4 
council feel indebted for having completed alterations 
from which future frequenters of the Museum will de- 
rive permanent benefit, Friends have, as in past years, 
presented fresh donations to your collections ; and the 
usual number of scientific proceedings and reports have 
reached your library shelves from home and foreign cor- 
respondents, 
‘*The number of visitors, chiefly strangers, calling 
at the Museum to inspect its contents, is never large 
except on Easter Monday, the yearly holiday of the 
working classes in the North of Ireland. On last 
Easter Monday the usual large attendance took place; 
more than five thousand persons, men, women, and 
children, having been present in the course of the day. 
This popularity, now definitely ascertained by the influx 
of similar large numbers for many years, indicates a 
marked relish amongst the artisan classes for objects 
connected with Natural History and Ethnology. It 
leads your council to believe, that as an adjunct to some 
general system, your Museum may hereafter prove im- 
portant to any national scheme for the scientific educa- 
tion of the people. 
‘¢ The meetings of the Natural History and Philosophi- 
cal Society have taken place as usual during the months 
extending from November till May. The regular num- 
ber for each session—namely, twelve—has been held on 
six public and six private evenings. A wide diversity 
of topics has appeared, as may be observed from the 
range included in the accompanying list of papers :— 
Nov. 4, 1868 (Public), The President, Mr, Patterson, 
** An opening address ;” Nov. 4 (Public), Mr. J. J. 
Murphy, ‘‘ Ancient Glaciers ;’ Nov. 25 (Public), G. V. 
Du Noyer, ‘‘ Notes on the Geology of Island Magee ;” 
Dec. 2 (Public), Wyville Thomson, ‘‘ The results of the 
exploring cruise of H, M.S. Lightning during the autumn 
of 1868;” Dec. 16 (Private), A. O’D. Taylor, ‘‘ Notes of 
some rare Irish birds;” Dec. 16 (Private), Dr, Cuming, 
‘The Sphygmograph ;” Dec. 16 (Private), Mr. R. 
Young, ‘‘ Some notices of Maybole (Ayrshire) and its 
antiquities ;” Jan. 12, 1869 (Private), James Thomson, 
‘* Capillary Phenomena, as influenced by temperature;” 
Jan, 26 (Private), Mr. Patterson, ‘* Technical educa- 
tion;” Feb, 17 (Public), Dr. Andrews, ‘‘ The mechanical 
analysis of rocks;” March 3 (Public), R. Lloyd Patter- 
son, ‘* Fishing reminiscences of Belfast Lough, with 
