WSUS, CILASSIIAICAIIOIN, Os OWUTISIKC AN GL NCTA 
DETZOSMS: 
Tue admirable delineation of the glacial deposits of Europe 
presented by Dr. Geikie in the foregoing paper invites a brief 
sketch of the American series for purposes of comparison.* 
Our knowledge of the formations that were deposited during 
the advancing stages of the glacial period in America is 
extremely imperfect. Owing to the erosions of the overriding 
ice and the burial of the residue it is likely always to remain 
meager. There have been found, however, here and there, rem- 
nants of drift which have the appearance of superior age and of 
separateness from the overlying deposits, and which may there- 
fore represent the accumulations of the earlier stages of the gla- 
cial period, but none of these seem as yet entitled to distinct 
recognition. We would appear, therefore, to have nothing which 
can be correlated with confidence with the Scanian horizon of 
Europe, as defined by Dr. Geikie. 
A similar cbservation is to be made respecting the deposits 
of a stage possibly equivalent to the Norfolkian. In some local- 
ities beds of peat and vegetal débris, with accompanying earthy 
deposits, have been found underneath the lowest drift at the points 
in question, but I am not aware that there is any specific ground 
for connecting them immediately with the glacial period. It can 
simply be said of them that they were accumulated earlier than 
? 
™In the recent edition of “‘The Great Ice Age,” an outline of the American glacial 
deposits was given to which the writer begs to refer for some characterizations of the 
members of the series here omitted or abbreviated. In that sketch the names Kansan, 
East Iowan and East Wisconsin were given to the three leading till sheets, as at present 
known, and the Toronto fossil beds were recognized under that name as an important 
interglacial deposit. Other interglacial deposits were not named, nor the latest mem- 
bers of the glacial series, which would be necessary to carry out a complete parallelism 
with the elaborate series of Dr. Geikie. Mr. Upham has made the suggestion that the 
terms East Iowan and East Wisconsin be abbreviated to Iowan and Wisconsin, which 
is cheerfully accepted, so far as it may be done without danger of misunderstanding. 
270 
