NOVEMBEE 8, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



645 



present. No doubt the number of foreign 

 delegates would have been much greater had 

 the date been somewhat earlier; but as it was, 

 men came from all parts of the world, Japan, 

 India, Australia, Africa and both Americas, 

 while, of European nations, all except Spain, 

 Turkey and Eoumania, appear on the roll. 

 This widespread interest proves the general 

 appreciation of indebtedness to the old society. 



In accordance with custom, the celebration 

 was preceded by several excursions, which, con- 

 sidering the fact that field-work is no novelty 

 to most geologists, were well attended and 

 those sharing in them found profit as well as 

 pleasure. The Highlands of Scotland at- 

 tracted the petrographers ; the Lake Region of 

 England had much for geographers and South 

 Wales was a magnet for those interested in 

 applied geology. 



The formal exercises began on Thursday, 

 September 26. The president's reception of 

 delegates and guests took place in the House 

 of The Institution of Civil Engineers at 11 

 o'clock. The number to be received was so 

 great that, in order to bring the session 

 within reasonable limits, only one delegate 

 from each country was asked to speak, the 

 other delegates handing in their formal mes- 

 sages at the close of his address. Dr. Arnold 

 Hague was chosen to present greetings in be- 

 half of delegates from the United States and 

 his graceful address proved that the choice was 

 wise. In the afternoon, at the same place, the 

 president of the society. Sir Archibald Geikie, 

 delivered the presidential address, taking as 

 his topic, the state of geology at the time of 

 the foundation of the society. The speaker 

 traced the development of geological thought, 

 discussing the varying infiuences affecting it. 

 There were many matters requiring delicate 

 treatment before such an audience, but they 

 were dealt with frankly, and at the close all 

 recognized that the judicial attitude had been 

 maintained throughout and that the address is 

 an important contribution to the history of our 

 science. 



In the evening, the official dinner was given 

 at the Hotel Metropole and every corner of 

 that (the largest banquet hall in London) was 

 filled. The dinner closed with the usual course 



of addresses, representatives of France, Ger- 

 many, Switzerland and the United States be- 

 ing called upon to respond to toasts. One 

 must not fail to note that speakers at both the 

 reception and the dinner confined themselves 

 with nearly mathematical accuracy to the time 

 allotted — a condition almost without parallel 

 on similar occasions, which led some to sug- 

 gest that Sir Archibald Geikie had exerted 

 hypnotic influence upon the orators. If that 

 were the case, the long-suffering American 

 community would be glad to import him to 

 this country. 



The twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth were 

 devoted largely to making the visitors content 

 with themselves and their hosts. The treas- 

 ures in archeology, geology and related sci- 

 ences, accumulated in the several museums of 

 London, were opened up to groups of inter- 

 ested observers, and, under the guidance of 

 the Canon of St. Paul's, that cathedral was 

 examined historically as well as geologically — 

 the latter relation possessing much economic 

 interest. It may be remarked in passing that 

 anxiety respecting the security of that struc- 

 ture seems to be superfluous. The cracks in 

 the walls are not due to recent excavations for 

 subways and deep cellars, but they are as old 

 as the building itself, most of them having 

 developed during construction, as foreseen by 

 Sir Christopher Wren, who, as they appeared, 

 made proper arrangement for redistribution of 

 burden so as to prevent further trouble. 



In the early evening of the twenty-seventh, 

 a dinner to the delegates and invited guests 

 was given by the Geological Club of London, 

 which was a good example of " how to do it." 

 Each member of the club was directed to 

 annex some of the guests and to seat them 

 with him at the table; the result being that 

 groups of four or five with similar lines of 

 study or with affinities of other sorts were 

 brought together, making this a more than en- 

 joyable meeting for many who were present. 

 The formal exercises were brought to a close 

 on that evening by a brilliant conversazione at 

 the South Kensington museum, where many 

 old acquaintanceships were renewed and some 

 new ones converted into friendships. 



On Monday, the thirtieth, many of the dele- 



