xx President's Address 



their functions. The collections of minerals are constantly 

 being made more complete, and the classes in Chemistry, 

 Mechanical Engineering, and Telegraphy continue to attract 

 students, the Telegraphy Class being particularly popular. 



The Museum of Natural History, under the able director- 

 ship of Professor M'Coy, is from time to time receiving 

 valuable additions, and the need for extended accommoda- 

 tion is daily becoming more apparent. There is room upon 

 the site at the University for a second building of similar 

 dimensions to the existing one, and it is to be hoped that 

 this may before long be provided. The position of this 

 Museum in the University Grounds adds greatly to its 

 educational value, as the University students are enabled at 

 once to inspect the specimens, and verify with their own 

 eyes the statements they have listened to in the lectures. 



The Schools of Mines at Ballarat and Sandhurst continue 

 to nourish. At Ballarat a new chemical laboratory has been 

 fitted up, and the museum and library are becoming more 

 complete every year. A set of standard thermometers and 

 a standard barometer are daily observed, and a proposal for 

 the affiliation of the institution to the Melbourne .University 

 is under consideration. At Sandhurst similar work is being 

 done. A museum, a well-equipped meteorological observa- 

 tory, field lectures on geology, and popular science lectures 

 are established, while a mechanical workshop and astro- 

 nomical observatory are in contemplation. It is to be 

 hoped that in course of time every large centre of popula- 

 tion in Australia will be provided with a similar institution 

 for the purpose of imparting reliable information on scientific 

 subjects of practical importance. 



THE MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY. 



This, the great centre of higher education for the colony, 

 attracts a larger number of students every year, there 

 being at present between four and five hundred in attend- 

 ance upon lectures. In every branch we find increasing 

 activity, and the very defects and evils which we cannot 



