5'4 



NA TURH 



[Makcii 30, 1899 



and 1879 he was making known not only the Uintatheres 

 (his so-called Uinocerata) of the Eocene of the Western 

 States, but likewise the huge Jurassic Dinosaurs like 

 Brofilosaurus and A/lnii/osaiinis, as well as the Toothed 

 Cretaceous birds of Kansas. It was during this period, 

 too, th.1t the world was excited by his discovery of the 

 pecliyree of the horse, which fortunately came just when 

 an actual example was urgently needed to solidify the 

 foundations of the evolutionary hypothesis. 



On this side of the .Atlantic we are, perhaps, too apt to 

 regard Marsh in the light of what used to be called a 

 closet naturalist, liut he was in reality a courageous and 

 intrepid explorer, who between the years 1869 and 1888 

 is stated to have crossed the Rocky Mountains no less 

 than twenty-one times. And in the early days of his ex- 

 plorations, before the opening-up of the country by rail- 

 ways, such expeditions contained no slight elements of 

 danger. Xot only were there difficulties of the road and 

 inclemencies of climate with which to contend, but hostile 

 Indians were often on his track ; and we have heard 

 from the explorer's own lips accounts of some of the 

 perils to which he has been exposed on trips of this 

 description. 



We have said that it was between 1S69 and 1879 t^^t 

 the great bulk of the early descriptive paUvontological 

 work of Marsh took place ; and by the latter date he had 

 leisure to undertake more elaborate and detailed memoirs. 

 Accordingly, we find the cjuarto monograph on 

 "Odontornithes" making its appearance in 1880, and 

 that on "^ Dinocerata " four years later. We believe that 

 similar monographs on the Titanotheres and Dinosaurs 

 were in contemplation, and the plates for them prepared ; 

 but for some reason, into which we need not inquire, 

 these were never issued. .\ smaller memoir on the last- 

 named group was, however, published in 1896. What- 

 ever may be the final judgment as to the value of the 

 iliterary matter in the two quarto memoirs, the beauty and 

 exactness of tlieir exquisite illustrations will render them 

 of permanent value. 



Twenty years after the discovery of the Bridger and 

 Uinta beds— that is to say, in 1889 — Marsh v/as able to 

 announce the discoveryofnumerous remains of Cretaceous 

 Mammals in the Laramie formation of Dakota and 

 Montana. .And although he was not absolutely the first 

 to make the discovery, the number of specimens he 

 obtained first put the occurrence of mammals in these 

 beds on a firm footing. .About this time he was also 

 engaged in making known the gigantic: Horned Dinosaurs 

 of the Laramie, whose huge bulk and uncouth forms 

 made them even more marvellous than their predecessors 

 of the Jurassic. 



And here it may be mentioned that Marsh by no 

 means confined his investigations to pakeontology, fre- 

 quently entering upon ciuestions of the age of strata. A 

 remarkable instance of this is a paper urging that the 

 British Wealden strata should be regarded as of Upper 

 Jurassic rather than of Lower Cretaceous age ; a com- 

 munication which, we think, has scarcely received all the 

 attention that it deserves at the hands of European 

 ■workers. 



What will be the final verdict in regard to Marsh's 

 life-work, it is too early to attempt to forecast. As 

 a collector and explorer he had great anil unrivalled 

 opportunities ; and in this part of his task, at least, he 

 rose fully to the occasion. He saw his opportunity of 

 making a great name, and he took it. And yet, perhaps, 

 this is scarcely a fair way of putting it, for there is little 

 doubt that .Marsh had a strong and innate love for his 

 work, which would have led him to be a paleontologist 

 under any circumstances. 



Being a man of great determination and strength of 

 will, he, like many others of the same turn of mind, could 

 ill brook contradiction ; and he was accordingly some- 

 what too apt to insist on his own views and hypotheses 



>">• 1535. VOL. 59] 



long after they had been proved incorrect or untenable. 



And it was probably this impatience of contradiction and 

 correction that at times led him to mistake reiterated and 

 dogmatic assertion of refuted statements for logical 

 argument. That Marsh is entitled to claim a place in 

 the very front rank of scientific workers is not likely to 

 be urged ; and there are, in truth, no grand and enduring 

 generalisations associated with his name. .At the same 

 time, to paraphrase the words of the donors of the Bigsby 

 and Lyell medals, he is undoubtedly one who has been 

 of the most eminent service to pake-ontology, and has, 

 therefore, deserved well of the science. 



Allusion has already been made incidentally to certain 

 acrimonious feelings connected with his work on the 

 other side of the .Atlantic. May we venture to hope that 

 in tlie future his co-labourers and successors in America 

 will ende.ivour to dwell on his merits rather than on his 

 failings, and to remember that the time-honoured motto, 

 "/)^ morluis nil nisi bonuni" has not vet been super- 

 seded. ' R. L. 



I 



WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY BETWEEN 

 FRANCE AND ENGLAND. 



MR. M.ARCONI is to be cordially congratulated upon 

 the success which has attended his latest ex- 

 periments in telegraphy without intervening wires. For 

 several months he has been actively engaged in esta- 

 blishing communication by means of his apparatus 

 between stations several miles apart. He has gradually 

 increased the distance between the stations, and has now- 

 succeeded in exchanging messages across the Channel. 

 The Times of yesterday prints the following message 

 transmitted by wireless telegraphy from France, and the 

 communication possesses particular interest on account 

 of the fact that it is the first press message sent across 

 the Channel by the wireless telegraph system. 



" W/wrfux, March 28. 



" Communication between England and the Continent 

 was set up yesterday m.orning by the Marconi system of 

 wireless telegraphy. The points between which the ex- 

 periments are being conducted are South Foreland and 

 Wimreux, a village on the French coast, two miles north 

 of Boulogne, where a vertical standard wire, 150 feet 

 high, has been set up. The distance is thirty-two miles. 

 The experiments are being carried on in the Morse code. 

 Signor Marconi is here conducting the trials, and is very 

 well satisfied with the results obtained. 



"This message has been transmitted by the Marconi 

 system from Wimreux to the Foreland. ' 



The Dover correspondent of the Ti/ms states that 

 this and other messages were received and read at the 

 South Foreland station with as much distinctness as 

 though the termini had been connected with wires. This 

 is a very remarkable achievement, and one that will to 

 some extent compensate Mr. Marconi for the trouble he 

 has taken to bring his apparatus to that state of per- 

 fection which has led to such gratifying success. The 

 practical value of a system of telegraphy which en- 

 ables messages to be exchanged across the Channel 

 without the use of connecting wires cannot be over- 

 estimated. 



The experiments were conducted by Mr. Marconi in 

 the presence of Colonel du Pontavice, French military 

 attache, .md Commandant Fi^ron, naval attacht! in 

 London ; Captain Ferrier, representing the French 

 Government, and M. \'oisenat, of the French tele- 

 graph scr\ ice. The results obtained have placed the 

 efficiency of Mr. Marconi's instruments beyond doubt, 

 and we may hope soon to see the establishment of a 

 regular system of communication with the continent by 

 means of telegraphy without connecting wires. 



