THANSACTIONS OF SECTION C. 643 



inevitable ; all those students who intend to earn their own livinfr, all those who feel 

 anxious to undertake professorial work, conclude that, however much they may 

 be interested in the investigation of the characters of minerals, they will do well 

 to follow the example of Professor Whewell and turn to other branches of knowledge 

 in which there is a more hopeful prospect of their studies meeting with practical 

 recognition. 



It cannot be expected that advanced Mineralogy will ever be able to command 

 the attention of more than a limited number of students, seeing that its successful 

 pursuit requires a preliminary knowledge of at least three other sciences — mathe- 

 matics, physics, and chemistry — sciences which must be assigned a fundamental 

 importance in any scheme of education ; if a preliminary knowledge of geology can 

 be added, so much the better. Only few students can find time in their undergraduate 

 days to acquire a competent knowledge of these sciences and to proceed afterwards 

 to the study of Mineralogy. Bat the comparatively flourishing condition of the 

 science in German}', France, and other countries indicates that this is not a 

 sufficient reason for refraining from giving proper facilities and encouragement to 

 those who wish to enter upon its study. Some years ago the University of 

 Cambridge took a step in the right direction, and introduced Mineralogy into their 

 examinational system in such a way that the students of Physics, Chemistry, and 

 Geology can give time to the acquisition of a knowledge of Crystallography and 

 Mineralogy, and obtain credit for that knowledge in the examination for a degree. 



It is clear that if in the future there is to be an honourable rivalry between 

 this and other countries in the advancement of the knowledge of minerals, each of 

 our Universities should be enabled in some way or other to found Professorships 

 of Mineralogy, and be prevailed upon to follow the example of Cambridge in en- 

 couraging the students of Physics, Chemistry, and Geology to acquire a knowledge 

 of Crystallography and Mineralogy before their education is regarded as complete. 

 Even where a student has no intention of devoting himself to advanced mineral- 

 ogical study, an elementary knowledge of Crystallography and iNlinevalogy will be 

 extremely useful in giving him a better grasp of his own special subject. 



And if, perchance, any of you are anxious to reduce the amount of those un- 

 mentionable duties of which we have heard so much of late, and feel that you can 

 best do this by the endowment of Professorships of Mineralogy in our Universities, 

 I would advise you not to do what has been so long practicable at this Association, 

 couple Mineralogy with any other science — that would be an unwise economy. 

 Each of the sciences is now so vast in its extent that no professor can be thoroughly 

 master of what has been done, and is now being done, by other workers, in more 

 than one of them. I remember that in my younger days it was held by some at 

 Oxford that the Professor of Mineralogy, a so-called subordinate subject, should 

 continue to be paid o'l a lower scale than his brother professors, and that he should 

 obtain a living wage by adding a college tutorship or a lectureship in some other 

 subject to his professorial duties. It is not by the prospect of such appointments 

 that you can expect the most capable men to be attracted to the study of minerals. 

 The practical effect of such an arrangement would only be that a college lecturer 

 would give formal teaching in Mineralogy while devoting his real energy to 

 another subject in which the pupils are more numerous. 



It only remains to thank you for the way in which you have listened to a 

 technical address relative to a science for the study of which very few facilities 

 have been offered to you in our own country. Not often does the mineralogist 

 present himself before an audience; he sees only too clearly that 



The applause of listening senates to command, 

 To read his history in a nation's eyes, 

 His lot forbids ; 



but I shall not have broken the long silence in vain if I have made clear to you 

 that, though the Science of Mineralo<iy is itself making great progress, we have 

 hitherto given too little encouragement to its study in our own Universities, and 

 lag far behind both Germany and France in the recognition of its importance. 



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