BERNHARD STUDER. 379 



Studer was an excellent organizer, and he did a great deal as such, 

 first at the University of Bern, then at the federal Polytechnic School 

 of Zurich, and also as Director of the Geological Survey. 



Short in stature, — he was called among his friends and contempo- 

 raries " le petit Studer," — of slender frame, and light-footed, he was 

 one of the best Alpine climbers. He associated or got help from all 

 the geologists who studied the Alps and the Jura. Being very honest 

 and free in his opinions, he gave every one his due, and at the same 

 time kept pace with all the progress that was made. At first Studer 

 opposed the glacial theory of Venetz, De Charpentier and Agassiz; 

 but, after several years spent in a close study of the question in the 

 field, he became converted, and was afterward one of the most diligent 

 propagators of the new doctrine. 



He had the reputation of being an excellent friend, and quite witty, 

 like his celebrated cousin, the minister Bitzius (Jeremy Gotthelf) of the 

 Emmenthal, the author of the " Miroir des Paysans," the "Nouvelles 

 Bernoises," and of so many remarkable novels on the life of the Bernese 

 country people. Studer used to say, " Ce qu'il y a de plus remarqua- 

 ble dans Lyell, c'est Lady Lyell," — a compliment which highly pleased 

 Sir Charles, who clapped his hands, the first time he heard it, exclaim- 

 ing, " True ! true ! " But the witty remark applied exactly to himself, 

 for Mrs. Studer was also a very remarkable lady in more than one 

 sense. Neither Lyell nor Studer had any children, and they were 

 able, with the great help of their wives, to consecrate all their time and 

 life to the study of Geology. 



With him disappears the last illustrious savant of the second genera- 

 tion of great geologists, who have built Geology up little by little. 

 Studer came after Humboldt, Von Buch, Friesleben, William Smith, 

 Alexandre Brongniart, Prevost, Cordier, D'Omalius, De Charpentier, 

 De la Beche, Conybeare, Buckland, etc., and from 1825 to 1880 he 

 maintained his position as one of the best practical geologists in a time 

 when they could point to such men as Elie de Beaumont, Sedg- 

 wick, Lyell, Murchison, Brown, Goldfuss, Frederic A. Romer, Alcide 

 d'Orbigny, De Verneuil, D'Archiac, Agassiz, Barrande, Jules Pictet de 

 la Rive, Boue, Escher von der Linth, Oswald Heer, Thurmann, etc. 



Studer was present at the first meeting of the Society of the Swiss 

 Naturalists (Societe Helvetique des Sciences Naturelles) at Geneva, on 

 the 6th of October, 1815, and he enjoys the unique distinction of having 

 been a member during seventy-two years of the first association ever 

 founded for the advancement of science. 



