124 Tlic Afncrican Geologist. February, i»9t> 
uent as to call for their serious consideration and removal, if the 
future gatherings are to be successful. The extraordinary gen- 
erosity of his Imperial Highness the Czar and of the people 
throughout every part of the great Russian empire in provid- 
ing means to make the sojourn of the scientific visitors one to 
be forever remembered by them with unalloyed pleasure, 
brought forth an unusually large number of persons who 
wished to take advantage of the "cheap rates" to "do" a coun- 
try that is out of the path of the average tourist — people who 
not only had no just claim to being professional geologists, 
but were not even in sympathy with the science. To this 
sort of unpleasant imposition no other term than that of para- 
sitism can be appropriately applied. 
Of recent years there has been an increasing tendency for 
persons entirely uninterested in the various subjects to take 
advantage of scientific meetings on account of the special in- 
ducements offered to take desirable trips at small expense. • 
Xot the slightest objection can be offered to the attendance, 
at the sessions, of non-professional persons who are really in- 
terested in the different themes, or even to the presence of un- 
sympathetic individuals ; all scientists are broadly charitable in 
this respect. It is, however, the grossest kind of imposition, 
to say the least, for these scientifically unsympathetic, though 
perhaps at times thoughtless, people to rush headlong and 
hoggishly, as they did in Russia, into all the excursions and 
entertainments, often provided at great expense, crowding out 
many who were eligible, causing no end of inconvenience, 
trouble and confusion to the legitimate attendants, and creat- 
ing the profoundest consternation among the entertainers. 
This, in spite of the very plain, arid yet perhaps too polite, 
hints by the local committee, months in advance. Common 
politeness should have clearly and unmistakably indicated the 
proper course for these ineligibles to pursue. But the local 
committee was gracious ; it swallowed the unexpected and bit- 
ter dose as best it could, and put forth its very best efforts to 
make the occasion pleasant for all — unwelcomed guests as 
well as especially invited workers — even at an additional cost 
of many thousand roubles. 
Unfortunately the kindly actions of a local committee did 
not universally prevail, and it will be many a long day before 
