XXII. 



ANNIVEESARY ADDRESS. 



THE STOXE AGE IN HERTFORDSHIRE. 



By Sir John Evans, K.C.B., D.C.L., LL.D., Sc.D., Treas.R.S., 



Y.P.S.A., etc., Yice-President of the Society. 



Delivered at the Annual Meeting, 2,Qth Febriiarij, 1895, at Watford. 



PLATES IX-XIV. 



Lajjies and Gentlemen, — 



I am sure that all who are i^resent this evening, at the twentieth 

 Anniversary Meeting of our Society, sincerely regret the absence 

 of our President, especially as he is away from us on account 

 of ill-health ; but of all who regret his absence I do not think 

 that there is anyone who does so more sincerely than I do. The 

 reason why I am now addressing you is that about ten days ago 

 our Secretary, Mr. Hopkinson, called upon me and pathetically 

 appealed to me to help the Society out of a difficulty. I suggested 

 that as on this occasion a new President was to be elected, he 

 might be willing to anticipate the Address which he would have 

 to give in twelve months' time. I found, however, that Mr. 

 Henry Secbohm had already been approached on the subject, but 

 had more work on hand than would allow him to prepare an 

 Address, and out of sheer compassion for our Honorary Secretary 

 I agreed to deliver the Anniversary Address in the place of our 

 President, Mr. Stradling. 



The subject which I have selected is "The Stone Age in Hert- 

 fordshire." But before I proceed to discuss this subject I wish 

 to congratulate the Society on having completed its twenty years 

 of existence. I was present when the Society was inaugurated ; 

 I had the honour of being its first President ; I have watched over 

 its growth and prosperity during the last twenty years ; and I am 

 glad to think that at the end of this year it will have attained its 

 majority. The Society is in a very favourable condition compared 

 Avith that of a great many of the local societies which are spread 

 over the length and breadth of the land, and I think that our 

 ' Transactions ' contain as valuable papers as any that are published 

 by other local societies. They are admirably edited by our Honorary 

 Editor, Mr. Hopkinson, and I am sure that without his aid the 

 Society would on more occasions than one have found itself in 

 circumstances of great difficulty. 



VOL. YIII. — PART VII. 13 



