Sept.. 1S94. NOTES FROM THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 215 



University extension in a mineralogical direction was the theme of 

 Mr. Fletcher's interesting address, and surely such an appeal was 

 never more needed than at the present time when the study of 

 minerals is being more than ever pressed by other countries, and 

 must be undertaken by almost every geological student. Such has 

 been the indifference felt towards mineralogy, that the last report on 

 the progress of the science submitted to the British Association was 

 that given sixty-two years ago by Dr. Whewell, shortly after he had 

 resigned the professorship of mineralogy in the university of Cambridge. 

 It was therefore incumbent upon the president of Section C, as a 

 mineralogist, to give some account of the progress of the science since 

 that date, and of its present condition : this duty Mr. Fletcher per- 

 formed in the earlier part of his address in a masterly and captivating 

 manner. 



The audience was rapidly conducted over the recent history of 

 crystallographic methods and theories up to the parallelepipedal and 

 other arrangements of points which have been devised to account for 

 the structure of crystals, special emphasis being laid upon the nota- 

 tion and methods introduced by the late Professor Miller, of Cam- 

 bridge. This was followed by a brief survey of the development of 

 optical and physical research as applied to the study of minerals ; by 

 a sketch of the remarkable progress of mineralogical chemistry during 

 the last sixty years ; and finally by an enumeration of the more impor- 

 tant instruments which have been invented and improved during this 

 period and which have enabled the mineralogist to extend his inves- 

 tigations in every direction, and have helped to raise mineralogy to the 

 position of an exact science. No one has by his labours contributed 

 more to this result than the late Professor Mallard, of Paris, whose 

 lamented death last month was alluded to by the President as depriv- 

 ing mineralogy of her greatest philosopher. 



If much of the address dealt with things that were absolutely 

 unknown to the majority of his audience, Mr. Fletcher's argument 

 was only the more strengthened, for where, under the present condi- 

 tions, could they be expected to have received any instruction in the 

 refinements of modern mineralogy, or to have learnt that there is a 

 real science of minerals ? 



We hope that this address will open the eyes of many people. 

 The words quoted from the Report of Dr. Whewell are strictly 

 applicable to the present day ; they related to the lack of " interest 

 with which mineralogy, as a branch of natural philosophy, has been 

 looked upon in England. Indeed, this feehng appears to have gone 

 so far that all the general questions of the science excite with us 

 scarcely any notice whatever. But a more forward and hopeful spirit 

 appears to have prevailed for some time in other countries, especially 

 Sweden, Germany, and more recently France." And yet " the step 

 to which mineralogy owes the best portion of its scientific character 

 was made by an Enghshman, the Doctrine of Definite Proportions, 



