April 13. Wm. M. Ooilvie. 



Stntctiirc ani Fimctions of fhe Leaf. 



,, 20. Dr F. Buchanan White. 



Mushrooms, Toadstools, and Fuiujus Shows. 



These Lectures were all well attended ; they served to bring the 

 Society and its aims more into public notice, and were largely 

 instrumental in increasing its membership. 



In January 1876 the Society held its first Conversazione in 

 the Albert Institute, to which were invited a great many of the 

 inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood. It proved to be an 

 eminently successful affair, and was much lauded in the news- 

 papers. Like the lectures of the previous year, but in a very 

 much greater degree, did the Conversazione bring the Society 

 again into notice ; and again was there a very large accession to 

 the list of members. 



Of course, during the first three years of the Society's existence, 

 in addition to the facts mentioned above, the ordinary meetings 

 were held regularly every fortnight during the winter, at which 

 many excellent and valuable papers were read; and, during 

 summer, botanical and geological excursions were organized ; but 

 it is no part of the plan to go into the details of these. In 

 writing the above the intention has been simply to give a bare 

 outline of the Society's birth and growth — something in the 

 nature of an introduction to the " Fourth Annual Eeport," which 

 is the first Report that has been printed for circulation among 

 the members. 



The following shows the number of members on the roll at the 

 close of the several financial years : — 



1874, 42 



1874-5, 102 



1875-G, 232 



