Drift of the North German Lowland.—Nalishury. 317 
Dr. Wahnschaffe does not give specifically the reasons for his be- 
lief in the aqueous origin of the loess, though he devotes some 
space to a consideration to the arguments of those who believe 
that it was deposited by the wind. We think that Dr. Wahn- 
schaffe’s arguments against the eolian hypothesis have much 
force. After a brief examination of the loess in several points 
in the vicinity of Magdeburg, in company with Dr. Wahnschaffe, 
I was convinced that his view concerning the origin of the loess 
was the right one for that region. I have no data for an opinion 
‘concerning the time of the origin of the German loess. If it be- 
long to the time of the last glaciation, it does not correspond in 
point of time of origin with the great body of the loess in the 
United States; but that is no reason for believing that Dr. Wahn- 
schaffe’s interpretation is not right. It is believed that the loess 
in the United States originated at different times. I am inclined 
to think that some of it may have originated in connection with 
the last glacial epoch, and I know no reason why that may not 
have been the time of the chief accumulation of the loess in 
Germany. 
The Lakes. The relationship between the distribution of lakes 
and the extension of the ice sheet is the same in Germany as in 
the United States. The lakes are chiefly confined to the area 
which suffered glaciation, and to the area which suffered glacia- 
tion the second time. But it is to be observed that they do not 
have a general distribution over the whole of the area which the 
last ice sheet invaded, as Dr. Wahnschatfe would define that area. 
Southwest of the Elbe, for instance, lakes are almost wholly 
wanting. This fact is in itself an evidence, though alone not a 
conclusive evidence, that this region was not glaciated in the last 
epoch. It is to be remembered that not all German glacialists 
are agreed that this region (the Luneburger Heide) was covered by 
ice in the last ice epoch. The absence of lakes supports the neg- 
ative. Lakes are most abundant along the Baltic ridge, where 
the ‘‘ground moraine landscape” is best developed, just as they 
are most abundant in our country, along the courses of the termi- 
nal moraine. They are not infrequent north of this ridge, and in 
some parts of Germany they cannot be said to be rare south of it. 
The question as to the origin of the lakes which lie within the 
drift-covered territory of Germany, is one concerning which there 
has been much discussion and much difference of opinion. Inter- 
