PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 295 



history. By diagram he indicated the intended arrangement 

 of the Natural History Section, and the methods which were 

 to be chiefly adopted in the building up of complete educational 

 and scientific collections in the museum. He referred to the 

 large masses of material lying in the institution which 

 required to be classified and named, and appealed to the 

 members of the Society to come to the aid of the curator and 

 his assistants in arranging and making available this accumu- 

 lated store. A discussion then took place on various aspects 

 of the subject dealt with in Mr. Macnair's address, particularly 

 with reference to material collected by members of the Society 

 and placed in the museum, and to the best methods of arrang- 

 ing that material so as to enhance its utility for purposes of 

 reference and insure its preservation. 



19th December, 1907. 



Mr. D. A. Boyd, President, in the chair. 



Before proceeding to the business of the meeting, the chair- 

 man referred to the great loss which science had sustained in 

 the death of Lord Kelvin — an event which may be truly said 

 to have cast its dark shadow over the whole civilised world. 

 In that early moment of sorrow it was impossible fully to 

 appreciate the extent of such a loss, or adequately to estimate 

 the worth of the life and labours which had so recently come 

 to an end. But everyone must feel sensible that Lord Kelvin's 

 marvellous insight into the secrets of nature, and inexhaustible 

 fertility of discovery and invention, whereby hidden physical 

 forces have been brought directly into the service of humanity, 

 must earn for him the undying gratitude of mankind. For 

 more than half a century his brilliant intellectual personality 

 shone in and around the University of Glasgow, shedding its 

 lustre far afield, and casting a clear light into many regions 

 of research previously dark and obscure. But in addition to 

 marvellous scientific endowments, he possessed a versatility of 

 mind and a wide sympathy for humanity which rendered him 

 an active and useful citizen, ever ready to take part in any 

 movement for the benefit of mankind, for the alleviation of 

 distress, or for the relief of suffering. For almost twenty years 



