478 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV. 



valuable scientific work, which is represented not only by the collections we 

 possess, but has been given to the world of science in the form of many 

 important publications in our journal. 



At the present time, however, I cannot help feeling that we are approaching 

 n period of our existence which, if we do not succeed in securing the assistance 

 of some more workers in this direction, may prove to be in a way a crisis in the 

 progress of the Society. In using so strong an expression as crisis, I do not 

 in any way wish to imply that there is any cause whatever to fear for the 

 general well-being of the Society, but in order to impress upon the minds 

 of those members, who have the opportunity of helping in the museum, 

 that it is impossible for us to go ahead and extend the good work that, 

 I am sure, you will all agree with me has continually been our record since the 

 Society's formation. The reason is that we have at present no alternative 

 but to recognize the fact that several of our most enthusiastic workers have, 

 through one circumstance or another, had to discontinue their valuable work, and 

 we have not yet succeeded in finding other members to fill their places. 



We have lately lost the personal help of Mr. E. H. Aitken, who not only con- 

 tributed large numbers of specimens to several of our more important collections, 

 but helped continually with his advice in the classification and arrangement of 

 the collections. We are now about to lose Mr. R. C. Wroughton, than whom 

 we have had few more ardent and thorough collectors, although he was never 

 sufficiently in Bombay to help much in the museum itself. It was only a few 

 years ago that Captain A. J. Peile, R.A., was transferred from Bombay, 

 who was, by his own personal work, almost entirely responsible for our collection 

 of land and fresh water shells, for without his encouragement we should 

 never have received the contributions we now possess. In addition to that 

 he brought our collection of marine shells into proper order with the help of 

 Mr. Aitken. Some time previously the short stay in Bombay of Staff Surgeon 

 Bassett Smith, R.N., came to an end, and we had to thank him for an 

 enormous amount of work on our collections of fishes and corals. 



Now we have, as you know, lately had very satisfactory additions to 

 our membership, both locally and generally, and I want to specially explain 

 that it is not necessarily experienced and, what I will call, really scientific 

 naturalists whose help we want. We cannot always find such highly qualified 

 members as those I have just named to help us in these matters, and therefore 

 I say don't let the younger or more inexperienced members be afraid to come 

 forward, for there is, I can assure you, plenty of really valuable work 

 for them to do, which will not only go towards making them, in a way, real 

 authorities in their own lines from a scientific point of view, but will at 

 the same time be the means of bringing much valuable material, that is at 

 present lying waste, before the world of science. Further than that, there 

 is no disguising the fact that many more contributions would come to us instead 

 of going elsewhere if the owners of them felt that they would be given proper 

 attention, worked out, and made the most of. 



