384 
shall be vertical in all positions, has been so 
perfected by the Repsolds, that it leaves noth- 
ing to be desired. 
12. The Washington plan of having the 
whole micrometer-plate, including both fixed 
and movable wires, moved by a fine screw, 
offers such a convenience in setting, that it 
should always be adopted. 
13. The old system of having a single finder 
on that side of the telescope which is opposite 
the declination-axis becomes very inconvenient 
in a large instrument, owing to the necessity of 
setting the slit in the dome, not only to the 
telescope, but to the finder. The plan adopted 
in the Vienna telescope, of having two finders, 
— of which one shall be above, and the other 
below, the telescope when the latter is'in the 
meridian, — obviates this difficulty, and should 
always be adopted. 
THE AMERICAN AWARDS OF THE GEO- 
LOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 
WE give below the text of the addresses on the 
occasion of the awards to Dr. Leidy and Mr. Les- 
quereux at the annual meeting of the Geological 
society of London in the middle of last month. 
The president handed the Lyell medal to Prof. W. 
H. Flower, F.R.S., for transmission to Dr. Joseph 
Leidy, F.M.G.S., and addressed him as follows: — 
PROFESSOR FLOWER, — The council has bestowed 
on Dr. J. Leidy the Lyell medal, with a sum of twen- 
ty-five pounds, in recognition of his valuable contri- 
butions to paleontology, especially as regards his 
investigations on the fossil Mammalia of Nebraska, 
and the Sauria of the United States of America. 
These vast, and, in comparison with our own country, 
but little explored, territories have for some years 
past yielded a harvest of fossil vertebrate remains of 
exceeding richness, of which we have no example 
here. How well this harvest is being garnered by 
our trans-Atlantic confréres the flood of memoirs 
published by them during the last quarter of a cen- 
tury bears witness. Amongst these scientific labor- 
ers in the paleontological harvest-field, Dr. J. Leidy 
has held a foremost place. Careful in observing, 
accurate in recording, cautious in inferring, his work 
has the high merit which trustworthiness always 
imparts. The well-nigh astounding number of papers 
written by him between 1845 and 1873 (amounting to 
a hundred and eighty-seven), his reports on the ‘ Ex- 
tinct vertebrate fauna of the western territories,’ his 
‘Synopsis of the extinct Mammalia of North Ameri- 
ca,’ and his ‘ Cretaceous reptiles of the United States,’ 
testify to the fertility of his pen. 
Professor Flower, in reply, said: — Mr. President, 
as I have profited so deeply by Dr. Leidy’s paleon- 
tological writings, and also have the pleasure of his 
personal friendship, I was much gratified by his re- 
quest, communicated to me by telegraph a few days 
ago, that I would represent him on this occasion, and 
SCIENCE. 
[Vou. III., No. 60. 
receive from your hands the award which the council 
has so worthily bestowed: By the same means of | 
communication, he mentions the interesting inci- 
dent, that it was by Sir Charles Lyell’s advice, given 
to him in Philadelphia about thirty years ago, that 
he was induced to abandon the study of medicine and 
take up paleontology. A letter which I understand 
Dr. Leidy has written, in which he doubtless has 
expressed his own thanks to you, has not yet reached 
me; but I am quite sure that this recognition of his 
valuable labors in that marvellously fruitful field of 
discovery, the extinct vertebrate fauna of North 
America, will be greatly appreciated by him and 
by his fellow-countrymen, by whom he is so justly 
esteemed. : 
The following is the letter from Dr. Leidy, men- 
tioned by Professor Flower: — 
PHILADELPHIA, PENN., 1802 FILBERT STREET, 
Feb. 7, 1884. 
My DEAR sir, —I have just this minute received 
your note of Jan. 25, and hasten to reply, that there 
may be no delay in my answer, for the anniversary 
meeting of Feb. 15. I was equally surprised and 
delighted at the action of the council of the Geologi- 
cal society in awarding to me the Lyell medal and its 
accompaniment. Such approbation of my services I 
regard as rich compensation, added to the pleasure 
derived from my labors. I must add that I feel as if 
Sir Charles Lyell himself was expressing satisfaction, 
in consideration of my having complied with his 
wish, when thirty years ago, in my own home here, 
he said he hoped I would devote my time to paleon- 
tology instead of medicine. 
Please present to the Geological society my warm- 
est thanks for the honor it has conferred upon me. 
I have written to Prof. W. H. Flower, asking him to 
receive the award on my account. 
With sincere regard, 
JOSEPH LEIDY. 
Mr. WARINGTON W. SMY1H, 
For. sec. Geol. soc. 
In handing to Professor Seeley, F.R.S., a second 
portion of the proceeds of the Barlow-Jameson 
fund for transmission to Professor Leo Lesquereux, 
F.C.G.S., the president spoke as follows : — 
PROFESSOR SEELEY, — The council has awarded to 
Professor Leo Lesquereux the sum of twenty pounds 
from the proceeds of the Barlow-Jameson fund, in 
recognition of the value of his researches into the 
paleobotany of North America, and to aid him in 
further investigations of a similar kind. Professor 
Lesquereux’s ‘Contributions to the fossil cretaceous 
and tertiary flora of the western territories,’ pub- 
lished in the ‘ Reports of the U.S. geological survey,’ 
are works which, for their matter, typography, and 
illustrations, leave nothing to desire. In transmitting 
this award to Professor Lesquereux, you will convey 
to him the hopes of the council that it may assist 
him in prosecuting further investigations in the dif- 
ficult branch of research in which he has alread 
accomplished so much. id 
Professor Seeley, in reply, said: — Mr. President, I 
