340 DRIFT ICE AS AN ERODING 
Finally some of the most exposed situations show no signs 
of abrasion by floating ice. Such are the Magdalen Islands and 
Labrador, although in the latter place I have made special search 
for such evidence. And though sea-borne ice may be counted 
on as an eroding agent of moderate possibilities, as a factor in 
the production of existing continental striations it can be allowed 
only a very minor position, if indeed it cannot be altogether 
eliminated. 
Transportation of Debris by Sea-borne Ice. 
It has been maintained by some of our foremost geologists, 
that the Grand Banks of Newfoundlaand as well as the banks 
off the Nova Scotia coast are chiefly of sub-Arctic origin. 
Concerning this, questions like the following may arise in the 
mind of aninquirer: If so, where are the moraines, the certain 
results of glacial transportation from the provinces mentioned ? 
What has become of all the debris carried from these provinces 
when the river valleys were excavated, and when they stood at 
a higher level than now 71 Also, is the quantity of material 
brought south equal to the formation of such immense accumu- 
lations ? 
I do not know that any very extended observations have 
been made to find out to what extent this debris is being trans- 
ported. Several observers in the polar regions have noticed 
large quantities of loose stones and earthy matter on pan ice or 
attached to icebergs, notably, Scoresby, Wilkes, and Sir John 
Ross. Based on these statements, many investigators have given 
great prominence to the transporting power of Arctic ice, and 
write as if earth-laden ice was a common sight off the New- 
foundland and Labrador coasts. But of those who have given 
their time to the question, I know of none who have made 
actual observation among the drift ice the basis of their theories. 
Only by getting a fair idea of the quantity of debris remaining 
on the ice toward the close of its long voyage, can a just opinion 
be given of its capabilities as a transporting agent. 
1See papers by W. H. Prest in Transactions of N.S. Institute of Science, 1891-92, 
page 143; 1895-96, page 153. 
