ANNIVEESARY MEETING MFRCHISON MEDAL. 35 



drew my attention to palaeobotany at an early age, it was only in 

 1851 that I commenced the study of their internal organization. I 

 was led to this by a specimen for which I was indebted to our 

 distinguished colleague Professor Prestwich, and which enabled me 

 to interpret the anomalous objects known as Sternbergia. The 

 success attending this exploration whetted the appetite ; and from 

 that time until now the organization of the Carboniferous plants has 

 received my continuous attention. The difficulties impeding my 

 work, which have been considerable, have chiefly arisen from one 

 cause. Most of the Carboniferous plants belong to the Cryptogamic 

 division of the Vegetable kingdom, the only exceptions being some 

 ancestral forms of the modern Cycads and Conifers. At the present 

 day these Cryptogams are mainly low herbaceous plants. But forests 

 and forest-trees were wanted in that primseval age, which want seems 

 to have been inadequately supplied by the Gymnosperms just re- 

 ferred to. The want was met by uplifting the now lowly Cryptogams 

 into Porest giants, and since the stems of these required some orga- 

 nization additional to that which living Cryptogams possess, to enable 

 them to sustain their superstructures, they were strengthened for 

 their work by the same exogenous growth as effects that end among 

 modern forest-trees. But that any Cryptogams should attain so high 

 an organization was deemed by most botanists so improbable that 

 their almost universal voice rejected my views upon the subject. 

 But the truth has prevailed, and, happily for myself, I have been 

 spared long enough to witness this end of my labours." 



In conclusion, Prof. Williamson expressed his great indebtedness 

 to Messrs. Cash, Aitkin, Butterworth, ISTield, Earnshaw, Whittaker, 

 Spencer, Binns, "Wild, and Lomax, who have collected the valuable 

 materials employed by him in his researches. 



Award of the Murchison Medal. 



In presenting the Murchison Medal to Prof. E. Hull, F.E.S., the 

 President addressed him as follows : — 



Professor Hull, — 



In handing to you, who were one of Sir R. Murchison's colleagues 

 on the Geological Survey of Great Britain and Ireland, the Medal 

 founded by him, I shall not attempt to enumerate the many additions 

 that you have made to our knowledge of the geology of the British 



