JDr. Henry Woodward — Photography in Geology. 409 



that have been made by the application of photography both to 

 process-plates and to illustrations in the text (especially in the last 

 quarter of a century), which has so enriched and enhanced the 

 value and interest of this and other scientific journals. That good 

 half-tone process-blocks can be made from photographs of any 

 geological subject taken in the field, is now well established; 

 nevertheless, two points are absolutely essential to their success : 

 (1) the photograph must be particularly clear and well-defined 

 in its details ; (2) the block, however good, may easily be rendered 

 worthless by bad or careless printing ; moreover, it must be 

 reproduced upon paper with a finely finished surface, although it 

 need not necessarily be the highly glazed kind (heavily loaded with 

 kaolin) now so much in vogue for the illustrated Monthlies. 



The project of forming a large permanent public collection of 

 photographs, illustrating as far as possible the most important 

 features of geological interest in the United Kingdom, was initiated 

 l)y Mr. 0. W. Jeffs in 1888, who read a paper upon the subject at the 

 Bath Meeting of the British Association in that year ; and in the 

 year following, a Committee' was appointed and Mr. Jeffs undertook 

 the management of the work, which he carried on for seven years 

 with indefatigable zeal and care, only relinquishing it when the 

 size of the collection began to exceed the capabilities of private 

 control and the possibility of one person being able to devote the 

 requisite time and attention to its custody. Up to the year 1895 

 twelve hundred photographs had been obtained, and it was deemed 

 advisable that the collection should be placed in the Library of the 

 Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn-street, where it has since 

 remained, and is available for reference to all those who take a real 

 interest in or desire to make a proper use of it. 



It is no easy task to arrange and catalogue such a collection 

 properly, and this has now been and is being done with the sanction 

 of the Director of the Geological Survey, under the careful supervision 

 of the Committee's indefatigable Secretary, Professor W. W. Watts, 

 M.A., Sec. Geol. Soc, and has already proved of the very greatest 

 use to geologists, whilst its ample store of beautiful illustrations are 

 being constantly added to, and also drawn upon for purposes of 

 illustrating works on descriptive geology and physiography' and 

 for various textbooks. 



The collection is moreover a permanent record of all the most 

 important features in the geology and scenery of our Islands, as 

 seen to-day; but very soon some important modification may have 

 taken place, and by to-morrow a storm, a landslip, or the action 

 of the sea may have changed the face of Nature at the spot de- 

 picted, and the now carefully preserved picture may be the only 

 record of the interesting scene. Happily, we are not subject to 

 earthquakes or volcanic disturbances in this country, as in Italy, 

 New Zealand, or the West Indies, which might destroy a whole 



^ For an earKer account of the work of the British Association Photographic 

 Committee see articles by Professor "W. W. Watts, M.A., Sec. Geol. Soc, in 

 Geol. Mag., 1897, Dec. IV, Vol. IV, pp. 31-37, 62, and 109. 



