FIRST WINTER MEETING, 



TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9th, 1900. 



Mb. HOESLEY'S PRESIDENTIAL ADDBESS. 



'THE PLACE OF MAN IN NATURE'S SCALE OF LIFE. 



The firbt winter meeting of the members of the 

 East Kent Natural His^orJ■Society was heldonTues- 

 daj evening, October '.), in the Kettrence Library 

 at the Bcaney Institute. Mr. Stephen Horsley pre- 

 sidid and a l.irge attendance included Mr. Sidney 

 Hurvey, Captain Stead, Mr. \V. P. Mann, Miss 

 Proudtoot, Mr. Walter Cozens, Mr. A. Wetherelt, 

 Rev. A. J. Galpin, Captain McDakin, Kev. Wm. 

 Kodwell, Miss Phillpotts, Miss Holmes, Mr. 

 Blofeld, Mr. Lander, Mr. Hayward, Mr. Kay, and 

 Mr. W. H. Fiddian. 



Mr. Horsley explained that it had occurred to 

 the Committee that it would be much better that 

 the year of the Society should commence in future 

 on October 1 instead of January 1. The latter 

 date occurred in the middle of the lecture season, 

 whereas if they began m October they would 

 include in their transactions the whole of the papers 

 read in that session. Another reason for the change 

 was that they were welcomin* to the membership 

 of the Society a large number of members of the 

 Canterbury Photographic Society. That would be 

 a great addition to the strength of the East Kent 

 Natural History Society, and the existence of the 

 photographic section would enable them to under- 

 take many branches of scientific woik with which 

 they had not hitherto been able to de.ai. In many 

 oi her societies it was customary to eli ct a Piesident 

 twelve months before he was called upon to act, 

 in order that he might prepare his presidential 

 address and generally prepare for the work. He 

 would suggest that in the case of their own Society 

 the chief business at the general meeting in 

 January would in future be to elect a President 

 for the following year. 



A resolution embodying the change was unani- 

 mously agreed to. 



On the motion of the President, seconded by 

 Mr. Sidney Harvey, a large number of new 

 members were elected, including members of the 

 Photographic Society. 



The President said it would be within the 

 recollectii.n of the members that at the last 

 annual meeting he suggested the appointment of 

 various referees or local secretaries to deal with 

 difltrent branches of Natural History. Upon this 

 he la d special stress, as he was anxious that it 

 should become a better working Society. He was 

 glad to announce that the following had consented 

 to act;— Geology, Capt. McDakin; marine zoology. 



Mr. Sibert Saunders; ornithology, Mr. H. Mead- 

 Brigfs ■ entomology, Mr. Maudson ; conchology, 

 Mr. Sj'dney Webb; botany. Misses Holmes and 

 Phillpotts ;■ photography, Mr. Kay; meteorology. 

 Mr Brian Kigden. He had no doubt that at the 

 end of the year they would be deluged with 

 reports as to the work accomplished. He thought 

 these appointments marked an epoch in the 

 history of the Society, and he appealed for more 

 workers who would undertake special branches of 

 investigation. Mr. Horsley went on to acknowledge 

 the work done for the Society by the united and 

 devoted efforts of Miss Phillpotts and Miss 

 Holmes. These ladies had sone through the 

 herbarium owned by the Society, had excluded 

 from it those flowers which were not recorded as 

 Kentish, and, with much labour, had arranged it 

 in a cabinet in such a manner that it was now 

 comparatively easy cf access (applause). The 

 programme for the season had now been arranged 

 up to Christmas, and would include the following : 

 —October 23, lecture by Mr. Kay on - Carbon 

 process of photography " ; November B, lecture 

 on '■ Corals," bv Mr. John Morgan, one of the 

 best authorities on the subject; November 20, 

 lecture by a representative of the Sandell Company 

 on " Various photographic processes " ; December 

 4, lecture by Captain McDakin on " Compression 

 as a force in the composition of mountains ; 

 December 18, "Tele-photography," by Mr. Lander 

 On the motion of Captain McDakin, seconded 

 by the Eev. A. J. Galpin, a vote of thanks was 

 accorded the Eev. J. G. Brine for the gift ot 

 Phillips "Manual of Geology" (two volumes;. 



THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDBESS. 



The Presidential address by Mr. Horsley was a 

 most tbonghtlul and instructive review of "The 

 Place of Man in Nature's Scale of Life. He 

 observed: " In the study of natural histiry, one 

 cannot but be struck by the marvellous intricacy 

 of the arrangements by which the so-called lower 

 creatures are enabled to hold their own, to live 

 and continue to live in this world, which stme may 

 think is the world e.f Man ; nor can one fail to be 

 lost in admiration at the beauty ot toiiu, structure, 

 or colour in the most minute and almost invisible 

 organisms ; or at the immense and to us unknown 

 powers, that exist in the vegetable kingdom, 

 whereby moisture and nutriment is carried to the 

 very topmost branch of the gigantic Wellingtonia ; 



