David Milne-Home on Ancient Glaciers. 49 
Almost the whole of this hill, which slopes upwards to 
north, presents smoothed rocks. 
These appearances are the most interesting in the small 
intersecting ravines on the hill side, as the rocky sides of 
these ravines are smoothed also, especially the west sides 
looking towards Chamouni. Some of the smoothed rocks face 
different ways, principally, of course, due south, but occasion- 
ally also S.W. and S.E. They slope upwards, principally 
at an angle of about 15° or 20°, but occasionally they are 
nearly perpendicular. Nevertheless all are smoothed. In ~ 
some places, the appearances before described, caused by 
natural joints of the rocks, occur, the projections, when 
there are any, uniformly facing north, showing that the 
glacier, which has moved up the face of this mountain has 
passed from south. By sympiesometer I made the height 
of it, above the channel of Arve, which washes its base, 
about 1030 feet, and about 790 feet above Chamouni. ‘The 
smoothness of rocks does not reach quite to top, at least not 
there so striking. 
The ruts and scratches on smoothed rocks of themselves 
form a separate and very interesting study. They begin 
about 50 or 60 feet above the channel of the Arve; where 
near the bridge, they run W.N.W. by compass, about half 
way up hill N.W., and near top N.N.W. 
These directions quite intelligible on supposition that a 
glacier filled the whole valley, and flowed towards north. A 
sketch in fig. 2 shows that the valley, a little below point 
referred to, takes a rapid turn towards north; and therefore, 
as the general mass of the glacier, supposing it to have filled 
valley, would move towards north, the higher parts of the 
glacier must have moved more exactly in that direction, 
as higher parts of the hill would obstruct less than lower 
parts. 
Hence, also, resistance being greatest in the lower parts, 
the rocks there show the greatest marks of smoothing and 
reduction. 
These appearances, better understood after an examination 
of the valley on opposite or west side, at a place about two 
miles below Les Ouches, called Hameau of Le Grange. There 
NEW SERIES.—VOL. XIV. NO. IL.—suLy 1861. G 
