Obituary—JTames William Davis. 427 
rivers as the Jokulsa, but it would be strange if glaciers, twelve 
miles wide, did not produce such results by mere surface erosion. 
The wonder is they bring so little. But of this the probable ex- 
planation is the gentle fall—which I have ascertained to be about 
100 feet per mile of progress in the case of the Breithamerkr—and 
the few uncovered ridges or peaks from which material may fall upon 
the ice. Frepx. W. W. Hows tt. 
10, HanpswortH Woop Road, BirmMinGHAM, 
July 14th, 1898. 
(Gu SEAM Oy yA Sy So 
JAMES WILLIAM DAVIS, F.L.S., F.G.S., F.S.A. 
Born Aprit 15, 1846. Drep Jury 21, 1893. 
Ir is with deep regret that we announce the death of Mr. James 
Wm. Davis, of Chevinedge, Halifax, at the comparatively early age 
of 47. A Yorkshireman of fine physique and robust constitution, 
endowed with apparently unlimited energy, the sad news of his 
loss has come as an unexpected shock to his large circle of friends 
both at home and abroad. His more intimate acquaintances were 
aware that a slight injury to a blood-vessel in the brain caused his 
retirement from active life for a few weeks last autumn; and they 
further learned with sorrow that a recurrence of the same malady 
last March necessitated a still longer period of rest at the little 
village of Grassington, in North Yorkshire. His letters, however, 
were cheerful, only marred by some feebleness in the handwriting, 
and when he returned to his seaside residence at Bridlington about 
the end of June, there were hopeful signs of speedy recovery. 
Mr. Davis’ eagerness to fulfil his municipal duties at Halifax, 
however, led to an unwise visit to the town of which he was for 
the third time Mayor. The fatigue and unwonted excitement 
produced almost complete paralysis, and his wife, family, and friends 
had soon to mourn over his decease, which took place early in the 
morning of July 21st. 
Descended from a Gloucestershire family, Mr. Davis was born at 
Leeds on April 15th, 1846. He was educated at the local Grammar 
School, and at an early age entered the cloth-dyeing business of his 
father. He and a brother soon became partners in the firm, which 
transferred its business to Greetland, near Halifax, and for the 
remainder of his life Mr. Davis took the leading share of its 
management. In 1876 he built his fine residence, Chevinedge, on 
a wooded ridge of Carboniferous Sandstone overlooking Greetland, 
and there are few geologists of note in Britain who have not enjoyed 
the hospitality of that modern English home. 
Though deeply absorbed in his own business and in certain 
collateral undertakings— though taking a prominent position in 
every educational, municipal, and political movement in his own 
town and district, and elected Mayor of Halifax no less than three 
years in succession—Mr. Davis found time not only to become a 
well-known and valued patron of Art and Science, but also to rise 
