ched stones which can be cited are
those which command the northern part of the cascade of Pissevache,
close to Chaux-Fleurie, and those above the Bains de Lavey, close to the
village of Morcles; and those, even more curious, which I have seen in
the valley of St. Nicolas and Oberhasli. At Kirchet, near Meiringen, can
be seen some very remarkable crowns of bowlders around several domes
of rock which appear to have been projected above the surface of the
glacier which surrounded them. Something very similar can be seen around
the top of the rock of St. Triphon.

"The extraordinary phenomenon of perched stones could not escape the
observing eye of De Saussure, who noticed several at Saleve, of which
he described the positions in the following manner: 'One sees,' said he,
'upon the slope of an inclined meadow, two of these great bowlders of
granite, elevated one upon the other, above the grass at a height of two
or three feet, upon a base of limestone rock on which both rest. This
base is a continuation of the horizontal strata of the mountain, and is
even united with it visibly on its lower face, being cut perpendicularly
upon the other sides, and is not larger than the stone which it
supports.' But seeing that the entire mountain is composed of the same
limestone, De Saussure naturally concluded that it would be absurd to
think that it was elevated precisely and only beneath the blocks of
granite. But, on the other hand, since he did not know the manner in
which these perched stones are deposited in our days by glacial action,
he had recourse to another explanation: He supposes that the rock was
worn away around its base by the continual erosion of water and air,
while the portion of the rock which served as the base for the granite
had been protected by it. This explanation, although very ingenious,
could no longer be admitted after the researches of M. Elie de Beaumont
had proved that the action of atmospheric agencies was not by a good
deal so destructive as was theretofore supposed. De Saussure speaks
also of a detached bowlder, situated upon the opposite side of the
Tete-Noire, 'which is,' he says, 'of so great a size that one is tempted
to believe that it was formed in the place it occupies; and it is called
Barme russe, because it is worn away beneath in the form of a cave which
can afford accommodation for more than thirty persons at a time."(4)

But the implications of the theory of glaciers extend, so Agassiz h