1 6 PARENTAGE AND YOUTH CHAP, i 



not been noticed by others before him. Thus, as far 

 back as the summer of 1837, he had observed the 

 mass of granite of ' Ploverfield,' of which the first 

 published account was given three years later by 

 Necker de Saussure. 1 These discoveries were duly 

 communicated to his friend Nichol, who doubtless 

 made good use of them as an encouragement to 

 continued investigation. 



The meeting of the British Association for the 

 Advancement of Science was held in Glasgow in 

 September 1840. Among the preparations for that 

 meeting a committee was started for the purpose of 

 gathering together a collection of specimens, maps, 

 and sections illustrative of the geology of the west of 

 Scotland. In order to expedite the task, various 

 sub-committees were formed, to each of which a special 

 branch of the work was assigned. One of these was 

 organised to prepare a model of the island of Arran, 

 together with specimens of its geological formations. 

 The convener of this sub-committee was Professor 

 Nichol, who, as one of the local secretaries of the 

 Association, undertook a large amount of labour and 

 responsibility, and contributed much to the success of 

 the Glasgow meeting. Ramsay was the secretary of 

 the sub-committee, and, single-handed, did almost the 

 whole of its work. In reporting to the general 

 Museum Committee what they had done, Professor 

 Nichol, who drew up the statement, remarked that 

 1 Arran had previously been surveyed by several 

 geologists ; but although these eminent men had given 

 valuable accounts of their observations, many blanks 

 remained to be filled up, and several important ques- 

 tions, having reference to the particular modes and 



1 Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin. xiv. (1840), p. 667. 



