278 “James D. Hardy—Glacial Submergence. 
What is the evidence with which we have to deal? Beyond the 
deposits of shell and sand at 1500 feet O.D. there are the remains of 
glaciers from the Cumberland Hills and Snowdonia—also the Scotch 
glaciers; of great boulders removed for some.miles from the parent 
rocks, evidently the work of icebergs. Beyond this there are the 
great masses of Boulder-clays and Crags on the East coast. The 
Scotch hills bear evidence of Ice action, but not necessarily an Ice- 
cap—in fact their scorings on the high levels and the roches moutonnes 
of the Lowlands point to moving ice as the cause. Floe-ice probably 
of great thickness floating away from the higher hills towards the 
lower—or following the outlet stream. 
Now if we look to the South Polar regions, even at the present 
time, we have quite sufficient evidence to guide us to a proper 
appreciation of the condition of Britain during the last Ice-age; we 
see there an accumulation of ice and snow down to the 55° parallel 
(at least). This is entirely surrounded by water. What is the 
probable thickness of the ice at the South Pole? Taking an angle 
of only half a degree at 50° south will give us twelve miles at the 
Pole. We have only to read Nansen’s “Journey across Greenland ” 
to see that it does not require 40° of latitude to give a thickness of ice 
and snow sufficient to cover the highest hills of that country, but 
only 1000 miles, though this ice is the remains to some extent, of 
the last glacial period. We are thus justified in assuming that at 
the extreme of the glacial epoch, the ice at the North Pole was of 
the same depth as at the South Pole at the present time. We also 
find that the level of the water is maintained equally at the edge of 
both the northern and southern ice. ‘This is the great factor of my 
theory respecting the conditions presented over Hngland and Scot- 
land. 'Transposing the positions, we have an ice-cap reaching as far 
south as the northern part of Scotland and the water rising level to it. 
If the ice-caps at the Poles were 12 miles thick then the water (at 
4° angle) would be 2000 feet deep over the central parts of England. 
This is the submergence dear to geologists, but no depression of 
land is required. Icebergs breaking away from the edge of the ice- 
cap would carry any of the boulders we see, and the floe-ice, as the 
water decreased in depth as the glacial period was passing away, 
would cause all the scoring and smoothings everywhere observed. 
The glaciers and moraines express the last of the ice action after the 
water had left the land, but while it was still under the influence of 
a cold period. 
As I referred to the southern pole as being now under the influ- 
ence of an ice-cap, it shows that it is not necessary to bring Dr. 
Croll’s theory of the lengthening out of the orbit to cause a glacial 
period, as the orbit at the present time is as nearly circular as it can 
be; but that such is simply due to the proportion of winter days to 
summer days (166 to 199), and the action of the sun on the ice-sheet 
during the latter term (vide Nansen again). 
I now come to the crus of this argument, viz., the rise and fall of 
the water. For some years I have been very much puzzled to account 
for this. It was evident to me that water covered the land; but 
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