THE LA S T GREA T BALTIC GLA CIER 3 3 5 



Baltic Ridge to the shores of the Baltic Sea, is a younger 

 deposit than the bowlder clay that stretches south from the 

 Baltic Ridge to the valley of the Elbe. Further, I hold that 

 the youngest interglacial beds, which occur between the upper 

 and lower bowlder clays of the Baltic coast lands, are neces- 

 sarily of later date than the interglacial beds which are met with 

 in the regions lying to the south of the Baltic Ridge. Dr. Keil- 

 hack remarks that this is a "false conclusion," by which I sup- 

 pose he means merely that he does not agree with me. It will 

 be time enough, however, to call my conclusions false when he 

 has succeeded in proving that the upper and lower bowlder clays 

 of the Baltic coast lands are of the same age as the upper and 

 lower bowlder clays of the Elbe valley. At present he merely 

 assumes that they are, and expects me to accept his dictum in 

 lieu of direct evidence or reasonable argument. 



Dr. Keilhack further remarks that if I am right in my view 

 that the terminal moraine of the Baltic Ridge defines the southern 

 limits of a distinct glaciation, he cannot understand why each of 

 the other terminal moraines occurring to the north of it may not 

 also represent the edge of the ice during a distinct glacial epoch. 

 "On this basis," he says, "the so-called 'last glacial epoch' 

 would have to be divided into four if not five epochs, so that 

 even the most fanatical advocate for as many glacial periods as 

 possible would be terrified." I am sorry if Dr. Keilhack cannot 

 distinguish any difference between the position and character of 

 the very pronounced terminal moraine of the Baltic Ridge and 

 the distribution and character of the minor moraines of retreat 

 which lie behind it. For myself I have no more difficulty in 

 distinguishing between the two sets of moraines than I have in 

 the case of the morainic ridges of the inner zone of the Alpine 

 paysage morainique. In Britain, just as in the Alpine Vorland 

 and in north Germany, the large moraines of our district- and 

 valley-glaciers are succeeded by numerous smaller moraines 

 of retreat. In North America, also, geologists find no diffi- 

 culty in differentiating between the first zone of great moraines 

 of the Wisconsin formation, which mark the edge of a sep- 



