PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS, 1894. 



Gentlemen, 



I regret that I am unable to be present at the 

 twenty-second Annual Meeting of the Society — I have been 

 present at twenty-one such gatherings — to personally vacate 

 the chair, and to deliver this address with the living voice. 

 My absence from the meetings during the last two months 

 of my term of office has prevented my ready access to those 

 facts and figures relating to the standing of the Society, 

 which have helped some of my predecessors in what all 

 retiring presidents agree is a difficult task — the writing of an 

 address which, while differing from an ordinary paper on a 

 single subject, shall be of interest to our membership 

 generally. There is, however, an advantage in the fact that 

 I shall not be travelling over the same ground as our Secre- 

 taries and Treasurer. 



The year has not been marked by any special enterprise 

 or new departures in our work, but the ordinary meetings 

 have been well supported, and I think the exhibits and 

 communications have been as varied and interesting as ever. 

 The field-meetings were well organised, and in spite of certain 

 of them falling upon days when the barometer was all against 

 us, were all well attended. In fact, I believe that in no 

 previous season have the excursions been so uniformly well 

 supported. What was done on those occasions you have 

 heard from the Council's report ; but apart from the scientific 

 results, a great amount of good was done in the opportunity 

 thus afforded of closer acquaintance between members who 

 otherwise see each other only at our more formal meetings. 



We have issued, with the private assistance of a few 

 members, the Abstract of Proceedings for the years 1892 and 

 1893, and we have that for 1894 in as forward a state as is 

 possible. In spite of the heavy drain upon our exchequer 

 thus entailed, I believe our Treasurer will contrive to show 

 that we are in a satisfactory financial position. 



There is one point, I regret to say, in which our experi- 

 ences have this year been unique, and I trust they may 

 remain so. When at our last Annual Dinner I took occasion 

 of our " coming of age " to take a rapid survey of our twenty- 



