XXVI PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



me with it, — I was born in sight of one Crag pit, and shall probably 

 be buried in sight of another. 



The honour you have conferred upon me ought to be an incite- 

 ment to further exertions ; but the age at which I have arrived will 

 not, I fear, permit me to promise much : the spirit is willing, but 

 the flesh is weak. 



I beg also to thank you, Sir, for the favourable opinion, as I was 

 informed, you publicly expressed of • my labours when you were in 

 my native country about eight or nine years ago. 



The President then addressing Mr. Jones and Mr. Parkee, said : — 



Zoologists and Palaeontologists are equally indebted to your 

 assiduous labours among the minute creatures which you have 

 taught us to recognize through a large part of the Strata of the 

 British Isles, and to compare with analogues now living, or repre- 

 sentatives in distant regions. The long duration in time, the great 

 variation of form, and the wide diffusion in space of these remark- 

 able Microzoa render them objects of special interest to all who 

 speculate on the succession of life and the mutability of species. 

 Your researches, rich in definite facts, reduce the catalogues of species, 

 but extend their recorded duration in time, and thus link several 

 past geological periods with the life of the present ocean. To prove 

 our sympathy in this your extremely intricate labour, the Geological 

 Society has instructed me to place in your hands the proceeds of tho 

 Wollaston Donation Fund. 



Mr. Rupert Jones thus replied : — 



Sir, — Your kind and flattering observations on the Rhizopodal 

 studies of my friend Mr. Parker and myself indicate rather the value 

 of the subject of our researches than the results as yet attained by 

 us. "We hope that, favoured by time and circumstances, we may 

 fulfil some at least of the anticipations which geologists and physio- 

 logists may expect from a patient, conscientious, and wide-extended 

 examination of the recent and fossil Foraminifera. 



"We have come to the study by different paths,— my friend through 

 physiological researches, while my motives have been chiefly pako- 

 ontological. We believe that a painstaking criticism and comparison 

 of the works of earlier naturalists, and a philosophical treatment of 

 the mass of new materials now., in our possession will tend to the 

 "best results. 



If we have, in our hand a clue to the elucidation of the history of 

 these Microzoa, and of the part— the important part — that they 

 have played in building up the stratified crust of the earth, we trust 

 that careful perseverance will enable us to follow it up to some 

 useful end, and to the working out of some good physical truths ; 

 and we feel especially gratified by the notice, Sir, you have taken of 

 our researches, and by the kind encouragement which the Society 

 has been pleased to bestow upon us. 



