Ix PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [May I909, 



the new study : it was a task for which he was peculiarly well 

 fitted, demanding acuteness of observation, and a rare combination 

 of critical faculty and receptive powers : these he possessed in 

 a high degree ; neither credulous nor sceptical, he was as little 

 likely to let slip a discovery as to be imposed upon by forgeries 

 or simulacra. As his investigations progressed he communicated 

 their results in numerous important papers to various scientific 

 societies ; some are to be found in our own Journal, the latest, 

 and, as it proved, unfortunately the last, was on ' Some Recent 

 Discoveries of Flint-Implements,' which was published in 1908 

 (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. lxiv). 



His great work, however, is the volume on ' Ancient Stone- 

 Implements, Weapons, & Ornaments of Great Britain,' which was 

 published in ] 872 ; it was followed by a French translation three 

 years later, and a revised and enlarged edition appeared in 1897. 

 It is still a standard work of reference. 



The collection on which this work was based was amassed by 

 untiring efforts ; whenever fresh finds were announced Evans 

 either visited the locality and collected from it himself, or found 

 means to acquire specimens in some other way, often through 

 one or other of his numerous friends. He continually added 

 to it throughout his life, so that it became one of the finest 

 collections of its kind in the world. 



Although Quaternary deposits were his chief geological study, 

 he followed with close attention the general progress of the science, 

 and was keenly alive to every new discovery, even when it lay 

 apparently so far from his own special work as the Artihceopteryoc 

 of Solenhofen or the Palceomastodon from the Fayum. 



Sir John Evans took an active part in the proceedings cf many 

 scientific societies, but it was our peculiar privilege to receive 

 the largest share of his affection. His connexion with the Society 

 commenced in 1857, when he .w as elected a Fellow; he was one 

 of the Secretaries from 1866 to 1874, when he became President ; 

 his first address in 1875 was chiefly devoted to the Antiquity of 

 Man, the second to more general questions connected with the 

 displacement of the earth's axis and the water-supply of the 

 metropolis. In 1880 he received the Lyell Medal in recognition 

 of his distinguished services to geological science, especially in the 

 department of post-Tertiary geology. He was Foreign Secretary 

 from 1895 to 1907, and only resigned this office when compelled 

 by an increasing infirmity. 



