123 



almost certain that a line of ice-shed extended from thereabouts 

 across the Sohvay into Kirkcudbright : the ice to the north-east of 

 that line moving mainly north eastward and eastward, while to the 

 south-west it moved parallel to the general trend of the English coast, 

 along a course determined by the line of least resistance between 

 the local ice pressing seaward from the Lake District, and the 

 extraneous ice constantly tending to move inland, in a south-easterly 

 direction. Under the influence of this stream vast quantities of 

 detritus from the Lake District, as well as from Galloway, was trans- 

 ported in a south-south-easterly direction — always tending to press 

 inland — past Liverpool and Manchester, and on to the coast of 

 North Wales. Here the northern stream seems to have been 

 diverted into two branches, probably, as Mr. Strahan has shewn, 

 by the outward -pressing masses of ice from the Welsh hills. One 

 of these branches went inland, and seems to have gone over the 

 low ground south of Chester, spreading out to the east certainly as 

 far as Stafford, where I have found an abundance of recognizable 

 detritus derived from Galloway and West Cumberland. The map 

 appended may serve to make these complex movements more 



intelligible. (See the map at the end of this article. ) 



Glacial Distribution of Boulders. — In dealing with the causes 

 that have led to the distribution of boulders in the position they 

 naturally occupy at the present day, many difficulties are met with. 

 Some of these may conveniently be discussed here. One of the 

 most important points to bear in mind in discussing this part of 

 the subject is that the initial direction of transportal of many 

 boulders, as well as their movements in later times, may often have 

 been very different from what they were during the last movements 

 of the ice, which, of course, were usually the movements that left 

 the boulders in the position they now occupy. The distribution 

 of Shap Granite boulders well exemplifies this. These may have 

 been moved, first, by purely local glaciers, say down the valley of 

 the Lowther; secondly, under a more extensive and prolonged 

 system of glaciation when the whole of Edenside was filled with 

 ice moving toward the Solway, they may have been left in terminal 



