AlflHTERSAEY ADDEESS OF THE PEESIDEXT. xlv 



pardon. He was a Fellow of the Eoyal Society ; and, as a proof of 

 his love of our science, he has left behind him a very instnictiye 

 collection of rocks and minerals, in addition to those nmnerons 

 fossils of various parts of the world with which he enriched the 

 Museums of England and America.'' 



3J[r. Alexander BETS0^', of Edinburgh, was a remarkable example 

 of what may be done in scientific pursuits carried on simultaneously 

 with due attention to a daily business. He was bom in October 

 1816, and, after education at the High School, was apprenticed 

 early to clock- and watch-making — a trade in which he continued 

 to occupy himself until his death. Although much devoted to the 

 other branches of science, he appears to have selected natural 

 philosophy, mineralogy, and geology as his favourite pursuits, and 

 on these subjects he has contributed a great number of papers to the 

 Proceedings of various societies in the Scottish capital. In 1858 he 

 was elected a FeUow of the Eoyal Society of Edinburgh, and he 

 was an active Member, and at one time President, of the Eoyal 

 Physical Society. 



A visit which he made to Iceland in 1862 bore good fruit in the 

 thermometrical observations carefully conducted by him at the Great 

 Geyser. In 186-1 he became a Eellow of this Society. 



For many months before his death he appears to have been in 

 dehcate health ; and its origin was ascribed to a severe cold caught 

 whilst experimenting on the use of the electric light for fishing. In 

 the beginning of the winter he was seized by a bronchitic affection, 

 which terminated fatally on the 7th of December last. 



Cut off in the prime of life by a terrible explosion of fire-damp, 

 Mr. Paeeix Jeffcoce: leaves a memory which claims our admiration 

 for the brave and generous spirit with which he volunteered to face 

 a menacing danger. He was bom in 1829, the eldest son of 

 !MJr. John Jeffcock, of Cowley Manor, near Sheffield, and was 

 educated first at Sunderland and afterwards at the College for Civil 

 Engineers at Putney, then flourishing under the superintendence of 

 Mr. Cowie. In 1850 he was articled to Mr. George Hunter, a 

 colliery viewer, and, after the death of that gentleman, to our 

 experienced associate Mr. J. T. Woodhouse, with whom he became 

 a partner in 1857. The disastrous results of explosions which have 

 taken place in collieries working the Barnsley bed of coal in South 

 Yorkshire were the occasion of Mr. "Woodhouse being called in to 

 advise upon, and in some cases to exercise a superintendence over, the 

 methods of working. Hence Mr. Jeffcock was brought into close 

 and fi'equent contact with several of the pits in that district, which 

 are but too well known for serious loss of life. On "VTednesday the 12th 

 of December last he received a telegram stating that an explosion 

 had occurred at the Ardsley Oaks Colliery. He immediately set off 

 for the place, and about 11 p.m. went down the pit, and worked all 

 night, with bands of volunteers, to extricate the living and remove 

 the dead victims of this most destructive of aU such catastrophes. 



