The Glacial Climate and the Polar Ice-cap

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Abstract
I n a paper “On the Nature and Cause of the Glacial Climate,” in the Journal of the Society for 1869 (p. 350), I gave my reasons for thinking that the glacial climate was not one of intense cold, but of snowy winters and cold summers, with a small range of temperature —in four words, not Siberian but Fuegian . I agree with Mr. Croll that a glacial epoch is one of maximum eccentricity of the earth's orbit, and that the northern and southern hemispheres, during such an epoch, are glaciated alternately. Where I differ from him is, that while he thinks the glaciated hemisphere has its winter in aphelion, I maintain, on the contrary, that the glaciated hemisphere is that which has its summer in aphelion. Mr. Croll, in his work on ‘Climate and Time,’ has replied to me; and I propose in this paper to supplement my former one and give a fuller exposition of my views, showing also where I think he has fallen into error. I quote the following from ' Climate and Time' (p. 54) :— “According to the calculations of Leverrier, the superior limit of the earth's eccentricity is 0"07075. Lagrange's determination makes the superior limit 0"07641. Recently the laborious task of reinvestigating the whole subjcct has been undertaken by Mr. Stockwell, of the United States. Be has taken into account the disturbing influence of the planet Neptune, the existence of which was not known when Leverrier's computations were made; and he finds that the eccentricity

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