Editorials. 



The sixth International Geological Congress is of the past. 

 It was arranged that it should be in Zurich, but a more proper 

 statement would be that it was in Switzerland, for the real work 

 of the Congress was done in nearly all parts of that republic, — in 

 the Jura at the northwest, in the great valley separating the Jura 

 and the Alps, in the Alps, and on the Italian lakes to the south. 



The officers in charge of the Congress, with admirable judg- 

 ment, decided that the important matters were not acts of legis- 

 lation in reference to geology, but an opportunity for the geolo- 

 gists of the world to gain an acquaintance with the geology of 

 Switzerland, and the methods of work of the Swiss geologists. 

 With these as the controlling thoughts, a series of excursions 

 was arranged, running over a month or more. In planning these, 

 while the geological interest of the localities was a controlling 

 factor, care was taken that the visitors should enjoy the magnif- 

 icent scenery of Switzerland. The excursions had such variety and 

 scope that each geologist was able to find at least one before the 

 sessions at Zurich, and one after, which covered his particular line 

 of work, and this whether he were a palaeontologist, a structural 

 geologist, a glacialist or a petrographer. The excursions were fur- 

 ther divided into two classes : the first provided for those who did 

 not care for, or were not able to endure physical hardship, and there- 

 fore were largely by carriage, steamboat, and railway ; the second 

 class, largely on foot, provided for those who were able to take 

 long walks and endure severe climbing. The rendezvous for 

 the excursions before the sessions were at various places in Swit- 

 zerland. They were all well arranged so as to converge naturally 

 at Zurich. After the Congress another set of excursions diverged 

 from Zurich and converged at Lugano. Those before the Con- 

 gress were in the Jura, those after in the Alps. All who went on 



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