ICEBERGS. 167 



opposed to our common physical knowledge, has 

 been shown in very profound and conclusive rea- 

 soning by Peter Merian. The foregoing state- 

 ment has been mainly borrowed from his treatise.* 

 The glaciers from the snowy mountains in high 

 latitudes often come down to the sea-coast. The 

 masses of ice breaking off from these fall into the 

 sea, where they are then driven about by the 

 winds and currents. They form the floating ice- 

 bergs winch sailors so often meet with in the polar 

 seas, and which are sometimes found covered with 

 blocks of stone, with earth and sand. On the 

 coasts of Europe, glaciers reaching down to the 

 sea are only found in Norway, and even there, not 

 below 67° N. L. Along the west coast of South 

 America they occur on the shore of the straits as 

 far as 46°'40 S. L. 



* In Poggexdorit's " Annalen," vol. lx. 



