374 Canadian Record of Science. 



lished 21 volumes with an aggregate of nearly 10.000 pages. 

 Scientifically, the value of these pages is very great, and, 

 but for our Society, a large proportion of the information 

 which they contain would have been lost to Canada and the 

 world. To-day, anyone working at Canadian science must 

 make frequent reference to them, and the more he studies 

 them the more he will be impressed with their value. This, 

 at least, is my experience. Their usefulness, however, would 

 he greatly enhanced by a general and properly classified 

 index, and I may perhaps, be allowed to suggest to the in- 

 coming editorial committee the advisability of preparing 

 and publishing one. 



Our original constitution states that " the chief object of 

 the Society shall be the investigation of the Natural History 

 of Canada." According to the original By-laws, too, we 

 find provision made for a Committee of Publication, to 

 whom " all essays read before the Society shall be referred, 

 to the end that they may select those which may appear of 

 sufficient value to cause them to be published." 



Great importance was obviously attached to the publica- 

 tion of papers giving the results of original work, and this, 

 it seems to me, is really our most important function, being 

 the most lasting in its results and serving to connect us with 

 the scientific world outside. 



There is, however, another portion of our work to which 

 I attach very great value. I refer to our free popular 

 lectures — the "Somerville Course." Having been Chairman 

 of the Lecture Committee for the past eight years, I have 

 come to feel a deep interest in this department of the 

 Society's work, and it is not without much regret that I 

 now — as I must— resign it to other hands. 



Previous to the bequest of Mr. Somerville, we find that 

 popular lectures under the auspices of the Society had 

 been attempted, though not always with success. The 

 first course was during the' winter of 1832-33. In 1835, 

 a popular course on Botany was undertaken by Dr. 

 Hall, but had to be given up for want of an audience. 

 In 1837, the Pev. James Somerville, Minister of St. 



