History t)F the Societv. 35 



of the earlier \olumes of the Tntusacti<^)is of our Society are 

 out of print, but since 1895 I understand that our Treasurer 

 has several complete sets in stock, and those of you who wish 

 to read of our Society's progress cannot do better than pur- 

 chase the volumes you require from him. I must in all fair- 

 ness, however, state that since about 1905 a great advance 

 has been made in the excellence of the individual volumes of 

 our Tr(nisactioiis ; my cursory History of our Society may 

 have led you to wrongly suppose that about this period there 

 is nothing much to record ; on the contrary, there is so much 

 worthy of praise that it has seemed to me better to generalise 

 rather than to attempt to discriminate. 



I have endeavoured to trace the growth and ever-growing 

 stability of our Society, and I trust I have not failed to record 

 any of the more important events. I know that I have omitted 

 to mention the names of many of our present Members, who, 

 by their energy, have done much to establish it in its present 

 position. It would indeed be an invidious task for me to 

 single out any particular person as having rendered especial 

 service. Moreover, I am fully convinced that the success of a 

 Society, such as ours, depends not on the efforts of any one 

 individual, but on the hearty co-operation of each and every 

 Member collectively. We must, however, with pride and 

 gratification remember the services of those who have gone 

 before us. Besides those I have already referred to, I would 

 mention among the former illustrious members of our 

 Society : — Joseph Thomson, the geologist and African 

 explorer ; Richard Rimmer, the eminent conchologist ; William 

 George Gibson, our first Treasurer in 1862 ; William Hasting's, 

 the local taxidermist; Dr E. J. Chinnock, a recognised 

 classical scholar, and a keen supporter of our Society ; Arthur 

 Bennett, the well-known botanist ; W. M'Dowall, the historian 

 of Dumfries; and Rev. J. H. Thomson, the author of The 

 Martyr Graves of Scotland. 



I have already stated that I hesitate from mentioning any 

 of our present Members as having been exceptionally useful 

 to our Society, but I cannot refrain from drawing" your atten- 

 tion to the good fortune we have had in our choice of 

 Presidents. Among the later ones such names as those of 



