172 Canadian Record of Science. 
monthly meetings are, as is usual with societies of this 
kind, slenderly attended. I feel, however, that if the real 
interest of the papers and of the discussions upon them was 
better understood by the public, we should have large 
houses to listen to them. Scarcely any meeting of this 
society fails to produce some paper or discussion or speci- 
men of great interest to all intelligent persons, and often 
of vast practical importance. Very many valuable sugges- 
tions, bearing on the advancement of material interests and 
on subjects important to the health and welfare of the com- 
munity, have originated in this room. A very different 
statement in regard to attendance may be made respecting 
our annual Sommerville lectures. These have always been 
popular, and have attracted large and interested audiences. 
More especially in recent years, since the lecture commit- 
tee, under the presidency of Dr. Harrington, has adopted 
the excellent practice of providing a connected course bear- 
ing on some one subject of general interest, they have 
assumed a higher educational and practical function. The 
course of last year on physiological subjects was of intense 
interest and of great public value. That of the present 
session on ‘“ Climate,” and this more especially in connec- 
tion with the climate of Canada and of the vast districts in 
the North-West, now being opened up for settlement, was 
in another way equally important. The wise benefaction 
of Mr. Sommerville, as administered by this Society, has 
proved a centre and source of mental illumination, and has 
been conspicuous among us as the only endowment of a 
course of popular scientific lectures always able and inter- 
esting, and entirely free to all. In a country like Canada, 
changes are constantly taking place in the indigenous and 
introduced fauna and flora as culture extends—changes 
which are soon forgotten and of which often no record re- 
mains, while rare visitors or occasional natural phenomena 
or accidentally discovered specimens are being continually 
lost to science in the hurry of active life. From such losses 
and untoward accidents, our museum is a means of refuge. 
It has treasured thousands of specimens which would other- 
