348 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF THE GLACIAL EPOCH. 



most authentic dictum on the subject in question may be found in Her- 

 mann's " Reisen in Indien und Hochasien."* In this work the author 

 makes the following statement : " In speaking of the meteorological con- 

 ditions I shall have occasion to show that not only has thei'e never been any 

 trace [keine Spur] of a general period of former much larger ice masses ; 

 but that also those of the glaciers of High Asia which descend lowest 

 actually do at the present time reach a lower limit — the climatic conditions 

 in which they occur being taken into consideration — than do those of the 

 Alps."t 



The above-stated opinion of Hermann von Schlagintweit seems to be in 

 considerable measure confirmed by the most recent publication of the Chief 

 of Indian Geological Survey, Mr. Medlicott, who says : " The effects, real or 

 imputed, of glacial action on the Alps and elsewhere are so prodigious, that, 

 after accepting some clear cases, such as those quoted in Sikkim and Kash- 

 mir, of old moraines at elevations of only 6,000 to 8,000 feet, one is surprised 

 to find that traces of glaciation are not more conspicuous elsewhere in the 

 Himalayas at vastly greater elevations, in Tibet. At least, but slight men- 

 tion is made of those traces by very competent observers. Dr. Stoliczka may 

 be said to have ignored the subject. Colonel Godwin-Austen, who surveyed 

 the highest regions of Western Tibet, and who from the first paid attention 

 to geological features, only makes casual mention of glacial extension, gen- 

 erally in its least certain form — that of presumed erratics; and Mr. Drew, 

 Avho enjoyed such exceptional opportunities of studj'ing the ground, and 

 who paid particular attention to this subject, as is proved by his admirable 

 account of the superficial deposits of Western Tibet, makes less distinct 

 mention of glacier extension here than at much lower elevations to the 



south On the whole the published descriptions of Tibetan regions are 



not what might be expected, had the ground been deeply covered by ice, as 

 would surd// have been the case at a time when on the southern side glaciers reached 

 so low as 7,000 feet." t 



In regard to the climatic conditions and former greater development of 

 the glaciers in the southern and southeastern portions of the Himalayan 

 Range the same authority remarks as follows : •• It has already been stated 

 that there is, in Peninsular India, so far as is known, no physical evidence of 



* Eeisen in Indien und Hochasien, by Hermann von Schlagintweit, Four volumes, Jena, 1869-80. 



t 1. c. Vol. HI. p. 270. 



t A Manual of the Geology of India, Calcutta, 1S79. Vol. II. pp. 669, 670. 



