found on, the summit of the Kentish Downs near Ightam a certain number of Pahcolithic implcnionis . . and a much larger number o; very rude specimens, «o rude, indeed, that thoir claim to classification ns worked implements is disputed by some high authorities. Many of them are, however, as it seems to me, undoubtedly worked.’’