30 NINTH REPORT. 



Among other works which are of a distinctly educational type are two 

 "Geographic Monographs/' a part of a series, written to aid teachers and 

 furnish collateral reading for students of geology and physical geography in 

 secondary schools. With these also should be placed a paper on the Topo- 

 graphic Atlas of the U. S., which shows the uses which may be made of this 

 magnificent series of maps by various classes. Along this same line also is 

 the address delivered before the Michigan Academy of Science as its Presi- 

 dent in 1894, upon the topographic surve}^ of Michigan, in obtaining which 

 he was greatly instrumental, by making a strong plea showing how generally 

 useful such a survey with its resulting maps would be to all classes, point- 

 ing out especially the educational value of the completed work. 



His major contributions to the sum of human knowledge are along the 

 lines of Physical Geography, Descriptive Geology and Dynamic Geology, 

 and, although much of his work of investigation was of reconnaisance or 

 exploratory character, it was done thoroughly and so well that those who 

 follow him will find little that is new. 



His observations were carefully made, and fully and clearly described, 

 and, since he was a tireless worker in his study as well as in the field, prom])tly 

 published. It was his habit to begin writing the account of his season's 

 field work immediately upon his return home, while the details were still 

 fresh in mind, and it was this industry which gave us the last two works 

 which he finished, his report of the surface geology of the Menominee region 

 in the Northern Peninsula, and the paper which he was to have read before 

 the Geological Society of America. 



A very few of his briefer papers are reviews, and he seems to have in- 

 dulged in controversial writings to but a slight extent. Two things stand 

 out prominently in all of his written work, first, thoroughness and careful 

 attention to important details, and second, clearness of statement, accom- 

 panied by abundant illustration both by verbal and by actual pictures, 

 so that even laymen could find much of interest in the most technical of 

 his papers. 



While Professor Russell was a deep thinker upon the problems j^ertainins; 

 to many of the lines of research in his chosen field of work, there is little of 

 the purely speculative in his published writings, and apparently he kept 

 his imagination well in hand in developing hypotheses to account for ob- 

 served facts, working out those which were reasonable and probable. He 

 was persistent and patient in gathering facts, and his statement of them 

 may be relied upon, as he made little, if any, use of hearsay statements; his 

 mind was flexible and active, when he was making observations, and he was 

 quick to see the bearings of new observations, and to place them in their proper 

 categories and did not hesitate to discard an old theory when it did not fitly 

 explain newly-observed facts. 



Little has been said of his work as a geographer, but this was fully as im- 

 portant as his geological work. His love for penetrating the unknown and 

 difficult parts of the continent was well known to all of his intimate friends, 

 and it was a cherished hope that he might again have the opportunity to go 

 to Alaska to explore some of the more inaccessible portions of its mountain 

 fastnesses. 



In all of his field work after his connection with the University of Michigan 

 he was constantly on the lookout for illustrative material, with which to 

 enrich his lecture courses, and a large number of unique specimens were added 

 to the geological collections as the result of this activity, as well as many 

 photographs and lantern slides, which could not have been obtained in any 



