611 
of Edinburgh, Session 1879-80. 
more northerly to the east of one or more spots where there has 
been a palpable rending of rocks by some powerful agent moving on 
them from the westward. 
.Now, it is rather remarkable that the island of Eilan Mhuire, 
situated to the east of the other two islands, presents on its surface 
no traces of the same smoothing which occur on the other two 
islands. It is lower in level than the other two. If it was ice which 
passed over and rubbed on them moving towards the east, why did 
not it also pass over and rub on Eilan Mhuire ? If it was a sheet 
of land ice, the fact of Eilan Mhuire being a little lower in level 
should rather have ensured contact by the ice. If, however, the ice 
was floating, it may have passed over the lower island without reach- 
ing it. 
Skye . — An examination of the north-east part of the island from 
Aird Point to Portree was made, chiefly along the coast, and partially 
among the hills. 
While there was found throughout evidence of vast denudation 
with frequent rounded contours (as along the line of cliffs above the 
Kilt rock), the rocks nowhere bore groovings or even scratchings. 
The cols between the numerous heights of the central range of 
hills were narrowly examined, as, in the case of a movement across 
the island from either N.W. or N.E. these hills must have been sub- 
jected to a great amount of “scour.” 
At the several cols, averaging about 1300 feet above the sea, the 
water-sheds which fall to the south commence with the most singular 
precipitancy, there being hardly a yard or two between the brink of 
the precipice (which falls sheer to the N.E.) and the trickling of a 
marshy stream flowing in the opposite direction. Between many of 
these cols, peaks of rock shot up to a height of 2000 feet and more. 
There were no hollows and no contours which could be assigned 
to ice. The slope on both sides of the stream-trench was such as 
would result merely from the sliding soak of water. 
No true boulders were any where to be seen. That the summit 
of this range has not been ice-worn, may be deduced from the abrupt- 
ness with which fragments of an upper bed of basaltic columns shoot 
up with a pillared steepness which show no rounding of their angles, 
or abrasion of any of their terminations. 
A loose pillar (of which a sketch was taken) points the same way. 
