PROCEEDINGS FOR 1886. XXV 
The Society provides six original scientific Lectures during the Winter months, called the 
“ Somerville Course of Lectures,” and the public are admitted free. The following lectures were 
delivered by members of the Society last session, and as there are no fees, the whole work is a labour 
of love :— 
1. Antiseptics and Disinfectants, by Alfred H. Mason. 
The Chalk Formation, by Rey. W. J. Smyth. 
The Source of Igneous Rocks, by Thos. Macfarlane. 
The Chemistry of Bread and other Farinaceous Foods, by. Dr. Casey A. Wood. 
Cotton and Cotton Manufactures, by Wm. Hobbs. . - 
Breathing and Ventilation, by Dr. J. B. McConnell. 
The History of a Modern Volcano, by Sir William Dawson. 
Bi Gd sis 69 NO 
The Society has a Museum, which is open to the public daily, at a nominal charge, and to mem- 
bers and their families free. It comprises objects in four different departments of science—zoology, 
botany, geology and mineralogy; also miscellanies and antiquities. Several contributions have been 
added during the past session. 
The Library contains over 3,000 volumes of publications in accord with the objects of the Society ; 
amongst these are many very rare books, not to be found in any other library in Canada. During 
the past session, the whole of the books have been overhauled, classified and numbered, and a com- 
plete catalogue is in course of compilation. 
For some years, the Society has received material assistance in the good work it is doing from 
the Provincial Government. The Council regret that this grant has recently been withdrawn, and 
if any of the members of this, the foster-daughter of Canadian scientific societies, can influence the 
restoration of this grant, we respectfully ask your sympathy and coüperation. 

XII.—From the Nova Scotian Institute of Natural Science, through Pror. A. H. MacKay. 
This session of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science has produced as large a number of papers 
on subjects connected with Natural Science as usual, shewing that in the twenty-fourth year of its 
existence it is still vigorous. It has been called upon to mourn the loss of its late esteemed 
President, Robert Morrow, one of its most zealous workers in comparative anatomy, whose papers 
have contributed much to the value and interest of the Proceedings and Transactions of the Institute. 
Dr. John Somers has succeeded as President. 
List of papers read during the session, 1885-6 :— 
1. Additional Notes on Glacial Action, at Bedford Basin, Halifax Harbour, and North-west Arm, 
by Dr. Honeyman. 
2. New Plants of Nova Scotia, by Dr. Somers. 
3. On the Relative Bulk of certain Aqueous Solutions and their Constituent Water, by Dr. 
MacGregor. 
4, Sable Island, its probable Origin and Submergence, by Simon D. Macdonald. 
5. Additions to former list of Plants collected in the vicinity of Truro, N. S., 1885, by G. G. 
Campbell. 
6. Fungi of Novia Scotia, by Dr. Somers. 
7. The Carboniferous of Cape Breton, by Edwin Gilpin. 
8. Notes of a Polariscopic Examination of Crystalline Rocks of Antigonish County, N.%S., by 
Dr. Honeyman. 
9. Observations on the Currents of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, by John J. Fox. 
10. Notes on the Anatomy of Delphinus delphis, by Dr. Somers. 
11, Geology of Antigonish County reviewed, by Dr. Honeyman. 
Proc. 1886. D. 
