X PROCEEDINGS. 



succeed, in however limited a measure, in effecting this object, our 

 intention in founding the association will be fulfilled, and our humble 

 efforts for the promotion of science and the elevation of our native land 

 will be abundantly rewarded." The Hon. Dr. Hill could hardly have 

 expected then that these prophetic utterances would have been so fully 

 realized as they were in his own lifetime, for, owing to the strenuous 

 exertions of some of our members, chiefly I believe Dr. MacGregor and 

 Mr. Maynard Bowman, there is now no country under the sun whose 

 scientific societies (where such exist) do not have our Transactions on 

 their library shelves as exchanges for their own. The exchange list 

 presented this evening shows that our annual distribution of Transactions 

 to such libraries throughout the world amounts to upwards of seven hun- 

 dred copies. 



While sentiments such as those expressed in Dr. Hill's address were 

 entertained by the organizing members who looked to the Institute they 

 were creating as an association for the promotion of pure science, it was 

 no doubt felt, on the other hand, by the business or more practical classes 

 of the community, that the want of home information in regard to our 

 industrial resources in general, and our mines and minerals particularly, 

 was a great evil, restraining the progress of our industries, for coal 

 mining was going on apace, iron was being produced at Londonderry, gold 

 had been discovered at Tangier, and was being picked up in other places 

 along the Atlantic coast. Such memoirs on the new mineral industries 

 as had been prepared, either by native scientists or professional miners, 

 were then necessarily published beyond the Province. Thus, in a paper 

 by Prof. How of King's College, read to the Institute on the 4th April, 

 1864, on iron ores, he remarked : " Many facts have been given in 

 original papers by myself, and others, published almost exclusively out 

 of the Province, during the last few years, and are scattered through the 

 pages of various periodicals ; * * * and I propose, now that an 

 Institute of Science exists in the Province which has a prospect of per- 

 manence and an established system of publication of its Transactions, to 

 offer for the consideration of its members, from time to time, such notes 

 on the minerals of Nova Scotia as I hope will be acceptable and useful." 



For thirty-two years the work of the Institute has gone steadily on. 

 The monthly meetings have been regularly held ; the channel for publi- 

 cation of scientific papers has been maintained ; the fasciculus of them 

 under title of Transactions has been annually issued, and of late yeara 

 we have been able to illustrate papers more freely. 



