272 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 193 8 



geologic materials and processes are always available and may either 

 furnish the major interest or play some subordinate part. Geology 

 lends itself readily to the inculcation of methods of scientific study. 

 Either induction or deduction may be employed. The method of 

 multiple working hypotheses outlined by Gilbert 5 many years ago is 

 a noteworthy contribution to scientific education. 



Geologic literature, like that of other sciences, or literature in 

 general, contains much that is commonplace. Nevertheless, in the 

 hands of its masters it has risen to heights worthy of the emulation 

 of any student of English as well as of the sciences. Some years ago 

 I came upon such a passage written by Sir Archibald Geikie. 6 It has 

 lingered in my memory ever since. Discussing stratified rocks of 

 pre-Cambrian age, he writes: 



Few parts of the stratified crust of the earth present greater interest than these 

 earliest remaining sediments. As the geologist lingers among them, fascinated 

 by their antiquity and by the stubbornness with which they have shrouded their 

 secrets from his anxious scrutiny, he can sometimes scarcely believe that they 

 belong to so remote a part of the earth's history as they can be assuredly proved 

 to do. 



The shores of the British Isles have suffered severely from marine 

 erosion, fine examples of which may be seen at many places along their 

 coasts. The islands are small enough to enable almost any one who 

 so desires to view the activities of the ocean and the effects that winds, 

 waves, currents, and tides have produced. It is therefore not strange 

 that poetic and artistic genius should be stirred by scenes like these. 

 Such may have been the background of Tennyson's poem, Crossing 

 the Bar, which has brought peace and comfort to vast numbers of 

 people. 



Mendelssohn's celebrated overture to Fingal's Cave, still heard in 

 symphony concerts, was composed after his visit to the Island of 

 Staffa off the Scottish coast in 1829. Thus literature and art have 

 been enriched by interested observation of geologic processes and 

 products. 



Sometimes art, as well as business, may be promoted by proximity 

 of needed materials. Professor Shaler used to say that the reason 

 Greek sculpture advanced to such heights of excellence was the fact 

 that in the marbles of Attica the Greeks possessed an unrivaled medium 

 for the expression of their art. 



In the ordinary prosecution of his work the geologist brings to light 

 facts, principles, and ideas of great educational value. His reports, 

 papers, and discussions serve as the basis for textbook compilations, 

 classroom studies, and field excursions. As a branch of scientific 

 knowledge the cultural value of geology can hardly be overestimated. 



« Gilbert, Q. K., Amer. Journ. Sci., vol. 3, No. 31, pp. 284-299, 1886. 



« Geikie. A., Text book of geology, 4th ed., vol. 2, p. 876, New York, 1903. 



