ANNOUNCEMENT OF GLACIATION IN SCOTLAND WILLIAM …€¦ · ANNOUNCEMENT OF GLACIATION IN SCOTLAND...
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Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 9, No. 55, 1970 EARLY DISCOVERERS XXVII ANNOUNCEMENT OF GLACIATION IN SCOTLAND WILLIAM BUCKLAND ( 1784 - 1856 ) By GEORGE W. WHITE (Department of Geology, University of Illinoi s, Urbana, Illin ois 61801, U.S.A. ) BEFORE 1840 Louis Agassiz had twice visited Great Britain upon invitations to discuss fossil fish, the subject on which his fame then rested. By the autumn of 1840 his great work, Etudes sur les glaciers (Agassiz, 1840[a] ) was safely in final pr ess, and in September and October 1840 he traveled with vVilli am Buckland through Scotland , wh e re he discovered traces of glaciation and demonstrat ed them to Buckland. Buc kland was Pr esident of the Geological Soci ety of Lond on and Professor of Geology at Oxford , and in 1845 he b eca me Dean of W es tminster. Hi s route and di scoveri es h ave been determined in great d etail by Davi es (1968). On 4 November 1840, Agassiz read a paper before the Geologi cal Society of L on don "On g la ciers, and the ev id e nc e of their having on ce existed in Scotland , Ir eland , and England " (L. Agassiz, 1840[b]; E. C. Agassiz, 1885, vo!. I, p. 309; Marcou , 1896, vol. I, p. 168- 74 ; North , 1943, p. 22 ). Buckland had written on 15 October 1840 to Aga ssiz telling of Lye ll 's acceptance of the glacia l theory (E. C. Agassiz, 1885, vo!. I, p. 309). A letter written by Buckland on 4 Octob er 1840, her e reproduced, is hi s announcement of the discover y. It was se nt the day after Agassiz had written to Robert J ameson about the glacial origin of the famou s parallel road s of Glen Roy (Davies, 1968, p. 137). As far as I know the letter has, except fo r one sentence, n ever been publi shed. The letter had been loaned to th e biographer of Buckland , who barel y mention ed the announcement as "1840" and guot ed on ly one se nt ence of the le tt er (Go rd on, 1894, p. 14; Davies, 1968, p. 137). The letter is not mention ed in Marco u' s or in Mme Agassiz's biographi es of Agass iz, becau se it was never known to th em. The le tt er also provide s so me details of the routes taken by Dr and Mr s Buckland and Aga ssiz dur ing 3- 7 October 1840, and it strongl y suggests that Aga ss iz then traveled by the most dire ct route fr om Aberd een to Gla sgow. The exact route s for these days have been less certain than those for the re maind er of Agass iz's 1840 tour (Da vies, 19 68, p. 138- 39). Th e l etter is on one folded sh eet 1 I by 17 cm, apparently enclosed in a small envelope 8.5 by 5.5 cm, which was presu mabl y dis ca rded . Fortunatel y, a pencil not e establis hes that Flemingwas the recipient. The Rev . Professor J o hn Fleming ( 17 85- 1857) was Prof essor of Natural Phil osophy at the Uni versity of Aberdeen , 1834- 45 , and in 1845 he b ecame Professor orNatural Science at the Free Uni versity in Edinburgh , ha vin g moved there as a result of his adherenc e to th e Fr ee Ch ur ch at the time of the Di sruption in 1843 (Duns, 1859). The not e on the fron t of the letter is in the handwriting ofRalph Richard son , who was sec retary of the Geologi ca l Soci ety of Edinburgh and the hu sba nd of the granddaughter of Fleming. It was found insert ed at page lxxv of the copy of Duns ' memoir of Fleming, which appears to hav e belonged to Richard son, as this copy has other letters inserted and man y penciled notes. This book itself is of glacial interest because the second half (p. 1- 102), consisting of Fleming's Lithology, is a lmost entirely on surficial material s, with d etailed sket ch es and sections showing th e anatomy of the glacial de posits. However, Fl eming was unc ertain of the ori gin of the depo sits. Although he had entertained th e two chief e arly proponent s of the glacial theory almost at the very mome nt of their di scove ry of gl acia l action in Scotland, Fleming (always a stubborn man ) did not really accept th e glacial origins of the deposits. He asserted 143
Transcript of ANNOUNCEMENT OF GLACIATION IN SCOTLAND WILLIAM …€¦ · ANNOUNCEMENT OF GLACIATION IN SCOTLAND...
Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 9, No. 55, 1970
EARLY DISCOVERERS XXVII
ANNOUNCEMENT OF GLACIATION IN SCOTLAND WILLIAM BUCKLAND ( 1784- 1856 )
By GEORGE W. WHITE
(Department of Geology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, U.S.A. )
BEFORE 1840 Louis Agassiz had twice visited Great Britain upon invitations to discuss fossil fish, the subject on which his fame then rested. By the autumn of 1840 his great work , Etudes sur les glaciers (Agassiz, 1840[a] ) was safely in final press, and in September and October 1840 he traveled with vVilliam Buckland through Scotland, where he discovered traces of glaciation and demonstrated them to Buckland. Buckland was President of the Geological Society of London and Professor of Geology at Oxford, and in 1845 he became D ean of Westminster. His route and discoveries have been determined in great detail by Davies (1968) .
