A HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



distinct above the Bains de Lavey, and above the 

 village of Monthey at the entrance of the Val d'llliers, 

 where the sides of the valley are less inclined than in 

 many other places. 



"The perched bowlders which are found in the Al- 

 pine valleys, at considerable distances from the glaciers, 

 occupy at times positions so extraordinary that they 

 excite in a high degree the curiosity of those who see 

 them. For instance, when one sees an angular stone 

 perched upon the top of an isolated pyramid, or resting 

 in some way in a very steep locality, the first inquiry 

 of the mind is, When and how have these stones been 

 placed in such positions, where the least shock would 

 seem to turn them over ? But this phenomenon is not 

 in the least astonishing when it is seen to occur also 

 within the limits of actual glaciers, and it is recalled 

 by what circumstances it is occasioned. 



"The most curious examples of perched stones 

 which can be cited are those which command the 

 northern part of the cascade of Pissevache, close to 

 Chaux-Fleurie, and those above the Bains de Lavey, 

 close to the village of Morcles; and those, even more 

 curious, which I have seen in the valley of St. Nicolas 

 and Oberhasli. At Kirchet, near Meiringen, can be seen 

 some very remarkable crowns of bowlders around sev- 

 eral domes of rock which appear to have been projected 

 above the surface of the glacier which surrounded 

 them. Something very similar can be seen around the 

 top of the rock of St. Triphon. 



"The extraordinary phenomenon of perched stones 

 could not escape the observing eye of De Saussure, 

 who noticed several at Salve, of which he described 



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