26 Address of the President. 



But some of the letters on treasure-trove, to wliich I 

 have alluded, decry private collections and collectors. With 

 this I entirely disagree. Private love for any subject begets 

 its investigation, and a collection is the consequence, endeared 

 to its owner by all the difficulties of procuring the specimens 

 and making out their history. These collections may some- 

 times be scattered and dispersed, but they should be known 

 to the officers of the public museums ; and when they come 

 to sale the desiderata and really valuable pieces can be 

 secured, and the expense to Government or the public will 

 be much less than the purchase of a large miscellaneous 

 collection. There are few of our best authorities who have 

 not collections in the branches they pursue, whether paint- 

 ings, coins, natural history, or antiquities. These seldom go 

 out of Great Britain, except when Government happens to be 

 economical. Destroy or interfere with private collections, 

 and you will destroy the taste for the subjects, and at the 

 same time interfere with the liberty of the subject. 



I think it more than probable that treasure-trove may 

 be this session taken up by Parliament, and a clear defi- 

 nition of it made ; it might be useful, and assist, if the 

 various societies were to express their opinions, and me- 

 morialise for that purpose. In the meantime I would recom- 

 mend any one possessing or finding antiquities not gold or 

 silver to bring them forward, and let them be studied and 

 described. They will be quite safe and again restored, or, if 

 desired, full value will be obtained for them. 



Before concluding these observations, it may be profitable 

 to learn if our wanderings and explorations have produced 

 any additions to our knowledge of the various productions 

 coming under our notice. Among the larger animals, or 

 mammalia, we can scarcely expect any, though, if attention is 

 given to the smaller species — Bats, Arvicola, Sorex — we may 

 yet add to the list. 



But although we may not have anything new, changes 



