Geological Society of London. 187 



and carried on under more favourable conditions. It is thus all the more gratifying 

 and encouraging to me that such results as I have been able to obtain should be 

 deemed worthy of the recognition of the Society. 



' ' I may be pardoned for alluding to the fact that some of the earliest work in 

 Canadian Geology is due to the personal efforts of the distinguished Founder of this 

 Medal, in whose very footsteps it has at times been my privilege to follow. This, 

 with the pleasant remembrance of advantages derived in former years from personal 

 intercourse with Dr. Bigsby, and kindly advice received from him, tend to enhance, 

 if possible, the sense of gratification felt by me in learning that my name has been 

 added to the roll of those considered worthy to receive the Bigsby Medal." 



In presenting the Balance of the Wollaston Fund to Eichard 

 Lydekker, Esq., B.A,, F.G.S., the President said : — 



Mr. Lydekker,— The Council has awarded to you the Proceeds of the Wollaston 

 Donation Fund in recognition of the value of your numerous contributions to 

 Vertebrate Pahie ontology. We trust that you will continue these investigations 

 and that, whether they appear in the publications of this Society or elsewhere, the 

 results, like those which have preceded them, may tend to the steady advancement 

 of our favourite science. 



Mr. Lydekkeb., in reply, said: — Mr. President, — The particular branch of 

 Palaeontology to which my own studies have been more especially directed is one 

 which, from its nature, is so beset with difficulties that it is very apt to lead to 

 misgivings as to whether any real good results from its pursuit. The assiu'ance 

 conveyed by the honour that the Council of the Society has conferred upon me, that 

 such work as I have been able to do is not unappreciated, is therefore very gratifying. 



Although circumstances have rendered it almost imperative that I should devote 

 my time to literary work rather than to original scientific research, yet I still hope to 

 do something in the latter held. 



Please accept, Sir, on behalf of the Council, my thanks for the mark of distinction 

 that they have bestowed upon me. 



In handing the Balance of the Murchison Geological Fund 

 (awarded to the Rev, Richard Baron, F.L.S.. F.G.S., of Antanana- 

 rivo) to Wm. Topley, Esq., F.R.S., for transmission to the recipient, 

 the President said : — 



Mr. Topley, — I have to request you to transmit to the Eev. R. Baron the Balance 

 of the Proceeds of the Murchison Geological Fund, in testimony of the interest taken 

 by the Council in the geological work which, amid so many discouragements, he is 

 carrying on in Madagascar. We desire him to accept this Award as a mark of our 

 hearty sympathy and of our wish to aid him in his researches. 



Mr. ToPLET, in reply, said: — Mr. President,— On behalf of Mr. Baron, who is 

 now in Madagascar, I beg to thank the Council and yourself for the houom- conferred 

 upon him in the award of the Murchison Fund. As a Missionary in an area as yet 

 but little known, Mr. Baron has exceptional opportunities for original research, and 

 that he has not neglected those opportunities is evident from his papers already read 

 to this Society and to the Linnean Society. The Award now made will, I am sure, 

 be an incentive to further work in a most promising field of research. 



The President then handed one half of the Balance of the Lyel I 

 Geological Fund, awarded to Dr. C. J. Forsyth-Major, of Florence, 

 to Dr. H. Woodward, F.R.S., for transmission to the recipient, and 

 addressed him as follows : — 



Dr. Woodward, — In requesting you to transmit to Dr. Forsyth-Major one moiety 

 of the Balance of the Lyell Geological Fund, I wish to express the Council's appre- 

 ciation of his researches and its hope that he will continue them. He has done much 

 to increase our knowledge of the Pliocene Mammalia of the Val d'Arno, and he has 

 recently extended his explorations among the younger Tertiary deposits of the Eastern 

 Mediterranean. 



Dr. Woodward, in reply, said :— Mr. President, — On behalf of Dr. C. J. Forsyth- 

 Major, I have to acknowledge the honour conferred upon him by the Council of this 



