334 THE VALLEY OF THE TEIGN. [Allg* T 9°4> 



Dr. A. E. Salter enquired whether the Author had studied the 

 various superficial deposits in the area which he described, in order 

 to ascertain whether their constituents were of such a character as 

 to favour his views. These evidences of past fluviatile action often 

 afforded valuable corroboration to such a hypothesis as that which 

 had been put forward by the Author. 



Mr. H. W. Monckton said that he had noticed a reference to the 

 effect of a tilt of the ground, and he ventured to remark that mere 

 tilting of the surface need not of necessity alter the direction of the 

 drainage, for as the tilting proceeded the streams would deepen 

 their channels — that is, when a drainage-system was once established. 

 No doubt the inclination of the ground would affect the direction of 

 streams before a drainage-system was established. 



Mr. Whitaker. said that all would agree with the previous 

 speaker's remarks ; but very big and rapid earth -movements might 

 alter the drainage of a region. Gravel-beds might be carried off 

 by later erosion. There had certainly been too great a tendency to 

 consider the surface-features of a particular district ancient, because 

 the rocks which cropped out there happened to be old. He welcomed 

 a paper such as that under discussion, because of its suggestiveuess 

 and its usefulness in promoting further investigation. 



Mr. H. B. Woodward read the following extract of a letter sent 

 to him by the Author : — 



' Some one may perhaps say that the Bovey Basin may have been formed in 

 Oligocene time, and that the formation of this basin was enough to deflect the 

 river southward. My reply would be that there is absolutely no evidence 

 of strong earth-movements in Oligocene time, that those in the Isle of Wight 

 are obviously post-Oligocene, and that the Bovey syncline is comparable with 

 them. Further, the axis of this syncline does not run north and south, but 

 north-west and south-east, and, as I believe, it crosses the granitic area." 



