THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 69 



George Coghill got up and offered to act as my assistant, after 

 which my protests of unsuitability were not listened to. I may 

 say here that during the six years I — or, rather, we — held these 

 positions, your Club made continuous and steady progress, but I 

 do not wish to claim this as the result of my secretaryship, 

 because Melbourne was then nearing the height of that prosperity 

 which collapsed like a burst balloon with the historic bank 

 failures in tSgi, and the following six years of the Club's history 

 show a steady falling-off in membership and funds, though our 

 scientific and social influence was as good as ever. I have dealt 

 rather fully with our history up to this date, because it is not 

 readily accessible to those who wish to turn it up, and my notes 

 on the succeeding years must be somewhat more brief The 

 fifth annual report, issued as a separate pamphlet in June, 1885, 

 records another prosperous year — the members' roll had increased 

 to 160; but we had to deplore our first loss by death, in Mr. J. 

 F. Bailey (V.!^., i., 59), a hardworking and enthusiastic conch- 

 ologist and palaeontologist, who sacrificed his life by his devotion 

 to the science he loved so well. Twenty-five papers were read, 

 and the credit balance, notwithstanding over ^S° spent in pro- 

 ducing the Victorian Naturalist, showed a slight increase. Several 

 matters of public interest were taken up by the Club, such as 

 the protection of the native trees in Studley Park, the protection 

 of native birds, and facilities for students at the National Museum. 

 In December, 1884, an important change was made, in that the 

 subscription to the Club was raised to the present amount (15s.), 

 the volume of the Naturalist was made to coincide with the Club 

 year, and every member was supplied with a copy, paid for by the 

 increase of the subscription. This, no doubt, has proved a very 

 wise step, and has sustained the interest of the members in the 

 Club. The conversazione of the year was held on 29th April, 

 1885, when the Rev. J. J. Halley delivered an address ( V.N., ii., 3), 

 and leclurettes were given by the Rev. A. W. Cresswell, M.A., 

 on ' The Extinct Animals of Australia,' and by myself, on 

 * Insects and their Metamorphoses.' Exhibits were, as usual, 

 rare and interesting. This year is memorable also for the first 

 ' camp-out ' of the Club, held at the Olinda Creek, near Lilydale, 

 on Friday to Monday, 7th to loth November, 1884 {V.N., i., no) ; 

 and to Mr. A. J. Campbell, I believe, belongs the honour of 

 organizing this outing, which added a record in Victorian oology. 



" 1885-6. — The year's report {V.N., iii., 13) contains many 

 interesting items, but your patience will only allow brief mention. 

 The membership is set down as 190. Twenty-four papers were 

 read, and the credit balance was more than doubled — reaching 

 ;^35. The excursion of the year was the one to Lai Lai {V.N., 

 ii., 94), where we were joined by the members of the Ballarat 

 Club, and spent a very enjoyable day, which was not forgotten 



