INSTITUTE NOTES. 



Benjamin T. Levis, of Media, has recently presented to 

 the Institute a bound volume of the Delaware Coutity Repub- 

 lican covering the years 1835 to 1839. About this time the 

 Institute was in its infancy, and at intervals throughout this 

 period appear advertisements in the Republicaii of the monthly 

 meetings at various points. It seems to have been the custom 

 for the meetings to be held at the houses of different members. 

 It is supposed that the society took possession of its first per- 

 manent headquarters near the Rose Tree about the year 1836. 

 The first of these advertisements reads as follows : — 



A stated ineetino of the Delaware 

 County Institute of Science will be held 

 at the home of Isaac Hall, in Provi- 

 dence, on the second day of May next, 

 at 2 o'clock P. M., at which time officers 

 for the ensuing year will be elected. 



]M. Paixtkr, Secretary. 

 April 24, 1S35. 



During the past three years the activity of Section A has 

 been remarkable. The attendance has been good, and there 

 has been no flagging of interest in any way. The sentiment 

 among the membership has radically changed in the matter of 

 the best method of carrying out the scientific work of the 

 Institute. The work of Section A has shown without ques- 

 tion that much better results are obtained by this method of 

 work than by formal lectures. As a consequence the lecture 

 course of the Institute has dwindled down from three lectures 

 a month to one. 



Arrangements have been made in the laboratory of the 



Institute for a series of bacteria counts of the Media water 



'supply, to extend over a period of a year or more. About 



five vears ago a series of chemical analvses, covering about 



