xlviii Address of Mr J. W. Clark, President. 



whenever the abstracts give details. Moreover, this Journal preserves the 

 titles, and brief abstracts, of four papers not noticed in the Minutes of the 

 Society. These I have included between square brackets. They belong to 

 the meetings held May 12, December 8, 1834 ; May 15, 1837. 



P. S. Since writing the above sketch, I have discovered that a somewhat 

 similar scheme for the establishment of a Philosophical Society had been 

 projected in 1782. " The death of some persons interested in the plan, and 

 several accidents, occasioned the scheme to be postponed till February 18th, 

 1784," when Professor Milner, Mr Farish, and some others "associated them- 

 selves under certain laws and regulations." They were presently joined by 

 several of the most distinguished men in the University, among whom occurs 

 the illustrious name of Porson, and a volume of " Tracts, Philosophical and 

 Literary, by a society of gentlemen of the University of Cambridge" was 

 projected, but never published, though two of the contributions were printed. 

 "This little society of learned men, not being adequately supported, was 

 dissolved about the close of the year 1786 1 ." One promoter at least of this 

 noble, though unsuccessful, attempt, Mr Farish, Jacksonian Professor from 

 1813 to 1837, became a member of the Philosophical Society. 



i This information is derived from : Memoirs of John Martyn, F.R.S., and of Thomas Martyn, B.D., 

 F.R.S., F.L.S., Professors of Botany in the University of Cambridge. By G. C. Gorham. 8vo. Lond. 

 and Camb. 1830, p. 165. 



