14° i?K00EEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIBIV. [May 1 894. 



less valuable because it requires a certain amount of special training 

 in order tbat it may be appreciated. 



y[ And this reflection serves to remind me of the immense amount 

 of work that has been accomplished in England since the Fathers 

 of Geology laid the foundations of the science. Without alluding 

 especially to the valuable Memoirs of the Geological Survey, I may 

 venture to call your attention to the circumstance that, in December 

 last, the Geological Magazine saw the end of its third decade, 

 and has now entered upon its 31st year. The value of this im- 

 portant auxiliary has long been recognized by geologists, who cannot 

 be too conscious of the debt they owe to its truly independent 

 Editor, now, I am happy to say, your President-elect. Nor must we 

 forget that this year will mark the Jubilee of our own Quarterly 

 Journal, and that for this solid work of half a century a suitable 

 Index is in course of preparation. It has at times occurred to me 

 that, unless some modification is made in the rules which require 

 entire originality in papers intended for publication, there may be 

 difficulty at a future date in obtaining a sufficiency of matter to 

 interest the Fellows in the work which is going forward. How- 

 ever, the future does not so much concern an outgoing President 

 as the past ; and glancing at this once more, I may safely assert 

 that if a student wishes to keep in touch with modern geological 

 research he should diligently study the recent volumes of our 

 Quarterly Journal. 



