for the year 1862. xxxix 



band who have sacrificed their lives in the cause of science, 

 and for the benefit of the generations yet unborn that shall 

 inhabit this vast continent. 



But I must turn from this theme for a time, to trace, accord- 

 ing to custom, the proceedings of the Royal Society at its 

 ordinary monthly and special meetings throughout the past 

 year. These have been well attended, so far as I have had 

 the opportunity of observing, and the original papers read 

 at them were as numerous and as full of scientific interest as 

 heretofore. Among these I may particularise, in botany, Dr. 

 Ralph's observations, On the Structures and Organs of 

 Plants, as exhibited through the microscope; in zoology, a 

 Description of Victorian Sponges, by Mr. Archer, and of the 

 Snakes of Victoria, by Professor M'Coy, as well as a most 

 interesting paper by the latter gentleman, On the Remains 

 of a Gigantic Marsupial, found in sinking a well at Colac, 

 which, in his opinion, combines the distinctive characters of 

 diprotodonandnototherium, as established by Professor Owen, 

 from previous fossils, so fully as to render the union of these 

 genera essential. Nor have our friends in the adjacent 

 colonies been remiss in their contributions. An account by 

 Mr. Julian Haast, the Government Geologist of New Zea- 

 land, of the Physical Geography and Geology of Middle 

 Island, which now attracts so many emigrants from our 

 shores, has been communicated to us through Mr. Lio-ar. 

 The Rev. Julian Woods has favoured us with farther infor- 

 mation as to the Foraminifer and Bryozoas of the Mount 

 Gambier Tertiary of Calcareous Cement, whilst to the untiring 

 energy of the Rev. W. B. Clarke, of Sydney, we are again 

 indebted for the knowledge of the recent discovery, under 

 his auspices, of zoological fossils in the Maranoa district of 

 Queensland, as well as for a fresh elucidation of his views in 

 regard to the Strategrapical Position and Geological Rela- 

 tions of the Coal-seams of West Maitland. 



