1090 president's address. 



Spencer FuUertoa Baird, born in Pennsylvania, 1823, Secretary 

 to the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, and author of many 

 works upon the Zoology of North America, was appointed (1871) 

 United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, for the purpose 

 of inquiring into the causes of the decrease of the food fishes of the 

 United States, and the methods of restoring them. In this 

 capacity, as in others, his labours were of great service not only to 

 America, but to the whole civilised world. He was elected an 

 Honorary Member of this Society January, 1883, and deceased 

 August 19th, 1887. 



H. R. Labatt, a younger son of the late well-known Dr. 

 Labatt, of Dublin, arrived in the colony about 1839. He was 

 engaged in the survey of Manero, New England, and Mary- 

 borough, and was for some time in charge of the roads in the 

 County of Cumberland. After this he acted as manager of Gragin 

 Station, the property of Messrs. Cheke and Broadhurst, but sul>- 

 sequently returned to the public service in the Harbours and 

 Rivers Department. He was a gentleman of a singularly simple, 

 straightforward, and honourable character, and esteemed in the 

 highest degree by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. 

 He died near Campbelltown in July last. 



Thirteen years have now elapsed — fugaces lahvAitur I — since the 

 foundation of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, and twelve 

 portly volumes now testify to its growth and vitality Of the last 

 volume, I propose as on previous occasions to give a brief account 

 in systematic divisions, specifying only such details as I think are 

 worth the pointing out to experts in similar matters. To each 

 division I have appended a reference to papers upon the same or 

 allied subjects which have appeared in the various scientific 

 periodicals of Australia and New Zealand, so far as we possess 

 them in our Library. In my last address, I was from the nature 

 of the case obliged to confine these references to the Volumes foi- 

 1885 • but am now enabled in some instances to extend them to a 



