FIRST SOIREE. 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS 
DELIVERED ON Monpay, 24TH Novemper, 1879, BY JAMES FLETCHER, 
First Vice-Presipent O.F.N.C. | 
Members of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club; Ladies and Gentlemen: 
The unexpected absence of our President during the past week has thrown: 
upon my unworthy shoulders the responsibility of addressing you this evening. 
I shall merely remind you of what we have done during the past year, and draw 
your attention to what we propose to do during the coming winter season. 
Our Club was formed in the commencement of the summer, with the express 
object of working up the Natural History of this locality. We started under the 
most favourable auspices. His Excellency the Governor-General graciously con- 
sented to be our Patron, and the first circular, addressed to the members of the 
Ottawa Literary and Scientific Society, was answered by about forty gentlemen. 
At the first general meeting, the gentlemen whose names are printed on the first 
sheet of the programme were elected as the Council. This meeting, and all subse- 
quently, were held, as is this one to-night, in the Museum of the Ottawa Literary 
and Scientific Society, to whom, for their courtesy, we are under a debt of the 
deepest gratitude. The only return given for this kindness was a promise of. 
duplicate specimens to be collected by the Club, and I am happy to say that, at 
the end of the season, I shall be able to add many valuable specimens, and even. 
collections, to their Museum from this source. During the summer, we have 
held ‘five Excursions into the country, choosing a different destination each time.. 
The first of these was to Kingsmere, in the Chelsea Mountains, and was of the 
most pleasant kind, and many valuable additions were made to the collections 
of the members. Perhaps the gem of the expedition was the lovely Clematis 
verticillaris, or “ Purple-flowered Virgin’s Bower.” 'The lucky discoverer of the 
first specimen was Master Ernest LeSueur, whose quick eyes detected it as it lay 
half concealed among the leaves and loose stones. The members of the Club 
experienced much kindness at the hands of Col. and Mrs. Dennis, who, nothing 
daunted at the formidable array of 42 members, insisted upon the whole party 
coming into their lovely garden by the lakeside, and making tea for them. Besides 
plants, there were also a fewinsects collected by Mr, Harrington, and some shells 
by Mr. Heron. The second expedition of the Club was not one of the regular 
meetings, but was in answer to an invitation, very kindly sent by the members 
of the Montreal Natural History Society, to join them in a field day at Calumet. 
Our members were most successful at this excursion, carrying off all the three: 
