12 PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



among its members, where subjects interesting' to 

 tlie whole body of educated practitioners might be 

 introduced and fairly discussed for the mutual 

 benefit of all, and through which the contributions 

 to dental literature at present scattered through the 

 pages of medical journals, and often lost to those 

 to whom they are most interesting, might be collected 

 so as to form both an instructive and available 

 library for reference, has long been felt. 



The necessity of such a union, generally acknow- 

 ledged but never carried out, has given rise to the 

 formation of the Odontological Society. Founded 

 on the basis of other scientific societies, it, like them, 

 originated with one or two, and has been organized 

 by several — the gentlemen applied to to form it 

 being those who had signed the Memorial to the 

 College of Surgeons. These formed themselves into 

 a society, and out of their number appointed officers 

 and a council for the first year. Having arranged 

 the bye-laws for the governance of the society, it was 

 then determined to invite a limited number of town 

 and country practitioners to join it, so as to secure, 

 from the first, a sufficient number of members for 

 the purpose of carrying out the objects of the 

 society previous to throwing it open to the profes- 

 sion at large, for admission in the ordinary mode, 

 by ballot — a plan borne out by the early history of 

 every society on the model of which the present is 

 based. Such limitation of invited members was 

 found absolutely necessary, and was made without 



