12 SPBING MEETING. 



nmnber of subscribers. The meteorological observations bad 

 been made during the year with the usual care, and Mr. Penrose, 

 the curator, at the request of the Council, had undertaken to 

 prepare a summary of the observations from 1882 to the end of 

 the last century, similar to that prepared by the late Dr. Barham 

 for the years 1840 to 1881. The time for the award of the fifth 

 Henwood gold medal would be in the spring of next year. 



Interesting notes on the " Camber well Beauty" butterfly 

 (Vanessa Antiopa) were sent by Mr. T, J. Porter, of Hayle, 

 and are included in the "Notes on the Natural History of 

 Cornwall," printed in this Journal. Only one other specimen was 

 known to have been caught in Cornwall, and that was at 

 Tregothnan, in 1832. Mr. Frohawk, of Croydon, thought it very 

 likely that other specimens would be met with in the summer or 

 autumn. Professor Clark exhibited seven varieties of the 

 Camberwell Beauty taken in different parts of Europe. 



Mr. Thuestan Peter, in a paper, said he had often asked 

 himself lately whether the Institution was serving as useful a 

 purpose in the county as it might. He feared the answer must 

 be a very decided "No." Twice a year they held a meeting, at 

 which papers were read, and the best of these were printed in 

 their journal, but often 'enough they were not such papers as they 

 ought to look for. In the first place, natural science was very 

 inadequately represented ; indeed, during the last two or three 

 years the interesting papers of Messrs. Davey and Yallentin had 

 been almost the only ones they had had. The mineralogy and 

 geology of the county had of late been almost ignored. But he 

 was not so much concerned about natural science, partly because 

 (to his shame, he acknowledged) it was a sealed book to him, 

 and partly because there were so many other agencies for the 

 collection and diffusion of knowledge on the subject, their friend 

 Prof. Clark being especially conspicuous in his efforts to enforce 

 scientific observation and exact reasoning. What he was 

 especially concerned about was the history of their county, a 

 subject to which few devoted any thought or labour. Indeed, in 

 these days, when people cared for little but sensational love 

 stories and narratives of war and adventure, and would only read 

 even them, as a rule, if very short, so as not to strain the attention, 

 even the reading of history, to say nothing of its study, was 



