Vol. 65.] ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OE THE PRESIDENT. lxix 



valuable and methodical training in dealing with, and reviewing 

 foreign publications. 



In 1875, when the question of constructing a submarine tunnel 

 was under consideration, he devoted himself to the examination of 

 the floor of the Straits of Dover. His manner of procedure was 

 to investigate equally the nature of both shores, and to map out 

 the submarine stratification by means of numerous soundings made 

 in the actual bed of the Straits. In this way he produced the 

 first detailed geological map of a part of the sea-floor. 



In 1882 he published for the first time his ' Traite de Geologie,' 

 and the following year the ' Cours de Mineralogie.' They embody 

 the substance of his lectures at the ' Faculte' Libre des Sciences.' 

 The former of these books was kept constantly up to date by dint 

 of incessant toil and methodical labour. This makes the last edition 

 one of the best existing handbooks of stratigraphical geology, and 

 its value is enhanced by the numerous palaeogeographical sketches 

 which sum up our knowlege of the relative distribution of land 

 and sea during the different geological periods. 



In 1888 appeared the ' Geologie en Chemin de Fer,' in which the 

 author made the first step in the study of the close connexion 

 existing between the scenery and nature of the subsoil in the Paris 

 Basin. 



This, therefore, was the starting point of his growing interest in 

 the new and attractive problems of Geomorphology, which culmi- 

 nated in the publication of the ' Lecons de Geographic Physique * 

 in 1896. 



Outside and beyond these standard text-books we find him re- 

 vealing his talents as a public speaker, and as a writer in numerous 

 papers and articles appearing in periodicals of the first class. Let 

 us hope that we shall soon see issued a collection of these essays, 

 perhaps together with others as yet unpublished. 



It may be safely said that, had he lived a few years longer, his 

 literary gifts would have won for him a place among the immortal 

 forty of the French Academy. If so, he would have worthily 

 revenged the caustic remark of the witty man of letters Toppfer, 

 who, having met a geological party in the Alps, described it as 

 ' a very delightful party, but for geologists only ! ' 



It is twelve years since De Lapparent was admitted to the 

 'Academie des Sciences,' where he succeeded to Descloizeaux in 

 the Mineralogical section. He had hardly entered on the duties 



