546 president's address. 



Catalogue of the collections of Fossils ; and Guide to the contents 

 of the Museum, which specially points out the arrangements of 

 the different collections. 



A question of great importance, and one which this Society 

 must regard with interest, is the sudden spread of Rabbits which 

 have now infected nearly one third of the colony, chiefly in the 

 south-western districts. This immigration is an alarming one, for 

 it is stated that a single pair of rabbits, if they and their progeny 

 were let alone by their enemies, would in the course of three 

 years multiply to more than 3,000,000. In view of the importance 

 and urgency of this matter the Parliament last year passed a 

 measure — " The Uabhit Nuisance Act, 1883 " — to deal with it in 

 an effective manner. 



This Act has now been in force for about seven months, and is 

 working well ; but through the shearing intervening, and the 

 prevalence of drought in a good many of the infested districts, 

 the work of extermination has not progressed so rapidly as it 

 would otherwise have done ; although it is believed that the spread 

 of the pest has to a large extent been checked. 



You will be pleased to hear that since the destruction of the 

 Mining and Geological Museum in the Garden Palace fire, a 

 splendid collection of rocks, minerals, and fossils has been brought 

 together, thanks to the energy of the officers of the Department 

 of Mines and the practical sympathy of many private persons 

 The specimens have been labelled by Mr. J. E. Carne, the Curator, 

 and will at once be available for public display as soon as the 

 Museum accommodation has been provided. From this collection 

 two fine series of specimens, illustrating the mineral resources of 

 New South Wales, have been arranged and sent to the Amsterdam 

 and Calcutta Exhibitions, and these cannot fail to show to the 

 world the varied nature of our mineral wealth. 



Recently the Department of Mines has issued a Geological 

 Map of part of the Forest Gold Field, by Mr. H. Y. L. Brown. 

 The main features shown are volcanic flows over granite, 

 metamorphic, Devonian, and Silurian limestones ; but in some of 



