670 



thc littoral shells at great ocean depths, do not really occur there 

 in great quantilies, but are very much scattered (»surprisingly few«); 

 moreover, that of the samples of the deposits of the sea bottom, 

 brought home by the »Ingolf« expedition, and investigated by him, 

 those taken from the sea bottom between Iceland and Jan Maven 

 are pure deep sea deposits, and when notwithstanding this, lilloral 

 shells occur there, they must have been deposited at a compara- 

 tively recent period, transported thither somehow or other — he 

 thinks, most possibly by the agency of iloating ice, the latter 

 being also able to transport, e. g. shells from r ais ed shell banks 

 from around the walers in question. On the other hånd, the 

 surface of the ridge between Iceland and the Færoes, which is 

 entirely covered with loosely lying deposits, indicates a typical area 

 of depression; but this naturally gives no idea as regards the time 

 when this assumed depression took place. 



Everything considered, I must conclude therefore that the littoral 

 shells at great depths cannot by any means be said to testify or 

 give evidence of the faet, that the areas in question have previously 

 lain higher. Consequently they cannot testify to the existence of a 

 post-glacial land connection. 



As yet it is somewhat difficult to find evidences against the 

 existence of a land connection, but it appears to me that one may 

 be obtained from the fauna of the Færoes. It contained ori- 

 ginally no wild terrestrial mammals, neither foxes, hares, moles, 

 nor mice - - hares have been inlroduced 1 , and also quite lately 

 grouse. If a land connection had existed after the glacial period 

 we might wonder why the greater part of these animals had not 

 migrated thither from Scotland. Mr. H.Winge kindly tells me that 

 grouse are met with in the Orkneys and Hebrides, and the field 

 mouse (no doubt involuntarily introduced by man) occurs in the 

 Scottish islands in peculiar races, a faet which has »doubtless 

 wrongly« been taken for an evidence of the existence of a recent 

 land connection between these islands and Scotland. 



Moreover, the faet that neither reptiles nor toads are found in 

 the Færoes may also be mentioned here. 



From the flora also, evidences may unquestionably be ihawn 

 against the existence of a post-glacial land connection. I have nol, 

 however, investigated on what points the flora of the Færoes is 

 deficient lo thai of Scotland, as I am of opinion thai the results 



1 See, e.g. Knud Andersen: Videnskab. Meddelelser 1898, p. :\22. 



