788 Proceedings of the Royal Society 
the degree as unit of angular measure, would be a real service to 
science. 
The Neill Prize for 1883-86 was presented to B. N. Peach, Esq., 
for his contributions to the Geology and Paleontology of Scotland, 
after the following statement by Professor Geikie : — 
The Council has awarded the Neill Prize for 1883-86 to Mr B. 
N. Peach, for his contributions to the Geology and Paleontology of 
Scotland. Mr Peach has long been known as one of the most 
accomplished officers of the Geological Survey of Scotland. 
After many years of successful exploration in the Lowlands and 
Southern Uplands of Scotland, he was deputed to map out the 
geology of the north-west Highlands, a region showing the most 
involved and puzzling structure, and one which had been variously 
interpreted by almost every geologist who has traversed it. In due 
time, however, Mr Peach, in concert with his colleague Mr J. 
Horne, succeeded in bringing order out of chaos; and now that bone 
of contention, over which geologists have worried for more than a 
generation, has been removed. Only those who know the physical 
labour entailed in walking and climbing daily for months over such 
a country, and the enormous difficulty involved in working out the 
structure of a mountainous region, composed of highly contorted, 
inverted, fractured, and metamorphosed rocks, which seldom or 
never show any trace of organic remains, can possibly appreciate 
the endurance and the skill which Mr Peach and his colleague 
brought to bear upon their work. But Mr Peach is not only a 
highly-trained and skilled geologist, he is also an accomplished 
palaeontologist. He inherits his father’s inevitable eye. If fossils 
occur in any given series of rocks, you may be sure they will not 
escape our friend. And he has thus enriched Scottish geology with 
many remarkable “ finds.” And, allow me to remark, there is more 
skill required to discover fossils than some may be apt to sup- 
pose. It is not mere haphazard work. The skilled discoverer 
knows exactly what rocks to search and how to search them, just 
as a good angler knows where to throw his bait with successful 
results. Many geologists can find fossils, but only a very few can 
