12 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



Much could be written of Vienna as a scientific center but it must 

 suffice here to state that it is a paradise for the geologist. Neighbor- 

 ing localities are classic ground for the paleontologist, the nearby Alps 

 afford many problems of structural and stratigraphical geology, and 

 the museums along the Ringstrasse give the student every opportunity 

 for study and research. Here I spent a week most pleasantly and 

 profitably in the field and in the several natural history museums. 

 Wonderful exhibits of rocks, minerals, and fossils have been installed 

 in the Natural History Museum under the direction of Dr. F. X. 

 Schaffer and supplementing these in the Paleontological and Paleo- 

 biological Institute of the University of Vienna, Doctor Abel and his 

 assistants have built up most interesting series of fossils illustrating 

 the relation of the life of the past to its environment. 



The trip to Budapest is likewise made most pleasantly by means of 

 the Danube boats. For miles the scenery is charming, especially in the 

 region of the Bakony Forest and the Little Carpathians. Then the 

 Danube takes a southern course and approaching Budapest after dusk 

 one can see the brightly illuminated Coronation church and other pub- 

 lic buildings an hour or more before they are reached. Approached 

 thus after dark, Budapest presents an enchanting spectacle, but equally 

 delightful is its charm in the day time, for quiet Buda with its Royal 

 Castle, Coronation church, and other ancient artistic monuments lo- 

 cated on the slope of the Buda Mountains is in great contrast with 

 Pest, a modern business metropolis on the other side of the Danube. 



Several days were spent at Budapest where a stud}- of its museums 

 and the local geology of the Hungarian Plain was made, but no 

 field collections were possible because language difficulties prevented 

 finding the localities. However, through friends made at this time it 

 will be possible to obtain valuable material later on. Returning to 

 Paris in order to take the boat at Cherbourg, short stops were made at 

 Vienna and Munich, particularly to study the new developments in 

 natural history museums. 



The cold, rainy condition in Europe made field-work, especially in 

 the clays of the London and Vienna basins, somewhat difficult, but, 

 nevertheless, I feel the time was profitably spent, for considerable 

 collections from various classic localities were obtained. The work 

 in the various museums, however, was very successful, with the re- 

 sult that man\' casts of type fossil echinoderms and particularly 

 Silurian crinoids hitherto wanting in the Springer collection have 

 been obtained. 



