THE chairman's ADDRESS. 911 



" At West Maitland the local Science Association has presented 

 its valuable natural history collection to the Museum, and at the 

 other centres scientific societies have been started which will 

 assist in the ' working up ' of the museums, so that most of these 

 museums will contain a natural history side as well. 



" The local science master, or head of the local Technical 

 School, is the curator, and he corresponds direct with the Curator 

 of the Sydney Technological Museum in matters of museum 

 detail. He is quite at liberty to devote a portion of his time to 

 original research, or to give lectures, &c. 



" Each museum contains about 2000 specimens exhibited in 

 suitable show-cases. Endeavours are being made to form in each 

 museum a display of the products of the district in which it is 

 situated, and substantial additions to the collections have been 

 received already. Numerous applications for the formation of 

 museums in different centres of population have been received, 

 but at present it is proposed to confine them to towns in which 

 technical colleges have already been founded." 



In his last Presidential Address Professor Stephens took 

 occasion to mention that of the 125 original members with which 

 the Society started only 24 still retained their membership, and 

 he placed on record the names of the veterans. By a remarkable 

 and erroneous inversion of terms the editor of one of our news- 

 papers was led to believe that the total number of members of the 

 Society had dwindled to 24; and accordingly he did us the 

 unaccustomed honour of devoting a leading article to the considera- 

 tion of our affairs, in which he somewhat oracularly disposed of 

 the cause of our supposed premature decay in a veiy simple 

 manner. Doubtless many of you read the article in question with 

 feelings somewhat akin to those of the man who is called upon to 

 read an obituary notice of himself. Said our critic " The Annual 

 Meeting of the Linnean Society was held last night, It is with 

 regret that we observe the decay numei'ically of this admirable 

 Society, which in the past has done so much excellent work in the 

 field of natural science. The original number of members was 



