xlii PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [May 1909, 



intensely gratified that my work has been adjudged by the Council 

 to be worthy of this great honour. 



I cannot claim to be one who engaged in the ' Pursuit of Know- 

 ledge Under Difficulties,'" as the Society in my early days, and the 

 Geological Survey afterwards, directed my steps and made the 

 pathways smooth. Thus, whether under command or away from 

 official control, ambition was stirred to make as full acquaintance 

 as possible with the Geology of this country. In almost every part 

 of it we have the advantage of following in the footsteps of previous 

 geological workers, and as progress could not be made without heed 

 to the lessons which they have taught, it is natural that some of us 

 should be led from the rocks into historical and biographical track- 

 ways. In these directions, from the field to the study, my tasks 

 have conducted me ; and, while I recognize that, as a recipient of 

 this Award, I am highly privileged, I rejoice in the weight attached 

 to researches which indicate how much we are indebted to those 

 who have gone before us. 



I thank you, Sir, for the very kind words with which you have 

 accompanied this presentation. 



AWARD OF THE MuECHISOX MEDAL. 



The President then presented the Murchison Medal to Prof. 

 Grenville A. J. Cole, F.G.S., addressing him as follows : — 



Professor Cole, — 



In awarding you the Murchison Medal the Council wish to 

 express their appreciation of the value of your contributions to 

 Geology in general and especially to Petrology. 



You have combined, in the happiest manner, work in the labora- 

 tory with observations in the field; in addition, your petrological 

 studies have been so arranged as to lead naturally to comparative 

 results ; and by visiting allied areas you have caused each in turn to 

 throw light upon the other. The tachylytes of Scotland thus led 

 you to the variolitic masses of the Hautes Alpes, and Hungary was 

 thus made the basis for the description of the rhyolites of Antrim. 



Impressed by the modifications suffered by igneous magmas 

 through the absorption of foreign material, you were led to im- 

 portant conclusions with regard to the granite of Slieve Gallion in 



