GAEL VON LINNE AS A GEOLOGIST NATHORST. 715 



There was no further reference to the subject, but Linne mentions 

 the matter again in the lecture previously referred to : 



In the mountains of Dalecarlia and Vala Mountain, where Palm Peak ad- 

 joins Grofvel Lake, the eastern part of the mountain is grooved and polished, 

 sure signs of wave action. 



This observation was certainl}^ remarkable, as Grofvel Lake, situ- 

 ated on the border line between Dalecarlia and Norway, is 791 meters 

 above sea level. * * * 



Not until 1890 was the true explanation found, * * * Tlie truth 

 is that Grofvel Lake lies where the inland ice — because of the fact 

 that the gathering ground of the glacier lay to the east of the water- 

 shed, and because of the fact that the glacier moved toward the latter, 

 i. e,, from a low^er to a higher level — dammed many lakes and river 

 valleys and formed lakes, the existence of which has become known 

 only by the old shore lines high ujd on the mountain sides, * * * 



As is well known, the journey to the islands of Oland and Gotland 

 was undertaken in 1741. His route took him from Stockholm, 

 through Siidermannia, Ostrogothia, and Smalamd, to the town of 

 Kalmar, whence he sailed for the islands, * * * 



It was in these islands of the Baltic that Linne was to find the most 

 unmistakable traces of a former higher elevation of the water. He 

 observed the raised beach on the eastern shore of Oland and how it 

 was blotted out in places and could be recognized only by stone and 

 gravel formations. On the northwestern side of the island he no- 

 ticed how — 



the sea was throwing up small dunes, about 20 yards wide and a few yards 

 high, a' short distance from the main beach, and composed mostly of large 

 stones, here and there consolidated by an accumulation of sediment. It can 

 thus be seen that the laud is still increasing and that new beaches are con- 

 stantly being formed. 



From the northern point of Oland another instance may be quoted : 



The Fields of Neptune is a good name for the stretch of land which extends 

 along the coast for nearly a mile from Torp. It is about as wide as the range 

 of an ordinary gunshot, and several such in length. This ground looked like 

 the ordinary cultivated fields of Skane and Upland, where there are numerous 

 drainage ditches; indeed the likeness was so great that one might even be 

 tempted to insist that only the plow could have created such an effect. But, 

 upon close inspection, it was found to be composed almost entirely of finely 

 ground flint gravel cast inland by the storms and waves of the sea. When the 

 water retreated, the ground closely resembled a plowed field. 



Although he does not state whether the ridges ran parallel with the 

 coast, the description evidently refers to several terracelike beaches 

 at various heights, such as Linne later described from Gotland. 

 These " Fields of Neptune " are referred to in the Q^conomia Natursa 

 (1749) as an example of places where the sea formerly raged. Pro- 



