CONTINUATION. 149 



parts of Europe ; formations which, although 

 they differ in many respects in outward ap- 

 pearance from those of the north, agree, never- 

 theless, with them in their essential character. 

 Like the Spitzbergen glaciers, for instance, those 

 of Switzerland are formed between lofty moun- 

 tains ; they both attain the region of perpetual 

 snow ; and alike owe their sustenance and in- 

 crease to the conversion of snow into ice 



There have been recently published on the 

 Continent several works upon glaciers ;* and the 

 Edinburgh Review, CLL, contains a very in- 

 teresting and learned article on the glacier theory 

 and motion, written in review of those works. 

 We learn from them, that the glacier of the 

 south is of nearly pure ice at the lower ex- 

 tremity ; passes into a granular substance of 

 snow in transition state into ice higher up ; and 

 above that again is bounded by a region of per- 

 petual snow ; " from which," observes the Re- 

 view (on every theory), " the glacier depends 

 in some way or other for its sustenance and in- 

 crease." And, speaking of the neve, or unconso- 

 lidated part of the glacier, we learn that its gra- 

 nular structure results from " the partial thaw to 



* Etudes sur les Glaciers, par M. Agassiz. — Essai sur les 

 Glaciers, par J. de Charpentier. — Theorie des Glaciers de la 

 Savoie, par M. de Chanoine ; and others. 



