﻿Vol. 64.] AlfNIVEKSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. XCix 



As might be expected from the political connections of this 

 country with the East, papers on Asiatic geology find a place in 

 most of the volumes of the Transactions, chiefly with reference to 

 India. They include Cautley's notes on the structure and fossils of 

 the Sewalik Hills,^ C. W. Grant's map of Cutch,"^ Malcolmson's 

 description of the basaltic region of India/ and likewise the inter- 

 esting series of communications from H. E. Strickland* and W. J. 

 Hamilton on Asia Minor.' 



South African geology takes up most of the last volume of the 

 Transactions, where the papers of A. G. Bain on the Karroo forma- 

 tion brought to notice the remarkable organic remains of that 

 deposit, and where the Report by Owen on its bidental reptiles first 

 made known this new type of organisms. Some of the other fossils 

 were described by Sir Joseph Hooker and Sir Philip Egerton. 



The other side of the Atlantic is represented in the early series of 

 the Society's publications by several papers on the West Indian 

 Islands, including De la Beche's excellent description of the geology 

 of Jamaica/ ]S"elson's interesting and oft-quoted paper on the 

 Bermudas/ and Nugent's account of the pitch-lake of Trinidad, of 

 the soufriere of IMontserrat and of Antigua.*^ Erom Canada came 

 the first communication sent by Bigsby to the Society, descriptive 

 of the geology of the Lake-Huron district ^ ; also Bayfield's notes 

 on the northern coast of Labrador. ^° 



An interesting feature in the communications on foreign geology 

 made to the Society in its younger days is to be seen in the pre- 

 liminary reports furnished by Eellows regarding their journeys and 

 observations abroad. The Transactions, and after them the Quarterly 

 Journal, supplied a convenient means of recording discoveries or new 

 facts of general interest. Early publicity was not always secured in 

 these publications, for complaints used to be heard of the slowness with 

 which the Society's printed records made their appearance. There 

 can, I think, be little doubt that a spirit of loyalty to the Society 

 prevailed among its members, which prompted them to offer it at 

 least the first-fruits of their labours, without waiting until the whole 

 results of their observations could be elaborated into independent 

 volumes which they could present to the library. As examples of 

 this spirit, reference may be made to the numerous communications 



1 Trans, ser. 2, vol. v, p. 267. ^ Ibid. p. 289. ^ /j,^-^_ p^ 537^ 



* Ihid. pp. 385, 393, 403. ' Ibid. p. 583 & vol. vi, pp. 1-40. 



^ Ibid. vol. ii, p. 143. T lud, vol. v, p. 103. 



« Ibid. ser. 1, vol. i, pp. 63, 185 & vol. v, p. 459. 



9 Ibid. ser. 2, vol. i, p. 175. ^0 Ibid. vol. v, p. 89. 



