464 PROCEEDINGS OF PHILADELPHIA MEETING. 



his activity in original work was incessant for over sixty years. There 

 were few dei)cirtnients of science that he did not tonch, and whatever he 

 touched he illuminated. An orderly method of work, economic of time 

 and conservative of energy, enabled him to do an almost incredible 

 amount in spite of an exceptionally delicate frame and precarious health, 

 which repeatedly broke down completely under the strain of ceaseless 

 work. 



After returning in 1842 from his memoral)le vo^^age, with the exception 

 of two years, 1842-1844, spent in W^xshington, D. C, while prei)aring his 

 reports a,s naturalist, and one 3'ear, 1859-18(30, in Europe, recruiting his 

 broken health, and a sunmier vacation in 18S7 spent in the Hawaiian 

 islands to renew his acquaintance with the volcanoes and observe what 

 changes had been wrought by time — ^with these exceptions he lived in 

 New Haven, engaged in teaching and in original work. 



There are few, very few, men (and l)ecoming fewer every year) whose 

 thoughts ranged so widely and who accomplished distinguished results 

 in so many directions as did Dana. He l)ecamc the highest living au- 

 thority in mineralogy, in several departments of zoolog}'' — as, for example, 

 Crustacea and zooph3'tes — and more than all in geolog}^ Of some two 

 hundred and odd scientific i)apers contributed by him, more than one- 

 half were on geology. Not onl}^ in tbe three sciences mentioned above 

 was he in the foremost rank, but in other sciences also — as, for exam})le, 

 physics, chemistry and even mathematics — his knowledge was wide and 

 exact. As he grew older, however, his chief interest and highest activity 

 gravitated more and more toward geology. Tliis was the natural result 

 of the wide sweep of his mind, for geology is the most complex and com- 

 ])rehensive of all the sciences. All other sciences are tributary to her. 

 It was for this reason in part that early philosoi)liers of science regarded 

 her as onl}^ an applied science — as a field for the application of all the 

 sciences. Dana's wide and exact knowledi«;e in many dei)artments fitted 

 him in a peculiar way and in an eminent degree for the highest achieve- 

 ments in geology. No mere specialist in geology could have done Dana's 

 work. 



Leaving out of view his monumental work on mineralogy, for the rea- 

 son that others are more capable than I of weighing its value, there are 

 three main lines of thought, all suggested by his observations during his 

 four years' voyage, which occui)ied his mind throughout life. 



The first of these was corals, coral reefs and coral islands. This is a 

 subject of deepest interest, both popular and scientific; popular on ac- 

 count of the gorgeous coloring and the delicate flower-like beauty of the 

 zoophytes and the gem-like, fairy-like beauty of the islands formed by 



