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HA XDWJCKE'S S CIE NC E- GOSSIP. 



the foregoing method proceeded with ; but in the case 

 of the very small Crustacea they may be set up and 

 dried as they are, but it is as well to bear in mind 

 that wherever it is possible the whole of the in- 

 ternal structure should be removed. In conclusion I 

 would recommend that while this is being done, 

 Professor Huxley's splendid work on the cray-fish 

 should be open, and by attempting to make out the 

 various structures by aid of it, what is often a dis- 

 agreeable part of the preparation of Crustacea is thus 

 turned into a very interesting and highly instructive 

 operation. I can only say that I should be very 

 pleased to offer any suggestions or assistance on the 

 above subject to any one desirous of working the 

 Crustacea, and I should be still more pleased to 

 receive any suggestions or assistance myself. 



Holly Mount, Croydon. Edward Lovett. 



OUR MOUNTAINS, AND HOW WE CAME 

 BY THEM. 



By the Rev. J. Clifton-Ward, F.G.S., &c. 



HAVING in thought a series of papers upon 

 "Nooks and Corners of the Lake District," 

 I propose to introduce the subject by some general 

 considerations upon the origin of our mountains as a 

 whole. Many years' residence and work among the 

 hills of Cumberland and Westmoreland have led me to 

 see how very little mountain structure and mountain 

 origin are understood by the visitors to this beautiful 

 district, and as my former duties in connection with 

 H.M. Geological Survey have given me opportuni- 

 ties of knowing the country as perhaps few can 

 know it, I feel it in great part a duty as well as a 

 pleasure to do what I can to give the traveller and 

 happy resident in the district an insight into the 

 history of the Cumbrian hills. I do not purpose to 

 write scientific essays on the subject ; those who 

 want such I would refer to the early papers by Sedg- 

 wick and others, and to my more recent official 

 " Memoir on the Geology of the Keswick District" 

 (or northern part of the English lake district), and 

 Papers communicated to the Geological and other 

 Societies ; but I desire to bring forward in a popular, 

 yet true manner, the leading facts bearing upon the 

 question of the mountain history. 



I find two very common notions prevailing among 

 the unscientific public with regard to mountain 

 origin. Some, who really give the matter no thought, 

 and are but little wont to use their minds, look upon 

 hill and vale as having come into being just as 

 we see them, springing, as it were, into existence 

 by an Almighty fiat. Others talk learnedly of the 

 stupendous upheavals by which this mountain or 

 that mountain group have been produced, and can 

 think of nothing grand in nature but as the result of 

 catastrophes and cataclysms. The few look inquiringly 



on the mountain scarp and rugged or smooth out- 

 line, and wonder longingly whether all this beauty is 

 the result of powers working quickly or slowly, at 

 one time or at all times, or whether the carving and 

 fretting of nature's sculpture is not even now going 

 on ; such, seeking truth from Nature, one of the 

 revelations of the Great Unseen, approach the sub- 

 ject with humility and earnestness, and to them 

 many of the mysteries of nature are unveiled. In 

 such a spirit we will make our mountain study, sure 

 that: 



" Nature never did betray 

 The heart that loved her." 



First let us glance at the district as a whole. It is 

 but a small one. You may start early on a summer's 

 morning from the northern end of the mountain 

 group, and ere nightfall have crossed on foot the 

 whole district, coming out of the mountains about 

 Coniston or Windermere. Or again, starting from 

 the eastern side, in the Haweswater valley, the 

 whole district might be crossed with ease, on foot, to 

 the western limits of the mountains, in a couple of 

 days. 



On the north, one group of mountains, of which 

 Skiddaw and Blencathra are chief, stands out alone, 

 being separated from the main mountain district by 

 the comparatively broad Keswick Vale. The Hel- 

 vellyn range forms a long north and south mountain 

 axis, lying a little east of the true centre of the 

 district as a whole ; and a less regular east and west 

 axis, of which Scafell Pikes form the highest point, 

 divides the country, shedding its water northwards 

 from that shedding southwards. In a general way 

 the whole district may be compared to a low dome, 

 the outline of which may be constructed by joining 

 together the mountain summits, which dome is fur- 

 rowed by deep and narrow valleys radiating to almost 

 all points of the compass, but the country draining 

 northwards is on the whole clearly separated from 

 that draining southwards by a more or less distinct 

 east and west axis or water-shedding line. 



In many parts the valleys are so near to one 

 another that no sooner has the traveller climbed one 

 mountain side and gained the summit, than the 

 descent begins abruptly into the next valley ; in fact, 

 the outline in such parts may be represented by a 

 zigzag line. Here it will be seen that the matter 

 required to fill up the valleys is about equal to 

 that forming the mountains ; we have only to turn 

 such a figure upside down, and we shall see that 

 the valleys answer just as well for mountain outlines, 

 and the mountains then appear as valleys. There 

 are indeed, in some parts, broadish plateaux, but, on 

 the whole, the district is characterized by its mountain 

 concentration, and I suppose there are few countries- 

 of equal area showing so many mountain ridges and 

 peaks and such frequent valley systems. We have 

 here, indeed, a mountain miniature of exquisite finish 

 and detail, and it is this fact which lends so great a 



