PEOCEEDINGS FOE 1891. LIX 



During the year ending March 31st, 1891, upwards of fifty members paid fees— $5 each for mem- 

 bers living in or near Victoria, and $2.50 if living elsewhere in the province. 



About $240 have thus been collected, and $140 have been spent, mostly in the purchase of books. 



Large donations of books and reports have been received from the Geological Survey of Canada, 

 from the Eoyal Society of Canada, the Smithsonian Institution, and from gentlemen interested in the 

 natural history of British Columbia, notably Dr. G. M. Dawson, Mr. Macoun, Mr. Whiteaves, and 

 Prof, J. J. Smith, of Yale. 



Evening meetings have been held fortnightly during the year, when papers were read and various 

 specimens examined before presentation to the museum. 



Most of the papers were upon the local natural history, and included the following subjects: 



1. The Salmonidae of British Columbia. 



2. The Economic Fishes of British Columbia. 



3. The Birds of British Columbia and their Distribution. 



4. The Deer of British Columbia and their Distribution. 



5. The Bears of British Columbia. 



6. The Crabs of the South-east Coast of Vancouver Island. 



7. The Jade Implements of British Columbia. 



8. The Ci'ania of certain Indian Ti'ibes of British Columbia. 



9. Haidah Legends. 



10. The Economic Minerals of New Caledonia. 



11. The Topography and Eesources of the Queen Charlotte Islands. 



12. The Preservation of the Indian Eemains of British Columbia. 



13. Leaves and their Functions. 



14. The Study of Entomology. 



15. Birds and their Place in Nature. 



Field meetings were held fortnightly when weather permitted, and visits were made to many 

 places in the neighbourhood of Victoria. 



1. To Cadboro' Bay, interesting for its land and marine fauna and flora, and also for its Indian 

 fortifications, shell mounds and bui'ial cairns. 



2. To Macaulay's Point, where Indian remains also abound, and where glacial groovings and 

 boulders are very plentiful. 



3. To Mount Finlayson, with a sub-arctic flora near its summit. 



4. To Shawnigan Lake, where Lobelia Dortmanna, SisyrincMum Oalifomicum and other plants not 

 noted elsewhere in the province were collected. 



5. To Beaver Lake, abounding in fresh water shells. 



Several dredging expeditions were most popular, and enriched the Provincial Museum with 

 numerous specimens of marine invertebrata. 



One hundred dollars of the society's funds have been appropriated in aid of publishing an account 

 of the work of the year, and some of the principal papers read will be printed in full. A preliminary 

 check list of the birds of British Columbia will also be added. 



Copies of the ' Transactions ' will be sent to those societies and individuals who have so kindly 

 assisted in the formation of the youngest provincial natural history society in the Dominion. 



XX. — From The Société Historique de Montréal, by Mr. Justice Baby. 

 La Société Historique de Montréal a été fondée au mois d'avril 1859 par MM. le commandeur 



