GLACIAL OBSERVATIONS. 165 



little doubt that the submerged banks of Newfoundland are 

 covered by deposits of glacial material derived from Labrador, 

 just as northern Germany and northeastern Russia are cov- 

 ered with the waste from the Scandinavian mountains. If 

 the continental plateau surrounding Newfoundland should 

 ever be elevated so as to be again above the sea, it is quite 

 probable that a vast population could spread out upon it and 

 flourish upon the glacial grist of the Labrador mountains, as 

 the southern part of Ontario and tlie northern part of the 

 United States are now rejoicing in the fertility of the Cana- 

 dian grist which has been so conveniently spread over them 

 by the continental ice-sheet. There has been a remarkable 

 movement in Germany recently in the direction of fertilizing 

 the soils by grinding up certain rocks to powder and scatter- 

 ing it profusely over the surface. Eminent men have written 

 to me concerning the feasibility of employing these kinds of 

 fertilizers for our own soils. A convincing reply is readily 

 made — namely, that nature has already done this for the 

 northern part of the United States upon a scale which man 

 cannot hope to equal. Every kind of rock from the north 

 has been brought into requisition to furnish material for this 

 glacial grist in the northern part of the United States, and 

 the agriculturist has but to devise ways to extract its richness 

 and his success is assured. But this process has left the far 

 north barren of agricultural resources, even if the climate 

 were favorable. Professor Helland estimates that as much as 

 two hundred and fifty feet of material has been removed by 

 glacial action from the Scandinavian peninsula and deposited 

 over the surrounding belt of territory extending into north- 

 ern Germany and northwestern Russia. There can be little 

 question that corresponding deposits around both Labrador 

 and Greenland are covered by the waters of the ocean. 



At this point two inevitable questions may best be an- 

 swered. First, were the glaciers of Greenland and those 



