410 AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROCEEDINGS 
a map of Switzerland or France, and search in the north-western 
part of the Canton of Berne for a small piece of that canton which 
juts into France, and is surrounded by it on three sides, he may— 
provided his map is a good one—see there marked, in tolerably small 
letters, the name Porrentruy, or Pruntrut, for the latter is the 
German denomination. In other words, it may be mentioned as 
about seventy miles east of Besancon, and perhaps rather more than 
one hundred north of Lausanne. It is situated in one of the valleys 
of the Jura, enclosed by hills of moderate elevation, and is said (I 
know not with how great veracity) to exist rather by the smuggling 
propensities of its inhabitants, than by any trade or manufacture. 
At all events, there is very little of either of the latter to be ob- 
served. With this short notice, I must proceed to do justice to the 
French Geological Society. 
This society, unlike most of those on the continent, is founded on 
an English model, that is to say, is very expensive to its members, 
and with the greatest liberality opens wide its arms to embrace all, 
whether natives or foreigners, who have no objection to paying sixty 
francs entrance fee, and thirty francs per annum besides. It is still 
in its youth, and can hardly be considered as very distinguished, 
although it certainly numbers among its members some of the most 
eminent continental and even English geologists, and has already 
published some useful papers. The society, besides its regular 
meetings, calls together its members annually at some town in 
France or its neighbourhood, choosing for a place of assembly some 
district interesting for its geology. It will now, perhaps, be under- 
stood how a French society happened to hold its meeting in Swit- 
zerland, and why a town otherwise quite unimportant should have 
been fixed on, because of its convenient distance from some of the 
most instructive secondary geology of France or any adjacent 
country. 
In order to get to Porrentruy, I had (as I was making, at the 
time, Lausanne my head quarters) two roads open to me, the one 
by Berne, Soleure, and Délémont, by the diligence ; the other by 
the valleys of the Jura, only practicable on foot. Being anxious to 
see the scenery within the ranges of those very interesting moun- 
tains, and being, moreover, a tolerable walker, I chose the latter, 
and, after a most interesting and instructive journey of nearly four 
days, arrived at my place of destination after most of the others, 
and while the business of the meeting was proceeding. 
The valley in which Porrentruy is situated is not very extensive 
in its dimensions, either of length or breadth. Standing on the low 
