XXX. ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. 
It is further extremely desirable that all observations bearing on these subjects should be syste- 
matically recorded and investigated. For the purpose of attaining these ends the Society is extremely 
desirous of enlisting the assistance and active co-operation of persons residing in or travelling through 
those parts of the country which are as yet little known and thinly inhabited, and which have in 
consequence not been adequately explored or scientifically investigated ; and, in view of the favorable 
opportunities of many of the officers of The Hudson’s Bay Company for rendering assistance in this work, 
it has been decided to make a special appeal to these gentlemen. 
Objects of an exceptional character are frequently discovered, which, though exciting some 
interest at the time, are subsequently lost sight of from the want of some central institution in which 
they might be deposited; and many specimens can be procured which, though common in certain 
localities, may be of great interest from a scientific point of view. The collection of specimens and 
facts bearing on the native tribes is especially important, as no time will recur so favorable as the 
present, and much that can now be easily procured may in a few years be lost beyond recall. 
The Royal Society of Canada, founded under the auspices of His Excellency the Governor- 
General, and in co-operation with the Geological and Natural History Survey of the Dominion, is now 
in a position to assume the care of any objects and material which may be entrusted to it, and will be 
pleased to furnish to the collectors and donors of such specimens any information which may be pos- 
sible as to their character and value, and to notice in the publications of the Society all specimens 
and facts that may be of interest, with due mention of those by whom they may have been collected 
or discovered, 
It is impossible in this circular to enter at length into an enumeration of the objects which would 
be of interest, but from the more remote parts of the North-West and North-East Territories and 
British Columbia, scarcely any local collections could be made which would not be possessed of 
scientific value. The following notes are therefore added for the purpose merely of drawing attention 
to the departments in which important assistance might be most easily rendered. The value of spe- 
cimens is in all cases greatly enhanced by precise details as to the geographical position of the places 
from which they have been obtained. 
Zoology —Skins of Animals, particularly the smaller mammals and birds, so prepared as to be 
suitable for mounting. Skeletons, and particularly skulls of animals. Eggs, especially those of the 
eagles, hawks, owls and aquatic birds. Snakes, lizards, frogs and small mammals, in alcohol or other 
preservative. Collections of freshwater or marine shells and crustaceans. Insects, dried or preserved 
in a mixture of sawdust and alcohol. 
Observations with regard to the limits of territory occupied by certain species, migration, breed- 
ing and hibernation, and dates of arrival and departure of migratory birds, would be specially inter- 
esting. 
Botany.—Local collections of dried plants, particularly those from elevations or high northern 
latitudes. In addition to the ordinary flowering plants, collections of dried mosses, lichens and sea- 
weeds would be of considerable importance. The locality and date of collection should, if possible, be 
attached to each specimen. 
Notes on the extent of the country inhabited by the different species, and dates of the flowering 
and seeding, limits and size of timber trees, possess, in regard to climatic and other similar enquiries, 
special importance. 
Geology.—Fossils and petrifactions of all kinds, rocks of unusual character found in place, minerals 
and ores, with the locality of each distinctly stated, are desirable. In the case of the supposed dis- 
covery of minerals of economic importance, a note as to their character and value could, if desired, be 
returned, Any fossils obtained from the rocks of the Mackenzie River district, with shells or bones 
of extinct animals found imbedded in clay banks or superficial deposits, would possess special scientitic 
interest. 
Notes on the localities of occurrence of coal seams, petroleum, salt, &e., and of spots yielding 
