11 



more thorough elucidation of the subjects under investigation, it 

 would greatly add to the interest and usefulness of these evenings. 



He could not retire from the chair without an allusion to the 

 perfect harmony that had prevailed during the year — a result due 

 not only to the good fellowship prevailing among the Members, 

 but to the admirable manner in which the officers carry on the 

 work of the Society. 



When they thought of the untiring zeal of the officers in the 

 interests of the Society, the many years of service they had 

 rendered, and the conspicuous ability they brought to their 

 respective departments of work, they would agree with him that 

 the Society owed them a deep debt of gratitude, and on his own 

 account he tendered to Mr. Wonfor and Mr. Onions, the Honorary 

 Secretaries, and to Mr. R. Glaisyer, the Honorary Curator, his 

 sincere thanks for the kind assistance they had severally given to 

 him on many occasions during his period of office. 



Those who had been long associated with the Society could not 

 have failed to notice that they were gi'adually losing, from one 

 cause or another, the presence of members who had helped in a 

 marked manner to build up and adorn the Society — enthusiastic 

 students of Natural History — whose places it would be difficult to 

 fill. A little uneasiness was felt lest the Society from these losses 

 should in any way sink into a less useful and honourable position. 

 But he believed they had a sufficient number of able and willing 

 workers amongst them to avoid anything like an immediate 

 collapse ; still he confessed that he felt some little anxiety lest 

 further losses should so far impoverish the Society as to diminisli 

 its force and influence. Numerically they were strong and the 

 numbers were increasing, but in tliis respect they somewhat 

 resembled the tree that had made wood and leaf at the expense 

 of its fruit. If this be so, the question naturally arose — How 

 could the future health and stability of the Society be best insured ? 

 A reference to the laws of physiology would provide the answer. 



