Address read to the Cotteswold Naturalists’ Club, at their 
Winter Meeting, held at the Royal Agricultural College, 
Cirencester, January 30th, 1856. 
By T. Barwick Lioyp Baker, Esq., of Hardwicke Court, 
President. 
For ten years, now, my friends, you have borne, without any 
serious resistance, the tyrannical sway of your President. During 
ten years the Club has increased in size, strength, and importance, 
and has seen others and similar clubs rise on all sides around it. 
But while you have grown from infancy to strength, your Presi- 
dent has grown from strength to—if not absolute weakness—at 
least to considerably less strength, and feels not unfrequently so 
overwhelmed by his work (which would be mere play to many 
men) that he has this year paid far less attention than he was 
wont to the duties of his office; and had it not been for the zeal 
and attention of the Secretary, the business of the Club would, I 
fear, have been altogether neglected. 
Do not, I pray you, misunderstand me, and suppose that my 
interest in the Club has diminished—on the contrary, there is 
hardly a day in the year that I enjoy so much as that of our 
Cotteswold meetings. But work of a most engrossing and 
absorbing interest has so much increased upon me of late, that 
my study of nature in general has of late contracted almost 
entirely to that of the genus puer—species fur. 
Still, unfit as I am for the task, I cannot refuse at our annual 
meeting to give such account as I can, either—from what I my- 
self had the happiness of seeing, or, far better for you—from the 
descriptions given by others who were present when I was obliged 
to be absent. 
On Jan. 30, 1855, such members of the Club as did not object 
to early hours were hospitably entertained at breakfast, by the 
Principal of the Royal Agricultural College, at Cirencester, who 
has so often and so hospitably entertained us before. Having 
examined the Museum of the College, and been much gratified by 
the additions which we found, we adjourned to the Library for 
our business—discussion incident to this one meeting of the 
ear. 
The following resolutions were then passed, and we hope they 
may have resolved themselves ere this into facts. We will 
“pause for a reply,” after reading each resolution, to enquire how 
far this may be the case. 
It was resolved, then, first, that Messrs. Jones and Buckman 
should be deputed by the Club to examine Deerhurst Priory, and 
make a report on the remains of that most interesting relic of 
antiquity, to be printed at the expense of the Club. 
Resolved, secondly, that Messrs. Lycett and Buckman be re- 
quested to examine into the present mode of the publication of 
