Presidential Address
Authors: Geikie Archibald 
Published: December 2013

After thanking the Society for the compliment which they had paid him in electing him their President, he passed on to notice some of the functions of scientific societies. These societies, he said, may be conveniently divided into two classes—first, those of a national character, like the Royal Society, the Geological Society, and the Chemical Society of London; and second, local societies, properly so-called. The functions of a local society are five-fold,—first, to exhaust, so far as possible, the geology, botany, or natural history, as the case may be, of its own district, and to methodise and encourage the observations of an organised body of workers among its members; secondly, to watch every change within the scope of its own science which may arise in the course of human progress—for example, in botany, to note the changes caused by man’s interference upon the plants of a district; in geology, to notice the effects revealed by every new quarry, railway cutting, or exposure, along with the influence of man upon existing geological process; third, to bring forward at evening meetings notices of all new observations made by the members or by others in the district, and to preserve, and where possible, publish a record of these observations; fourth, to aid the researches of men who are devoting themselves to any special branch of science, by furnishing them with carefully verified facts and specimens, or other material which may be required; and fifth, to foster among its own members and in the outer world a love of the science which the Society is specially formed to cultivate. In regard to the Edinburgh Geological Society, the author pointed out how advantageously situated it is for the study of geological science. No better field for the prosecution of that study can be found than the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, while the libraries and geological collections in the city afford excellent help to the student. And notwithstanding the extent of the literature devoted to the geology of Edinburgh, much remains still to do; and much may be entered upon by the members of such an association as the Edinburgh Geological Society. In the first place, there is the palæontological domain. The Silurian rocks of the Lammermoors and the Moorfoot Hills have, no doubt, still some fossil treasures to show. The Upper Silurian rocks of the Pentland Hills have been carefully searched by several members of the Society, who have amassed a large collection of the organic remains of that locality; and it would be well if the other geological formations of the district were as thoroughly explored. The Old Red Sandstone of the Pentland Hills has not as yet yielded any fossils, but hopes may be entertained that, especially in the neighbourhood of West Linton, some
Cephalaspidæ
and Crustaceans of the lower beds of that formation may yet be found. Mr Geikie is of opinion that in all likelihood there is in reality no true Upper Old Red Sandstone in this district, but that what has hitherto been so esteemed will prove to belong in reality to the lower division of the system, and partly also to the base of the Carboniferous rocks. The Carboniferous system of the district furnishes in itself a wide field of research. Each of its broader divisions can be distinguished by fossils, and what the members of the Society might be strongly advised to illustrate is, how far each separate bed contains distinct fossils; also how far the same bed shows a change in its fossil contents as it passes from one district to another—for example, how far the organisms in the Burdiehouse limestone resemble or differ from those on the same horizon in West Lothian and East Lothian. There is also an interesting field of inquiry in connection with former volcanic conditions during various portions of the Carboniferous period, and Mr Geikie suggested as a profitable subject of investigation, whether, in the neighbourhood of interbedded volcanic rocks, any change in the contemporaneous flora or fauna could be made out.

In the neighbourhood of Edinburgh no stratified rocks have yet been found between the Carboniferous system and the Boulder-clay. Underneath the Boulder-clay, in certain localities, gravels and sands occur, in which it might be of great advantage to institute a careful and continued search for organic remains, such as might serve to indicate the nature of the plants and animals living in this neighbourhood at the commencement of the Boulder-clay period. The Boulder-clay itself, notwithstanding all that has been done in recent years, still offers many opportunities of useful inquiry. It is in reality a complex formation, and members of the Society might do much good in trying to trace out its subdivisions. They ought especially to watch every new cutting and exposure of the clay, or of the sand-beds contained in it, with the view of detecting, if possible, any organic remains, more particularly shells of an Arctic character. They should also wash samples of the clay from each district, with the view of discovering foraminifera, as has been done so successfully in other districts. Nor need they even despair of discovering mammalian remains, for he need not remind them that within eight miles from where they were assembled the tusk of a mammoth had been taken out of the Drift-beds. The sands and gravels that lie upon the Boulder-clay present still many problems, which are more likely to receive solution from the organised observations of a local society than from the work of single individuals. Later than the Drift come the old river terraces, in which, so far as the neighbourhood of Edinburgh is concerned, no human remains have yet been detected, nor, indeed, any evidence of those conditions which are illustrated by the old river gravels of the south of England and the north-east of France.

Passing next to the petrology of the district, Mr Geikie pointed out that the neighbourhood of Edinburgh furnishes illustrations of metamorphism in the Lower Silurian rocks, with various syenites and porphyries. The volcanic rocks of the district have long been famous; nevertheless much has still to be learned regarding their chemical and mineralogical composition. The nomenclature of the crystalline rocks is in a most deplorable state in this country. It remains, indeed, in much the same state as it was about the beginning of the century. There is, therefore, no branch of geological inquiry which, at the present time, offers greater prospect of new and important results. Chemistry and mineralogy are both needed. The chemist may tell the ultimate chemical composition of the rocks, but not so well their mineralogical arrangement. That is best done by the help of the microscope—an instrument which will undoubtedly come to be an indispensable part of the equipment of every field geologist.

In conclusion, he showed that the preparation of elaborate papers is not necessary; that the Society ought not to be too ambitious; that though detailed papers of great merit will always be heartily welcomed, it can hardly be hoped that such papers will be numerous. The members, however, will do good, not only to themselves, but to the cause of the science which they cultivate, by bringing to their meetings notices of new facts and discoveries made either by themselves or by others. These notices the Society ought to preserve, and, if possible, from time to time publish. Many people speak disparagingly of such local efforts, but, in truth, science would often make but slow progress without them. A local society will do far more good to geology by carefully illustrating the geological structure of its own district, than by attempting to furnish such papers on the science as, in justice alike to the author and the cause of science, can only properly be received and published by a great national society like the Geological Society of London. Its ambition should be to be distinguished by the amount of useful work which it can do, being well assured that no such work, no matter how local in its first aspect, can be honestly done without adding something to the stock of knowledge, and thereby advancing the cause of science.