596 ANNUAL EEPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1025 



charfred mainly with administrative duties, he was constant in in- 

 spection. On these occasions his quick «!;rasp and wide experience 

 enabled him to give much help to his colleagues, but at the same 

 (ime he made full use of the opportunities for adding to his own 

 knowledge. Scenery from (he point of view of its origin and geo- 

 logical significance made a strong appeal to his poetic instincts. 

 Born, bred, and trained in Scotland, he had gazed upon many a 

 noble landscape, and had pondered over the vast effects of denuda- 

 tion and the characters imposed upon the features of the country 

 by the passage of ice sheets. His views are embodied in "The 

 Scenery of Scotland,"" jMiblished in 1865, a book as interesting to 

 the nongeological reader as to the expert. All his lighter books, in- 

 deed, such as Geological Sketches at Home and Abroad and Scot- 

 tish jReminiscences, were written in a style to appeal to a large 

 circle of readers. 



Late in life he interested himself in the early history of geology. 

 The Founders of Geology, first published in 1897, could only 

 have been written by one who had a Avide acquaintance with ancient 

 and modern literature. When called upon to deliver a presidential 

 address to the Classical Association, he chose for his subject the evi- 

 dence from Latin literature of the appreciation of nature by the 

 Romans. Later on he further developed the theme, and visited 

 Italy in order that he might himself study the landscapes on which 

 the eyes of the Roman poets had dwelt. 



Of all the calls made upon Geikie's untiring industry none was 

 more severe than the production of his educational works. The 

 ''Advanced Textbook" is a storehouse of information and a nionu- 

 meiit to the sagacity with which he handled an enormous literature. 

 Stupendous as was the labor involved, he found the preparation of 

 the two little primers on geology and physical geography still more 

 exacting — the phrasing was made the subject of many experiments on 

 students before he could satisfy himself that he had secured the 

 lucidity that was essential. The two small-scale geological maps of 

 Scotland and England, respectively, prepared by him during his 

 term of office on the Geological Survey, are admirable examples of 

 the pains that he took to secure clearness and what he considered to 

 be correct versions. 



As a lecturer he had many experiences, both at home and abroad, 

 before audiences of the most varied character, including the inmates 

 of a deaf and dumb institution and the patients of the Morningside 

 i^unatic Asylum. He was also one of that little band of distinguished 

 men who lectured to working men in the theater of the Jermyn 

 "Street Museum. His wide reading enabled him to choose subjects 

 to suit his hearers, and more than once he enlarged later in book 



