174 



aolbopc Jlahtraltsts' JFiel& Ollub. 



ANNUAL MEETING, 

 January igxH, 1857. 



The Annual Meeting was held on Monday, January 19th, at the residence 

 of the Hon. Secretary, Mr. J. A. F. Suter, in this City. Mr. Hewett Wheatley, 

 the President, took the Chair. The Hon. Secretary read a statement of the 

 accounts, which showed a balance in hand of about /^34. It was resolved, pur- 

 suant to Rule XII, to strike off from the list of members all who have been in arrear 

 with their subscriptions since 1852 and 1853. This resolution left eight vacancies, 

 two of which were filled up by the election of Mr. Cocking of Ludlow, and Mr. 

 Alfred Purchas, of Ross ; several other gentlemen were nominated. The latter 

 will be balloted for at the first Field Meeting. 



Dr. Bevan of Beaufort then read a very able and instructive paper on the 

 Field Meeting of the Club at Abergavenny in October last, and on the Geology 

 of the adjoining portion of the South Wales Coal-field, with the overlying beds 

 of the MiUstone Grit and Mountain Limestone formations. 



The President (on resigning the Chair at the close of his year of office) 

 delivered an excellent address, pointing out the importance, socially, morally, 

 and religiously, of naturalistic pursuits, and indicating the advantages which 

 would flow from the formation of the contemplated Museum. He then glanced 

 at the subject of Ichthyology, remarking that the recent experiments at Stor- 

 montfield, Perthshire, as described by Sir Wm. Jardine and other eminent 

 naturalists, had brought to light a most remarkable fact in regard to the Sal- 

 monids, which had led him (the President) to modify some of the opinions 

 expressed in the paper on " the Ichthyology of Herefordshire," read by him 

 at a former meeting (see antea, page 64). It has been ascertained that a part 

 of the salmon hatched at one time make their way to the sea at the end of the 

 first twelvemonth, while the rest do not migrate untU the end of the second 

 year. This circumstance could not be accounted for by the consideration of 

 sex, as both male and female were among those who migrated at the end of the 

 first year, although it might possibly be that the females were a year older than 

 males, since it was well established that the male salmon reaches maturity much 

 sooner than the female. This question, however, will probably be set at rest 

 by further observation. 



Experiments are being made to ascertain also whether, by supplying the 

 young fish with abundant food, they may not be all so far advanced in growth 

 as to be ready to depart for the sea at the end of the first year. 



