

OF PARIS, 1900. 229 



interest in France, before, during, and after the actual Congress 

 meeting in Paris. These excursions have assumed a great import- 

 ance during the last three or four Congresses, and both in the United 

 States and in Russia have enabled members to visit places of great 

 interest, but which are, in general, very difficult of access. In the 

 present case no less than 20 different excursions had been arranged, 

 several of them taking place at the same time, but occupying in the 

 aggregate almost the whole of August and September, whilst an 

 additional excursion has been arranged for the early days of 

 October. 



In comparing the last Congress with the earlier meetings at 

 which I was present, it is impossible not to observe that a great 

 change has taken place in the whole proceeding. Both at Bologna 

 and at Berlin the chief business of the Congress was to endeavour to 

 establish uniformity in geological nomenclature, and to arrange a 

 scheme of stratigraphical classification and of colouration for the 

 geological map of Europe. For these purposes Committees were 

 appointed, which met yearly in the intervals between the different 

 Congresses, and the greater part of the Congress meeting itself was 

 taken up with discussions in the Council and in General Meetings on 

 the schemes proposed. A few miscellaneous papers were read, but 

 very little time was given to them, and such excursions as took place 

 were short and simply intended to occupy a few days after the 

 meeting of the Congress was over. The last Congress at Paris, on 

 the other hand, consisted chiefly of meetings for reading papers, and 

 of excursions. Indeed it may almost be said that the excursions, 

 instead of playing a subordinate part, have now become the principal 

 feature of the Congress, whilst the actual work of the Congress, the 

 discussion of really important and international geological questions, 

 bids fair, if the present tendency be not checked, to bear much the 

 same proportion to the excursions and other diversions, as did 

 Falstaff's "one halfpennyworth of bread to this intolerable deal of 

 sack" in his bill. In short, in later Congresses there appears to have 

 been less work and more play. How far the admission of ladies as 



( 5 ) 



