WCP2779

[1]

8th Oct. 1899

Dear Sir

Perhaps it w^d. be well to add a few words as to Aeppli's¹ views. You will see I have written out and somewhat altered & slightly expanded the sentiments in my letter. I have often [illeg.]. I read that those who think that crustal deformation can account or the great valley lakes & the Alps and similar regions never remember the fact that rivers have cut their way across deformations as rapidly as they are formed.

I'm afraid there is not much chance of Penck's² Morphology appearing in English. I tried to influence a London publisher — & he had the book submitted to him — [2] but his conclusion was — it won't pay. Chamberlin's³ criticism of Lord Kelvin's⁴ Address is as you say, most suggestive. Have you seen Prof. Joly's⁵paper "An Estimate of the Geological Age of the Earth".⁶ It has much impressed me. He gives geologists 80 to 90 millions of years — & more nearly 90 than 80!

Yours truly | James Geikie⁷ [signature]

I am afraid I have made you footnote rather long — but I can't very well condense it, if I am to notice Aeppli's views