Il8 [Proc. B. N. F. C, 



with them a series of views of places visited-— for example, the 

 Eastman bromide paper, and the Vesgara gelatine films, as sub- 

 stitutes for the less portable and more brittle glass plates ; the 

 platino and Woodbury types, aud others of a like nature ; 

 photo-lithography, photo-zincography, and the various means 

 by which process blocks are made for book and newspaper 

 illustrations. Now-a-days, we cannot tell when our features 

 are being reproduced by this art. The individual who appears 

 to be intently examining the interior of his hat, may, through 

 what seems to be a ventilator in its crown, be quietly focussing 

 a camera concealed there ; while an equally innocent-looking 

 mortal, whose opera glass is turned towards us, may be taking 

 a "snap shot" ; or when an old acquaintance meets us, and as 

 we talk keeps his distance (focussing distance, I mean), our 

 attention is caught by a somewhat abnormal vest button, rather 

 out of keeping with the rest of the set, and we afterwards find 

 that it is the only visible portion of his cherished bosom friend, 

 in the shape of a detective camera, and that its presence has 

 deceived us into the idea that our friend is somewhat stouter 

 than when we last saw him. It has recently been stated that 

 it is quite possible for some notability to address a forenoon 

 audience, have his portrait taken unknown to himself, a process 

 block formed therefrom, and the speaker's likeness appear 

 alongside the report of his address in the afternoon papers. 



We now come to the consideration of the progress of Natural 

 Science since the date of the formation of our Club. The 

 question which has undoubtedly engrossed most of the atten- 

 tion of scientists since that time has been that of Evolution. 

 The theory is one which had been at different times promul- 

 gated in various forms, but it was only when Charles Darwin 

 published his "Origin of Species," in 1859, that it became one 

 of the main questions of scientific research and argument. 

 While Darwin was engaged in the researches which led to the 

 publication of this work, Alfred Russell Wallace had been in- 

 dependently working out a similar theory, but it has been 

 admitted that Darwin has the prior claim. At the meetings of 