On 4 November 1840, Agassiz read a paper before the Geological Society of London "On glaciers, and the evidence of their having once existed in Scotland, Ireland , and England" (L. Agassiz, 1840[b]; E. C. Agassiz, 1885, vo!. I, p . 309; Marcou, 1896, vol. I, p. 168- 74 ; North , 1943, p. 22 ) . Buckland had written on 15 October 1840 to Agassiz telling of Lyell 's acceptance of the glacial theory (E. C . Agassiz, 1885, vo!. I , p. 309) .
A letter written by Buckland on 4 October 1840, here reproduced, is his announcement of the discovery. It was sent the day after Agassiz had written to Robert J ameson about the glacial origin of the famous parallel roads of Glen R oy (Davies, 1968, p. 137). As far as I know the letter has, except for one sen tence, never been published. The le tter had been loaned to the biographer of Buckland , who barely m entioned the announcement as "1840" and guoted only one sentence of the letter (Gordon, 1894, p. 14; Davies, 1968, p. 137). The letter is not m entioned in M arcou's or in Mme Agassiz's biographies of Agassiz, because it was never known to them. The letter also provides som e details of the routes taken by Dr and Mrs Buckland and Agassiz during 3- 7 October 1840, and it strongly suggests that Agassiz then traveled by the most direct route from Aberdeen to Glasgow. The exact routes for these days have been less certain than those for the remainder of Agassiz's 1840 tour (Davies, 1968, p. 138- 39) .
The letter is on one folded sheet 1 I by 17 cm, apparently enclosed in a small envelope 8.5 by 5.5 cm, which was presumably discarded . Fortunately, a pencil note establishes that Flemingwas the recipient. The Rev. Professor J ohn Fleming (1785- 1857) was Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, 1834- 45, and in 1845 he became Professor orNatural Science at the Free University in Edinburgh, having moved there as a result of his adherence to the Free Church at the time of the Disruption in 1843 (Duns, 1859) . The note on the fron t of the letter is in the handwriting ofRalph Richardson, who was secretary of the Geological Society of Edinburgh and the husband of the granddaughter of Fleming. It was found inserted at page lxxv of the copy of Duns' memoir of Fleming, which appears to have belonged to Richardson , as this copy has other letters inserted and many penciled notes .
This book itself is of glacial interest because the second half (p. 1- 102), consisting of Fleming's Lithology, is a lmost entirely on surficial materials, with detailed sketches and sections showing the anatomy of the glacial deposits. However, Fleming was uncertain of the origin of the deposits. Although he had entertained the two chief early proponents of the glacial theory almost at the very moment of their discovery of glacial action in Scotland, Fleming (always a stubborn man) did not really accept the glacial origins of the deposits. He asserted
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(Duns, 1859, p . 61- 62) that "The drojlpings of melting icebergs and the moraines of glaciers . .. may account for a small portion of these facts. . .. That a debacle of a singular kind had taken place, will scarcely admit of a doubt. ... W e cannot explain the phenomena, but we trust the reader will give us credit for having indicated the facts of the case. . .. " He did indeed set forth most carefully the "facts of the case" and was thus one of the very first anatomists of glacial deposits. It is fortunate that he preserved Buckland's letter, even if he could not accept Buckland's and Agassiz's glacial theory.
TRANSCRIPT OF BUCKLAND'S LETTER TO FLEMING
[In pencil on back of letter: "Revd • Dr. Buckland's Letter to the Rev d • Professor Fleming Aberdeen"]
My Dear Sir
Connel House 4 0ct 1840
Professor Agassiz & I have made the following disposal of our time which we hope to accomplish in the approaching week.
Tomorrow: (Monday) go to Lady Cumming Gordon with Agassiz and Mrs. Buckland. Stay there Tuesday, come on Wednesday by Inverness day coach to Aberdeen being taken up at Forres.
W e hope to reach your House that Evening in time to enjoy your hospitable shake down & to stay with you Thursday dining at the Public Agricultural Dinner. On the 9 th Agassiz must depart for G lasgow & Belfast.
We have found abundant Traces of Glaciers round Ben Nevis- H e unites in best regards
with
yours very Sincerely
W . Buckland
Profr. Agassiz will be much obliged if you will have the goodness to take a place for Him in the coach tha t leaves Aberdeen on the 9 th • on the most direct road to Glasgow- I suppose it will be the coach to Perth.
MS. received 3 September I969
REFERENCES
Agassiz, E . C., ed. 1885. Louis Agassiz , his life and correspondence. Boston, Houghton, Miffiin and Co. 2 vols. Agassiz, L. 1840[a]. Etudes Sllr les glaciers. Neuchatel, [privately printed]. 2 vols. Agassiz, L. 1840[b]. On glaciers, and the evidence of their having once existed in Scotland, Ireland, and
England. Proceedings of the Geological Society of London, Vo!. 3, Pt. 2 , No. 72 , p. 327-32. Davies, G. L. 1968. The tour of the British Isles made by Louis Agassiz in 1840. Annals of Science, Vo!. 24, No. 2,
P·13 1- 46. Duns, .T., ed. 1859. The lithology of Edinburgh, by the late Rev. John Fleming, D.D. , F.R.S.E., with a memoir by the Rev.
John Duns. Edinburgh, William P. K ennedy. Gordon, E. O. 1894. The life and correspondence of William Buckland, D.D., F.R.S., sometime Dean of Westminster, twice
President of the Geological Society, and first President of the British A ssociation . London, John Murray. Marcou, J. 1896. Life, letters and works of Louis Agassiz. New York, Macmillan and Co. 2 vols. North, F. J. 1943. Centenary of the glacial theory. Proceedings of the Geologists' A ssociation, Vo!. 54, Pt. I , p. 1-28.
