Natural History Society. 231 



investigations, carried on by members of the Society and published 

 by it, must, however, give it its standing among other scientific 

 bodies, and it is by these that the value of its operations will be 

 estimated abroad. 



In this important department much has been done in the past 

 year, and the Society has now connected with itself a zealous 

 and constantly increasinor band of laborers, who are daily extend- 

 ing the limits of our knowledge of Canadian Natural history and 

 allied subjects. 



In the department of Ethnology and social statistics, several 

 valuable communications have been presented to the Society. 

 One, by Principal Dawson, had reference to the art of Pottery, 

 as practised by the aborigines of Canada, and evidenced by an 

 ancient Indian vase in the collection of the Society. Another 

 fr^m an anynomous correspondent, is a very interesting notice of 

 the manners and present condition of the Indian tribes of the 

 M'^Kenzie River, and the Arctic coast of America. Another, 

 prepared by a committee of the Society, relates to certain points 

 of interest connected with the Egyptian antiquities, presented by 

 Mr. Ferrier, and especially to the antiquity and mode of prepara- 

 tion of the mummied remains contained in the collection. A 

 fourth, the most important of the whole, is an elaborate investi- 

 gation of the vital statistics of Canada, by Mr. P. P. Carpenter, a 

 paper which, it is hoped, will not be merely a contribution to 

 knowledge, but will give a practical stimulus to the sanitary im- 

 provement, so much needed for the comfort and health of the 

 laboring classes in our towns. 



In Botany the Society has received a number of catalogues, 

 which must be regarded as important contributions to our know- 

 ledge of the geographical distribution of American plants. The 

 principal are, that of the Holmes Herbarium of the University 

 of McGill College, prep ired by the late Prof. Barnston, that of 

 Prescott plants, by Mr. B. Billings, that of the plants of the river 

 Ronge, by Mr. D'Urban, and of the AlgaB of the St. Lawrence, 

 by the Rev. Mr. Kemp. In addition to these, we have had very 

 interesting- papers on the Reproductive system of Vaucheria, and 

 on the mode of studying the Algse, by Mr. Kemp ; on the genus 

 Allium^ as found in Canada, by Mr. G. Barnston ; and we may 

 properly add here an interesting biographical sketch of the Great 

 Western explorer, Douglas, by the same author. 



