74 THE OtTrawA NATURALIST. [June 
glaciation of Mount Orford seem to be, 1st, that he did not see 
any himself ; 2nd, that Professor Hitchcock—in short, like Czesar’s 
untrustworthy lieutenant, reported ‘‘ pro viso quod non vidisset”’; 
3rd, that the writer, not being a glacialist, would not know what 
he saw, or be able to reason from it correctly if he did. 
To the soft impeachment against himself the writer may be 
excused from reply. But to the suggestion that Professor Hitch- 
cock reported what he did not see, it is only just to say that Dr. 
Chalmers omits to mention a very important part of that gentle- 
man’s observations. In order to remove any doubt as to the 
source of the boulders which he found on the higher portions of 
Mount Orford, Professor Hitchcock submitted a specimen for 
lithologic determination to Dr. F. D. Adams of McGill University, 
who found it to bea Laurentian erratic which must have come from 
the north side of the St.. Lawrence river. Yet, Dr. Chalmers 
makes no reference to this in his criticism of Professor Hitch- 
cock’s article. Had he, on the other hand, exercised equal care 
to inform himself of the character of the loose rock material on 
the summit of the mountain, Dr. Chalmers doubtless would never 
have reached his present conclusion, Serpentine from the north- 
western base of the mountain, slates from the palzozoic rocks 
beyond, and Laurentian gneiss are so plentiful that any ordinarily 
careful observer cannot but see them. The soil which supports 
the scanty timber growth contains a large admixture of drift. A 
petregraphic study of the mountain made by the writer a few years 
ago did not show a noticeably greater decomposition in surface 
specimens from the top, than from the base, of the mountain. 
Therefore, until Dr. Chalmers has other evidence than he has 
yet adduced, the writer, while always open to conviction by in- 
formation, must respectfully decline to accept his present views 
on the subject. 
Yours respectfully, 
Joun A. DRESSER. 
St. Henri de Montreal, May 17, 1905. 
