199 



Mr. Brodie then discussed the probable duration of the coal supply in 

 Great Britain. It would be worked out in time, as a matter of course, 

 but it would be a very long time. He thought the alarmists had 

 frightened them too much, and he would say at once, from the great 

 extent of coal even in the South Wales coal field alone, which had not 

 yet been touched, that there could be no doubt it would last for the 

 next five hundred years at least, and his own conviction was, that 

 it would last for a thousand years to come. There could be no fear 

 of our children or grand-children, or great grand-children, suffering 

 from the want of it. Nevertheless, that was no reason why it should be 

 wasted. By all means let the enormous waste that now takes place be checked. 

 If this were done the failure of supply was much too remote to concern us 

 much. In consideration of the falling rain he would not detain them by 

 entering into further details. Coal deserved to be esteemed as highly as any 

 mineral the earth contained. It had been elaborated by God's providence in 

 ages past for our present use. It was impossible to calculate the ages it 

 had taken to give it stability, and no time, however great it might be, in his 

 opinion could be rightly said to interfere with Holy Scripture. We ought all 

 to be most thankful that the divine Creator had in his wisdom and goodness 

 stored up the ancient vegetation of the world in the form of coal for the use 

 of man and his own glory. (General applause). 



Note. — Several new genera of Amphibian Labyrinthodont Eeptlles have been lately 

 discovered in the coal measures iu Kilkenny, Ireland, and wiU shortly be described by 

 Professor Huxley and Mr. E. P. Wright. 



Immediately the address was over — and it was much shortened by a 

 return of the shower— " by no means a dr}/ lecture," as a gentleman observed — 

 the President told them, that they had still an ho\ir-and-a-half's time to 

 wander through the walks and cross over the New "Weir Ferry, which they 

 saw before them, to the carriages which were to meet them there. They must 

 not be at the ferry later than half-past 4 o'clock, for the dinner at Ross would 

 be punctual. He took this opportunity also of tailing them, that if the 

 wishes of the committee were carried out a small bouquet would mark the 

 place of every lady at the table, and every lady would find her own place 

 indicated by the rose-coloured card she had given .up on entering the boat. 



All parties now separated to wander at their leisure in search of ferns 

 or flowers, which some of them did with much enthusiasm, regardless of damp 

 leaves, and testing the knowledge of the botanists with regard to all the plants 

 they could find. One gentleman set off to look for the Royal fern (Osmunda 

 regalis), and it really was a question some few years since whether it did not 

 grow amongst the ColdweU rocks. One botanist found it there, and gladly 

 carried off specimens of the treasure (for this fern does not grow wild in 

 Herefordshire), and soon after this plant disappeared altogether. His friends 

 began to hunt for it there also, and two years after another gentleman met 



