S22 The Drift or Boulder Formation. 



the science lias been brought to the greatest degree of perfection, 

 yet there is no system of rocks concerning the precise nature of 

 •whose origin so much doubt remains. It appears to have been 

 produced by operations of nature very different from those under 

 the influence of which the more ancient rocks were accumulated. 

 The regular strata, that may be seen in all the quarries and 

 cliffs of the ordinary sandstones and limestones, the perfection of 

 the organic remains they contain, and the homogenous texture of 

 the consolidated materials, prove that these are nothing more 

 than the beds of sediment quietly, and during long periods of 

 time, deposited on the floors of the oceans, and afterwards, by 

 some process of petrifection, converted into solid stone. But the 

 drift, on the other hand, presents evidence of having been formed 

 during a season when a force of some kind, not yet ascertained 

 to the satisfaction of all investigators, was applied to the northern 

 portion of the planet in such a manner as to grind down the 

 surface, and transport the fragments southward. The real char- 

 acter of that force has been made the subject of a vast deal of 

 discussion, and although it has for many years engaged the 

 attention of the ablest men of the civilized world, yet it may be 

 safely said that no theory has yet been advanced which explains 

 all the phenomena. To those who have not studied the subject this 

 will appear the more remarkable, when it is added that there is 

 abundant proof that the formation is one of the most recent of all, 

 its date being immediately before the creation of the existing spe- 

 cies, so that the unsettled state of the problem places the Geologist 

 in this unpleasant predicament, that while he can boldly and truly 

 answer for events that occurred myriads of ages before the advent 

 of his race, yet when questioned concerning that which comes 

 almost within the period of human history, he must confess his 

 inability to give any but a conjectural reply. That such should 

 be the case, however, is no discredit to the science, but rather a 

 proof that the principles already adopted are the results of mature 

 deliberation. 



As there is scarcely a square mile of the surface of Canada 

 where some portion of the drift cannot be examined, the oppor- 

 tunites for studying it are abundant, but the most favorable locali- 

 ties are where deep excavations have been made for railway or 

 canal purposes. In such places the lower portion of the deposit 

 may be seen to consist of a confused mass of rounded stones of 

 every size, from that of a small pebble to a huge boulder, weighing 



