vol. 57.] proceedings oe the geological society. xxxix 



Award of the Wollaston Medal. 



In handing the Wollaston Medal, awarded to Prof. Charles 

 Barrois, F.M.G.S., of Lille, to Sir Archibald Geikie, for trans- 

 mission to the recipient, the President addressed him as follows : — 



Sir Archibald Geikie, — 



In these days of specialization few men are endowed with those 

 faculties which enable them to contribute with marked ability to 

 .all branches of our many-sided science ; but among those few 

 Prof. Barrois must unquestionably be ranked. 



In the Monograph on the Calcaire d'Erbray and many other 

 papers he has established his reputation as a palaeontologist ; in 

 numerous memoirs on the Granitic and Metamorphic Eocks of 

 Britanny he figures as an accomplished petrologist ; while in the 

 many geological maps of the same district he has constructed a 

 lasting monument to his skill and energy as a geological surveyor. 



His pubKshed work represents a vast accumulation of facts 

 <3arefully observed, clearly described, and lucidly arranged. More 

 than this, it is often full of suggestiveness. He has had the satis- 

 faction of initiating lines of research which have been followed up 

 with great success by others. 



It was he who first taught us how to zone our English Chalk by 

 the aid of the fossils which it contains, and the friendships which 

 he formed during the progress of that work have been strengthened 

 by the lapse of time. He might repeat with truth the words of 

 another visitor to these Islands from the other side of the Channel : 

 .venif vidi, vici. 



In his recent publications on Britanny he has correlated the 

 breadth and character of the metamorphic zones surrounding 

 the granitic masses with the thickness of the cover under which the 

 intrusions took place, and has suggested ideas that may prove of 

 great importance in connexion with such questions as the origin of 

 the crystalline schists and igneous magmas. 



But he has aided the progress of geology in other ways than as 

 fin original worker. The illustrious pupil of an illustrious master, 

 he has contributed to maintain the great reputation of Lille as a 

 centre of geological teaching ; while his extensive knowledge and 

 exceptional organizing ability have ever been at the disposal of the 

 International Geological Congress and kindred associations. 



Many years have elapsed since I had the privilege of making his 



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