igoi] Ami — Annual Address, 199 



species each, are worthy ot" special mention, a« also the collections 



of Miss L. Mabel Graham, Miss Van Alstyne, and Miss M. M. 



Mackenzie. 



The Judg-es report that it was no ordinary task of awarding^ 



the prizes, as the all-round excellence of the collections demanded 



critical comparison of specimens with specimens throug-hout, 



before decision could be arrived at. 



P. S. — The Judges appointed by the Club were : — Dr. James 



Fletcher, Prof John Macoun, and the President of the Club, Dr. 



H. M. Ami. 



The National Museum. 



I am not one of those whose motto is " despair." In fact it 

 is with considerable satisfaction and reasonable hope that we look 

 forward to the early meeting- of the Canadian Parliament when the 

 realization of the promises made by our worthy representatives are 

 to be fulfilled. We expect a National Museum — a building- com- 

 mensurate with the needs of the times, adapted for the specific 

 purposes for which it is designated — as a repository of authentic 

 and representative specimens illustrating the immense wealth and 

 natural resources of our great Dominion. We hear from all sides 

 the cry that the present building on Sussex street, the building 

 on O'Connor street and other repos-itories of Canadian collections 

 are '* too small," " very inadequate," "totally unfit," " dangerous- 

 ly situated" and running the daily risk of being destroyed by fire, 

 although they contain probably more "types" and typical series 

 of collections illustrating the mineral wealth, forest products, pro- 

 ducts of earth, sea and sky of Canada than would take a half 

 century to acquire and replace. The fact is, ladies and gentlemen, 

 if the types now displayed, say, in the Geological Museum on 

 Sussex street, were ever destroyed, they could never be replaced 

 and an irreparable loss to Canada as well as to science (or exact 

 knowledge) would be the result. The people of Canada, all the 

 Natural History Societies of the Dominion, the Council of the 

 Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, and its members will hail with 

 special delight the first tangible proof of the erection of a National 

 Museum at the capital. 



Royal Society Meeting. 

 In May of this year, the Royal Society of Canada again met 



