ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. xlv 



Transactions published by him during the course of his long and 

 laborious life. Among these are many bearing directly on our science, 

 and which must have had considerable influence in directing the 

 attention of the Russian Government to the mineral riches of the 

 country, and of making its geological features better known beyond 

 the limits of his own district. I will only mention a few of his more 

 important works : — " Oryctographie du Gouvernement de Moscou," 

 1837; " Bibliographia Maeontologica Animalium Systematica," 

 1810 ; a second edition in 1834 ; " Notice des Fossiles du Gouverne- 

 ment de Moscou," 1809-1811; "Notice sur quelques Animaux 

 fossiles de laRussie," 1829 ; *' Ueber verschiedene fossile Elephanten- 

 species, die man unter dem Namen Mammouth begreift," 1831 ; 

 " Recherches sur les Ossemens fossiles de la Russie," 1824; "Let- 

 tre a M. Murchison sur le Rhopalodon, genre de Saurien fossile du 

 Versant occidental de I'Oural," 1841 ; " Revue des Fossiles du Gou- 

 vernement de Moscou," 1846; and many others. He was elected 

 a Foreign Member of this Society, and of the Linnean Society, 

 in 1820. He died at Moscow, on the 6th of October, 1853, having 

 nearly completed his eighty-second year. 



Gentlemen, — In proceeding to lay before you, in accordance 

 with the established usage of our Society, a sketch of the progress 

 of Geology during the past session, I shall not attempt, as some of my 

 distinguished predecessors have done, to single out any particular 

 subject for discussion, and to lay it before you in all its bearings ; I 

 shall endeavour rather to bring together the principal events in the 

 history of geology which have lately occurred, and to remind you of 

 its general progress. Time, however, would be wanting to allude to 

 every publication of interest on the subject which has appeared in 

 our own or in foreign journals and publications. A mere list of 

 names would be altogether unprofitable. I cannot even pretend to 

 refer to all the papers read at our evening meetings ; I must refer 

 you to the Journal itself for most of them, while I can only briefly 

 allude to some which appear to me of more than ordinary interest. 

 If I have devoted a more than usual proportion of space to the works 

 of foreign, and particularly German geologists, I trust I shall be 

 excused for doing so, on the ground that I thought such information 

 would prove more acceptable to the majority of my hearers, and 

 because my own attention had been more particularly turned in that 

 direction. 



British Geology and our own Proceedings. 



Adopting then the ascending order, and commencing with the 

 progress of Palaeozoic Geology in our own country, I must first con- 

 gratulate you on the appearance of that truly standard work on this 

 subject which has been lately published ; I allude to the ' Siluria ' of 

 my old friend Sir Roderick Murchison. Every one who was acquainted 

 with the previous labours of the author in this difiicult and extensive 

 field, was looking forward to its appearance with eager interest ; nor 

 have our expectations been disappointed. I am satisfied that I but 



