914 THE chairman's address. 



the lower cryptogams, and in regard to the morphology of the 

 phanerogams, and to problems arising therefrom. But even 

 with such limitations, when is such a statement concerning the 

 fauna to become possible; and at the rate at which things are 

 progressing, is it likely to be before our hundredth anniversary 1 



Systematists abroad have done in many groups pretty nearly 

 all they can do for us ; their work now wants supplementing and 

 revising by resident naturalists, who have the opportunity of 

 examining abundant stores of fresh or living material studied in 

 the light of natural surroundings. Morphology and Embryology, 

 necessitating well-equipped laboratories at present hardly existing 

 outside a few of our universities, are having too long a holiday. 

 Our museums contain abundant supplies of untouched and 

 unworked material, while some groups of our more inconspicuous 

 invertebrates have hardly yet been systematically collected. Our 

 fisheries need developing on a scientific basis, nothing systematic 

 as yet having been attempted in the way of investigating the 

 life-histories, habits, and food-supply of our food-fishes, to say 

 nothing of so important a question as fish-cultivation. Moreover, 

 delay is to be deprecated, because the advent of civilised man 

 with his numerous animal and vegetable introductions, intentional 

 and unintentional, and by his modification of extensive tracts of 

 country through the removal or destruction of the timber, 

 has already seriously disturbed the ' balance of nature,' and is 

 succeeding only too well in his at any rate partial extermination 

 of more of the indigenes than is desirable. 



Truly then, in spite of all that has yet been accomplished, and 

 even leaving out of consideration for the moment such equally 

 important matters as the completion of the geological survey of, 

 let us say, one single colony, something approaching a detailed 

 knowledge of Australian petrology, or an exhaustive study of the 

 therapeutic and economic possibilities of our native plants, there 

 is an abundant and promising harvest to be gathered, involving 

 much arduous and patient work. This being so, how is it that 

 our own workers are so few in number'? 



