1882.] 47 [Davis. 



J. Geikie — Ramsay's ablest advocate — writes that the erosion of the 

 last glacial period, although absolutely great, was relatively inconsiderable, 

 for " Ave have every reason to believe that all tha fjord-valleys and glens of 

 the Highlands had assumed very much their present appearance before the 

 advent of the Ice Age." (Great Ice Age, 1877, 389.) 



F.J. Kaufman n concludes, from an examination of glaciated and non- 

 glaciated valleys in Northern Switzerland, that the round-bottom valleys 

 owe their form to glacial erosion, and that this destructive force keeps pace 

 with the other denuding agents (see C. 4). (Beitr. Geol. Karte der Schweiz, 

 11 Lief., 1872, 451,453.) 



C. King states a strong case of this kind : he finds the upper valleys of 

 the Uinta Range have a distinctly U-shaped profile within the glaciated 

 district, and a V-form below it, and decides that the difference must be due 

 to glacial erosion. (U. S. Geol. Expl. 40th Par. 1878, i, 478-487.) 



The following authors do not admit that glaciers have j)roduced 

 any significant change in valley-forms. 



Giimbel shows from the direction of glacial scratches that the glaciers 

 found the Swiss valleys much in their present form and depth. (Gletscher- 

 erscheinungen, Miinchen Akad, Sitzungsb. n, 1872, 234.) 



T. G. Bonney has devoted much time to observing Swiss valleys, cirques 

 and lakes in search of critical evidence for or against the glacial erosion 

 theories. He finds only evidence against them, and decides that these forms 

 are all essentially preglacial. (On the Formation of " Cirques," and their 

 bearing upon Theories attributing the Excavation of Alpine Valleys mainly 

 to the Action of Glaciers, Geol. Soc. Journ. xxvu, 1871, 312-324; also 

 xxx, 1874, 479-488.) 



E. Whymper says, " Given eternity, glaciers might even grind out valleys 

 of a peculiar kind. Such valleys would bear remarkably little resemblance 

 to the valleys of the Alps. They might be interesting, but they would be 

 miserably unpicturesque." (Scrambles in the Alps, 1871, 331.) He notes 

 the increasing slowness of glacial erosion as the eroded surface is smoothed, 

 and concludes that after polishing the rocks, glaciers are conservative rather 

 than destructive (132-154); and adds a critical review of Ramsay's and 

 Tyndall's writings on this subject (311-344). 



Ch. Grad decides that neither valleys, lakes nor fjords owe their origin 

 to ice action (see A 6). (Les Glaciers et l'origine des vallees, Club 

 Alpin Franc. Ann. in, 1876, 479.) 



J. P. Lesley calls attention to the agreement in the form of the Pennsyl- 

 vania valleys within and without the glaciated area, and concludes that as 

 a rule an ice-sheet is protective or only slightly destructive. (Amer. Phil. 

 Soc. Proc, xx, 1882, 95-101. This paper is received while the present 

 article is going through the press.) 



