300 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 347. 



limited to tlie valley of only one river ; its ef- 

 fects should be visible in all the neighboring 

 valleys of the lake district , and until these ef- 

 fects are carefully deduced and systematically 

 searched for, it seems safer to regard the ero- 

 sion of the pass by a recently extinct river not 

 as a probable conclusion, but only as an open 

 suggestion. 



A possible origin of the pass by glacial ero- 

 sion in a preglacial notch of less depth is con- 

 sidered by Oldham and dismissed, because 

 traces of glaciation were not found at a suffi- 

 cient height ; but on the latter point other ob- 

 servers do not agree, some maintaining the 

 occurrence of an extensive local glaciation be- 

 fore the minor glaciation referred to hj Old- 

 ham. Hanging valleys are not rare in these 

 mountains ("We find in the Lake district a 

 number of tributary valleys occurring in the 

 hearts of the ridges, and opening out far above 

 the bottoms of the main valleys, discharging 

 their waters down the slopes in cascades." 

 Marr, 'Scientific Study of Scenery,' 136), and 

 one of them may be seen opening in the moun- 

 tain side on the east just north of Dunmail sum- 

 mit. Glacial erosion as well as river erosion 

 may, therefore, still deserve consideration in 

 discussions as to the origin of the pass. 



BRITTANY. 



One of the excursions of the International 

 Geological Congress held at Paris a year ago 

 was led through Brittany by Barrois. An in- 

 teresting account of it has been prepared by H. 

 Credner under the title of its ancient name 

 (' Armorika,' Geogr. Zeiischr., VII., 1901, 21 p.). 

 In contrast to the great deformation of the 

 ancient rocks, moderate reliefs prevail to-day, 

 much of the surface being nearly level to the 

 eye for long distances. The region is peneplain, 

 with occasional ridges and uplands maintained 

 by the stronger rocks, but even there the forms 

 are well subdued. The plain is usually clothed 

 with a deep soil. It is here and there incised 

 by narrow, steep-sided valleys, on whose walls 

 the firm rock is exposed. The uplift of the 

 peneplain, whereby the incision of young 

 valleys has been permitted, is not explicitly 

 stated, and the assertion that 'the A'alleys are 

 extraordinarily old ' is liable to misunderstand- 



ing, until the reader infers that it is the prede- 

 cessors of the present valleys that must be 

 meant. The coast is generally marked by 

 cliffs, torn into a ragged outline by a violent 

 sea. The destructive work of the waves has 

 been aided by a submergence of the land, 

 of which there is not only geographical evi- 

 dence in the form of bays and drowned 

 valleys, but historical also, in the form of the 

 ruins of a submerged town, of Roman roads 

 that lead into the sea, and of megalithic 

 monuments visible only at extreme low tide. 

 The separation of England from France is as- 

 cribed to this submergence as well as to marine 

 abrasion. W. M. Davis. 



A NEW AECHEOLOGICAL PUBLICATION. 



Commencing about September 1, the Arch- 

 eological Section of the Wisconsin Natural 

 History Society will publish, at regular inter- 

 vals, a little 6- or 8-page sheet to be devoted to 

 the cause of Wisconsin archeology. By this 

 means it is hoped to keep alive and further the 

 interest of the students, educators and col- 

 lectors of Wisconsin in bringing about a better 

 state of affairs as regards the preservation of 

 the prehistoric monuments of the State. 



The as yet uninterested attitude of the 

 legislators argues that, for a year or two, at 

 least, no bill favoring a State survey can be in- 

 troduced. It is best, at present, to band to- 

 gether all persons interested until the time for 

 action shall arrive so that the project can be 

 carried to a successful issue. 



The Bulletin is to be the organ of the cam- 

 paign for a State archeological survey. It will 

 not trespass upon the field of the journals now 

 being published and which, being of too high 

 price for the majority of State collectors and 

 of a nature technically beyond their training, are 

 not available for this purpose. It is intended 

 to publish articles of local interest, short, gen- 

 eral articles intended to train the average 

 student, editorials favoring the free studj^ and 

 preservation of antiquities, notes, contributions 

 of state collectors and students, notices of 

 books bearing upon Wisconsin archeology, and 

 all matter which will make the Bulletin of par- 

 ticular value to the archeologist of Wisconsin. 



