1864.] NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 53 



nance and aid in this our annual celebration. I have only to add, 

 that a committee of members of the Society has labored to make 

 our rooms and programme as attractive as possible, and that we 

 have to thank many kind friends for contributions to your enter- 

 tainment this evening." 



Dr. Dawson introduced to the audience one of the pioneers of 

 Natural History in this country — 



Hon. Mr. Sheppard, who said : " On this occasion, the anni- 

 versary of the Natural History Society of Montreal, it has fallen 

 to my lot to address to this goodly assemblage of the patrons of 

 science, a few remarks and remembrances of the state of natural 

 history and of its progress in Canada during the preceding half 

 century, which it has been supposed my long standing as a student 

 of nature enables me to submit to your patient hearing. These 

 observations must necessarily be short, seeing the varied pro- 

 gramme provided for the evening. In order to do this subject 

 justice it will be necessary to go back to the early settlement of the 

 oountry, when the Jesuit missionaries visited the wilds of Amer- 

 ica with the intention of Christianizing the natives. These mission- 

 aries were a learned and observant class of men ; and their oppor- 

 tunities of becoming acquainted with the natural productions of 

 the country, were greatly facilitated by their close intercourse with 

 the Indians, following them in their periodical migrations, and 

 sojourning with them in their encampments. They collected a 

 vast amount of information from their native friends about the ani- 

 mals, and especially about the plants, many of which were known 

 to possess healing properties, and to be useful in the few arts that 

 the Indians were acquainted with. The results of these researches 

 were, at a later period, collected and embodied by Charle- 

 voix in his History of Canada. They are well worthy of being 

 consulted. Towards the end of the last century Canada was 

 visited by Andr^ Michaux the elder, coming from the north 

 through Hudson's Bay, across the country by lakes Mistisions 

 and St. John, down the Saguenay and up the north shores of the 

 St. Lawrence, disappearing southward at some point unknown to 

 us. It must have been very interesting to him to note the grad- 

 ual change of the vegetable productions in his progress south from 

 the barren grounds of the stunted birch, the vast collections of 

 lichens and mosses which cover the surface of those dreary regions, 

 to the noble oaks and maples on the shores of the St. Lawrence. 



