OPENING ADDRESS—MACGREGOR. 193 
such assistance as we can in adding to his collecti.ns. If the 
fact that we do make efforts in this direction gives us the right 
to make suggestions, we might suggest that since the Legislature 
has provided the collections and a curator to look after them, it 
should complete its work by providing a local habitation in which 
they might be advantageously exhibited. The room at present 
set apart for this purpose is so small that a study of the speci- 
mens which it contains is attended by great difficulty, while the 
arrangement of typical collections for the use of students of the 
elements of Natural Science is well nigh impossible; and thus 
the very object with which the collections have been made is to 
a large extent rendered unattainable by the lack of suitable 
accommodation. Apart from this defect, however, it is a matter 
of great consequence to our Society that the Legislature has taken 
off its hands the work of forming a Museum. For it is, [ believe, 
the experience of local scientific societies in Great Britain, that 
the expenses connected with the maintenance of Museums are in 
general too heavy for them, and that too often they are crushed 
by the weight of the material which they collect. 
Thirdly, it is necessary that investigators should have means 
of informing themselves of the progress which Natural Science 
is making in other countries, and it thus becomes the duty of the 
Institute to collect a Library of scientific publications giving 
accounts of what is being done in Natural Science all over the 
world. Could such publications be obtained only by purchase, 
it would be quite impossible for the Institute with its limited 
income to form any adequate collection of the kind referred to. 
But fortunately a large portion of them can be obtained at slight 
expense so long as we exbibit a reasonable activity ourselves and 
continue to publish Transactions of scientific value. For, as 
stated above, foreign Societies will in that case be ready and 
willing to send us their publications in exchange for ours. The 
value of such publications, not only to the scientific investigator 
but also to the practical man engaged in pursuits whose methods 
improve with the increase of our knowledge of Natural Science, 
such as mining, agriculture, fishing, manufactures, ete., cannot be 
over-estimated ; and from this point of view alone it is important 
