Miscellaneous. 399 



The Society, having considered this proposal, agreed to recom- 

 mend it to the support of the members of the Society, and 

 appointed Messrs. Alex. Morris and J. C. Becket of this city, a 

 Committee, to whom contributions for this object may be handed. 



We are confident that many will warmly respond to this appeal. 

 We are not called upon to pronounce an eulogium on Hugh 

 Miller. Few events have called forth more real sympathy and 

 true sorrow than did his sad and tragic death ; and we are per- 

 suaded that many in Canada will gladly avail themselves of this 

 opportunity to place a few Canadian stones on his monumental 

 pile. It is desired that the collection should be general, and sub- 

 scriptions, from a dollar upwards, will be welcomed, if transmitted 

 to either of the gentlemen named. 



The Natural History Society of Montreal. — The read- 

 ers of the " Canadian Naturalist" and citizens generally, are 

 aware that the members of the Natural Historj^ Society, having 

 long felt the utter inadequacy of their present building to the 

 purposes required, determined some time ago to erect a building 

 with a Lecture Room, large enough to accomodate their audiences, 

 a Library for their books, and a Museum which would contain 

 the large and constantly increasing collection of Fossils, preserved 

 Fauna and Indian Antiquities ; that the Trustees of the McGill 

 College property, with a liberality which does them credit, made 

 an offer of a building site in the finest part of the city on terms 

 almost amounting to a free gift ; and that this offer was gladly 

 accepted. 



The building is now in course of erection on the corner of 

 Catkcart and University Streets. It is a plain but neat and com- 

 modious structure, 94 x 45 feet, — the style Grecian, with Doric 

 porticoes.* The two fronts are of white brick, the back of red. 

 But white bricks cost money and so do red ones ; and timbers even 

 in this timber country have a price, — -and this the building Com- 

 mittee already feel very forcibly. The Government of the coun- 

 try has hitherto not dealt with the Society in a spirit of liberality, 

 affording no more support to this institution, whose importance is 

 generally recognized, than is given to country Societies without a 

 local habitation or a name. This necessitates, on the part of the 

 Society, most vigorous action, and a Committee has been appoint- 



* A full description with wood cut will appear in next number of the 

 Naturalist. 



