Vol. 52.] ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. liii 



The Marquis of Saporta, who was a Corresponding Member of 

 the Institute of France, and a Foreign Member of the Geological 

 Society of London since 1889, was born at Saint-Zacharie (Var) in 

 1823. He spent some time in a Jesuit college at Fribourg, and 

 in 1861, in conjunction with M. Matheron, published his first 

 paper on a palseobotanical subject, 'Examen analytique des Flores 

 tertiaires de Provence.' From that date up to the time of his 

 death, which occurred on January 26th, 1895, Saporta devoted 

 himself, as a keen student, to the problems of his chosen science. 



His earlier works dealt especially with the Tertiary vegetation 

 of the South-east of France ; the floras of Aix, Manosque, 

 Sezanne, and other localities, have formed the subjects of elaborate 

 monographs, in which he has not merely recorded lists of fossil 

 species, but has dealt with the facts from a broad and philosophic 

 standpoint. Between the years 1872-91 there appeared the 

 splendid series of volumes on ' the Jurassic Flora of France ' : this 

 comprehensive work, with its numerous illustrations and exhaustive 

 text, forms an indispensable handbook to students of Mesozoic 

 Botany. Saporta's most recent work, on ' Upper Jurassic and 

 Lower Cretaceous Plants,' appeared a few months before his death, 

 1 Flore fossile du Portugal (Direction des Travaux geologiques du 

 Portugal), 1895/ It contains a detailed geological and botanical 

 analysis of an exceedingly interesting flora, and supplies fresh facts 

 of considerable importance towards a more complete knowledge of 

 the early history of dicotyledonous plants. 



In addition to his numerous papers on palseobotany, Saporta has 

 left such works as ' Le Monde des Plantes avant F Apparition de 

 l'Homme,' 4 Origine paleontologique des Arbres cultives ou utilises 

 par l'Homme, ' and, in collaboration with Prof. Marion, 'L'Evolution 

 du Regne vegetal ' ; these form fitting memorials of his wide 

 knowledge as a palaeobotanist, and of his zealous advocacy of the 

 importance of fossil forms to the student of plant-evolution. By some 

 readers Saporta is perhaps best known as the too eager upholder 

 of the claims of certain structureless casts and impressions to be 

 included among fossil algae. The valuable contributions to this 

 subject by Nathorst have clearly shown how little weight must be 

 attached to any speculations as to the development of plant-life based 

 on Saporta's ' Algues fossiles ' or his ' Organismes problematiques 

 des anciennes Mers.' 



As a contributor to Tertiary and Mesozoic botany, Saporta's name 

 will always be associated with that of Heer and Ettingshausen ; 

 vol. lii. e 



