Vol. 54.] AIJJNIVEESAEY MEETING WOLLASTON MEDAL. XXXix 



Award of the WoLLASTOisr Medal. 



In handing the Wollaston Medal (awarded to Prof. Perdinand 

 ZiRKEL, F.M.G.S., of Leipzig) to Mr. J. J. H. Teall, for transmission 

 to the recipient, the President addressed him as follows : — 



Mr. Teall, — 



The Council of the Geological Society have this year awarded the 

 Wollaston Medal to Prof. Zirkel, as a mark of their appreciation 

 of the great services which he has rendered to Geological Science, 

 especially in the department of Petrology. His ' Lehrbuch der 

 Petrographie,' the first edition of which was published more than 

 30 years ago, is an indispensable adjunct to the library of every 

 petrologist. A comparison of the two editions of this monumental 

 work, the second of which has only recently appeared, illustrates in 

 a most striking manner the enormous advance which has taken 

 place in petrographical science during the interval — an advance in 

 no small measure due to the influence exerted by Prof. Zirkel, both 

 as a teacher and as an original worker. 



His classic memoir on the ' Microscopic Structure and Composi- 

 tion of Basaltic Rocks ' was one of the first publications in which 

 the results of the examination of an extensive series of microscopic 

 sections were made known. It marks an epoch in the history of 

 petrography, not only because it greatly extended our knowledge of 

 this important group of rocks, but also because it gave a great 

 stimulus to the study of thin sections under the microscope. It 

 must always be a source of gratification to British geologists that 

 this important work was dedicated to our distinguished Pellow and 

 revered master, Henry Clifton Sorby. 



It is impossible for me to review all Prof. Zirkel's important 

 contributions to Geological and Mineralogical Science, but there 

 is one other that I cannot pass over in silence. I refer to his 

 ' Geological Sketches of the West Coast of Scotland.' In this memoir 

 Prof. Zirkel applied the methods of microscopic analysis, for the first 

 time, to the wonderful records of Tertiary volcanic activity which 

 abound in that region. As an original observer he has made his 

 mark in the history of our time, and as a Professor he has won the 

 esteem and aff'ection of many enthusiastic students. It only remains 

 for me now to request you to transmit to Prof. Zirkel this Medal, 

 and at the same time to express to him our great regard and our 

 sincerest wishes that he may long enjoy health and strength to 

 continue his important researches in those branches of Geological 

 Science for which he has already done so much. 



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