3d. 



because it is desirable that the Society he the channel of inter- 

 communication, and filter as it were through the available local 

 talent the possibly new facts from the certainly known. So 

 far the machinery seems to be well devised and adjusted, and 

 the experiment deserves success. 



By this scheme the Society encourages the tyro-naturalists 

 in their pursuits, an aid which is not afforded at present by the 

 collection in our provincial Museum. But as soon as they 

 shall have been well named and made easily accessible they 

 should supply the professed student of biology with as complete 

 materials for his researches as can be obtained. In the interest 

 of the Institute Museum I offer the suggestion to the Board of 

 Governors that the Trustees of the British Museum should be 

 reminded not to forget this colony in its distribution of the 

 duplicate specimens, which under a recent Act of Parliament 

 they are empowered to part with. South Australia, in common 

 with the sister colonies, has a claim upon the national Museum, 

 to what extent it is difficult to determine ; but that it owes to 

 us some of its knowledge of the natural history of the colonies 

 is obvious from the number of presentations made to it by 

 South Australian collectors and correspondents. 



As a further means in the same direction, the entry of all 

 deserving students into our body has been facilitated. The 

 pursuit of collecting and studying natural history objects give 

 to the persons who are inclined to devote their leisure hours to 

 it a beneficial training for whatever their real calling in life 

 may be ; they acquire a sense of order and method ; they 

 develop their gift of observation ; they are stimulated to 

 healthy exercise. 



The meetings of the Society have been held with regularity, 

 but in consequence of the great subdivision of science and the 

 more technical character of the communications they have not 

 been attended so well as in former years, when it was thought 

 fashionable to do so. To revive such a former state would 

 indeed be a retrograde action, as it would impair the efficiency 

 of the Society. It must, moreover, not be expected that it lies 

 within the province of the Society directly to impart 

 elementary knowledge. Our meetings are held for the purpose 

 of having new facts, or new views of the bearing of admitted 

 facts, or corrections of important errors, brought before us for 

 discussion, and not for mere elementary instruction, though 

 some of us could probably testify as to how much may be 

 incidentally learned through a constant attendance at the 

 meetings. A middle course is, however, open by which we may 

 hope to acquire popularity without in any particular impeding 

 the attainment of the higher objects of the Society — that is, by 

 the delivery of popular expositions of recent advances or of 



