The three great divisions into which the superficial deposits of the district in and around Glasgow naturally group themselves,—the period of land ice, represented by the boulder clay; the period of sea deposits, represented by the boreal shell beds; and the recent or human period, represented by the sand and gravel beds, containing canoes—certainly in part, if not wholly, of fresh water origin—are not only better exhibited in this district than anywhere else, but the amount of observation bestowed upon them has rendered this classic region the most typical among the post-tertiary deposits of Scotland. The peculiarities of the boulder drift early attracted the attention of our local geologists, and were accurately described by them; but, when they tried to account for its origin—having no light to guide them but that of their own experience—they failed completely. The phenomena of the boulder drift was attributed to the action of water, not, of course, in its ordinary action, as they instinctively felt that such action was quite insufficient to account for them, but to some of its extraordinary exceptional effects, such as those occasioned by “earthquake waves,” and some imaginary ones,—“waves of translation,” as they have been called. Theories such as these, did little good, except to excite discussion, and keep observation alive. During the meeting of the British Association, held at Glasgow, in 1840, a good example of our boulder drift—exposed by the levelling of what was then known as “Bell’s Park,” was pointed out to Agassiz; and he, being This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract