THE WELL-EQUIPPED GEOLOGIST

Horace-Benedict de Saussure (1740-1799) was an 18th century geologist who is justly famous for his theories of mountain building and folding, volcanism and the origin of basalt, and his early work in petrology. However, among a group of scientists who worked in the emerging field of geology, he was exceptional in his belief in the necessity of field work, the preparations he made for it, and the length and rigor of his travels.

As evidence of the care he devoted to numerous field trips that took place over a span of nearly thirty years of his regretfully short life, he left a list of the necessities for the well-equipped geologist at the end of massive four volume report, Voyages dans les Alps, published between 1779 and 1796. Not surprisingly, he started with two miners' hammers of different sizes, and chisels for small pieces or crystals. Hardness testing was to be done just as we do it in the field. Of course a magnet and lenses were needed, and a telescope for viewing inaccessible regions. He suggested what sort of notebook and pencils should be carried, and how samples should be treated. But here it becomes evident that he traveled with more help than our average graduate student does. He had a traveling reagent case, a blowpipe and accouterments, a clinometer, compasses, barometers, thermometers electrometers, and a sextant to take latitudes. Had had originated some of the equipment in order to quantify measurements he thought necessary, among it a cyanometer, a diaphanometer, an anemometer, and an actinometer. He specified proper clothing as well, and described it sometimes even with detail about its color. He finished with a discussion about proper food, which featured salted meat and dried potatoes, and the utensils needed to prepare it.

H.-B. de Saussure was clearly prepared to make the most of his field studies.