﻿ANNIVERSARY 
  ADDRESS 
  OF 
  THE 
  PRESIDENT. 
  55 
  

  

  these 
  — 
  and 
  especially 
  the 
  first, 
  by 
  M. 
  Heim, 
  of 
  Zurich 
  — 
  contain 
  

   useful 
  suggestions. 
  

  

  The 
  principal 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  discussion 
  in 
  the 
  various 
  Com- 
  

   mittees 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Congress 
  was, 
  however, 
  a 
  resolution 
  to 
  publish, 
  

   under 
  the 
  auspices 
  of 
  the 
  Congress, 
  a 
  general 
  geological 
  map 
  of 
  

   Europe, 
  on 
  a 
  scale 
  of 
  1/1,500,000 
  (between 
  23 
  and 
  24 
  miles 
  to 
  the 
  

   inch). 
  It 
  was 
  arranged 
  that 
  the 
  map 
  should 
  be 
  prepared 
  in 
  Berlin 
  

   under 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  Prof. 
  Beyrich 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Hauchecorne, 
  and 
  the 
  

   superintendence 
  was 
  entrusted 
  to 
  a 
  Committee 
  composed, 
  in 
  addition 
  

   to 
  the 
  Directors 
  and 
  the 
  Secretary 
  (Prof. 
  Kenevier), 
  of 
  representatives 
  

   of 
  France, 
  Italy, 
  Russia, 
  Austria, 
  and 
  Great 
  Britain. 
  This 
  Com- 
  

   mittee 
  has 
  gradually 
  become 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  general 
  referee, 
  to 
  which 
  all 
  

   difficulties 
  and 
  contested 
  points 
  have 
  been 
  left 
  for 
  solution. 
  

  

  The 
  second 
  international 
  Committee 
  already 
  noticed 
  — 
  that 
  for 
  

   unification 
  of 
  geological 
  nomenclature 
  — 
  should 
  have 
  been 
  first 
  men- 
  

   tioned, 
  if 
  the 
  various 
  subjects 
  presented 
  for 
  consideration 
  to 
  the 
  

   Bologna 
  Congress 
  were 
  arranged 
  in 
  the 
  order 
  of 
  their 
  relative 
  im- 
  

   portance. 
  I 
  have, 
  however, 
  left 
  it 
  for 
  the 
  last, 
  because 
  it 
  appears 
  to 
  

   me 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  subject 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  smallest 
  result 
  was 
  obtained. 
  The 
  

   national 
  Committees 
  certainly 
  began 
  at 
  the 
  beginning, 
  but 
  for 
  the 
  

   most 
  part 
  they 
  unfortunately 
  ended 
  their 
  labours 
  before 
  arriving 
  at 
  

   any 
  conclusions 
  of 
  scientific 
  importance. 
  It 
  may 
  fairly 
  be 
  doubted 
  

   whether 
  the 
  American 
  founders 
  of 
  the 
  Congress 
  contemplated 
  laying 
  

   down 
  rules 
  for 
  the 
  abstract 
  terms 
  to 
  be 
  applied 
  to 
  subdivisions 
  of 
  

   strata 
  or 
  of 
  geological 
  time. 
  But 
  congresses, 
  unlike 
  men, 
  do 
  change 
  

   their 
  minds 
  when 
  they 
  cross 
  the 
  ocean, 
  and 
  the 
  geological 
  ideas 
  of 
  

   Paris 
  were 
  naturally 
  very 
  different 
  from 
  those 
  of 
  Buffalo. 
  It 
  was 
  

   only 
  natural 
  that, 
  the 
  first 
  two 
  Congresses 
  being 
  held 
  amongst 
  

   people 
  of 
  the 
  Latin 
  races, 
  terms 
  should 
  be 
  treated 
  with 
  the 
  precision 
  

   essential 
  in 
  the 
  language 
  employed 
  at 
  the 
  Congress. 
  Another 
  con- 
  

   sideration 
  to 
  be 
  borne 
  in 
  mind 
  is, 
  that 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  proportion 
  of 
  

   the 
  leading 
  geologists 
  are 
  engaged 
  in 
  teaching 
  students, 
  and 
  are 
  

   consequently 
  inclined 
  to 
  attach 
  great, 
  possibly, 
  in 
  some 
  cases, 
  too 
  

   great 
  importance 
  to 
  an 
  exact 
  definition 
  of 
  the 
  terms 
  to 
  be 
  used. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  scarcely 
  necessary 
  to 
  recall 
  to 
  your 
  recollection 
  the 
  geo- 
  

   logical 
  terms 
  agreed 
  upon 
  by 
  the 
  Bologna 
  Congress 
  — 
  how 
  the 
  words 
  

   rock 
  and 
  formation 
  were 
  defined 
  ; 
  how 
  it 
  was 
  resolved 
  to 
  divide 
  the 
  

   whole 
  geological 
  sequence 
  of 
  strata 
  into 
  groups, 
  systems, 
  series, 
  

   stages, 
  and 
  " 
  assises," 
  and 
  to 
  employ 
  as 
  terms 
  of 
  duration 
  equi- 
  

   valent 
  to 
  the 
  first 
  four 
  the 
  words 
  era, 
  period, 
  epoch, 
  and 
  age. 
  

   Unfortunately 
  these 
  terms, 
  when 
  adopted, 
  were, 
  by 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  

   vol. 
  xlv. 
  g 
  

  

  