F>riEF-A.OB. 



To write a Preface is not a very easy matter; but it 

 may be safely said that it is quite as easy to write one as it is to 

 get one read, especially if the Matter of the Book is of an 

 interesting character. The uneasy feeling consequent upon the 

 very thought of sending forth this unpretending Periodical, 

 without saying something about the objects and wishes of those 

 who conduct it, has led us to make a few remarks. Those who 

 have attempted to study any branch of Science, at least in its 

 practical part, must have felt the great want of museums, exten- 

 sive collections, good instruments ; and, above all, of kindly 

 co-operation. Take Greology ; — who that has taken his hammer 

 and goniometer, and gone out into the field to study the strata of 

 Halifax, has not soon found himself utterly unequal to the task? 

 The delightfL^l toil of his leisure hours has added much to his 

 knowledge and skill, and perhaps enriched his collection with 

 beautiful specimens; but still he finds himself very far from 

 having mastered the details of even the most limited district of 

 his parish. His only hope lies in finding other earnest and 

 devoted fellow-labourers in the same interesting Science. 



To b'ring together the accumulated facts and observations 

 of many observers; to be the medium of communication among 



