left undefined to this day, it lias been becoming yearly more 

 evident that this Society regards it as its mission, far excellence, to 

 promote all inquiries that tend to elucidate facts that more im- 

 mediately concern the inhabitants of this county : staple subjects 

 for the memoirs communicated at our Spring Meetings are its 

 ancient language, antiquities, history, geology, mineralogy, botany, 

 zoology, meteorology; its mining industry, fisheries, &c. 



It will now, I believe, be comprehensible to you all that, 

 however lax be the conditions for ordinary membership, a 

 Society that has not lacked such individuals as have just been 

 described to guide its actions, and that has been able to reckon on 

 the help of such Honorarj^ and Corresponding Members and Asso- 

 ciates as have allowed their names to be connected with it, is 

 animated with scientific and literary aspirations ; moreover that 

 thus, for many of the persons alluded to are not only eminent but 

 even pre-eminent in their peculiar departments, it has means of 

 appeal at its command, which, if judiciously used, may be a check 

 against ill-digested papers bemg published at its exjDense, and 

 against trashy curiosities being exhibited in its Museum as note- 

 worthy objects. 



Indeed, nothing indicates more convincingly that the consti- 

 tution of this Society is not radically unsound than the growing 

 sense of responsibility manifested by its councils as to the intrinsic 

 value of the contents of its Museum and Journal. In the former 

 case, either by the gratuitous helj) of skilled members or friends, 

 or by the hands of paid experts, good progress has been made in 

 getting the specimens in several sections of the Museum into 

 methodical order, — purchases being resorted to, as far as our funds 

 permit, to fill up blanks, and interchanges with other collectors 

 where we possess duplicates. There is, of course, always more 

 work of this kind in contemplation. I cannot refrain, however, 

 from revealing that those among us who are solicitous as to the 

 character of the Museum are sometimes embarassed in their actions 

 by the fact that its prosperity is virtually dependent upon the 

 bounty of the public. There can be no doubt that paltry curios- 

 ities or spurious specimens may have been presented to the Insti- 

 tution by donors who have had no misgiving as to their being 

 valuable or genuine, and that the Council of the day may have 

 hesitated to decline the gift lest an imgracious act should chill the 

 generosity through which the Museum had thriven. Once on the 

 premises such objects may have been sufl!"ered to remain in their 

 places either from inadvertence, or neglect of periodical revisions. 

 As an incentive towards an attempt to eliminate whatever lumber 

 may have found shelter within our walls, I will pass on to you an 

 anecdote that reached my ears so directly that I can guarantee 



