230 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [June^ 



owing to the want of funds, few new purchases have been able to 

 be made. Notwithstanding, valuable donations of some twenty- 

 four volumes have been received from the Literary and Historical 

 Society of Quebec ; and your Council have again to record the 

 generosity of Mr. Ferrier, our treasurer, who has also presented 

 some eleven or twelve volumes. 



Original Papers Read. 



During the past season twenty-four original papers have been 

 read and discussed on the various departments of Natural His- 

 tory, viz.. Geology, Zoology, and Botany. Most of these papers 

 have been published in The Canadian Naturalist; which^ 

 besides beino- the record of our own transactions here, is the means 

 of disseminating and spreading an account of our proceedings to 

 other countries ; and your Council cannot but regard this publica- 

 tion as an important feature in our future progress and useful- 

 ness. 



Owing to the liberality of the publishers, Messrs. Dawson 

 Brothers, The Canadian Naturalist has become second to no 

 other publication of a like nature, containing, as it does, a 

 great amount of useful and scientific knowledge. The Editing 

 Committee deserve from your Council special mention for their 

 successful labors in this important department. 



Public Lectures. 



The annual course of Sommerville Lectures was delivered in 

 the Lecture Hall of the Society, to very large and respectable 

 audiences. The following form the subjects of the course : — 



First Lecture — 18th February 1864, by W. Hingston, M.D., 

 F.B.C.S.E., " On the Harmony observed in Nature." 



Second Lecture — 25th February, by Charles Smallwood, M.D., 

 LL.D., " On Terrestrial Magnetism." 



Third Lecture— 3d March, by H. B. Small (Lin. Coll. Ox.), 

 '^ On a Trip to our Satellite." 



Fourth Lecture — 10th March, by James Pech (Mus. Doc), 

 " On Music and the People." 



Fifth Lecture— 17th March, byT. Sterry Hunt, M.A., F.R.S., 

 " On the Correlation of Forces." 



Sixth and concluding Lecture on the 24th March, by Dr. 

 Dawson, F.R.S., F.G.S., &c., (the President,) '' On Man's Place 

 in Nature." 



