Ixxxii PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [May 1 899, 



requirements of civilized man, showing him the best mode of pro- 

 viding for many of his wants,' and that questions such as water- 

 supply, etc., ' constitute a scarcely less important, .branch of our 

 science than the palaeontological questions connected with the life 

 of past periods, or than the great theoretical problems relating to 

 physical and cosmical phenomena.' He then notes that applied 

 geology ' is, as it were, only incidental to our general studies, and 

 therefore not often the topic of our discussions, notwithstanding its 

 practical importance.' ^ 



As it had been then, so it has been since, and such practical 

 applications of geology as have been mentioned have had but scant 

 attention from this Society : indeed, we have done little more than 

 print a number of sections of wells and borings that are essential in 

 sundry papers. Last year we had a small paper from Mr. Mad an 

 relating to fluctuation of water-level, and in 1897 a short note on 

 the analyses of some African waters, from Miss Aston; in 1893 

 Prof. Hull gave us a short paper referring to water-supply from 

 the Lower Greensand ; in 1888 we had a paper on the Durham 

 salt-district from Mr. E. Wilson ; in 1886, Mr. H. B. Woodward 

 treated of the deep well-water of Swindon, etc. ; some remarks 

 on the water-supply of the Metropolis were made in 1884, by 

 Prof. Judd, in his paper on the Richmond boring, and the Droitwieh 

 brine-springs were noticed by Mr. Parkinson. Then we may go 

 back to 1876, when Sir John Evans alluded to the water-supply of 

 London, at the end of his Address, and to the above-mentioned 

 Address of Sir Joseph Prestwich in 1872, which deals at some 

 length with ^ Our Springs & Water-supply.' 



This seems but little in so long a period, and I think that some of 

 our younger members might well devote a little attention to questions 

 of economic import. Ear be it from me to suggest anything that 

 would interfere with the progress of our science : the papers brought 

 before us must be chiefly concerned with science, pure and simple ; 

 but surely every branch of geology ought to be represejited. 



We should note, too, that the practical bearings of geology are by 

 no means antagonistic to the more purely scientific pursuit of know- 

 ledge. I have found that the necessity of looking at things from 

 a more or less utilitarian standpoint sometimes makes one notice 

 points that might otherwise escape attention, and the same result 

 has happened to some of my friends. One such case I may mention, 

 from the experience of one of our Eellows who is perhaps as much 



^ Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol, xxviii (187 ) p. lii. 



