Dr. George Mercer Dawson, F.R.S., whose portrait we present to our readers this month, is the son of Sir William Dawson, F.R.S., for many years Principal of McGill College, Montreal. Dr. Dawson was born at Pictou, Nova Scotia, August 2, 1849, and his early years were passed in Canada. After continuing his education in Scotland, he obtained his special training for a scientific career in the Royal School of Mines, Jermyn Street, of which he is an “Associate,” and where he was also awarded the “Murchison” and “Edward Forbes” Medals. His first scientific appointment was as Geologist and Botanist to the British North American Boundary Commission, which in the seasons of 1873–4 marked out the International Boundary between the United States and the Dominion of Canada, for a distance of 800 miles in length, from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains.