32 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NEW HAVEN MEETING 



Tarr was appointed assistant professor of dynamic geology and phys- 

 ical geography at Cornell University early in 1892 for the remainder of 

 the year. On February 9 he wrote : 



"Everything is very pleasant here. I have never felt so thoroughly con- 

 tented hefore. There is plenty to do without that infernal feeling of rush 

 which hangs in the Cambridge atmosphere. I plug ahead, doing a good, solid 

 day's work, but do not keep it up till midnight." 



His first geological papers now made their appearance, and he notes 

 the satisfaction he felt in the reception of his rift paper by petrographers, 

 his Permian paper by Mesozoic paleontologists, and his Massachusetts 

 moraine paper by glacialists. Kind-hearted Eussell sent him in ex- 

 change all of his publications on Mount St. Elias, "which are, as you of 

 course know," says Tarr, "the most remarkable glacial publications of 

 the decade." This appreciation of kindnesses shown him was a strong 

 trait in Tarr's communications, both spoken and written: 



The year 1892 was a troublesome one for Government geologists. 



Tarr was married in March, and early in the summer took again to the 

 field in New Jersey to continue the work on the crystalline rocks of the 

 highlands. In midsummer came the notice that the Geological Survey 

 had failed to obtain the expected appropriation from Congress. Entire 

 parties of men in the field were left to their own devices. On August 6 

 Tarr wrote from Gloucester: 



"Just a word to let you know where the cyclone has landed me. ... It 

 has left me high and dry, so far as I can see. I hear no word from either 

 Madison or Ithaca, and have little hope of either place, though, of course, 

 there is still a chance. If nothing turns up I shall be in Cambridge during the 

 winter and will try for a higher degree." 



By the 25th of August the sky had cleared, and he knew that he was 

 going back to Ithaca for another year^ On returning to Cornell there 

 were collections to put into shape and the usual routine of college work. 

 The academic year was one of hard work, not without apprehension con- 

 cerning the- future. On the 18th of May, 1893, he wrote: 



"I still have to teach a wide range of subjects, but am gradually turning 

 them off. Whenever the department is settled there will be a differentiation, 

 and I will be able to discard petrography and economic geology." 



The stoppage of the Geological Survey work in New Jersey left Tarr. 

 in the summer of 1893, to employ his vacation to the best of his ability. 

 He went to Gloucester, but was by no means idle. Few of his friends 

 heard from him during the summer. On September 23 he wrote from 

 Ithaca : 



