334 DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE SURVEY CHAP, x 



a chapter of my Survey Memoir on N. Wales ; but I 

 shall first send it to the Geological Society. 30^. 

 I have finished my Jolly Miller chapter [on the origin 

 of the River Dee]. The results rather astound myself 

 about the extremely early date of the river. It has 

 been running so long that the Rhine is a baby to it 

 in age.' 



He had on hand at this time a number of geolo- 

 gical memoirs bearing on his favourite topic of the 

 origin of the superficial contours of the land. The 

 paper on 'How Anglesey became an Island' was 

 read before the Geological Society on the igth January 

 1876, and that upon the River Dee upon the 26th 

 April following. Then he was busy during the winter 

 partly on the new edition of the Welsh Memoir, and 

 partly on a revised and enlarged edition of his little 

 volume on The Physical Geology and Geography of 

 Great Britain. He still also fired an occasional shot 

 in defence of his theory of the glacial origin of lake- 

 basins. We resume the extracts from his correspond- 

 ence. 



On the 26th January 1876 he wrote to me : ' My 

 Dee paper only went in [to the Geological Society] last 

 Saturday, and therefore is not likely to be read for 

 a month or two, in the time of the new President, 

 Dr. Duncan, who assumes office on the igth February. 

 Austen would not take it, and there is no doubt that 

 Duncan is the next best man. Evans's selection of 

 him gives general satisfaction. 



' We are very deficient in volcanic rocks in England 

 and Wales, excepting those of Lower Silurian date. 

 These are all younger than the Tremadoc Slates, 

 and begin in the Arenig series (Lower Llandeilo of 

 Murchison). If, as I have said, the red Cambrian 



