ASSOCIATIONS FOR T11K A DVANVK.M KNT OF S( IKN< K. (BRITISH.) 



35 



the causes which produced the crystalline schi>ts 

 :iieiiiar\ 'origin. juM as by studying the 111- 

 tniMve masses themselves and noting UM tend- 

 ency to i>etrographieal differentiation, especially 

 at tin' margins, we may gain an insight into the 

 ciiiist-s which have produced the gneisses of 

 igneous origin. 



Among the papers of special note presented 

 lie fore this section were the following: "On the 

 IVtrologieal Features of the Dissected Volcano 

 of ('niiidiill Hasin, Wyoming," by Prof. Joseph 

 P. Iddings, of the University of Chicago, and 

 "On the Genetic Relationsof the Basic Kruptive, 

 Rocks of Gran," by Prof. W. C. BrOgger, of 

 Christiania University, Sweden. Other papers 

 were : " On Structures on Eruptive Bosses which 

 resemble those of Ancient Gneisses," by Sir Archi- 

 bald Geikie ; " On Berthelot's Principle applied 

 to Magmatic Concentration," by A. Barker: 

 " The Igneous Rocks of Barnavave, Carlingford," 

 by VV. J. Sollas ; " On the Derbyshire Toadstone," 

 by Arnold Bemrose ; " On the Geology of Cen- 

 tral East Africa," by Walcot Gibson : " In- 

 t-losiires of Quartz in Lavas of Stromboli and 

 Stmmbolicchio," by Johnston Levis; "On the 

 Glaciation of Asia/' by Prince Krapotkin ; and 

 " On Some Assumptions in Glacial Geology," by 

 Prof. Bonney. "The Place of Geology in Sec- 

 ondary and in Professional Education " was con- 

 sidered in the section and discussed by several 

 distinguished authorities. During the meeting 

 a joint gathering of Sections C and E, under 

 the presidency of Sir Archibald Geikie, was held 

 in order to discuss the limits between geology 

 and physical geography, and a joint meeting of 

 Sections C and D was held, under the presidency 

 of J. J. H. Teall, to discuss fossil and recent coral 

 reefs. 



D. Biology. This section was presided over 

 by Rev. H. Baker Tristram, D. D., LL. D., F. R. 

 S., Canon of Durham, who spoke as an Old 

 World naturalist, whose researches had been not 

 in the laboratory or with the microscope, but on 

 the wide desert, the mountain side, and the isles 

 of the sea. He referred to the fact that this year 

 is the centenary of the death of Gilbert White, 

 who is regarded as the father of field natu- 

 ralists. Although others had preceded him, he 

 was the first observer to recognize how much 

 may be learned from the life habits of birds. A 

 century and a half ago it had not come to be 

 recognized that distribution is, with morphology 

 and physiology, a most important factor in de- 

 termining the facts of biology. Two typical 

 examples of oceanic islands were contrasted. In 

 the Sandwich Islands there is scarcely a passer- 

 ine bird in its indigenous fauna which can be 

 referred to any genus known elsewhere, while in 

 the Canary Islands the process of differentiation 

 is only partially accomplished. Concerning the 

 migrations of birds, much less aid had been con- 

 t ri \ m t ed by the observations of field geologists than 

 might have been expected. Observation had an- 

 swered the question, Whither f but a true answer 

 to the Why I had not been obtained. We have 

 arrived at a fair knowledge of the When f of mi- 

 i, r rat ion ; of the How f we have ascertained a little, 

 but very little. Illustrations from Dr. Tristram's 

 own observations were cited on these various 

 points, and he also called attention to the ex- 

 ceptional migrations, not the mere wanderings 



of waifs and strays, nor yet the uncertain travels 

 of some species, but the colonizing nartie* of many 

 gregarious species which generally travel from 

 east to west or from .southeast to northwest, 

 after intervals sometimes of many years, or pome- 

 times for two or three years in succession. These 

 peculiarities still remained unexplained, although 

 the sense of direction unconsciously exen i-ed 

 may be submitted as a working hypothesis An- 

 other question which the field naturalist has 

 failed to explain is whether the much-disputed 

 topic of mimicry is protective or aggressive. 

 Various illustrations were cited among birds, 

 and then he referred to similarity, claiming that 

 similarity without mimicry was possible. < 

 of similarity in botany were mentioned, and the 

 curious case of the fruit in Japan which abso- 

 lutely mimics the alpine strawberry in the 

 minutest particulars, in its runners, itsblossoms, 

 and fruit, save alone that the fruit is simply dry 

 pith. In closing, he made reference to the sever- 

 ance of the last link with the pre-Darwinian 

 naturalists in the death of Sir Richard Owen. 

 He accumulated facts on the fossil remains that 

 came to his hands till he won the fame of being 

 the greatest comparative anatomist of the age. 

 In his old age Sir Richard had said : " The known 

 is very small compared with the knowable, and 

 we may trust in the Author of All Truth, who, I 

 think, will not let that truth remain forever 

 hidden." 



The following were among the more impor- 

 tant papers presented before this section : "The 

 Physico-Chemical and Vitalistic Theories of 

 Life," by J. S. Haldane ; " Malformation from 

 Prenatal Influence," by Russel Wallace : " The 

 ^Etiology and Life History of some Vegetal 

 Galls, and their Inhabitants," by G. B. Rothera ; 

 "Seals and Whales seen during a Voyage to the 

 Antarctic," by W. S. Bruce ; and " The Wings 

 of the Archseopteryx and other Birds," by C. 

 Herbert Hurst. The physiological department 

 of this section held a single meeting, which was 

 presided over by Prof. J. N. Langley, and several 

 papers read. Notably a " Report on the Physi- 

 ological Action of the Inhalation of Oxygen in 

 Asphyxia, more especially in Coal Mines." Also 

 a report of the Committee on the Legislative 

 Protection of Wild Birds was read and dis- 

 cussed. 



E. Geography. The presidential address in 

 this section was delivered by Henry Seebohm, F. 

 L. S., F. Z. S., Secretary of the Royal Geograph- 

 ical Society. He began by calling attention to 

 the statement that the foundation of all geogra- 

 phy is exploration, and that its scientific study 

 requires a knowledge of cartography and of me- 

 teorology or climatology. These facts he elab- 

 orated by discussing them in special reference 

 to the polar basin. There is only one polar ba- 

 sin, for the distribution of land and water round 

 the south pole is almost the converse of that 

 round the nrth pole. The history of the ex- 

 ploration of the polar basins is a long and tragic 

 one. In recent years two visits to Greenland are 

 worthy of note : that of Lieut. Peary, who reached 

 82 north latitude, and added material evidence 

 to show that Greenland is an island, and that of 

 Dr. Nansen, who crossed the continent of Green- 

 land at about 64 north latitude, reaching an 

 altitude of 9,000 feet. Both of these explorers 



