Correspondence — Prof. John Milne. 425 



" On. the other hand, there may be grounds for endeavouring to 

 establish contemporaneity between the Upper Devonian series of 

 North Devon and the Carboniferous Slates of the South of Ireland, 

 upon the principle of geographical rather than chronological distinc- 

 tion." 



Guided by the opinion of Professor Phillips, we should certainly 

 be warranted in keeping distinct the application of the terms Old 

 Eed Sandstone and Devonian, which, when used synonymously, are 

 productive of much confusion. In this case of course the Lynton 

 Sandstone (Foreland Group) of North Devon should be classed as 

 Old Eed Sandstone, and excluded from the Devonian system. 

 Household, Nor-wich, IQth August, 1878. HoUAOE B. WoODWAKD. 



" COAST ICE ON A RISING AREA." REPLY TO DR. G. LINNARSSON. 



SiK, — Two days ago, on returning from a long geological excur- 

 sion which I had been making in the interior of Japan, I received 

 several numbers of the Geological Magazine. In the Number for 

 February I read the letter of Dr. G. Linnarsson of Stockholm, criticizing 

 my views of glacial phenomena which appeared in a series of articles 

 in your Magazine, under the title " Across Europe and Asia." If 

 Dr. Linnarsson had awaited the completion of my article, or if he 

 had only carefully interpreted those portions of it that were in his 

 possession at the time he wrote, I think he would have seen that he 

 was campaigning against an imaginary foe. 



He has failed to observe that my travelling notes are only a 

 series of fragmentary jottings collected and subsequently written out 

 under considerable difficulties. Under such circumstances, feeling 

 my fallibility, I held myself open to correction, and it is therefore 

 now with pleasure that I thank Dr, Linnarsson for having incident- 

 ally pointed out my oversight in ascribing the presence of erratics at 

 higher levels than their parent rock to the action of coast-ice on a 

 rising area. 



I say oversight, advisedly, first because this is a phenomenon which 

 is so universally referred to by all writers on these subjects, and 

 secondly because previously I myself, in the Geological Magazine, 

 Dec. II. Vol. III. Nos. 7, 8, and 9, when writing more generally upon 

 coast-ice, have referred to these appearances as being due (as many 

 before me have suggested) to the action of coast-ice on oscillating or 

 sinking areas. For example, in one place I make the following 

 note : " Other blocks again are shown to have travelled from low 

 plains to the summit of hills, which is explained on the supposition 

 that the land at the time of their deposit was slowly subsiding, and 

 the ice-fields of successive years were raising the blocks higher and 

 higher." 



With regard to the remainder of Dr. Linnarsson's criticisms, which 

 form the substance of his correspondence, I hardly feel that I can 

 acquiesce in the manner in which he has treated m.j communication. 

 One of my chief objects, when speaking of the appearances which I 

 saw along the coast of Finland, was to show that it M'as by no means 



