1864.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 55 



and was an indefatigable collector of plants. She presented to this 

 Society a large herbarium of Canadian plants, beautifully pre- 

 served ; she collected many living plants, and sent them home to 

 ornament the gardens and grounds of Dalhousie Castle ; and she 

 succeeded in imbuing her lady friends with a love of botany ; some 

 of whom made marked advances in this branch of natural history, 

 particularly one, who subsequently sent many specimens of Cana- 

 dian plants to Sir Jackson Hooker, to assist him in the compilation 

 of his great work the Plants of British North America, in which her 

 name is duly recorded as a contributor. The example of Lady Dal- 

 housie is well worthy of imitation by those having leisure for study. 

 And now permit me by desire to endeavor to throw some light on 

 the origin and progress of the Literary and Historical Society of 

 Quebec, the elder sister of the Society. Strange to say, its formation 

 was brought about indirectly, by a political movement, in this wise. 

 It is no doubt known to many of you that the late John Neilson 

 was the owner of the Quebec Gazette, established in 1764, now in 

 its hundredth year. In virtue of an Act of Parliament, it possessed 

 the privilege of publishing all official documents as they occurred. 

 Neilson was a great politician, and was opposed to Lord Dal- 

 housie in some points of government. This opposition Lord 

 Dalhousie could not tolerate, and he came to the determination of 

 establishing a paper which he could control, calling it the Quebec 

 Gazette by authority, and he caused Dr. Fisher, a co-editor of the 

 New York Albion, to come and take charge of it. Dr. Fisher had 

 been a member of the Literary and Historical Society of New York ; 

 he persuaded Lord Dalhousie to get up a society with similar title 

 and objects in Quebec. This was done. Chief Justice Sewell be- 

 coming the first President, and W. Green, a native of this city, the 

 secretary. The Society was in the first instance composed of high 

 officials and courtiers, and the fee was fixed at a high rate, for 

 some end which can only be guessed at. Papers were read before 

 the Society. The President gave his " Dark Days of Canada " ; 

 Captains Bayfield and Baddely read valuable papers on the Geol- 

 ogy of Canada, and Mr. Green presented his papers on Textile 

 Plants, and on the plants used in dyeing by the Indians. Shortly 

 after the formation of that Society, some of the younger inhabit- 

 ants of Quebec, perhaps thinking that they had been slighted, 

 formed themselves into a society under the name of the " Society 

 for the Promotion of Arts and Science in Canada." Lord Dal- 



