No. 4,] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 239 



•object of asking the members of the Microscopic Club to attend 

 the meeting was to see what instruments there Acre in Montreal, 

 because there would be u Microscopic section in the American 

 Association meetings. 



The remainder of the evening was spent in inspection with the 

 microscopes Natural History objects of different kinds. 



ANNUAL MEETING. 



The annual meeting was held on liie evening of May 18tK, 

 the President in the chair. 



THE PRESIDENT;^ ANNUAL ADDRESS. 



The President, Principal Dywson. first delivered his annual 

 address to the members of the Society. He said : — 



The present session, 1 believe, completes the half century 

 since the incorporation of this Society, thouuh its actual found- 

 tion dates from the yeir l!S27. At the :innu;il meeting before 

 last, Major Latour gave you an interesting account of its various 

 exertions within that time for the advancement of Canadi.m 

 science, and which have not only steadily promoted our national 

 growth in this respect, but have led to the institution of great 

 public departments which may be said to have outgrown the 

 Society itself. x\t the last meeting our attention was directed 

 to the propriety of extending to the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science an invitation to hold a second meet- 

 ing in Montre.il after the lapse of twenty-five years. In this we 

 have been happily successful. The invitation tendered by this 

 Society has been unanimously und cordiilly accepted, aiid we 

 hope on the 2ord of August again to welcome the e7/7f of the 

 scientific men of the United States and Canada to the hospita- 

 lities of our city. A large and intiuential local conmiittce has 

 already been organized, ynd has commenced its labours with that 

 zeal and public spirit which ever characterizes the action of the 

 citizens of Montreal in such matters. The meeting held here in 

 1857 was one of the most successful up to that time, and it is 

 hoped that the meeting of 1882 may h ivc a similar character. 

 We must remember, liowever, tliat tlie Am^'rican Association 

 has grown to a much larger body than it wis in 1857, and that 

 correspondingly large demands will bj made upon us, while cor 

 respondingly Urge benefits may be expected, more especially in 



