INTRODUCTION. / 



botany of this region, especially of the Miramichi, won the de- 

 votion of Roderick McKenzie. whose " Wild Flowers of the 

 Miramichi'" is a tribute to the floral beauties of the ''North Shore." 



The marine aquatic life of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, especial- 

 ly of the littoral waters of this region, is so varied, the climate 

 and other conditions so marked and complex, the fauna so re- 

 presentative of all the most valuable food-fishes and the forms on 

 which the latter subsist, the waters of such varying depth and 

 temperature, that some point on the " North Shore," perhaps Mis- 

 cou, would seem to present the conditions most favorable for the 

 successful Avorking of the Biological Station about to be estab- 

 lished by the Dominion of Canada. 



Having briefly mentioned a few of the characters and points 

 of interest of the region in question, it only remains to add a few 

 words on the objects of the Association. They are principally 

 the following : 



First. To promote the more thorough study and investiga- 

 tion of its natural history, and publish the same from time to 

 time. 



Second. To make it an adjunct to popular education, and 

 to encourage the study of natural phenomena and allied matters, 

 by the young. 



Third. To popularize the subject, and aft'ord opportunities 

 for mutual instir.cticn, through the medium of lectuies. 



Fourth. To establish a museum of natural history objects, 

 including ethnological remains, that would be fully representa- 

 tive of the past and })resent. 



Fiith. To investigate subjects of economic imy)ortance, such 

 as forestry and fishery matters, with a view to utilizing the 

 knowledge so obtained to the growth and pieservation of these 

 industries. 



As a reference to the section dealing v>-ith the museum and 

 ordinary business of the Association will show, very gratifying 

 progress has been made in the two years of its existence. A 

 large cabinet contains the nucleus of a herbarium, already con- 

 sisting of over five hundred native jtlants. determined, mounted, 

 hi belled, and arranged in their proper genera and families. 

 Tlic ornithological section of the museutu represents over one 

 hundred mounted speties, bender many skins. A fair collection 



