B An Address delivered before the 



lieve, belonged to the Linnean Society; which was in-^ 

 stituted liere, ahout fifteen years ago, with the same de- 

 sign. This Society made some valuable collections, and 

 for a while was conducted with spirit ; but, from various 

 causes, this spirit languished, the Society became mert, it 

 was finally dissolved, and its collections were dispersed. 

 Though a few years elapsed, during which there was 

 no united and systematic attention given to the great 

 objects of natural science, it was impossible, that in a 

 community like ours, this should long be the case. Ac- 

 cordingly, on the evening of the 9th of February, 1830, 

 a meeting of gentlemen desirous of forming a Society for 



the study of natural history , was held at the rooms of 

 Dr. Walter Channing, at which meeting. Dr. Channing 

 having been chosen Chairman, and Simon E. Greene, 

 Esq. Secretary, the subject was discussed, and it was 

 voted that a committee of five be appointed to consider 

 the purposes of the meeting, and to recommend at a 

 future day such measures as they should think advisable 

 in order to the formation of a Society, and the best means 

 of interesting the public in its favor ; and that the com- 

 mittee report at a meeting to be called by them at such 

 time as they may appoint. The gentlemen chosen on 

 this committee, were Dr. George Hay ward, Dr. John 

 Ware, Edward Brooks, Esq., Dr. Amos Binney, and 

 George B. Emerson, Esq. At a meeting called by them 

 the same montli, a report was presented by the Chairman^ 

 which was accepted, and it was voted, that a Society on 

 the plan proposed be now formed, and that Simon E. 

 Greene and Amos Binney, Jr. be a committee to call 

 upon gentlemen favorably disposed to the objects of the 

 meetlne: for their simatures, and when a sufficient number 



subscribers 



• * 



Soc 



f 



'■I- 



m 



i 



'« 



