60 The Scottish Naturalist. 



Balfour. Recent additions to the Museum, Library, and Herbarium, at the 

 Royal Garden, were exhibited. 



Perthshire Society of Natural Science, 2d December —Dr. Buchanan 

 White, President, in the Chair. — Mr. John Sadler, Edinburgh, read a paper 

 upon the Geographical distribution of Plants in Perthshire, and illustrated it by 

 numerous specimens and diagrams. The President read a paper upon " Winter 

 work for Naturalists." 



5th January.— The President in the Chair. — A paper by Mr. W. Cameron 

 was read, upon the ' ' Ferns of Balquhidder, ' ' and was illustrated by specimens. 

 Mr. Camer on enumerated the various species and their localities in the district, 

 and alluded to the valuable economic uses of the common bracken for thatching 

 houses ; a cottage roof of bracken thatch would cost about £\, and last for ten 

 years. A roof of this material was far better than one of slate for preserving an 

 equable temperature in the house, and, in an artistic point of view, harmonized 

 better with the surrounding sceneiy. Dr. Buchanan White read a paper upon 

 the eggs of insects, and illustrated it with diagrams. 



2d February.— Dr. Buchanan White, President, in the Chair.— Mr. W. 

 Herd read a paper upon the " Lepidoptera of Moncrieff Hill,'' and illustrated 

 it with specimens of the various species. (We shall probably give extracts from 

 this paper in a future number of the Naturalist.) Mr. C. Fleckstein gave an 

 interesting account of the ' ' Zoology and Botany of the Ancients, " and traced 

 the various degrees of knowledge attained from the time of Aristotle to that of 

 Pliny. 



Perthshire Literary and Antiquarian Society.— Under the auspices of 

 this Society, Dr. M'Intosh of Murthly has been giving a course of Lectures on 

 Zoology. These Lectures, which have been well attended and appreciated, were 

 illustrated by numerous diagrams and specimens from Dr. M 'Intosh's extensive 

 collection. 



NATURAL SCIENCE CHAIRS IN OUR UNIVERSITIES. 



BY W. LAUDER LINDSAY, M.D., F.R S.E.. F.L.S. 



SECOND PAPER. 



'T^HE main purport of the present Paper is to discuss — 

 ■*■ necessarily very briefly — the following questions: — 



I. What is, or ought to be, the object arid status of our Univer- 

 sity Chairs* of Natural Science? 



* What English University Chairs are, as compared with what they ought to be 

 is so well set forth in the chapter on " Liberal Education in Universities,*' in a 

 volume recently published (1870), of " Lectures and Essays'' l>y Prof. Seeley 

 of Cambridge, that I venture strongly to commend the whole of the said 

 chapter to the careful perusal of all who are interested in the Reform of Science 

 teaching in British Universities. 



