“The Council announced last year their intention or 
publishing regular ‘ Proceedings’ of the society. Owing 
to the difficulty of procuring the requisite manuscripts 
from the respective authors, more delay occurred than 
was anticipated in the preparation of the first volume. Its 
editing was entrusted to your president, Mr. Murphy, 
and one of your secretaries, Dr. H. Burden. Under the 
superintendence of these two gentlemen the volume is now 
approaching completion. 
“The re-arrangement of collections has been steadily 
attended to, and in the lower room, on the left-hand side 
of the entrance, a series of the local rocks and minerals is 
now well displayed in a manner easy of reference. The 
local collection of plants is also completed as far as 
possible, and the British herbarium is in progress. The 
local collection of shells has been already arranged. The 
desirability of a general catalogue of the entire collections 
is manifest, but until all are arranged it has been consid- 
ered unwise to enter on this work, 
‘Various donations have been made during the year 
now past, a list of which follows the present report. 
“A case in the middle of the room has been allocated 
for the display of the valuable collection of ancient skulls 
adverted to ina previous report, as having been presented 
by the late John Grattan, Esq. Amongst natural history 
donations may be noted the presentation by Robert Gage, 
Esq., Rathlin Island, of the skull of a dolphin (delphi- 
nus tursi), which had been washed ashore there in October, 
1872. This specimen is a valuable one, and deserves 
special mention. 
“Tn addition to the meetings of our own society and 
of the Naturalists’ Field Club, your council have granted 
the use of your rooms during the past twelve months to 
two other associations, one of them the Ladies’ Institute, 
and the other a new society called the Belfast Architectural 
Association. It is found the position of the Museum in 
the west end of the town, removed from the more bust- 
ling streets, renders it peculiarly suitable as a centre for 
scientific and literary meetings such as those of the vari- 
ous bodies assembling there. 
*‘Last Easter Monday, as usual, the Museum was thrown 
open to the working classes at 2d for adults, and 1d for 
children. About 5,000 persons inspected the collections, 
and not the slightest damage occurred. This Annual 
chief holiday of the citizens of Belfast and neighbouring 
