GROWTH OF GEOLOGY. 229 



with persistent patience the various effects of denu- 

 dation on beds of lava, to propound the doctrine of 

 the origin of valleys by the erosive action of the 

 streams which flow in them, and in short, to lay, 

 not one but several of the foundation-stones of modern 

 geology. 



In Sir Archibald Geikie's fascinating account of 

 the founders of geology, the next two names are Peter 

 Simon Pallas (1741-1811), and Horace Benedict de 

 Saussure (1740-1799). Pallas was in charge of a 

 famous Russian expedition (1768-1774) ordered by 

 the Empress Catherine II., primarily with the object 

 of observing the Transit of Venus, but also with in- 

 structions to make a complete regional survey of 

 everything from mountains to man. Geologically, 

 the expedition was signalised by the discovery of the 

 widespread remains of mammoth, rhinoceros, and 

 buffalo in the Siberian basins, and by Pallas's re- 

 searches on the origin and history of mountains. 

 Par beyond the limits of geology, the work of Pallas 

 has an acknowledged importance. 



'' The labours of De Saussure among the Alps 

 mark an epoch, not only in the investigation of the 

 history of the globe, but in the relations of civilised 

 mankind to the mountains which diversify the sur- 

 face of the land.'' He broke down a strange tradi- 

 tional prejudice against the horror of the great hills 

 and inspired the modern enthusiasm for mountain- 

 eering; he began experiments in rock-making; he 

 furnished a model of how mountain ranges should 

 be studied and described ; and he seems to have been 

 the first to adopt the terms Geology and Geologist.^ 



When theoretical critics came to Desmarest with 

 objections, he used to say " Go and see " ; and if it 

 * See Geikie, p. 88. 



