37 

 PETROLOGY IN YORKSHIRE.* 



ALFRED MARKER, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., 

 Cambridge. 



The fiftieth Annual Meeting of the Yorkshire Naturahsts' 

 Union might be deemed a fit occasion for reviewing the work 

 accomphshed during its long career by the body to which we 

 all ow^n allegiance. The record is an honourable one, and 

 much interest — perhaps some wholesome lessons too — might 

 be gathered from an adequate survey of it. Such a task, 

 however, could be profitably attempted only by one who has 

 been closely in touch with the activities of the Union ; and the 

 circumstances which have made me for long an exile from my 

 native county have denied me this necessary qualification. 



I relinquish the attempt not without some regret. It 

 was in rambles about my Yorkshire home that I acquired 

 early an interest in shells, in insects, in the minute life of our 

 ponds and streams ; and my enthusiasm for geology was first 

 kindled by John Phillips' writings, my guide on many an 

 excursion along our coast. With these memories, I have 

 always cherished a keen interest in the work of the Yorkshire 

 Naturalists' Union ; but it has perforce been the intei'est of an 

 onlooker rather than an actor, for, in thirty years of membership, 

 I have seldom found opportunity to take part in the meetings. 

 I must therefore crave your indulgence if I confine within 

 somewhat narrow limits the remarks which I have to offer 

 to this gathering. But, while a detailed retrospect lies outside 

 my scope, I should certainly be lacking in a due regard for the 

 occasion, were I to let it pass without giving some expression 

 to the reflections prompted by this anniversarj^ 



At the respectable age which the Union has now attained, 

 it does not, to the most anxious eyes, show any signs of senile 

 decay. Our muster-roll to-day numbers over forty affifiated 

 societies. An institution which, on its fiftieth birthday, can 

 point to so numerous a progeny, assuredly need not be ashamed 

 to speak with its enemies in the gate. The field-meetings, 

 which visit in turn every district of Yorkshire, show no flagging 

 of interest, but abundantly demonstrate that, after half a 

 century of such exploration, there is still an ample field for the 

 energies of our naturalists. The Union largely supports, and, 

 under the guidance of a succession of able editors, has continued 

 to maintain at a high standard, the oldest scientific periodical 

 in the country. The more weighty contributions published 



* An Address delivered at the Fiftieth Annual Meeting of the York- 

 shire Naturalists' Union, at Heckmondwike, December i6th, igii. 



iqi2 Feb. I. 



