OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 85 



others of a most useful character in which some excellent scientific 

 papers have been read — I allude particularly to the Royal Society 

 of Sydney. This is a well-established society, possessing ample 

 funds, and having a long list of subscribing members. It has, 

 moreover, among its office-bearers and members the most scientific 

 men in the community, and a number of valuable papers have been 

 read at its meetings. But mingled with those scientific papers 

 have been others not of a scientific character, and possessing cer- 

 tainly no interest except of the most local kind. The publications 

 of its proceedings also have not been conducted with the celerity 

 and regularity to be expected from a society not deficient in point 

 of means, and it is that irregularity and uncertainty in publication 

 which makes it as a society useless as a record of zoological, 

 botanical, or geological discovery. 



Our Society has as yet had no reason to complain of want of public 

 support. The list of members is large, the funds, as will be seen 

 by the report of the hon. treasurer, have not been deficient, and 

 the proceedings of the monthly meetings, with the papers read, 

 have been printed as soon as the matter in hand was sufficient for 

 an octavo sheet. And the only regret I have to express is, that 

 the numbers of those contributing papers are not greater, and that 

 Zoology seems to turn the scale upon Botany and Geology. 



Everything, however, must have a beginning, and I cannot say 

 that the difficulties experienced in the formation of the Linnean 

 Society of New South Wales — difficulties which have been chiefly 

 felt and encountered by our excellent honorary secretary, Captain 

 Stackhouse, R.N. — are greater than those usually encountered 

 under similar circumstances. 



The papers read at the monthly meeting of the society since its 

 inauguration, are as follows : — 



By Mr. Brazier : Descriptions of fourteen species of terrestrial 

 fluviatile and marine shells from Australia and the Solomon Islands. 



Description of eight species of Australian and Tasmanian land 

 and freshwater shells. 



By Mr. Ramsay : Description of a new species of Ptilotis from 

 the Endeavour River, with some remarks on the natural history 

 of the East Coast Range near Rockingham Bay. 



