254 SPRING MEETING. 



meetings. Lady Protheroe Smitli, whose death was so widely 

 regretted, was a member of a family associated with the 

 Institution since its foundation in 1818. She was a fi^equent 

 attendant at the meetings, and shewed great interest in all its 

 proceedings. The interest in the Institution has been fully 

 maintained, and the loss of members by death and removal has 

 been fully compensated for by the accession of new members. 

 Handsome donations have been received for the museum and 

 library from friends dispersed over all parts of the world. The 

 interest in the museum is shown by the large number of visitors 

 it receives, over 3,000 having been admitted during the last year, 

 a fair proportion of whom have come for educational purposes, 

 the curator rendering them all possible assistance. On fi'ee days 

 there is an average attendance of 54, while in the summer and 

 autumn there are frequently from 100 to 130 during the day. 

 The visitors admitted by payment are chiefly tourists passing 

 through the county, and surprise is frequently expressed at the 

 value and arrangement of the collections. The interest is further 

 shewn by the valuable presents received from time to time. 

 Since the last meeting Mrs. Chamberlin, of Trenewth, Eestronguet, 

 has presented a fine collection of stuffed foreign birds arranged 

 in cases. They are exceedingly well set up. and among them 

 are specimens of the Kiwi, the wingless bird of New Zealand, 

 and other rare birds. Mr. Hupert Yallentin has given a number 

 of shells collected by him in the Falkland Islands during his 

 recent visit, and an arrow, the head of which is a shaped piece 

 of bottle glass, made by a native of Terra del Fuego. Mr. John 

 D. Enys, to whom the Institution is so much indebted for his 

 many valuable presents, has given a set of fossils from the Tertiary 

 beds of the Broken Eiver Basin, New Zealand, collected by 

 himself 2,000 feet above the sea level. He has also presented 

 eggs of the Albatross and the Kiwi. Mr. W. Hosking, from 

 Namaqualand, who was shown over the museum some time since 

 by the curator, sent a number of specimens of copper ores from 

 the Cape Copper Mines at Ookiep, Namaqualand. 



Mr. Gregg, the curator, is making fair progress in the work 

 of the museum, to which he devotes some hours daily, and is 

 ever ready to render assistance to visitors by pointing out and 

 explaining the many objects of interest in the collections. 



