Sbptembbe 21, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



441 



graphical commission which was presented 

 by M. Zittel in the absence of its chief 

 advocate, M. Renevier ; difference of opin- 

 ion chiefly concerned the proposed sub- 

 stitution of the terms Paleozoic, Meso- 

 zoic and Cenozoic for Primary, Second- 

 ary and Tertiary ; when this proposal was 

 practically withdrawn by M. Bertrand the 

 report was adopted. The Congress ad- 

 journed to a reception by M. and Mme. 

 Gaudry in the new gallery of Paleontology 

 in the Jardin des Plantes. The installation 

 of fossils and vertebrates in this gallery and 

 the comparative anatomical museum on the 

 lower floor rearranged by M. Filhoz were 

 greatly admired. Sunday, Monday, Wed- 

 nesday, Friday and Sunday following were 

 devoted to very attractive excursions to the 

 classic horizons in the neighborhood of 

 Paris and to the scientific features of the 

 Exposition, while four more days were as- 

 signed to the work of the Sections, includ- 

 ing the closing session of Monday, August 

 27th. 



The papers were successively brought to- 

 gether in groups as follows : general geology, 

 petroleum-bearing rocks and paleozoic suc- 

 cession, geology of Syria, Africa and Mada- 

 gascar, petrography and vulcanism, glacial 

 phenomena and report of international 

 commission on glaciers, report on nomen- 

 clature and the geological chart of Europe, 

 geology of ISTorth and South America (com- 

 munications by Osborn, Scott, Matthew and 

 Walcott). Among matters of detail the 

 following deserve mention : the award of 

 the 'Leonide Spendiarofif international prize' 

 to M. Karpinsky, who insisted upon trans- 

 ferring the money award to some young 

 French geologist; the announcement by 

 M. Keilhac of a new geological review, the 

 Geologisches Centralhlatt ; the selection of 

 Vienna as the meeting place for the ninth 

 congress. 



The unbounded hospitality of the gov- 

 ernment, of the Exposition authorities 



and of the members resident in Paris was 

 greatly appreciated and enjoyed. The 

 President of the Republic invited all the 

 Congressistes to a charming afternoon re- 

 ception and open air theatricals in the 

 garden of the Elysee palace. There was 

 also a liberal distribution of seats and 

 boxes in the national theatres. M. and 

 Mme. Gaudry and Prince Roland Bonaparte 

 gave two evening receptions. On Satur- 

 day, August 25th, an elaborate banquet 

 was given by the French Geologists in the 

 new Hotel du Palais d'Orsay. The excur- 

 sionists also were indebted for liberal re- 

 ductions in fare made by the French rail- 

 roads. Socially the Congress was a great 

 success, the receptions as well as the inter- 

 vals between the sessions afibrding abun- 

 dant opportunities for personal intercourse, 

 and it is well recognized that this, rather 

 than the presentation of long and serious 

 papers, is the chief end of a congi-ess. At 

 the same time it was felt by many present 

 that several of the papers presented were 

 not of a high order or general character and 

 should not have been admitted at all, and 

 that the time arranged for discussion was 

 insufiicient. The scientific spirit was nat- 

 urally somewhat disturbed by the prox- 

 imity of the Exposition and the Salle des 

 Congres itself was not well suited for the 

 meetings in point of acoustics or apparatus. 

 But for these features the French geologists 

 were not responsible and, with one or two 

 minor exceptions, the arrangements over 

 which they had complete control were ex- 

 cellent. This is especially true of the ex- 

 cursions which were admirably prearranged 

 and conducted ; the Guide Geologique de 

 France, prepared for the twenty great and 

 many lesser excursions, is really a volum- 

 inous treatise and resume of the most re- 

 cent geological researches in France, attrac- 

 tively illustrated by 372 figures and 25 

 plates; it sets a new standard for future 

 congresses. 



