THE EROSIVE ACTION OF ICE. 
G. E. CULVER, 
Professor of Physical Science, Stevens Point Normal School. 
It was originally intended in this paper simply to record some 
observations made in various parts of the country, bearing on 
the question of the power of moving ice to corrode its bed. 
Finding that the literature of the subject was somewhat abun¬ 
dant, it was decided to incorporate some of the view T s of others 
in this paper. This has been done to such an extent that the 
former intent has been quite overshadowed and the paper as now 
presented is simply a resume of previous publications on the 
subject with comments on some of the views expressed and 
with my own observations correlated so far as may be with 
those of the various writers from whose papers abstracts have 
been made. 
The literature examined covers the period from 1862 to the 
present. It was thought that a development of ideas on the 
question of glacial erosion might thus be traced, which would 
perhaps be comparable to the general advance of the science of 
glaciology as a whole. This has been found to be the case in a 
measurable degree, yet from the first there seems to have been 
two classes of opinions, quite opposed to each other; and most 
of the authors consulted fall readily and decidedly into one or 
the other class. 
Considerable positiveness has been manifested by a large pro¬ 
portion of the authors, (who are not all geologists), only a very 
few taking decidedly conservative ground. A few have changed 
their views, but these changes, with some notable' exceptions, 
have been not to a middle ground between the two extremes, 
but from one side squarely over to the other. 
It is interesting to note that the men who have been most con¬ 
servative in their expressions of opinion, are the ones who 
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