STR WILLIAM DAWSON 33 
Lady Dawson, with three sons and two daughters, survive 
him, of whom the eldest, Dr. George M. Dawson, the present 
director of the Geological Survey of Canada, has inherited his 
father’s love for geological studies, and has achieved wide dis- 
tinction in the world of science. 
Sir William’s first original contribution to science was a paper 
read before the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh in 1841, on a spe- 
cies of field mouse found in Nova Scotia. From that time 
onward he was a continuous contributor to scientific journals and 
to the publications of various learned societies. His papers 
were very numerous and covered a wide range of subjects in the 
domain of natural history. No less than 158 titles are recorded 
under his name in the Royal Society’s catalogue; and in a bibli- 
ography which he prepared for the Royal Society of Canada in 
1895, and which included only books and papers of the first 
importance, 128 titles are recorded. He contributed over 100 
papers to the publications of the Montreal Natural History 
Society alone. His complete bibliography, now in course of 
preparation, will certainly include several hundred contribu- 
tions. The most important work of his earlier years was an 
extended study of the geology of the maritime provinces of the 
Dominion of Canada. His results are embodied in his Acadian 
Geology, already mentioned, a volume of nearly 1000 pages, 
accompanied by a colored geological map of Nova Scotia, which 
has passed through four editions. In writing to Sir William in 
1868, Sir Charles Lyell says of this work: ‘I have been read- 
ing it steadily and with increased pleasure and profit. It is so 
full of original observation and sound theoretical views that it 
must, I think, make its way, and will certainly be highly prized 
by the more advanced scientific readers.” It is the most com- 
plete account which we have of the geology of Nova Scotia, New 
Brunswick, and Prince Edward’s Island, although since it appeared 
large portions of these provinces have been mapped in detail by 
the Geological Survey of Canada, and Sir William’s conclusions 
modified in some particulars. In carrying out this work Sir 
William paid especial attention to the paleontology of the 
